2006
Indy 500... One of the most exciting races in Years!!
by Dan Peters
The 2006 rendition of the greatest race had something for every
race fan. The weather was Hot, the stand were filled and the action on
the track kept every fan standing till the checkered flag waived. The
race was only the 4th in history that featured a father and son
competing against each other. This year, Rookie son of Michael Andretti
, Marco, and grandson of 1969 winner Mario Andretti provided a
spectacle that fans soon won't forget... an intense battle down to the
final lap and checkered flag. Marco had the lead racing for the
checkered flag, but a determined Sam Hornish would put a bold move and
pass the young Andretti, 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. Hornish finally got the monkey
off his back at the Brickyard. Until Sunday, Hornish has failed to
finish a race here. Thats all behind him now... He is an Indy 500 Champion.
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.
Sam's victory, puts an exclamation point on a dominating month
here at Indy.... He was the fastest driver in nearly every practice,
captured the Pole and now will have his head engraved on the Borg
Warner trophy for eternity.
Eddie Cheever along with Michael Andretti and 2-time winner Al Unser Jr
added to the excitement of the race this year. Add in last Year's
phenom Danica Patrick and the amazing Marco Andretti
and what a race it was.
Al Unser fared the worst of the driver's returning to the 500... On Lap
148, Unser made a half spin and made heavy contact with the safer
barrier in turn 3 after he ran over debri in turn 2. Heavy damage to
the left side of the #31 Car. He was able to get out of
his car and was not injured in the accident.
Rookie Thiago Medeiros started the race in 33 position when he made the
field on bump day. It was truly an amazing few days for Medeiros as his
team franticaly used parts and pieces donated from other teams to get
his car ready for this race. Medeiros, the 2004 Indy Pro Series
champion, qualified with a four-lap average of 215.729 mph to become
the 33rd qualifier. It ended a roller-coaster three days for Medeiros
and his underdog PDM Racing team, which built Medeiros car from the
ground-up in 48 hours. His race would only last 28 Laps today.. an
electrical problem with his car sends
him to the garage.
"I got a good start and was just watching everybody from behind and
waiting 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 early 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 restart 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 dissapointed not to finish
the race. It is our goal to finish, and if
we finished, we would end up very well. We'll be back next year"
Two former winners of the 500 Helio Castroneves & Buddy Rice
crashed together on lap 110. This was the the first time Helio did
not complete the full race distance in six 500 statrts. The accent
ended a string of consecutive laps completed at 1,089. The record for
most consecutive lape completed is 1,351 by Wilber Shaw. The last time
two former champions were involved in the same accident was in 1992
when Rick Mears and Emerson Fittipaldi were involved in a four-car
accident in turn 2 on lap 76. " I need to know what happened. It is
frustrating. There is interesting driving out there. just want to say,
i guess my average (Indyfinish) is going to go high now. Lets continue
to focus: hopefully win the championship and cheer
for Sam" Castroneves said
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IRL IndyCar
Series 90th Indianapolis 500
INDIANAPOLIS - Results Sunday of the 90th Indianapolis
500 IRL IndyCar Series event May 28 at the 2.5-mile Indianapolis Motor
Speedway, with order of finish, starting position in parentheses,
driver, chassis-engine, laps completed, reason
out (if any) and money won:
1. (1) Sam Hornish Jr., Dallara-Honda, 200, $1,744,855
2. (9) Marco Andretti, Dallara-Honda, 200, $698,505
3. (13) Michael Andretti, Dallara-Honda, 200, $480,105
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 www.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.
