1991’s best driver outside F1?

This May will represent the 30th anniversary of Rick Mears joining the four-time Indianapolis 500 winners’ club, after a stunning outside pass on Michael Andretti at Turn 1 on lap 188 of the 200. It will therefore also be the 30th anniversary of Andretti losing the Indy 500, despite making a stunning outside pass on Mears at Turn 1 just one lap earlier…

During Long Beach weekend a few years back, at the Legends night in the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles, Andretti was asked what the Indy 500 means to him. Of course, he’s won it as a team owner five times, with Dan Wheldon, Dario Franchitti, Ryan Hunter-Reay, Alexander Rossi and Takuma Sato but, despite being several years retired from the cockpit, Andretti’s response saw him automatically default to racer mode.

“If you’re an Indycar driver [Indy] means everything to you,” he said. “Growing up,