Kiwis Scott Dixon has snuck onto the podium in an epic Indianapolis 500 finish, that saw defending champion Josef Newgarden snatch victory again on the penultimate turn.
Both Dixon and countryman Scott McLaughlin took their turns at leading the iconic IndyCar race, with McLaughlin starting off pole, after his record qualifying time, but fading through the 200-lap event with clutch problems.
Starting at 21st on the grid, Dixon emerged as a contender during pit stops midway through and beat his rivals out of their final stops with 21 laps remaining, but could not ward off the fast-finishing Newgarden.
The American spent the final laps duelling with Mexican Pato O'Ward, who was still ahead in the final lap, before Newgarden made his decisive move on the penultimate turn to retain his crown.
For O'Ward, the result was his fourth top-six finish at the race, without claiming the top spot. As the front two battled for glory, Dixon stuck to his task, passing American Alexander Rossi for third, with McLaughlin sixth.
Dixon, 43, won the 2008 race and now has five other podium finishes over his career, without repeating that success.
"It was like a win, honestly," he reflected. "Kudos to Josef, congrats for going back to back... that's fabulous for him and his group.
"We has some ups and downs through the race, we had some weird restarts where it felt like people were jumping, but we got onto the right strategy and we were leading.
"On that restart, when they both blew by me, I thought, 'This is going to be a problem'. Once they started going back and forth, I was just trying to keep up in their tow."
The result elevates Dixon to second on the Indycar championship, behind Aussie teammate Will Power.
"For me, we had a clutch drama all day unfortunately," said McLaughlin. "That's just how it is, but I'm glad for the fans... they got a full race in.
"We were up there all day, but just didn't quite have enough."
The race was delayed for a rain storm.
Fellow Kiwi Marcus Armstrong was an early casualty, after starting 11th on the grid.
