(AP Photo/R Brent Smith).
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In this image taken from video, Alexander Rossi, victor of the Indianapolis 500 auto race, poses with the Borg-Warner Trophy, on the observation deck of the Empire State Building in NY.
Alexander Rossi drives through turn one during the final practice session for the Indianapolis 500 auto race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis, Friday, May 27, 2016.
Super-charged by the success of the 100th running of the Indianapolis 500, IndyCar sped into a new era on Sunday but the road ahead is an uncertain one for both the series and the “Greatest Spectacle in Racing”. Hed been in Monaco this time past year, unsure of what his future held. He’s been heralded since his teenage years as a possible American star in Formula One, which rarely grants an audience to American talent.
He eventually ran out of time.
It just wasn’t the driver anyone expected.
I’ve been coming to the race on a yearly basis since 2003 for the Daily Journal.
“He had no idea”.
Team owner Michael Andretti said Rossi never saw the IMS oval until a couple of months ago. “He was 100 percent Europe, the way he was training and everything”.
Rossi: I was a basket case, man. Yeah, I couldn’t even see.
Sure. An American kid who left America came back to win 100th 500 for an American whose family name is synonymous mostly with heartache here.
“We’ve had our struggles”.
Rossi was ninth on the final restart and fearful he would not have enough fuel to reach the checkered flag.
Rossi, who had started 11th in the 33-car field, did indeed fall to last in the early going. He prevailed even though his auto was running out of fuel on the final lap. He made it – barely. His Honda had to be topped up with fuel to make it to the celebration in victory circle.
I’m still not fully with you guys because I’m not fully grasping how we pulled that off. See, I mean, I’m just so proud of the whole team and everyone that goes and works so hard behind the scenes, and it was a difficult race for us.
“It’s obviously a huge honor and privilege, something I’m going to carry with a great sense of responsibility”, he said. It’s incredibly competitive and incredibly close.
Team: Andretti Herta Autosport, part of the Andretti Autosport operation formed when Bryan Herta’s team – which won the 2011 Indianapolis 500 with St. Petersburg resident Dan Wheldon driving – was folded into Michael Andretti’s team. He opened the year with a pair of second-place finishes, then reeled off three wins in a row headed into the 500. “It’s always been a big event growing up, and this is my first time I’ve actually really got to enjoy it on a new level”. In walks Gaga, wearing shorts and a t-shirt, taking in the scene before riding with Mario for three laps. What can I say?
He becomes the first rookie to win the Indianapolis 500 since Helio Castroneves accomplished the feat in 2001. Based on Twitter and conversations on the bus and at the track, I wasn’t the only one.
Instead, Marco Andretti never contended on a day his four teammates were clearly among the best in the field. The contact caused Bell to crash into Hunter-Reay.
He credited strategy and calls made by Herta for putting him in position to cycle into the lead.
Munoz took the lead with 10 laps remaining but five laps later was forced into the pits.
The race featured 54 lead changes (second-most in 500 history) and 13 leaders.
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Charlie Kimball finished the race fifth, followed home by JR Hildebrand, while pole man James Hinchcliffe could do no better than seventh place. “They played the fuel strategy. It worked out at the end for them”. A breakdown of who gets how much isn’t known, but it’s clear Rossi, who also was the 500’s Rookie of the Year, is now this sport’s hot commodity.
