Sam Hornish Jr. passed rookie Marco Andretti low on the frontstretch – about 300 yards from the yard of bricks – to win the 90th Indianapolis 500-Mile race by .0635 of a second. It was the second-closest margin (.043 in 1992) in Indy 500 history and the closest in the Indy Racing League era.
Michael Andretti, who last competed at Indianapolis in 2003 and came out of retirement to race against his 19-year-old son, finished third. Dan Wheldon, the 2005 race winner and IndyCar Series champion, was fourth. Tony Kanaan was fifth, followed by Scott Dixon, Dario Franchitti and Danica Patrick.
“It’s been a long month, and not everything went our way as we saw today,” Hornish said. “But we stuck together as a team. We had a good plan, and we were fast when we needed. I thank God for giving me a lot of talent, not so much the fact for what I can do driving, but the fact that I didn’t want to give up. And then He also put me with such a great team and gave me great parents and a great wife to support me very much.”
Hornish sat atop the speed chart after all but one practice session during the three weeks of preparation. Of course, the race presented its own set of challenges.
The pole sitter didn’t lead the first lap, and had to overcome a Lap 150 drive-thru penalty for leaving his pit stall with the refueling buckeye still attached to the No. 6 Marlboro Team Penske Dallara/Honda/Firestone. After a Lap 196 restart, Hornish had worked his way to fourth.
Michael Andretti, making his 15th start in search of his first victory at the Brickyard, had the point with Marco and Scott Dixon trailing. Marco passed his father in Turn 1 for the lead on Lap 197 and Hornish also got past Michael.
Marco led Hornish by 0.5644 of a second on Lap 198 and by 0.9454 of a second one lap later as the white flag waved. It appeared there would be the youngest winner of the race. But Hornish put it all on the line.
“I thought that it was over when I didn’t get him going down into (Turn) 3,” Hornish said. “But we dug down, put her back in there and took off.
“It’s a great feeling. I wouldn’t trade it for anything else. I’ve had a lot of friends and family pass away over the last couple of years, and they rooted us on today, so I’m real happy with that. I want to thank Marlboro Team Penske. They did a heck of a job. It may not always go the way you want it to, but it makes it a lot sweeter this way.”
INDIANAPOLIS 500 POST-RACE NOTES:
On this date in 2000, Juan Pablo Montoya won the Indianapolis 500 for Chip Ganassi’s second win as a team owner. Ganassi was co-owner of Patrick Racing’s entry in 1989 when Emerson Fittipaldi won the race. Incidentally, that race also took place May 28.
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Did you know?: The winner’s wreath debuted at Indy in 1960 when Jim Rathmann showcased an exotic-looking, dark yellow and brown flower wreath after winning the 44th Indianapolis 500, while in 1936 Louis Meyer began the tradition of drinking milk in Victory Lane after he requested a glass of buttermilk. A dairy industry executive happened to see a photograph of Meyer drinking the buttermilk in Victory Lane. Thinking it was regular milk, he vowed to make sure that this tradition would be carried on in the coming years.
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PRE-RACE CELEBRITY RED CARPET QUOTES:
CARMELO ANTHONY (NBA star, co-owner, Carmelo Hemelgarn Racing): “It's going to be a great day. Everybody is excited about the race, the drivers. I'm looking forward to being part of a great, safe race. I've never been here. This is my first Indy 500. I've watched it before on TV, and it's incredible. I don't know what to expect, but I'm ready for it. I'll be in the pits for the start. I can't wait.”
PATRICK DEMPSEY (Actor, co-owner, Vision Racing): “Coming back is quite an honor. This is an incredible experience. I'm very excited and optimistic about the race. I really enjoy being here. I love the people and the organization and the drivers who are here. I really enjoy my time." (Of all the things you could be doing, why racing and why the Indy 500?): "I guess because I grew up watching the ‘500.’ To be a part of it now, I really love it." (Did you have a favorite driver in those years watching the 500?): "There are a lot of drivers I've always followed. A.J. Foyt is certainly a personality you have to think of when you think of the ‘500.’ And I was talking to today to Jr. (Al Unser Jr.). To see him back in the car is great. I've always been a big fan of his. It's hard to say favorite, because the more you get to know them, the more you love them all." (Predictions on a winner for today?): "I think we (Vision drivers Tomas Scheckter, Townsend Bell, Ed Carpenter) have a re!ally good shot. I think (Scott) Dixon has a good shot too. I think he's a sleeper and then, Penske, you never know. I think it's going to depend on how everything plays itself out. The temperature is going to make it a lot more competitive and make it a great race. I hope it's a safe race, first and foremost. I hope our team does well. I hope we're there at the end.”
ANGIE EVERHART (Model): “I'm here for the beer. Go Danica!”
JORGE GARCIA (Actor): “I'm coming to see the race. I got invited to come and be a part of the whole spectacle. America wants Danica (Patrick) to win, but I'm also pulling for Tony Kanaan. We ran into him a couple nights ago. He seems pretty cool, and now I have someone to root for.”
SUGAR RAY LEONARD (Former champion boxer): “This has been an incredible experience for me. It's been just remarkable and exhilarating. Words cannot describe the energy here. This is my first time here, and it won't be my last. I went around the track with Al Unser in the Pace Car. Scary! But wonderful." (Have you watched the race before?): "I will now." (Do you have any drivers you're cheering for today?): "Cheering for Eddie Cheever and Danica Patrick.”
LUDACRIS (Musician, actor): “I wanted to come because Michael Andretti coming out of retirement means a lot. I think it's a beautiful thing. I have my heart set on him to win. I've been to the Daytona (500) before – this is my first time at Indy – and seeing that this is bigger than Daytona, I just wanted to be here. I know this is a competitive sport just like rap is, so I can relate.”
MICHAEL MADSEN (Actor): “I brought my sons to see the race. My youngest one here, I'd like him to be a driver some day. I think he has some natural abilities, and I'd like to see him race some day. What better thing to do than take him to the Indy 500? It's the biggest sporting spectacle in the world. There's nothing like the Indy 500. This is huge.”
PAT O'BRIEN (Television host): “This is spectacular. It is a place that I have always wanted to come to. The energy is amazing. I can't wait to hear the engines start.”
LALA VASQUEZ (MTV VJ, fiancée of NBA star and IndyCar Series team co-owner Carmelo Anthony): “I'm excited about it. This is my first race. I'm just looking forward to P.J. (Chesson) and his car doing well in the race. This is a really fun time." (About what she thinks about P.J. Chesson): "I like him. He has a great personality. He has a real, great personality which works with Carmelo (Anthony). I think it's a great team.”
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Playa Del Racing announced primary sponsorship agreement with Ethos Environmental for the #12 Panoz/Honda/Firestone entry to be driven by Roger Yasukawa, and an associate sponsorship agreement on the #21 Videopoker.com Panoz/Honda/Firestone entry driven by Jaques Lazier for the Indianapolis 500. Ethos Environmental is a manufacturer and distributor of a unique line of fuel reformulating products under the name Ethos Fuel Reformulators, or Ethos FR. Ethos is conceived to work with any fuel in an internal combustion engine. It adds cleaning and lubricating qualities to any type of fuel or motor oil, allowing engines to perform cooler, smoother and with more vigor.
ENRIQUE VILMORIN (Ethos Environmental CEO): “We’re very excited to participate in the development of this type of race team. We are not supporting the big guys, but we are here at the Indy 500 because of the grassroots racer – we love their spirit. Like the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and this great race, we wanted to pay tribute to their history with the support of a team that is going about racing the old-fashioned way…through hard work and determination. Ethos Environmental is very happy to join with one of the Indy Racing League’s teams, Playa Del Racing, in participating in the development of the renewable energy fuels markets, like ethanol.”
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Checkers Drive-In Restaurants announced that it is working with Cheever Racing to demonstrate support for Operation Gratitude and US Troops.
RICHARD S. TURER, Vice President of Marketing, Checkers Drive-In Restaurants, Inc.: “This year marks Checkers®/Rally's fourth year as a category-exclusive sponsor of the Indy 500. Cheever Racing is giving us the opportunity to reinforce our support for Operation Gratitude and our brave men and women in uniform. The No. 52 will feature the logo for Operation Gratitude, a nonprofit dedicated to sending care packages to troops deployed overseas. Our restaurants across the country are collecting gifts for Operation Gratitude¹s packages, and we are honored to have the opportunity to showcase their mission. Max is back, and we wish him the best of luck on race day.”
MAX PAPIS (No. 52 Cheever Racing Dallara/Honda/Firestone): “Displaying the Operation Gratitude logo to bring attention to Checkers/Rally's initiative in support of troops for the biggest race in the world is a great honor. It is a great program and I'm happy to be a part of it. I'm from Italy, but America has welcomed me into their country and my wife and I make our home here. I'm very proud of our troops and what they are sacrificing to give us the opportunity to go race tomorrow."
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Max Papis is carrying a Pineapple decal in honor of former open-wheel racing standout Alex Zanardi, who helmet carried a pineapple decal on his own helmet.
MAX PAPIS (No. 52 Cheever Racing Dallara/Honda/Firestone): “I spoke with Alex a couple of days ago and one of the promises I made to him was to carry the pineapple both on my helmet and on my car. You know, pineapple, Alex is a hard-headed guy. I'm going to be carrying the pineapple with me on the car and on my helmet, and he's going to be here in soul with me." (About his relationship with Zanardi): "He's like my brother. We've known each other since we were twelve years old. We got to know each other on the go-kart track and we developed a great relationship after being teammates both in Formula 1 and Formula 3 and other different things. And he is one of the closest guys to me."
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Golf legend Jack Nicklaus is at the Speedway today.
JACK NICKLAUS: “It’s a little busier than the last time I was here. We just took a spin around the track, and you start to look at the people who come to this, and man, there are a lot of people who come here.” (About this experience): “It’s something you have to do once in your life.”
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INDYCAR SERIES POST-RACE NOTES:
• This is Sam Hornish Jr.’s 15th career IndyCar Series victory and his first victory of the season. His last win came at the Milwaukee Mile in July 2004.
• This is the Marlboro Team Penske’s third consecutive win in the IndyCar Series and its 18th win in the IndyCar Series.
• Marco Andretti finished second, his career-best finish in the IndyCar Series. Andretti’s previous-best finish this season was 12th at Twin Ring Motegi in April.
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90th INDIANAPOLIS 500 POST-RACE NOTES:
•Sam Hornish Jr., a native of Defiance, Ohio, is the 65th driver to win the Indianapolis 500. He is the fifth native of Ohio to win the Indianapolis 500 and the first since Bobby Rahal of Medina, Ohio, won in 1986.
•Hornish is 26 years old, 10 months and 26 days. He is the second consecutive 26-year-old to win the “500.” Other drivers who were 26 when they won the Indianapolis 500 are George Souders (1927), A.J. Foyt (1961), Helio Castroneves (2001) and Dan Wheldon (2005).
•The margin of victory was .0635 of a second, the second-closest finish in Indianapolis 500. The closest was the .043 of a second in 1992 when Al Unser Jr. edged Scott Goodyear.
•This is the fifth victory for car No. 6 in Indianapolis 500 history. The last time the number won was with Gil de Ferran in 2003.
•Hornish is the 18th driver to win the Indianapolis 500 from pole position. The last time was in 2004 when Buddy Rice won from the pole.
•This is Marlboro Team Penske’s 14th Indianapolis 500 victory, the most of any entrant.
•Marco Andretti became the third-youngest driver to start the Indianapolis 500 at 19 years, two months and 15 days. He is the youngest since A.J. Foyt IV, who turned 19 when he made his first start in 2003.
•The maximum air temperature during today’s race was 89 degrees Fahrenheit, according to the National Weather Service in Indianapolis, tying the fourth-hottest Indianapolis 500 on record. The hottest was in 1937, when the temperature reached 92. In 1919 and 1953, the high was 91. In 1977 and 1978, the high was 90. The high also was 89 in 1929.
•When #6 Sam Hornish Jr., passed #26 Marco Andretti on the final lap, it marked the first time in the history of the Indianapolis 500 that the winner took the lead on the final lap. Three times a driver lost the race on Lap 199. In 1912, Ralph DePalma dropped out with engine trouble on Lap 199 and lost to Joe Dawson. In 1989, Al Unser Jr. crashed on Lap 199 after colliding with eventual race winner Emerson Fittipaldi. In 1999, Robby Gordon had to pit on Lap 199 for gas and lost the lead to race winner, Kenny Brack.
•This was the best finish by a member of the Andretti family in their rookie year at Indianapolis, as Marco Andretti finished second. Mario Andretti finished third in 1965, Michael Andretti fifth in 1984, Jeff Andretti 15th in 1991 and John Andretti 21st in 1988.
•Race winner Sam Hornish Jr., led 19 laps. This is the fewest laps led by a race winner since 1995, when Jacques Villeneuve led 15 laps.
•The top lap leader of the 2006 Indianapolis 500 was fourth-place finisher #10 Dan Wheldon with 148 laps led. Last year, Wheldon led 30 laps on his way to victory.
•During the last eight laps of the 2006 Indianapolis 500, there were four different lap leaders: #11 Tony Kanaan (Laps 183-193), #1 Michael Andretti (194-197), #26 Marco Andretti (198-199) and #6 Sam Hornish Jr. (200). Also, there were three lead changes among the four drivers in the last seven laps of the race. This is the greatest number of different drivers and most number of lead changes in the last 10 laps of an Indianapolis 500-Mile Race that went the full distance.
•This is the sixth time that car owner, Roger Penske, had a car win from the pole position (1979, 1981, 1988, 1991, 1994 and 2006).
•When #26 Marco Andretti passed his father, #1 Michael Andretti, for the lead on Lap 198, it marked the first time that a father-son combination had traded the lead since 1992, when Mario Andretti passed his son, Michael, on Lap 7 and Michael re-passed his father subsequently on Lap 8.
•This is the seventh Indianapolis 500 start for Sam Hornish Jr., and it was the first time he has completed all 200 laps.
•Marco Andretti became the 55th driver to lead the Indianapolis 500 in his first start.
•Three former winners crashed out of the 2006 Indianapolis 500, Helio Castroneves, Buddy Rice and Al Unser Jr. This is the most former winners to be eliminated due to accidents since 1992, when five former winners (Arie Luyendyk, Mario Andretti, Emerson Fittipaldi, Rick Mears and Tom Sneva) were eliminated in accidents.
•Michael Andretti led four laps of the 2006 event. This raised his career lap leader total to 430 laps, which moved him past Rick Mears (429 laps) for ninth place on the all-time lap leader list. Michael Andretti's 430 laps led represent the most laps led by a driver who has never won the Indianapolis 500.
•Today’s race was the eighth Indy 500 that Michael Andretti has led, tying him with Arie Luyendyk, Tom Sneva, and Al Unser Jr. for seventh on the all-time list for most races led. A.J. Foyt has the record with laps led in 13 races.
•Helio Castroneves led at the end of Lap 1. Castroneves also led the opening lap in 2003, which was the year his teammate Gil de Ferran won the race. Castroneves’ teammate for this year's race is WorldPoints Visa Pole sitter, Sam Hornish Jr.
•Tony Kanaan led the race for the first time today on Lap 38. This is the fifth consecutive year that Kanaan has led the race, starting with his rookie year in 2002. He is the only driver in Indianapolis 500 history to lead five consecutive races starting with his rookie year. Rick Mears, from 1979-84, is the only driver to have led six consecutive races. Mears started his string with his second Indianapolis 500 start.
•Tomas Scheckter crashed in today's race, it marked the third time in his five-year Indianapolis 500 career that his race ended with an accident (2002, 2005, 2006). In 2003, he finished fourth and completed the full 500-mile distance. In 2004, he finished 18th and was one lap down when the race was cut short at the 180-lap mark due to rain.
•Two former Indianapolis 500 winners, #3 Helio Castroneves (2001-2002) and #15 Buddy Rice (2004) crashed together on Lap 110. This was the first time Castroneves did not complete the full race distance in six Indianapolis 500 career starts. Castroneves’ string of consecutive laps completed ended at 1,089. The record for most consecutive laps completed is 1,351 by Wilbur Shaw, whose streak ended with an accident after completing 151 laps in the 1941 Indianapolis 500. Wilbur Shaw’s consecutive lap streak began with the 1935 race.
•The last time two former Indianapolis 500 winners were involved in the same accident before today’s incident between Helio Castroneves and Buddy Rice was in 1992, when Rick Mears and Emerson Fittipaldi were involved in a four-car accident in Turn 2 on Lap 76.
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INDIANAPOLIS 500 POST-RACE QUOTES:
JEFF BUCKNUM: “I’m not really sure. I spun, and I’m not sure why. It snapped around the back end, and I’m not sure how it happened.”
P.J. CHESSON: “I don’t know. I’d usually like to say that’d be a rookie mistake, but I don’t know. He looked like he was down below the white line and just lost it on the second lap, driving without his head. Unfortunately, he took out his teammate.”
AL UNSER JR.: “I hit something coming off of Turn 2. Ran over something. Really hit it on the right side hard. Went into (Turn) 3, and she just swapped ends on me. I think I punctured a tire. I don’t know.”
JEFF SIMMONS: “I don’t really know. The officials out there said it looked like there were parts coming off the car. I don’t know if that’s the case or not. I just went down there, and the car wouldn’t turn. We weren’t going that quick. It’s just a real shame. I was doing just about everything I could with the car. I was just trying to survive.”
HELIO CASTRONEVES: “I need to know what happened. It is frustrating. There is interesting driving out there. Just want to say, I guess my average (Indy finish) is going to go high now. Let’s continue to focus; hopefully win the championship and cheer for Sam.”
BUDDY RICE: “We were struggling. We were trying to get a handle on the thing with the right rear tire. Once we got that sorted, we were trying to survive. By the time Michael went by me and those guys were a couple wide, checked up, went down into (Turn) 4, and I had no idea Helio was there. At the last second I heard, ‘Inside,’ but it was already too late. We bumped once and we still had it, and the way we got collected it was one and done.”
THIAGO MEDEIROS: “I got a good start and was just watching everybody from behind and waiting for the guys to settle down. We had an incident on the first few laps. I passed two guys on the restart. I was getting more confident with the car and working my way up the field, and the car was handling quite well. On the last part of the run, the car was getting loose so we decided to bring it in a little earlier and make some changes to make it better for the next stint. As soon as we changed tires, I turned off the pit speed limiter. I was shifting from third to fourth, and the engine would cut out. I hit the reset button, the fuel map button and the Honda rest button. I reset everything that I could. The engine kept doing that. As a rookie, I was definitely disappointed not to finish the race. It was our goal to finish, and if we finished, we would end up very well. We’ll be back next year.”
TOMAS SCHECKTER: “The race and who crosses who is just up to who got caught behind the back marker … when they’re so much off pace, and I think I was pushing harder even though I was behind Kanaan. I was trying a little hard, and I just got loose.”
ARIE LUYENDYK JR.: “It was pretty good at first. Once the fuel went down, the car was so loose it wasn’t even funny how hard it was to drive. It was the first time that thing ever has been like that. Maybe it was the hot conditions. It was just better for me not to be out there. We didn’t have a gear to run in between third and fourth to get up to speed. I was just a bystander out there. I was going to crash the thing if I would have been out there the whole day. It was just a moment waiting to happen every corner.”
LARRY FOYT: “We weren’t handling very well out there. We were in the way, and there was no sense in us doing that. We missed on the setup, and we couldn’t get it back.”
RON HEMELGARN (Co-owner, #91 Chesson, #92 Bucknum): “It’s very disappointing when you have two cars, teammates, take each other out on the first lap. Ten years ago we were in Victory Circle; today we’re dead last. That’s just part of racing.”
STEPHAN GREGOIRE: “The handling was horrible. It was too dangerous for all the other guys. I think it was wiser to stop so we don’t cause any problems.”
BRIAN BARNHART (President and chief operating officer, Indy Racing League): (About the month): “Well, obviously, we were challenged this month by some weather. Today had completely different conditions than the rest of the month. I think all of the teams did a great job responding to track conditions that they had no experience with. The Honda engines were great with putting 34 cars on track, and they were flawless all month long. The Firestone tires in the cold conditions and the heat of the day today were flawless, as well. We have two outstanding partners in Honda and Firestone, the teams did a great job today, and we had a hell of a finish."
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The 2006 IRL IndyCar Series continues with the Watkins Glen Indy Grand Prix presented by Tissot at 3:30 p.m. on June 4 at Watkins Glen International. The race will be carried live by ABC Sports and the IMS Radio Network. A Spanish-language telecast of the race will be carried by ESPN Deportes. The IMS Radio Network broadcast also is carried on XM Satellite Radio channel 145 “IndyCar Racing” and indycar.com. The fifth season of Indy Pro Series competition continues with the Corning 100 at 12:30 p.m. on June 4 at Watkins Glen International. The race will be telecast at 2 p.m. on June 8.
