Kanaan captures elusive Indianapolis 500 win

Tony Kanaan, of Brazil, celebrates by pouring the winners milk over his head after winning the Indianapolis 500 auto race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis Sunday, May 26, 2013.(AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

INDIANAPOLIS -- It took him twelve starts, but Brazilian driver Tony Kanaan finally won the 97th Indianapolis 500 Sunday under the yellow flag for the popular driver's first-ever Indy 500 win.

Kanaan restarted in second place with three laps to go after a crash by Graham Rahal brought out the caution. He then rocketed past Ryan Hunter-Reay in turn one to take the lead before a wreck by Dario Franchitti brought out the race's final yellow flag.

After Kanaan pulled into Victory Lane, the crowd greeted him with thunderous applause while the Brazilian took a sip of two percent milk then proceeded to pour the rest over his head.

"I got a little bit of luck today," Kanaan said to the crowd in Victory Lane. "It's for the fans. It's for my dad that's not here, but mainly for all of you guys. I was looking at the stands and it was unbelievable. I'm speechless.

"This is it, man. I made it."

Luck has never been on Kanaan's side at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, but Sunday was different. Instead of relying on luck, Kanaan brought his own with him -- literally.

Nine years ago, the driver visited a young girl in an Indianapolis hospital who had suffered a stroke. The following the day she was scheduled for surgery and Kanaan gave her mother a necklace his own mother had given him to protect him. His reasoning was it had worked for him, it could work for her.

She made it through the surgery and over the last nine years has had luck on her side. Four days before the race, the luck Kanaan gave to a young girl came back to him just in time to help him realize his dream of winning at IMS.

"She showed up and gave me a letter with an envelope," he said. "I opened the letter -- here it was. She said that she had enough of luck in her life, she got married and she wanted to give it back to me to bring me luck.

"So here it is. I think I'll retire that thing now."

During the race, Kanaan carried the medal in his fire suit and pulled it out for all to see as he stood in Victory Lane.

Kanaan also received a visit from former driver Alex Zanardi before the race. Zanardi lost his legs in a crash in 2001. He gave Kanaan a gold medal from the 2012 Paralympics and instructed him to rub it all over the car. The magic seemed to have worked.

As Kanaan crossed the famed yard of bricks, Zanardi was shown crying in the driver's pit box.

Kanaan's car co-owner and former driver Jimmy Vasser praised his driver following the race and spoke about the impact Zanardi had on his driver the week leading up to Sunday's big race.

"He's just awesome in those (restart) situations. He was just great all day. Alex Zanardi gave us some luck today. He gave us his gold medal from London and told us, 'Rub it all over the car.'

"Tony took the medal to his motorhome with him for an hour."

"I tell you, I'm starting to think it really works -- it's profitable. I might put it up for sale," Zanardi said with a smile."

Known for his sense of humor, Kanaan couldn't let the moment pass without taking a jab at himself with milk dripping off his face.

"Finally they're going to put my ugly face on this trophy," he said smiling.

Kanaan, Marco Andretti and Ed Carpenter showed early they would be the cars to beat as they traded spots in the top three positions at a blistering pace. The trio led 102 of the races 200 laps.

Ultimately Andretti finished fourth on the day with Carpenter ending his run in 10th place after starting on the pole.

The fourth place finish was tough for Andretti, who spent most of his day in the top five. The No. 25 driver had the speed to win, but got shuffled back too far to make a move at the end.

His legendary grandfather Mario Andretti echoed what many fans are saying following the race, describing the 97th Indianapolis 500 as amazing.

"It was a hell of a race. That's all I can say," Mario Andretti said. "This is riveting competition, that's all I can tell you. It's just amazing. The reliability of the cars is there. The product is there. It's unbelievable racing, the best I've seen in years."

Rookie Carlos Munoz finished the race exactly where he began, in second place, and showed he has a bright future in the sport. Munoz led 12 laps on Sunday, but all that was on his mind was what he considered a missed opportunity.

"I should be happy, but I thought I should win this thing," Munoz said. "The car was so great from the first lap to the last lap. I have to be good. Let's see what my future will bring. Maybe next year I will win it.

"I have nothing to be ashamed of. To be second and a rookie is the best of the team is a great job."

Munoz also shares a Greencastle connection. John Tzouanakis joined Andretti Autosport for the Indy 500 this year as Munoz's pit strategist. Tzouanakis has spent most than 30 years in the sport, mostly with Newman-Haas Racing.

The race saw another rookie, A.J. Allmendinger, finish in the top seven. Allmendinger led 23 laps on the day

Three-time winner and fellow Brazilian racer Helio Castroneves finished in sixth place. While most would be disappointed, Castroneves was beaming for his fellow countryman.

"I'm very happy (for Kanaan)," he said. "Well-deserved for him. Well-deserved for his team. Hell of a job."

Hunter-Reay was leading the race on the final restart, the one place you don't want to be in at the Indianapolis 500.

"That's just the way it works out," he said. "That was bad luck. We were leading on the last restart. I knew I was a sitting duck, and I wasn't too bummed about it because I knew we had enough laps to get it going again and have a pass back and maybe I would be third on the last lap, which is where I wanted to be. It didn't work out that way."

Andretti Autosport had a big day despite not winning the Borg Warner trophy. Andretti Autosport drivers took three of the race's top five spots, lead by Munoz's second place finish.

Sunday's race set three records. It boasted 14 leaders, with 68 lead changes at an average speed of 187.433.

The 68 lead changes doubles the previous record. The average speed record eclipsed the mark of 185.981 set by Arie Luyendyk in 1990.

Just before the driver started their cars, runners who were unable to complete the Boston Marathon due to the terrorist attack ran a ceremonial remainder of the race, starting in turn four and crossing the yard of bricks to thunderous applause.

At Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Indianapolis 500 Results
2.5 mile circuit, 200 laps