Dan Wheldon (Bryan Herta Autosports) earned his second career Indianapolis 500 win by taking advantage of a final corner mistake by race leader and rookie JR Hildebrand (Panther Racing) who crashed before the finish line.
Hilderbrand who was looking to take his first ever victory went into the wall at the final corner while trying to avoid another car but still managed to cross the line in second place.
Graham Rahal took third for Ganassi ahead of KV's Tony Kanaan and Oriol Servia (Newman/Haas) who completed the top 5 of the day.
For most of the race, the Ganassi duo of Scott Dixon and Dario Franchitti were really the ones to beat as they truly set the pace most of the race.
Although he was among the leaders at the beginning of the event, pole sitter Alex Tagliani (Sam Schmidt Motorsports) faded as the race progressed. His car fell completely off the pace after the third stops and he tumbled as low as 19th before brushing the wall and breaking his suspension.
As the final stops neared, Ganassi opted to take Franchitti out of the lead for a final pit visit under yellow with 36 laps to go. a strategy Panther also employed for Hildebrand, who had run in the lower half of the top 10 for most of the race.
The pair edged towards the front as others pitted, but while Franchitti had to admit defeat and pit with one lap to go, Hildebrand looked like he had made the strategy work until his final corner error.
Dan Wheldon, who ended up at the right place at the right time, had stayed among the top 5riders of the day and was able, in the end, to benefit from the last lap drama.
Kanaan was really one of the star of the Indy 500, having reached the top six from his 23rd place start before losing 20 places again when he overshot his pit while dodging around Pippa Mann. He still fought back to fourth ahead of race-long lead factor Servia.
In the end, it was not a great day for our Canadians with James Hinchcliffe (Newman-Haas Racing) escaping an early incident unscathed but finally crashing in the wall some time later.
Paul Tracy (Dreyer & Reinbold) had a brush with the wall, though he later rejoined to finish 25th after lengthy repairs.
100th Edition Indianapolis 500 - Results
Pos Driver Team Time/Gap
1. Dan Wheldon Herta
2. JR Hildebrand Panther + 2.1086s
3. Graham Rahal Ganassi + 5.5949s
4. Tony Kanaan KV + 7.4870s
5. Oriol Servia Newman/Haas + 8.8757s
6. Scott Dixon Ganassi + 9.5434s
7. Bertrand Baguette Rahal Letterman Lanigan + 23.9631s
8. Tomas Scheckter KV/SH + 24.3299s
9. Marco Andretti Andretti + 25.4711s
10. Danica Patrick Andretti + 26.4483s
11. Ed Carpenter Sarah Fisher + 27.0375s
12. Dario Franchitti Ganassi + 56.4167s
13. Charlie Kimball Ganassi + 1 lap
14. Will Power Penske + 1 lap
15. Vitor Meira Foyt + 1 lap
16. Justin Wilson Dreyer & Reinbold + 1 lap
17. Helio Castroneves Penske + 1 lap
18. Buddy Rice Panther + 2 laps
19. Alex Lloyd Dale Coyne + 2 laps
20. Pippa Mann Conquest + 2 laps
21. Ana Beatriz Dreyer & Reinbold + 3 laps
22. John Andretti Petty/Andretti + 3 laps
23. Ryan Hunter-Reay Foyt + 3 laps
24. Davey Hamilton Dreyer & Reinbold + 7 laps
25. Paul Tracy Dreyer & Reinbold + 25 laps
Retirements:
Townsend Bell Sam Schmidt 157 laps
Ryan Briscoe Penske 157 laps
Alex Tagliani Sam Schmidt 147 laps
James Hinchcliffe Newman/Haas 99 laps
Jay Howard Rahal/Schmidt 60 laps
Simona de Silvestro HVM 44 laps
EJ Viso KV 27 laps
Takuma Sato KV 20 laps
Hilderbrand who was looking to take his first ever victory went into the wall at the final corner while trying to avoid another car but still managed to cross the line in second place.
Graham Rahal took third for Ganassi ahead of KV's Tony Kanaan and Oriol Servia (Newman/Haas) who completed the top 5 of the day.
For most of the race, the Ganassi duo of Scott Dixon and Dario Franchitti were really the ones to beat as they truly set the pace most of the race.
Although he was among the leaders at the beginning of the event, pole sitter Alex Tagliani (Sam Schmidt Motorsports) faded as the race progressed. His car fell completely off the pace after the third stops and he tumbled as low as 19th before brushing the wall and breaking his suspension.
As the final stops neared, Ganassi opted to take Franchitti out of the lead for a final pit visit under yellow with 36 laps to go. a strategy Panther also employed for Hildebrand, who had run in the lower half of the top 10 for most of the race.
The pair edged towards the front as others pitted, but while Franchitti had to admit defeat and pit with one lap to go, Hildebrand looked like he had made the strategy work until his final corner error.
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| JR Hildebrand crosses the finish line despite wrecking on the final lap - Photo by: LAT Photo USA |
Dan Wheldon, who ended up at the right place at the right time, had stayed among the top 5riders of the day and was able, in the end, to benefit from the last lap drama.
Kanaan was really one of the star of the Indy 500, having reached the top six from his 23rd place start before losing 20 places again when he overshot his pit while dodging around Pippa Mann. He still fought back to fourth ahead of race-long lead factor Servia.
In the end, it was not a great day for our Canadians with James Hinchcliffe (Newman-Haas Racing) escaping an early incident unscathed but finally crashing in the wall some time later.
Paul Tracy (Dreyer & Reinbold) had a brush with the wall, though he later rejoined to finish 25th after lengthy repairs.
100th Edition Indianapolis 500 - Results
Pos Driver Team Time/Gap
1. Dan Wheldon Herta
2. JR Hildebrand Panther + 2.1086s
3. Graham Rahal Ganassi + 5.5949s
4. Tony Kanaan KV + 7.4870s
5. Oriol Servia Newman/Haas + 8.8757s
6. Scott Dixon Ganassi + 9.5434s
7. Bertrand Baguette Rahal Letterman Lanigan + 23.9631s
8. Tomas Scheckter KV/SH + 24.3299s
9. Marco Andretti Andretti + 25.4711s
10. Danica Patrick Andretti + 26.4483s
11. Ed Carpenter Sarah Fisher + 27.0375s
12. Dario Franchitti Ganassi + 56.4167s
13. Charlie Kimball Ganassi + 1 lap
14. Will Power Penske + 1 lap
15. Vitor Meira Foyt + 1 lap
16. Justin Wilson Dreyer & Reinbold + 1 lap
17. Helio Castroneves Penske + 1 lap
18. Buddy Rice Panther + 2 laps
19. Alex Lloyd Dale Coyne + 2 laps
20. Pippa Mann Conquest + 2 laps
21. Ana Beatriz Dreyer & Reinbold + 3 laps
22. John Andretti Petty/Andretti + 3 laps
23. Ryan Hunter-Reay Foyt + 3 laps
24. Davey Hamilton Dreyer & Reinbold + 7 laps
25. Paul Tracy Dreyer & Reinbold + 25 laps
Retirements:
Townsend Bell Sam Schmidt 157 laps
Ryan Briscoe Penske 157 laps
Alex Tagliani Sam Schmidt 147 laps
James Hinchcliffe Newman/Haas 99 laps
Jay Howard Rahal/Schmidt 60 laps
Simona de Silvestro HVM 44 laps
EJ Viso KV 27 laps
Takuma Sato KV 20 laps