Rossi pulls off stunning upset in 100th Indy 500
Canadian Hinchcliffe finishes seventh
INDIANAPOLIS• An unfamiliar driver, an American no less, ushered in a new era at Indianapolis Motor Speedway by outlasting his faster rivals — and his fuel tank.
Alexander Rossi was the stunning winner of the historic 100th running of ‘ The Greatest Spectacle In Racing’ on Sunday in a victory that allowed the long- suffering Andretti family to celebrate in the biggest race of their famed careers.
Rossi was a 66- to-1 long shot and certainly not the driver anyone would have picked to win. But t he 24-year-old Californian used fuel strategy to outsmart a handful of drivers who had the most dominant cars in the race.
Rossi stretched his final tank of gas 90 miles to cycle into the lead as others had to duck into the pits for a splash of fuel in the waning laps. He ran out of gas after taking the checkered flag and his Honda had to be towed to the victory celebration.
“I have no idea how we pulled that off,” Rossi said. “It’s an amazing result for Andretti Autosport.”
James Hinchcliffe, of Oakville, faded to seventh despite being one of the best cars in the field. The Canadian was the pole sitter and missed this race last year after a near- fatal accident in a practice session. Veteran Alex Tagliani of Lachenaie, Que., was 17th.
Rossi didn’ t have t he speed of Carlos Munoz, who was charging hard over the final 50 miles. But Munoz also had to stop for gas and didn’t have a chance to race his teammate for the victory — even though Rossi was running on fumes and completed the final lap at a snail’s pace of 179.784 mph.
The Colombian settled for second in a 1-2 finish for Andretti Autosport.
The win allowed team owner Michael Andretti to celebrate in the 100th running of a race that has tormented his family. Andretti earlier this month was voted by the 27 living winners as the best driver never to win the race, but he has now won the 500 four times as an owner.