Tony Kanaan ended 12 years of frustration, despite finishing the last lap under a caution flag, winning the 97th Indianapolis 500, yesterday.
"It means a lot to me because so many people, I could feel that they wanted me to win, and it's such a selfish thing to do because what are they getting from it?" said Kanaan. "I'm the one who gets the trophy. I believed that this win was more for people out there than for me."
Kanaan has had his fair share of bad luck at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, coming up short on various occasions. Kanaan went into Sunday's race having led 221 laps at the landmark race track - third most laps for a non-winner behind Michael Andretti and Rex Mays.
Kanaan came close to victory in 2004, finishing second to Buddy Rice. In 2007, Kanaan lost the lead to winner Dario Franchitti as a result of a rain delay that cost Kanaan the race when it was resumed. Kanaan came in third, last year, losing out again to Franchitti.
This year, with 11 laps to go, Kanaan traded the lead with Ryan Hunter-Reay five different times until the next-to-last yellow caution flag was raised, caused by Graham Rahal spinning out of control and hitting the wall, with three laps left in the race.
Kanaan managed to slip under and past Hunter-Reay, on the restart, taking the lead once again just seconds before Franchitti hit the wall, bringing out the yellow flag, and ending the race on a caution.
"I knew I had to get the lead on the restart because it could be a yellow, which happened to me plenty of times here, and it did," said Kanaan. "How funny is life? The yellow was my best friend."
This year's race set a record, with 68 lead changes (double last year's total), as well a record as far as average speed time of 187.433 mph. But it was Kanaan who managed to hold on to the lead, late in the race, much to the delight of his fellow drivers who lined up to congratulate the Brazilian driver.
"When I saw who was leading, it cheered me up a little bit," said Franchitti, last year's winner who was looking for a record-tying fourth Indianapolis 500 checkered flag. "He's a very, very deserving winner."
While disappointed with the result, Hunter-Reay had no gripes as to how the race ended, despite an anti-climatic yellow flag finish late in the race, defending the traditions of the Indianapolis 500.
"This is Indy. There's a certain way things are done," said Hunter-Reay. "We don't try to produce results out of green-white-checkereds. It can be a bit gimmicky. That said, I think what the fans want is most important."