Last Sunday was a marathon day of racing. Formula 1 could be seen in the early morning hours, followed by the Indy 500 and then the NASCAR Coca-Cola 600. I managed to catch the Indy 500 and the Coca-Cola 600 and both were memorable in their own ways.
The 100th running of the Indy 500 was won by a rookie, Alexander Rossi. Not having much luck in Formula 1 racing cars, Rossi was given a ride by the Andretti-Herta Autosport team. Rossi was in last place during the race but gambled on fuel mileage. 
All the other teams pitted for fuel, but Rossi ran the last 36 laps on one load of fuel. The usual fuel window for Honda engines is about 32 laps. He ran the last lap at a speed of 179.784 mph and ran out of fuel after rounding turn 4. His margin of victory over teammate Carlos Munoz (whose last lap was 218.789 mph) was 4.5 seconds. 
“I have no idea how we pulled that off. We ran out in Turn 4 (at the end) and we were clutching it and coasting down the back straight,” Rossi said. “Ryan (Hunter-Reay, a fellow Andretti teammate) was unbelievable in helping me get to the finish. He was giving me a tow at the end and it’s an amazing result for Andretti Autosport.”
The win was Andretti’s fourth as an owner in the 500, moving him to fourth all-time behind Roger Penske (16 wins), Lou Moore (five) and Chip Ganassi (five).
Martin Truex Jr. won the Coca-Cola 600 in record fashion. Starting from the pole, Truex dominated the race leading a track record 392 of 400 laps and a NASCAR record 588 miles in a race. Only one driver (Jimmy Johnson) passed Truex under green-flag conditions, and that was for only a measly 100 feet before Truex passed him back. 
“I kind of felt like he was playing with us,” Johnson said of Truex. “He was so fast. I would flat-foot Turns 1 and 2 and have a nose on him and he would drive right back by me into Turn 3. It was very impressive. I’m happy for Martin.”
Truex drives for a team that, while heavily supplied and assisted by Joe Gibbs Racing and Toyota Racing Development, fields only one car and is headquartered in Denver, Colo. This was his first win of the season, first win at Charlotte and fourth career win. You could say Truex was due. He fell about 18 inches shy of winning the Daytona 500, where Denny Hamlin nipped him at the finish line and he dominated Kansas Speedway on May 7 until an unusual mechanical problem caused a wheel to loosen.
Joe Gibbs Racing, along with Truex, have now won eight of the 13 Cup races this year.