We'll be talking about this one for years to come

	Marco Andretti finished ahead of his illustrious father and took his first major step toward joining his family pantheon. Gavin Lawrence
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They ran an Indy 500 for the ages on Sunday.

Danica Patrick was dynamic. She was brilliant. Forget the fact she finished eighth. Bad luck did that, thwarting her second straight stretch run with a bona fide shot at winning. Danica delivered a performance worthy of a star driver. It will never be asked, "Can she do it again?" All questions about her have been answered. She can do it with the best of them.

Marco Andretti did more than inherit a famous racing name. The talent that made his grandfather a Formula 1 World Champion and Indy 500 winner, and his father a great Indy car driver, surfaced like a West Texas gusher. He finished second by how much? A car length at 225 miles per hour or  .0635 of a second. A heartbeat from winning. At age 19. There's only one direction for Marco to go from here. Up. He'll be there soon.

Finally, Sam Hornish Jr. became the driver Roger Penske expected him to become when he signed him three years ago: the next Rick Mears. Hornish was smooth and calculating, not showing his hand. He needed some luck to overcome a botched pit stop and he got it with a late-race caution. Hornish took over in the five-lap dash for the glory and riches of Indy, making it look easy. Such is his prodigious talent. He was several car lengths behind Andretti at the start of the final 2 1/2 miles. Who would have bet on Hornish at that point? Not me. I saw Mears trailing Gordon Johncock in '82, and Scott Goodyear behind Al Unser Jr. in '92 and Arie Luyendyk in '97, and both of them finished second.

Hornish roared into Andretti's wake entering Turn 3, closed up in the short chute, and seemed like he was close enough to reach out and touch Andretti's rear wing exiting Turn 4 and entering the straight. At that precise moment, Hornish twisted the steering wheel to the left and went past. Indy win No. 1 is in the books. More are certain to follow.

"That was a real finish," Penske said. "Boy, what a great finish." Andretti, running the same engine, Honda, and with a chassis from the same manufacturer, Dallara, wondered where Hornish found the speed on the final lap.

"The speed at the end is Sam Hornish," Penske answered. "He's a fantastic oval racer. The driver won this race. At the end of the day, the best man won."