Gabby Chaves at Indianapolis. [Photo by Dana Garrett]
Indianapolis—Gabby Chaves was one of two rookies who took the green flag for Sunday’s Indianapolis 500. He was the only one of the two rookies who finished the race.
With a strongly-run race and a result in sixteenth place, after starting twenty-sixth, it is likely that the Colombian won the Rookie of the Year award at the 99th running of the 500 in the Bryan Herta Autosports Dallara/Honda.
“It was a very good race for us today,” he said afterwards. “I wish I could go out there and do it all again right now.”
“We had a great car,” he added. “I’m happy with the job the crew did for me. With this momentum we can keep progressing through the rest of the season.”
Chaves was circulating in fine form only 10 seconds behind the winner on the final 200th lap.
“One mistake cost us a lot of time,” he said, referencing front main plane damage while passing another competitor just before the last caution period came at Lap 175. “I was overtaking a car that was a lap down and lost the front wing.”
Chaves’ team opted to keep him out on-track rather than bring the car in for a front nose change. “It was a handful,” Gabby said. “Once we got back to green I lost a few places (after advancing to as high as ninth on the scoring pylon prior to the incident).”
Fellow freshman starter Stefano Coletti did not experience such a reassuring experience as Chaves. He suffered a race-ending Turn 4 accident that involved three cars on Lap 175 of the 200-lap race.
“It’s work out there,” Chaves said of the 220-plus mph speeds of INDYCAR competition. “You’re driving flat out, there’s a lot of turbulence, and it’s very challenging to overtake.”
Colombian driver and countryman Juan Pablo Montoya won the race, his second victory in the Indianapolis 500 (the other came in Y2K). Montoya was an influence for Chaves from the age of six years.
“Yes, I remember when he won. I was six. I woke up early in the morning to watch him in CART, and in Formula 1,” he said. “The whole country of Colombia is proud and happy today.”
Chaves for the most part stuck with the car he qualified, choosing not to make changes in downforce over the course of the race (until the front wing was lost).
“I drove through the field twice,” he commented. “I got a lap down, rose as high as ninth there near the end, then the wing problem cost us a lot.”
“From that point we were underpowered and under-paced compared to the other guys,” he said.”We didn’t have a chance to keep up.”
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