Most Rookies Struggle to Finish

INDIANAPOLIS - Eleven rookies started Sunday's race. Only six finished it. That's not surprising given what normally happens with first-timers on the historic 2.5-mile oval.

Graham Rahal, at 19 the youngest driver to win an IndyCar race, was the first one out when he tried to pass a slowing Alex Lloyd in the fourth turn. Rahal went high, ended up too high and slammed into the wall.

He wasn't the last to have a problem.

Included among the mangled at day's end were rookies Justin Wilson, Rahal's teammate, Jaime Camara and Alex Lloyd.

The top rookie finisher was Ryan Hunter-Reay, who started 20th and finished sixth. The improvement was the second-biggest of the day, matching that of two other rookies - Spain's Oriol Servia and Brazil's Enrique Bernoldi. Servia went from 25th to 11th, while Bernoldi went from 29th to 15th.

Only 1996 winner Buddy Lazier had a bigger jump, going from 32nd to 17th.

"This place is so difficult," said Hunter-Reay, who ran in the IRL the second half of last season. "When the tires go off and there's cars in front you with the turbulence, it's probably one of the most difficult tracks I've ever been around."

Another rookie who fared well was Japan's Hideki Mutoh, one of two Andretti Green Racing drivers to finish the race. Mutoh started ninth, stayed in the top 10 much of the day and finished seventh.

Will Power, the 26-year-old Australian who was the 2006 Champ Car rookie of the year, finished 13th.

Fan Dies From Poisoning

An Illinois man died of apparent carbon monoxide poisoning in a recreational vehicle parked near the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, police said.

Speedway, Ind. police Lt. Trent Theobald said the 43-year-old Ruma, Ill. man was unresponsive when police and medics arrived before Sunday's Indy 500. He was taken to a hospital and pronounced dead.

Three family members - two men ages 69 and 61 and a 53-year-old woman - were later hospitalized, he said. Two were in serious condition and one was stable Sunday.

The RV was parked in a vacant lot on Georgetown Road, Theobald said. Police were inspecting the vehicle to find the source of the carbon monoxide. Theobald said Speedway had no ordinance governing RV maintenance, but police urged people who use RVs to check them for exhaust leaks or other possible dangers.