Marco Andretti Finishes Second in NYSE Car at Indianapolis
www.andrettigreen.com Marco Andretti Finishes Second in Photo Finish at 90th Running of Indianapolis 500 SPEEDWAY, Ind. (May 28, 2006) - Marco Andretti, making his first Indianapolis 500 appearance, nearly completed the storybook ending as he piloted the #26 NYSE car to a second-place finish in the second- closest finish in '500' history Sunday afternoon at the 90th running of the Indianapolis 500. Andretti, starting the event from outside of Row 3 on the starting grid, wasted little time in showing that the #26 NYSE car was fast as he moved into the top three just 30 laps into the event. Never falling back farther than seventh during the event, he was poised to make history when a late-race caution flag flew on Lap 190. When the track went green, the younger Andretti found himself in second place, trailing only his father with four laps remaining. Two laps later, Marco took the lead, making an outside move around his father as the two went through Turn 1. Sam Hornish Jr. also passed the senior Andretti and set his sights on the NYSE car, making a last-second pass just before the pair crossed the finish line with the finishing margin being just .0635 of a second. Hornish took the victory with Jim Beam/Vonage driver Michael Andretti third, Dan Wheldon fourth and Team 7-Eleven driver Tony Kanaan fifth. Next up for Andretti and the entire IndyCar Series will be the Watkins Glen Indy Grand Prix on Sunday, June 4. The event will be televised live by ABC Sports, beginning at 3:30 p.m. (EDT). It can also be heard live by XM Satellite Radio subscribers by tuning into XM channel 145. Marco Andretti, #26 NYSE Dallara/Honda/Firestone: "The NYSE boys did an awesome job all month. I came into this race thinking that I could win it and we nearly did. I don't like finishing second. Hornish just had too much speed at the end. I guess I could have been really dirty and driven low on the straightaway, but I didn't want to do it that way. I was really hoping on the restart that Bryan (Herta) would have been between dad and Hornish and then we would have had a '1-2'. It's a shame that we have to wait a year to come back here." Eddie Jones, Race Engineer, #26 NYSE Dallara/Honda/Firestone: "It's hard to think that Marco has just turned 19 and has very little experience in these cars. He drove like an absolute professional out there all race long, didn't make or put a foot wrong. The NYSE car was in the hunt all day long. We got some bad breaks in traffic here and there that dropped us back a bit. But, he kept a calm head, stayed focused and almost won it and arguably deserved to. (Sam) Hornish had a great race, as well, but I think America should be proud. I think there's a rising star and it's another Andretti." 2006 Indianapolis 500 Results Pos. Name Laps Pos. Name Laps Pos. Name Laps 1 Sam Hornish Jr. 200 12 Buddy Lazier 199 23 Jeff Simmons 152 2 Marco Andretti 200 13 Eddie Cheever Jr. 198 24 Al Unser Jr. 145 3 Michael Andretti 200 14 Max Papis 197 25 Helio Castroneves 109 4 Dan Wheldon 200 15 Kosuke Matsuura 196 26 Buddy Rice 108 5 Tony Kanaan 200 16 Roger Yasukawa 194 27 Tomas Scheckter 65 6 Scott Dixon 200 17 Jaques Lazier 193 28 Arie Luyendyk Jr. 54 7 Dario Franchitti 200 18 Airton Dare 193 29 Stephan Gregoire 49 8 Danica Patrick 200 19 PJ Jones 189 30 Larry Foyt 43 9 Scott Sharp 200 20 Bryan Herta 188 31 Thiago Medeiros 24 10 Vitor Meira 200 21 Felipe Giaffone 177 32 Jeff Bucknum 1 11 Ed Carpenter 199 22 Townsend Bell 161 33 PJ Chesson 1