- It's hard to describe the emotion
immediately after something like that.
It's why we do this, right,
it's that moment,
it's a fleeting moment.
It's so short but it's so incredibly intense
and so special.
(cars racing by)
(intense dramatic music)
- The thought process of one day
running the Indy 500 really never crossed my mind.
It was always a race that I watched
and would get excited about,
and for the past
six years I was in Monaco
on the same weekend racing and I'd always
make sure to find a way to watch it
that Sunday evening.
It's one of those races where you just, you watch.
February of 2016 Michael Andretti reached out,
and there was something coming together
with the merger of him and Bryan Herta Autosport,
and there was going to be a fourth car available
that he hadn't had in the past.
- Alex fit in perfect with our other guys,
the other drivers, and it was just,
it was meant to be.
- We get to the speedway and, you know,
we went right through our rookie orientation.
He did very well there, right up to speed.
- I wasn't sure how good he would be.
It was really only once we started working together
and testing, and when he got in the car
I realized okay this guy,
this guy is a little bit special.
- Honda, as the power supplier for us,
gives us an option of oil to run.
You know, through the month of May we tested
different types and we settled on Castrol Edge
because the power was there
without any increased fuel usage.
- After all the testing was done
it showed a fairly big gain
in horsepower
as well as
bearing life and everything of the Honda engine.
(jet engines soaring)
- Ladies and gentlemen
start your engines!
(engine roars)
- [Announcer] It's the historic 100th running
of the Indianapolis 500.
The greatest spectacle in racing.
The green flag is about to wave.
And the race is on!
- The goal from 11th was just kind of to settle in.
I had never, this was my second oval race
I had ever done, and my first on the speedway.
So, I was just kind of trying to find my feet
and see what it was like.
- From early in the race, it became obvious
we had a fast car.
Alexander was moving forward from his starting position.
- We moved up to about sixth place.
Car was very good.
- We came in for our first stop.
- [Pit Chief] Okay, busy pit lane.
Coming around Pagenaud.
We're just past the pylon, three down.
- [Pit Crew] Hold it. Hold it.
Wait. Wait. Wait.
Alright, fast lane, fast lane!
- [Alexander] What just happened?
- [Crew Member] Fuel guy couldn't get plugged in.
- [Fuel Guy] Sorry buddy, we had a...
We had a hard time getting plugged in there.
- [Alexander] Damn it!
- [Fuel Guy] Yup, I know, copy.
- We couldn't get the, simply the hose into the car.
- [Pit Chief] Still 132 laps to go here Alex.
Obviously we're stuck back further.
You're P20 right now.
Just take them one at a time.
We'll be looking for opportunities
on pit strategy to do something a little different here
to get our track position back.
- [Crew Member] You got a fast race car.
You're doing a great job.
You're going to be alright.
- Next pit stop happens.
- [Announcer] Pits are open.
Here we go.
(intense dramatic music)
- [Pit Member] Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait.
Just wait, we got a problem.
Just wait.
Just wait,
I know, just wait.
Just wait.
Okay, go go go!
- [Alexander] (bleep) What am I supposed to do?
- [Crew Member] I know, just stay focused man.
Okay, stay focused.
We got, we must, we've got some kind
of equipment problem here.
- [Crew Member] You're going to change
the whole hose, right? - We're going to change
the whole fuel rig here.
- After the second bad fuel stop,
we were all the way at the very back.
- That really took the wind out
of my sails for a bit,
because it was just like what do we,
what do I need to do?
- [Announcer] We've got a problem in turn number two.
- [Announcer] Oh, we got car around,
it's Mikhail Aleshin, and as he spun
it appears that Conor Daly got tagged as well.
Two-car accident here at the south end of the racetrack.
- Looking at the time available,
and where we were on the track,
we had a really fast car.
We'd just set fastest lap of the race.
But we didn't feel like we were going to have enough time
to get all the way to the front,
by doing the same thing all the leaders were doing.
Plan A didn't work.
Okay, we're going to go to Plan B.
- [Crew Chief] It's a (bleep) crapshoot!
We got a fast car and I don't want to throw it away
with a (bleep) cockamamie try, but...
I just don't think we can drive
all the way to the front.
- [Alexander] We need to start getting
some killer mileage.
- [Crew Chief] These guys are all coming.
- [Alexander] I don't think everybody will come,
but I think most people will.
- [Crew Chief] Well, they're past half tanks, we're not.
We're going to stay out.
(bleep) it!
This may be the only shot we get to gamble.
We're going to take it.
We're going to roll our dice right now.
This is our shot.
We got a few laps of fuel on them.
And we're going to try and get you on front,
get you in some clean air,
and then we'll go from there.
- That was the question, right,
that started it all.
What if we made one last pit stop?
(dramatic music)
- [Announcer] Eyes back on turn number four.
Here comes the field.
- [Crew Member] Green! Green! Green!
- [Announcer] Green flag waving.
And we are racing again!
(cars zooming by)
- [Announcer] New leader, Alexander Rossi.
Around Alex, Tagliani.
- That was our best option to get our track position back.
And there was enough time, at that point,
for our strategy to have the opportunity to pay out.
And it was a decision that was made
half way through the race.
- The first question is what's the fuel economy number
we have to get from here on out
to make it on one less stop?
- [Alexander] So what's our new number there?
- [Crew Chief] Looks like 4.35 with no lap windows.
- [Crew Member] That was a 4.34, that's good.
- [Crew Chief] 4.35 that's the number.
Keep doing that, 4.35.
- Twice, in those two stints, he had
once was Ryan, the other time was Townsend,
where they were towing him around,
and when you're behind another car
you can back off and save fuel.
- [Crew Chief] Just sit there, just sit there.
You're the leader, P1, just sit there and save fuel.
- [Crew Member] He's smart!
He's got a (bleep) head on his shoulders,
I'll tell you what!
- Once we had already set down that path,
then that was my job at that point to say no.
You know, not only can we make it,
we are going to make it.
Not making it is not an option,
so let's figure it out.
- From that point on, it was in all of our minds.
Well, okay, that's what we have to do,
so that's what we're going to do.
- [Announcer] We got a yellow on the track.
- [Announcer] There is a tire loose from a car,
it looks like from Buddy Lazier's car.
- The yellow for Buddy Lazier,
that became a critical point for us,
a make or break moment because
it was earlier than we had planned for.
- [Crew Chief] Pits are open.
Pit this lap! Pit pit pit!
- [Announcer] Everybody in here
with what will be 36 laps to go in the race.
- [Crew Member] Shove it off.
- [Announcer] Can they all get home the rest of the way?
Maybe, they're going to need yellow to get it done though.
- Brian came on the radio and said we need 4.71
a gallon to make it to the finish.
- [Crew Chief] Fuel target 4.71,
if you make, 4.71 we make the finish.
We're staying out.
We made our bed, now we got to lay in it.
- [Alexander] There's no way I can make 4.71!
- [Crew Chief] I know, I know, just do the best you can.
I'm giving you the number,
you just do what you can do.
- We've never seen that number all month.
- What we were trying to do was probably not possible.
The longest anyone had gone on a stint was 31 laps.
We were trying to do five more laps than that.
- We basically had to figure out how to make five laps,
with fuel we didn't have.
- [Alexander] How much fuel do you have
in the tank at the end right now?
- [Crew Chief] At the current mileage,
we will run out on 199, halfway through the lap.
- We're lifting, we're clutching,
we're doing everything possible,
and then all of the sudden
he starts making, you know, 4.68, 4.7.
We're like holy, you know,
he's actually doing it.
- [Crew Chief] I know it's hard Alex!
You're doing great!
We're going to get to the end.
- I actually stumbled upon a solution
when I was behind Scott Dixon,
and it was a little bit of a fluke,
but I came across the line and
it was a 4.74, I believe.
- [Interviewer] Can you explain what that fluke was,
when you were behind Scott Dixon?
What was it that you - I'd rather not. (laughs)
- [Announcer] Kanaan just came in.
So did Scott Dixon.
Carlos Munoz is your race leader.
And here comes Munoz, - Yup!
- [Announcer] He needs fuel.
- [Crew Chief] Save fuel!
You're P1, save fuel, save fuel!
That's all that matters!
- [Announcer] Rossi continues to lead.
He last pitted on 164.
Can the rookie pull off the improbable?
- [Announcer] He's been saving fuel.
He's been going longer than anybody else,
but we're soon to find out.
He's off the pace for a reason.
- [Announcer] Two laps to go.
- We had .65 gallons in the car.
So barely enough to do one lap,
but we had two to go.
- I never allowed myself to believe
that we could pull it off.
And, because I didn't want to get myself
to the point where I was getting my hopes up about it.
And so, like I said, I was just very focused
on the fuel number and doing what I need to do.
- [Announcer] One more lap to go.
- [Crew Chief] Nobody behind, nobody behind.
- [Crew Member] We're still running, still running.
- He got all the way down the back stretch,
into turn three, that's when it started to sputter.
- We knew we were never actually going
to make it across the finish line
with the engine running.
- Let's pull the clutch and coast down the straights.
We'll accelerate through the corners.
At that point we weren't racing anybody but ourselves.
- [Crew Chief] Clutch and coast,
half a lap lead, half a lap lead,
clutch and coast,
save fuel, clutch and coast.
- [Announcer] He's off of turn two.
He's half a lap to go.
- [Crew Chief] Full throttle, full throttle,
full throttle, full throttle, full throttle!
- [Crew Member] We're dropping out.
Fuel pressure is starting to drop.
- [Crew Chief] Okay, push push!
- Powering through turns three and four
is when the engine coughed.
- [Announcer] Can he make it the rest of the way?
- [Alexander] That's it on fuel.
- We come around four, I think it was completely dead.
- [Announcer] Alexander Rossi
into turn number four on fumes!
- [Announcer] Alexander Rossi for the final time
exits turn number four!
- We come out of four.
We cross the start/finish line
at 133.7 miles per hour,
and quiet (whistles), you know,
just a whistle comes by. (laughs)
(slow piano playing)
- I never heard anything he said after that
on the radio, I just heard it after the fact.
But we were jumping around, my radio fell off,
my sunglasses got broken.
I mean, it's just pandemonium.
- [Alexander] It wasn't until, you know, 20 seconds
after the fact, where I realized
what we had accomplished,
because I was just so happy that we
got the car to the finish.
- We all think that Indy is sacred ground
and it's even more sacred after 100 years.
And to be the 100th winner was just huge.
- I'll never forget when I finally got to Victory Lane
and I got to him, and he was just standing there
and literally looked like this.
And he just looked at me and he said,
"I, I don't understand what just happened."
And he was still trying to
process it, I think we all were trying to get
our head around what just happened.
- That Castrol oil was, by far,
the most efficient oil we've used
in the last couple years
with the Honda engine, with any engine.
- Obviously when you're practicing, you think
okay, that's great but you don't realize, kind of,
you'll never know the significance
that may or may not play.
And on that Sunday, it played a huge difference for us.
- [Bryan] When I look back at Indianapolis 500
and how close the finish was,
and how many elements had to come together,
and to have the Castrol Edge supercar oil
in that engine, which was reducing friction,
causing less drag, helping us save fuel.
I can only imagine if we didn't have
every single one of those factors right,
we wouldn't have won the race.
(intense dramatic music)