JOLIET, Ill. — In one of the most thrilling finishes in Indy Pro Series history, Logan Gomez won Sunday’s Chicagoland 100 when he defeated 2007 IPS champion Alex Lloyd by 0.0005 second in the closest finish in Indy Racing League history.
Gomez, who led twice for 22 laps, drove side by side with Lloyd, crossing the finish line in a virtual photo-finish.
The time and winner’s 188.627 miles-per-hour closing lap on the 1.52-mile oval equates to a margin of victory of 1.65 inches. The difference was the closest in the six years of the series — and in Indy Racing League history.
It was the first IPS win of Gomez’s career and the 22nd win for team owner Sam Schmidt.
“The last lap was probably the closest I’ve ever been to another car in an Indy car,” Gomez said. “It was a good race and my teammate, Alex Lloyd, did a great job. I couldn’t have asked for a better teammate or cleaner racing out there.”
 The finish was so close neither driver knew who had won.
 “I don’t even think I could describe how quick that is,” Gomez said. “Going so fast out there, everything seemed like it was in slow motion from corner four on to the start/finish line. It was a matter of who could straighten the wheel the quickest and who got the better run.
“Alex definitely gave it all he could. And I couldn’t have asked more from the team just giving me a great car and it stuck to the bottom, didn’t lift or anything. I was watching his left front and my right front and seeing if they lined up. As I went across the start/finish line I looked ahead to make sure I didn’t go below the apron. But, no, I didn’t know.”
Gomez was informed by his spotter, former IndyCar driver Davey Hamilton, who told Gomez he had won by just a few inches.
“I was very pleased to hear that,” Gomez said.
Lloyd drove in his final Indy Pro Series race after clinching the championship two weeks ago at Sonoma, California. He is confident of moving up to the IndyCar Series next season.
“It was a good race,” Lloyd said. “The disappointing thing was the amount of yellows we had. That was a shame. But the racing was as close as it’s ever been on this track. And it always is because this track produces great racing.
“I think from my standpoint I was pretty happy when we were out in front. And obviously the yellow came out at just the wrong time for me because that meant Logan had a nose ahead of me on the back straight and he got the lead.”
The last yellow flag was waved on lap 44 after Wade Cunningham and Travis Gregg tangled in the third turn. The green flag waved on lap 54 and Gomez was in front of Lloyd.
The two drivers raced that way until the final outcome was determined in the blink of an eye.
Robbie Pecorari was third followed by Bobby Wilson and Mike Potekhen.
Gomez won the race at an average speed of 108.764 miles per hour and collected $32,500 for the victory.
The finish:
Logan Gomez, Alex Lloyd, Robbie Pecorari, Bobby Wilson, Mike Potekhen, Sean Guthrie, P.J. Abbott, Jon Brownson, Ken Losch, Jimmy Kite, Brad Jaeger, Stephen Simpson, Leilani Munter, Ben Petter, Jonathan Klein, Travis Gregg, Wade Cunningham, Adam Andretti, Chris Festa, Jaime Camara, Andrew Prendeville, Tom Wieringa.