INDIANAPOLIS - Sam Hornish Jr. had the fastest car all month at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Fortunately, the polesitter also had the fastest car yesterday at the finish line.
Hornish pulled off an incredible move several hundred feet from the checkered flag, darting around Marco Andretti, to win the second-closest race in Indianapolis 500 history.
Crystal Hornish was blocked by her husband's pit crew at trackside and didn't even see the frantic, yet fabulous finish in the sweltering heat.
"I had my head down and just kept praying that Sam would be able to finish the race," she said. "Then when I saw the pit crew jumping up and down and pumping their fists in the air, I figured Sam must have won, but I wasn't totally sure because we haven't had the best luck here.
"I was still in denial even as we were going to Victory Lane."
For once, the man known around Indy as hard-luck Hornish finally caught a break at the world's most famous oval. He is no longer a driver synonymous with only coming close. And instead of watching replays of someone else dancing and hugging and taking a swig from the victor's traditional jug of milk, Hornish was the one jumping for joy.
So were Crystal, his brother Jon, and parents Jo Ellen and Sam Sr., who first brought Little Sam to the fabled track when he was still in diapers.
"This is the most wonderful day of our lives, better than our wedding day, given what Sam accomplished today," Crystal said. "This has been his lifelong goal ever since he started racing go-karts, and for him to finally win the greatest race of all, is just unbelievable."
Sam and Crystal, a pair of
Archbold High School graduates who were married not too far from the track a week after the Indy 500 in 2004, will celebrate their second wedding anniversary on June 5.
Their friends and family members very well could still be dancing in the streets back in Defiance.
"We'll definitely have a big celebration once we get back home," Crystal said. "The least I can do is throw a big party for Sam."
Hornish, 26, is just the fifth American driver to win the Memorial Day weekend race since 1989. He has earned more than $10 million and has 15 victories to his credit, but yesterday's Indy 500 win meant considerably more than the others.
It not only defines Hornish's outstanding career - he is one of the most dominant drivers in the Indy Racing League - it secures his place among the elite drivers on the open-wheel circuit.
Now, he'll have his own Borg Warner Trophy to put on his mantel at home.
Yesterday's win could be a life-changing event for Hornish, although those close to him don't expect him to change much.
"Sam is pretty humble, and he doesn't get too excited about anything," said older brother Jon, who lives in Defiance. "Today is about as excited as I have ever seen him. This is unbelievable, incredible. It's a great day for our family.
"We always knew Sam could win the Indy 500, and we thought he would, but after a while, you start to wonder, especially with all the things that have gone wrong here for him."
Not even a seemingly disastrous pit stop on lap No. 151, and a penalty that followed, could derail Hornish, who led just 19 laps all day.
Hornish just kept driving - faster and faster.
He dove to the inside of Andretti after coming out of the final turn and crossed the finish line six hundredths of a second ahead of the 19-year-old rookie.
At long last, this victory will silence Hornish's critics.
He will no longer have to answer the tired old question: Why can't you win the Indy 500?
And he'll be a lot happier around the house.
"Knowing Sam like I do, he'll celebrate this win for a day or two, and then he'll start thinking about what he can do to win No. 2 next year, and then No. 3," his wife said. "He won't want to stop at one Indy 500."
Slow down, Sam.
Not so fast.
First Published May 29, 2006, 1:29 p.m.
