The caution finally flew at the right time at the Indianapolis 500 for Tony Kanaan, who won the Greatest Specatcle in Racing by taking the lead from Ryan Hunter-Reay on a restart with three laps to go.
A caution flag flew for a crash involving Dario Franchitti seconds later, freezing the field and putting Kanaan in the winner's circle for the 97th running of the 500-mile race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
A caution flag flew for a crash involving Dario Franchitti seconds later, freezing the field and putting Kanaan in the winner's circle for the 97th running of the 500-mile race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Rookie Carlos Munoz finished second, followed by Ryan Hunter-Reay, Marco Andretti and Justin Wilson.
"I got a little bit of luck today," said the 2004 series champion, who is extremely popular among his peers. "It's for the fans. It's for my dad who's not here. But mainly for all of you guys. I was looking at the stands, and it was unbelievable.
"I want to thank everybody. I've never seen so many people from other teams (offering congratulations). This is it, man. I made it. I'm finally going to put my name on that trophy. … We were known for not winning, now we're known for winning. I don't know what to say."
It was the 16th career victory for Kanaan, who was in a Dallara-Chevrolet for KV Racing. He conquered the 2.5-mile oval for the first time in his 12th attempt and had led eight of the previous 11, including the past seven.
It was a stunning turn of fortunes for the Brazilian, who dominated the rain-shortened 2007 event by leading a race-high 83 laps but was burned by two ill-timed yellows (one for inclement weather) and finished 12th behind winner Franchitti.
"He was great all day," car owner Jimmy Vasser said. "We got a little luck from Alex Zanardi today. He gave us his gold medal from London and said 'rub this all over the car.' The Indy 500. I can't believe it."
The final restart with three laps remaining was set up when the yellow flag flew a fourth time for Graham Rahal hit the wall, bringing out the first caution in more than 130 laps.
The race featured a record 68 lead changes, shattering the mark of 34 set last year. Read more
Posts
