The 93rd Indianapolis 500 Thread..............

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2 second lead for Spiderman................
Wheldon and Patrick still fighting for 2nd and 3rd

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3 laps remaining

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Make another space in the three-win column of 500 winners.............it appears Castroneves will win today, barring disaster

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WHITE FLAG!
One lap remaining..................

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And he's won for the third time..Helio Castroneves wins the 2009 Indianapolis 500, his third victory at the Brickyard!


Wheldon finishes 2nd, Danica finishes 3rd, Townsend Bell finishes 4th and Will Power finishes 5th, but today is Spiderman's day...............

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And he's climbing the fence!
Spiderman's joined by his crew on the front-stretch as he climbs the fence..........what an exciting race today!

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And he's finally walking towards Victory Lane; in the background the Gordon Pipers are playing their pipes and the crowds are cheering exuberantly for Castroneves

Joining Castroneves in Victory Lane is Ryan Briscoe and Will Power, who both hug a very happy Castroneves as they roll him into Victory Lane............

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With his win today, Castroneves becomes the 6th 3-time winner of the 500-Mile Race, joining legends Louis Meyer, Wilbur Shaw, Mauri Rose, Johnny Rutherford and Bobby Unser

[RE30B#16]

Without doubt, Helio Castro Neves has seated himself next to the greatest Indy 500 winners of all time!!

[Julian Mayo]

Sarcasm from the IMS T/S feed...............

Lap 163: There is a beer can high in Turn 4.

Okay........when did Julian and the gang make it to Indy?

Not on Monaco weekend.....................

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Without doubt, Helio Castro Neves has seated himself next to the greatest Indy 500 winners of all time!!

He has indeed, RE.......think about this, though. He's, IIRC, 33yo.....he could very well be the first five-time Indy 500 winner..............

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Top-10 from the Brickyard.............
1} #3 Helio Castroneves, 200 laps
2} #4 Dan Wheldon, -1.982 sec
3} #7 Danica Patrick, -2.335 sec
4} #8 Townsend Bell, -2.704 sec
5} #12 Will Power, -3.622 sec
6} #9 Scott Dixon, -4.299 sec
7} #10 Dario Franchitti, -4.916 sec
8} #20 Ed Carpenter, -5.510 sec
9} #15 Paul Tracy, -6.518 sec
10} #27 Hideki Mutoh, -7.331 sec

[Julian Mayo]

175Gs.....................................

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175Gs.....................................

Put simply, Julian......no SAFER barrier in the turn 3 wall where Kanaan hit and he gets to share a hospital room at Methodist Hospital w/Vitor Meira.

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Indy 500 Observations


Here are some random observations and opinions while wondering if Humpy Wheeler could really do a better job of promoting IndyCar than Gene Simmons...................

~~~~Brian Barnhart, the control freak in Race Control, mindlessly tried to stop Helio Castroneves from climbing the fence after his storybook third victory. According to those who listened to his radio transmission (and there were many), IndyCar's president of competition was screaming and ordering Castroneves to drive to victory lane and not stop on the track to climb the fence.

Barnhart sent IndyCar's security chief Charles Burns and a couple of yellow shirts onto the track to make Helio stay in his car and the fans who saw what was happening began booing. Thankfully, Burns backed off and Spiderman crawled out of his car and ascended the fence as the paying customers roared their approval.

Castroneves climbing the fence is not only his trademark, it's his right and, trust me on this one, ABC wanted him to do what he did as much as the crowd. Trying to spoil that moment is idiotic and makes absolutely no sense on any level.

~~~~HOLD YOUR POSITION? This is the freaking Indy 500. Yeah, too bad nobody was around to tell Lloyd Ruby not to dive down to the grass or order Johnny Rutherford to fall into line instead of charging to the outside in Turn 1.

How did it come to this? A guy who never turned a lap of competition in anything trying to tell drivers in a marquee series how to react at 200 mph? Or suggesting they "spread out" when they're trying to beat each other in the biggest race of the year? Or asking them not to run side-by-side on the first lap?

Other than calling penalties (which he didn't do Sunday despite some nasty chop blocks), Barnhart shouldn't be seen or heard except in the driver's meeting or after the race. But his ego won't allow that. So it's way past time for George to move Barnhart out of Race Control.

Being chief steward is a tough, thankless job and it requires common sense, integrity, composure and that rare ability to play no favorites. The only guy I've seen with those credentials in the past few years is Tony Cotman. He doesn't care about being quoted, getting face time on television or orchestrating the competition. He knows it's not about him, he's just the referee. And he's already on the IndyCar payroll.

~~~~If that was Danica Patrick's last Indy 500 before she gets swept into the NASCAR Money Machine, she drove another good race. Since that miscue in the north short chute in 2005 that created a small chain reaction crash, the GO DADDY girl hasn't put a wheel wrong at Indianapolis. And she didn't inherit third place on fuel strategy, she earned it.

~~~~Townsend Bell had the drive of the day, coming from 24th to fourth in his first race since last year's Indy 500 and a tip of the hat to his KV Racing crew for excellent pit work.

~~~~At 36, Alex Tagliani became the first rookie of the year who didn't qualify as he drove a fine race and finished 11th after starting last. Hope Conquest Racing made enough money to pay him, Bruno Junquiera (who qualified the car) and keep going in 2009.

~~~~There were only 11 Americans in this year's race (lowest number ever) and that's got to change.

~~~~Roy Black and David Garvin, the two high-powered and expensive attorneys who represented Castroneves in his tax evasion case, were celebrating with the newest three-time winner in victory lane. Hope his share of the purse covers some of their bill.

~~~~Do you think NASCAR wonders if Helio got "The Call?"