Indianapolis – Between starting from the pole and finishing first Sunday in the Indianapolis 500, so much happened to Sam Hornish Jr.
Simply winning from the pole doesn’t sum up Hornish’s incredible effort and last-lap pass of 19-year-old Marco Andretti that arguably equated to one of the most thrilling races in 90 years at famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
“It’s hard to believe,” Hornish said of his first victory, and Marlboro Team Penske’s record- extending 14th, at the Brickyard.
In the event’s second- closest finish, Hornish rallied from a disastrous pit stop and a 60 mph drive-through penalty, which put him nearly a lap down at the 2.5-mile oval with 36 laps to go.
He went from second to seventh on lap 150 after his fuel hose became stuck in his car and broke after getting premature permission to exit the pit box. He fell to eighth – and roughly 2 miles behind then-leader Dan Wheldon – when he served the drive-thru penalty for leaving the stall with the hose attached.
A pit-road incident with Townsend Bell while serving the penalty failed to deter Hornish, and in the end he squashed the 1-2 Andretti father-son finish that looked promising with two laps to go in the 200-lap race.
“We thought it was a fairy tale and we thought we had it won,” Marco Andretti said of what looked like a first- and second-place finish with his father.
“It was the fairy tale,” third- place Michael Andretti added of running top-two with his son with 2 laps to go. “It was the dream that we all talked about.”
But then came Hornish, who passed Michael for second on lap 197 and then passed Marco for the lead with the checkered flag in sight and an estimated crowd of more than 350,000 on its feet. Hornish was blocked by Marco on lap 199, forcing Hornish to apply the brakes and lose momentum. He went into the final lap trailing Marco by about five car-lengths.
“I thought it was over when I didn’t get him (there),” said Hornish, who won the 3-hour, 10- minute race by .0635 of a second under hot, humid conditions. “But we dug down, put her back in there and took off.”
Hornish, the Indy Racing League’s winningest driver with 15 victories and only two-time champion (2001, 2002), previously had not finished a race at Indy in six tries. He was shocked at how well Marco Andretti drove.
“To finish second he had a heck of a ride,” Hornish said. “No matter what happened, he should be very proud of that.”
The complexion of the race changed with nine laps to go, when Felipe Giaffone smacked a wall, causing the last of five cautions. Tony Kanaan was leading, followed by Dario Franchitti, Michael Andretti and Marco Andretti. Kanaan and Franchitti needed to pit for fuel, but the Andrettis and Hornish had enough fuel to make it to 200 laps.
Michael Andretti assumed the lead for the lap 196 restart, followed by Marco Andretti, Scott Dixon, Hornish and Kanaan.
Marco Andretti passed his father for his first lead of the race with more than two laps to go, and the frenzied Hornish got by Michael soon thereafter. After Marco Andretti’s lap 198 block, he led Hornish by a commanding .945 of a second to begin the final lap.
“I almost won this thing,” Marco Andretti said. “I don’t want to wait until next year. I wish it was today. I don’t know where Penske came from, but I guess they were saving it.”
Car owner Roger Penske won for the fourth time in the past six years. Hornish and teammate Helio Castroneves qualified first and second for Penske’s first 1-2 start since 1990. Castroneves battled a poor- handling car before being eliminated in a crash on lap 111.
After Hornish was assessed his penalty for leaving his pit stall with the fuel hose attached, Penske thought about beginning to clean up his pit area.
“With 50 to go I thought we were going to fold our tent,” Penske said. “(But) with five to go I thought we had as good of a chance as anyone else. In the end, the driver won this race.”
Perfect pass
Keys to victory: Polesitter Sam Hornish Jr. made a stunning comeback from nearly one lap down and made his winning inside pass on 19-year-old Marco Andretti within 200 yards of the finish line for car owner Roger Penske’s record-extending 14th win at the Brickyard.
Traffic report: There were five crashes that eliminated seven cars. A two-car wreck on lap 111 took out 2001 and 2002 Indy winner Helio Castroneves and Buddy Rice, who won the race in 2004.
The pits: Scott Dixon, running second on lap 172, was black-flagged for blocking Tony Kanaan. Dixon’s penalty was running the 60 mph limit through pit lane under green. He fell to seventh, and finished sixth.
What you might have missed: Five spectators suffered minor injuries when debris from a Tomas Scheckter crash flew into the stands.
Staff writer Mike Chambers can be reached at 303-820-5453 or mchambers@denverpost.com.
