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Hornish edges thrilling Indy win
 Hornish's previous best Indy 500 finish was a lowly 14 place in 2001. INDIANAPOLIS, Indiana -- Pole-sitter Sam Hornish edged rookie Marco Andretti by .06 of a second to win the 90th Indianapolis 500 in the second-closest finish in history. Hornish, whose best finish in six prior Indys was 14th in 2001, overcame a pit stop penalty to outrace the grandson of racing legend Mario Andretti to the checkered flag in an all-American duel on the final straightaway. "Not everything went our way but we stuck together as a team, we had a plan and we had the speed when we needed it," Hornish said. "It's a great feeling. I wouldn't trade it for anything else." Drivers battled the hottest temperatures in history for 200 laps over the 2.5-mile (4km) oval track to give 300,000 spectators a thrilling finish. Michael Andretti, Marco's father who retired in 2003 but returned to race alongside his son, led on a restart with four laps remaining but settled for third, extending his run of leading the most laps of any non-Indy winner. Marco Andretti passed his father in the first turn with three laps to go but Hornish was able to quickly get around the elder Andretti as well, leaving the 19-year-old Indy newcomer half a second ahead with two laps remaining. "I thought maybe (I could win) but we didn't have enough laps under caution," Michael Andretti said. "I saw Marco coming by and I wanted to not mess him up. I knew he had a faster car than me. I gave him the line and tried to hold the other guys off. "I just wish I could have held off Hornish one more lap. If I could have, (Marco) might have won." Hornish tried to pass Marco Andretti on the inside of turn three on lap 199 but could not complete the move and slowed, hoping to build speed for a final attempt. "I thought it was over when I didn't get by him in three," Hornish said. "For him to go out in his first time and finish second was a heck of a run." Marco Andretti stayed in front through the final turn and kept Hornish at bay momentarily, but the pole-sitter ducked inside and won a drag race to the flag. "I almost won this thing," Marco Andretti said. "I could have been really bad at blocking but that might have crashed us both. I just thought if I blocked him, defended my line once, I had it. "Any other car out here I think I would have had it." Hornish had the fastest car in practice and qualifying and denied the Andretti family a golden chance to erase a jinx that has kept three generations of racers out of the winner's circle since Mario's 1969 triumph. "It's a bummer," Marco Andretti said. "I have to take advantage of every shot out here. Second is nothing." 
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