Ryan Hunter-Reay Wins the 98th Indianapolis 500

Originally written for CLNS Radio.

Ryan Hunter-Reay survived a wild finish to win the 98th Indianapolis 500 on Sunday afternoon.

Hunter-Reay had to hold off Helio Castroneves during the final laps.  The two had to race on the inside of the track while swapping the lead over the final 10 laps.

“There was no practice; we never really ran those lines all month,” said Hunter-Reay.  “Everything we all did at the end there was all new.  That was some fantastic racing.”

Photo courtesy CBS Sports

The race began with a very long green-flag run.  Hunter-Reay qualified 19^th, and this run allowed him to work his way to the front.  He took the lead for the first time on lap 94 in the middle of green-flag pit stops.

The first caution of the day came out on lap 150 when Charlie Kimball spun coming out of Turn 2.

Hunter-Reay took the lead when the race restarted, and he and pole-sitter Ed Carpenter swapped the lead until Scott Dixon spun on lap 168 to bring out the second caution.

On lap 175, Hunter-Reay led the field back to the green flag.  Going into Turn 1, James Hinchcliffe got together with Carpenter, sending both driver into the wall.

On lap 180, Hunter-Reay took the green flag.  He raced with Marco Andretti and Castroneves for the lead until Townsend Bell hit the wall on lap 191.  

The race was red-flagged so that the wreck could be cleaned up and repairs could be made to the outside wall.  IndyCar officials also wanted the fans to see the race end under the green flag if possible.

The race restarted with six laps to go, and Hunter-Reay swapped the lead with Castroneves.   Hunter-Reay took the lead coming to the white flag, and he was able to hold off Castroneves to take the victory.

Here are the unofficial results:

1. Ryan Hunter-Reay

2. Helio Castroneves

3. Marco Andretti

4. Carlos Munoz

5. Juan Pablo Montoya

6. Kurt Busch

7. Sebastien Bourdais

8. Will Power

9. Sage Karam

10. JR Hildebrand

11. Oriol Servia

12. Simon Pagenaud

13. Alex Tagliani

14. Jacques Villeneuve

15. Sebastian Saavedra

16. James Davison

17. Carlos Huertas

18. Ryan Briscoe

19. Takuma Sato

20. Jack Hawksworth

21. Mikhail Aleshin

22. Justin Wilson

23. Martin Plowman

24. Pippa Mann

25. Townsend Bell

26. Tony Kanaan

27. Ed Carpenter

28. James Hinchcliffe

29. Scott Dixon

30. Josef Newgarden

31. Charlie Kimball

32. Buddy Lazier

33. Graham Rahal

Helio Wins Emotion St. Petersburg Race

As Helio Castroneves drove away from the field in the Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, he no doubt was thinking of his late friend Dan Wheldon.  The first race of the 2012 IZOD IndyCar Series took place in Dan Wheldon's adopted hometown of St. Petersburg, Florida.  Wheldon lost his life in a horrific crash in last season's IndyCar Series finale at Las Vegas.

Castroneves celebrates winning the Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg (Courtesy Getty Images)

Will Power, who finished second in the points standings last season, led the field to the green flag; he would go on to finish seventh.  Last year's champion, Dario Franchitti, finished 13th.  Former Formula 1 star Rubens Barrichello finished 17th in his IndyCar Series debut.

The biggest change to the IndyCar series this year was the debut of a new car.  The new car, which was being tested by Wheldon, is safer, protecting the rear wheels so there can be no more wheel-to-wheel contact.

The support for Wheldon was strong throughout the day.  The fans headed to the race were encouraged to wear orange in support of Wheldon, and there were orange ribbons for sale, with the proceeds going to the Alzheimer's Association.  Turn 10 was renamed "Dan Wheldon Way," and that is where Castroneves celebrated his victory.  He go out of his car, climbed the fence, and patted the sign while remembering his fallen friend.  "No question about it, this is for our friend upstairs, Dan Wheldon," Castroneves told reporters following his victory.

Tony Kanaan, who finished 25th after having battery problems, put the race weekend into perspective.  "At the end of the day, we're racing on a beautiful day," Kanaan told reporters.  "The crowd has been awesome.  I think we have much bigger problems in life than just dropping out of a race.  It's sad, but I want to thank my crew guys, and I'm obviously thinking about Dan.  That's what I'm really thinking about."

Castroneves celebrates his win in Turn 10, Dan Wheldon Way

The race in St. Petersburg was an emotional one, but it was a big step in the healing process.  Dan Wheldon will never be forgotten, and the IndyCar series is doing exactly what he would have wanted: race.