Scott Rovak-USA TODAY Sports/Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
There is, perhaps, no more prestigious auto race in the world than the Indianapolis 500. Thirty-three drivers line up at the start, hoping to get their face on the legendary Borg-Warner Trophy. But when all is said and done, one gets the honor.
To make matters even more incredible, the 200-lap, 500-mile race around the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway often comes down to little more than a blink of an eye.
In a fraction of a second, a driver can turn themselves from little more than an afterthought to a legend of the sport, and vice versa.
In this piece, we’re counting down the 10 closest finishes in the history of the Indianapolis 500.
The Indianapolis 500 Is Prone To Drama
Obviously, given the massive stakes of the race, the drama is often built in at Indy. After all, there’s a reason that teams and drivers take more or less the entire month of May to build and tune the perfect car for just one race.
But the size and shape of the track also lend themselves to dramatic finishes.
The 2.5-mile oval, which is really more of a rectangle, features massive front and back straightaways, which provide trailing cars with a huge draft advantage. That means that it’s often advantageous to enter the last couple of laps as the second-place car, rather than leading.
Time your pass right and you become a champion. But time it wrong, and it could end in heartbreak, as we’ll see below.
10) Helio Castroneves Holds Off Alex Palou By .492 Seconds To Win No. 4 In 2021
If winning the Indianapolis 500 once puts you in the history book, then winning it four times puts you among the all-time greats. And there’s no doubt that Helio Castroneves belongs in that discussion.
Castroneves first won the race in 2001 while driving for legendary team owner Roger Penske. The Brazilian made himself a fan-favorite with his iconic fence-climbing celebration, which he then repeated when he won in 2002, and again in 2009.
In 2021, Castroneves returned to the track with Meyer Shank Racing, hoping for one last bit of magic. Lo and behold, he found it.
After starting eighth, Castroneves worked his way up through the field, and in the final laps, he used lapped traffic masterfully to hold off a hard-charging Alex Palou and join A.J. Foyt, Al Unser, and Rick Mears as the only four-time race winners.
9) Gil de Ferran Denies Helio Castroneves A Three-Peat By .299 In 2003
When the 2003 Indy 500 rolled around, Castroneves was the overwhelming favorite, having won each of the last two editions of the race and having qualified on the pole the weekend prior.
He went on to lead the first 16 laps of the race, further asserting his dominance. But things began to get mixed up as the race went on, and his teammate and countryman Gil de Ferran started his working his way up the order.
However, with 31 laps remaining, Castroneves got caught behind the lapped car of A.J. Foyt IV, and de Ferran pounced, taking the lead away.
Despite several late cautions, Castroneves never did find a way back around, and de Ferran claimed his first and only Indy 500 win by slim margins before riding off into the sunset in retirement at the end of the season.
8) Simon Pagenaud Barely Holds Off Alex Rossi By .208 In 2019
In 2016, Alexander Rossi won the Indianapolis 500 on fuel mileage as a rookie, one of the most memorable finishes in the illustrious history of the race.
In that same season, Frenchman Simon Pagenaud won the series championship for Team Penske.
In 2019, they were the main actors in a fantastic finish. Pagenaud, who had been fast all week, qualified on the pole and led early, while Rossi ripped his way through the field after starting ninth.
After a scary late crash, the race was red-flagged. It restarted with 14 laps to go, with Rossi leading and Pagenaud in second. Pagenaud regained the lead, only for Rossi to take it right back with three laps remaining.
But Pagenaud was able to reset himself and passed Rossi back just one lap later. On the final lap, Rossi closed on Pagenaud and nearly made a move to take the lead in turn three, but Pagenaud closed the door, handing the Frenchman his first and only 500 victory.
7) Takuma Sato Finally Wins At Indy, Beating Helio Castroneves By .201 In 2017
In 2012, Takuma Sato came tantalizingly close to becoming the first-ever Indy 500 winner from Japan. He trailed leader Dario Franchitti by mere inches entering the final lap and pulled out to make a pass into turn one.
However, Sato mistimed his move and ended up spinning out and slamming into the wall, ending his race in heartbreak.
This time around, however, Sato would make no such mistake.
After Castroneves passed Max Chilton for the lead with seven laps to go, Sato followed him through to take second. The Andretti Autosport driver then pulled out and passed Castroneves for the lead one lap later.
With two laps remaining, Castroneves pulled up on Sato and looked to the outside, trying to take the lead back. But Sato kept his foot in the gas and held the position, shutting down what would be the final battle for the lead before he crossed the line first and made history for his country.
6) Gordon Johncock Holds Off A Hard-Charging Rick Mears By .160 In 1982
In 1973, Gordon Johncock won the Indianapolis 500 for Patrick Racing, and while he continued to be competitive at the track in the years to come, it wasn’t until 1982 that he got another opportunity at the win.
After the final pit stops, Johncock held an incredible 11-second lead over the chasing Rick Mears. But Mears quickly began to take chunks out of the lead.
With three laps remaining, the lead was just three seconds. Then down to two. Then to one.
As the two cars crossed the finish line to start the final lap, they were side by side. But Johncock somehow managed to hold off Mears, who had the inside line into turn one. Mears then closed again and pulled out of line to try to pass Johncock coming to the finish line, but he fell just .160 short, which at the time was the closes finish in Indy 500 history.
5) Juan Montoya Holds Off Teammate Will Power By .104 In 2015
By the time 2015 rolled around, Juan Pablo Montoya had long established himself as one of the best drivers in history.
He won the Indy 500 in his first ever try in 2000. The Colombian then went to Formula 1, where he won multiple races and finished third in the championship in both 2002 and 2003, and Montoya even won a couple of NASCAR Cup Series races and finished eighth in the standings in 2008.
In 2015, he was back in IndyCar with Team Penske and qualified 15th for that year’s 500, well behind teammates Will Power and Helio Castroneves.
But he slowly and steadily worked his way up the field. With four laps remaining, he passed Scott Dixon to take second place and began to chase down Power in the lead, which he took just a half lap later.
After a couple of laps, Power steadied himself, and the two ran nose-to-tail entering the final time into turn three. But he was unable to get close enough to make a move, and at 40 years old, Montoya returned to victory lane at Indianapolis.
4) Josef Newgarden Takes Controversial Win Over Marcus Ericsson By .097 In 2023
In 2022, Swedish former Formula 1 driver Marcus Ericsson claimed an improbable victory in the Indy 500 for Chip Ganassi Racing.
He looked as if he’d go back-to-back in 2023 when he took the lead from Team Penske star Josef Newgarden on a restart with six laps remaining, just before a five-car crash that seemingly ended the race.
However, IndyCar officials decided to red flag the race with two laps remaining rather than finishing under caution. This meant that the race would restart for just one final lap.
Ericsson, the leader at the time, was essentially a sitting duck for Newgarden, who retook the lead on the backstretch of the final lap and held on for one of the closest and most controversial finishes in Indianapolis 500.
3) Sam Hornish Jr. Keeps The Andretti Curse Alive By .063 Seconds In 2006
In 1969, the legendary Mario Andretti won the Indianapolis 500 in his fifth attempt. He’d go on to make 29 more starts, but never again crossed the finish line in first place.
Neither did Mario’s son Michael, who won several races and established himself as one of the best American drivers of his generation, but went 0 for 16 in the 500.
In 2006, a third generation came along and gave the family hope of breaking the famed Andretti Curse. Marco Andretti, Michael’s son, was a rookie in the IndyCar series and had shown impressive speed all month long in the lead-up to the Indy 500.
By the final lap, Marco had worked himself to the lead from a ninth-place starting spot.
Meanwhile, Team Penske star Sam Hornish, who had dominated earlier in the day, had worked himself all the way from the back of the pack following a penalty up to second.
With half a lap remaining, Andretti had a four-car length lead and looked certain for victory. But Hornish closed, and quickly. Coming off the final turn, Hornish was right on Andretti’s rear wing. He pulled out of line coming to take the checkered flag and made the pass across the line, winning by just a whisker, and keeping the Andretti Curse intact.
2) Ryan Hunter-Reay Denies Helio Castroneves By Just .060 In 2014
By 2014, Ryan Hunter-Reay had established himself as the top American driver in the IndyCar Series, having won a championship in 2012 and finished in third at the 2013 Indy 500.
With six laps to go in the 2014 race, Hunter-Reay led the field back to the green flag for a restart. But one lap later, Helio Castroneves took the lead away. Hunter-Reay then held off his teammate, Marco Andretti, for second, before settling back in.
One lap later, Hunter-Reay made one of the most iconic passes in race history, nearly touching the grass before flying past Castroneves in turn three to regain the lead.
But Castroneves didn’t go away. He took the lead back with two laps remaining as they went into turn one, before Hunter-Reay made the final, decisive pass for the lead entering turn one of the final lap.
Castroneves made one last-gasp attempt as the cars approached the checkered flag, but fell short, giving Hunter-Reay his first and only Indy 500 victory.
1) Al Unser Jr. Makes His With A .042 Victory Over Scott Goodyear In 1992
Al Unser Sr. is one of the greatest drivers in the history of not only IndyCar, but all of racing. That left some big shoes to fill for his son, Al Unser Jr., who more than filled them.
In 1992, Unser Jr. was looking for his first Indy 500 win in 10 tries after his father had claimed the Borg-Warner Trophy a record four times.
It’s only fitting, then, that he did so in historic fashion.
Scott Goodyear, running second, hounded Unser Jr. for the final seven laps. But Unser Jr. held firm, not making a single mistake. Coming to the checkered flag, Goodyear got his best run yet, closing in on Unser Jr. and pulling all the way alongside before just running out of racetrack, with Unser Jr. holding on by a mere 0.042 seconds, still the closest finish in the race’s 110-year history.