Ryan Hunter-Reay wins thrilling Indianapolis 500

Ryan Hunter-Reay edged Helio Castroneves to win the 98th Indianapolis 500 on Sunday after a dogfight between the two in the closing laps.

Hunter-Reay beat Castroneves by less than a car length as they swept across the finish line in the second-closest finish in the legendary race’s history.

The two drivers repeatedly passed each other during the six laps of a final restart at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, with Hunter-Reay taking the lead for good with two laps remaining.

He’s the first American to win the Indy 500 since Sam Hornish Jr. won in 2006.

“It’s a dream come true,” Hunter-Reay said of his first win in the Indy 500. “I’m a proud American boy, that’s for sure.”

Castroneves was trying to win his fourth Indy 500.

“It’s a shame, so close, but it’s Ryan Hunter-Reay’s day,” Castroneves said.

Marco Andretti finished third, Carlos Munoz was fourth, Juan Pablo Montoya was fifth and Kurt Busch -- the NASCAR driver who later in the day planned to drive in the NASCAR Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway -- finished sixth.

The final restart was set up by Townsend Bell’s crash into the Turn 2 wall with 10 laps left in the 200-lap race.

Officials stopped the race with a red flag to repair the wall and clean up the debris left from Bell’s mangled car.

A few laps earlier, Bell narrowly missed another big crash when he was three-wide with pole-sitter Ed Carpenter and James Hinchcliffe.

As the trio went through Turn 1 battling for second place, Carpenter and Hinchcliffe collided and both crashed into the wall. Bell escaped damage to his car.