PCA SDR

...and the Andretti curse continues...

If you watched the race at all, you'll know that at the very end, with 5 laps to go, it was Michael #1, Marco #2, and Sam Hornish #3, under yellow. At the green flag, Marco and Hornish both moved past Michael. And it looked as though Marco would take the win.

But *at the finish* Hornish pulled past Marco to take the win with the second narrowest margin in Indy 500 history.

Final standings:
1. Sam Hornish
2. Marco Andretti
3. Michael Andretti

I guess it's not bad for a 40-something year old who's been out of the game for 3 years and had to get back in shape to run the race.

For a roundy round race, it was pretty good. I wouldn't exactly consider finishing 2-3 being cursed. Especially considering Marco is a rookie and Michael retired a couple years ago. I think they got pretty damn lucky (good?) with fuel strategy as Weldon and Kanaan were the cars to beat.

What exactly happened there at the end. It seemed that Marco was not pushing it at all given the Weldon was very far back with a half lap to go given he had to pull back earlier when he was cut off going low? It seemed like Marco had nothing left or was he celebrating in the cockpit before the finish?

Hornish had the faster car, plus the benefit of the draft. I don't think there was much that Marco could have done better to prevent the pass.

kurquhart wrote:Hornish had the faster car, plus the benefit of the draft. I don't think there was much that Marco could have done better to prevent the pass.

The draft did not happen until the final turn. What happened with the rest of the lap prior to that draft? My god, if his car was that fast he should have won that race going away!!!

Hornish's car was that fast: he had served a drive-though penalty just a few laps prior and still was able to work his way all the way through the field. Without the bungled pit stop and penalty he would have been way in front at the end.

kurquhart wrote:Hornish's car was that fast: he had served a drive-though penalty just a few laps prior and still was able to work his way all the way through the field. Without the bungled pit stop and penalty he would have been way in front at the end.

I disagree, without the bungled pit stop he would have been on the same strategy with the other fast cars (Weldon and Kanaan) and had a real fight back in the pack. The penalty allowed him to stop for gas and have just enough to finish while the others were forced to pit one more time and get caught in traffic for the last couple laps instead of just running down the Andretti's. To me, it became obvious that he should win with about 20 laps to go, though I did not think the Andretti's would even be close.

Jad wrote:I disagree, without the bungled pit stop he would have been on the same strategy with the other fast cars (Weldon and Kanaan) and had a real fight back in the pack. The penalty allowed him to stop for gas and have just enough to finish while the others were forced to pit one more time and get caught in traffic for the last couple laps instead of just running down the Andretti's. To me, it became obvious that he should win with about 20 laps to go, though I did not think the Andretti's would even be close.

It did not seem that simple to me. Hornish actually came back to pit lane twice after the incident: once under yellow where they did top off, but then again under green without stopping. I agree that the top-off was effectively free, but the penalty had to hurt.

True, but when you consider that free top off allowed him to finish when the others all had to stop again, and he was able to do the penalty under a partial green as the drive through was done as they went green and were not up to speed. Thus, he was at the back, but still solidly on the lead lap without having to stop which takes about 1 lap. The only other person I know that did this was Michael A. Not sure what Marco did, but as soon as I figure that top off strategy, I was telling people Hornish had the race. Maybe he was just the fastest or lucky, but I had thought Kanaan would win until that moment.

One thing to keep in mind. One lap before the end, Hornish tried to get inside underneath marco, but Marco squeezed him out, and he had to drop back.

At the finish, I think someone earlier had it right, he was celebrating in the car, not paying enough attention. If you watch, you'll see him drift a little but high, which provided the opening for Hornish to get underneath him and cross the finish first.

If Marco had stayed lower, he Hornish would not have had the room to get under him, and Marco would have won the race.

paul-silver wrote:One thing to keep in mind. One lap before the end, Hornish tried to get inside underneath marco, but Marco squeezed him out, and he had to drop back.

At the finish, I think someone earlier had it right, he was celebrating in the car, not paying enough attention. If you watch, you'll see him drift a little but high, which provided the opening for Hornish to get underneath him and cross the finish first.

If Marco had stayed lower, he Hornish would not have had the room to get under him, and Marco would have won the race.

In the post-race interview, Marco said that he probably could have blocked Hornish from passing, but didn't feel like it would have been sporting. Now he could have just been making an excuse after the fact, but it sure sounds nice.

paul-silver wrote:One thing to keep in mind. One lap before the end, Hornish tried to get inside underneath marco, but Marco squeezed him out, and he had to drop back.

At the finish, I think someone earlier had it right, he was celebrating in the car, not paying enough attention. If you watch, you'll see him drift a little but high, which provided the opening for Hornish to get underneath him and cross the finish first.

If Marco had stayed lower, he Hornish would not have had the room to get under him, and Marco would have won the race.

I don't think he was celebrating, Hornish was too fast and look at his history of last lap wins. He knows how to set up and perform a last lap pass on the best drivers, let alone a 19yo rookie. Whichever way Marco went Hornish would go the other way and only by multiple blocking moves that likely would have taken them both out could he have won. Hornish was that much faster, 219 mph to 214 is a big delta.

Greg