Toyota Takes Six of Top Seven Positions
Gil de Ferran (Marlboro Toyota) edged Marlboro Team Penske teammate Helio Castroneves to win the 87th running of the Indianapolis 500 and give Toyota a victory in its first-ever appearance at Indy.
Gil de Ferran's victory is his first Indianapolis 500 win, his first victory of the season and the third of his IRL career. The win marks the third consecutive victory for Marlboro Team Penske, which has registered five top-two finishing positions in the last three Indy 500s.
Toyota-powered cars took six of the top seven and seven of the top nine spots in today's finishing order. Tomas Scheckter (Target Toyota) was fourth behind the two Marlboro Team Penske teammates, with Mo Nunn Racing teammates Tora Takagi (Pioneer Toyota) and Alex Barron (Meijer Toyota) finishing fifth and sixth, and Tony Renna (Cure Autism Now/HomeMed Pharmacy) in seventh.
Toyota-powered cars led 170 of the 200 laps today including 131 of the final 133. Five different Toyota-powered cars led the race with Tomas Scheckter leading a race-high 63 laps and Helio Castroneves leading 58.
Helio Castroneves' bid for three consecutive wins was halted, but he now has registered two wins and a second in three Indy 500s. In addition, he has placed in the top three in three of four races this season with second-place finishes at Phoenix and Indy, and third at Miami.
Today's victory marks the first for Toyota in its first attempt at the Indianapolis 500. It is the third win for Toyota in four IndyCar Series events this season. Toyota-powered drivers have now captured nine of the 12 'top-three' finishing positions in the season's first four races. Dating back to last season's CART competition, Toyota has now won 13 of its last 23 races.
Toyota-powered driver Tora Takagi was the top finishing rookie with a fifth-place finish today, two spots ahead of fellow Toyota rookie Tony Renna.
By leading six laps today, Scott Dixon (Target Toyota) has now led in each of his first four IRL IndyCar Series races.
Toyota Drivers - Start/Finish:
Gil de Ferran - 10/1
Helio Castroneves - 1/2
Tomas Scheckter - 12/4
Tora Takagi - 7/5
Alex Barron - 25/6
Tony Renna - 8/7
Al Unser Jr. - 17/9
Scott Dixon - 4/17
A.J. Foyt IV - 23/18
Scott Sharp - 9/20
Airton Dare - 33/24
Richie Hearn - 28/28
Shigeaki Hattori - 30/30
Felipe Giaffone - 16/31
Next Race: Texas Motor Speedway, June 7, ESPN 8 p.m. EDT
