Marcus Ericsson becomes a 'legend forever' with Indianapolis 500 victory

The Swedish driver steals the show from his other Chip Ganassi Racing teammates.

INDIANAPOLIS - On Sunday morning prior to the 106th Running of the Indianapolis 500, AutoRacingDigest.com asked 31-year-old Marcus Ericsson what winning the race would mean to him.

The Swedish-born driver stated that he was excited about his chances in the race and then said, "It's a life-changing race. If you win it, you're going to be a legend forever."

Later that afternoon, Ericsson became a legend - forever.

Driving the No. 8 Huski Chocolate Honda for Chip Ganassi Racing, Ericsson outdueled Pato O’Ward in a two-lap shootout to win the race, becoming just the second Swedish-born driver to win “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing.”

Ericsson took the race lead with 11 laps remaining and had built a comfortable buffer between himself and O’Ward. However, a crash six laps later involving Ericsson's teammate, Jimmie Johnson, resulted in the race being red-flagged before the final duel at the end.

Wearing the winner’s wreath in victory lane, Ericsson shared his thoughts on the final few laps as well as his victory.

“I can’t believe it,” Ericsson said. “You can never take anything for granted and obviously, there were still laps to go and I was praying so hard there was not going to be another yellow. But I knew there was probably going to be one. It was hard to refocus, but I knew the car was amazing.

“The No. 8 crew and Chip Ganassi Racing and Honda did such an amazing job. So I knew the car was fast. But it was still hard. I had to do everything there in the end to keep him [O’Ward] behind. I can’t believe it. I’m so happy.”

"I can't believe it. I'm so happy."

A jubilant @Ericsson_Marcus basks in his #Indy500 victory.#INDYCAR // @CGRTeams pic.twitter.com/Eo3u2S6YJ6

— NTT INDYCAR SERIES (@IndyCar) May 29, 2022

As for O’Ward, he did not seem to be too surprised at just barely missing out on the win.

“Sadly, they have the faster car.,” the 23-year-old Mexican said of Ericsson. “We need to do a better job. We need to come back next year and give it hell again. I'm proud of the job we did today. It's my best result in the 500. It's a bit of a tough pill to swallow after such a long race, doing everything correctly.”

Marcus Ericsson crosses the finish line under caution to win the 106th Running of the Indianapolis 500. Photo courtesy IndyCar

Ericsson’s win marked the fifth Indy 500 win for Chip Ganassi Racing, but for the majority of the race, teammate Scott Dixon looked to be on track to claim his second 500 victory.

A six-time series champion, Dixon won his lone 500 in 2008 and has been on the hunt for number two ever since. He started Sunday’s race from the pole position and led a race-high 95 laps. Doing so, he also passed Al Unser Sr to become the all-time Indy 500 lap leader.

But Dixon got nailed with a speeding penalty on pit road when he came in for his final stop, effectively ending his chances to win.

“It’s just heartbreaking, to be honest,” Dixon said. “I must have been very close. I just came into the pit and locked the rears and kind of locked all four and I knew it was going to be close. I think it was (one mph) over.

“Just frustrating. The car was really good all day. We had really good speed. The team did an amazing job on strategy. I just messed up."

"I just messed up" says a dejected @scottdixon9.

The all-time #Indy500 lap leader discusses his late pit road speeding penalty.#INDYCAR // @IMS pic.twitter.com/3hcwqAIPuv

— NTT INDYCAR SERIES (@IndyCar) May 29, 2022

However, Ganassi still took two of the three podium positions. Tony Kanaan, in what might have been his last 500, finished third behind Ericsson and O’Ward.

“I think next year probably, if I can make it happen, will be really the last one,” Kanaan said, hopeful that he can gain sponsorship. But, he cautioned, “As of right now, this was the last one.”

Felix Roseqvist finished fourth, while Alexander Rossi finished fifth, his best showing of the season. Conor Daly, 2021 champ Helio Castroneves, Simon Pagenaud, Alex Palou, and Santino Ferrucci rounded out the top 10 finishers.

But while the afternoon was pleasant for some drivers, it was also disappointing for others.

The first driver to retire from the race was Rinus VeeKay, who started on the outside of the front row and lasted just 39 laps before he got loose in the middle of Turn 2 and made contact with the outside wall.

The front row starter @rinusveekay is out of the #Indy500 after this incident in turn 2.

WATCH LIVE: @NBC and @PeacockTV#INDYCAR // @IMS // @ECRIndy pic.twitter.com/wmEYI3gMnV

— NTT INDYCAR SERIES (@IndyCar) May 29, 2022

Turn 2 then claimed two more victims later in the race: on Lap 70 when rookie Callum Illott experienced a nearly similar incident, as did Romain Grosjean on Lap 107.

“Just disappointed to finish that way,” Grosjean said. “I don’t know what happened, the rear end snapped on me without any warning. I guess a few guys got caught out in the corner, but it was a corner where the car was pretty good over the race.

"I don’t know what happened, I wasn’t trying anything different. I was happy with the balance of the car. I’m going to try to analyze and move on from that.”

Other drivers who prematurely exited the race included Colton Herta, whose car was severely underperforming. Herta was forced to start in an untested backup car after he destroyed his primary car in a crash on Friday's Carb Day.

“We just weren’t fast enough,” Herta said. “They parked us because we were slow.”

Scott McLaughlin also retired after hitting the Turn 4 wall and sliding across the track, nearly hitting Ed Carpenter in the process.

Massive incident for @smclaughlin93 in turn 4.

He's been seen and released from the @IU_Health Emergency Medical Center.

WATCH LIVE: @NBC and @PeacockTV#INDYCAR // #Indy500 // @IMS // @Team_Penske pic.twitter.com/r77y5uEo3M

— NTT INDYCAR SERIES (@IndyCar) May 29, 2022

“Just a bruised ego and the Pennzoil Chevy is a bit dented and stuff,” McLaughlin said. “We were having a rip of a run there and had made our way into the top 10 and just caught a big puff of wind and spun out and boom.

“I am a little sore, but I got checked out and I am good. But you know, it's hard to come out straight away after a shunt like that and that is why this place is so scary, and why we love it. I will be back stronger and better next year.”

But perhaps the most disappointing incident of the afternoon came when seven-time NASCAR Cup champ Johnson, making his Indy 500 debut, lost control of his car and slammed into the outside wall in Turn 4.

This incident with @jimmiejohnson in turn 4 is what brought the red flag out with 4 laps to go.

After an eventful Month of May, the No. 48 was not able to finish the #Indy500.#INDYCAR // #Indy500 // @CGRTeams pic.twitter.com/6BUdy74nua

— NTT INDYCAR SERIES (@IndyCar) May 29, 2022

“A tough day at the office today,” Johnson said. “Track position was way more important than I thought it would be, and I struggled to really advance in the field and then sadly the car just got away from me in the race and we had a crash there in Turn 2.”

While it was Johnson's first Indy 500 appearance, his 28th place finish was also the worst of his 18 previous IndyCar starts.

With his victory in the 500, Ericsson now leads the overall point standings with a 13-point lead over O’Ward. The next race on the NTT IndyCar Series calendar is the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix on June 5.