Fernando Alonso didn’t win the Indianapolis 500, but he won the day

Although the record book will show Takuma Sato won the 101st Indianapolis 500 Sunday, it was Fernando Alonso who won the day. That will be evident a year from now, five years from now, and always and forever, because the two-time Formula One world champion’s foray into American open-wheel racing will be what is ultimately remembered most.

Alonso didn’t win — he finished 24th after his delicate Honda engine finally expired as so many other Honda engines had over the past three weeks (nine in total). But it was what happened in the 178 laps before the failure that left 300,000 spectators cheering as he walked slowly through the pits to the garage.

Those up close lauded Alonso’s effort by emphatically voicing their support in multiple languages. “Job well done,” “You were great,” “Awesome, awesome driving. You’re the man,” “Please come back and do it again,” were among the words of encouragement offered. Some fans ran up to the fence that separated the pits from the grandstand to shake his hand and pat him on the back.

It was the kind of reception normally reserved for drivers who have developed a connection with fans over many years, not a driver whose first laps on the track occurred just 25 days before. Yet that was the adulation Alonso received. Deservedly so.

“Fernando did an incredible job,” said Sato, who won his first Indianapolis 500. “I mean, he was leading the race in his first attempt at the 500. ... He just drove so professionally. He’s obviously one of the best guys.”

Despite being an interloper whose full-time occupation is driving a McLaren-Honda Formula One car, Alonso never showed an ounce of arrogance in the days he spent at Indianapolis. He could’ve and to some degree it would’ve been excused. Holding status as one of the best talents in the world does afford one some leeway.

Instead, Alonso embraced the many traditions that comprise running the Indianapolis 500, enjoying his time away from the corporate culture that permeates Formula One, where drivers are restricted from using social media in the garage and largely shielded from fans.

Never once did he carry himself bigger than the race itself. In fact, it was the importance of winning the Indianapolis 500 that made him do the seemingly unthinkable — he skipped the Monaco Grand Prix, Formula One’s signature event, to compete at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

In a city that cherishes its signature race and could be accused at times of possessing an inferiority complex that its crown jewel may no longer carry the same relevance in the motor sports stratosphere as it once did, Alonso’s yearning to be among the participants made the Indianapolis 500 the unquestionable center of attention this month. Like it did during its zenith, the spotlight on the “Greatest Spectacle in Racing” far exceeded what was happening in Monaco or at Charlotte Motor Speedway, site of Sunday night’s NASCAR race.

But it just wasn’t what Alonso said and did in the buildup to Sunday, it’s also how he performed on the track in the 447 miles he raced that lifted him to transcendent heights.

Without a modicum of fear, he made dazzling passes high and low throughout the afternoon. He powered by defending race winner Alexander Rossi to take the lead on Lap 37, completing a textbook maneuver that gave no indication the man behind the wheel of the No. 29 orange car had never raced on an oval previously. As the Andretti Autosport teammates sped down the frontstretch, Alonso tucked himself behind Rossi then executed a slingshot to Rossi’s inside to go by.

Altogether, Alonso led four times for 27 laps, trailing only Max Chilton (50 laps) and Ryan Hunter-Reay (28 laps).

“It was already a nice feeling,” Alonso said of leading. “I was passing, watching the [scoring] tower, saw the 29 on top of it. I was thinking at that moment if someone from the team was taking a picture, I want that picture at home.”

A rash of cautions and various pit strategies jumbled the running order after the halfway point. Nonetheless, with 25 laps left and a car befitting his ability, Alonso was solidly inside the top 10 and possessing a realistic chance of winning. Maybe he would win, maybe he wouldn’t, but he certainly would factor into the outcome.

Then, a puff of smoke suddenly emanated from Alonso’s car. His once mighty car had no oomph, unceremoniously coming to a stop in Turn 1. His race was over. He exited the car and acknowledged the crowd acknowledging him.

“Disappointed not to finish the race because obviously every race you compete, you want to be at the checkered flag,” Alonso said. “Today was not possible. Anyway, [it] was a great experience, the last two weeks.

“I came here basically to prove myself, to challenge myself. I know that I can be as quick as anyone in an F1 car. I didn’t know if I can be as quick as anyone in an IndyCar.”

That Alonso was victimized by a mechanical gremlin was ironic, though also quite cruel. Honda’s uncompetitive and unreliable Formula One engine is what spurred McLaren to broker a deal with Andretti to secure Alonso a ride in the Indianapolis 500. Any competency by the manufacturer would’ve meant he’d be in Monaco on Sunday, not in the Hoosier State.

“The whole world was watching Fernando race today,” said Zak Brown, McLaren team principle. “He put himself out there and exposed himself, delivered the goods, which isn’t a surprise to anyone that has watched Fernando race.”

Speculation now turns to whether Alonso will return to Indianapolis. It took fortuitous circumstances for him to be there this May, and with Monaco and the “500” regularly falling on the same weekend, a return excursion seems unlikely anytime soon.

The 35-year-old, however, didn’t completely rebuff the notion. Nearly winning the Indianapolis 500 is tantalizing, perhaps enough so he finds a way to make it happen again.

“Obviously, if I come back here, at least I know how everything is,” Alonso said. “It will not be the first time I do restarts, pit stops, all these kind of things. So will be an easier, let’s say, adaptation.

“Let’s see what happen in the following years. Yeah, I need to keep pursuing this challenge because winning the Indy 500 is not completed.”

Appropriately, Alonso closed his time in Indianapolis with a symbolic gesture to the one of the race’s great traditions. After concluding his post-race press conference, he paused to salute those who had welcomed him by sipping milk out of a carton.

It may not have been in the winner’s circle as he wished, but it didn’t matter. Alonso won the day, even if he didn’t actually win the race.