Race Recaps - 86th Running in 2002 -Back to Back - or was it?
A bizarre and controversial finale was set in motion when Tomas Scheckter crashed out of the lead on lap 173, ending his bid to be the youngest winner ever.
Second place Gil de Ferran looked set to inherit the lead with the fastest car remaining in the race, but a miscue in the Penske pits resulted in the loss of a rear wheel, forcing de Ferran to crawl back round to the pits on three wheels.
Teammate Hélio Castroneves made his final fuel stop on lap 158, and a combination of yellow-flag laps and judicious fuel management propelled him to lap 198 with the lead.
Paul Tracy hunted Castroneves down and completed a pass on Castroneves as they were entering turn 3. Meanwhile, a crash back in turn 2 (involving drivers Laurent Redon and Buddy Lazier) brought out the yellow flag.
Race control ruled that Paul Tracy passed Castroneves after the caution flew and officially reverted Tracy to second place.
Tracy’s team appealed the result, but Speedway official Brian Barnhart denied the appeal due to the lack of conclusive evidence that Tracy had completed the pass under green, as Team Green had claimed. The result was later upheld in July of the same year after a hearing. Castroneves became the first driver to win his first two Indy 500 starts, and added a twelfth win to car owner Roger Penske’s record.
Second-place Paul Tracy and Team Green still dispute the finish.
Felipe Giaffone finished 3rd, Rookie Alex Barron was 4th adn Eddie Cheever was 5th.
Also running were Michael Andretti, Robby Gordon in a #31 car with Richard Childress as a part owner. Dario Franchitti ran as a rookie and finished 19th.
The teams started to use there own fonts and colors on the numbers of the cars. Helios first victory came in car number 68, this vicrtory was in the #3 car.
