Who won the Indianapolis 500 by the closest margin (0.043 seconds) in 1992?

Al Unser Jr. won the 1992 Indianapolis 500 by 0.043 seconds, the closest finish in the race’s history. He held off Scott Goodyear after an extraordinary final-lap duel at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Goodyear used the slipstream down the backstretch and stayed close through the final corner. Unser’s car became loose in Turn 4, forcing him to lift slightly. Goodyear then pulled alongside on the finishing straight and attempted a last-second slingshot pass, but Unser reached the finish line first by less than one car length.

The victory was Unser Jr.’s first Indianapolis 500 win and came for Galles-Kraco Racing. His father, three-time winner Al Unser Sr., also finished on the podium in third place, making the result a memorable chapter in the Unser family’s Indy history.

The 1992 race was also unusually difficult, with numerous crashes and a high attrition rate. Despite Goodyear’s dramatic charge, the official result was decisive: Al Unser Jr. won, Scott Goodyear finished second, and the 0.043-second margin established a record for the closest Indy 500 finish.