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Spain's Palou holds off Swede Ericsson to win Indianapolis 500

Spain's Alex Palou held off Sweden's Marcus Ericsson over the final laps to win the 109th Indianapolis 500 on Sunday and capture his first oval triumph.

Palou became the first Spaniard to reach Victory Lane after 200 laps over the famed 2.5-mile (4km) Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval and made his breakthrough in his 29th oval start.

"I cannot believe it. What an amazing day. What an amazing race," Palou said. "It's amazing to win."

Palou, who has won five of this year's first six IndyCar races, took the checkered flag under caution after American Nolan Siegel crashed near the back of the field.

"It has been amazing," Palou said of his superb season start. "The team I have around me, they make me look good on track."

Ericsson, the 2022 Indy 500 winner, refueled with 24 laps remaining and returned to the track still in front, just ahead of Palou with American David Malukas third.

Palou, who started on the outside of the second row, passed Ericsson on the inside at the first turn with 14 laps remaining and was drafting off slower cars to save fuel over the final laps.

"Tough conditions out there, especially when you were third or fourth in the pack," Palou said. "Even leading (miles per gallon), the fuel consumption was super high."

Palou was well ahead coming out of the last turn on the final lap when the caution flag came out and he continued over the finish line to complete his historic triumph.

"There were some moments that I felt really good in the race," Palou said. "But at the end I didn't know if I was going to be able to pass Marcus or not, but yeah, made it happen."

Ericsson had to settle for second with Malukas third.

"That was painful to miss out so close again, second time second," Ericsson said. "This is a winner-takes-all kind of place, so yeah, it's really painful."

"I'm not going to lie, I was crying coming into the pits," Malukas said. "We were just so close to getting it."

After the victory, Palou stopped the car and ran down pit row to celebrate with his crew and team owner Chip Ganassi.

"Amazing. Best celebration ever," Palou said.

Ganassi sang the praises of Palou, who seeks a fourth season crown in five years.

"The guy is just unbelievable," Ganassi said. "It's going to make Alex Palou's career, it's going to make his life, and it certainly has made mine."

Two-time defending champion Josef Newgarden's bid for an unprecedented Indy three-peat ended with a fuel pressure issue on lap 135.

"It's tough not to have a shot at the end," he said. "We didn't get to see what we had."

- 'Just a passenger' -

The race began in cool and overcast conditions after a brief rain delay and several incidents quickly followed.

Marco Andretti, grandson of racing legend Mario, crashed out on the first lap, hitting the outer wall in the first turn.

Japan's Takuma Sato, a two-time Indy 500 winner, led but skidded six feet past his pit stop point and fell back.

Israeli rookie pole sitter Robert Shwartzman struck four members of his pit crew as he lost control entering his pit box, ending his day.

"I locked both front tires," he said. "Luckily nobody got really hardly injured. It was really scary. When I braked I was just a passenger."

American Kyle Larson's bid to run every lap at Indy and a 600-mile NASCAR race on Sunday night at Charlotte was foiled with a restart crash into the outer wall of turn two on lap 92.

Dutchman Rinus Veekay struck the pit lane entry area inner wall.

"Just really had no bite on the brakes," Veekay said.

American Alexander Rossi's car caught fire while being refueled but there were no injuries.

"It's so disappointing," he said. "All I know is the gearbox was starting to go."

New Zealand's Scott McLaughlin crashed into the inner wall of the front straightaway on a warm-up lap, ending his race before it began.

"Worst moment of my life," McLaughlin said.

New Zealand's Scott Dixon made his 408th career IndyCar start to break Mario Andretti's all-time record.