Indy 500 2019: Results, Top Finishers and Analysis from 103rd Edition of Race

Simon Pagenaud won a thrilling Indianapolis 500, going all-out in the final 14 laps to outlast Alexander Rossi by the slim margin of two-tenths of a second at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Sunday.

The race had been red-flagged in Lap 180, and by the time the green flag went up on Lap 186, Pagenaud was in second place behind Rossi. He quickly passed his rival and then saw Rossi regain the lead before Pagenaud took it back again.

They remained in that order for more than 10 laps, with Takuma Sato behind in third, until Rossi regained the lead with three laps to go. Pagenaud made one more attempt at the lead, got it with a lap-and-a-quarter to go and held off Rossi to the finish.

Pagenaud had been the pole-sitter in the race, and he led the race for 116 laps before winning his first Indianapolis 500. The France native became the first pole-sitter to win the race since Helio Castroneves won in 2009.

"It's hard to believe right now," Pagenaud said during the NBC post-race broadcast. "It was such an intense race. I never expected to be in this position, but I certainly worked hard for it. I am just focused on the job, and we executed perfectly today.

"Yes, I think it's the best driving of my career."

Pagenaud, driving his Chevrolet for Team Penske, claimed his 13th IndyCar series win. Team owner Roger Penske extended his personal record with his 18th Indy 500 triumph.

Indianapolis 500 Race Results

1. Simon Pagenaud
2. Alexander Rossi
3. Takuma Sato
4. Josef Newgarden
5. Will Power
6. Ed Carpenter
7. Santino Ferrucci
8. Ryan Hunter-Reay
9. Tony Kanaan
10. Conor Daly

Rossi was clearly dejected after coming so close to victory but having to settle for second place.

"In the end, they had just a bit more horsepower, and they ran a great race," Rossi said. "I thought we had the better car, but we ran out of race track."

A major crash on Lap 177 involving Graham Rahal and Sebastien Bourdais marred the race. Rahal attempted to pass Bourdais on the inside and appeared to have position to do so, but Bourdais refused to yield.

After those two collided, Felix Rosenqvist, Charlie Kimball and Zach Veach were also involved and were forced out of the race as well.

The race was red-flagged on Lap 180 while debris was cleared from the Brickyard.

Rahal angrily shouted at Bourdais shortly after the crash and explained to NBC that his opponent's failure to let him pass was quite dangerous:

"I respect him as a driver, but I don't respect that move. That's how people get killed at the race track."

That accident allowed all the remaining drivers to refuel, and it was especially helpful for Pagenaud, who was low on fuel at the time of the incident on the track.

Prior to the crash, the big issues were problems in pit row. One of those incidents involved Castroneves hitting the back of James Davison and taking a penalty that kept him from having a chance of becoming a four-time winner of the race. Jordan King, Will Power and Rossi were involved in other pit-row incidents.

But the story of the 2019 Indianapolis 500 is the thrilling duel between Pagenaud and Rossi, and the slim edge that Pagenaud had at the end over his rival that brought him the biggest victory of his career.