Indy Lights Freedom 100: Gabby Chaves takes dramatic win
Gabby Chaves only led a few inches of the Indy Lights Freedom 100 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, but it was enough to secure the win and get the Colombian's title bid back on track
In a race dotted with several lead changes, Matthew Brabham was in the catbird seat as the field exited Turn 4 for the final time and charged down toward the line.
But Chaves was tucked in behind Brabham and timed his move out of the draft to perfection, crossing the line just 0.0050s ahead.
There was an element of redemption in the victory for Chaves, who lost the same race to Peter Dempsey in similar circumstances 12 months ago.
"Now I know how he did it last year," he said. "We had a rough weekend last time, so to bounce back at the biggest race of the year... there's nothing better."
Zach Veach rounded out the podium ahead of polesitter Luiz Razia, although all four drivers took turns in the lead during the afternoon.
The result puts Chaves and Veach equal on points, with Chaves ahead on race wins, and Razia just seven points behind in third.
A heavy crash by Chase Austin prompted a lengthy spell under yellows on lap 15. Austin, making his first appearance of the year in a Belardi entry, went too low into Turn 1 and speared head-first into the tyre barrier at the inside of the corner before being spat back out into the middle of the track.
He was helped from the car by safety personnel and taken to the medical centre, although there have been no official updates regarding his condition.
NEWS UPDATE: Wrist injury for Austin
Results - 40 laps Pos Driver Team Time/Gap 1. Gabby Chaves Belardi 41m46.9680s 2. Matthew Brabham Andretti +0.0050s 3. Zach Veach Andretti +0.1446s 4. Luiz Razia Schmidt +0.2193s 5. Jack Harvey Schmidt +0.5510s 6. Juan Pablo Garcia Schmidt +1.2085s 7. Alex Baron Belardi +2.0061s 8. Juan Piedrahita Schmidt +4.6028s 9. Scott Anderson Fan Force +20.4017s 10. Zack Meyer Moore +28.0510s Retirements Chase Austin Belardi 25 laps
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