Alexander Rossi Wins the 100th Indianapolis 500

It was a surprising American winner on Sunday that claimed the 100th Indianapolis 500, with Andretti Autosport driver Alexander Rossi drinking the milk.

After a month of watching, preparing, waiting, and contemplating, the day finally arrived – the day of the centennial running of the Indianapolis 500. And with thirty-three drivers in contention at the start, only one could take home the Borg-Warner Trophy at the end of the race, and today that was Andretti Autosport’s Alexander Rossi.

The race was dominated early by his teammates Ryan Hunter-Reay and Townsend Bell, along with fellow Honda competitor and pole sitter James Hinchcliffe. But as the race wore on, each fell into trouble, first with Hinchcliffe having a slow pit stop, followed by contact on pit road between Bell and Hunter-Reay. None of the three would be in the picture at the end of the day for the win.

Past halfway, it looked like Helio Castroneves would be on track to win his fourth Indy 500, putting him in elite company with Al Unser Sr., Rick Mears, and A.J. Foyt. But later, damage to the rear pod of his car would cause an extended pit stop, which coupled with needing to pit for a final splash of fuel eliminated him too. The race would shape up in the final laps to be about fuel mileage and who could go the distance.

Carlos Munoz looked to be in the prime position to win the Indianapolis 500, after finishing second to Tony Kanaan in 2013. However, just three drivers would choose not to stop in the final laps and make the fuel last, and one of those was Alexander Rossi. The rookie who last year worked as a backup driver for the Manor F1 Team would stretch the fuel and win the Indy 500 in his second ever oval start.

Rossi, driving the #98 Honda, worked with team strategist Bryan Herta, who previously owned his car and fielded the car that Dan Wheldon won with in 2011. Carlos Munoz would come home second, making an Andretti Autosport 1-2 finish. Josef Newgarden, strong all day and leading late in the going, would be forced to pit but come home third.

Here are the full results from the 100th Indianapolis 500:

1. Alexander Rossi, Honda, Andretti Autosport
2. Carlos Munoz, Honda, Andretti Autosport
3. Josef Newgarden, Chevrolet, Ed Carpenter Racing
4. Tony Kanaan, Chevrolet, Chip Ganassi Racing
5. Charlie Kimball, Chevrolet, Chip Ganassi Racing
6. J.R. Hildebrand, Chevrolet, Ed Carpenter Racing
7. James Hinchcliffe, Honda, Schmidt Peterson Motorsports
8. Scott Dixon, Chevrolet, Chip Ganassi Racing
9. Sebastien Bourdais, Chevrolet, KVSH Racing
10. Will Power, Chevrolet, Team Penske
11. Helio Castroneves, Chevrolet, Team Penske
12. Oriol Servia, Honda, Schmidt Peterson Motorsports
13. Marco Andretti, Honda, Andretti Autosport
14. Graham Rahal, Honda, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing
15. Max Chilton, Chevrolet, Chip Ganassi Racing
16. Jack Hawksworth, Honda, A.J. Foyt Racing
17. Alex Tagliani, Honda, A.J. Foyt Racing
18. Pippa Mann, Honda, Dale Coyne Racing
19. Simon Pagenaud, Chevrolet, Team Penske
20. Gabby Chaves, Honda, Dale Coyne Racing
21. Townsend Bell, Honda, Andretti Autosport
22. Matthew Brabham, Chevrolet, Pirtek Team Murray
23. Bryan Clauson, Honda, Jonathan’s Byrd Racing
24. Ryan Hunter-Reay, Honda, Andretti Autosport
25. Spencer Pigot, Honda, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing
26. Takuma Sato, Honda, A.J. Foyt Racing
27. Mikhail Aleshin, Honda, Schmidt Peterson Motorsports
28. Stefan Wilson, Chevrolet, KV Racing Technology
29. Conor Daly, Honda, Dale Coyne Racing
30. Buddy Lazier, Chevrolet, Lazier-Burns Racing
31. Ed Carpenter, Chevrolet, Ed Carpenter Racing
32. Sage Karam, Chevrolet, DRR Kingdom Racing
33. Juan Pablo Montoya, Chevrolet, Team Penske

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BTF congratulates Alexander Rossi and the #98 team on their Indianapolis 500 victory. The next race for the Verizon IndyCar Series will be a doubleheader from the Belle Isle circuit. Catch the Dual in Detroit next Saturday and Sunday afternoon, live on your local ABC station.