Still in pain and walking with a cane, Lazier returned two months later for the season-ending race, the Indianapolis 500. His car was fitted with a special shock-absorbing seat to reduce the risk of re-injuring his back. Prior to the race the team gained additional sponsorship from Montana Rail Link. Lazier initially qualified in 7th place but was promoted to 5th place after Arie Luyendyk's time was disallowed and pole sitter Scott Brayton was fatally injured during practice. Lazier was among the leaders all day, battling with Tony Stewart, Davy Jones, Roberto Guerrero and Luyendyk. Stewart retired after 82 laps due to an engine failure and Luyendyk was eliminated after a collision with Eliseo Salazar. Guerrero fell two laps down after having a fire in his pit stall. During caution periods Lazier would raise his hands out of the cockpit to stretch his fingers, prompting many fans, thinking he was waving, to wave back at him. Lazier's team brought him in for his final pit stop several laps later than the rest of the leaders, which put him behind on the track but able to turn up his turbo boost pressure and run faster to the finish. With 10 laps to go Lazier was running in 3rd place behind Jones and Alessandro Zampedri but easily passed both of them over the next two laps and led the rest of the way to win his first IndyCar race, leading a total of 43 laps. Lazier finished 14th in the championship with 159 points.