INDIANAPOLIS -- Rick Mears says he never dreamed abou the Indianapolis 500.

As an off-road racer, bouncing through the Baja Desert, he never saw himself sitting in victory lane at the Indianapolis 500.

"I always thought Indy was out of my league," Mears said.

Yesterday, in the 75th running of the Indianapolis 500, Mears put himself in a league with the best this race has seen.

Driving the last six laps at speeds in excess of 220 mph, Rick Mears pulled away from the field to join A.J. Foyt and Al Unser as the only four-time winners.

Averaging 176.460 mph, Mears won by 3.17 seconds over Michael Andretti. They were the only two on the lead lap. Last year's winner, Arie Luyendyk, finished third, one lap down.

Mears, driving his Marlboro Penske Chevy 91, put himself in position, with his typical patience and cunning. He laid back off the pace most of the afternoon, saving his car "for when it would be needed."

Then, on lap 188 of this 200-lap race, Mears pulled off a decidedly untypical move to put his stamp on history.

In a sport in which outside passes more often than not are considered foolhardy exhibitions of bravado, Mears took the high road around Michael Andretti in the first turn and pulled away.

"I didn't think Rick would be as crazy as me," said Andretti, who had made the same move a lap earlier for what he had hoped would give him an unbeatable edge. "I thought if I could get around Rick, it would be very difficult for him to retake the lead. Obviously, I was wrong."

No one ever should underestimate the desire Mears brings to the racetrack. He may be so relaxed that he actually has fallen asleep in his race car before the start, but he also has one of the most competitive souls in the sport.

And, he's a quick learner. Beat him one way one time, and it isn't likely to happen again.

In 1982, he was beaten to the finish by Gordon Johncock, who went into the gravel on the bottom of the track in turns three and four to pull out the closest race in 500 history.

Mears lost, he said, because he hesitated, considering the odds of going lower on the track to pinch Johncock out of his line.

Yesterday, there was no hesitation going into turn one.

"I don't think I've ever done that before," Mears said. "But I knew I had a good set of tires, and I thought they might have enough to stick it out. So I went for it and I was probably a little lucky my front end stayed glued to the track."

Mears drives for the Roger Penske Team. It has been the overall best team in Indy Car racing for more than a decade.

Penske's team has eight 500 victories. Mears owns four of them.

He also is the only six-time pole winner; and three of his four wins have come from that No. 1 starting position.

With his other victories coming in 1979, 1984 and 1988, Mears has earned No. 4 in an incredible 14 tries.

And he won't be 40 years old until December.

"I can't believe this one," said Mears. "It just hasn't sunk in yet. I don't even know the meaning of what I've done. I've said before, I never think about these things before they happen. And now it has to soak in. I'll probably be excited about it tomorrow."

In comparison, Foyt, who was driving what was supposed to be his last 500 yesterday, needed 22 years here, thus making him wait until he was 43 to get No. 4. Unser, who did not have a car in this race, also needed 22 years before notching No. 4 in 1987, at age 48.

"I'm very happy for Rick, because he's one of the best of all-time," said one-time winner Danny Sullivan, who finished 10th yesterday. "But I feel a little for A.J. and Big Al, because Rick's going to be the first five-time Indy 500 winner."

The first time Mears came to the Indianapolis 500, he still wasn't sure he belonged.

"I tried to qualify for this race, and I scared myself a lot," he said. "I was running bad equipment, and I couldn't make the show. The next year I came back with Penske, in top-of-the-line equipment and put the car on the front row."

It was the first of what is now a record-breaking 11 starts at the head of the pack. He didn't win that 1978 race, finishing 23rd, but he did wind up Rookie of the Year, and the Penske/Mears relationship was cemented.

"As I've always said, Rick is outstanding," said a somewhat subdued Penske. "I was biting my nails in the pits, and Rick kept his cool. I told him, 'We've been here before, and you know what to do.' "

When the equipment is right, Mears is, too. In fact, he has always said the team and the equipment has more to do with winning than the driver does. And yesterday, his team worked hard to get his car right over the first several hundred miles.

And yet, as impressive as he was at the finish, he was, 180 miles in, within moments of not getting No. 4 at all.

Andretti had Mears in his sights. Right there, square in front of him on lap 73.

"I was just seconds from putting him down a lap," said Andretti, who had just lapped his cousin John, who was running sixth. Suddenly, he just started going backward.

"I couldn't figure it out," said Michael, who later discovered his rear tire was going flat. "John regained his lap, and I had to pit. That's when everyone caught me. If it hadn't happened, I know I would have put Rick a lap down and that would have made a tremendous difference. It just wasn't my day."

No. For the fourth time in 14 years, the day belonged to Rick Mears, the guy who thought the Indianapolis 500 was out of his league.

Top finishers

Driver Laps

Rick Mears 200

Michael Andretti 200

Arie Luyendyk 199

Al Unser Jr. 198

John Andretti 197

Closest finishes

* 0.16 of a second -- Gordon Johncock over Rick Mears, '82

* 1.44 seconds -- Bobby Rahal over Kevin Cogan, '86

* 2.16 seconds -- Wilbur Shaw over Ralph Hepburn, '37

* 2.48 seconds -- Danny Sullivan over Mario Andretti, '85

* 3.17 seconds -- Rick Mears over Michael Andretti, '91

4-time winners

* Rick Mears (1979, 1984, 1988, 1991)

* A.J. Foyt (1961, 1964, 1967, 1977)

* Al Unser (1970, 1971, 1978, 1987)

Unofficial finish

H

Driver Start Chassis-engine Laps completed-reason out

1. Rick Mears 1 Penske-Chevy 200 laps

2. Michael Andretti 5 Lola-Chevy 200 laps

rv,53. Arie Luyendyk 14 Lola-Chevy 199 laps

4. Al Unser Jr. 6 Lola-Chevy 198 laps

John Andretti 7 Lola-Chevy 197 laps

6. Gordon Jhncck 33 Lola-Cosworth 188 laps

7. Mario Andretti 3 Lola-Chevy 187 laps

38. Stan Fox 17 Lola-Buick 185 laps

9. Tony Bttnhsn 20 Penske-Chevy 180 laps

10. Danny Sullivan 9 Lola-Alfa Romeo 173 laps, engine

11. Emerson Fttpldi 15 Penske-Chevy 171 laps, gearbox

Scott Pruett 27 Truesports-Judd 166 laps, engine

Dominic Dbsn 30 Lola-Judd 164 laps

14. Randy Lewis 32 Lola-Cosworth 159 laps

15. R-Jeff Andretti 11 Lola-Cosworth 150 laps, engine

R-Hiro Mtshta 24 Lola-Buick 149 laps

17. Scott Brayton 19 Lola-Chevy 145 laps, engine

Bernard Jrdn 21 Lola-Buick 141 laps, gearbox

Bobby Rahal 4 Lola-Chevy 130 laps, engine

Geoff Brabham 22 Truesports-Judd 109 laps, electrical

Pancho Carter 32 Lola-Buick 94 laps, engine

Gary Bttnhsn 13 Lola-Buick 89 laps, radiator

Tero Palmroth 26 Lola-Cosworth 77 laps, engine

R-Mike Groff 18 Lola-Cosworth 68 laps, water leak

25. John Paul Jr. 25 Lola-Buick 53 laps, oil leak

26. Jim Crawford 8 Lola-Buick 40 laps, engine

Scott Goodyear 12 Lola-Judd 40 laps, engine

A.J. Foyt 2 Lola-Chevy 25 laps, suspension

Kevin Cogan 16 Lola-Buick 24 laps, crash

Roberto Grro 28 Lola-Alfa Romeo 23 laps, crash

31. Eddie Cheever 10 Lola-Chevy 17 laps, electrical

R-Wlly T.Rbbs 29 Lola-Buick 6 laps, engine

R-Buddy Lazier 23 Lola-Cosworth 1 lap, hit wall

Official results posted this morning. Winner's average speed-- 176.460. (record 185.981, Arie Luyendyk, 1990.). Margin of victory--3.1