INDIANAPOLIS -- The finish at the Indianapolis 500 was worth the wait for Ryan Hunter-Reay.

He used a series of daredevil moves to deny Helio Castroneves a chance at history on Sunday and became the first American since 2006 to win "The Greatest Spectacle in Racing." He passed Castroneves at the Yard of Bricks as the two bright yellow cars raced wheel-to-wheel under the white flag in a thrilling final lap.

As Hunter-Reay surged ahead down the backstretch, Castroneves took one final look coming out of Turn 4, but couldn't pull off the pass and lost by 0.060 seconds. Only the 1992 race had a closer finish when Al Unser Jr. beat Scott Goodyear by 0.043 seconds.

"I'm a proud American boy, that's for sure," Hunter-Reay said in Victory Lane before he was joined by his wife and son. "I've watched this race since I was sitting in diapers on the floor in front of the TV. My son did it today. He watched me here. I'm thrilled. This is American history, this race, this is American tradition."

Ryden, born shortly after Hunter-Reay's 2012 IndyCar championship, celebrated the traditional kissing of the bricks with his family while wearing a miniature version of his father's fire suit.

Castroneves, trying to become the fourth driver to win a record fourth Indianapolis 500, settled for second. He was devastated by the defeat and needed several moments to compose himself, slumped in his car, head down and helmet on, before he was ready to speak. The Brazilian said a caution with 10 laps to go that caused a red flag so track workers could clean up debris and make repairs to the track wall broke his rhythm.

"It was a great fight," he smiled. "I tell you what, I was having a great time. Unfortunately second. It's good, but second sucks, you know what I mean?"

Marco Andretti finished third and Carlos Munoz was fourth as Andretti Autosport had three cars in the top four, as well as the winner.

Kurt Busch, also in a Honda for Andretti, was sixth in his first race of the day. His attempt at completing the 1,100-mile "Double" ended Sunday night after his car blew an engine late in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Coca-Cola 600 in Charlotte, N.C. Three other drivers have made the attempt, but only Tony Stewart in 2001 has pulled it off. Stewart was sixth at Indy and third at Charlotte Motor Speedway.