The Indianapolis Star from Indianapolis, Indiana • Page 73

THE INDIANAPOLIS STAR WWW.INDYSTAR.COM Sports it MONDAY, MAY 31, 2004 R5 RACE REPORT tit -is OWNER'S MANUAL I Kristin Enzor For The Star Not too bad: Team co-owner Kim Green (from left), driver Tony Kanaan and co-owner Michael Andretti enjoy a laugh at the Speedway. Kanaan finished second to Buddy Rice in the Indianapolis 500. retti Green close Ufef cw 7 but comes short Tom Wood Land Rover 3473 East 96th Street Indianapolis, IN 317-848-7447 No passing zone: Buddy Rice (15) and Tony Kanaan approach the finish line under the yellow at the 2004 DISCOVERY 1 fiil'tf Team sweeps 2nd, 3rd, 4th but not a victory By Steve Ballard steve.ballardlindystar.com Tony Kanaan and Dan Whel-don couldn't remember having more fun on a racetrack as they dueled through a long, wet Sunday afternoon with eventual winner Buddy Rice in the 88th Indianapolis 500. But for the principals of Andretti Green Racing, another near miss at Indianapolis Motor Speedway was difficult to take. Michael Andretti's Indy frustrations are legendary in a career that ended after this race last year.

Partner Kim Green 39 month lease, 10K miles per year. $2,201 down plus aquisition tee, first payment and security deposit Total due at lease inception $3,495 plus tax and DOC. John Severson The Star ings and its Honda-powered foursome a budding juggernaut. Kanaan agreed with his boss that Rice had the best car in the race. But that didn't detract from his enjoyment despite the rain that delayed the start by two hours, interrupted the -'-a SUA I was part of his brother Barry's protest of the result two years ago that awarded victory to Helio Castroneves over Team Green's Paul Tracy.

So even a 2-3-4 finish left something of a sour taste for a team that wanted more. But Andretti said personal disappointment could not diminish the pride race tor nearly two more hours shortly after it began and then ended it 20 laps short. "Long day, for everybody," the Brazilian said. "I never had so much fun in my life with a teammate than I had with Dan today. Winning races is important, but when you get out on the track and you can fight that hard between each other "I've had way bigger disappointments.

To be disappointed in this would be getting a little greedy." Michael Andretti "It's like Tony said. I had probably my most enjoyable race ever from a driving standpoint. I could race like that every day of the week, I really could, for 365 days a year," said Wheldon, adding he could understand if the outcome was frustrating to his boss. "I haven't seen all of (Andretti's) races here, but I'm sure he's gutted to have three of the top four and not win the race. The poor guy has tried so hard to win it, but in the future Andretti Green is going to win the Indianapolis 500." Herta, who crashed twice during the month, was just as happy with the outcome as were the two teammates he followed across the finish line.

"Buddy Rice had the fastest car, and he won the race. That's the way the Indy 500 is supposed to be," he said. "With the month I had, this feels like a win." Perhaps next year, someone will be able to give Andretti something that not only feels like a win, but looks like one, too. Call Star reporter Steve Ballard at (317) 444-6184 I tOldiU' 4 1 I1 fj and still get out of the car and be able to laugh about it, that, for me, is priceless." The only thing that would have made it better for both drivers is to have been dueling for the win instead of second place. Wheldon was trying to become the first British driver to win the race since Graham Hill in 1966.

717' f. ,4 kieSM ii. Lii his team accomplishment by runner-up Kanaan, third-place Wheldon and fourth-place Bryan Herta. "I've had way bigger disappointments. To be disappointed in this would be getting a little greedy," Andretti said.

"When you get beat fair and square, you can accept it. "It wasn't luck that beat us. Buddy had too much car for us, and he did a good job driving it. At the end of the day, we just didn't do a good enough job." Andretti Green might well have had four drivers in the top five had front-row starter Dario Fran-chitti not faded to 14th late in the race. Andretti blamed it on a flat tire that forced the Scotsman to pit out of sequence.

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