After finishing second in the last two Indianapolis 500s, Dan Wheldon crossed the finish line when rookie J.R. Hildebrand crashed into the wall on the final turn. While Hildebrand was able to get his car past the line, Wheldon was able to overtake him and capture his second Indy 500 victory, having won the 2005 race. Hildebrand finished second and Graham Rahal, who started 29th, finished third.
Hildebrand entered the final lap having passed Bertrand Baguette for the lead. Danica Patrick crept into the top 10 late in the race and held the lead ever so briefly before she needed to head to the pit.
Wheldon hails from England, but he raced in a car that was decorated in commemoration of Ronald Reagan's centennial birth date.
Full results:
- Dan Wheldon
- J.R. Hildebrand
- Graham Rahal
- Tony Kanaan
- Oriol Servia
- Scott Dixon
- Bertrand Baguette
- Tomas Scheckter
- Marco Andretti
- Danica Patrick
- Ed Carpenter
- Dario Franchitti
- Charlie Kimball
- Will Power
- Vitor Meira
- Justin Wilson
- Helio Castroneves
- Buddy Rice
- Alex Lloyd
- Pippa Mann
- Ana Beatriz
- John Andretti
- Ryan Hunter-Reay
- Davey Hamilton
- Paul Tracy
- Townsend Bell
- Ryan Briscoe
- Alex Tagliani
- James Hinchcliffe
- Jay Howard
- Simona de Silvestro
- E.J. Viso
- Takuma Sato