Syndication: The Indianapolis Star
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In 1911, Ray Harroun entered racing immortality when he became the first driver to win the Indianapolis 500. Eight decades later, Jeff Gordon put his own stamp in the Speedway history books when he took the checkered flag in the inaugural Brickyard 400. And now, a new top dog has established a permanent legacy of becoming the first winner of Indianapolis' latest and greatest race.

Friday afternoon marked the inaugural running of the Wienie 500 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, pitting six Oscar Mayer wienermobiles against each other for two laps around the fabled Brickyard. While the top speed of the wienermobiles was considerably less than The Greatest Spectacle in Racing -- they topped out at about 60 mph -- the Wienie 500 nonetheless featured thrilling racing and the sort of last lap dramatics that Sunday's 109th Indianapolis 500 could only hope to provide.

Coming off turn two on the final lap, Sonoran Dog enjoyed a comfortable lead when it began to overheat, allowing Chicago Dog to assume the point and lead the field all the way until coming off turn four and to the checkered flag. Using the draft and entering a slipstream behind Chicago Dog, Slaw Dog shot to the inside coming to the finish, beating Chicago Dog to the Yard of Bricks in a photo finish to win the inaugural Wienie 500.

The finish to the Wienie 500 had shades of some of the greatest Indianapolis 500s ever, namely photo finishes like the one between Al Unser Jr. and Scott Goodyear in 1992, and then Sam Hornish Jr. and Marco Andretti in 2006.

The Wienie 500 establishes a new and hopefully long tradition at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, serving as a perfect Memorial Day complement to the 500-mile race on Sunday when 33 drivers -- in slightly more aerodynamic cars -- will seek to put their name and face on the Borg-Warner Trophy.