A pit lane violation with 25 laps remaining ended Scott Dixon's chances of a second Indianapolis 500 title.
Scott Dixon pits during the 106th running of the Indianapolis 500 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on 29 May, 2022. Photo: AFP
Dixon, who started on pole, led for the majority of the 200 lap event, and was leading when he headed into his last pit stop.
He locked up his brakes as he went into pit lane which resulted in a pitlane speed violation.
He was then required to do a drive through penalty which dropped him down the field, finishing 21st.
Dixon, a six time Indycar champion, has only won the famous race at the "Brickyard" once in 2008.
Fellow New Zealander Scott McLaughlin crashed three-quarters of the way through the race while running down the field.
The race was won by his Chip Ganassi teammate Marcus Ericsson.
The Swede survived a two-lap shootout to win a dramatic race, as the Brickyard reclaimed the mantle of the world's biggest single day sporting event, living up to its billing as the 'Greatest Spectacle in Racing".
On a day of twists and turns on the 2.5 mile oval, the biggest came just six laps from the end when Jimmie Johnson got down on the grass and spun up into the wall bringing out a red flag sending the cars onto the pit lane.
When the debris was cleared, the drivers returned to the track and with 300,000 spectators on their feet for a breath-taking two-lap winner-takes-all sprint, the 31-year-old Swede held off hard-charging Mexican Pato O'Ward to put his car on Victory Lane.
"I had to do everything there at the end to keep them behind," said Ericsson, after drinking the traditional quart of milk. "I can't believe it, I'm so happy."
Ericsson, a former-Formula One driver, becomes the second Swede to win the Indy 500 after Kenny Brack in 1999.
-RNZ / Reuters