Indy 500 Standings
Rob Baker/Associated Press
Usually, it takes a driver years of experience to conquer Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Struggles and heartbreaking near-misses typically culminate a lengthy journey to the sport's pinnacle.
Not for Alexander Rossi.
The 24-year-old took home the 100th running of the Indianapolis 500 on Sunday, conserving fuel just well enough to stay on the track and top a loaded field of drivers.
Mobil 1 The Grid shared a photo of Rossi's celebration following his victory along with his disbelief at the achievement:
Mobil 1 The Grid @Mobil1TheGrid"I just can't believe that we've done this!" – @AlexanderRossi. #Indy500 @IndyCar @IMS @NAPARacing #WinnersDrinkMilk https://t.co/xNeL3RWLlh
2016-5-29 20:10:02In his first race at the hallowed speedway, Rossi wasn't forced to pit on the last round of stops and won the race going away. He held a 4.5-second lead over second place Carlos Munoz and a 4.9-second advantage over third place Josef Newgarden. No other drivers were within 10 seconds of the lead.
Tony Kanaan and Charlie Kimball rounded out the top five.
| Indianapolis 500 Results | |
| Alexander Rossi | |
| Carlos Munoz | |
| Josef Newgarden | |
| Tony Kanaan | |
| Charlie Kimball | |
| JR Hildebrand | |
| James Hinchcliffe | |
| Scott Dixon | |
| Sebastien Bourdais | |
| 10 | Will Power |
| ESPN.com | |
Most of the top cars wound up running a few laps short on fuel. Kanaan and Newgarden were battling for the lead before needing to stop, and Munoz took a brief lead with 10 laps remaining. Smart pitting strategy wound up making Rossi look like a genius, and he glided to a chance to kiss the bricks.
"I have no idea how we pulled that off. I can’t believe we’ve done this, " Rossi said, per Matt Glenesk of the Indianapolis Star.
