Indy 500 2023: Results, Top Finishers and Analysis From 107th Edition of Race

Josef Newgarden is an Indy 500 champion for the first time in his career, and he couldn't have achieved the dream in more dramatic fashion.

There were three red-flag restarts in the final 10 laps, and Newgarden made a late move on the final two-lap sprint to the finish after the last one to prevail at the 107th running of the famed race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Sunday.

He passed Marcus Ericsson near the end and outlasted the second-place finisher. Santino Ferrucci and Alex Palou rounded out the top four.

Newgarden went from third to first on the initial red-flag restart in the closing stretch, but the race had two more stoppages because of crashes. It seemed like Ericsson was going to win under the caution on the final one, but the officials decided to give one more red flag and the late restart sprint.

Newgarden took full advantage and prevailed against a loaded field.

Ellen J. Horrow of USA Today noted there were nine former winners who competed Sunday, including 2021 champion Helio Castroneves. Castroneves was attempting to become the first driver in the sport's history to win the Indy 500 five times.

Yet he and everyone else started the race behind pole winner Palou, who set the record for fastest pole speed in race history during qualifying.

On the opposite side of Palou at the start was Graham Rahal, who had a battery issue before the race began when his car didn't fire. He was forced off the track and didn't get into the race until he was two laps behind.

That wasn't the only early unfortunate news for one of the racers, as Katherine Legge temporarily lost control of her car and forced a member of the pit team to scramble over the wall. Her day also came to an end when she retired from the race.

Pit-road chaos quickly became the name of the game.

The first caution of the race came on Lap 92 when Sting Ray Robb crashed, but the more important development came on the restart when Rinus VeeKay spun into Palou coming off pit road and significantly damaged the chances for both contenders. Palou had led more laps than any other driver to that point, and the crash put him in comeback mode.

Throw in a pit-road speeding penalty that put Agustín Canapino to the rear, and the race took on a different feel following the dramatic stretch.

Andretti Autosport could have done without the pit-road issues, as Colton Herta received a drive-through penalty for colliding with teammate Romain Grosjean ahead of the stretch run. Grosjean then crashed into the wall when he returned to the track, capping off an ugly sequence for the team.

Ferrucci didn't have any trouble with the restarts, though, and made a move to take the lead heading into the final 40 laps.

While the underdog story was battling for the lead, Felix Rosenqvist hit the wall and drifted into the middle of the track. That is where Kyle Kirkwood hit his car, went upside down and had a tire fly near the grandstands in a scary incident that led to a red flag with 14 laps remaining.

According to the NBC Sports broadcast, there were no injuries.

That incident set the stage for the dramatic finish, and Newgarden came through on the final push.