Three Stars of the Race
#1 Star: Alexander Rossi
The rookie from California pulled off an improbable victory by managing fuel better than anyone else--even Scott Dixon. The win was, to be honest, shocking. I think my mouth was literally hanging open when he crossed the bricks. Yes I had picked him for my fantasy IndyCar lineup, but I don't think anyone considered him a threat to drink milk at the end of the race. He qualified well and had led at one other point in the race, so we should not have been so surprised. This was only Rossi's second oval track ever and his first Indy 500, so that led to the shock. Most IndyCar fans knew his story, and now the rest of the world does too: Rossi is a reserve driver for Manor Racing in Formula One, tossed to the side after an Indonesian ride buyer paid millions of dollars to secure a seat. Rossi still has dreams of racing in Formula One, but this victory had to taste especially sweet and I'm glad Bryan Herta and Michael Andretti gave him a chance. I hope he sticks around for awhile, though I do wonder how the other drivers felt about his win. Are they happy for him, or is there a twinge of bitterness? I could understand why there might be.
#2 Star: Tony Kanaan
TK is always a serious contender on the famed oval, and boy was it exciting to watch him charge through the field. After starting 18th, he quickly moved up to 7th and eventually led 19 laps before finally finishing fourth. Had Rossi run out of fuel, we may have seen an old-fashioned shootout between TK, Josef Newgarden, and Carlos Muñoz.
#3 Star: James Hinchcliffe
This was a difficult choice, because there were so many good stories and stars at this 500. I nearly awarded this to Ryan Hunter-Reay for leading the most laps and for giving us quite a show with Hinch and Townsend Bell, but Bell unfortunately doomed his day. I really do think RHR would have won this race had Bell not wrecked him on pit lane. He clearly had the car to do it. But Hinch was a star for giving us the feel-good story of the month: landing on the pole a year after the same track nearly took his life. His qualifying run and subsequent battles at the lead of the race brought to you by Kleenex.
Three Stories of the Race
#1 Story: Fuel Mileage
Some fans lamented the fuel-mileage win, and that Rossi's final lap was a "slow" 179 mph. But let's not forget that Rossi also turned the fastest lap of the race at more than 225 mph (in fact, he was the only driver to hit 225) and nearly landed in the Fast Nine before a late bump. Whether we like to admit it or not, it takes a skilled driver to manage fuel and stretch it as long as Rossi did. The fuel-mileage strategy gave us an unexpected champion and still kept us in suspense on the final lap because I had no idea if he would make it. Personally, I loved this race and was not disappointed at all by the ending. And as an American, I love seeing an American winner. To be honest, I feel for Carlos Muñoz and I know how heartbroken he must be, but his winning would have been a boring story. Now, however, when he wins the Indy 500, he has a more compelling story: twice a bridesmaid in the biggest race in the world who this year felt a little betrayed by his team. Rossi's team simply managed the race better--and perhaps Muñoz or Newgarden should have taken a chance and tried to make it to the end. Would Muñoz have felt better if he'd run out of gas with one or two laps to go, as opposed to having victory snatched from him by his teammate? Food for thought.
#2 Story: Attendance
As you might expect, the 100th running had quite a bit of hype. And the crowds bought into that hype, showing up in droves on Carb Day and in a complete sellout on race day. More than 350,000 people attended the race, and it lived up to the hype. The history, the Pearl Harbor survivors, the singing, the flyover, the 11 rows of three that give me goosebumps each year...all reminded us why this is truly the greatest spectacle in racing. We can only hope that these fans will return next year. And maybe a few new IndyCar fans were born on Sunday.
#3 Story: The Return of Honda
Honda has said all along that it put all its eggs in the Indy 500 basket, and it showed. The pole winner, the champion, and the runner-up all drove Hondas. They looked like the class of the field, and actually made Team Penske look human. Clearly they spent a great deal of research and development on this race and were rewarded handsomely. Can they sustain it for the rest of the year, though? We shall see.
Up and down the grid, we can find so many stories worth sharing from this year's Indy 500. Stories of redemption, ambition, and patriotism. Stefan Wilson, fulfilling his dream while honoring his late brother stands out to me as one of the most touching stories. I also love the parallels between Herta winning the 100th anniversary AND the 100th running with car #98. Maybe Dan Wheldon did help push Rossi's car on that final lap, who knows?
This race also featured some heartbreak, such as Helio's drive for four coming up short after JR Hildebrand clipped his rear wheel pod and several top contenders taken out by questionable "spotting" on pit lane. As Rick Mears said in the pre-race interview, sometimes to win you need a little luck. But you also need a great deal of skill and stamina, and thank you to the 33 drivers and teams who put on one hell of a show for us all on Sunday afternoon.
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