No stranger to disaster at Indy (just look at some of his NASCAR heartbreak), Montoya lost control of his own destiny with a costly pit road speeding penalty, before American Charlie Kimball became the answer to a motorsports trivia question, being the man to bring out the race’s first caution period. It was as long as the Indy 500 had ever run into a race before a yellow flag. The previous record was 66 laps in.
Suddenly, the pedestrian opening became a frantic race, like the recent Brickyard classics, littered with late-race cautions and banzai moves showing just how much every driver in the field of thirty-three wants to win this race, and the ninety-eighth edition of the Greatest Spectacle in Racing will be remembered for providing the second-closest finish in the 500’s rich and layered history.
A red flag after Townsend Bell’s promising run came to an end with a hard crash, set up a classic finish. Most of the day, you had a feeling the win would be fought out between American Ryan Hunter-Reay, Brazil’s Helio Castroneves, Indiana native (and pole sitter) Ed Carpenter and third-generation racer Marco Andretti. They’d been the form cars all day, fighting amongst themselves and, at various times, with Australian Will Power, Montoya and other comers and goers.
Popular dark horse pick, New Zealander Scott Dixon, crashed out late, ending a shocking day for the powerhouse Chip Ganassi Racing squad, whose other driver, defending champion Tony Kanaan finished many laps down after a pit road incident. The team’s third driver, Kimball, brought out the first caution and wasn’t heard from again. That in itself is shocking, given Ganassi’s recent record at Indy. A bad qualifying effort last weekend was actually a warning of thing to come, rather than the exception to the rule.
After Carpenter’s day ended courtesy of a not-quite-gonna-happen move with 24 laps to go, one that saw Canadian James Hinchcliffe try to execute a pass three wide into Turn One on a restart and end up barrelling himself and Carpenter into the fence, it was Helio, RHR and Marco Andretti in the top three positions, ready for a run at the flag, for the Borg Warner Trophy and for a place in racing immortality.
And what a run it was!
There’s nothing like a pulsating, tension-packed final five laps to make you forget the early stages of the race. Not a classic event, but the 2014 Indy 500 will forever be remembered for it’s classic finish. It seemed that leading was a poisoned chalice, and it hardly lasted, the second place car seeming to always have a run off of two or into three – usually, it was Castroneves on Hunter-Reay or vice versa – to make a race-leading pass, like so many legendary ones we’ve seen before.
Delighting Americans everywhere, Floridian Ryan Hunter-Reay became the first American since Sam Hornish Jr. in 2006 (and only the second American since 1998) to win the Memorial Day Classic, doing so by the barest of margins, a ridiculously close .0060 seconds, a finish that had everyone on their feet at the track and at home in front of the TV.
.0060 seconds – just how close is that? Next to nothing; not much more than a nosecone on an IndyCar. The front end of Hunter-Reay’s yellow Andretti Autosport Honda beat home the car of three-time Indianapolis winner, the hard-charging Castroneves, also in a yellow-liveried car, who came heartbreakingly close to joining a very elite club alongside AJ Foyt, Al Unser Sr. and Rick Mears as four-time winners at the Brickyard.
Alas, it was not to be. Hunter-Reay’s bold pass in Turn One on the final lap proved to be the difference and, try as Helio might – and try he did, right to the end – the 2012 IndyCar Series champion managed to hold on, even as Castroneves piled the pressure on off of Turn Four, resulting in a dramatic run to the flag. It was RHR’s 13th IndyCar Series win, and will forever be his sweetest. For Helio, it was a case of so close, yet so far. There’s no easy way to lose an Indianapolis 500, but this clearly stung Castroneves.
For fans, though, it was another reason why this race is so revered. Indianapolis has a habit of breaking drivers’ hearts – just ask the Andretti clan, who haven’t been to Victory Lane since Mario in 1969 – but it also produces the most wildly entertaining and legendary finishes, and today added another page to the book of Indianapolis lore. This race throws up something amazing year after year. No wonder crowds in excess of 200,000 attend every year. No wonder millions around the world watch, no matter what time of the day or night the race is on in their time zone.
Instead of a history-making fourth win for the personable Brazilian, Indianapolis has another American-born winner to celebrate. A nice narrative on Memorial Day Weekend, when the nation celebrates all of those who have served in it’s armed forces, and a great shot in the arm for the uniquely American event that has, of late, been dominated by, in particular, Brazilians.
Unfortunately, Australians have not been a part of that international dominance, and nor were they today. Despite being a part of the lead pack for the middle portion of the race, IndyCar Series points leader Will Power faded to finish eight. Rookie James Davison came home sixteenth, and Ryan Briscoe was eighteenth, unbelievably the highest finishing Ganassi car.
Driving the first leg of an 1100-mile IndyCar/NASCAR double, Kurt Busch, in his first ever IndyCar start, finished a very respectable sixth, one place behind Montoya, and ahead of many more accomplished IndyCar regulars. A tremendous effort, capping off a great day for Andretti Autosport, whose cars finished first, third (Andretti), fourth (Carlos Munoz) and sixth with Busch.
So, Indianapolis spoils us for another year, and forever more, Ryan Hunter-Reay will be known as an Indianapolis 500 champion.
Congratulations, Ryan!
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