By Dustin Dow
The Cincinnati Enquirer

INDIANAPOLIS - When Brazilian Helio Castroneves took over first place 70 laps from the end of the Indianapolis 500 Sunday, the race for history was on.

But Castroneves was up against Gil de Ferran, his teammate and countryman and one of the few open-wheel drivers who can be labeled as Castroneves' equal. De Ferran outdueled Castroneves and drove to his own history, preventing Castroneves from winning a third consecutive Indy 500 that would have placed him into a legendary class among open-wheel racecar drivers.

De Ferran started 10th and passed his Penske teammate on lap 169 of 200, setting up a one-team sprint to the finish in the 87th running of the race. Following back-to-back caution periods, Castroneves had six laps to catch his teammate, but the less famous and more modest de Ferran didn't relinquish any ground and won his first Indianapolis 500 by .299 seconds.

"Once I got the lead, I knew we had a good car," de Ferran said in victory lane. "Then it was pedal to the metal all the way to the end."

In the weeks of practice and qualifying leading up to Sunday's race, the media buzz centered on Castroneves, 28, who won the only two previous Indy 500s he entered in 2001 and 2002. No driver has ever won three in a row, but Castroneves had given himself the perfect opportunity to do so by winning the pole position.

"I saw what was going on with Helio as natural," de Ferran said. "I have no business toward him or jealousy. He was deserving of the attention because he's one of the best in the business."

It looked like Castroneves was well on his way to that unprecedented victory until he and de Ferran, who was running second at the time, approached the lapped car of A.J. Foyt IV on the 169th lap. Castroneves hit the brakes, and de Ferran went right around him for the lead that he wouldn't give back the rest of the race.

"Second is not a bad place at all," Castroneves said. "I'm much happier and less upset that it's my teammate up there."

Even though he has won two Championship Auto Racing Teams season titles in 2000 and 2001, de Ferran has never rivaled Castroneves in terms of publicity. While Castroneves made climbing the speedway fence after a win a ritual, de Ferran has always remained more reserved about his accomplishments. But he couldn't hold back Sunday and jumped onto the IMS fence with Castroneves.

"When I crossed that line, there was a lot going on inside my head," de Ferran said. "You try not to think about it before, so whenever something like this happens, it's a surprise...I've won championships before, but this is one of the most prestigious prizes in international racing. To cross the line with the checkered flag, I was like, 'Is this really happening.' "

One month ago, there were doubts that de Ferran would be healthy enough to race at Indy. He sustained a concussion and fractures to his neck and back in a horrific crash March 23 at Phoenix International Raceway. On April 29, the 35-year-old announced he would return in time for Indianapolis. After Sunday's race, de Ferran, 35, said he didn't experience and back pain.

"It's unbelievable the feeling I have, coming back from the accident," de Ferran said.

De Ferran won with an average speed of 156.291 mph and continued the trend of foreign drivers who have tasted the victor's milk at Indianapolis.

"I love milk," he said between chugs of the traditional winner's drink.

Six of the last seven winners of America's foremost auto race have been non-Americans.

The top three winners Sunday, de Ferran, Castroneves and Tony Kanaan, are Brazilians, while fourth-place finisher Tomas Scheckter is from South Africa, and fifth-place Tora Takagi is Japanese. American Alex Barron finished sixth. Michael Andretti experienced engine trouble and came in 27th in his final race at Indianapolis. Castroneves attributed foreign drivers' success to starting go-kart racing at an early age.

E-mail ddow@enquirer.com

Indy 500 results

Lap length: 2.5-mile rectangular oval (Start position in parentheses)
1. (10) Gil de Ferran, Panoz G Force-Toyota, 200 laps, 156.291 mph.
2. (1) Helio Castroneves, Dallara-Toyota, 200.
3. (2) Tony Kanaan, Dallara-Honda, 200.
4. (12) Tomas Scheckter, Panoz G Force-Toyota, 200.
5. (7) Tora Takagi, Panoz G Force-Toyota, 200.
6. (25) Alex Barron, Panoz G Force-Toyota, 200.
7. (8) Tony Renna, Dallara-Toyota, 200.
8. (14) Greg Ray, Panoz G Force-Honda, 200.
9. (17) Al Unser Jr., Dallara-Toyota, 200.
10. (11) Roger Yasukawa, Dallara-Honda, 199.
11. (19) Buddy Rice, Dallara-Chevrolet, 199.
12. (26) Vitor Meira, Dallara-Chevrolet, 199.
13. (32) Jimmy Kite, Dallara-Chevrolet, 197.
14. (15) Shinji Nakano, Dallara-Honda, 196.
15. (18) Sam Hornish Jr., Dallara-Chevrolet, 195, engine.
16. (6) Kenny Brack, Dallara-Honda, 195.
17. (4) Scott Dixon, Panoz G Force-Toyota, 191, accident.
18. (23) A.J. Foyt IV, Dallara-Toyota, 189.
19. (5) Dan Wheldon, Dallara-Honda, 186, accident.
20. (9) Scott Sharp, Dallara-Toyota, 181, accident.
21. (21) Buddy Lazier, Dallara-Chevrolet, 171, engine.
22. (3) Robby Gordon, Dallara-Honda, 169, gearbox.
23. (22) Robbie Buhl, Dallara-Chevrolet, 147, engine.
24. (33) Airton Dare, Panoz G Force-Toyota, 125, accident.
25. (31) Robby McGehee, Dallara-Chevrolet, 125, handling.
26. (27) Jimmy Vasser, Dallara-Honda, 102, gearbox.
27. (13) Michael Andretti, Dallara-Honda, 94, throttle linkage.
28. (28) Richie Hearn, Panoz G Force-Toyota, 61, accident.
29. (20) Jaques Lazier, Dallara-Chevrolet, 61, accident.
30. (30) Shigeaki Hattori, Dallara-Toyota, 19, fuel pressure.
31. (24) Sarah Fisher, Dallara-Chevrolet, 14, engine.
32. (29) Billy Boat, Dallara-Chevrolet, 7, engine.
33. (16) Felipe Giaffone, Panoz G Force-Toyota, 6, electrical.