Hornish Earns $1.74 Million From Record Indianapol
It was the second-closest finish in Indianapolis 500 history and Hornish’s first victory in “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing,” in his seventh start.
Hornish’s winnings and the total purse were announced May 29 during the Indianapolis 500 Victory Celebration at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. His win in the No. 6 Marlboro Team Penske Dallara/Honda/Firestone gave team owner Roger Penske a record 14th victory.
This year’s event purse broke the record of $10,304,815 set in 2005. This is the fifth consecutive year the overall purse for the field of 33 drivers has exceeded $10 million. The event purse is comprised of Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Indy Racing League and sponsor awards, and other designated awards. Buddy Rice earned the record driver’s payout of $1,761,740 in 2004.
Hornish, a 26-year-old native of Defiance, Ohio, and resident of nearby Napoleon, Ohio, led three times for 19 laps, becoming the 18th driver to win the race from the pole and the first driver in the race to take the lead on the final lap. Hornish closed on the No. 26 NYSE Group Dallara/Honda/Firestone car of Andretti exiting Turn 4 and dramatically passed him on the inside just before the finish line.
The race featured 14 lead changes among seven drivers. 2005 winner Dan Wheldon led the most laps with 148.
Andretti earned $698,505 for finishing an IRL IndyCar Series career-best second. The “500” was only his fourth start in the top-level open-wheel racing series, and his result earned him the prestigious Indianapolis 500 Chase Rookie of the Year Award and its $25,000 bonus. Andretti’s grandfather, Mario Andretti, won rookie of the year honors in 1965 after finishing third, and his father, Michael, shared the top rookie award with Roberto Guerrero after finishing fifth in 1984.
Michael Andretti followed his son across the line to finish third in the No. 1 Jim Beam/Vonage Dallara/Honda/Firestone and earned $480,105. Andretti nearly won the race, his 15th start at the “500,” when he led Laps 194-197 before his son passed him.
Hornish’s contributions to the sport on a personal level also were recognized at the Victory Celebration. He was awarded the Scott Brayton Driver’s Trophy, presented since 1997 to the driver who best exemplifies the character and racing spirit of the late Scott Brayton.
The 91st Indianapolis 500-Mile Race is scheduled for May 27, 2007.
A calmer Tony Stewart plans to enjoy what's next
In the aftermath of clinching his second championship in the past four years Sunday at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Stewart drew high praise from those he had just beaten.
Mark Martin said Stewart is the greatest driver he has seen in this era and called him "my driving hero."
Jeff Gordon said Stewart makes a "team better than it is" and complimented him for learning to hold his emotions in check and accept responsibility that comes with being a high-profile star in a high-profile sport.
Carl Edwards said it will be a proud moment for him to share the stage with Stewart at NASCAR's awards banquet Dec. 2 in New York.
And on and on, enough so that Stewart was truly humbled when the remarks were repeated to him.
"Any time a group of drivers speaks highly of you like that, that's probably the greatest honor in auto racing you can have," he said. "For your peers to have that confidence in you and that respect for you, to hear those comments, that's better than any trophy I've ever received."
The celebration of Stewart's title, which came with a steady 15th-place finish behind Ford 400 winner Greg Biffle, has only just begun.
He was in New York on Monday for a number of media commitments, including a taping of The Late Show with David Letterman scheduled to air tonight.
He spent Tuesday in Bristol, Conn., doing a series of interviews with ESPN. Then it was home to Columbus, Ind., to party with family and friends over Thanksgiving weekend before returning to New York late Sunday for a five-day media blitz leading up to the banquet.
Stewart has to wait until the banquet to collect the bulk of the $12.8 million won this season. But he was quick to point out most of that money goes into the Joe Gibbs Racing bank account, not his.
"I wish I could spend all $12 million of it," he said. "There's all kinds of toys I could buy with $12 million. I could have it spent in about 24 hours, no problem."
Team President J.D. Gibbs joked that Stewart might not get any of it.
"We like our drivers in debt," he said. "They drive harder."
Stewart showed up at his postrace news conference still carrying a gift given to him before the race by Pattie Petty, wife of driver Kyle Petty. It was a cross with "John 3:16" on it that had belonged to the Pettys' son, Adam, who was killed in a racing crash in 2000.
"That was definitely going in the race car with me," Stewart said.
"I put it in my pocket and it was good luck."
Stewart will have two rookie teammates next season, Denny Hamlin and JJ Yeley, and he's looking forward to the challenge of tutoring them. Beyond that, he hasn't given much thought to the future and how many more championships he could possibly win.
"No matter when I quit, whether it is 20 years or five years or whenever it is, what is going to be left from all this is the relationships that were built along the way," he said. "I can't look into the future. I don't know what the rest of my life is going to be like.
"I've never even thought of retiring. But when that day comes, no matter what happens, everything that happens from here on is just icing on the cake."
Labonte to the #42?
Martin not confident for Sunday
For many NASCAR drivers, perhaps most, Martinsville Speedway on a Sunday afternoon is a four-hour exercise in frustration.
The corners are tight and slippery, the straights are short but horsepower demanding and the narrow pit road is a nightmare, with only one or two decent pits.
Add the threat of carbon-monoxide poisoning, throw in some warm weather, and, well, you can see why only a few stock-car drivers really have a handle on the place.
Yet after the debacle Saturday night in Charlotte, Martinsville Speedway has never looked so inviting.
"Martinsville is a place I've always hated with a passion," title challenger Mark Martin said. "But we've won two or three times. And I've always loved Pocono but never won there. So what does that tell you?
"(Martinsville) has always been a thorn in my side. People tell me how well I run, but it sure never feels that way. It can be physically demanding. Sometimes you leave worn down, sometimes you feel fine. It's been a real challenge for me because it really just doesn't fit my driving style.
"However, we had a good run in the spring (a third), and we've been pretty good the last few times. We had a good run at Charlotte, and I don't think we are anywhere near through just yet."
Pat Tryson, Martin's crew chief, said: "It's a tough place to race, and it's not really our favorite track in the Chase. But Mark has a good history, and it's a place where his skills do actually stand out."
While the 10 men in the Chase for the Championship should dominate the headlines, Kasey Kahne could be an outsider to keep an eye on.
Kahne really hasn't had much of a season, after a sensational rookie year. But he is one of the many drivers glad to come to a track where tires probably won't be a problem, and even if they are, drivers won't be plowing into the wall here at 188 mph.
"We've made a lot of progress with our short-track program this year, and in the process I've come to enjoy racing on the short tracks, especially Martinsville," Kahne said. "We had a very good run in the spring, finishing second. Success creates a comfort zone."
Tony Stewart and Jimmie Johnson are tied atop the Nextel Cup standings, and at least four others are within easy striking range over the season's final five races: Greg Biffle is only 11 points down, Ryan Newman 17 down, and Jack Roush teammates Martin and Carl Edwards are fewer than 60 points down.
Newman should be one of the favorites in today's qualifying.
"We used to be absolutely horrible at Martinsville, because the driver would burn off the brakes," Newman said. "After we talked to him, we got him to settle down and drive the car right. We've always had fast cars, but recently we got the package together for racing, and we look at this race as a good one for moving up in the standings. We have an opportunity to come out of Martinsville with the points lead if everything goes right."
But Biffle is not that optimistic: "Martinsville has never been a very good track for me, so last week we took two full days testing, and I feel more confident this week than I ever have."
Biffle says all he wants Sunday is "a solid run. That's really all we need - and then just move on to Atlanta, Texas, Phoenix and Homestead, where we've had a lot of luck in the past."
After Saturday's problems in Charlotte, Matt Kenseth is 124 points down and desperately needs to rebound, but Martinsville probably won't be the place.
"To be truthful, Martinsville is a track I go to with some trepidation," Kenseth said. "We have historically, struggled. We tested at the track back in the spring, but I'm not sure how much progress we've made on the setup. On top of that, you have to be careful and somewhat lucky to avoid being caught up in a wreck."
Martin and Kurt Busch, on the other hand, should be good. Busch certainly needs some breaks, too; despite an excellent night at Charlotte, he's still 142 points behind.
"We've got some hope," Busch said, "because we ended up with an OK finish last week. That's the first Chase race where nothing went wrong for us."
And Busch has won at Martinsville before.
However, Edwards says that Martinsville "is probably one of the toughest tracks for me personally, though if we can have a decent qualifying run, I think we can race well. A lot can happen in 500 laps, and at Martinsville pit strategy and tire management can make or break you.
"This is definitely one of the bigger obstacles for us in the Chase."
The stealth racer in the championship chase is Jeremy Mayfield, 15th at Martinsville in the spring.
"We're not in the position we would like to be in for these next five races, but we're in much better shape than last year heading to Martinsville," Mayfield said. "There are only five races to go, and it's time to make our move. We need to clean the table and get every point we can. That means finishing all 500 laps, but it also means going for the win.
"Time is running out."
Johnson takes Braves' Giles for wild ride
The Braves second baseman remarked: "I might have to change after I'm done."On an afternoon that made Granite Hills High back in El Cajon, Calif., proud, one old schoolmate showed the other what he does at the office. Wednesday, Johnson took Giles on a 10-lap joy ride at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
Not quite competition speed: 175 mph, topping at 180. But it did the trick.
"There is no question about it," Giles said afterward. "This is more intimidating to face than a 100 mph fastball."
Three years ahead of Giles back at Granite Hills in suburban San Diego, Johnson (Class of '93) wasn't on the baseball team, but the pair became friends on weekend "excursions."
"We'd all go out to the desert and ride by the lake, the Colorado River," said Johnson, who is tied for the Nextel points lead entering this weekend's Subway 500 at Martinsville Speedway. "And he was always Little Marcus but he carried a lot with him. He wasn't just Little Marcus. We called him Taz at times."
Giles said: "He might have done more dangerous things in our high school days, but we're on network right now. We're not on HBO, so we can't talk about it."
The two tried to keep tabs on each other over the years until Giles - who confesses to not following NASCAR but is on a crash course - found his friend moving around the top of his field. Johnson sent a helicopter to fetch him to Richmond for a race after a Braves day game in Washington D.C., and no longer does Giles believe that NASCAR is "just about driving around as fast as you can."
Which was the genesis to Wednesday's excursion. After Johnson was done with an afternoon of testing, Giles pulled on one of Johnson's fire suits, was fitted with a helmet and the two were off.
Asked about the suspicion that drivers, when all the talk of safety is done, deeply enjoy terrifying the pants off their friends, Johnson replied: "Without a doubt."
In truth, the car was not the competition 48 Lowe's Improvement Chevy but a chopped-down replica shipped down from Charlotte by the Richard Petty Driving Experience. These cars, driven by fee-paying amateurs, rate just 625 horsepower instead of the usual 800 on the circuit, the difference between 175 mph and 200 mph.
"Fast enough to scare whoever's riding it," said Petty's Nick Beck.
Exiting pit row, Giles waited just an instant before having second thoughts.
"The only time I was just a little bit nervous was just coming out," Giles said, "and I'm wondering: 'Should he be hitting the throttle going into this curve?' Because he definitely wasn't letting off. But after Turn 1, I was as comfortable as could be."
On an empty track, Johnson was turning 32-second laps, topping out at 180 mph, a good qualifying speed for the Craftsman Truck Series. For the benefit of Giles' metabolism, Johnson once - just this once - played the "wall" card.
"I think I got him at Turn 1," Johnson said. "Aimed at the wall and shot for the top line along the top, and I saw him flinch. I thought I heard some noise coming out over there."
Johnson at one point cut the engine to coast a lap so they might talk - Giles' scream of exhilaration could be heard on pit row a quarter-mile away - before the ride came to the big finish, an endless tire burnout at the finish line cloaked the car in smoke. It also seared the AMS logo painted in the track's shoulder.
After inspecting his emblems, AMS General Manager Ed Clark walked up to Giles and presented him with a paint roller, asking: "How are your painting skills?"
The only crash, when it came, was merely verbal, but in NASCAR's commercial biosphere, was nevertheless violent. Leaning against the Lowe's car, Giles made a passing allusion to Home Depot while television cameras were rolling. Immediately recognizing his sin, the little infielder sprinted away from the car as if she were going to blow.
"Dude!" he shouted to Johnson. "If you get fired, you can come live with me."
Giles admitted he could spend all day at this, but the sun was setting and the small media throng had thinned.
Looking over the blue machine that had carried them, the second baseman was drawn to the rear wheels. Flicking at the rubber that had been deformed during their 10-lap sojourn, Giles had just one last question.
"Hey," he asked the driver, "how much do I owe for the tires?"
Gordon, Burton see Martinsville as lifeboat
However, with nothing to lose during the final five races, Gordon has set his sights on sweeping Martinsville; he won the April 10 race for his second of three wins this season. In 2003, he won both events from the pole and led 503 of 1,000 laps.
"I definitely want another grandfather clock," said Gordon, a reference to the clock presented to the winner of each Martinsville race. "And I'd like to get Steve [Letarte] his first win as a crew chief. We always seem to run well here, and a lot of the credit goes to the DuPont crew. They have given me great cars and haven't given up when we've faced some obstacles.
"Before every race, in our team meeting, we discuss the need to overcome any obstacles or hurdles that we may face. And we've had several hurdles here recently."
In the spring race, Gordon's car had a vibration less than 50 laps into the 500-lap race. He lost three laps to the leaders before the problem on the right front was corrected. In making up the three laps, Gordon benefited from one "Lucky Dog" pass and twice passed the race leader to get back on the lead lap just past halfway. He finally took the lead on Lap 464 and led the rest of the way for his sixth victory in 25 starts at the 0.526-mile track.
Another driver who has endured his share of hardship this year is Jeff Burton. However, the final short track of the season is a sight for sore eyes.
"I really like Martinsville and enjoy racing there," Burton said. "It's fun. I think it's a throwback to what racing was -- and what it ought to be. It's good tough, side-by-side racing. It's a long day. I think physically it's the toughest track on the drivers that we go to. Inside those cars it's really hot with a lot of carbon monoxide exposure. You're always up on somebody and somebody is always up on you at Martinsville. It's one of the hardest places we race all year, but you have fun."
Burton has had a lot of fun at the track, garnering a victory (Sept. 28, 1997), eight top-five finishes and 11 top-10s in 22 starts.
"Martinsville Speedway has changed since they ground their racetrack," he said. "The middle has come in to now be the preferred groove, which is really unusual for Martinsville. But, I think it is much like Talladega in that when you are out of the groove, there is no fighting it. It is a hard race, though.
"You have to have good brakes and you have to use the brakes. I mean, there is this thing about saving brakes at Martinsville, but you can only save your brakes if you are really fast and can just ride around and not get on them and use them really hard. I don't believe there are that many that can do that, though. You have to have a braking system that is really good. The driver can't make mistakes, which is real easy to do there. Everything has to go your way
Foyt IV injured in crash at IRL's Toyota Indy 500
Foyt, 21, scheduled to drive five NASCAR Busch Series races beginning next weekend in Memphis, Tenn., was taken by ambulance to hospital after complaining of pain in his knees.
Track officials said Foyt was awake and talking but groggy after being removed from his car, which hit the wall in the first turn of the two-mile oval. Foyt was struggling with an ill-handling car and had brushed the wall several laps before the crash.
During the ensuing caution period, a member of Roger Yasukawa's crew was run over as the driver hurried to leave the pit. Officials said the crewman, whose name was not released, was not seriously injured.