Wheldon Wins Second Indy 500

Dan Wheldon won the 100th anniversary Indianapolis 500. (IndyCar photo)

INDIANAPOLIS — In one of the most stunning final laps in Indianapolis 500 history, Dan Wheldon took the checkered flag after race leader J.R. Hildebrand crashed his Panther Racing car into the fourth turn wall heading to the checkered flag.

For a short time after the race, there was question whether Hildebrand was actually the winner. Per IndyCar Series rules, the field is frozen once the yellow light goes on for a caution period. Once that happens, there is not passing and Hildebrand’s damaged race car was able to make it the remaining distance down the frontstraight to cross the finish line although Wheldon’s car passed the crippled machine. IndyCar Series officials reviewed the finish and the only change made was with fifth and sixth place. It was determined that Scott Dixon passed Oriol Servia under yellow so Servia was credited with fifth and Dixon sixth.

Panther Racing did not protest the finish and video replay shows that Wheldon made the pass a few seconds before the yellow light was turned on, assuring the driver from Emberton, England the victory.

Wheldon also won the Indy 500 in 2005 when he drove team owner Michael Andretti. He left that team at the end of that season joined Target/Chip Ganassi Racing. But in 2009 and 2010 he drove for Panther Racing – the team that was about to celebrate victory with a rookie driver in Hildebrand before he crashed into the wall on the final lap. In fact, Wheldon finished second for the team in the last two Indy 500s.

Wheldon drove a car owned by Bryan Herta to victory in the team’s only IZOD IndyCar Series race this season.

“I was just trying to go as hard as I could,” Wheldon said. “I knew it was the last lap and I knew some of those guys were struggling with fuel. I want to thank my wife and for Bryan Herta and everyone at Bryan Herta Autosport for giving me such a dream ride. It’s been absolutely phenomenal. I love Indianapolis. I love the people. I love everything about it – the tradition and the history. I just felt a lot of relief. It’s an incredible feeling. I’ve been runner up two years before this but I never gave up.”

In 2009 and 2010 he drove for Panther Racing – the team that was about to celebrate victory with a rookie driver in Hildebrand before he crashed into the wall on the final lap.

“In the corner of my eye I saw him hit the fence and just carried on by,” Wheldon said. “As Bryan Herta (team owner) said, you have to make it to the bricks with a car that can go forward on all four wheels. At that point I knew it was mine.

“This is obviously a special race because it is the 100th Anniversary. I’m honored to be the winner of this particular race.”

Wheldon set a record of leading the race for the fewest distance. Although he is credited with leading the final lap, it was more a half-straightway. That is the only time Wheldon’s No. 98 car was in the lead but it was that final part of the race course that was the most valuable piece of real estate in racing.

Wheldon defeated Hildebrand by 2.10876 seconds. Graham Rahal of Columbus, Ohio was third giving drivers from the United States two drivers in the top three. Brazil’s Tony Kanaan was third followed by Scott Dixon of New Zealand.

Spain’s Servia was sixth followed by Belgium’s Bertrand Baguette and South Africa’s Tomas Scheckter. Three drivers from the United States rounded out the top 10 with Marco Andretti ninth and Danica Patrick 10th.

It was an incredibly compelling race but it appeared that another of Wheldon’s old teams, Target/Chip Ganassi Racing, would end up in victory lane as Scott Dixon and Dario Franchitti dominated the race in the early going. Dixon would lead the five times for 73 laps and Franchitti was in front six times for 51. There were 24 lead changes among 10 different drivers.

Servia was able to hang with the two red Ganassi cars before taking the lead past the 300-mile mark. Servia was attempting to give Newman Haas Racing its first-ever victory in the Indianapolis 500 but Franchitti took the lead on lap 130. Servia remained second but was being chased down by Dixon.

Pole-winner Alex Tagliani, who led 20 laps before dropping back in the field after the first 100 miles, crashed in the fourth turn trying to get around slower traffic on lap 147.

“We tried to change all the weight jackers and protect the rear tire,” Tagliani said. “I was really, really loose and Buddy Rice and I were side-by-side and I got into the wall.”

Townsend Bell and Team Penske driver Ryan Briscoe crashed in the chute between Turns 1 and 2 for the sixth caution on lap 158.To make matters worse for Team Penske, three-time Indianapolis 500 winner Helio Castroneves also had a right rear tire shred. The crew replaced the tire but Castroneves was dropped to 19th, one lap down to the leader. Castroneves ran over debris which cut the tire.

Team Penske’s lead driver, Will Power, was running 15th. Earlier in the race, he lost a wheel during his first pit stop.

The last time Team Penske competed in the Indianapolis 500 and did not finish in the top 10 was 1992 when Rick Mears and Emerson Fittipaldi were taken out in the same crash. The team’s third driver that year, Paul Tracy, also finished outside the top 10.

“It’s a tough day but we have to execute and it’s unfortunate what happened to Briscoe,” team owner Roger Penske said.

Franchitti dove into the pits on lap 164 and that dropped him back in the field as he attempted to win the race on fuel strategy. Graham Rahal took the lead on the double-file restart on lap 165 when he passed Servia down the frontstretch. But Dixon was able to track down the son of 1986 Indy 500 winner Bobby Rahal and take the lead on lap 172. Kanaan passed Rahal for second and tried to track down Dixon. But Rahal regained second place one lap later making it two cars owned by Ganassi at the front of the field.

From that point, it appeared that pit strategy would determine the outcome of the race and give the Indy 500 its first rookie winner since Castroneves in 2001.

Dixon peeled off the track for his final pit stop on lap 179 and that put Patrick in the lead for the second time in her IndyCar career. But she was running four to five laps short of finishing the race on her tank of fuel. She lost the lead when Baguette passed her with 11 laps to go. But with the three drivers in front of him having to pit for fuel, Franchitti was looking good in fourth place. Patrick pitted on lap 190 and her bid for victory fell short.

Franchitti moved up to second and was just biding his time until Baguette would have to pit. He did with three laps later and that put Hildebrand in the lead.

But just when it appeared there would be a rookie winner, his efforts were dashed in a blink of an eye and a crash into the wall.

He was attempting to pass fellow rookie driver Charlie Kimball entering the final turn because he was being chased by Wheldon for the victory. He decided to take the high line to make a pass but that was not the path to victory lane.

“With the tires as worn as they were, the run being as long, there was a bunch of marbles (worn tire rubber) on the outside. Once I got up there, there wasn’t a lot I could do. There were a few choice words going through my head at that moment, really fast and frequently until I hit the wall. They were still going through my head now.”

The rookie driver from Sausalito, Calif., spoke calmly about the biggest disappointment of his young racing career. It was almost as if it hadn’t sunk in yet.

“This is not really about me at this point,” Hildebrand said afterwards. “You always show up to try to win. But for me the disappointment is for the team and the sponsor. It’s one of those things as a driver you never really know what you’re going to expect. We knew if the race came to us we may be in a position to finish top three or top five. But as a driver I’m smart enough as a rookie to not expect to come to the Indianapolis 500 my first year and be in a position to win the race.

“We were in a position that we should have won the race. It’s not so much that I’m (ticked) off or disappointed that my face isn’t going to go on the Borg-Warner Trophy. This team has finished second three years in a row (including 2009 and 2010 with Wheldon. I felt like we had a real opportunity to get on the big stage.”

That big stage was reserved for Wheldon, a driver that made the most of his only IndyCar Series race this season.

“Right up until the point where I passed J.R. I didn’t have any emotions,” Wheldon admitted. “I was so focused. It was one of those races where it was so competitive that you had to be on your game. And the wind seemed to be getting under the front of my car. I was catching Bears; I wasn’t focused on what was gone on in the front. When I saw him crash, I knew it wasn’t serious.

“There was a little smile on my face. That’s what is great about Indianapolis. It’s bad if you are on the receiving end. Indianapolis can bite you.”

Tell that to J.R. Hildebrand.

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Posted by Bruce Martin on May 29 2011 Filed under Featured, IndyCar, IZOD IndyCar Series, Latest Headlines, Top Stories. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.