1}1 for 54.........in 1969, Mario Andretti won the Indianapolis 500, and in 37 years, neither he nor son Michael and brothers Jeff and John have been able to win another one. Add little ole' Marco to the list, with a 2nd-place finish, losing on the very last lap(literally, the last couple of hundred yards!
) and by the third-closest margin in series history(.064 secs.). In all seriousness, though, he drove one h--- of a race, and absolutely deserves to get the 2006 Indy 500 rookie of the year award. He may be 19, but he has the blood of a racer in him, and he proved it today. 
2}14 for the Captain.........With Sam Hornish, Jr.'s win today, Roger Penske has 14 victories at Indy as a team owner, with drivers from Al Unser, Sr., Rick Mears, Emerson Fittipaldi, and Al Unser, Jr. having won their. When asked about Sam's win, the Captain noted,
When we got Sam, we knew we had the best oval racer of his time. Everyone kept comparing him to Rick Mears, but we kept wondering when we were to give him his chance. This was (his chance).
3}The present and the future. When all's said and done, here's what the finish of the 500 showed: The best oval specialist in NA motorsports won the day, edging out a future champion who, despite being only 19 years old, proved today that the Andretti name still has power in it.
4}Is that who I think it is..........back in April, several of the IRL's top owners and officials were in Long Beach, visiting the Champ Car paddock and various series officials there. They returned the favor, as several top ChampCar officials and teams saw the 500 today from the famous pagoda, including series co-owners Kevin Kalkhoven, Gerry Forsythe, along with officials from both Ford Racing and Cosworth. Although there wasn't a merger announcement, as a lot of people(myself included!
) thought might happen, the reciprocation seen today could go a long way towards reunification. With that, it's time to pack up the IRL paddock and travel to the Finger Lakes of New York, as the IRL IndyCar Series makes its' way to Watkins Glen International Raceway for round 5, the Watkins Glen Indy Grand Prix presented by Tissot, set for the weekend of June 2-4.
