Hunter-Reay Prevails In Second Closest Indy 500 Finish

Ryan Hunter-Reay takes the traditional drink of milk in victory lane after winning Sunday's Indianapolis 500.  Hunter-Reay used a late race pass to score the victory over Helio Castroneves.  Photo by Shawn Gritzmacher

Ryan Hunter-Reay takes the traditional drink of milk in victory lane after winning Sunday’s Indianapolis 500. Hunter-Reay used a late race pass to score the victory over Helio Castroneves. Photo by Shawn Gritzmacher

INDIANAPOLIS, IN – Ryan Hunter-Reay was denied a shot at a final-lap victory in the 2013 Indianapolis 500 because of a yellow flag for a single-car incident in turn 1. Third place was his career high in “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing,” but the Fort Lauderdale, FL resident wanted more.

A similar situation materialized in the 98th edition, but this time Hunter-Reay was the one drinking the milk in victory circle.

Hunter-Reay, driving the No. 28 DHL car for Andretti Autosport, held off three-time Indy 500 winner Helio Castroneves by a hair-raising .0600 of a second — the second-closest margin of victory in the history of the event — in a six-lap shootout to claim his first Indy 500 victory. Marco Andretti finished .3171 of a second back for his third third-place finish in nine starts.

“It’s a dream come true,” said Hunter-Reay, who is the first American winner since Sam Hornish, Jr. in 2006. “This (race) is American history; this is better than a championship. I hope the fans loved it because I was on the edge of my seat.”

Hunter-Reay started 19th. There were 34 lead changes among 11 drivers.

Castroneves overtook Hunter-Reay in turn 1 on lap 199 of 200 entering turn 1, but Hunter-Reay led at the finish line by .0235 of a second.

“I did everything I could do,” said Castroneves, driving the No. 3 Pennzoil Ultra Platinum Team Penske car. “What a fight.”

Carlos Munoz, who finished second last year as a rookie, finished fourth, and 2000 Indy 500 winner Juan Pablo Montoya was fifth. Kurt Busch, who had 600 more miles of racing left in North Carolina, placed sixth in his first Indy car race.

Race officials red-flagged the race on lap 192 for seven minutes to fix the turn 2 SAFER Barrier and clean up from the single-car incident involving Townsend Bell’s No. 6 Robert Graham KV Racing Technology entry. Bell had been running fifth — 1.8 seconds behind Hunter-Reay.

The first caution flag flew on Lap 150 when the No. 83 car driven by Charlie Kimball made light contact with the SAFER Barrier in turn 2. The record for longest stretch before a first yellow flag had previously been set at 65 laps in 2000. The four yellow flags tied the record for fewest (1990); the Speedway started recording cautions in 1976.

Graham Rahal was the first to retire from the race with an electrical issue in the No. 15 entry. Tony Kanaan, who won the race in 2013, developed an early suspension issue and finished 26th.

Round 6 and 7 of the Verizon IndyCar Series will be telecast live on ABC May 31 and June 1 for the Chevrolet Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix — both races at 3:30 p.m. (ET).

Verizon IndyCar Series
Indianapolis Motor Speedway – Indianapolis, IN
Indianapolis 500 – May 25, 2014

1. (19) Ryan Hunter-Reay, Dallara-Honda, 200, Running
2. (4) Helio Castroneves, Dallara-Chevy, 200, Running
3. (6) Marco Andretti, Dallara-Honda, 200, Running
4. (7) Carlos Munoz, Dallara-Honda, 200, Running
5. (10) Juan Pablo Montoya, Dallara-Chevy, 200, Running
6. (12) Kurt Busch, Dallara-Honda, 200, Running
7. (17) Sebastien Bourdais, Dallara-Chevy, 200, Running
8. (3) Will Power, Dallara-Chevy, 200, Running
9. (31) Sage Karam, Dallara-Chevy, 200, Running
10. (9) JR Hildebrand, Dallara-Chevy, 200, Running
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12. (5) Simon Pagenaud, Dallara-Honda, 200, Running
13. (24) Alex Tagliani, Dallara-Honda, 200, Running
14. (27) Jacques Villeneuve, Dallara-Honda, 200, Running
15. (32) Sebastian Saavedra, Dallara-Chevy, 200, Running
16. (28) James Davison, Dallara-Chevy, 200, Running
17. (21) Carlos Huertas, Dallara-Honda, 200, Running
18. (30) Ryan Briscoe, Dallara-Chevy, 200, Running
19. (23) Takuma Sato, Dallara-Honda, 200, Running
20. (13) Jack Hawksworth, Dallara-Honda, 200, Running
21. (15) Mikhail Aleshin, Dallara-Honda, 198, Running
22. (14) Justin Wilson, Dallara-Honda, 198, Running
23. (29) Martin Plowman, Dallara-Honda, 196, Running
24. (22) Pippa Mann, Dallara-Honda, 193, Running
25. (25) Townsend Bell, Dallara-Chevy, 190, Contact
26. (16) Tony Kanaan, Dallara-Chevy, 177, Running
27. (1) Ed Carpenter, Dallara-Chevy, 175, Contact
28. (2) James Hinchcliffe, Dallara-Honda, 175, Contact
29. (11) Scott Dixon, Dallara-Chevy, 167, Contact
30. (8) Josef Newgarden, Dallara-Honda, 156, Contact
31. (26) Charlie Kimball, Dallara-Chevy, 149, Contact
32. (33) Buddy Lazier, Dallara-Chevy, 87, Mechanical
33. (20) Graham Rahal, Dallara-Honda, 44, Electrical

Winners average speed: 186.563

Time of Race: 02:40:48.2305

Margin of victory: 0.0600 of a second

Cautions: 5 for 21 laps

Lead changes: 34 among 11 drivers

Lap Leaders: Hinchcliffe 1-9, Carpenter 10-28, Hinchcliffe 29, Power 30, Kanaan 31, Aleshin 32, Hinchcliffe 33-36, Power 37-57, Andretti 58-61, Castroneves 62, Dixon 63, Montoya 64-66, Castroneves 67-91, Carpenter 92-93, Dixon 94, Montoya 95-99, Hunter-Reay 100-107, Castroneves 108-117, Hunter-Reay 118-123, Dixon 124, Montoya 125-132, Hunter-Reay 133-138, Andretti 139-153, Carpenter 154-157, Hunter-Reay 158-162, Carpenter 163, Hunter-Reay 164-170, Tagliani 171-173, Hunter-Reay 174-181, Andretti 182, Hunter-Reay 183-184, Castroneves 185, Hunter-Reay 186-195, Castroneves 196, Hunter-Reay 197-200.

Point Standings: Hunter-Reay 274, Power 234, Castroneves 220, Pagenaud 211, Andretti 192, Munoz 160, Montoya 152, Bourdais 143, Dixon 132, Wilson 123.

 

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