Race Recaps - 89th Running in 2005 - Dan Wheldon wins, but largest attention paid to Danica Patrick
Dan Wheldon won, the first English victor since Graham Hill in 1966., Michael Andretti won as a car owner…What great stories.
BUT. They took the back seat to the birth of Danica-Mania.
Rookie Danica Patrick, who qualified fourth and finished fourth, became the first female driver to lead laps during the race and won the Rookie of the Year award. Patrick leads three separate times for a total of 19 laps, even after spinning and recovering between the third and fourth turns on a restart, the fourth driver in history to do so. However, she slips back from the lead to fourth place during the last seven laps, with Dan Wheldon winning.
Other notes:
Kenny Brack drove for Rahal Letterman Racing, replacing defending Champion Buddy Rice who had crashed at Indy earlier in the month. Brack had returned after a nasty wreck at Texas in 2003.
Sébastien Bourdais ran for Newman/Haas Racing, crashing and finishing 12th. Ryan Briscoe was a rookie for Chip Ganassi Racing and finished 10th.
2nd was Vitor Meira, 3rd Bryan Herta, 4th, Danica, 5th Buddy Lazier.
