THE LINE - MAY 28, 2014

(Photo by Mike Harding/INDYCAR)
2013 Indianapolis 500 winner Tony Kanaan congratulates Ryan Hunter-Reay (No. 28 Andretti Autosport DHL Honda) on his big win. Hunter-Reay's crew nailed the set-up all day long, and Honda Power proved to be more than equal to Chevrolet's best. Kanann had a miserable 500, finishing in 26th position, 23 laps down.

(Photo By Bret Kelley/INDYCAR)
This is what 0.06 seconds looks like, as Ryan Hunter-Reay (No. 28 Andretti Autosport DHL Honda) leads Helio Castroneves (No. 3 Team Penske Pennzoil Ultra Platinum Chevrolet) across the start-finish line in the 98th running of the Indianapolis 500. It was the second closest finish in "500" history.

(Photo by Chris Owens/INDYCAR)
Helio Castroneves gets pit service from his Team Penske crew. Castroneves drove a superbly calculated race in his quest to become the fourth driver to win four Indianapolis 500 races (joining A.J. Foyt Jr., Al Unser and Rick Mears), and though he was cheery afterward, the disappointment will last a lifetime. There just aren't that many opportunities to win "The Greatest Spectacle in Racing."

(Photo by Eric McCombs/INDYCAR)
Another woulda-coulda-shoulda day at Indy for Marco Andretti (No. 25 Andretti Autosport Snapple Honda), who finished .3171 of a second back for his third, third-place finish in nine starts. "Yeah, I mean, close but we never really dominated," Andretti said. "You could say that Ryan and Helio did. The only way we had a shot is if those two got together. They were putting so many blocks on me that there was nothing I could do. Every time we got to the front, we got shuffled back. I think we did what we could, but congrats to Ryan, he almost took me out in Turn 3- I almost crashed. I think if it wasn't for the Indy 500, I was going to be pretty mad at Ryan, but it is for the Indy 500 and he's up there and I'm not. This is as competitive as IndyCar has ever been. I don't care what anyone has to say."

(Photo by Doug Matthews/INDYCAR)
Carlos Munoz (No. 34 Cinsay AndrettiTV.com HVM Honda), who finished second last year as a rookie, had another excellent run, finishing fourth. "I think we were missing a little bit of speed," Munoz commented. "I tried to give everything down on the track. I pushed hard. I'm really happy for the team. They won the 500 - first, third, and fourth. It's a great result for the team. Congratulations to Ryan."

(Photo by Walter Kuhn/INDYCAR)
Juan Pablo Montoya (No. 2 Team Penske Verizon Chevrolet) ended up fifth, but a mistake on his part probably cost him a shot at the win. "Unfortunately I made a mistake on one of the pit stops when I was resetting the fuel," admitted Montoya. "I pressed the wrong button. We got a penalty for that but we came back. I was proud of the way we fought. I don't think we had anything for the Hunter-Reay or Helio. But I was happy with the Verizon Chevy and it was good to be back in Indy. It was cool to watch them swap the lead back and forth of the final laps. I had a good seat for it. I just wish we were in the middle of it, but we just had too much understeer at the end."

(Photo by Richard Dowdy/INDYCAR)
Kurt Busch (No. 26 Andretti Autosport Suretone Honda) had a sensational run in his first try at Indianapolis, finishing sixth. "What an unbelievable experience," Busch said. "It is a dream come true to have an Andretti Autosport car to drive at Indy. I'm sure the car was a top five car. I was on edge those two restarts, making adjustments, trying to find air. I had to lift a little bit in turn two all day. All in all, I'm very pleased. I can't believe the execution of this team. It's a team effort, not just an individual. To be able to post a sixth-place finish was beyond my wildest expectations."

(Photo by Walter Kuhn/INDYCAR)
Sebastien Bourdais (No. 11 Hydroxycut/Mistic KVSH Racing Chevrolet) started seventeenth and finished seventh. "Not a great day, but a good day," said Bourdais. "I am really happy for the Hydroxycut/Mistic E-Cigs crew. We struggled a bit with the car the whole month, but we stuck with it and got the best out of it today. We didn't start in the front so it was a challenge to get there. Overall it was a strong performance, a good result and we got double points. Now we move on to Detroit."

(Photo by Walter Kuhn/INDYCAR)
Will Power (No. 12 Team Penske Verizon Chevrolet) finished a disappointing eighth. "It was unbelievable that it went green for that long," Power commented. "We just screwed ourselves.  A bloody speeding in pit lane penalty just ruined our day. Otherwise, we would have been in great shape. We had dropped back a little bit further than we wanted but it wasn't bad.  I could see the guys in the front dicing back and forth, as I thought it would be."

(Photo by Walter Kuhn/INDYCAR)
Sage Karam (No. 22 Dreyer & Reinbold Kingdom Racing Comfort Revolution/Brantley Gilbert Chevrolet) is the young driver to watch. The kid started 31st and finished ninth in his first Indianapolis 500. "Hats off to my team," Karam said. "They did an awesome job. The Dreyer & Reinbold Kingdom boys gave me an awesome car. It was stable all day and I was able to come from the back and get a top 10 - I will take it! 150 laps straight of green-flag racing takes a toll on you. My foot even hurts from the vibrations of keeping it flat for so long. Now I know why they say this is the hardest race to win in the world."

(Photo by Chris Owens/INDYCAR)
JR Hildebrand (No. 21 Ed Carpenter Racing/Preferred Freezer Chevrolet) started ninth and finished tenth. "Any day that you are not sitting in victory lane and drinking the milk, it's a disappointment," Hildebrand said. "For us, the Preferred Freezer Service Chevy team, it's frustrating because we had a really good car.  We had an issue with a tire that got us out of the pit sequence.  The car got bad with the tire issue.  I had to pit or I was going to crash. But the car was fast.  We passed a ton of guys today including in the end.  It was nice earlier when we jumped from ninth to third and I was running with Ed. I'm happy for Ryan and it's a bummer for Ed.  We had really good cars today."   

(Photo by Jim Haines/Indianapolis Motor Speedway)
Mario Andretti sits in the No. 20 Andy Granatelli STP Oil Treatment Lotus 56-Turbine Indy 500 racer (from 1968 driven by Art Pollard) before the race on Sunday.

(Photo By Jim Haines/IMS)
The famed Lotus 56 Turbines were on display before the race, Mario is in the No. 20 machine, Parnelli Jones is in the No. 70 and Vince Granatelli is in the No. 60.

The official prize money for the 98th running of the Indianapolis 500 was released by the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Monday. Ryan Hunter-Reay earned $2,491,194 from an overall purse of $14,231,760 for his victory on Sunday. Hunter-Reay topped the field by leading nine times for 56 laps after starting 19th in his No. 28 Andretti Autosport DHL Honda. There were 34 lead changes among 11 drivers in the fast-paced 200-lap event, with an average speed of 186.563 mph. Helio Castroneves (No. 3 Team Penske Pennzoil Ultra Platinum Chevrolet) earned $785,194 for his runner-up performance. Marco Andretti (No. 25 Andretti Autosport Snapple) led the race three times for 20 laps and received $585,194 for his third-place finish. Last year's Indianapolis 500 runner-up and Rookie of the Year Carlos Munoz (No. 25 Andretti Autosport Cinsay AndrettiTV.com HVM Honda) finished fourth after starting the race seventh. He received a check for $449,194. Juan Pablo Montoya (No. 2 Team Penske Verizon Chevrolet) returned to the Indianapolis 500 for the first time since winning his only other start in 2000, and finished fifth after starting tenth. Montoya led the race three times for a total of 16 laps and was awarded $441,944. In the first Verizon IndyCar Series race of his career, NASCAR star Kurt Busch started 12th and finished sixth in his No. 26 Andretti Autosport Suretone Honda. Busch was voted the winner of the prestigious Sunoco Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year Award and presented with a check for $423,889, which included a $25,000 bonus from Sunoco. Also turning in an impressive rookie performance was Sage Karam, a 19-year-old rookie from Nazareth, Pa., who started 31st and finished ninth in the No. 22 Comfort Revolution/Brantley Gilbert Chevrolet, earning $270,305. Pole sitter Ed Carpenter, who led the race four times for 26 laps in his Ed Carpenter Racing/Fuzzy's Vodka Chevrolet, finished 27th after a crash ended his day on lap 176. Carpenter received $463,694, which included $100,000 for earning the Verizon P1 Award as pole winner for the second consecutive year. The 99th Running of the Indianapolis 500 Mile Race is scheduled for Sunday, May 24, 2015.  

(Photo by Garry Eller/HHP courtesy of GM Racing/Chevrolet)
Jimmie Johnson (No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Lowe's Patriotic Chevrolet SS) won the Coca-Cola 600 in dominant fashion at Charlotte Motor Speedway Sunday night, his first victory of 2014. Johnson led 164 of the 400 laps in NASCAR's longest race, winning the event for the fourth time. Kevin Harvick (No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Budweiser Folds of Honor Chevrolet SS) finished second, and Matt Kenseth (No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Home Depot Husky Toyota Camry) was third. Watch a NASCAR video here.

(Audi Motorsport)
June 1 is the official test day for the world's greatest endurance race - the 24 Hours of Le Mans. It will be the only opportunity for all the teams to set up their cars for the track before the week of events for the 24-hour race begins. The legendary 13.629-kilometer circuit at La Sarthe is comprised of long sections of public roads, which are closed to road traffic on the test day and during the race week. “This makes it particularly important to use this valuable time systematically, efficiently and thoroughly prepared,” says Head of Audi Motorsport Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich. “On June 1, we’ll have eight hours of testing available for a very extensive program. Due to the new regulations even more factors than before have to be considered this year. In addition to the previously known set-up work, the tests will be about achieving the specified consumption targets on this track for the first time.” Lucas di Grassi/Loïc Duval/Tom Kristensen (BR/F/DK), Marcel Fässler/André Lotterer/Benoît Tréluyer (CH/D/F) and Filipe Albuquerque/Marco Bonanomi (P/I) will share the test program created by Audi Sport in their three R18 e-tron quattro racing machines. From suspension kinematics to the hybrid system, from the engine to aerodynamics, from various control maps to the tires: The workload will be split between the three machines in order to generate a solid database that can subsequently be used by the whole team. Due to new rules put in place this year, each R18 e-tron quattro may only consume 138.7 megajoules of energy at Le Mans this year – which equates to 3.95 liters of diesel fuel. The stewards of the meeting will receive the consumption data in real time, which allows them to monitor the compliance of all LMP1 sports cars with this requirement. Audi has twelve victories to date in the French endurance classic.

(Mercedes AMG Petronas)
Nico Rosberg (No. 6 Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 W05 Hybrid, above) and Lewis Hamilton (No. 44 Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 W05 Hybrid) finished one-two at the 2014 Monaco Grand Prix on Sunday. For Rosberg, it was his second consecutive Monaco Grand Prix victory, and the first driver to do so since Ayrton Senna. With Hamilton's second place, the team has now finished one-two for the fifth consecutive time in the 2014 season, just the third time a team has achieved this in F1 history.

(Ford Racing)
Scott Pruett paid a visit to the Ford Powertrain buildings near the company’s World Headquarters in Dearborn, Mich. and brought his No. 01 Telcel Ford EcoBoost Riley with him. Engineers who work on the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship effort as well as production engines consumers drive on the street every day were able to ask questions and see the EcoBoost prototype up close. Ford Racing, Ford, Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates and Roush Yates engineers are on a mission to prove that the heart of a production engine can stand up to the most intense competition on America’s toughest tracks, which is why seventy-percent of the twin-turbo 3.5-liter EcoBoost V-6 that powers the Ganassi Racing entry is production spec. “It was awesome to thank so many Ford employees who helped us get our Telcel EcoBoost prototype to victory lane,” Pruett said. “The passion behind the product was great to see.” Pruett will compete in the fifth race of the 2014 TUDOR United SportsCar Championship series this weekend on the temporary road racing circuit on Belle Isle, in Detroit.