The race was red flagged for the first time with 14 laps remaining when Felix Rosenqvist (Arrow McLaren) crashed out of fourth place at Turn 1, clipping Kyle Kirkwood’s Andretti Autosport car which slammed into the wall and flipped over at Turn 2.
That setup an eight-lap sprint to the finish, but another red flag was required as Pato O’Ward (Arrow McLaren) clashed with Marcus Ericsson (Ganassi) and slammed the wall. A third attempt brought out a yellow almost immediately with a multi-car tailender crash.
Newgarden then triumphed in a final-lap shootout, passing Ericsson at Turn 3 to score his first Indy 500 win.
Poleman Alex Palou of Chip Ganassi Racing led the 32-car field to the green flag (as Graham Rahal was stranded in the pits with a battery failure) leading Rinus VeeKey (Ed Carpenter Racing) and Rosenqvist. Ganassi’s Scott Dixon jumped up to fourth, swooping ahead of Santino Ferrucci (AJ Foyt Racing) and the McLarens of Alexander Rossi and Pa …