Christian Lundgaard snapped a 47-race winless drought and secured his first IndyCar win in nearly three years with a victory in the Sonsio Grand Prix at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course on Saturday.
The Danish racer, who started in fourth place, took the lead for good on the 68th lap of the 85-lap race, finishing 4.6713 seconds clear in his No. 7 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet to earn his second career IndyCar victory.
David Malukas, who led a race-high 27 laps, finished second in his No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet.
Lundgaard is the third McLaren driver to win an IndyCar race, joining Johnny Rutherford and Pato O’Ward. With the win, he moved into fourth in the IndyCar Series standings with 182 points, three points behind Malukas for third.
“Very happy,” Lundgaard said. “I really didn’t expect this today. I hoped for it. This was a long wait for this win, especially around this place. You know how fast I’ve always been around here, and it’s just been time after time after time disappointments. Now we’re here. Let’s go.”
O’Ward started Saturday’s race in second place but finished in 18th, quickly falling back after he was involved in a first-lap crash which impacted multiple drivers.
Alex Palou, who started on the pole and was seeking his fourth straight win on this course, finished in fifth behind Graham Rahal and Josef Newgarden.
Palou remains atop the standings with 237 points, 27 clear of Kyle Kirkwood, who finished in ninth on Saturday.
Lundgaard will go for the Indianapolis double — which Palou pulled off last year — in the Indianapolis 500 on May 24.
–Field Level Media
