Indy 500 Results 2022: Marcus Ericsson Holds On to Win Ahead of Pato O'Ward

It all came down to the final two laps.

Jimmie Johnson's crash with just four laps to go forced a red flag, essentially setting up a two-lap sprint to the finish. That left Marcus Ericsson, who had a solid lead before the crash, to defend his advantage in far more hectic circumstances.

But defend it he did, holding off Pato O'Ward's attempts to pass him to win the 106th running of the Indianapolis 500. 

"I couldn't believe it," Ericsson said on the NBC broadcast about the red flag after his win. "You can never take anything for granted, and obviously there were still laps to go, and I was praying so hard it was not going to be another yellow. But I knew it was probably going to be one. It was hard to sort of refocus, but I knew the car was amazing. ... It was still hard, I had to do everything in the end to keep them behind."

It was Ericsson's first Indianapolis 500 victory, his first win on the season and the third of his career.

O'Ward finished second, with Tony Kanaan, Felix Rosenqvist and Alexander Rossi rounding out the top five.

It was a tough day for the front row of Scott Dixon, Alex Palou and Rinus VeeKay. Dixon, the pole-sitter, led for 95 of the 200 laps but was penalized for a speeding violation on a pit stop near the end of the race, eliminating him from contention.

Palou, meanwhile, had to go to the back of the field after getting nicked for an unlucky illegal pit stop following a crash involving Callum Ilott. Because he had run out of fuel and wasn't going to be able to continue pace lapping, he was forced to pit while they were closed.

And VeeKay had a nasty crash against the wall in the 39th lap, ending his day prematurely.

"We put the car on the front row. We were in P2, but it was tough out there. The car was a little bit free all race," VeeKay said after the crash. "Yeah, I just turned into Turn 2, the car gets loose. Once that happens, you're a passenger and couldn't do anything. Yeah, just a bummer, really. I think we had a good shot at a good finish or maybe a win. But yeah, just caught me off guard."

Turn 2 also claimed Johnson, Ilott and Romain Grosjean, proving to be the track's trickiest conundrum on an exciting day of racing.

A day that ultimately belonged to Ericsson, an unexpected but deserving winner.