2013 Indianapolis 500, live results: Tony Kanaan wins

The most competitive Indianapolis 500 in history featured an emotional winner, Tony Kanaan, and a surprise second-place finisher, rookie Carlos Munoz. Defending IndyCar champion Ryan Hunter-Reay was leading with five laps to go but fell back to third with Marco Andretti and Justin Wilson completing the top five.

Finishing in sixth and seventh were the Penske Racing teammates Helio Castroneves and AJ Allmendinger, respectively. Simon Pagenaud improved the most positions climbing from the 21st starting spot to finish eighth, followed by Charlie Kimball in ninth.

“I’m finally going to put my ugly face on that trophy,” Tony Kanaan said after winning his first Indianapolis 500. He also put some ice cold milk on his face, a wreath around his neck and shared a kiss with his wife.

It was 2 percent milk, by the way.

Many times Tony Kanaan has come painstakingly close to winning the Indianapolis 500, but in each instance something would happen that would keep the Brazilian out of Victory Lane.

But in a history-making race that featured a record number leaders and lead changes, it was Tony Kanaan who prevailed and won the 2013 Indianapolis 500.

Graham Rahal was close to finishing a tight Indianapolis 500, but his fortune changed quickly with seven laps to go. He spun out and hit the wall coming out of turn one. Drivers got a yellow flag.

The 2013 Indianapolis 500 will go down as the most competitive race in Indianapolis Motor Speedway history.

Through 130 laps, there have been 45 lead changes among 13 drivers, breaking the last year’s record of 34 changes. The 13 different drivers who have completed a lap in the lead also ties a record set in 1993.

The forecast shows showers and storms to the west of Indiana in Illinois, associated with a warm front. This warm front will slowly move to the northeast across Indiana later today. Because this front is moving slowly, the Indianapolis 500 should have a large enough window to get the full 200 laps completed.

While I think the forecast today is mostly dry, there is still a chance of scattered showers later today toward the final laps of the Indy 500. I am sticking with my probability of 60 percent likelihood of a rain-free race today. You can see my previous Indianapolis 500 weather forecast here.

Don’t know who to watch in Sunday’s Indianapolis 500? We don’t blame you: IndyCar doesn’t get nearly the same publicity NASCAR gets, and yet all of a sudden, here it is, the greatest spectacle in racing, plopped down in the middle of Memorial Day weekend.

So let’s get caught up on some things to watch for, as Marco Andretti and Ed Carpenter fight for America’s spot in its own event and Dario Franchitti and Helio Castroneves look for history. With a huge hat tip to Chris Smith of Forbes, there are three prominent storylines worth watching at the 2013 Indy 500.

Charlie Kimball was evaluated by doctors Sunday morning and has been cleared to race in the 2013 Indianapolis 500, according to USA Today. Kimball missed Saturday’s public drivers’ meeting due to an illness. There has been no word on what exactly was ailing Kimball, other than it was unrelated to his diabetes. Regardless, he is expected to start 19th when the green flag waves at 12:12 p.m ET.

SB Nation spoke exclusively with Kimball earlier this week. He is part of the Chip Ganassi Racing team, who will have four cars running in the race in pursuit of a second-straight Indy 500 win. The team didn’t impress in qualifying (Scott Dixon will lead the team beginning in 16th position) after choosing to practice with their race-day setups. However, Kimball told SB Nation that this year represents his best chance to win.