99th Indianapolis 500 Mile Race box score

Each wanted to win the 99th Indianapolis 500 Mile Race for one of his car owners: Charlie Kimball as a gift to Chip Ganassi on Ganassi’s 57th birthday and Graham Rahal as a tribute to David Letterman’s retirement as a late-night TV show host.

While neither was fully able to accomplish the goal – Juan Pablo Montoya captured his second Indy 500 on May 24 – former teammates Kimball and Rahal certainly logged impressive performances.

Kimball, in the No. 83 Novo Nordisk Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet, led on the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval twice for a total of 10 laps before finishing third – his best Indianapolis 500 showing in five tries and the top finisher among the powerful five-car Chip Ganassi Racing Teams fleet.

Rahal, driving the No. 15 Steak ‘n Shake Honda for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, methodically soldiered his way through the field from the 17th starting position. He didn’t creep into the top five until the last three of the grueling 200 laps, finishing fifth.

Starting 14th, Kimball cracked the top five on Lap 74 and led Laps 151-152 while those ahead of him made pit stops under green-flag conditions. Kimball pitted under green at the end of Lap 152, but the yellow flag came out for teammate Tony Kanaan’s one-car crash while Kimball was already in the pits, so he was permitted by rule to take fuel and tires.

That allowed the Camarillo, Calif., native to get back up front and lead eight more laps when racing resumed. He was running fifth on the final restart on Lap 185 and climbed two spots – including overtaking teammate and pole sitter Scott Dixon on the 198th lap – to secure his first podium finish in a Verizon IndyCar Series race since Belle Isle-2 last June.

“It was a blast,” said Kimball, who also recorded the fastest overall race lap (226.712 mph) on his 102nd circuit. “The guys worked really hard on the car all month. To be so close to winning the pit stop competition on Friday (finishing second), then to come close today, I think it makes us all hungrier. All the guys at Chip Ganassi Racing wanted to give Chip a win for his birthday today, but especially the Novo Nordisk team.”

Rahal, meanwhile, was Honda’s top finisher, but not without a concerted effort. He worked his way into the back half of the top 10 by Lap 66 and remained there until passing fellow Honda runner Marco Andretti for fifth on Lap 198.

“I'm really, really proud of these guys, all the effort they continue to put in,” said Rahal after finishing in the top five at the Indy 500 for just the second time in eight attempts. “Once again today, the top Honda. The Chevy was just in a league of its own, unfortunately, on horsepower. I was happy we were as close to Chuck (Kimball) and Dixon at the end as we were. I thought there was no hope. With 15 (laps) to go, to be 10th or ninth, charge up through those guys, (was) pretty tricky.”

Rahal added he thought team co-owner Letterman, whose final “Late Night” show aired May 20 on CBS, was happy with the performance and might even do some celebrating.

“I'm sure,” Rahal opined, “he's going to be headed off to Steak 'n Shake for a good shake right now.”