It Wasn’t the Finish They Had Desired : Indy 500: Andretti knocked out after 23 laps. Mansell doesn’t enjoy piggy-back ride.

At least no one had to listen to track announcer Tom Carnegie saying late in the race, for the umpteenth time, “Mario Andretti is slowing down.”

Andretti has led lots of times here--he even won once, in 1969--but that five-word sentence has haunted him for most of his career here.

Sunday, it was different. Starting his 29th and last Indy 500--he is retiring from Indy car driving after this season--Andretti was through early. His Lola-Ford quit only 23 laps into the 200-lap race because of a faulty fuel system. He was running fifth when he pulled in for his first pit stop and the problem manifested itself.

“It’s disappointing,” he said. “We were competitive. We were pretty much where I was hoping we’d be.

“Why? You wonder why, you know? Anyway, it’s just one of those things.”

Andretti drew a thunderous ovation when it was announced that his race was over. “That’s what makes it bearable, all the support,” he said. “It’s been so phenomenal and I feel very blessed because of that.”

Andretti’s teammate, defending national champion Nigel Mansell, also experienced wretched luck in what many suspect might also have been his last Indy 500. Rumors are rife that the Englishman will return to Formula One racing, and he never quite denies them. He won the Formula One title in 1992.

In any event, his race ended on lap 92 when, during a caution period, Dennis Vitolo drove his car up the back of Mansell’s, Mansell narrowly escaping decapitation.

“I was just following everyone else slowly around in the slip road to the pit entrance,” he said. “The next thing I know, I’m sort of going half backward with a car on top of me on fire. . . . I’ve never had an accident when you’ve been under the yellow flag. It’s just unreal.”

Said Vitolo, “This is racing. I can’t blame anybody but myself.”

Mansell was treated for a concussion and burns, then returned to his home in Clearwater, Fla.