In one of the most exciting finishes in the history of the Indianapolis 500, Dan Wheldon won the 100th anniversary of “the world’s most important race” at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, driving a Bosch spark plug-equipped Dallara Honda V8.
In fact, Bosch powered the entire 33-car field with racing spark plugs and oxygen sensors, and once again dominated the Indy racing classic, scoring Bosch’s 24th victory in the last 25 Indy races. Bosch powered the winning Marmon Wasp in the very first Indy 500 race in 1911, and continued 100 years of motorsports pre-eminence with this year’s victory.
“Bosch spark plugs have been in winning races around the world since the early 1900s, including the initial Indy 500. These are special racing spark plugs, and their technology and heritage go into providing the performance superiority of every Bosch spark plug installed in automobiles, light trucks and SUVs on the road in North America today,” said Wolfgang Hustedt, Motorsports Manager for Bosch, North America.
“And the Bosch wide-band oxygen sensors, performing in the crucible of Indy racing for several years for closed loop engine control, are the same oxygen sensors run by Grand Am and Daytona Prototype cars in road racing, and installed in many everyday family vehicles,” Hustedt added.
With victory literally in sight, rookie driver JR Hildebrand crashed on the final turn allowing Wheldon to blast by and take the checkered flag, for his second win at the Brickyard in the Izod IndyCar Series’ biggest race. Driving for Bryan Herta Motorsports, Wheldon’s win was redemption after finishing second in the two previous Indy 500 races, running for Panther Racing, the team that Hildebrand ran for Sunday. Due to lack of sponsorship, this was the only IndyCar Series race scheduled for Wheldon this season, although his win at the Brickyard may well generate newfound interest and sponsorship.
After hitting the wall, Hildebrand, the race’s top rookie driver, slid across the finish line to take second place in his Panther Racing Dallara Honda. Graham Rahal passed 66 cars in the 500-mile race and wound up third, driving another Bosch-sparked entry for Chip Ganassi Racing.
Bosch provides spark plugs and other products for various motorsports activities in addition to Indy, including NASCAR, Grand Am and American LeMans (ALMS) racing, drag racing, and off-shore boats – wherever there is competition in motion.
Bosch is a proud supporter of the Automotive Aftermarket Suppliers Association’s Know Your Parts education and awareness campaign. This initiative promotes the importance of quality brand name aftermarket parts backed by full service suppliers, and its impact on delivering reliable products to today’s motorists. For more information, visit www.AASAKnowYourParts.org.
For more information on Bosch Automotive Products, visit www.boschautoparts.com.
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