Dixon was left to chase for most of the race after his IndyCar ran out of gas before the first pit stop. Video / Sky Sport
Scott Dixon's perfect Indianapolis 500 fell apart when the six-time IndyCar Series champion ran out of gas before his first pit stop.
Helio Castroneves claimed his fourth Indy 500 title and first since 2009 as Dixon was left to chase for most of the race.
The pole-sitter was on the track for a regularly-scheduled stop when Stefan Wilson crashed as he entered pit road to bring out a caution just 33 laps into the 200-lap race. The caution closed pit road for service and delayed Dixon's plan to stop for service.
As his Chip Ganassi Racing fuel cell eventually ran dry, he coasted down pit lane anyway for a splash of fuel. Then the Honda wouldn't restart and Dixon fell a lap off the pace.
That meant he was chasing for the rest of the race and did well to eventually finish in 17th place.
Dixon was philosophical after things didn't go his way yet again at the Indy 500.
"That's how it goes," Dixon said. "This place is tricky. The frustrating part is that it came so early. You know from that point, you're a lap down, your day is pretty much shot. I had a long time to calm down, I had a lot of laps to cruise around.
"We probably called it a little too close. It was just unlucky with that yellow, and then as soon as it goes yellow, the pits are closed. Obviously the crash was in the pits as well, so we couldn't come in to get fuel.
"Once we ran the car out of fuel, then the problem was trying to get it reprimed - we lost a lap doing that. It was an unfortunate day for us. The car felt great, we were just trying to go a bit longer on the fuel but that got us into trouble.
"It's very cool to see Helio capture his fourth, he's very deserving. To be part of that in our current era is pretty special."
Castroneves became the fourth driver to win a record four Indy 500s, joining AJ Foyt, Al Unser Snr and Rick Mears.
Scott Dixon was running first but had to move back to last. Photo / AP
Fellow Kiwi Scott McLaughlin was running 10th at the midway point in his first Indy 500 but a speeding penalty in the pits saw him have to rejoin the race at the back of the pack and he finished in 20th.
The Indy 500 was held in front of 135,000 spectators, about 40 per cent of grandstand seating capacity, making it the largest sporting event in the world since the start of the pandemic. The delayed race last August was held without spectators for the first time in 105 runnings.
Roger Penske, who purchased Indianapolis Motor Speedway in January 2020, nervously paced a walkway above the speedway 30 minutes before he gave the command to start engines. But the 84-year-old has been thrilled to be part of re-opening America.
More than 90,000 people have been vaccinated at the speedway since March and admittance into the Gasoline Alley and the paddock was only granted to fully vaccinated competitors and guests.
"We're ready to go," said Penske, whose plans for the speedway were hit hard by the pandemic roughly eight weeks after he closed the sale. "The 135 that are here, we have another 60,000 that are ready to come next year. So that just shows you the strength this place has. It's something I had never realised at all, the commitment that people want to have here."
