(AP Photo/R Brent Smith). A few showers and storms are possible but the 100th of the Indianapolis 500 looks to remain mostly dry.
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Rookie Alexander Rossi nearly literally came out of nowhere, stretching fuel to the end, for a surprising victory Sunday in the 100th running of the Indianapolis 500.
“It was close”, said Rossi, “obviously, too close for comfort”, he continued, “The emotional rollercoaster of this race is ridiculous”. Ticket holders from this year’s race have until June 19 to renew their tickets and receive special benefits including an invitation for a private party 101 days before the 2017 race.
He eventually ran out of time.
Kanaan has led a total of 715 miles around the sprawling speedway, but it took him 12 tries to win the checkered flag.
With the blessing of The Speedway on his side, Rossi masterfully stuck to his fuel number and outlasted the field of 33.
Rossi is an IndyCar rookie from California racing back in the United States after failing to put together a steady ride in Formula One.
“He had no idea”.
“He honestly had no idea”, said Andretti. “He was 100 percent Europe, the way he was training and everything”. Are you going to see 400,000 here next year?
Indeed, Rossi decided at age 10 he wanted to be an F1 driver.
“Bryan pulled off a tremendous strategy once again”, Rossi said.
“We’ve had our struggles”.
“I’ll cherish the fact that at one point we were 33rd”, Rossi said. “If we get a race going, we’re going to be good, we’re going to be able to beat these guys”.
Race leader Carlos Munoz was forced to pit with four laps to go for fuel opening the door for Rossi.
“The only actual site of an oval that I’d ever been to was Phoenix in February, I’m definitely a rookie on ovals”, he said.
“This whole buildup, all the buzz surrounding this race, I’ve never been a part of anything like it”, he said. Then he made a final pit stop with five laps to go. Munoz seemed devastated after his second runner-up finish in four years. “I didn’t know (if we would make it on fuel)”. But his crew ordered him to the pits, telling him he would otherwise come up half a lap short. “What can I say?” James Hinchcliffe, of Canada, leads Ryan Hunter-Reay into the first turn during the 100th running of the Indianapolis 500 auto race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis, Sunday, May 29, 2016. There is no driving involved.
“The creative theme is that this is an epic season and while it doesn’t mention anything specifically about the 500, that we’re coming to their tracks with the same heroes, the same champions, the same cars and during the same season”, Miles said.
Instead, Marco Andretti never contended on a day at least three of his teammates were clearly among the best in the field.
Herta chose to gamble with Rossi on fuel strategy, and it’s the only thing that made him a late contender.
Gaga gave Andretti and team owner Michael Andretti kisses on the cheek before the start of the race.
Townsend Bell, a part-time racer who regularly works as a television broadcaster, and Josef Newgarden moved in to challenge Hunter-Reay.
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“I hope so”, she said of sharing Rossi. They traded the lead until there were three laps to go, when they joined the mad scramble into the pits among other fuel-starved drivers. I don’t think they had as strong of an opportunity to win at the end, so you have to mix it up. He just doesn’t know how much it will change. “It’s got some juice to it. I’m looking forward to going out there and see if it stays that way for the race”.
