Because I couldn't vote for Salt Walther.

The Indianapolis Star is running a poll asking fans to select the best driver never to win the Indianapolis 500. Out of over 50 drivers submitted, the Star culled the field down to 12. Contemporary drivers you might know are Michael Andretti, Scott Goodyear, Nigel Mansell and Tony Stewart. Names from the past included on the ballot include Ted Horn, Jackie Stewart, Rex Mays, Lloyd Ruby, Dan Gurney and Gary Bettenhausen. The others that I'm not familiar with are Harry Hartz (who raced in the '20s) and Jack McGrath.

Andretti and Tony Stewart are probably the frontrunners for the "best driver to never win Indy" title based on the general idiocy of Internet voters. Andretti's got the name and, unfortunately, the curse - that curse being, to finish first, you've got to first finish, and his family's reputation as hard chargers means a lot of broken equipment. And because Tony Stewart is the most known name on the list, you're going to find a good percentage of people who will vote for him on that point alone.

(It's like the time I filled out Rolling Stone's yearly reader-participation awards survey - I was no older than 10 - and voted for Bob Marley as best reggae artist because that's the only reggae name I knew. Yes, he'd been dead for several years by that point, although I don't believe I was aware of it at the time.)

The fact is, Tony Stewart's body of work is too short to justify a vote for him - he ran Indy only 5 times. The same can be said for Nigel Mansell and Jackie Stewart, both of whom ran only twice at Indy but still are on the ballot.

Anyway, my vote went to Ted Horn. He ran for 10 years (with World War II interrupting the 500 for a handful of years in the '40s). After a 16th-place finish his first year, here is how he finished the next nine races: 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 4th, 4th, 3rd, 3rd, 3rd, 4th. Wow. He completed 1799 of a possible 1800 laps at Indy those 9 years. Given Indy's crapshoot nature and tendency to, on occasion, reach up and bite drivers, that's a phenomenal record.

I'd love to link to the survey, but am somehow unable to do so right now. Go to indystar.com; down the left side of the page, there is a box with a link to "Online Extras"; the poll is linked there.

My sentimental favorite for the title is Gary Bettenhausen. In 1987, he drove the Genesee Beer Wagon to 5th. That's all you need to know.

Update: After casting my vote, I saw where the results stood. Andretti is the runaway leader at 43 percent, with Lloyd Ruby in second. Ted Horn languishes in mid-pack at 6 percent. Of course.