TOP 10 INDY 500s

SULLIVAN SPINS AND WINS 1985

10

Mario Andretti led the majority of the first half of the race, but Danny Sullivan had learned well from Penske team-mate Rick Mears about constantly fine-tuning his car for the final shootout in 500-mile races.

Sullivan’s March 85C got stronger and he found it relatively easy to haul up onto Andretti’s tail at the start of lap 120. Moving out to make the pass on the inside of Turn 1, Sullivan found himself having to use the track and the apron, and the transition wobbled his car into a spin.

Remarkably he completed 360 degrees without striking the wall. Equally remarkably, 1969 500 winner Andretti avoided him. Less than 20 laps later, a fired-up Sullivan moved into a lead that he’d never lose, able to pull away after all subsequent restarts.

HILDEBRAND’S GIFT TO WHELDON 2011

9

The closing laps of the Centenary event were epic as a variety of strategy gambles failed to mesh with yellow-flag periods, leaving some great driver/team combinations, such as Chip Ganassi Racing pair Dario Franchitti and Scott Dixon, trying to coax their cars home on fumes.

After Danica Patrick was forced to give up the lead with 12 laps to go, Bertrand Baguette took over at the front until lap 197, when his Conquest Racing Dallara was forced into taking on a late splash-and-dash.

“WHELDON LED JUST ONE QUARTER OF A LAP – THE MOST IMPORTANT QUARTER OF ALL”

That left rookie JR Hildebrand in the lead for Panther Racing, a team that had finished second in the previous three 500s with 2005 winner Dan Wheldon.

Wheldon, by now a part-time driver racing for Bryan Herta Autosport in his first race of the year – and only the squad’s second ever IndyCar event – was second and closing, but nowhere near fast enough to catch the 2009 Indy Lights champion.

Then, with