Shortly after the halfway point, Danny Sullivan got a radio call from his crew, but he misunderstood the message. He thought they said there were only 12 laps to go. In reality, there were still over 80 laps remaining. Sullivan quickly turned up the turbocharger boost, and started closing in on Andretti for the lead. On lap 120, Sullivan pulled to the inside down the front stretch, and took the lead going into turn one. Andretti held his ground, forcing Sullivan to make the pass down below the yellow line in the somewhat rough and flat apron. Suddenly, the car slipped as Sullivan came off the apron, and the back end snapped loose. Out of control, Sullivan car began a counterclockwise 360° spin directly in front of Andretti in the south short chute. Andretti pinched his car down to the inside, and slipped by unscathed. Meanwhile, Sullivan spun completely around, did not hit anything, and the engine stalled for an instant. When the tire smoked cleared, Sullivan noticed he was pointing in the correct direction, and he put the car in gear. The engine caught, and Sullivan pulled away under power to resume the race.