Racing through the years: 2011 Indianapolis 500
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) – The 2011 Indy 500 started with a blast from the past and ended with a finish for the ages as IMS celebrated the 100th anniversary of the first running of the Indianapolis 500.
As part of the centennial celebration, 1963 race winner Parnelli Jones drove two ceremonial laps in the Marmon Wasp that was piloted to victory in the inaugural 500 by Ray Harroun.
Pole-sitter Alex Tagliani led the field to the green flag, but was quickly passed for the lead by Scott Dixon as the race got off to a smooth start.
The first caution of the day came on lap 20 when Takuma Sato hit the outside wall in turn 1. Many cars used the caution to come to pit road.
That caution brought problems for Team Penske. During the pit stop, the left rear tire wasn’t attached properly to Will Power’s car and came off as he left the pit stall. Power had to complete an entire lap on three wheels and come back for another stop to attach a fourth tire.
Much of the race was dominated by Target-Chip Ganassi teammates Dixon and Dario Franchitti. The two combined to lead 124 laps on the day.
Back in the pack on lap 158, Ryan Briscoe and Townsend Bell made contact and crashed hard in turn one, bringing out the sixth caution of the day. The crash would play a big part in setting up an epic finish because it allowed drivers to try different fuel strategies as the laps wound down.
Shortly before the race went green again, a few drivers including Franchitti and rookie J.R. Hildebrand pitted to top off their fuel in hopes of making it to the end of the race without having to stop again.
Danica Patrick led 10 laps late in the race, but was passed with 11 to go by Bertrand Baguette. Patrick would eventually have to pit and ended up finishing 10th.
Baguette would lead until he had to pit for fuel with three laps remaining. That handed over the lead to Hildebrand.
Hildebrand took the white flag and was four corners and 2.5 miles from history. He was conserving fuel, but still held a decent lead over the hard-charging Dan Wheldon, who didn’t have to worry about fuel consumption. Hildebrand successfully navigated the south short chute and headed down the backstretch one final time.
As he entered turn three, it was apparent that Wheldon would not have enough time to catch Hildebrand. The rookie caught up with the lapped car of Charlie Kimball in the north short chute between turns three and four. Hildebrand attempted to go high to get around Kimball, but in doing so ended up hitting the wall on the exit of turn four.
On three wheels and sliding along the wall, Hildebrand was helpless inside the car. That allowed Wheldon to catch Hildebrand on the front stretch and pass him for one of the most dramatic wins in race history. Hildebrand slid across the line to finish 2nd.
The only lap Wheldon led all day was the most important 200th. The surprising win was Wheldon’s second Indy victory and the emotions caught up with him as he sat in the car in victory lane. While the team celebrated around his car, Wheldon celebrated with a kiss from his wife Susie.
2011 would be Wheldon’s final Indy 500, as later that year he was tragically killed in an accident during an IndyCar race in Las Vegas.