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    2006 INDIANAPOLIS 500 RACE  

2006 RACE RESULT

• 1. Sam Hornish Jr, 200 laps
• 2. Marco Andretti +0.0635s
• 3. Michael Andretti +0.945
• 4. Dan Wheldon +0.26
• 5. Tony Kanaan +0.37
• 6. Scott Dixon +1.4
• 7. Dario Franchitti
• 8. Danica Patrick
• 9. Scott Sharp
• 10. Vitor Meira
• 11 Ed Carpenter 12 Buddy Lazier 13 Eddie Cheever Jr 14 Max Papis 15 Kosuke Matsuura 16 Roger Yasukawa 17 Jaques Lazier 18 Airton Dare 19 PJ Jones 20 Bryan Herta

2006 RACE REPORT & QUOTES

HONDA RACE REPORT

• Hondas Flawless and Hornish Wins A Thrilling Indy 500
• Sam Hornish Jr. won a thrilling 90th running of the Indianapolis 500 on Sunday, passing rookie Marco Andretti in the final run from Turn Four to the checkered flag in an event that saw Honda supply the full 33-car starting field, and all 33 engines run flawlessly.
• Sunday's 33 starting drivers completed a total of 5,035 laps (12,587.5 miles) with complete engine reliability. Speedway records are not complete, but it is believed this is the first time in '500' history that the race has run without a single engine problem.
• For Hornish and his Marlboro Team Penske team, the key to the race came on Lap 160, when team owner Roger Penske called Hornish under caution to make his final pit stop, in addition to a 'drive through' penalty for a pit lane violation that had taken place in his previous scheduled pit stop.
• The move for both fuel and fresh tires plus the following 'drive through' under green flag conditions dropped Hornish to the tail end of the lead lap, but positioned him for his charge to the front in the final laps, when he could run with a full-rich fuel mixture and a well-handling chassis.
• One final yellow for Felipe Giaffone's crash on Lap 191 allowed Hornish to close up on leaders Marco and Michael Andretti, who had pitted for just a final spash of fuel and no new tires. The green flag waved on Lap 196 and with a better handling car, Hornish immediately caught and passed Michael Andretti.
• That set up a duel between Hornish and 19-year-old Marco Andretti, making his first '500' race start in his rookie IndyCar Series season. With less than two laps remaining, Hornish made his first passing attempt, but was firmly rebuffed by Andretti. But Hornish refused to concede the victory, and powering off Turn 4 on the final lap, slipstreamed past Andretti to post his first '500' victory in six attempts by just 0.0635 seconds, the second-closest finish in Indianapolis 500 history.
• Prior to the race start, Honda-powered drivers had turned a total of 12,155 laps (20,387.5 miles) in practice and qualifying with just one confirmed mechanical failure all month.
• Robert Clarke (President, Honda Performance Development) on Honda powering the entire 33-car field: "We believe this is the first time the Indianapolis 500 has been run without a single engine problem. It's an amazing accomplishment for everyone at Honda Performance Development and our technical partner at Ilmor. I'm both extremely proud of the result and grateful for the incredible effort put forth by all of our associates leading up to today's race. Congratulations to Sam [Hornish] and Roger [Penske] for a great '500'. Their team fought back from adversity and gave us a thrilling finish today."
• Sam Hornish Jr. (#6 Marlboro Team Penske Honda) Started 1st, finished 1st, second: "Marco [Andretti] did a great job today. And at the end he raced me hard but fair. The first time I wasn't able to get the job done, but the last time I had a good run and he gave me the room I needed. The car was great, and it was the best it was all day in the final laps when it needed to be."

DRIVER QUOTES

• 1ST, SAM HORNISH JR.: " ... it's the best day that I'll ever have as far as my career goes ... It's a great feeling, I wouldn't trade it for anything else. They did a heck of a job. It may not always go the way you want it to, but it makes it a lot sweeter this way."
• 2ND, MARCO ANDRETTI (ROOKIE): " it does feel awesome and, you know, I can't complain, I almost won the Indy 500 my first year in it. It's just the way as a competitor, I don't want to finish second. I don't want to wait until next year. I know I have a lot of shots at it, but I wish it was this year. Got to take advantage of every shot."
• 3RD, MICHAEL ANDRETTI: " it's the heartbreak, another one. But I think in another couple days we're going to sit back and think, 'Oh, wow, who would have ever thought it would come down to that?' You know, we were running one and two with just a few laps to go in the Indy 500, and he almost pulled it off. I literally put my hand in the air thinking he won the race, and I couldn't believe it. Where did Hornish get that speed? It was like he had a button in there to push. It was just unbelievable."
• 4TH, DAN WHELDON (2005 WINNER): "Well, you know, it's the Indianapolis 500, and boy I hate to admit it, but I guess it's what makes the race so exciting. We seem to dominate, and I think Target Chip Ganassi Racing and Honda did a fantastic job. It's disappointing we got a puncture and had to pit off- sequence. It's just tough. I had a very good car. It's very good in traffic. It was good all day long, and we didn't win ..."
• 5TH, TONY KANAAN: "... inside myself, I am 100 percent comfortable I gave everything I could. Now, if it was just under my control, I probably would have won it today, but a lot of things need to fall in place together so we will try it again and again and again, and one day, we'll get it."
• 7TH, DARIO FRANCHITTI: "That last yellow kind of hurt us. Dan (Wheldon) got slowed up on the restart in Turn 4 and I hit him, and somebody hit me in the side so it was pretty physical on that last restart. I thought Marco and Michael were going to finish 1-2 for a minute. That would have been pretty cool." (It looked like you had a well-handling car all day): "It wasn't quick enough, but it was handling pretty well, when I wasn't stuck behind Ed Carpenter, who was a lap down, I was doing OK. He seemed to be in sequence with me, but a lap down. Everybody else gets a blue flag or warning, he gets nothing. Shouldn't be very surprised about that."
• 8TH, DANICA PATRICK: "All in all, I'm not mad that we're eighth. I am mad that we're eighth. I guess I'm mad that we're eighth because we were running further up than that, and I think that if fuel strategy had bit some other people like it bit me last year, we could have ended up fourth or fifth" (This seemed like a better race for you than last year.) "You're right, you're right. So I should be happy, right? Because I didn't stall, I didn't spin, I didn't do anything stupid. I got loose at (Turn) 1 because I got too low and got up on the curb and almost lost it. But that's all, that's all I did wrong today, so I should be happy with myself, but I guess I'm just frustrated with what could have happened. We did a great job, and it's nice to be up front a little bit." (That yellow really caught you out there.) "That's why I'm so mad because we were fifth, and then we pitted and we were down to eighth, then all of a sudden Sharp is behind me for position, and I thought, 'Dang it, cut me a break!' But I guess I used them all up last year." (About the day?) "We really did take this car that was 20th at some points during the month, put it 10th on the grid and finished eighth. We knew we were behind the 8-ball all month. We didn't have the fastest car, but we brought it home and we brought it home all right. We took a car that wasn't fast enough to be a winner, and we hustled it around the track and finished, and that's half the battle at Indy."

2006 RACE SCHEDULE

• May 7: THE STAR AND CAREERBUILDER.COM OPENING DAY / ROOKIE ORIENTATION PROGRAM
  Noon-5 p.m.
• May 8: ROOKIE ORIENTATION PROGRAM
  Noon-5 p.m.
• May 9-11: PRACTICE (All drivers)
  Noon-6 p.m.
• May 12: FAST FRIDAY PRACTICE (All drivers)
  Noon-6 p.m.
• May 13: WORLDPOINTS VISA CARD POLE DAY QUALIFYING
  9-11 a.m., Practice
  Noon-6 p.m., WorldPoints Visa Pole Qualifications
  6 p.m., WorldPoints Visa Pole Award Ceremony (Victory Podium)
• May 14: SECOND DAY QUALIFYING
  Noon-6 p.m.
• May 17-19: PRACTICE (All drivers)
  Noon-6 p.m.
• May 20: COCA-COLA THROWBACK DAY QUALIFYING
  10:15-11:15 a.m., Practice
  Noon-6 p.m., Qualifications
• May 21: BUMP DAY (Final day of qualifications)
  10:15-11:15 a.m., Practice
  Noon-6 p.m., Qualifications
• May 25: FREEDOM 100 PRACTICE, QUALIFYING
  9-9:45 a.m. and 11-11:45 a.m., Freedom 100 Practice
  1:15 p.m. -- Freedom 100 SWE Race Car Parts Pole Qualifying
  3:40 -4 p.m. -- Freedom 100 Final Practice
• May 26: MILLER LITE CARB DAY
  11 a.m.-noon, IndyCar Series Practice
  Noon,, Freedom 100 Pre-Race
  12:30 p.m., Freedom 100
  1:30-3 p.m., Checkers/Rally's Pit Stop Competition
  3:30 p.m., Miller Lite Carb Day Concert
• May 28: RACE DAY
  1 p.m., 90th Indianapolis 500-Mile Race

DRIVER RACE PREVIEW

MICHAEL ANDRETTI (QUALIFIED 13TH):

• Michael Andretti on the Indianapolis 500:
  "There's no question what brought me back this year -- Marco. But, now that I'm in it, I'm here to win it. I don't think I ever really expected that I'd get the chance to race with him. But, he developed quicker than I think anybody ever expected he would, and I'm only 43, so everything worked out. It's very special for me to think that I raced with my dad and now I'll get to race at Indy with my son.
• "We've spent the whole month working on race day, but the Jim Beam/ Vonage car was still good in qualifying. The weather Sunday is going to be drastically different than anything we've dealt with this whole month, which is going to be huge. Everybody is going to have to work very hard to find the right setup and adjust for the conditions. But, I think we can be a real factor on Sunday and I'm looking forward to it."
• Michael Andretti Facts
  Andretti will make his 15th career start in the Indianapolis 500 on Sunday.
• Andretti qualified 13th last Saturday with a four-lap average speed of 224.508 miles per hour and will start from the inside of row five.
• In 14 previous Indianapolis 500 starts, Andretti has led a total of 426 laps - the 11th most in the history of the event.
• Andretti's last start in the Indianapolis 500 came in 2003, which was also his last professional race.
• Andretti's son, Marco, qualified ninth (outside of row three) and is the fastest rookie qualifier, posting a four-lap average speed of 224.918 mph. Marco joins Michael (fourth in 1984) and his grandfather, Mario (fourth in 1964) as fastest rookie qualifiers.
• Andretti won the 1991 CART series championship and was a five-time CART championship runner- up (1986-87, '90, '92, '96).
• Andretti stands as CART's all-time victory leader with 42 and is second in CART career pole positions (32).
• Andretti has started 315 Indy-style races (including six IndyCar Series events).
• Andretti scored at least one win in 15 consecutive seasons.

DARIO FRANCHITTI (QUALIFIED 17TH):

• Dario Franchitti on the Indianapolis 500:
  "Personally it means a hell of a lot to come to Indianapolis for the whole month, battle against the track and 32 good other drivers. To be part of the race is one thing. To try and win it and to accomplish that, I think, would be an entirely different thing."
• Dario Franchitti Facts
• This will be Franchitti's fourth Indianapolis 500. His best start came in 2004 when he started third.
• Franchitti finished sixth in the 2005 Indianapolis 500, his best career finish at the famed track.
• His race strategist, John Anderson, was the winning race strategist of the 2005 Indianapolis 500. He is currently in ninth place in the IndyCar Series driver championship.
• Franchitti sat on the pole and led the first 14 laps at the Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg before a right-front suspension failure ended his day.
• He scored a fourth-place finish at the season-opening event at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
• Franchitti collected IndyCar Series wins at Nashville and California in 2005.
• He finished fourth in the 2005 driver point standings with 498 points, his highest IndyCar Series finish.
• Franchitti had eight top-five and 13 top-10 finishes in 2005.
• He led 448 laps in 2005 to rank second among lap leaders.
• The Scotsman has recorded three career IndyCar Series pole positions, those coming at Texas (June 10, 2004), California (Oct. 16, 2005) and St. Petersburg (April 2, 2006).
• Three of Franchitti's four IndyCar Series victories have come on tracks of 1.33 miles or smaller, including the 1-mile ovals at Milwaukee (2004) and Pikes Peak (2004) and the 1.33-mile Nashville track (2005). His fourth victory came on the two-mile D-shaped oval at California Speedway (2005).
• Franchitti has 14 major open-wheel racing victories and 14 career pole positions. Since 1998, Franchitti has won more American major open- wheel races than all but three drivers.
• John Anderson, Team Manager, #27 Klein Tools/Canadian Club Dallara/ Honda/Firestone on the Indianapolis 500:
  "At Indianapolis, it's nice to start in the first two or three rows to stay out of everyone else's accidents. As you get near the middle of the pack, the percentages increase against you. You need a very reliable car, speed isn't all important for the race and, because of the number of them, you need solid pit stops. From there, the strategy will unfold during the race. You have to be prepared to make decisions you are going to stick by."

ROOKIE MARCO ANDRETTI (QUALIFIED 9TH)

• Marco Andretti on the Indianapolis 500:
  "Being the fastest rookie qualifier for the Indy 500 is a nice honor, but to be honest, I don't want to settle for just being the 'best in class' and I've set my sights higher than that. The NYSE team is here to try and win this race. If the #26 NYSE car feels as good on race day as what it did in our last practice session then we're going to have a great race car."
• Marco Andretti Facts
• Andretti qualified ninth (outside of row three) for the 90th running of the Indianapolis 500.
• He is the fastest rookie qualifier, posting a four-lap average speed of 224.918 mph. Marco joins his father, Michael (fourth in 1984) and his grandfather, Mario (fourth in 1964) as fastest rookie qualifiers.
• Andretti's best finish in 2006 has been a 12th-place effort at Motegi
• Marco is following in the footsteps of his grandfather Mario, father Michael, uncle Jeff and his second- cousin John, each of whom have competed in Indy-style racing over the past four decades.
• He becomes the fifth Andretti to have qualified for the Indianapolis 500.
• Andretti registered three victories (St. Petersburg, Indianapolis road course and Infineon Raceway), five top-fives and three pole positions in six starts in the 2005 IRL Indy Pro Series.
• Andretti finished fifth in the Star Mazda points championship.
• In 2004 Andretti earned the Skip Barber National Championship, the Formula TR Championship, as well as the Skip Barber Formula Dodge Southern Series Championship.
• Andretti won the 2003 Skip Barber Formula Dodge Eastern Series Championship.
• Eddie Jones, Race Engineer, #26 NYSE Dallara/Honda/Firestone, on the Indianapolis 500:
  "The NYSE team is entering race weekend at Indianapolis with a quiet confidence. Most of the laps that we've run this month have been simulated race work. Marco is very much a rookie at Indianapolis but we feel that we've prepared well thus far. We've done a lot of full tank runs and running in traffic and despite Marco's youth and his rookie- status, he's really risen to the occasion. He's showing all the attributes of a seasoned and capable driver and I think the NYSE team is going to really be in contention on Sunday."

RACE ENTRY

• SIX WINNERS, COMEBACKS BY LEGENDS TAKE SPOTLIGHT IN INDY FIELD
• Thirty-eight entries, 66 cars set for 90th Indianapolis 500
• INDIANAPOLIS, Thursday, April 13, 2006 -- Six winning drivers are among the highlights of the entry list for the 90th Indianapolis 500, scheduled for Sunday, May 28 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
• The six winners on this year's list include defending champion Dan Wheldon, Buddy Rice (2004), Helio Castroneves (2001, 2002), Eddie Cheever Jr. (1998), Buddy Lazier (1996) and Al Unser Jr. (1992, 1994).
• It's the largest number of past winners on the entry list since 2002, when six previous visitors to Victory Lane also were named to entries for "The Greatest Spectacle in Racing."
• A total of 26 drivers have been named to the 38 entries filed this year for the 33 starting spots in the world's most prestigious auto race. Sixty-six cars are included on those 38 entries, including backup cars.
• The 90th Indianapolis 500 is scheduled to start at 1 p.m. (ET) Sunday, May 28 and will be broadcast live by ABC Sports and the IMS Radio Network. The local start time is one hour later than in 2005 due to Indiana implementing Daylight Savings Time this spring.
• On-track activity starts Sunday, May 7 with The Star and CareerBuilder.com Opening Day. Other schedule highlights include WorldPoints Visa Pole Day on Saturday, May 13, Bump Day on Sunday, May 21, American Family Insurance 500 Festival Community Day on Wednesday, May 24 and Miller Lite Carb Day on Friday, May 26.
• The new qualifying format that debuted in 2005, with bumping produced on all four days of qualifying, will continue this year. Besides WorldPoints Visa Pole Day and Bump Day, Second Day Qualifying is set for Sunday, May 14 and Coca-Cola Throwback Day Qualifying set for Saturday, May 20.
• Miller Lite Carb Day also will have a full day of action and entertainment for fans. The final practice for the 90th Indianapolis 500, a driver autograph session, the Freedom 100 for the Indy Pro Series, the Checkers/Rally's Pit Stop Competition and Miller Lite Carb Day Concert all are included with a ticket.
• Wheldon will attempt to earn his second spot on the Borg-Warner Trophy as a race winner, but he will attempt to make his fourth career Indianapolis 500 start with 2000 "500" winner Target Chip Ganassi Racing. Wheldon, who won last year in an Andretti Green Racing entry, will drive the No. 10 Target Chip Ganassi Racing Dallara/Honda/ Firestone.
• Rice will attempt to make his first Indy start since winning in 2004, as he missed last year's race due to an injury suffered in practice. He will drive the No. 15 Rahal Letterman Racing Team Argent Panoz/Honda/ Firestone.
• Castroneves will attempt to join an elite club by earning his third Indianapolis 500 victory in the No. 3 Marlboro Team Penske Dallara/ Honda/Firestone. Just eight drivers have won the race three times or more since the inaugural event in 1911.
• Dreyer & Reinbold Racing is entering cars for two past Indy winners, Lazier and Unser. Lazier will drive the team's No. 5 Dallara/Honda/ Firestone entry, while Unser also will shoot for his third Indianapolis 500 victory in the No. 31 Dreyer & Reinbold Racing Dallara/Honda/ Firestone. Unser's father, Al, and uncle Bobby have won the race four and three times, respectively, as the race's most winning family.
• This will be Unser's first attempt to qualify at Indianapolis since 2004. He has 17 previous Indianapolis 500 starts, the most of any driver named to an entry.
• Another past winner making a comeback is Cheever. He is driving the No. 51 Cheever Racing Dallara/Honda/Firestone in his first attempt to make the field since 2002.
• A high-profile comeback also is taking center stage at defending race champion Andretti Green Racing. Indy legend Michael Andretti will attempt to race in the "500" for the first time since 2003, driving the No. 1 Jim Beam/Vonage Dallara/Honda/Firestone.
• Andretti will attempt to earn his long-coveted first Indy 500 victory. He has led 426 laps during his 14 prior Indy starts, the most by any driver without a victory.
• The comeback will be sweetened for Andretti by the presence of his 19- year-old son, Marco, in an AGR entry for the race. Marco Andretti will attempt to qualify for his first Indy 500 in the No. 26 NYSE Group Dallara/Honda/Firestone.
• It will be the third generation of father-and-son Andretti starts at Indianapolis. Mario and Michael Andretti started the race together 10 times from 1984-94, while Mario, Michael and Jeff Andretti were in the same field from 1991-93.
• Al Unser and Al Unser Jr. were the first father-son combination to compete in the race, in 1983. Like Mario and Michael Andretti, they took the green flag together in 10 Indianapolis 500-Mile Races.
• Marco Andretti is one of two high-profile, second-generation Indy rookies in the field. Arie Luyendyk Jr., son of 1990 and 1997 Indianapolis 500 winner Arie Luyendyk, was named to the No. 61 Panoz/Honda/Firestone entry fielded by his father's Luyendyk Racing.
• Marco Andretti, Luyendyk and P.J. Chesson are the three rookies named to cars in this year's field.
• Six JPMorgan Chase Indianapolis 500 Rookies of the Year are named to entries, led by last year's rookie sensation, Danica Patrick in the No. 16 Rahal Letterman Racing Team Argent Panoz/Honda/Firestone. She qualified and finished fourth last year, the best performance ever by a woman at Indianapolis. Patrick also led 19 laps, a first for a woman at Indy.
• Other Rookies of the Year named to entries are Kosuke Matsuura (2004), Tomas Scheckter (2002 co-Rookie of the Year), Castroneves (2001), Cheever (1990) and Michael Andretti (1984 co-Rookie of the Year).
• The field also includes the strength of six IndyCar® Series champions: Wheldon (2005), Tony Kanaan (2004), Scott Dixon (2003), Sam Hornish Jr. (2001, 2002), Lazier (2000) and Scott Sharp (co-champion, 1996). Kanaan won the WorldPoints Visa Pole last year at Indianapolis and will return in the No. 11 Team 7-Eleven entry fielded by Andretti Green Racing.
• Defending IndyCar Series champion Andretti Green Racing entered 10 cars, more than any other team. Rahal Letterman Racing, Marlboro Team Penske, Vision Racing and Target Chip Ganassi Racing each entered six cars.
• The most prevalent chassis manufacturer among the entries is Dallara with 46. All cars will use Honda engines and Firestone tires.
• ENTRY SUMMARY: DRIVERS (26)
• Race winners (6): Helio Castroneves (2001, 2002), Eddie Cheever Jr. (1998), Buddy Lazier (1996), Buddy Rice (2004), Al Unser Jr. (1992, 1994), Dan Wheldon (2005).
• Pole winners (5): Helio Castroneves (2003), Tony Kanaan (2005), Scott Sharp (2001), Buddy Rice (2004), Al Unser Jr. (1994).
• Rookies (3): Marco Andretti, P.J. Chesson, Arie Luyendyk Jr.
• U.S. born (15): Marco Andretti, Michael Andretti, Jeff Bucknum, Ed Carpenter, Eddie Cheever Jr., P.J. Chesson, Larry Foyt, Bryan Herta, Sam Hornish Jr., Buddy Lazier, Danica Patrick, Buddy Rice, Scott Sharp, Jeff Simmons, Al Unser Jr.
• Foreign born (11): Helio Castroneves, Brazil; Scott Dixon, New Zealand; Dario Franchitti, Scotland; Felipe Giaffone, Brazil; Tony Kanaan, Brazil; Arie Luyendyk Jr., Netherlands; Vitor Meira, Brazil; Marty Roth, Canada; Kosuke Matsuura, Japan; Tomas Scheckter, South Africa; Dan Wheldon, England.
• Youngest: Marco Andretti, 19.
• Oldest: Eddie Cheever Jr., 48.
• Most previous starts: Al Unser Jr., 17.
• CARS (66)
• Chassis: Dallara 46, Panoz 15, TBA 5.

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