Robert Maleczka wins PRI Hoosier 500 in photo finish

Robert Maleczka won the 2025 PRI Hoosier 500 on Sunday in a dramatic photo finish, beating Adam Blocker to the yard of bricks by just 0.027 seconds after a chaotic final restart and one of the most intense closing sequences in the event’s history.

Blocker and Maleczka drag-raced from the exit of Turn 4 to the finish line, side-by-side, with Maleczka’s final burst of hybrid deployment proving to be the difference in a last-lap pass for the win. It was the second-closest finish in the race’s history – only to last year’s ending which saw Phil Kraus narrowly beat Maleczka.

RESULTS: 2025 PRI Hoosier 500 Mile Race

The race began with early attrition despite a lack of caution periods. Christian Steele was the first driver out of the event after a single-car crash into the outside wall during the first fuel stint, ending his day after just 44 laps. A second single-car incident occurred shortly after when Alexis Newsome locked the brakes up and hit the wall entering pit lane, suffering terminal damage and thus retiring on Lap 65.

The first caution of the afternoon didn’t fly until Lap 115 when Matt Hollibaugh made contact with Dylan Freckelton, sending both cars hard into the inside wall in the South Chute and eliminating them from the competition. A long green-flag run followed as the race evolved into a strategic chess match, with drivers and teams managing fuel numbers, tire degredation, and hybrid replenishment in challenging, slick conditions.

Throughout the middle portion of the event, the lead changed hands among Powerslide Motorsports drivers exclusively: Maleczka, Philip Kraus, Alexander van de Sandt, Hugo Olsson, and Alexander Russell. Penalties also played a role through the day – namely with multiple drivers incurring pit lane speeding penalties, and later in the race, a post-race penalty to Brendan Lichtenberg after Race Control deemed he caused avoidable contact with Blaise Andrich with a late move into Turn 1. Andrich’s promising day ended with the resulting crash.

A defining moment that shaped the race came on Lap 197. As the leaders navigated the frontstretch, Ty Quila, Hugo Olsson, and Adam Blocker made contact while fighting for position. Olsson spun and crashed, bringing out the final caution just three laps short of the distance. Race Control expedited the cleanup and restart process to guarantee a green-flag finish, setting the stage for a one-lap shootout to decide the winner.

Kraus led the field to green as the flagstand displayed the green and white simultaneously, but the advantage did not last long. On the backstretch Blocker made a decisive move from fourth place down the inside into Turn 3 to take the lead, with Maleczka sliding into second as Kraus was shuffled back. Through the corner, Blocker held the preferred low line while Maleczka tucked in behind him, using the short chute before Turn 4 to regenerate hybrid energy for one final push.

Exiting the final corner, Maleczka swung out of Blocker’s draft just before the pit attenuator, deploying what hybrid power he had saved to slingshot alongside the No. 74. In a full-throttle sprint to the finish, the No. 91 edged ahead by mere feet at the line.

Maleczka credited the hybrid system for giving him the winning margin, saying, “Going down the backstraight, Phil (Kraus) kind of gave me the outside as a great teammate. I deployed my hybrid fully and I know Ty did as well. Once we were side-by-side into (Turn) 3, I think Adam (Blocker) made a great move to the bottom.

“Knowing the track is two lanes in (Turns) 3 and 4, I knew Ty wasn’t going to be an issue for me. I regen’d the hybrid to about 45% in the short chute before the entry to (Turn) 4; I was able to lower my speed a little bit more to be tucked in behind Adam. I don’t believe he had any hybrid left since he was flat out from there… and I honestly think the hybrid won me the race. The extra boost I had there for a second and a half or two seconds gave me the margin to get by Adam and get the win.”

Blocker finished second – for a painful third time in the Hoosier 500 – after a masterful drive, while Kraus crossed the line third following a strong day in which he led 57 laps and was fully in contention to repeat as race winner.

Standout Ty Quila finished an impressive fourth despite involvement in the Lap 197 contact, and will tkake home the Screenmobile Rookie of the Year Award. Ryan Campbell completed the top five in a strong run which included a moment when he was briefly penalized by Race Control for an incident on the backstretch – before the other related party, Jacob Oster, assumed blame for contact between the two cars.

The race featured 26 lead changes among five drivers, ran in 2 hours, 28 minutes, and 51.608 seconds, and averaged 201.532 mph despite three cautions. It ended with the second-closest finish in PRI Hoosier 500 history and a last-lap pass befitting a race that had already delivered month-long storylines of speed, heartbreak, and brilliance.

Our coverage of this year’s edition of the World’s Greatest Sim Race will continue through the week as we wrap up the month that was.

Watch the 2025 PRI Hoosier 500 Mile Race broadcast below!