Townsend Bell Better by Half at Indy 500

By STEVE GALLUZZO | Sports Editor

Past the midway point of Sunday morning’s 100th Indianapolis 500, Palisadian driver Townsend Bell was so happy the way his car was running he could almost taste the milk in victory circle.

Bell passed his Andretti Autosports teammate Ryan Hunter-Reay to take the lead on Lap 42 – his first lead at Indy since leading for one lap in 2013) and the two led for 64 of the race’s first 115 laps (Hunter-Reay for 52, Bell for 12). Then disaster struck, of all places, on pit road.

Pitted behind Hunter-Reay, Bell exited his stall and bounced off Helio Castroneves, who was in the outside lane of the 2.5-mile oval track’s narrow pit lane. As he hit Castroneves’ car, Hunter-Reay pulled out of his pit and collided with Bell. Although the damage to both cars was minimal, they each lost a lap making repairs and never got back in contention, Bell finishing 21st and Hunter-Reay 24th  in the 33-car field.

Afterwards Bell tweeted: “We came, we led, we lost. That was a heartbreak, also for Ryan Hunter-Reay. Bummed for both of us. Andretti Autosport gave us great cars.”

Bell’s misfortune paved the way for Alexander Rossi to take the checkered flag while running out of fuel. There were 55 lead changes, the second-most in Indy history and Rossi became the first rookie to win the 200-lap race since Helio Castroneves in 2001.

Bell’s deal with Andretti Autosport was formally announced at Phoenix in early April, with California Pizza Kitchen and Robert Graham serving as co-primary sponsors of the No. 29 Honda, and other partners such as the Justice Brothers on board.

Bell started in the No. 4 position and if not for the unfortunate  accident with 80 laps to go he might’ve been among the leaders because he and Hunter-Reay had two of the fastest cars.

“We just screwed off this whole Indy 500,” radioed Hunter-Reay, the 2014 Indy 500 winner. Rossi, who started 11th, saved enough fuel and took the lead when leaders Tony Kanaan, Carlos Munoz and Josef Newgarden all pitted over the final 10 laps, but his car sputtered to a stop before getting back to the start/finish line.

“I have no idea how we pulled that off,” Rossi said in victory lane. “We struggled  a little in the pit stops… I can’t believe that we’ve done this. I didn’t know (if he had enough fuel on the closing laps). Ryan (Hunter-Reay) was giving me a tow at the end. We rolled the dice and it came through.”

Pole sitter James Hinchcliffe finished seventh, three-time champ Helio Castroneves was 11th and defending and two-time champion Juan Pablo Montoya finished last after crashing into the wall on the 64th lap.

Bell finished 14th last year – a nine-spot improvement from his No. 23 starting position. Sunday marked the Palisadian’s 10th Indy  start. He has three top-10 finishes – improving by 20 spots to place fourth in 2009, improving by 11 spots for ninth in 2012 and gaining two spots for 10th in 2008. He  was 22nd in his first try in 2006, he was 16th in 2010, he was 26th in 2011, he was 27th in 2013 and he finished 25th – right where he started – in 2014.

Palisades residents since 2010, Bell and his wife Heather live near the top of Chautauqua with ther sons Jaxon and Jensen, who  play in the Pacific Palisades Baseball Association and flag football at the Palisades Recreation Center.

In October, Bell and driving partner Bill Sweedler won the IMSA TUDOR United SportsCar Championship’s GT-Daytona  series with their Ferrari 458 Italia, coming from behind to power Scuderia Corsa to the Petit Le Mans checkered flag in fourth position on a slick track at Road Atlanta in Braselton, Georgia.

Their efforts were just good enough to secure the second professional sports car championship for Scuderia Corsa, which won the 2013 GRAND-AM team and driver championship. Bell and Sweedler also finished second in the Tequila Patron North American Endurance Cup.

“I’m still kind of in shock that we have won this championship,” Bell said. “Last season, Bill and I led the championship throughout the year and then lost it in the final race. This time we did the opposite and won it in the final race. It was a real challenge out there in the rain. The Ferrari doesn’t have the rear downforce that some of the other GT-D cars have, making it difficult as the rain kept falling.”

Bell and Sweedler received their championship trophies during the TUDOR Night of Champions on Monday at the Georgia Aquarium in downtown Atlanta.

Bell has raced in the Indianapolis 500 nine times, finishing 14th this year. His best finish was fourth in 2009. Driving the Ferrari 458 Italia, he and Sweedler finished 24th (third in their class) at this year’s  24 Hours of Le Mans in June.

In August, Bell won the Oak Tree Grand Prix at Virginia International Raceway in Alton, Virginia.

In addition to competing in the Verizon IndyCar Series and TUDOR United SportsCar Championship, the 41-year-old Bell is a motorsports commentator for NBC Sports’ IndyCar coverage.

Bell won the last Indy Lights championship in 2001.