CNN
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Josef Newgarden won the 107th running of the Indianapolis 500 in a wild finish Sunday after three crashes in the last 16 laps. The American driver passed last year’s winner, Marcus Ericsson, in the final lap.
A trio of red flag crashes set up a dramatic finish during the race.
When the checkered flag finally waved, it was Newgarden who claimed his first Indy 500 win – but getting there required a lot of drama.
In a terrifying scene with 16 laps to go, Felix Rosenqvist got loose and slid up into the wall. As Kyle Kirkwood tried to avoid the spinning Rosenqvist, he clipped the corner of Rosenqvist’s car.
Kirkwood’s car slammed into the wall, flipped and slid to a stop on its roof with sparks flying. The race was red-flagged, but neither driver was seriously injured.
In a scary twist, Kirkwood’s rear wheel broke free of its safety tether in the crash, cleared the catch fence and flew over the crowded grandstand, sending fans ducking for cover.
The tire came down in a parking lot and damaged at least one car, but no injuries were reported in the incident, according to NBC’s telecast.
Eight laps later, Pato O’Ward, Simon Pagenaud and Agustin Canapino were involved in a heavy crash that brought another red flag.
With four laps remaining and Newgarden leading, there was another crash on the restart right at the start-finish line involving Benjamin Pedersen, Ed Carpenter and Graham Rahal, and the race was red-flagged again.
Ericsson had passed Newgarden on the restart just moments before the caution flag came out, meaning that Ericsson would be at the front of the line for the race’s final restart.
The green flag waved again with one lap to go, and Ericsson initially extended his lead over the chasing Newgarden. But Newgarden caught Ericsson and slingshot past him on the back straightaway to reclaim the lead.
It was smooth sailing from there to the finish line for Newgarden, who slipped through the fence to celebrate among the spectators before heading to victory lane for the traditional winner’s bottle of milk.
