Dwayne Leik News

In this May 19, 2013, file photo, Carlos Munoz, of Colombia, prepares to practice on the second day of qualifications for the Indianapolis 500 auto race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis.

The coach of the San Francisco 49ers will drive the pace car for the start of the Indianapolis 500 on Sunday, and while he won't be behind the wheel during in-race cautions - when the yellow flag comes out - you can be sure he'll have a wry smile on his face when it flutters in the breeze.

If he did, the four-time IndyCar champion would see he is in very heady company.

The Japanese driver is in his first season with Foyt's team and will start on the outside of the sixth row in Sunday's race.

He also can't seem to finish on top in the track's Sprint Cup event. Busch has won six times here in the Nationwide Series and five times when the trucks race at Charlotte, the last one coming a week ago.

The Irish native looked inside, then darted outside and outraced three other drivers down the front straightaway to win Friday's Freedom 100 by 0.0026 seconds over Colombia's Gabby Chaves - the closest oval finish ever on the world-famous 2.5-mile oval that has hosted races for more than a century, since 1909.

Mario Andretti was hanging out in the media center at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Carb Day on Friday, speaking fluent Italian to a stoutly built friend in the front of the room.

He's the hometown hope, the Butler University alum and diehard Indiana Pacers fan who has put his modest, one-car program on the pole for the Indianapolis 500 ahead of powerhouse programs from Penske Racing and Andretti Autosport.

RCR announced the home improvement store signed a multi-year partnership renewal to back the No.

Paul Menard has signed a multi-year extension with Richard Childress Racing to drive the No.

Alex Zanardi received a hero's welcome at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the famed race track where he has never turned a single lap.

Simon Pagenaud drove his Honda-powered Schmidt Hamilton Motorsports car to the top of the charts in Friday's final practice session for the Indianapolis 500.

For the 18th straight year, Junior Achievement is holdings its annual Grand Prix "Race for Education" to support economic education for kids in Jackson.

Dale Jarrett, who was recently inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame, talks with Elliott Sadler during a recent stop at Dover.

Katherine Legge, of England, sits in her car as the slowest qualifier in the field on the second day of qualifications for the Indianapolis 500 auto race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis Sunday, May 19, 2013.

Rookie driver Alex Bowman emerged as the fastest overall in the three NASCAR Nationwide Series practice sessions this week at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Hulman & Co. CEO Mark Miles and Derrick Walker, the new head of IndyCar competition, emerged from a competition advisory board meeting Thursday to announce they were debating how to top the record-breaking speeds clocked in 1996 by two-time Indy 500 winner Arie Luyendyk.

Purdue, race-car constructor Dallara and Indianapolis Motor Speedway have begun a project using motorsports to make science education more accessible to children.

James Hinchcliffe of Canada driver of the Andretti Autosport Dallara Chevrolet drives during the IZOD IndyCar series Sao Paulo Indy 300 at Anhembi Sambadrome on May 5, 2013 in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Special to the Daily Just behind the roll bar and in front of the American flag is a Vail Mountain School sticker.