Helio Castroneves has won his third Indy 500. After an eventful 200 laps at the Speedway, the Penske polesitter held off Dan Wheldon (Panther) and Danica Patrick (Andretti-Green) to take the checkered flag. It's the most emotional victory of the Brazilian's career, following only few weeks after his tax evasion trial.
For a long time, it looked like Ganassi favourites Scott Dixon and Dario Franchitti were on course for another Ganassi success, until pitstop issues took the pair out of contention. and saw the pair finish down in 6th and 7th. Castroneves took his chances and grabbed the lead in the final stages of the race, storming away from the rest of the pack on the final restart.
Meanwhile, Dan Wheldon (Panther) , Danica Patrick (AGR) and Townsend Bell (KV) all took advantage of excellent pitstops to make up positions and sneak into the top five. However, none seemed to have the pace to upset Castroneves.
Other favourite Tony Kanaan will have to wait at least another year for his first Indy win, as the Brazilian crashed out after a drivetrain failure. Kanaan broke three ribs crashing head-on into the SAFER wall. Yet it is expected that Kanaan will return to his seat for next weekend's race in Milwaukee.
Foyt driver Vitor Meira was less fortunate than his compatriot. After making contact with rookie Raphael Matos, Meira violently crashed in turn 2. As a result, Meira suffered two broken vertebrae and will be out of the car for about months. Paul Tracy (ninth in Indy for KV) will replace the Brazilian at the Milwaukee Mile, while A.J. Foyt IV is expected to take the seat in Texas.
Other accidents included both Newman/Haas/Lanigan drivers making contact with the wall in separate incidents, while Marco Andretti and Mario Moraes saw the prospect of a promising race vanish as they collided on the very first lap.
With his third Indy 500 win, Helio Castroneves shakes off his demons and joins eight other drivers accomplishing the same feat. Only one victory separates Helio from the all-time record holders A.J. Foyt, Al Unser and Rick Mears. Considering Helio is 33 and tied to Penske in a multi-year contract, that historic fourth win seems to be a very realistic possibility.
1. Helio Castroneves Penske
2. Dan Wheldon Panther
3. Danica Patrick Andretti Green
4. Townsend Bell KV
5. Will Power Penske
6. Scott Dixon Ganassi
7. Dario Franchitti Ganassi
8. Ed Carpenter Vision
9. Paul Tracy KV
10. Hideki Mutoh Andretti Green
11. Alex Tagliani Conquest
12. Tomas Scheckter Coyne
13. Alex Lloyd Schmidt/Ganassi
14. Scott Sharp Panther
15. Ryan Briscoe Penske
16. AJ Foyt IV Foyt
17. Sarah Fisher Fisher
18. Mike Conway Dreyer & Reinbold
19. John Andretti Dreyer & Reinbold/Petty
20. Milka Duno Dreyer & Reinbold
21. Vitor Meira Foyt
22. Raphael Matos Luczo Dragon
23. Justin Wilson Coyne
24. EJ Viso HVM
25. Nelson Philippe HVM
26. Oriol Servia Rahal Letterman
27. Tony Kanaan Andretti Green
28. Robert Doornbos Newman/Haas/Lanigan
29. Davey Hamilton Dreyer & Reinbold
30. Marco Andretti Andretti Green
31. Graham Rahal Newman/Haas/Lanigan
32. Ryan Hunter-Reay Vision
33. Mario Moraes KV
(fc)
Written: Sun, 24 May 2009 21:33:10
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