Montoya Wins Indianapolis 500

Originally written for CLNS Radio.

Juan Pablo Montoya won the 99th Indianapolis 500 on Sunday afternoon.

Montoya picked up his second career Indianapolis 500 victory 15 years after winning his first.  Montoya said the victory was a big one.

“This is too much, it’s pretty unbelievable,” Montoya said.  “That was awesome.”

 

Photo courtesy Andrew Weber/USA Today

Montoya was running in the back of the pack early in the race, and had to fight his way back to the front.  At one point, Montoya was as low as 30th after having to make multiple pit stops under the first caution to replace a rear right wing.

“This Chevy was good all day,” Montoya said.  “Team Penske did an amazing job.  When we came through the field we had a really good car.”

Montoya raced hard with Scott Dixon and teammate Will Power over the final 15 laps.  Montoya made the final pass for the lead with a daring move on Power with three laps to go.

“That fight at the end was hard,” Montoya said.  “This is what racing and IndyCar is all about.  It’s awesome racing all the way down to the wire.”

“It’s pretty awesome.”

Unofficial results:

1. Juan Pablo Montoya

2. Will Power

3. Charlie Kimball

4. Scott Dixon

5. Graham Rahall

6. Marco Andretti

7. Helio Castroneves

8. JR Hildebrand

9. Josef Newgarden

10. Simon Pagenaud

11. Sebastien Bourdais

12. Ryan Briscoe

13. Takuma Sato

14. Townsend Bell

15. Ryan Hunter-Reay

16. Gabby Chaves

17. Alex Tagliani

18. James Jakes

19. Simona de Silvestro

20. Carlos Munoz

21. Justin Wilson

22. Pippa Mann

23. Sebastian Saavedra

24. Jack Hawksworth

25. Stefano Coletti

26. Tony Kanaan

27. James Davison

28. Tristan Vautier

29. Oriol Servia

30. Ed Carpenter

31. Bryan Clauson

32. Sage Karam

33. Conor Daly

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

Kanaan Wins the Indianapolis 500

Written for CLNS Radio.

For 11 years, Tony Kanaan went to Indianapolis with hopes of winning the Indianapolis 500, but every year something went wrong and he was kept out of victory lane.  On Sunday afternoon, he was finally able to break through and win the Indianapolis 500.

Tony Kanaan drives under Marco Andretti (Chris Graythen/Getty Images)

Kanaan started 12th, but he quickly worked his way to the front and took the lead on lap nine.  He ran up front most of the day, but it was not an easy race to win.  This year's race nearly doubled the old record for lead changes, with the lead changing hands 68 times among 14 drivers.  

Kanaan also had a good luck with him in the car on Sunday.  9 years ago, he gave a little girl his lucky medal before she went in for surgery.  The girl, now 24, mailed the medal back to Kanaan, and it was with Kanaan in the car during the race.

When Kanaan was in victory lane, he couldn't find the words to describe how he felt after winning the race that had eluded him his whole career.

"I'm speechless," Kanaan told ABC.  "Finally I'm going to put my ugly face on that trophy."

Rookie Carlos Munoz finished second, and was followed by Ryan Hunter-Reay.  Hunter-Reay was leading when the race restarted after a late-race caution, but he was passed on both sides by Kanaan and Munoz.  Kanaan was leading when the final caution of the race came out just two laps from the finish.  The race never went back green, and Kanaan won the race under caution.

Here are the unofficial results:

1. Tony Kanaan

2. Carlos Munoz

3. Ryan Hunter-Reay

4. Marco Andretti

5. Justin Wilson

6. Helio Castroneves

7. AJ Allmendinger

8. Simon Pagenaud

9. Charlie Kimball

10. Ed Carpenter

11. Oriol Servia

12. Ryan Briscoe

13. Takuma Sato

14. Scott Dixon

15. Ana Beatriz

16. Tristan Vautier

17. Simona De Silvestro

18. EJ Viso

19. Will Power

20. James Jakes

21. James Hinchcliffe

22. Conor Daly

23. Dario Franchitti

24. Alex Tagliani

25. Graham Rahal

26. Katherine Legge

27. Townsend Bell

28. Josef Newgarden

29. Sebastien Bourdais

30. Pippa Mann

31. Buddy Lazier

32. Sebastian Saavedra

33. JR Hildebrand

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.