David Malukas and Pato O’Ward come up short yet again in Indianapolis 500

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — David Malukas sat in his car trying to replay what just transpired in the Indianapolis 500.

Somehow, he saw Felix Rosenqvist speeding past him in the final yards for the victory in the closet Indy 500 finish in history. The difference, 0.023 seconds between first and second place, was made even more bitter by the fact that he had held the same title last May — Indy runner-up.

The 24-year-old Team Penske driver at times looked understandably devastated. His father talked to him on pit lane. His teammate, Scott McLaughlin, paused the postrace news conference to give Malukas a hug when he arrived. Even the notion that he had moved up to second in the points standing didn’t seem to matter.

And if anybody understands Malukas’ plight, it would be Pato O’Ward, who has spent four of the last five Mays coming agonizingly close to being the first Mexican to win the race. He was in the mix, too, on Sunday, adding a fifth-place finish to last year’s third and runner-up finishes in 2022 and 2024.

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AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing