“Simon Pagenaud completed his perfect May at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, winning the 103rd Indianapolis 500 by edging Alexander Rossi in a closing shootout by 0.2086 of a second,” as the Indianapolis Star is reporting.

“Pagenaud won the IndyCar Grand Prix earlier this month and became the 21st pole-sitter to win the race. The most recent pole-sitter to win was Helio Castroneves in 2009.

“After leading 116 laps, he stopped his Chevrolet on the Yard of Bricks, exited his car and thanked fans from atop his car,”

Rossi was a contender throughout the race, which included some high drama. “Alexander Rossi is raging and driving one-handed in the Indy 500, and people love it,” as the Star reported earlier.

“I think we had the superior car but just didn’t have enough there at the end,” Rossi said after the race.

As KCRA reported earlier in the week: “Nevada City residents cheer on hometown hero in Indy 500.” Rossi was born in Auburn, California and raised in Nevada City.  He graduated from Auburn’s Forest Lake Christian High School.

Rossi, 27, won the Indy 500 in 2016 as a rookie, driving for the Andretti Autosport racing team.  He appeared as a special guest in Nevada City’s Constitution Day parade (see photo by Kial James).

Author: jeffpelline

Jeff Pelline is a veteran editor and award-winning journalist - in print and online. He is publisher of Sierra FoodWineArt magazine and its website SierraCulture.com. Jeff covered business and technology for The San Francisco Chronicle for 12 years, and he was a founding editor and Editor of CNET News for eight years, among other positions. Jeff has a bachelor's degree from UC Berkeley and a master's from Northwestern University. His hobbies include sailing, swimming, and trout fishing in the Sierra. View all posts by jeffpelline