Emerson Fittipaldi (1989, 1993)

Emerson Fittipaldi was a two-time Formula1 World Champion before making his way over to American open-wheel racing in the early 1980s. So, of course, expectations were high for the seasoned veteran from Brazil.

He didn't disappoint.

In 11 career starts in the Indianapolis 500, "Emo" led in seven different races, led a total of 505 laps, finished in the top three a total of four times, drank the milk once, and entered victory lane twice. ...yes, we'll get to the milk controversy in a bit.


Emo had some Indy troubles at the start of his CART career, posting a 7th place finish in 1986 but no better than 13th in '84, '85, and '87. If not for the legendary racing of Rick Mears in 1988, Fittipaldi might have gotten his first victory. Instead of a first for Fittipaldi, it was a record fourth win for Mears, with Emo finishing second.  It wouldn't take long for Fittipaldi to make the big leap from second to first.

Emo is in control from the start of the '89 race, winning the dash to the first turn ahead of pole-sitter Mears and 2nd-place starter Al Unser, Sr.. He led 158 total laps in the race, and ran the fastest race lap in history at the time (222.469 mph). Down the stretch, it was a battle between Emo and Al Unser, Jr., as the rest of the field was at least six laps down.

With 15 laps left, the field goes back to green and Emo holds a 1.8 second lead over Little Al. Within the next seven laps, that gap has narrowed to less than half a second! Then, on lap 195, as the two slip under Mario Andretti in turn one to put him 7 laps down, Unser finally has the chance to make a move. He pulls even with Emo and makes the pass on the backstretch. 


Fittipaldi doesn't give up, though. on lap 199, the lead is less than a car length. Lapped traffic on the backstretch doesn't help, and Fittipaldi goes for the pass. Unser pushes him down almost to the grass to avoid contact with lapped cars. They go into turn three side by side, Emo on the inside, Little Al on the outside, neither giving an inch. As Fittipaldi would say, two went into the corner, but only one was going to make it out.


Both drivers are pushing the car as hard as they can. Emo's car begins to slide up the track (you can see in the video below how the back end just gives) and a puff of smoke indicates contact. With no Unser there, Emo's car might slide rear-first into the outside wall. Instead, it is Unser who does a 180 and crashes into the turn 3 barrier, bringing out the yellow and giving Fittipaldi his first Indy 500 championship. 

Emo was on the pole for the 1990 race and dominates through lap 135. However, his tires blister and he makes an unscheduled stop. He falls off of the lead lap, and ends up finishing third despite leading 128 laps.

He found victory lane again in 1993 due to his great restart on lap 196. He slowed on the short chute between turns three and four, forcing second place Arie Luyendyk and third place Nigel Mansell to back off. Emo then gunned it and pulled away easily, winning by 2.9 seconds. It was his post-race antics that got him in trouble though, where he refused the traditional post-race drink of milk in Victory Lane and chose a nice glass of orange juice instead. He owned several orange groves back home in Brazil and wanted to promote the citrus industry. He was heavily criticized for his actions, though he did take a swig of milk off-camera.

That's how Emo ran - by the seat of his pants and at his own pace. With his success in all facets of open-wheel racing, it's no surprise someone like Fittipaldi played by his own rules. He did it with class and ihe did it with great success.