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Indy 500 Results 2018: Will Power Wins Storied Race for 1st Time in Career

Tyler Conway@jtylerconwayX.com LogoFeatured ColumnistMay 27, 2018

Will Power, of Australia, leads Simon Pagenaud, of France, though the first turn during the Indianapolis 500 auto race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, in Indianapolis Sunday, May 27, 2018. (AP Photo/AJ Mast)
AJ Mast/Associated Press

Will Power is a former IndyCar champion. He's one of the most decorated drivers of his generation. His street course brilliance ranks among the all-time greats.

But he'd never tamed the Indianapolis 500—until Sunday.

Power dominated the field in IndyCar's premier race, earning his first Indianapolis 500 win. He was more than three seconds ahead of second-place Ed Carpenter, and third-place Scott Dixon was the only other driver within five seconds.

Alexander Rossi and Ryan Hunter-Reay rounded out the top five.

The win marked Power's 30th on the IndyCar circuit. It's his second straight this season.

Car owner Roger Penske now holds 17 wins at the Indy 500.

Defending race champion Takuma Sato had the polar opposite experience in 2018. Sato crashed out just 46 laps into the race and finished 32nd in the 33-car field.

Also disappointing was Danica Patrick, who spun out and crashed into the wall during Lap 67, ending her historic career in bitter disappointment. The 36-year-old trailblazer announced she would be retiring from the sport following this year's Indy 500, the place of some of her biggest career triumphs.

Instead of a fitting end, Patrick instead lost control of her GoDaddy car coming out of a turn to complete the 67th lap and caused a caution. Her car hit the outside retaining wall hard and cut across traffic back to the inside fence.

She was able to exit the car on her own power, but her 30th-place finish is the worst of her career at the Indianapolis 500.

"I'm a little sad," Patrick said, per Bob Packrass of ESPN.com. "I will say that I'm for sure very grateful for everybody and for being able to finish it up like I wanted to.

"There still were a lot of great moments this month, a lot of great moments this year. ... Today was really disappointing for what we were hoping for and what you want for your last race, but I'm grateful for all of it."

Patrick previously competed in this year's Daytona 500, which also ended in a crash.

"It was definitely not a great ending, but I said before I came here that I feel like if it was a complete disaster—as not in the ballpark at all and look silly—then people may remember that and if I win people will remember that," Patrick said.

"But probably anything in between might just be a little part of a big story. I kind of feel like that's how it is."

Three-time Indy 500 winner Helio Castroneves also saw his race end in a late crash. He finished 27th.