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May302011

Monday, May 30, 2011 at 06:53PM

June 1, 2011

The Magnificent Mistake.

By Peter M. De Lorenzo

(Posted 5/30, 7:00 p.m.) Indianapolis. Oh, it was magnificent alright. It had been a fast-paced Indianapolis 500 on a hot, blustery afternoon and here was JR Hildebrand, the 23-year-old rookie who had run a smart, confident, and tactical race all day long in his No. 4 Panther Racing National Guard Honda-powered Dallara and who found himself comfortably out front with the laps dwindling down. And the two most feared competitors in the sport of IndyCar racing, Team Penske - the vaunted 15-time Indy 500 champions - and Chip Ganassi Racing, who had come to the fore in recent years and who had showed no signs of letting up, were both out of business for the win. The Penske boys because of a rare combination of lack of speed all month and piss-poor luck during the race, and the Ganassi juggernaut, which clearly looked like the team to beat but who in the end simply outsmarted themselves yet again by trying to play the fuel efficiency game yet again (after blowing it so badly in qualifying), and then blowing it even worse during the race. Incredible.

In other words, The Kid had it locked. After 799 corners Hildebrand headed for one final left turn and then a simple quarter-mile blast to the start-finish line to win the 100th Anniversary of the biggest race in the world. And then? Disaster.

Uh, what were you thinkin' exactly, JR? Let's hear him tell it...

"On the last lap, the cars that previously been cycling around in the lead that had pitted were all coming out of the pits and were up to speed. I was aware there were some cars coming with some heat towards the end of the race, like the 98 and the 9 were the two guys quickest toward the end. Certainly, I was aware of the fact that I had some gap on them. But I then, on the last lap, started catching some other cars coming out of the pits as I was cycling through (Turns) 3 and 4. I guess as it happened, I ended up catching the 83, I think, going into Turn 4, a fairly inopportune area. I quickly decided, knowing that the cars in second and third were coming pretty strong, that rather than downshifting a bunch, you know, sort of risking slowing the car way down coming onto the front straight to stay behind him, I thought I'll breathe it and go to the high side because it was a move I used earlier in the race to get around some slower cars in a fairly similar situation. I guess just with the tires as worn as they were, the run being as long, that sort of stint of the race being as long as it was, there were a bunch of marbles on the outside. Once I got up there, there wasn't a lot I could do."

And with that JR Hildebrand not only threw away the biggest race of his life, he squandered his chance to win the biggest race in the world. In the most graphic demonstration in memory of "it ain't over 'til it's over," JR Hildebrand was into the wall in an instant and Dan Wheldon, the 2005 Indy 500 champion, came through for his second win. There wasn't a person at The Speedway or around the racing world who didn't feel terrible for Hildebrand. To be so close to victory in the one race that matters above all others only to throw it all away within sight of the checkered flag is almost beyond comprehension. Crushingly so, in fact.

JR continued: "I mean, this is not really about me at this point. You always show up to try to win. But for me, my disappointment is for the team and for National Guard as a sponsor. It's one of the those things, as a driver, you never really know what you're going to expect. We knew we had a fast race car. We knew if the race came to us, we may be in a position to sort of finish top three, top five, wherever that might be, depending on how it panned out. But as a driver, I'm smart enough as a rookie to not expect, no matter what's going to happen, I'm going to come to the Indianapolis 500 my first year and be in a position to win the race. As it turned out, we most certainly were. We were in a position that we should have won the race. So for me, it's not so much that I'm pissed off or disappointed that my face isn't going to go on the Borg-Warner. Just with this team, Panther Racing has finished second three years in a row now with the National Guard sponsorship, I felt like we had an incredible opportunity to get on a big stage for those guys."

JR Hildebrand is a classy young man with a bright future ahead of him, and I for one hope he can put this mistake behind him and that he continues on an upward career trajectory in this sport. Other people in other sports have never recovered from gaffes of this magnitude, although to be honest for racing enthusiasts there just isn't an equivalent to the disaster that unfolded last Sunday. It was one of those moments that people will be talking about for years to come, "...when that kid threw the Indy 500 away."

It was not only memorable, but in its own heart-wrenching way it was magnificent too. The thrill of Wheldon's victory (see much more in The Line - ed.) and the agony of Hildebrand's defeat will become part of the magical lore of the Indianapolis 500 forever and ever.

As it should be.

(Chris Jones/IndyCar)
JR Hildebrand on Pole Day at The Speedway. The 23-year-old from California will hopefully have many better days to come in IndyCar racing.

Editor-in-Chief's Note from Indy: Well, needless to say it was a fantastic race and a memorable time at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the 100th Anniversary of the event. The crowd was huge, the lead-up to the race with the fabulous old Indy cars being driven by Indy legends was simply spectacular, the B2 flyover was majestic and awesome in every sense of that word, simply awe-inspiring in fact, the huge contingent of men and women from our military were warmly received by thunderous ovations from the grandstands, and the start of the race itself was even more special than I've ever experienced before. Why? Because thanks to a gracious, spur-of-the-moment invitation from some of my old friends at Chevrolet, I found myself buckled in the backseat of the lead Camaro SS at the head of the field for the parade lap before the start of the race. And I must tell you, when you hear Mari Hulman George say, "Ladies and Gentlemen, start your engines" and you hear those racing engines firing up right behind you on the track, well, I can barely even begin to describe the feeling. Short of being strapped-in to one of the Indy cars rolling off the grid, the adrenaline rush was palpable and intense, much more than I expected, in fact. After all, when you're right there, on the track at the head of the field for the biggest race in the world it is simply mind-blowing and I was determined to savor every second of it. And when we started accelerating out on our flying parade lap the sight and sound were almost incomprehensible. You hear Indy drivers talk about how race day is different at The Speedway because of all the people, but I had no idea what they were talking about until I experienced it for myself. The People. Oh my goodness, the people. Jammed into the grandstands as far as you could see. And when we came through Turn 1 and started to accelerate away toward Turn 2 the cheering from the crowd rose-up and swallowed us whole, completely drowning out any noise associated with riding in a convertible at 100+ mph. It was incredible. As we passed the suites outside of Turn 2 and headed down the back stretch, it was only then that I had a chance to catch my breath and say to myself, "Am I really doing this? Is this really happening?" Oh, it definitely was and I made sure I was in the moment, believe me. And when we approached Turn 3, the buffeting from the wind in the Camaro SS convertible was overwhelmed again by the huge roar from the crowd. But then nothing, I mean nothing prepared me for the sight going through the short chute into Turn 4 and looking down the main straightaway of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on race day. It was simply the most magnificent sight I've ever experienced in my life. And as we roared down the straightaway in front of the huge main grandstands you couldn't hear a thing, the noise from the crowd simply drowned-out everything. It was absolutely fantastic. And then it was over. We peeled off on to the apron in Turn 1 only to have a razor-sharp brrraaap jolt us as Mario Andretti blasted by in the two-seater promotional IndyCar, followed by A.J. Foyt in the Pace Car and the entire field of 33 cars. As far as once-in-a-lifetime experiences go for a hard-core racing enthusiast like myself, I would say that this pretty much did me in. And it really doesn't need to be said but I'll say it again anyway. Indy? There's simply nothing else like it. - PMD

Publisher's Note: As part of our continuing series celebrating the "Glory Days" of racing, we're proud to present another noteworthy image from the Ford Racing Archives. - PMD

(Courtesy of the Ford Racing Archives)
Jim Clark, Colin Chapman and the Team Lotus crew the day after winning the 1965 Indianapolis 500.

Publisher's Note: Like these Ford racing photos? Check out www.fordimages.com. Be forewarned, however, because you won't be able to go there and not order something. - PMD

See another live episode of "Autoline After Hours" with hosts John McElroy, from Autoline Detroit, and Peter De Lorenzo, The Autoextremist, and guests this Thursday evening, at 7:00PM EDT at www.autolinedetroit.tv.