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Indy 500 driver-by-driver recap: How the field fared

Zak Keefer
zak.keefer@indystar.com
Alexander Rossi celebrates winning the 100th running of the Indianapolis 500, Sunday May 29, 2016.

A driver-by-driver recap of the 100th running of the Indianapolis 500:

1. Alexander Rossi: The biggest gamble of his life paid off. Rossi's fuel tank had just enough to get him past the bricks to win the 500.

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2. Carlos Munoz: His second second-place finish. Make no mistake: Munoz will win here soon enough. He's that good.

3. Josef Newgarden: A phenomenal month for Newgarden ends with his best Indy finish ever. Still, he's got to be thinking: I could've won this.

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4. Tony Kanaan: He's always a threat here, and for a while it seemed like he'd win No. 2. Found his way into the top 5 for the seventh time.

5. Charlie Kimball: Started 16th, finished 5th. Not bad, right?

6. JR Hildebrand: Another solid outing for Hildebrand, who clawed his way into the top 10 after starting 15th.

7. James Hinchcliffe: Had one of the best cars all day and was consistently in the top 3. Pole-sitter slumped to seventh in the later stages.

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8. Scott Dixon: A quietly brilliant run. Dixon never threatened for the race lead, but the former champ proved he's always a threat in Indy.

9. Sebastien Bourdais: After improving 10 spots from the green flag, Bourdais snared his second top 10 finish in five starts.

10. Will Power: A disappointing finish for Power, who was second last year and was among the top contenders for this year's race, but was hindered by an early pit penalty.

11. Helio Castroneves: Another near-miss in Castroneves' bid for a record-tying fourth victory. Contended throughout but a wing problem cost him late.

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12. Oriol Servia: A steady finish for Servia, who had the speed early in the month but never threatened Sunday.

13. Marco Andretti: An up-and-down day for Andretti (what else is new?) had him as high as fifth but his car gave him issues late.

14. Graham Rahal: Never seemed able to earn the speed he wanted this month. Not a bad run, but not his best. He'll be back.

15. Max Chilton: After starting near the back, he improved seven spots to grab 15th.

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16. Jack Hawksworth: The up-and-coming driver snared his best finish in three Indianapolis 500 starts.

17. Alex Tagliani: A heck of a day for the former pole-sitter. Tagliani started dead last, took the lead more than once, and finished in the middle of the pack.

18. Pippa Mann: A solid run. Mann crashed twice in practice but not Sunday.

19. Simon Pagenaud: The IndyCar series' hottest driver of late, Pagenaud threatened the lead pack early before fading mid-race.

20. Gabby Chaves: After all that – after 200 laps and 500 miles – Chaves improved one spot. Started 21st. Finished 20th.

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21. Townsend Bell: With as much speed as anyone early, Bell's day was effectively over after his Pit Road collision with Ryan Hunter-Reay on Lap 118.

22. Matthew Brabham: The third-generation driver started 27th and improved five spots in his first Indianapolis 500.

23. Bryan Clauson: A nice run for the Noblesville native, who had never finished higher than 30th in the Indy 500 before Sunday. He led the 100th lap of the 100th Indy 500.

24. Ryan Hunter-Reay: Man, RHR has to be shaking his head. He was dominant early and had the car to win it. Then, disaster on Pit Road.

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25. Spencer Pigot: The rookie never had the speed to contend in his first Indianapolis 500.

26. Takuma Sato: A threat who's challenged for the win on the final lap before, Sato met the wall on Lap 163.

27. Mikhail Aleshin: He was fast all month, but a crash on Lap 115 that also took out Conor Daly ended his day. He'll be back. Too much talent.

28. Stefan Wilson: Driving to honor his late brother Justin, Wilson completed 119 laps before exiting early.

29. Conor Daly: A rough finish for the Noblesville native; he was caught up in Aleshin's crash on Lap 115 through no fault of his own.

30. Buddy Lazier: Could the day have gone any worse for the former Indy 500 champ? He had to hit the pits before the green flag fell and never caught up.

31: Ed Carpenter: After passing plenty of cars in first part of race, Carpenter experienced engine problems and fell off. "Heartbreaking," his crew chief called it.

32: Sage Karam: He'd climbed as high as sixth. But after spinning into the wall on Lap 95, his day was over.

33. Juan Pablo Montoya: Nobody saw this one coming. The defending champ spun out before the race was halfway over; his day was done.

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Call Star reporter Zak Keefer at (317) 444-6134 and follow him on Twitter: @zkeefer.