Top 10 Indy 500s, No. 5: Dan Wheldon wins after Hildebrand crashes in the last turn

(Editor’s note: NBC Sports has selected the Top 10 Indy 500s of All-Time through an esteemed panel of former drivers, broadcasters, journalists and historians. The countdown will run through the 107th Indianapolis 500.)

The 2011 Indianapolis 500 – and Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s three-year celebration of its Centennial Era – ended with one of the most stunning finishes ever seen at the Brickyard.

Over the race’s final stages, multiple frontrunners fell out of contention as their fuel strategies failed to reach the finish, and they were forced to pit.

This extended sequence ended with J.R. Hildebrand inheriting the lead with three laps to go, and it appeared the American rookie was set for a surprise victory at Indy.

But on the final lap, Hildebrand approached the lapped car of Charlie Kimball coming into Turn 4. Hildebrand went around Kimball’s outside to pass him but kept drifting up the track and smashed into the outside wall.

That opened the door for Dan Wheldon, the 2005 Indy winner, who was good on fuel and had been closing in on Hildebrand. The Englishman tracked him and his mangled car down on the frontstretch and sailed by to take the checkered flag, winning his second Indy 500.

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“(Hildebrand’s crash is) obviously unfortunate, but that’s Indianapolis,” Wheldon said afterward. “That’s why it’s the ‘Greatest Spectacle In Racing. You never know what’s going to happen.”

As for Hildebrand, he showed remarkable poise in explaining everything that led up to his crash in the 2011 Indy 500. He was more disappointed in not winning for his team than for himself.

“I felt like I just made a mistake, and it (hurt) our boys,” he said. “I guess that’s why