When a fairly unknown rookie zoomed across the bricks at the IMS to take the checkered flag for the win last Sunday, I couldn’t have been more surprised if, to quote Clark Griswold in Christmas Vacation, I had woken up with my face stapled to the floor. Perhaps the darkest horse to ever have his image added to the Borg-Warner Trophy, young Mr. Rossi has entered the book of sports history with his win. As former winner Tony Kaanan observed, ”His life will never be the same again.”
To be fair, however, young Mr. Rossi had impressed the racing crowd with his smooth driving and careful attention to detail while practicing at the track. He was the fastest rookie qualifier and starting 11th, he was the highest rookie starter. Most of the media was fairly sure that he would take home “Rookie of the Year” honors. He was running as a member of the Andretti Autosports team. His car co-owner and crew chief is former driver Brian Herta. Herta had an Indy win in 2011 with Dan Wheldon, so the bloodlines were there. On the victory platform kissing the festival queen, he seemed to be as stunned as everyone else. He looked at the bottle of milk with great surprise. He was a humble and gracious winner.
Rossi is a Californian. That makes him the first American born rookie winner since Gorge Souders way, way back in 1927. He is 24 years old. While not the youngest winner ever, he certainly is among the youngest. His professional racing career is really just beginning. He has been a test driver and reserve driver in Formula 1 since 2012. He made his F1 racing debut last year at the Singapore Grand Prix for the Manor Racing Team. In fact, he is still a reserve driver for the Manor team. He competed in the 2013 24-hour Le Mans endurance race as a part of the Greaves Motorsports team. As late as January of this year, Rossi wasn’t listed as an Indy Car driver. He made his Indy Car debut at the St. Petersburg Firestone Grand Prix, the first race of the 2016 IndyCar season. Before the Indy 500, his best finish of the series has been a 14th at the Phoenix Oval, the second race of the series. His win at Indy was a fitting climax to the 100th Anniversary race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Mr. Rossi and his team officially won $2,548,742. This isn’t a record. Rossi only led eleven laps. Alexander also gets the Chevy Camero SS pace car. He was also named “Rookie of the Year.” This doesn’t include the endorsement and appearance money he is sure to pick up. May 29, 2016 will turn out to be a very profitable day for him.
A Brief Summary of the Race
The greatest single gathering of human beings for any reason, sporting event or otherwise, occurred last Sunday at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The 100th running of the Indianapolis 500 Mile race was sort of the Woodstock of Sports with more than 350,000 people at the two-and-one-half mile oval to personally experience the awe and majesty of the Brickyard. Truly a race for the ages that fans will talk about for years to come.
Pole winner James Hinchcliffe was a wonderful story by himself. Critically injured in practice at the track last year, the popular Canadian missed the rest of the season as he slowly worked his way back to health with a vigorous and aggressive recovery program. He will forever be an inspiration to all of us. Hinch drove a steady race and finished 7th.
Honda engines dominated the month as both the pole winner and race winner were powered by Honda. Chevy engines had the story in the first five races of the series. Josef Newgarden was the top Chevy finisher in third place. Simon Pagenaud, the Penske driver who had seemed unbeatable in the first five races of 2016 and is the series point leader was not a factor. An ill-handling car and a pit violation drive through penalty took him out of contention. Juan Pablo Montoya, last year’s winner, was first out. Spinning on lap 64, he hit the wall and ended his day. Only Helio Castroveves was a serious contender for Penske. He finished 11th. There were 54 lead changes during the race. Not a record. but still making for very exciting race.
Andretti Autosports was the team to beat. With Rossi first and Carlos Munoz second it was a big day for the team. Ryan Hunter-Reay and Townsend Bell put on a great show for the fans in the first half of the race, Their tangle in the pits and penalty took them out of contention.
Tony Kanaan drove a very credible race and finished 4th. Series champion Scott Dixon was in the top ten for a while and finished 8th but was not a contender for the win.
Pit and fuel strategy played a major role in the Rossi win. Owner Brian Herta had Rossi’s fuel consumption figured down to the last fume. This was also the first time since 1963 that car number #98 was in Victory Lane. That year the legendary Parnelli Jones won the race. This is the third time a car numbered #98 has won here.
So another Indy 500 is in the history books and it’s on to Detroit this coming weekend for the Chevy Indycar Dual on Belle Isle.
snicewanger@yahoo.com