Formula 1 and IndyCar: The greatest lie ever told about open-wheel racing

J.R. Hildebrand – 2011 Indianapolis 500

When people talk about the 95th running of the Indianapolis 500 in the 2011 IndyCar season, they immediately think of J.R. Hildebrand. Hildebrand, a 23-year-old rookie at the time, inherited the race lead with three laps to go, and he was several seconds ahead of the various drivers who ran in second place over the course of those next three laps.

Eventually, with one lap to go, Hildebrand had a lead of several seconds over the late Dan Wheldon. While there were thoughts that Hildebrand might end up running out of fuel on that last lap, he clearly had enough fuel to make it to the end of the race.

But when he approached turn four of the four-turn, 2.5-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval in Speedway, Indiana on the 200th of 200 laps in the race, the unthinkable happened.

As a result of this last-lap, last-turn wreck that sent Hildebrand skidding across the finish line in a heavily damaged #4 Panther Racing National Guard-sponsored Honda, he had to settle for second place. Wheldon ended up winning the race.

This unbelievable win would end up being Wheldon’s final victory before he was tragically killed in an accident at Las Vegas Motor Speedway later in the 2011 season.

In six more Indianapolis 500 attempts since this accident, Hildebrand has not won the race. In fact, he hasn’t even finished in the top five in the race since that accident took place. But almost everyone thinks of him when the 2011 Indianapolis 500 comes up in a discussion.

They remember him because he finished in second place.