Indianapolis – Another near miss for Michael Andretti.
Andretti, 43, came out of retirement to compete Sunday in his 15th Indianapolis 500. He led four laps and finished third after leading with five laps to go.
He raised his career lap-leader total to 430, the most by a driver who never has won this race. Andretti, who led in seven previous Indy 500s, has led more laps than four-time Indy winner Rick Mears (429).
“It’s the heartbreak, another one,” Andretti said.
This time, Andretti’s disappointment wasn’t only about him not winning, but his son, too. Rookie Marco Andretti, 19, passed his father with two laps to go, only to get passed by Sam Hornish Jr. with the checkered flag in sight.
“In another couple days we’re going to sit back and think, ‘Oh, wow, who would have ever thought it would come down to that?’ We were running 1-2 with just a few laps to go in the Indy 500, and he almost pulled it off,” Michael Andretti said.
Patrick stays in top 10
Danica Patrick, who last year became the first woman to lead the Indy 500, is 2-for-2 in producing top-10 finishes in this race. She finished eighth Sunday, two spots ahead of where she started.
She finished fourth last year, the best by a woman.
“I didn’t make any mistakes and (the) team didn’t make any mistakes,” she said. “We just haven’t been the fastest car all month, and that was the case today.”
Beware of flying objects
Two fans sitting in the infield frontstretch stands were struck by debris after Tomas Scheckter crashed on lap 66 to cause the second caution. Three other fans were injured slightly while trying to avoid part of a wing that was detached from Scheckter’s car.
No one was hurt seriously.
Vail native Jaques Lazier had a hand in the mishap. He ran over the broken wing, sending it flying into the stands like a helicopter blade.
Castroneves’ first DNF
Team Penske’s Helio Castro- neves, Indy’s 2001 and 2002 winner, crashed on lap 111 to ensure that the Brazilian wouldn’t finish the race for the first time in five starts.
Castroneves ran into Buddy Rice in the middle of turn four while trying to pass the 2004 winner on the inside. Rice’s car also was destroyed in the wreck, in which both cars slamed hard into the outside wall.
“We had the momentum to pass Buddy,” Castroneves said. “He was really slow. … It’s a shame.”
Two-time Indy winner Al Unser Jr. also was eliminated by a crash. The most recent time three former champions crashed out of this race was 1992, when Arie Luyendyk, Mario Andretti, Emerson Fittipaldi, Tom Sneva and Mears bowed out unceremoniously.
Anthony out early
Nuggets star forward Carmelo Anthony, who is a partner in one of Indianapolis-based Hemelgarn Racing’s two entries, saw both Hemelgarn drivers bow out on the second lap.
Jeff Bucknum spun into P.J. Chesson, ruining the day for both drivers.
Footnotes
Officials said Sunday’s high temperature reached 89 degrees, tied for sixth-hottest in race history. The track temperature reached 126 degrees. … Vail brothers Buddy Lazier and Jaques Lazier finished 12th and 17th, respectively. Combined with their father, Bob Lazier, the family has started 20 Indy 500s. Buddy has 14 starts, Jaques five and Bob one.
