IndyCar: The Five Greatest Drivers Who Never Won At Indy
Honorable Mention: Scott Goodyear
Canadian Scott Goodyear has certainly had his ups and downs over his career as both a standout open wheel racer and a broadcaster. While not a dominant and perennial race winner, Goodyear was very successful in both CART and the IRL IndyCar Series. He amassed top ten finishes throughout his career while racing against the sport’s heavyweights, including names like Andretti and Unser, and young guns from the IRL like Sam Hornish Jr. and Helio Castroneves.
At Indianapolis, Goodyear’s name is most synonymous with heartbreak. He came up short not once, not twice, but three times finishing second in 1992, 1995, and 1997. Each race fell a different way, but it never seemed to go in his direction. His most crushing defeat came in 1992 when he battled from the 33rd starting position only to finish second to Al Unser Jr. in the event’s closest-ever finish. In 1995, he was in position to win the race when he passed the pace car on a restart and was penalized and lost the race to Jacques Villeneuve who, ironically, had also passed the pace car earlier in the race. And in 1997, Goodyear fell victim to a botched finish when what he expected to be a yellow flag ending suddenly became a green/white flag finish with his teammate Arie Luyendyk taking the win.
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