Published: May 28, 2006 11:26 pm         

Sam Hornish Jr. finishes with flair to upset Andretti bid for 1-2 finish

Sam Hornish Jr. changed his luck in the Indy 500 on Sunday, while another Andretti was foiled in his bid to win the IndyCar Series showcase.

Hornish edged teenager Marco Andretti by .0635 of a second in the second-closest 500 finish in history to win — giving car owner Roger Penske his 14th win at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

The leaders were followed by Michael Andretti, Dan Wheldon and Tony Kanaan at the finish. Wheldon and Kanaan both held the leads late in the race before making pit stops.

Hornish started from the pole and completed all 200 laps of the 500 for the first time in seven starts.

“I love it. I just wanted to finish the race,” said Hornish.

He charged from fourth on a restart with four laps to go and passed the second-place finisher less than 100 yards from the start-finish line and famed yard of bricks.

The Marlboro Team Penske driver was fast all month but had to rally from seventh place with 40 laps to go after being penalized for a fueling mistake in the pits.

“We made some good decisions and were fast when we needed and got a yellow [light] when we needed it. We stuck together as a team and had a good game plan,” said the winner, who led a total of 19 laps.

“I thank God…,” he said moments after the race ended in warm near-record temperatures.

He wasn’t sure he could get the win with just four laps to go but, after getting by Michael Andretti — who was in the lead on the restart, he was in a position to win and made the most of it.

“I’m so happy for Sam. You can’t write a better story,” said Rose-Hulman graduate Tim Cindric, who’s in charge of all Penske race operations.

“In the end, the driver won this race. He may be the best oval racer of all time [and] has so much determination. We made the mistake in the pits, not him,” said Penske.

Seven drivers held the lead for at least two laps in the race with Wheldon being in front for 148 turns in his bid to repeat as the race winner.

He fell back after being forced to pit on green on the 184th lap because of a puncture.

“I had a very good car … it was incredibly disappointing to lose the race like that,” said Wheldon, who’s in his first year with Ganassi Racing.

Kanaan, his former teammate with Andretti Green Racing, then led until also going to the pits under yellow when Michael Andretti assumed the lead, which he held until being passed by his son on the 197th turn.

In the end, Andretti Green Racing had four drivers in the top seven with Ganassi having two in the top six.

Penske’s other driver, two-time winner Helio Castroneves, led the first nine laps before falling back and was eliminated by an accident on the 109th lap.

Another two-time winner, Al Unser Jr., was eliminated by a mishap on the 145th lap.

All cars were powered by Honda engines for the first time in the race.

I I I

Pit passes — Hornish is 26 and the fifth driver to win the 500 at that age. Wheldon was 26 when he won in 2005.

Hornish is the 18th driver to win from the pole and has won 15 IndyCar Series features — best in the series.

n Al Unser Jr. edged Scott Goodyear in 1992 by .043 of a second for the closest finish in race history.

n Castroneves remains the leader in series points with 156 followed by Hornish 144, Wheldon 139, Scott Dixon 120 and Kanaan 119.