THE LINE - MAY 29, 2013

(Photo by Richard Dowdy/INDYCAR)
Tony Kanaan (No. 11 Hydroxycut KV Racing Technology/SH Chevrolet) begins the turn into Victory Lane at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway after the greatest win of his professional racing career. Kanaan averaged 187.433 mph to win the fastest Indianapolis 500 in history. Kanaan took the checkered flag under caution when three-time champion Dario Franchitti (No. 10 Target Chip Ganassi Racing Honda) made contract with the Turn 1 SAFER Barrier on a Lap 197 restart. Kanaan took the lead after he and rookie Carlos Munoz (No. 26 Andretti Autosport Unistraw Chevrolet) blew past leader Ryan Hunter-Reay (No. 1 Andretti Autosport DHL Chevrolet) entering Turn 1 on the restart for a Lap 194 on-track incident involving Graham Rahal (No. 15 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Midas/Big O Tires Honda). Watch video highlights from the race here.

(Photo by Jim Haines/INDYCAR)
Carlos Munoz (No. 26 Andretti Autosport Unistraw Chevrolet) heard loud and clear from the naysayers before the race who suggested that his front row, second-position qualifying result wasn't sustainable during the race. He proved them to be dead wrong. "I really wanted to fight for the win," Munoz said. "Maybe I could win. Maybe not, but I really wanted to fight. I have nothing to be ashamed of. To be second and a rookie and the best of the team is a great job. At the beginning I was a little bit nervous with the pit stops, but in the end, the car was great, and it's a good second place. Hopefully in the future, I will be able to drink milk. Right now I'm thirsty, but hopefully it's in the future for me." Ladies and gentlemen, you're looking at a future INDYCAR star.

(Photo by Forrest Mellot/INDYCAR)
It was woulda-coulda-shoulda for Ryan Hunter-Reay (No. 1 Andretti Autosport DHL Chevrolet, shown at the start of the race) as he finished third. An excellent run, he just ran out of race with the caution at the end. "That's just the way it works out," Hunter-Reay commented afterward. "That was bad luck. We were leading on that last restart. I knew I was a sitting duck, and I wasn't too bummed about it because I knew we had enough laps to get it going again and have a pass back, and maybe I would be third on the last lap, which is where I wanted to be, and it didn't work out that way. There was a crash in Turn 1, and the race ended. It's unfortunate. Big congratulations to Tony Kanaan, though. He has been there so many times, had bad luck and for whatever reason the race has alluded him. Great champion, certainly deserves it. But man, am I disappointed. I think the DHL No. 1 Chevy was the car to beat today. Had we been at the right place at the right time, I'm confident we would have won it, and that's just the way this place goes... This entire Andretti Autosport team did a great job all month. Thanks to all the fans for coming out, and congratulations to TK."

(Photo by Michael Roth/INDYCAR)
Make no mistake, even though Marco Andretti (No. 25 Andretti Autosport RC Cola Chevrolet) ran exceptionally well all day, at times having a dominant car, it was another bitter disappointment for him, his father Michael and grandfather Mario. Andretti has stepped-up his game considerably this year, having been a major factor in every INDYCAR race run, so the table was set for a great day at The Speedway. It was not to be, however, as he was shuffled back to fourth at the end. "When we stopped for the trim adjustment, we were in the worst-case scenario," the young Andretti said after the race. "We got stuck behind some teammates. It was fun for a while, but we just got shuffled back. I knew it was going to come down to that at the end." Andretti Autosport had a great run at Indianapolis - finishing second, third and fourth - but coming up short had to hurt.

(Photo by Richard Dowdy/INDYCAR)
After qualifying fourteenth, Justin Wilson (No. 19 Dale Coyne Racing Honda) raced to an impressive fifth-place finish in the 97th running of the Indianapolis 500, the highest placing Honda-powered driver. "It was tough to get by out there, so much turbulent air," Wilson said. "Everybody was quick, and we just couldn't get close enough. I think we had a great run today; the draft had such a huge effect. You couldn't keep your head straight due to the turbulence. It was tough. Our second set of tires had an issue. We dropped all the way back, then fought back up. It was a great month." Honda can't be pleased with its result at The Speedway, as the vaunted Chip Ganassi Racing team barely showed all day.

(Photo by Forrest Mellott/INDYCAR)
Helio Castroneves (No. 3 Team Penske Shell V-Power/Pennzoil Ultra Chevrolet) was the top finisher for the Team Penske squadron, although the speed of the Andretti Autosport cars clearly had the measure of The Captain's team on Sunday. "The race actually went really fast," Castroneves said. "Congrats to Tony. He got his win. It was well-deserved. He did a great job. It was a very safe race. I was just having issues with the (rev) limiter. I was trying to pass a lot of people, but unfortunately it was hitting the limiter. That was one of those things. My pit stops were awesome. Great job. Great weather. Awesome crowd. We finished top six, which is great championship-wise for points, and that is what we are looking for, as well. When you don't win, you have to look on the positive side, and that is the championship." Although stating the obvious, finishing well at Indianapolis doesn't constitute a good day for Team Penske.

(Photo by Forrest Mellot/INDYCAR)
Roger Penske proved yet again that he's the man with the golden gut when it comes to big-time racing decisions, when he decided that A.J. Allmendinger was ready to deliver great things in an Indy car. Allmendinger, driving the No. 2 Team Penske IZOD Chevrolet, charged to the front at a crucial moment in the race. If it wasn't for an ill-timed pit stop for a loose seat belt, things might have been very, very different for the talented Allmendinger. As you may recall, Allmendinger was suspended from NASCAR and his ride with Penske, after testing for a non-approved prescription drug (Adderall). He was subsequently released from the team. But after completing a NASCAR-required re-hab program, Roger thought that Allmendinger had too much talent to sit on the sidelines, so he offered him a plum seat in one of the team's Indy cars. Allmendinger was hyper-critical of himself after the race, but he proved Roger's gut feeling right and drove a superb race. "The first issue was I was sissy on the start," Allmendinger said. "That might have been the worst Indy 500 start ever. I went from like fifth to 20th in one lap. I'll be ready next time. After that, it took me about 40 laps to settle down. We kind of missed the gearing a little bit. We were hitting the rev limiter in sixth (gear) the whole time. Once the yellow came out, I kind of calmed down and thought about what I needed to do to get around these guys. Once I figured it out, the IZOD Chevy was just a missile. It was almost too easy at times just to go by the guys. It was probably the coolest feeling in my life to take the lead at Indy and lead the Indy 500. That's a feeling I'll never forget." (On his seat belt issues during the race): "I guess it's God's way of saying, 'Maybe you're not going to win it your first time.' But leading the race, I went down into Turn 1. I mean, it was a 130 laps in, so it wasn't like they were loose or anything, and it just popped out. Maybe it was because my heart was beating too hard from leading the race. But it came undone. I tried to do it down the back straightaway. I tried to loosen it back up and stick it back in but it wasn't going to happen. The guys did a good job. The stops all day were phenomenal. We didn't lose a ton of time on the pit stop. The only thing that killed us is that it killed our pit windows the rest of the race. That last stop, we barely got into our pit window. The pit stop was long just for the mere fact we had to get it completely full of fuel while all of those guys had a little bit shorter stops. But I really thought, 'With eight to go, I still got a shot at this.' It wasn't meant to be. It's really cool for Tony Kanaan and Jimmy Vasser to get their first win here."

(Photo by John Cote/INDYCAR)
It the end it was Tony Kanaan and his KV Racing Technology team's day. A tremendously popular victory for the 38-year-old driver, it was Kanaan's first win in twelve career starts at The Speedway. It was the ninth race that Kanaan has led in his Indianapolis 500 career, the most times that a driver had led the race before winning his first Indianapolis 500. Kanaan is the fourth Brazilian driver to win the race. The other three are Helio Castroneves (2001, 2002, 2009), Emerson Fittipaldi (1989, 1993), and Gil de Ferran (2003). "I got a little bit of luck today," Kanaan said. "It's for the fans. It's for my dad that's not here. But mainly for all of you guys. I was looking at the stands, and it was unbelievable. I'm speechless. This is it, man. I made it. Finally they're going to put my ugly face on this trophy. We were known for not winning, and now we are winning. I don't know what to say." (What did he think of the final caution?): "I couldn't believe it. How many laps to go? Two to go. I guess that's it. The last lap was the longest lap of my life. I wanted the Pace Car to hurry up. I enjoyed it. We did it." "I never won it as a driver," Jimmy Vasser commented. "In fact, I couldn't win it as a driver, so I had to hire the right guy to do it, get a Baby Borg on my shelf. Tony is the consummate professional. We set out as a team at the end of last year to focus on Indy. Instead of the whole series, the whole season, we took a chassis, in the old school name, called it a special, put it aside, worked on it. All credit to the boys. A lot of hard work over the winter, keeping things together. It's not an easy thing these days from a commercial standpoint. We'll leave it to Tony's wife, Lauren Kanaan, to have the last word: "Tony is so humble. So grateful for this day. It was a huge team victory."

(Photo by Jim Haines/INDYCAR)
In one of the most spectacular open-wheel races ever run, Peter Dempsey (No. 5 Belardi Auto Racing) came from fourth place on the final corner of the final lap to overtake Gabby Chaves (No. 7 Schmidt Peterson c/w Curb-Agajanian), Sage Karam (No. 7 Schmidt Peterson c/w Curb-Agajanian) and Carlos Munoz and win a thrilling Firestone Freedom 100. Exiting Turn 4 Munoz, Karam and Chaves were racing side by side to the start-finish of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Suddenly, Dempsey found a seam close to the outside wall on the 50-foot-wide front stretch. The 27-year-old native of Ashbourne, Ireland, immediately knew he had won the marquee race of the Firestone Indy Lights season, raising his left hand off the steering wheel, though it was a photo finish. The margin of victory was .0026 of a second - the closest on an oval in the 100-plus-year history of the Speedway. Chaves was second and pole sitter Karam was .0280 of a second behind the winner in third. Munoz, who led Laps 13-39, was .0443 of a second off the winner. "I've got to compliment the drivers," Dempsey said. "We all raced each other so fair, and that's what racing is about for me. So hats off to the other three guys. They could have put me into the wall there coming to the line, but fortunately they left me just enough room to squeeze by. That's exactly what the series needed, is a good finish here at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. You're not going to get it better than four wide across the line. I can't complain about an Irishman coming across there first." Watch a video of the last laps here.

(Photo by Bret Kelley/INDYCAR)
The great Parnelli Jones circulates the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in his famed No. 98 Indy car during Legends Day at The Speedway last week. It was the 50th Anniversary of his 1963 win in the Indianapolis 500. Jones also became the first driver to qualify at over 150 mph (150.370) at The Speedway in 1962 in the same machine.

(Infiniti Red Bull Racing)
Monte Carlo resident Nico Rosberg (No. 9 Mercedes F1) qualified on the pole and was never headed, winning the Grand Prix of Monaco on Sunday. Rosberg never put a wheel wrong and withstood an attack from teammate Lewis Hamilton (No. 10 Mercedes F1) initially, then the Infiniti Red Bull Racing boys - Sebastian Vettel (No. 1 Red Bull Racing-Renault, above) and Mark Webber (No. 2 Red Bull Racing-Renault) - not to mention two safety-car periods and a red flag. Vettel and Webber finished second and third, respectively. It will be interesting to see what the television ratings are as it was the first broadcast of Monaco from a mainstream network - NBC - in years.

(Photo by Brian Lawdermilk for Chevrolet)
Kevin Harvick, (No. 29 Richard Childress Racing Budweiser Folds of Honor Chevrolet SS) on the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway Sunday night. It was Harvick’s 21st NASCAR Sprint Cup career win, his second of the 2013 season, and also his second time to visit Victory Lane at the Coca-Cola 600. After 389 laps on NASCAR’s Longest Day, the 54th running of the Sunday night’s Coca-Cola 600 Sunday at Charlotte Motor Speedway came down to an 11-lap shootout, with Harvick pulling away during the run to the finish to beat Kasey Kahne (No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Farmer's Insurance MChevrolet SS) to the finish line by 1.491 seconds. Kurt Busch (No. 78 Furniture Row Racing Chevrolet SS) had another great run, finishing third. Watch videos here. Editor-in-Chief's Note: The Coca-Cola 600 was marred by an incident when a TV camera drive line broke, injuring spectators and completely screwing up the race. Even though the speedway announced after the race that all injured were treated and released, the race was a disaster. The juxtaposition between the Charlotte NASCAR slog and INDYCAR's scintillating Indianapolis 500 couldn't be more pronounced. The fact that Brian France - the most intransigent and clueless figure in all of motorsport - arrogantly refuses to move NASCAR's ridiculously long 600-miler to Saturday night, so as not to compete with the Indianapolis 500, perfectly encapsulates what's wrong with NASCAR and why its fortunes will continue to slide. I will acknowledge that the Gen 6 cars are a huge improvement, but it's not enough. NASCAR needs to reevaluate the way it goes about its business, before its too late. But unless Brian France is removed from the equation (he couldn't even be bothered with pronouncing the name of his new vice president of innovation and racing development - Gene Stefanyshyn, a top ex-GM engineer - correctly in a press conference last week), I don't see any meaningful directional shifts coming out of NASCAR anytime soon. - PMD