A couple of late-race cautions drowned much of the suspense, but Tony Kanaan still managed to hold on and win the 97th running of the Indianapolis 500.

The race restarted from a caution with four laps remaining, bringing the field close together and setting up what was shaping up to be a tight, thrilling finish. But four-time winner Dario Franchitti promptly crashed into the wall, drawing yet another caution flag and demanding that the race end with a pace car on the track and a yellow flag in the sky.

Even if the ending didn't live up to its potential, though, the first 190 laps more than held their own. Per IndyCar's official twitter account, this year's race had 68 lead changes—the most in Indianapolis 500 history:

There were a record 68 lead changes today. An Indy 500 record.

— INDYCAR PR (@INDYCARPR) May 26, 2013

Carlos Munoz, Ryan Hunter-Reay and Marco Andretti—all of whom have also never won at Indy—lost a chance to compete due to Franchitti's error. They all raced well, and all deserved a shot to nab the checkered flag in the final few laps. But alas, today was not their day.

Today belonged to Tony Kanaan instead.

Photo credit: IndyCarOfficial on Instagram

Kanaan has raced in 12 Indianapolis 500s, leading at some point in nine of them, but until this year was unable to come out victorious. And though he crossed the checkered flag with a simultaneous yellow, the trophy, the milk and the glory all remain the same.

A monkey has been extricated from Kanaan's back, replaced by the leafy charm of the Borg-Warner wreath. Most will agree that this was a long time coming.

Complete race results can be found below: