Deja Vu all over again

Posted by Iannucci | 5/28/2009 | 6 comments »
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I just read this summary of the last two Indy 500s over at Furious Wedge, and it's astounding in one of those Lincoln/Kennedy ways.

2008:
* Polesitter wins Indianapolis 500 by 1.7498 seconds.
* Panther National Guard #4 is second place car
* AGR car finishes in third place
* Graham Rahal crashes in 4th turn on lap 36
* Tony Kanaan exits race in 3rd turn incident on lap 105
* 8 cautions for 60 laps
* No green flag pit stops for the leaders

2009:
* Polesitter wins Indianapolis 500 by 1.9819 seconds.
* Panther National Guard #4 is second place car
* AGR car finishes in third place
* Graham Rahal crashes in 4th turn on lap 55
* Tony Kanaan exits race in 3rd turn incident on lap 97
* 8 cautions for 61 laps
* No green flag pit stops for the leaders

Might I also note that in 2008 Scott Dixon appears at Curt Cavin's Carb Night Burger Bash and finished 1st, and in 2009 Dan Wheldon appeared and finished 2nd. Three other drivers who shall remain nameless said they would appear in 2009 but did not, and all three ended up in the wall. It's true.

6 comments

  1. pressdog // May 29, 2009 5:46 AM  

    That's whack. Just when you thought every oval was an ocean of sameness, you find out, well, that it is.

  2. DZ // May 29, 2009 9:16 AM  

    I think the lesson here is, don't dis the Cavin. Show up or crack up.

  3. scott k. // May 29, 2009 3:58 PM  

    that's not exactly true, Dixon said after last year's bash that he would return this year. He didn't and didn't hit the wall. Not where he wanted but not in the wall

  4. Iannucci // May 29, 2009 4:07 PM  

    Scott,

    Before the event I asked who was coming and I was told four names - none were Dixon. From what I was told Scott had not given any recent indication that he would be attending.

    Of course, as you note, Dixon didn't repeat as the winner.

  5. Unknown // May 30, 2009 4:35 AM  

    I understand Jeff. I was just remembering one of Curt & Kevin's shows from after last years race. They said Dixon committed again a year in advance. I can certainly understand that: A.Driver promotional responsibilities change quickly and B.Curt would want fresh faces at his event. It sounds like Dan really had the crowd.

  6. Anonymous // May 31, 2009 7:24 AM  

    Here's what I find a hoot - two years of the second place car within two seconds, and this year everyone knowing it had no chance to win over the last 17 laps. If this was Foyt/Sachs, or Shaw/Hepburn, neither of which was nearly as close, it would have been a classic. Instead it's just another "reverse side mirror" ICS finish where the objects appeared closer than they were.