Like Ray Harroun, the first victor of the Indianapolis 500, Rossi had to receive a tow from the safety crew to arrive in victory lane. Rookies have won the first 500, the 50th and now the 100th edition of the Greatest Spectacle in Racing.
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The first rookie Indy champion since Helio Castroneves in 2001 and the first American-born rookie to win since Louis Meyer in 1928 Rossi stretched his final tank of gas the final 90 laps, four laps longer on one tank than any other driver did the entire race. A native of California, Rossi was for a time the latest American prospect being groomed for potential Formula One stardom. “But we did it, and I have to say a huge heartfelt thank you to everyone who has supported me”.
“One of the ways we found most efficient to saving fuel was being in the draft of others”, said Rossi. Each time a driver peeled off, Rossi inched forward, taking the lead with 4 laps to go.
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.
Team owner Michael Andretti said Rossi never saw the IMS oval until a couple of months ago.
Rossi says he ran out of gas at Turn Four of the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval with about 440 yards (400 metres) left.
Joseph Newgarden finished third, with Tony Kanaan fourth.
“I was. I was sticking to my priority of, ‘Let’s get this vehicle up front, the keep it there for the last five laps”. And ever since then, I have very good memories of this race and watching it on TV, but this is the first time that I’ve actually ever attended it.
As could be expected, Newgarden lamented having to stop for a final splash of fuel while in contention for the win.
It was a tough ask from the rookie driver, but Rossi rose to the occasion and deftly managed the auto with minimum fuel for the rest of the distance and by the last lap he was only on gas fumes.
“It was a tough decision”, Newgarden said of pitting from second place with five laps remaining.
“We’ve always thought as the 100th running here as an opportunity to continue to build the whole of the series”, said Mark Miles, CEO of Hulman Company which owns and operates the Speedway. “The fuel strategy didn’t work out”. “I wouldn’t care how we won the damn race”. He caught a huge break when Takuma Sato crashed and the Penske crew was able to make the 40-second fix under the caution flag. It’s part of the racing, strategy and everything.
The overall purse for the race was $13,273,253.
The race’s runner-up, Carlos Munoz was leading with three laps to go and said he thought his vehicle had enough fuel to win.
Question: What else is special about winning the 500?
Bell finished 21st and Hunter-Reay was 24th in a disappointing day for both drivers. Castroneves, Kanaan and Newgarden led the field back to the restart. Defending race victor Juan Pablo Montoya finished last, but pocketed $339,493.
Sage Karam was charging to the front after starting 23rd when he ran out of Turn 1 real estate while battling Townsend Bell for the fifth spot. Daly, from Noblesville, was credited with finishing 29th. Scott Dixon, Sebastien Bourdais and Will Power completed the top 10.
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He signed, he struggled in early races, but at the Grand Prix of Indianapolis he finally put a full race together to grab his first top ten finish in the series.
