The 89th Indianapolis 500--One for the Ages

[mlittle]

When the history of motorsports for the year 2005 is written, I'm willing to wager that a few things will be at the front of the ledger....Fernando Alonso putting an end to Michael Schumacher's 5-yr. reign as Formula 1's WDC; Tom Kristansen winning a record-setting 7th LeMans overall victory, and the revival of the Greatest Spectacle in Racing, the 89th running of the Indianapolis 500. After a couple of not-so-great 500's, this year's race had everyone who was watching standing on their feet, cheering on the deepest field, talent-wise, in the past decade(at least since the split). And the storylines that floated about the Brickyard back on Memorial Day Sunday held a significance all their own. There was the miraculous return of 1998 IRL champion and 1999 500 winner Kenny Brack, making his first start since the near-fatal crash he suffered at Texas in Oct. 2003, driving the #15 that he had driven that year in a subbing role for the 2004 500 winner, Buddy Rice, who would miss this year's race following a practice crash prior to qualifying. There was the return of 1996 500 winner and 2000 IRL champion Buddy Lazier, who would make the first of what became 6 starts for Panther Racing. There was also the question of whether Andretti-Green Racing co-owner Michael Andretti, denied the 500 victory in his 14 starts as a racer, would get his first as an owner. His team certainly had a shot at it; last year, AGR's Tony Kanaan and Dan Wheldon finished 2-3 behind Rice, and no one could count out the other two AGR drivers, Bryan Herta and Dario Franchitti. But the storyline at the Brickyard was this....could a petite, 23-year old Illinois woman who had captured the spotlight that month by wringing some of the fastest speeds seen at the Brickyard win the biggest race in NA motorsports?

It was no secret that Rahal-Letterman Racing rookie driver Danica Patrick could drive; her 4th at Motegi back in late April proved that. But Indy is it's own monster; it's a track that gives very little, and can take lots from the drivers. Her teammate Rice was proof of that; his crash in a practice session prior to Pole Day would prevent him from defending his title. On Pole Day(May 15), a bobble in turn 1 was all that kept her from sitting on the pole for the race, but 4th was still the highest start for a woman, and there was precedent for someone winning from P4. Back in 1986, a racer named Bobby Rahal started the 500 from that spot, and he went on to win that year. But qualifying is one thing; the 500 miles of the race were another entirely. Any mistake could end your day very quickly; a bad pitstop could cost you victory in a moment. As the sun shined down on the Brickyard at high noon, the cars began the race in the tradition of old; 11 rows of three, all 33 racers hoping that they would be the one to drink the milk at the end, to see their visage on the Borg-Warner Trophy. It would be a three-hour adventure, one for the ages.

At the drop of the green, the cars screamed down the front straight, their 3L engines wailing like a flight of F-16s' in the air. As they entered the first turn, Sam Hornish, Jr. grabbed the lead from polesitter Kanaan in a high-side pass, only to lose it the same way 2 laps later. It soon became a take-and-retake between the two, with TK the early winner. When the first caution came out on lap 18, Kanaan had build a 1.5-sec. lead over both Hornish and Franchitti. 4 laps later, the leaders made their first stops of the day, most taking on fuel and tires. Top 5:1-Kanaan, 2-Franchitti, 3-Patrick, 4-Hornish, 5-Castroneves. It was setting up to be a three-way scrum between AGR, RLR, and Penske, reminiscent of past 500's.

When the green fell on lap 25, Kanaan once again powered out a lead, only to lose it on lap 38 when Hornish makes a three-wide pass on the backstretch, taking the lead. By lap 40, the first of the Chevys' piloted by 96' winner Buddy Lazier, made its' way to the front. Soon, the second round of stops begin, and another chapter in Indy history is written. As the leaders pit, Patrick, sitting in 4th, stays out, becoming the first woman to lead the 500. It was only for a lap, as she would pit, yielding the lead to ChampCar racer Bruno Junquiera. As the drivers cycled' through, Hornish reassumed the lead, pushing it to almost 3 secs. It didn't last, as the caution on lap 78 flew for a violent wreck involving Junky, who tangled with the lapped car of A.J. Foyt, IV, sending Junky into the turn 2 wall, cracking 2 back vertebrae as a result. On lap 79, the leaders come in for a third round of stops. All of a sudden, there's a flurry of activity in the #16 pit as Patrick stalls the car, dropping her from 4th to 16th. The top 5 at lap 80:1-Hornish, 2-Franchitti, 3-Kanaan, 4-Sharp, and 5-Scheckter.

When the green flew on lap 87, it was Hornish in the lead until Kanaan passes him around midway, assuming the lead, only to lose it yet again to Hornish. Several laps later, Kanaan retakes the lead, as they would swap the lead. Meanwhile, Patrick had begun charging back up the ladder, illustrated by a three-(near four)wide pass exiting turn 2 that had people going, Did you see that...? By lap 140, she had climbed back to 11th and was still pushing forward, when the yellow came for a 1-car accident involving Hornish, who had touched with 2004 CCWS titileist Sebastien Bourdais, sending Sam into the turn 1 wall. Now things started to get interesting.

As the cars entered the north shute btwn. 3-4, several cars "checked up" to try to throw off those behind them. In trying to avoid them, Patrick does a qtr.-spin, sending the cars of Tomas Scheckter and Tomas Enge sliding into the wall and causing damage to the front-wing of her car. On lap 159, her team decides to gamble, putting as much methanol into the car as possible and betting that they'll make it to the end. However, two new players wer present, Dan Wheldon and Patrick's RLR teammate, Vitor Meira. When the green falls on lap 161, Meira grabs the lead, only to lose it to Wheldon on 164. By lap 170, Patrick's back at the front, along with AGR driver Bryan Herta, when yet another caution flies. Most of the leaders(except Patrick, Herta, and Castroneves) pit for the last time, handing the lead to Patrick for the second time today, with Herta, Wheldon, Meira and Bourdais 2-5. By lap 180, it's become a battle of young guns, as Patrick and Wheldon take center stage. Now fuel becomes an issue, and the Lionheart knows it; each lap, he nips at Patrick's lead bit by bit, until on lap 186, as they pass the scoring pylon, he slingshots into the lead....just as the yellow flies for a crash btwn. 3-4. Prior to the fianl restart, Danica's race engineer, Ray Leto, gives her one instruction.."Give us the restart of the century, okay?" On lap 190, the green falls, and she does just that, slingshotting into the lead. It becomes a chase, as Wheldon, Meira, and Herta are right on her heels, each lap counting down. Unfortunately, her team's fuel strategy gives way, and she's told to "throttle down", dropping her speeds from 226 to 221 mph. As they begin lap 194. Wheldon passes her for the lead, and would not relinquish it, holding on for the victory, the first for a Brit since Graham Hill 39 yrs. before. It's also a victory for Michael Andretti, who finally gets to celebrate a victory long denied him as a driver.

Meanwhile, a celebration begins in the Rahal-Letterman pits, as Meira would go on to finish 2nd, his best Indy result, and Patrick would settle for 4th, matching her result from Motegi. But, while the victory was denied her this year, she would be honored with Rookie-of-the-Year honors by the Speedway. Consider what she did that month:
1-Fastest-ever speed at rookie orientation;
2-Fastest practice speed of the month(229.880 mph);
3-Fastest practice speed on Carb Day(225.597 mph), and
4-Led 19 laps.

As the crowds filed out of the speedway that day, they had witnessed one of the best 500's in recent memory, one that(to me, at least) ranks with some of the great ones, most notably 1982, when two bulls named Gordon Johncock and Rick Mears fought a late-race duel of their own. It was simply, one for the ages.

[Julian Mayo]

Geez, Mfer, that gave me goosebumps.

[mlittle]

Me, too. Took me about three or four days to come down from the "high" of watching the 500(something that a'int happened since Little Al held off Goodyear back in 1992).

[mlittle]

NOTE:the "modern era" refers to the period in AOWR from 1979 to the present(from CART's beginnings to the current ChampCar/IRL split)

Since 1979, here are the drivers who have won "The Greatest Spectacle in Racing", along with the teams they drove for...

1979}Rick Mears--Penske Racing
1980}Johnny Rutherford--Chapparal Racing
1981}Bobby Unser--Penske Racing
1982}Gordon Johncock--Pat Patrick Racing
1983}Tom Sneva--Bignotti/Cotter Racing
1984}Rick Mears--Penske Racing
1985}Danny Sullivan--Penske Racing
1986}Bobby Rahal--Truesports Racing
1987}Al Unser, Sr.--Penske Racing
1988}Rick Mears--Penske Racing
1989}Emerson Fittipaldi--Pat Patrick Racing
1990}Arie Luyendyk--Shierson Racing
1991}Rick Mears--Marlboro/Team Penske
1992}Al Unser, Jr.--Galles Racing
1993}Emerson Fittipaldi--Marlboro/Team Penske
1994}Al Unser, Jr.--Marlboro/Team Penske
1995}Jacques Villeneuve--Players/Forsythe Racing
1996}Buddy Lazier--Team Menard
1997}Arie Luyendyk--Team Menard
1998}Eddie Cheever--Team Cheever
1999}Kenny Brack--A.J. Foyt Racing
2000}Juan Pablo Montoya--Target/Ganassi Racing
2001}Helio Castroneves--Marlboro/Team Penske
2002}Helio Castroneves--Marlboro/Team Penske
2003}Gil de Ferran--Marlboro/Team Penske
2004}Buddy Rice--Rahal/Letterman Racing
2005}Dan Wheldon--Andretti/Green Racing

[mlittle]

NOTE:The "modern era" refers to the period in AOWR btwn. 1979 to the present(from CART's beginnings to the current CCWS/IRL split)

Since 1979, these drivers have been awarded the rookie-of-the-year award by the speedway, as voted upon by the media each year.
#-denotes winner of the race
*-shared rookie honors

1979}Howdy Holmes(only rookie in the 500 field)
1980}Tim Richmond
1981}Josele Garza
1982}Jim Hickman
1983}Teo Fabi(polesitter)
1984}*Roberto Guerrero and Michael Andretti
1985}Arie Luyendyk
1986}Randy Lanier
1987}Fabrizio Barbazza
1988}Billy Vukovich, III
1989}*Bernard Jourdain and Scott Pruett
1990}Eddie Cheever
1991}Jeff Andretti
1992}Lyn St. James
1993}Nigel Mansell
1994}Jacques Villeneuve
1995}Christian Fittipaldi
1996}Tony Stewart(polesitter)
1997}Jeff Ward
1998}Steve Knapp
1999}Robby McGehee
2000}#Juan Pablo Montoya
2001)#Helio Castroneves
2002}*Tomas Scheckter and Alex Barron
2003}Tora Takagi
2004}Kosuke Matsuura
2005}Danica Patrick

[Julian Mayo]

The Greatest spectacle in AMERICAN Racing perhaps

[mlittle]

Not if we could get some Formula 1 drivers to compete at Indy, the way they used to back in the 1960s' and early 1970s'. I mean, can you imagine seeing Barrichello, Alonso, or Coulthard, for instance, fighting at Indy for the win there? Most of the American open-wheel teams would do just about anything to get an F1-driver to race for them at the Brickyard for the 500.

[Julian Mayo]

As a spectacle on a world wide basis, it still wouldn't rate GREATER than any other F1 race, Le Mans, or Bathurst, imho. Mind you I get dizzy easily.