Rice, Red Bull Cheever give Chevy best finish.

Buddy Rice led the Chevrolet engine to its best finish in the 87th Indianapolis 500 when he drove the #52 Red Bull Cheever Racing car to eleventh place in Sunday's big race.

"It was an exciting race," Rice said afterwards, "I am glad we finished. To be the top Chevrolet finisher is a good thing."

Had it not been for a minor electrical problem that slowed the car midway through the race, Rice says the Red Bull Cheever Racing team would have finished even better than it did.

"Without that one little miss, we would have had a top-ten finish, no problem," he said, "That one electronic gremlin caught us out today, and we got behind at the midway point of the race. That's what it is all about. I will be able to come back here next year with all the experience I have gained."

Rice started 19th and, with help from his championship pit crew, steadily advanced through the field.

"We made the most of what we had this month," team owner Eddie Cheever Jr said, "I thought the Chevrolet engine was reliable, thanks to our engines prepared by Menard."

Despite not breaking into the top ten, Rice still enjoyed his first experience at the Indy 500.

"This Indy is special because I did it with a team, Cheever Racing, that I really wanted to be here with and with a sponsor, Red Bull, that has helped me since day one," the Californian said, "It was a great benefit to have Eddie, with his years of experience, available to help guide me through my rookie year here at Indy."