Indianapolis 500

The Indianapolis 500 Mile Race, frequently shortened to Indianapolis 500 or Indy 500, is an American race for open-wheel automobiles held annually over the Memorial Day weekend at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana. Run for the first time in 1911, "The Greatest Spectacle in Racing" is one of the oldest and richest motorsport events in existence. This event lends its name to the "IndyCar" class of race cars.

Year by year

1911 to 1919

1911: An accident disrupts the official timing and scoring stand mid-way through the race. Ray Harroun receives the chequered flag first but many believe Ralph Mulford, classified second, actually won the race. Had he pulled straight into the winners circle Mulford might indeed have been heralded as the winner, but he ran some ?insurance laps?, ironically in case the scorers had missed a lap. Harroun did pull in, received the plaudits, and very little else was said on the matter.

Related Topics:
Ray Harroun - Ralph Mulford

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1912: Ralph DePalma?s Mercedes breaks its con rod after leading 196 laps. Joe Dawson wins after leading the only 2 laps of his Indy career. No driver has ever matched DePalma?s 196 fruitless laps in the lead, and only Billy Arnold?s 198 lap domination of the 1930 race tops DePalma?s time at the front.

Related Topics:
Ralph DePalma - Mercedes - Joe Dawson

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1913: French born Jules Goux drinks six bottles of champagne on his way to a record 13 minute victory over second place Teddy Tetzlaff.

Related Topics:
French - Jules Goux - Champagne

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1914: France takes its second consecutive 500 victory, this time with driver Rene Thomas.

Related Topics:
France - Rene Thomas

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1915: Ralph DePalma?s Mercedes again begins to slow with con rod problems late in the race. This time though he makes it to the finish to win.

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1916: Dario Resta wins the race, which was shortened to 300 miles (500 km) due to the ongoing war in Europe. The field of 21 cars is the smallest ever.

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1917-1918: Race is not held due to World War I.

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1919: With the track reopened after the war, local driver Howdy Wilcox breaks a four-race winning streak by Europeans.

Related Topics:
Howdy Wilcox - Europeans

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1920 to 1929

1920: Ralph DePalma leads by 2 laps with 13 to go when his engine catches fire. Gaston Chevrolet takes the lead and wins. DePalma finishes 5th. Chevrolet is killed during a race at Beverly Hills 7 months later, the first 500 winner to die.

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1921: The race is won by Tommy Milton. Ralph DePalma leads 109 laps but again his con rod breaks and he rolls to a halt. DePalma never leads another Indy 500. His final career total is 612 laps led for 1 win. DePalma?s record number of circuits in front is finally topped by Al Unser? 67 years later.

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1922 Jimmy Murphy is the first driver to win the race from pole position.

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1923 Tommy Milton becomes the first driver to win the race twice.

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1924: L.L. Corum?s car is taken over by Joe Boyer, who goes on to win. Corum wins without leading a single lap.

Related Topics:
L.L. Corum - Joe Boyer

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1925 The race is won by Ralph DePalma's nephew, and former riding mechanic, Peter dePaolo.

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1926 23 year-old Frank Lockhart wins the race as a rookie. He is the first winner born in the 20th century.

Related Topics:
Frank Lockhart - 20th century

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1927 George Souders wins by eight laps, the largest margin since 1913.

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1928: Jimmy Gleason has a good lead when he stops for water on lap 195. A crew member misses the radiator and douses the car?s magneto. Gleason is out and Louis Meyer wins.

Related Topics:
Jimmy Gleason - Louis Meyer

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1929 Race winner Ray Keech is killed in a racing crash just two weeks after the '500'.

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1930 to 1939

1930 Billy Arnold takes the lead on lap three and is never headed again. Arnold's 198 laps led in a race has never been bettered.

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1931: 1930 winner Billy Arnold is 5 laps ahead on lap 162 when his rear axle breaks and Arnold crashes. His wheel flies over a fence and hits and kills 12 year old Wilbur Brink who is sitting in his garden on Georgetown Road. Arnold and his mechanic are injured. Louis Schneider leads the remaining laps.

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1932 Fred Frame wins the race from 27th starting position, and is the eighth different leader of the race, a record at the time.

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1933 Louis Meyer wins for a second time.

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1934 Bill Cummings wins by 27 seconds from Mauri Rose, the closest ever finish at the time.

Related Topics:
Bill Cummings - Mauri Rose

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1935 The newly introduced yellow 'caution' light, requiring drivers to slow and hold position, makes its first appearance in race, to eventual race winner Kelly Petillo's advantage as many of the late laps are disrupted by rain, neutralising Petillo's race long battle with Rex Mays and Wilbur Shaw.

Related Topics:
Kelly Petillo - Rex Mays - Wilbur Shaw

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1936 Louis Meyer wins a third time, the first driver to do so. Meyer is also the first driver to recieve the Borg Warner Trophy in Victory Lane.

Related Topics:
Louis Meyer - Borg Warner Trophy

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1937: Wilbur Shaw leads most of the way but must slow late on to conserve engine oil. Ralph Hepburn falls short of catching Shaw by 2.16 seconds - the closest finish at that time.

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1938 Floyd Roberts, driving the ill-fated Burd Piston Ring Special, wins by three laps.

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1939: Defending winner Floyd Roberts, driving the same car he drove into victory circle in 1938, dies in a crash on lap 107. Wilbur Shaw wins his second 500, driving a Maserati.

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1940 to 1949

1940: Wilbur Shaw sets up a commanding lead until rain brings out the caution for the last 50 laps and guides Shaw to his 3rd victory.

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1941: Floyd Davis? car is relieved by Mauri Rose, who goes on to win. Davis joins L.L. Corum as a winner who not only didn?t lead a lap during the race they won, but never led any laps at Indy. The race was marred by a morning fire which engulfed the entire garage area.

Related Topics:
1941 - Floyd Davis - Mauri Rose

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1942-1943-1944-1945: Race is not held due to World War II.

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1946: Tony Hulman, the new Speedway President presides over his first race, won by George Robson. Sadly, Robson would be killed later that year.

Related Topics:
Tony Hulman - George Robson

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1947: Bill Holland leads 143 laps before he is overtaken by team mate Mauri Rose. The team had displayed an ?EZY? signal, telling the drivers to hold station to the finish. Holland thought Rose was a lap behind and let him past. Rose wins again but on sheer pace next year and Holland finally wins in 1949. Rose is fired by the team when he again ignores orders and tries to pass Holland, only for his car to fail.

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1948: Mauri Rose becomes the second back-to-back winner.

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1949: After two years of failures to his teammate, Bill Holland finally wins one for himself, giving Lou Moore his third consecutive victory.

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1950 to 1959

1950: Johnnie Parsons? engine has an unfixable crack in it so he decides to charge for the lap leader prizes. At 345 miles (555 km) the rain saves Parsons and he cruises to the win as the race is called at lap 138.

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1951: Four days after winning the 500 Lee Wallard is severely burned in sprint car race and lives the rest of his life unable to perspire properly and without the strength to drive a car.

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1952: Bill Vukovich leads 150 laps until his steering pin breaks and he crashes on lap 192. Troy Ruttman takes the win, the youngest-ever winner.

Related Topics:
Bill Vukovich - Troy Ruttman

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1953: On the hottest day on record for the running of the 500, Bill Vukovich leads 195 laps and cruises to a win without relief help.

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1954: Picking up where he left off, Bill Vukovich wins again, going away.

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1955: After two wins and 485 laps led of a possible 656 (74%), Bill Vukovich is killed on lap 56 after crashing out of the lead. Two back markers tangle in front of Vukovich, whose car hits them and vaults over the backstretch wall into a car park.

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Bob Sweikert wins after Art Cross blows his engine on lap 169 and Don Freeland loses drive on lap 179. Sweikert dies in a sprint car race a year later.

Related Topics:
Bob Sweikert - Art Cross - Don Freeland

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1956: AAA drops out of racing after the 1955 tragedy at LeMans, so USAC is formed to sanction Indianapolis style racing. Pat Flaherty wins.

Related Topics:
AAA - LeMans - USAC - Pat Flaherty

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1957: After thirteen years of trying, Sam Hanks finally wins the 500, then announces his retirement in victory lane, holding back tears.

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1958: A huge wreck in turn three on the opening lap wipes out several cars, and driver Pat O'Connor is fatally injured. Jimmy Bryan goes on to win.

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1959: A record sixteen cars finish the entire 500 miles (800 km) as Rodger Ward holds off Jim Rathmann for the win.

Related Topics:
Rodger Ward - Jim Rathmann

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1960 to 1969

1960: Defending winner Rodger Ward takes the lead from three-time runner up Jim Rathmann on lap 194 but slows with tyre trouble and Rathmann retakes the lead on lap 197 and wins. Tragically, two spectators in the infield are killed, and several are injured, when a homemade scaffolding collaspes at the start of the race.

Related Topics:
Rodger Ward - Jim Rathmann - Scaffolding

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1961: A.J. Foyt looks set for a win, leading Eddie Sachs, until his crew signal that Foyt?s last pit stop didn?t get enough fuel in car. Foyt gives up the lead on lap 184 for a splash-and-go. Sachs leads by 25 seconds until the warning tread shows through on his rear tyre and Sachs decides to play safe. Foyt returns to the lead when Sachs stops on lap 197 for tyres and wins by 8.28 seconds. Sachs is killed in a crash at the start of the 1964 race, a race which is won by Foyt.

Related Topics:
A.J. Foyt - Eddie Sachs

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1962: A historic pole day as Parnelli Jones breaks the 150 mph barrier in qualifying. Rodger Ward and Len Sutton finish 1-2 for Leader Cards Racing.

Related Topics:
Parnelli Jones - Rodger Ward

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1963: Parnelli Jones wins despite his car spewing oil from a broken tank for many laps. Officials put off black flagging him until the oil level drops and the trail stops. Colin Chapman, whose English built, rear-engined Lotus Ford finishes second in the hands of Scotsman Jim Clark, accuses the officials of being biased towards the American driver and car. Additionally, driver Eddie Sachs is punched by Jones at a victory dinner after Sachs tells Jones his win is tainted. Clark leads the early going in 1964 but his Dunlop tyres shred and break the car?s suspension. Clark and Chapman finally triumph in 1965.

Related Topics:
Parnelli Jones - Colin Chapman - Jim Clark

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1964: A tragic day as fan favorite Eddie Sachs and rookie Dave MacDonald are killed in a firery crash on lap 2. Fans look on in horror, and the race is stopped for almost two hours. When the race resumes, A.J. Foyt takes the checkered flag (the last win by a front-engined roadster), but is visibly subdued in victory lane, after losing his competitor and friend Sachs.

Related Topics:
Eddie Sachs - Dave MacDonald - A.J. Foyt

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1965: The five-year old "British Invasion" finally breaks through as Jim Clark dominates and wins in a rear-engined car.

Related Topics:
British - Jim Clark

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1966: Jackie Stewart leads by over a lap when his oil pressure drops too low on Lap 192 and his car stalls. Graham Hill leads a total of 10 laps to win his first start. 11 of the 33 starters are eliminated in a first lap crash.

Related Topics:
Jackie Stewart - Graham Hill

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1967: Parnelli Jones? STP Granatelli turbine car leads 171 laps until a transmission bearing fails on lap 197 and Jones coasts to a halt. A.J. Foyt wins a third 500.

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1968: On lap 174 Lloyd Ruby?s engine misfires allowing Joe Leonard?s STP Lotus turbine into the lead.

Related Topics:
Lloyd Ruby - Joe Leonard - Turbine

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Leonard?s leading Lotus ?flames out? on a lap 190 restart and rolls to a silent halt. Bobby Unser goes by to win.

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1969: Mario Andretti crashed in practice and suffered burns about two weeks before the race, but he hops into a back-up car and wins going away. Andy Granatelli, who abandoned the turbine cars for 1969, plants a famous kiss on his cheek in victory lane.

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1970 to 1979

1970: Following in the footsteps of his brother Bobby, Al Unser win the 500, leading an amazing 190 laps.

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1971: Tragedy strikes at the start as local Indianapolis Dodge dealer Eldon Palmer wrecks the pace car into a photographer's stand. No one is killed, but several are injured, some seriously. Notwithstanding the distraction, Al Unser wins for a second year in a row. ABC television broadcasts the race for the first time in same-day tape delay.

Related Topics:
Indianapolis - Dodge - Pace car - Al Unser - ABC television

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1972: Gary Bettenhausen leads 138 laps until his engine blows on lap 176. Jerry Grant gets the lead but pits for new tyres on lap 188 in team mate Bobby Unser?s pit. Bettenhausen?s Penske team mate Mark Donohue wins after leading 13 laps. Scoring is stopped on Grant because of the pit lane violation. Bolt-on wings were allowed for the first time, and during qualifying Bobby Unser runs over 196 mph.

Related Topics:
Gary Bettenhausen - Jerry Grant - Mark Donohue - Bobby Unser

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1973: The race was scheduled for Monday, however rain delays the start until late in the afternoon. At the start, Salt Walther tangles with another car and flips into the catch fencing, injuring several spectators. Rain prevents the race from resuming. On Tuesday, rain halts the race on the pace lap, preventing a start for the second day in a row. On Wednesday, rain threatens another washout, but the sky eventually clears, and the race begins. On the 59th lap, Swede Savage is involved in a fiery crash at the exit of turn four. In the pit area, a crew member from Graham McRae's team (Savage's teammate), is struck and killed by a fire truck. After a long red flag, the race resumes, with Gordon Johncock (Savage's other teammate) leading. On lap 129, rain begins to fall, and the race is called on lap 133, with Johncock the winner. Savage dies in the hospital a month later.

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1974: In the midst of an energy crisis, and as an infield of hippies storm the track, Johnny Rutherford comes from deep in the field to record his first victory.

Related Topics:
Energy crisis - Hippies - Johnny Rutherford

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1975: Wally Dallenbach Sr. is 20 seconds in the lead when he retires on lap 162 with a burned piston. Johnny Rutherford loses the inherited lead to Bobby Unser when he pits. On lap 171 the yellow comes out for rain and the two leaders duck into the pits for fuel. On lap 174 a downpour stops the race and Unser is the winner. The rain stops a few minutes later.

Related Topics:
Wally Dallenbach Sr. - Johnny Rutherford

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1976: Rain stops the race on lap 103. Two hours later Johnny Rutherford is declared the winner and walks to Victory Lane, having completed on 255 miles (410 km), the shortest official race on record.

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1977: Gordon Johncock leads 129 laps and has the race in hand on lap 184 when his engine blows. A.J. Foyt wins a fourth time. Tom Sneva breaks the 200 mph barrier in qualifying, and Janet Guthrie becomes the first female to drive in the race.

Related Topics:
Gordon Johncock - Tom Sneva - Janet Guthrie

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1978: Al Unser easily leads but bends his Lola?s front wing in the pitlane on lap 180. Tom Sneva charges to catch the crippled Lola but is 8 seconds short at the finish. Unser leads 121 laps and holds on for a third win on a very hot day.

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1979: After a month of court hearings and controversy due to the start-up CART series, a field of 35 cars takes the green flag, with second-year driver Rick Mears winning.

Related Topics:
CART - Rick Mears

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1980 to 1989

1980: Jim Hall's radically-new Chaparral chassis failed in its 1979 debut, but Johnny Rutherford drives it to an easy victory in 1980.

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1981: After a pitstop on lap 149 Bobby Unser and Mario Andretti pass cars under the caution flag lineup as they exit the pits. Unser wins the race from Andretti but is penalised a lap for the infraction. Unser?s Penske team appeals and five months later the appeals board finally reinstates Unser?s third win. USAC later acts to clarify its vague yellow flag rules and bring them into line with CART?s existing rules stating that cars rejoining from the pits during a caution must not pass any cars in front of them, lapped or otherwise.

Related Topics:
Bobby Unser - Mario Andretti

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1982: After a thrilling duel, Gordon Johncock beats 1979 winner Rick Mears to the win by 0.16 seconds. Mears lost 5 seconds to Johncock on their last pitstops when Mears? Penske crew miscalculated the amount of fuel needed to finish.

Related Topics:
Gordon Johncock - Rick Mears

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1983: Three-time runner up Tom Sneva is stuck behind the lapped car of Al Unser Jr, who is defending the lead of Al Unser Sr despite the blue ?move-over? flags. Sneva takes advantage of some more slower cars to pass both Unsers in one daring move in Turn 3 on lap 190 and goes on to win.

Related Topics:
Tom Sneva - Al Unser Jr

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1984: An exciting first half turns dull as defending champion Tom Sneva and Mario Andretti fall out late with mechanical trouble, leaving Rick Mears the winner by over two laps. Rookies Roberto Guerrero, Al Holbert, and Michael Andretti become a rare trio of first-timers to finish in the top five.

Related Topics:
Tom Sneva - Mario Andretti - Rick Mears - Roberto Guerrero - Al Holbert - Michael Andretti

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1985: Danny Sullivan beats Mario Andretti by 2.5 seconds despite spinning a full 360 when battling with Andretti on lap 120.

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1986: Rain cancelled the race Sunday and Monday, and Speedway management decides to hold the race the following Saturday. On a final restart on lap 198 Bobby Rahal takes the lead from Kevin Cogan. Rahal beats Cogan by 1.4 seconds and Rick Mears in third by just 1.8 seconds. Jim Trueman, Rahal?s car owner, dies of cancer eleven days later.

Related Topics:
Bobby Rahal - Kevin Cogan - Rick Mears - Cancer

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1987: After leading 170 laps Mario Andretti?s Lola Chevy breaks and rolls to a stop on lap 177. Roberto Guerrero takes nearly a lap lead over Al Unser, but disaster strikes on his final fuel stop on lap 182. Guerrero stalls, the crew fire the car up again but the clutch is slipping and the car won?t pull away. Al Unser takes the lead and then laps Guerrero. Guerrero finally gets going again, and a caution allows him back into it, but Unser has enough in hand to win for a fourth time. Tragically, a spectator in the grandstand is killed when Guerrero's car hit a loose tire that came off of the car of Tony Bettenhausen.

Related Topics:
Mario Andretti - Roberto Guerrero - Al Unser - Spectator - Grandstand

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1988: Roger Penske's team dominates the month, qualifying all three teammates Rick Mears, Danny Sullivan and Al Unser on the front row. On race day the three teammates combine to lead 192 laps, with Mears taking the checkered flag.

Related Topics:
Roger Penske - Rick Mears - Danny Sullivan - Al Unser

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1989: On lap 196 Al Unser Jr takes the lead from Emerson Fittipaldi, who has lead most of the race. Three laps later Fittipaldi tries to get it back in turn 3. Both cars run side-by-side until the Brazilian?s Penske drifts slightly high and the cars bang wheels. Unser spins around into the turn 3 wall. The pace car escorts ?Emmo? to his first Indy win. Joe Dawson?s record from 1912 for the latest lead change in a race is equalled. Unser, who gives the winner a sporting thumbs-up as he stands by his wrecked Lola, is still classified second.

Related Topics:
Al Unser Jr - Emerson Fittipaldi

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1990 to 1999

1990: Emerson Fittipaldi runs a blistering pace and sets a record by leading the first 92 consecutive laps. Blistering tires, however, send him to the pits about 30 laps later and Bobby Rahal takes over, looking for his second career Indy victory. An ill-handling car slows Rahal down, and Arie Luyendyk takes over the lead, winning the fastest-ever 500, at a speed of 185.981 mph.

Related Topics:
Emerson Fittipaldi - Bobby Rahal

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1991: Michael Andretti leads Rick Mears by 15 seconds when a caution flies on lap 182. Andretti pits for fuel and then smokes around the outside of Mears in turn 1 on the restart. A lap later Mears repeats the move on Andretti and another caution doesn?t alter the result as Mears powers away again to his fourth win in 14 years.

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1992: A cold day, windy day turns the race into a wreck-filled, marathon-long afternoon. After leading 160 laps Michael Andretti?s Chevrolet engine blows and the Lola rolls to a stop 10 laps from victory. After a tense duel, Al Unser Jr beats Scott Goodyear to the win by 0.043 seconds, the closest finish ever. Goodyear had started the race in 33rd place after taking over Mike Groff?s car at the behest of sponsors and Unser had started 12th. The distance between Goodyear and Unser on the starting grid turned out to be more than enough to swing the result. Oddly, had Goodyear just managed to inch past Unser, he might still not have been registered as the winner. Unser?s Galmer-Chevrolet had to have its timing transponder placed in the nose rather than the side-pod, the standard location in all the other cars. So Goodyear?s Lola could have had its nose in front of Unser?s Galmer, but its transponder would have still been behind. This potential discrepancy between the visual and computerised results was quickly resolved by specifying a standard transponder placing.

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1993: Defending World Champion Nigel Mansell, leading his first-ever oval-track race, is too hesitant on a lap 185 restart and both Emerson Fittipaldi and Arie Luyendyk zoom by to take, and keep, the top 2 positions. Mansell clobbers the wall on lap 190 but manages to make the finish in third, aided when his shunt triggers another caution.

Related Topics:
Nigel Mansell - Arie Luyendyk

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1994: After leading 145 laps in the 1000 hp (750 kW), 250 mph (400 km/h), pushrod engined Penske Mercedes, defending winner Emerson Fittipaldi attempts to put 2nd placed team mate Al Unser Jr a lap down on lap 185 but runs too high in turn 4 and whacks the wall. Unser leads the last 45 laps for a second win.

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1995: For 1995 the rules loophole that allowed the 'pushrod' Mercedes is closed and neither Unser or Fittipaldi qualify when their new Penske suffers from abnormal aerodynamic instability and refuses to traverse the Speedway flat-out. Early on in the race Jacques Villeneuve, unaware that he is the leader due to a series of pit stops, passes the pace car during a caution. Officials rule a two-lap penalty for the infraction and Villeneuve drops from contention. However, thanks to fortuitous timing of yellows and pit strategy, Villeneuve comes back from two laps down to be in fourth position as the race nears crunch time. He is promoted to second when first Jimmy Vasser, and then Scott Pruett crash out while trying to pass Scott Goodyear for the lead. On lap 190 Goodyear mis-times the last restart and passes the pace car before it enters pit-road. Goodyear wins on the road but is not scored after lap 195 because he fails to serve the black flag penalty in the pits. Villeneuve is the winner of his own Indy 505.

Related Topics:
Jacques Villeneuve - Jimmy Vasser - Scott Pruett

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1996: Davy Jones grabs the lead from team mate Alessandro Zampedri on lap 190. Buddy Lazier blasts past Jones on the front straight on lap 193 and wins as a multiple shunt in the last turn wipes out Zampedri, leaving him with severe leg and foot injuries.

Related Topics:
Davy Jones - Alessandro Zampedri - Buddy Lazier

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1997: Scott Goodyear lies second to team mate Arie Luyendyk. The race restarts for a one-lap dash to the finish but the caution lights on the front stretch stay yellow. Luyendyk accelerates as instructed but Goodyear sees the yellow and hesitates. Luyendyk makes the last lap to win. Goodyear has no chance to challenge.

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1998: Eddie Cheever caps off his racing career with his lone Indy win. Buddy Lazier mounts a strong challenge, but settles for second.

Related Topics:
Eddie Cheever - Buddy Lazier

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1999: Gambling on not stopping during the last round of stops and using a long final fuel stint doesn?t work for Robby Gordon as all the laps are green. Gordon runs out of fuel halfway round Lap 199 and long time leader Kenny Bräck takes the win, equalling Joe Dawson in 1912 and Emerson Fittipaldi in 1989 for the latest lead change.

Related Topics:
Robby Gordon - Kenny Bräck

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2000 to 2010

2000: Jimmy Vasser and Juan Pablo Montoya break ranks from the CART series and race at Indy. Greg Ray wins the battle for the pole position, but Montoya dominates on race day, becoming the first rookie winner since 1966.

Related Topics:
Jimmy Vasser - Juan Pablo Montoya - Greg Ray - Pole position

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2001: The Roger Penske Team is among several CART teams to break ranks and race at Indy this year. Rain plays a factor on race day, halting the race twice, once under a lengthly yellow, and again for a red flag. When the race restarts, Helio Castroneves breaks away and takes the win, celebrating by climbing the catchfence.

Related Topics:
Roger Penske - Helio Castroneves

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2002: A bizarre and controversial finale is set in motion when Tomas Scheckter, aiming to be the youngest ever winner, crashes out of the lead on lap 173. 2nd place Gil de Ferran looks set to inherit a front position with the new fastest car but the Penske crew fail to attach his right rear wheel properly in the ensuing pit stop and he must crawl back round to the pits on three wheels. Team mate Helio Castroneves makes his final fuel stop on lap 158 and cautions and good fuel management allow him to make it all the way to Lap 198. Just as he is running dry and Paul Tracy is passing him for the lead, a crash brings out the caution. Castroneves has the fuel to make the last lap under yellow and wins because Tracy is ruled to have passed after the caution flew. In an echo of the first Indy 500 back in 1911, the Penske team celebrate with an impromptu Victory Lane on the yard of bricks, while the driver who many think has actually won sits and waits. The result is confirmed in July amongst more controversy. The Speedway dismiss Tracy?s appeal on the grounds that judgment calls by the officials cannot be appealed, and these calls constitute the only possible official result. Castroneves leads 76 laps to win his first two 500?s and add 2 more wins to Roger Penske?s record.

Related Topics:
Tomas Scheckter - Gil de Ferran - Helio Castroneves

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2003: The curse of the Indy three-peat prevails again, as Helio Castroneves finishes second to his teammate Gil de Ferran.

Related Topics:
Helio Castroneves - Gil de Ferran

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2004: The combination of impending rain and pit stops threatens to turn the result into a lottery, with the winner being the driver that hasn?t been forced to pit for fuel. First to go is Bruno Junqueira, who gained the lead by not pitting earlier in the hope the rain comes before his fuel runs out. Junqueira pits on lap 151, handing the race back to the day?s pacesetting trio of Buddy Rice, Tony Kanaan and Dan Wheldon. Kanaan and Wheldon come in soon afterwards. Rice gives up the lead on lap 167. Bryan Herta is in on lap 169. Adrian Fernandez makes it to lap 172 but still the rain hasn?t arrived. After several anxious laps, Rice retakes the lead ahead of Kanaan and is still in front when the rain finally brings a halt to proceedings on lap 180.

Related Topics:
Bruno Junqueira - Buddy Rice - Tony Kanaan - Dan Wheldon - Bryan Herta - Adrian Fernandez

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2005: The first year a woman, Danica Patrick, led the race. Patrick led 3 separate times for a total of 19 laps. However, she slipped back to fourth place during the last five laps, and Dan Wheldon finished first.

Related Topics:
Danica Patrick - Dan Wheldon

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2006: The 90th running of the Indianapolis 500 is scheduled for May 28, 2006.

Related Topics:
May 28 - 2006

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