Kiwi duo Scott Dixon and Scott McLaughlin both struggled in a dramatic Indianapolis 500, as Brazilian Helio Castroneves won IndyCar's most iconic race for a record-equalling fourth time.
The 46-year-old Brazilian joins AJ Foyt, Al Unser senior and Rick Mears in having taken four chequered flags at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Despite both Kiwis looking odds-on for top 10 finishes, incidents beyond their control forced both Dixon and McLaughlin to settle for 17th and 20th placed finishes respectively.
After starting on pole, six-time champion Dixon's race unfolded inside the opening laps.
Bidding for his second Indy 500 victory - and first since 2008 - Dixon relinquished first place on the opening lap, as the young duo of Rinus VeeKay and Colton Herta passed the Kiwi veteran.
But as Dixon looked to conserve fuel from third place, disaster struck. As England's Stefan Wilson's race was ended prematurely, the resulting yellow flag all but ruled Dixon out of contention for victory.
Rather than pit under a yellow flag, Dixon stayed out on track, only to run out of fuel when he did enter the pit lane.
Dixon's car was stationary for nearly three minutes as his Chip Ganassi crew tried desperately to restart it, as the Kiwi was lapped by the entire field.
Having entered the pits in first place, Dixon emerged in 32nd. And despite working his way back to the front of the grid in the latter stages of the race, Dixon was undone when he needed to pit again towards the final laps.
As Dixon struggled, Kiwi compatriot Scott McLaughlin impressed in his debut outing at the Indianapolis 500.
Starting 17th on the grid, McLaughlin and his Penske teammates were impressive as they cut through the field, with the reigning V8 Supercars champion reaching as high as fourth place.
But like Dixon, McLaughlin was also undone in the pits. Looking odds on to finish inside the top 10, McLaughlin lost control of his car entering the pit lane, and incurred a penalty for speeding and was forced to the back of the grid.
Reaching seventh on the grid, McLaughlin was also forced to pit in the closing stages, and had to settle for a 20th placed finish.
Instead, Dixon and McLaughlin could only watch as a thrilling battle between Castroneves and Spain's Alex Palou played out for the lead.
Palou took second place by less than half a second, while France's Simon Pagenaud completed the podium.
The result was enough to see Palou go top of the 2021 IndyCar Championship standings, moving to 248 points.
Dixon drops to second, 36 points behind Palou with 212 in his bid for a record-equalling seventh title, second only to Foyt.
McLaughlin is in ninth place, 105 points off Palou in his rookie season.
