Pit
Crew Practice before the start of the Race.
© Oak Park Journal photo
by Dan Peters
The Parade of
Beauty Queens
©
Oak Park Journal photo by Dan Peters
Dan Wheldon Wins... Patrick Makes History at Indy
By Dan Peters
Oak Park Journal
Sunday, May 29th 2005.. A day that will go down in history for many
reasons...
Dan Wheldon earned a spot in Brickyard history with a stunning victory
in the No. 26 Klein Tools/Jim Beam Dallara /Honda/ Firestone. He passed
rookie sensation Danica Patrick for the lead on Lap 194 of the 200-lap
race and stayed in front until the finish...the race finished under
caution.
The
Parade of Beauty Queens
© Oak Park Journal photo
by Dan Peters
©
Oak Park Journal photo by Dan Peters
Wheldon
led four times for 30 laps, becoming the first driver
ever to win from the 16th starting position and the first British
driver to win the Indianapolis 500 since Graham Hill in 1966.
The 89th running of the “500” featured a total of 27 lead changes among
seven drivers, only two lead changes shy of the record set
in 1960. A 26-year-old native of Emberton, England, and resident of St.
Petersburg, Fla., Wheldon earned the first Indianapolis 500 victory of
his career inonly his third Indy start,
“This has been a dream come true for me,” Wheldon said. “I’ve loved the
Indianapolis 500 ever since I was a little kid in England. And you can
see what a race it is. The best drivers in the world
are here. The best teams in the world. I’m having an emotional moment.
I’m just so glad. Thank you very much everybody. Thanks to the
Hulman-George family for giving everybody this race. It’s the best in
the world. These fans make this race. So
does Indianapolis. It’s the best place in the world right now.”
Wheldon’s win gave his car co-owner, Michael Andretti, his first
victory at Indianapolis. Andretti was winless in 14 starts at
Indianapolis as driver and retired following the 2003 Indianapolis 500,
handing his seat to Wheldon.
“I never had a sip of (milk). I need a sip,” said Andretti led 426 laps
at Indinapolis – most of any driver who never won the race.
“I never tasted milk so good. It’s awesome. What a day. Dan
drove a hell of a race. I finally won the Indy 500. Oh, yeah. No more
curse!”
The
start and finish line, and the yard of bricks.
© Oak Park Journal photo
by Dan Peters
The
fans have placed beer cans in the fence to spell out
" 16 Danica".
© Oak Park Journal photo
by Dan Peters
Vitor Meira earned $656,955 for finishing an Indy career-best
second in the No. 17 Rahal Letterman Menards Johns Manville
Panoz/Honda/Firestone. Bryan Herta, Wheldon’s Andretti Green Racing
teammate and driver of the No. 7 XM Satellite Radio
Dallara/Honda/Firestone, earned $457,505 for finishing third,
also a career-best result at Indianapolis.
Patrick, 23, from Roscoe, Ill., was the highest-finishing rookie,
placing fourth. She became the first woman to lead the
Indianapolis 500 and the highest-finishing woman in the race’s history.
Patrick led three times for 19 laps, and led as late as Lap 193 of the
200-lap race before Wheldon passed her on Lap 194 to take the lead for
good.
An
accident brings out the emergency workers and safety crew.
© Oak Park Journal photo
by Dan Peters
Caution
on the track while all the debris is cleared from the racetrack.
© Oak Park Journal photo
by Dan Peters
Danica Patrick on her 1st Indy 500....
"From my side of it, gosh, did I make some mistakes. I stalled it, went
back to 16th. People were checking up a little bit on the start toward
the end with about 50 or so to go, it seemed like they were going slow
and checking up anyway, because I spun. And I can't believe that my car
didn't completely demolish because I got hit
like twice. Spun it around, I can't believe I kept the engine running.
Somebody is sitting by my side"
On how a race can come back to you. Patrick commented....
"Yeah. I think that's as a result of being patient and not going
crazy when things go wrong, because I kind of screamed in my helmet a
couple times, but nobody could hear that, and you have
to calm down and you have to be smart and not make stupid mistakes. I
think as a result of that, you're in the game. And we
had very good cars. So, you know, it's important to stay calm
and as long as you do, things should pan out"..
When asked about the fuel situation at the end when the three
guys got by her."Well, we tried, we have eight slots, and I was
all the way up to seven out in the lead trying to save fuel. Bryan
caught up, and I didn't save quite so much fuel for a little bit and
got a bit of a gap again. But once you get a bunch of cars that pack up
behind you and the draft starts kicking in, they're right behind you.
But yeah, I had to save fuel. So, you know, they were even telling me
in the last lap of the yellow to make sure you get around. So I was
cutting it close."
Despite everything, to come that close and then not really be able to
fight at the end, how frustrating was that? No. 2, a lot of people
think you made a hell of a point today for the females. What's your
take on all of that?
"I made a hell of a point for anybody, are you kidding me? I
came from the back twice. That sucks back there. It's hard. I
was so more content running up front, it was much easier. I think that
might have showed the most today is that I was able to pass
and I was able to learn how to set someone up better. Yeah, I
definitely got a lot of experience in different situations. So it was
frustrating to be leading the race with so few laps to go and not
be able to finish hard and just hang out up front and win the thing.
But I also knew that I was not in the same strategy and something had
to give. I went straight -- I stalled and spun in the race, so
with all that stuff happening, for me to have to sacrifice a couple
of positions to save fuel, so be it."
Dan Wheldon earned $1,537,805 from a record total purse of $10,304,815
for his hard-fought victory May 29 in the 89th Indianapolis 500-Mile
Race. The winner’s purse and total purse
were announced May 30 at the Indianapolis 500 Victory
Celebration at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Danica Patrick, earned the JPMorgan Chase Rookie of the Year Award and
its $25,000 bonus as part of her overall winnings of $378,855
Patrick becomes part of Indy's First Sports Illustrated Cover in over
20 years
Danica Patrick is the cover subject of the June 6 issue of Sports
Illustrated, the most popular weekly sports magazine in the United
States. The Klein Tools/Jim Beam Dallara/Honda/Firestone driven by
winner Dan Wheldon also is featured on the cover as part of
the promotion of the magazine’s “American Speed” package.
This year’s event purse broke the record set in 2004, which was
$10,250,580. This is the fourth consecutive year the overall purse
for the field of 33 drivers has exceeded $10 million. The event purse
is comprised of Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Indy Racing League and
sponsor awards, and other designated awards.
IRL IndyCar Series 89th Indianapolis 500
INDIANAPOLIS - Results Sunday of the 89th Indianapolis 500
IRL IndyCar Series event at the 2.5-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway,
with order of finish, starting position in parentheses, driver,
chassis-engine, laps completed and reason out (if any):
1. (16) Dan Wheldon,
Dallara-Honda, 200, Running
2. (7) Vitor Meira, Panoz-Honda, 200, Running
3. (18) Bryan Herta, Dallara-Honda, 200, Running
4. (4) Danica Patrick, Panoz-Honda, 200, Running
5. (9) Buddy Lazier, Dallara-Chevrolet, 200, Running
6. (6) Dario Franchitti, Dallara-Honda, 200, Running
7. (3) Scott Sharp, Panoz-Honda, 200, Running
8. (1) Tony Kanaan, Dallara-Honda, 200, Running
9. (5) Helio Castroneves, Dallara-Toyota, 200, Running
10. (24) Ryan Briscoe, Panoz-Toyota, 199, Running
11. (26) Ed Carpenter, Dallara-Toyota, 199, Running
12. (15) Sebastien Bourdais, Panoz-Honda, 198, Accident
13. (22) Alex Barron, Dallara-Toyota, 197, Running
14. (14) Adrian Fernandez, Panoz-Honda, 197, Running
15. (33) Felipe Giaffone, Panoz-Toyota, 194, Running
16. (27) Jaques Lazier, Panoz-Toyota, 189, Running
17. (8) Kosuke Matsuura, Panoz-Honda, 186, Accident
18. (17) Roger Yasukawa, Dallara-Honda, 167, Garage
19. (10) Tomas Enge, Dallara-Chevrolet, 155, Accident
20. (11) Tomas Scheckter, Dallara-Chevrolet, 154, Accident
21. (25) Patrick Carpentier, Dallara-Toyota, 153, Mechanical
22. (21) Jeff Bucknum, Dallara-Honda, 150, Accident
23. (2) Sam Hornish Jr., Dallara-Toyota, 146, Accident
24. (13) Scott Dixon, Panoz-Toyota, 113, Accident
25. (20) Richie Hearn, Panoz-Chevrolet, 112, Accident
26. (23) Kenny Brack, Panoz-Honda, 92, Mechanical
27. (31) Jeff Ward, Dallara-Toyota, 92, Handling
28. (28) A.J. Foyt IV, Dallara-Toyota, 84, Handling
29. (19) Darren Manning, Panoz-Toyota, 82, Mechanical
30. (12) Bruno Junqueira, Panoz-Honda, 76, Accident
31. (29) Marty Roth, Dallara-Chevrolet, 47, Handling
32. (32) Jimmy Kite, Dallara-Toyota, 47, Handling
33. (30) Larry Foyt, Dallara-Toyota, 14,
Accident
Race Statistics
Winner's average speed: 157.603 mph
Time of race: 3:10:21.0769
Margin of victory: Under caution
Cautions: 8 for 46 laps
Lead changes: 27 among 7 drivers
Lap leaders: Hornish 1-2, Kanaan 3, Hornish 4-7, Kanaan 8-25,
Franchitti 26, Kanaan 27-37 Kanaan, Hornish 38-54, Franchitti 55,
Patrick 56, Junqueira 57-58, Hornish 59-97, Kanaan 98-100, Hornish
101-111, Kanaan 112-115, Hornish 116-119,
Kanaan 120-122, Franchitti 123, Kanaan 124-135, Franchitti 136-143,
Kanaan 144-145, Franchitti 146-149, Wheldon 150-161, Meira 162-164,
Wheldon 165-171, Patrick 172-185, Wheldon 186-189, Patrick 190-193,
Wheldon 194-200.
89th INDY 500 EARNS ‘INSTANT CLASSIC’ STATUS JUNE 3 ON ESPN CLASSIC
INDIANAPOLIS, Wednesday, June 1, 2005 – ESPN Classic
will rebroadcast the 89th Indianapolis 500, one of the most thrilling
and competitive editions of the “Greatest Spectacle in Racing,” as an
“Instant Classic” at 9 p.m. (EDT) Friday, June 3.
Preceding the “Instant Classic” telecast of the 89th Indianapolis 500,
ESPN Classic will re-broadcast the “SportsCenter at the Indy 500” from
May that featured the history of women at the Indianapolis 500. .
Overnight ratings for the ABC Sports live broadcast of the 89th
Indianapolis 500 on May 29 were 40 percent higher than last year.
ESPN Classic, which reaches more than 55 million homes, is devoted to
telecasting the greatest memories in the history of sports while adding
a current perspective.
The 90th Indianapolis 500 is scheduled for Sunday, May 28, 2006. Fans
are encouraged to submit their ticket renewals, upgrades and orders for
the race to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway as soon as possible. The
most convenient, fastest method is online at www.indianapolismotorspeedway.com.
.
o
Past Sports News
Local
Sports and
Teams
|
