I never had the chance to ask about the hand signal and to this day I don't know if it was made in jest, a good natured ribbing of a buddy as he raced past on the racetrack or whether it was made out of some sort of simmering bad blood among teammate rivals.

Once the green flag flew, the race settled into its familiar rhythm—a mix of sprint-race intensity and long-distance patience. The story of the day belonged to the No. 01 Chip Ganassi Racing Lexus-Riley, a car carrying a lineup packed with star power: Scott Pruett, Memo Rojas, Dario Franchitti, and Juan Pablo Montoya.