Alexander Rossi wins 100th edition of the Indy500

He went four laps longer on one tank of gas than any other driver did the entire race, and asked Monday how he pulled it off he simply said “skill”, with a wry smile.

“I just can’t believe we have done this”.

Newgarden finished third and was followed by Tony Kanaan, Charlie Kimball and JR Hildebrand as Chevrolet drivers took spots three through six.

“I don’t know what to say”, said Michael Andretti, like he hasn’t been struck dumb here before.

Rossi, who returned to the United States this year after failing to nail down a 2016 seat in Formula 1, just made it to the finish line before running out of gas at the end of a race which had been dominated by fuel strategy.

“I’m just so thankful for doing this on the 100th running”, Rossi said. “The guy’s like, ‘Really?’ and I told him we could do a good deal, and it came together like that”.

I’m at a loss for words.

“I have no doubt it’s going to change my life”, he said.

Helio Castroneves was the last rookie to win the race in 2001.

It was the second Indy 500 triumph for auto owner Bryan Herta, who merged his team with that of Michael Andretti this year.

His win was the second for Herta as a auto owner at Indy.

“OK”, said Rossi. “To drive around here (at Indianapolis) at 230 miles per hour, an especially to do it with 33 other cars, I would be hard-pressed to find someone that wasn’t a type-A personality out there”.

Although he’s a relief driver for Manor Racing in F1, Rossi has no scheduled F1 races and IndyCar right now is his top commitment. Carlos Muñoz took the lead for a few laps before also falling into pit row for fuel. In walks Gaga, wearing shorts and a t-shirt, taking in the scene before riding with Mario for three laps. I tried to turn off the air-conditioning in the race vehicle, but I couldn’t find the switch.

“I pointed to that auto and said it needs a sponsor”, Andretti said.

Sage Karam made hard contact with the Turn 1 wall on Lap 94 and Conor Daly and Mikhail Aleshin crashed in the south chute.

If there was any doubt about the buzz and atmosphere returning to the ol’ Brickyard 20 years after Indy car’s civil war almost destroyed the Indianapolis 500 and the sport itself, the 100th running of the 500 answered in a resounding way.

Newgarden settled a career-best Indy finish but was denied the full-speed shootout for victory he wanted.

“It was a tough day”, the 25-year-old American said.

“We were super strong the first half and definitely had one of the cars to beat”, he said.

“Didn’t have enough at the end”. I don’t know what he did. There were moments I was really stoked, really heartbroken, really stoked.

Despite a youthful vibe and party mantra, a glance around the stands on Sunday showed the Indy 500’s fan base to be an aging one. Are the domed skids going to ruin the race? – we came out with positive story lines like the massive sellout crowd, a new American hero, James Hinchcliffe coming back a year later and sticking his auto on the pole, and a really exciting, unpredictable race.

Late in the race Hunter-Reay and yet another Andretti team mate Townsend Bell were the two fastest cars on the track when Mikhail Aleshin spun into a wall, a crash that brought out the yellow flag and triggered a stampede into the pits. We fell back into the field and got back to the front of the field again.

But Castroneves’s left rear wheel guard came loose after being struck by J.