1985 Indy Winner Finished Competitive Racing This Month At Spa
By Dick Mittman
indy500.com
Wednesday, September 29, 2004
Danny Sullivan thought about doing a banzai run on the last lap of his illustrious professional auto racing career. Then he thought better of it.
This was on Sept. 12, 2004, and Sullivan, whose 1985 "spin and win" victory is a memorable part of the Indianapolis 500's storied past, was circling the famed 4.3-mile Spa-Francorchamps circuit in Belgium behind the wheel of a Ferrari 575 sports car. He was part of the three-driver Barron Connor Racing team competing in the Le Mans Endurance Series season finale.
Teammates John Bosch and Thomas Biagi allowed Sullivan to drive the final 15 laps in the long-distance race as a tribute to his greatness and as a farewell to the sport as a competitive driver.
"It was good," said Sullivan, 54. "I knew it was the last lap.
"In fact, a couple of laps from the end were better laps. But on the last lap, I thought to myself, 'Come on, let's have a go.' Then I thought: 'You know what, it's not my car, I don't want to make a mistake and throw it in the fence on the last lap. You had a really good last stint.'"
So Sullivan lifted slightly and brought the car home safely in second place. And the checkered flag waved over him for the final time.
Sullivan, who heads up the Red Bull Driver Search program that is working toward getting a young American driver into Formula One, admitted he had been quasi-retired the past several years. But he decided to take what he called one last fling and compete in the series that included driving in the Sebring 12 Hours and the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
"I'll be 55 in March, and who's really going to give a guy my age a drive?" Sullivan said. "And to be honest, the kids I'm competing against, even one of my teammates, Biagi, he's 28 years old and FIA GT World Champion. On most occasions, I was as quick as him. He usually did the qualifying, but in the race we were right there together.
"But in reality now, those series really are for the guys who are professionals full time, not for the older guys still living the dream."
Sullivan won't hang up his helmet completely. He'll still do some fun motorsports events like the vintage race at Goodwood in England. He even wants to try the Baja 1000 in Baja California but said he has no desire to become an immediate off-road legend like Ivan "Iron Man" Stewart but to just drive a buggy and enjoy the run.
Louisville, Ky., native Sullivan has nothing to prove in racing. He made 15 starts in Formula One in 1983 for Tyrrell, finishing fifth at Monaco. He competed in 172 CART races, won 17 and was one of four drivers to win 500-mile races at Indianapolis, Pocono and Michigan. He won the 1988 CART championship. He also started in the first Brickyard 400 in 1994 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
But nothing, he said, compared with his ability to recover from that spin in Turn 1 at the Speedway and run down Mario Andretti to win the 500 in 1985.
"You know, it's funny," he said. "I was doing something recently, and they showed the tape (of the spin).
"And you know what's the amazing part? I know the results. I've probably seen that thing a million times, and I still get goose bumps when I watch it. It's like, 'There's no way you should do that.'"
Sullivan said he thought the chance of winning was over although he kept his Penske Racing Miller American car off the wall and continued.
"There's no way normally at Indy that you can spin and get away with it," he said.
Sullivan said the saving grace was that the closely pursuing Andretti was forcing him to dive so low in the corner that he was on the apron, which was part of the track at the time. When Sullivan spun, he had enough distance from the outer wall that he could regain control before the car hit the wall.
"I just remember my thoughts at the time were, 'Oh, crap, I got in the lead of the Indianapolis 500 and frickin' spin it," he said. "It was a stupid thing to do."
The spin came on Lap 120. Twenty laps later, Sullivan was back in front and led the rest of the way, averaging 152.982 mph.
"I really think for me, the Indianapolis 500 made my career," Sullivan said.
"I won the Indianapolis 500 beating Mario. I just didn't win the 500. I beat Mario Andretti in a duel. And I think that's a factor in the public."
Sullivan won his championship three years later. He is equally as proud of that achievement, too, because of the variety of tracks and the strength of the field filled with future Hall of Famers.
Today, Sullivan lives with his wife, Brenda, and three rescue dogs - "one speaks English, one speaks French, and one is bilingual" - on a hill above St. Tropez along the French Riviera. It's a long way from the Ohio River and Louisville.
"I'm standing here outside my house right now," he said over the phone, "looking down to all the vineyards to the sea (Mediterranean). I can see the beach." ***
2005 tickets: To purchase tickets, camping or parking for the 89th Indianapolis 500, contact the IMS ticket office at (800) 822-INDY or log on to www.indianapolismotorspeedway.com.
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