1992 Indianapolis 500
Encyclopedia
The 76th Indianapolis 500 was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway
on Sunday, May 24, 1992. The race is famous for the fierce battle in the closing laps, as race winner Al Unser, Jr.
held off second place Scott Goodyear
for the victory by 0.043 seconds, the closest finish in Indy history.
Cold temperatures and high winds turned the race into a crash-filled, marathon day, dominated by Michael Andretti
. Andretti led 160 laps and was 30 seconds in front when his fuel pump suddenly failed with eleven laps to go. The tone for the race was set early when pole position winner Roberto Guerrero
crashed on the pace lap. A race-record ten former winners started in the field. Thirteen cars were eliminated in crashes during the race, and several other serious wrecks occurred during practice.
Following the race, sweeping changes came about at the track, largely in the interest of safety. In addition, a noticeable "changing of the guard" followed, as the 1992 race signaled the final race for several Indy legends, including A. J. Foyt
, Rick Mears
, Tom Sneva
, and Gordon Johncock
.
ranks. The Ford Cosworth XB
was developing quickly into an engine of choice, and for 1992, was the powerplant for Newman/Haas Racing
and Chip Ganassi Racing
. For 1992, Ilmor
introduced an updated motor, badged the "Chevy-B," and it was fielded by Penske Racing
. The rest of the Chevrolet teams utilized the existing Ilmor, which was retronym
ically referred to as the "Chevy-A." Galles-Kraco Racing
unveiled their new in-house Galmer
chassis for 1992. Truesports
also fielded their own chassis for the second year in a row.
After much fanfare of a pending retirement in 1991, A. J. Foyt
brushed off the idea, and returned to the cockpit. He raced in the 1992 Daytona 500
, and entered as a driver for Indianapolis. It would be his record 35th consecutive Indy 500 start.
Team and driver switches for 1992 included most notably Bobby Rahal
and Danny Sullivan
, who swapped rides with each other at Galles-Kraco Racing
and Patrick Racing
respectively. In December, however, Pat Patrick
sold the assets of Patrick Racing to Rahal, and it became Rahal-Hogan Racing
. Rookie driver Paul Tracy
continued into his second year with Penske
, and was offered his first attempt at Indy.
During testing in March and April, King Racing
set the early pace. On March 28, Roberto Guerrero
became the first driver to run a test lap over 230 mph. Teammate Jim Crawford
also ran a 230 mph lap.
King Racing
teammates Jim Crawford
and Roberto Guerrero
quickly established themselves as the cars to beat during the first week of practice. The two drivers fielded a pair of Lola V-6 Buicks, an engine that many thought was finally beginning to show its potential after years of development. On opening day, Crawford broke the unofficial track record with a lap of 229.609 mph. Several rookies finished their rookie tests, including Paul Tracy
, Jimmy Vasser
, Lyn St. James
, and the most noteworthy of the rookies, former Formula One world champion Nelson Piquet
.
Sunday May 3
Fabrizio Barbazza
crashed in turn 1 midway through the day during a refresher test. he was not injured. Late in the day, Al Unser, Jr.
, driving the new Galmer
chassis, blew a motor. Michael Andretti
led the speed chart for the afternoon at 226.187 mph.
Monday May 4
Roberto Guerrero
upped the speed for the month, becoming the first driver to practice over 230 mph at the Speedway. His lap of 230.432 mph earling in the session, however, lasted only a couple hours. Teammate Jim Crawford
upped the speed, and by the end of the day, posted a 233.433 mph lap. Meanwhile, Nelson Piquet
was comfortably getting up to speed, running a top lap of 226.809 mph.
Tuesday May 5
Several incidents occurred on Tuesday, during a cool, windy day. Scott Brayton
, Buddy Lazier
, and Paul Tracy
each suffered separate spins/crashes. Rookie Lyn St. James
was finding speed difficult, running a 217.097 mph, her fastest lap of the month, nowhere near the top of the charts. Guerrero
continued King Racing
's dominance, turing in another 230 mph practice lap.
Wednesday May 6
Crawford
and Guerrero
led the speed chart once again, with Crawford over 233 mph for the second time. The biggest story of the day, however, was the massive crash by Rick Mears
. Late in the afternoon, Mears entered turn 2, and a fluid leak sprayed water over the back wheels. The car broke out into a spin, and he crashed hard into the wall in turn two. The car flipped over and slid upsidedown down the backstrech. Mears suffered a minor foot fracture and an injury to his wrist.
Thursday May 7
The second major crash in two days occurred, this time involving Nelson Piquet
. In turn four, Piquet's car did a reverse spin, and hit the wall head-on with the nose. Piquet suffered serious injuries to both legs, and was immediately admitted to the hospital for surgery. Piquet withdrew and would require nearly a year of rehabilitation. Guerrero
was back at the top of the speed chart, running his fastest of the month, 232.624 mph.
Friday May 8
The final day of practice before the run for the pole position saw four drivers over 231 mph. Mario Andretti
led the chart for the day, at 233.202 mph. Arie Luyendyk
was second, while Crawford
and Guerrero
were close behind. Al Unser, Sr.
was named as a replacement for Nelson Piquet
's entry, and Gary Bettenhausen
suffered damage when his engine blew, causing a lazy spin in turn 1.
Rain kept the cars off the track until noon, and persistent "weepers" plagued the rest of the afternoon. During the first practice session, Jim Crawford
's hopes for a pole position were set back when he blew an engine and spun.
Several yellows for wet spots on the track, and for debris dragged out the 60-minute practice session until 3:15 p.m. Roberto Guerrero
(232.090 mph) set the fastest practice lap of the day.
Qualifying finally began at 4 p.m. Arie Luyendyk
was the first car out, and he did not disappoint. He set a new one-lap track record of 229.305 mph, and grabbed the provisional pole position with a four-lap record of 229.127 mph. A hectic round of time trials followed, as drivers scrambled for their shot at qualifying before the 6 p.m. gun. At 4:50 p.m., Gary Bettenhausen
set a one-lap record of 229.317 mph, but his four-lap record was shy of the pole. Among the other drivers securing a starting position were Bobby Rahal
, Emerson Fittipaldi
, Paul Tracy
, and Al Unser, Jr.
. Scott Goodyear
also put a Walker Racing
team car in the field, taking a run of 219.054 mph.
At 5:34 p.m., Roberto Guerrero
took to the track. He set new all-time one- and four lap track records on his way to the pole position.
Following the run, Guerrero ran out of fuel, and stalled on the backstrech. The next car out to qualify was Danny Sullivan
, who had already left the pits. The resulting yellow light condition, halted qualifying for several minutes, and precipitated Sullivan to pull off the track and get back in line to qualify later.
After Guerrero was towed back to the pits, Rick Mears
took to the track, shaking off his accident earlier in the week. Mario Andretti
squeezed himself onto the front row, with one lap over 230 mph. A. J. Foyt
was the final car of the day. After three laps in the 226 mph range, the engine quit on the final lap, and Foyt aborted the run.
Since the original qualifying order had not yet exhausted before the 6 p.m. close, pole qualifying was to be extended into the next day. Among the cars still in line were Jim Crawford
, Michael Andretti
, Eddie Cheever
, and Danny Sullivan
, who could not get back in line in enough time after refueling.
Sunday May 10
With a handful of cars still eligible for the pole, Roberto Guerrero
was forced to wait through the night to see if his pole run would hold up. Teammate Jim Crawford
was still considered a threat, but another engine failure in the morning practice set the team back. Eddie Cheever
bumped his way into the front row with a 229.639 mph run. Michael Andretti
qualified for the second row.
Crawford's crew, scrambling to install a new motor, wheeled the car out to the pits yet unfinished, with parts in hand. Two crew members were actually sitting in the engine bay, working on it, as others pushed it pushed towards the qualifying line. They were unable to finish the engine work in time, and Crawford missed out on his chance for the pole position. Moments later Roberto Guerrero
was officially awarded the $100,000 PPG pole award.
Late in the day, the field filled to 27 cars. Al Unser, Sr.
, A. J. Foyt
, Raul Boesel
all made runs. Crawford
finally put his car in the field, but despite the 228.859 mph average (6th fastest overall), his status as a second day qualifier forced him to line up 21st.
A light day of activity saw Jeff Wood
and Jovy Marcelo
the fastest among non-qualified cars. Scott Pruett
did a light spin, but made no contact.
Tuesday May 12
Rain closed the track early at 2:25 p.m. Jovy Marcelo
was the fastest among non-qualified cars, at 216.534 mph.
Wednesday May 13
Increased activity was seen at the track. Lyn St. James
was still struggling in the 212 mph range in her Cosworth
. St. James' contract for Ford Motor Company
had prevented her from driving the more powerful Chevrolet so far during the month.
Thursday May 14
Ted Prappas
led the non-qualified cars at 221.212 mph. Dick Simon Racing
announced that an agreement had been made for Lyn St. James
to utilize Philippe Gache
's back up car, a Lola/Chevrolet. St. James was quickly over 218 mph.
Friday May 15
At 4:07 p.m., rookie Jovy Marcelo
went low in turn one, and spun into the outside wall. His car suffered major front end damage, and Marcelo was found unconscious. At 4:35 p.m., Marcelo was pronounced dead at Methodist Hospital
of a basal skull fracture. It was the first driver fatality at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway
since Gordon Smiley
in 1982. The final full day of practice, meanwhile, saw Tony Bettenhausen
run the fastest lap of the week for non-qualified cars, 221.033 mph. Didier Theys
was second at 220.146 mph in a John Andretti
back-up car.
The third day of time trials saw three cars added to the field. Tom Sneva
joined as a third driver for Menard Racing
, and Pancho Carter
's month came to an end when he broke his arm in a turn 2 crash.
Lyn St. James
ran her fastest laps of the month and became the second female driver to qualify for the Indianapolis 500. Her third lap of 220.902 mph was also a closed-course record for a female racing driver. Brian Bonner
and Mike Groff
(a teammate to Scott Goodyear
) also completed runs, filling the field to 30 cars. Tom Sneva
and Gordon Johncock
were among those who waved off attempts.
Sunday May 17
The final day of qualifying saw heavy track action. Several cars went out early on to qualify, but only Kenji Momota
and Dominic Dobson
finished their runs. At 2:45 p.m., in his third and final attempt, Tom Sneva
put his car safely in the field at 219.737 mph. At that point, the field was filled, with Jimmy Vasser
(218.268 mph) on the bubble.
At 3:50 p.m., Gordon Johncock
bumped Vasser, which put Kenji Momota
on the bubble. Vasser turned right around and re-qualified in a back-up car. Vasser's speed of 222.313 mph established him as the fastest rookie qualifier. The move put Scott Goodyear
(219.054 mph) on the bubble.
In the final hour, after showing promise during practice, Didier Theys
' third and final qualifying attempt ended with a blown engine. Likewise Tony Bettenhausen
could not get up to speed and waved off. With six minutes left until the 6 o'clock gun, Ted Prappas
took to the track. He bumped Scott Goodyear
out by 0.089 seconds. Johnny Rutherford made one last futile attempt to qualify, but was too slow to bump his way in.
(#30/#42) - practiced, but did not make a qualifying attempt Tony Bettenhausen, Jr.
(#16/#61) - too slow Pancho Carter
(#81) - wrecked in practice; suffered broken arm Mark Dismore
(#66/#93) - too slow Mike Groff
(#17) - qualified 26th, but turned the car over to teammate Scott Goodyear
Jovy Marcelo
(#50) - wrecked practice; fatally injured Hiro Matsushita
(#11) - wrecked in practice; suffered broken leg Kenji Momota
(#88) - bumped Johnny Parsons
(#30) - too slow Johnny Rutherford
(#17) - too slow Didier Theys
(#38) - blew an engine during qualifying Nelson Piquet
(#27) - wrecked in practice; suffered serious leg injuries
announced that Scott Goodyear
would replace Mike Groff
in the team's qualified car. Goodyear, the team's primary driver, was bumped on the final day of time trials. The switch required the #15 car to be moved to the rear of the field, and Goodyear would start 33rd on race day.
The final practice session saw the Ford Cosworth drivers take the top speeds. Bobby Rahal
was the fastest Chevrolet driver, and polesitter Roberto Guerrero
was only 5th fastest. Al Unser, Jr.
practiced a disappointing 25th speed rank. No incidents were reported.
Later in the afternoon, Rahal-Hogan Racing
with driver Bobby Rahal
won the Miller Genuine Draft Pit Stop Contest.
entered the Indianapolis
area the evening before the race, bringing misty rain and cold temperatures. Race morning dawned at 50°F, with a windchill of 36° Mary F. Hulman
gave the starting command at 10:51 a.m., and the pace car, driven by Bobby Unser
led the field on the way to the first parade lap. John Paul, Jr.
's car suffered a mechanical failure on the starting grid, but at the last minute, he hastily pulled away to join the field. The cold weather made for precarious conditions for the drivers, as it would be increasingly difficult to warm up the slick tires.
As the field entered the backstrech on the second parade lap, polesitter Roberto Guerrero
gunned his machine to warm up the tires, but the back end whipped around, and the car spun into the inside wall. The suspension was damaged enough that he could not continue, and he was out of the race before the green flag. Moments later, Philippe Gache
lost control on cold tires, and spun lazily into the apron of turn 4. The incidents delayed the start by five minutes.
Without the polesitter in the race, second place starter Eddie Cheever
was charged with leading the field to the green flag. In turn one, Michael
and Mario Andretti
split Cheever on the inside and outside and took the lead. Michael Andretti
blistered the track to set a new record for the first lap at 210.339 mph. After only four laps of green flag racing, however, Eric Bachelart
blew an engine, and brought out the yellow.
lost control with cold tires, and crashed hard into the outside wall. A long caution followed to clean up the debris. On lap 21, the race finally got going, with Michael Andretti
the early and dominating leader.
A fairly long strech of green flag racing saw Andretti
starting to lap the field up through 12th place. Andretti was running race laps in the high 220 mph range. Andretti was being chased primarily by Arie Luyendyk
, Scott Brayton
and Eddie Cheever
. Mario Andretti
, however, required an unscheduled pit stop to cure an electrical problem. By lap 60, Andretti
held a 30-second lead, and only three cars were on the lead lap. The average speed at lap 60 had climbed to 161.458 mph
's blistering pace was halted on lap 62 when Gordon Johncock
blew an engine. The caution bunched the field for a restart on lap 67. Moments after the green, rookie Philippe Gache
spun and hit the outside wall. The car slid into the path of Stan Fox
, and Fox plowed into the wreck. The crash was blamed on cold tires, and Gache's inexperience.
The green came back out on lap 75. In turn one, Jim Crawford
lost control, and collected Rick Mears
. Both cars crashed hard into the outside wall. Further up the track, Emerson Fittipaldi
slammed into the outside wall. All three drivers were sent to Methodist Hospital
for relatively minor injuries.
On lap 84, the green came out once again, but as the field headed down the mainstrech, Mario Andretti
crashed in turn four. The car lost the back end due to cold tires, and slammed nose-first hard into the wall. Andretti
went to Methodist Hospital
with broken toes.
The green came back out on lap 90, but was short-lived when Scott Brayton
blew an engine on lap 94. The caution was followed by another when Paul Tracy
also blew an engine on lap 97, and Jimmy Vasser
subsequently smacked the wall in turn one. The field went back to green on lap 103, but cold tires struck again, as rookie Brian Bonner
lost control and crashed in turn 4.
The field restarted on lap 110, and appeared to safely circulate the track. Five laps later, a major crash occurred. Jeff Andretti
's car broke a wheel hub in turn two. The car immediately turned around, and Jeff Andretti crashed head-on into the wall near the Turn Two Suites. The front of the car was demolished, and Andretti suffered severe leg injuries. Gary Bettenhausen
ran over some debris, and was also caught up in the crash. It took 18 minutes to extracate Jeff Andretti from the car, and he was immediately transported to Methodist Hospital
for surgery. Meanwhile, Jeff's older brother Michael Andretti
was still leading. Michael, however, had just seem both his father and brother crash and be sent to the hospital.
From lap 62-122, only nine laps of green flag racing were turned in. Eight cautions slowed the race for almost 90 minutes. The race finally got back underway at lap 123.
took over where he had left off, and pulled away from the competition. The dwindling field was down to 17 cars, and six were on the lead lap. Among the cars still in contention were Ganassi
teammates Cheever
and Luyendyk
. Al Unser, Jr.
and Al Unser, Sr.
had moved up into the top five, and Scott Goodyear
had climbed from last starting position to the last car on the lead lap (6th place). A. J. Foyt
had worked his way into the top 10, and Lyn St. James
was the only rookie left running by lap 135.
On lap 137, Arie Luyendyk
attempted to lap A. J. Foyt
, but Foyt had lost a mirror and did not see him. Luyendyk got into the "marbles," and slid up into the turn 4 wall.
The green resumed on lap 144, with Al Unser, Jr.
in the lead after a sequence of pit stops. Michael Andretti
charged towards the front, but Al Unser, Sr.
passed him for second momentarily. The dicing was halted when Buddy Lazier
blew an engine and brought the yellow back out.
With 50 laps to go, only 15 cars were running, and only five cars were on the lead lap.
once again, began to easily pull away from his competitors. On the 166th lap, he ran a record race lap of 229.118 mph, en route to a 15-second lead.
On laps 171-177, the field began circulating through a series of green-flag pit stops. It would be the final stops of the day. During the sequence, Al Unser, Sr.
passed his son Al, Jr.
and led for four laps. After the field shuffled through their stops, Michael Andretti
was back in the lead, by 23 seconds.
With the majority of crashes happening in turn 4, the safety crews had an extensive workout for the entire race. They were rewarded with a standing ovation from the grandstands after what turned out to be the final wreck of the day.
held a 28-second lead of Scott Goodyear
. A lap later, Al Unser, Jr.
passed Goodyear for second place. On lap 189, Michael Andretti
pulled alongside Al Unser, Sr.
and put him a lap down in turn two. Down the backstretch, however, Andretti suddenly began to slow. His fuel pump had failed, and the car coasted to a stop in the north short chute. Andretti had dominated the entire race, and had led 160 of the first 189 laps.
Al Unser, Jr.
suddenly inherited the lead, with Scott Goodyear
right behind in second. The caution came out for Andretti's stalled car, and the field bunched up for a late-race restart.
With 7 laps to go, the green flag came out, and the race was down to a tense two-man battle between Al Unser, Jr.
and Scott Goodyear
. With four laps to go, Unser held a 0.3-second lead. The cars battled nose-to-tail around the entire track, with the savvy Unser holding Goodyear off thus far. On the final lap, Goodyear drafted Unser down the backstretch, and tucked closely behind through the final turn. Out of the final turn, Goodyear zig-zagged behind Unser, and dove his nose inside over the final few hundred yards. Goodyear pulled alongside, but Unser held him off officially by 0.043 seconds, the closest finish in Indy 500 history.
Al Unser, Sr.
edged out Eddie Cheever
for third place. A. J. Foyt
brought his car home in 9th, while John Paul, Jr.
, who nursed his car all day with a broken fuel cable, avoided all the crashes to finish 10th. Lyn St. James
clinched the rookie of the year award, as she was the only rookie left running, in 11th place.
's charge from 33rd place to second marked the second time a driver had done so in Indy history. The winning margin of Unser over Goodyear was later deemed to be closer than published. Unser's Galmer
-Chevrolet
placed its timing transponder nose of the car rather than the sidepod, the standard location in all the other cars. Goodyear's Lola lagged behind due to its placement of the transponder in the sidepod. USAC officials estimated an unofficial winning margin of 0.0331 seconds.
The exciting finish of the 1992 Indy 500 was largely overshadowed by the vast number of serious crashes during the month, including the fatal crash of Jovy Marcelo
and the devastating injures suffered by Nelson Piquet
and Jeff Andretti
. The crash-filled race saw 13 cautions for 85 laps, and the slowest average speed since 1958
. Several drivers spent time in the hospital, while others required lengthy rehabilitation. At the next Indy Car race at Detroit, several drivers required substitute drivers, including Mario Andretti
, Rick Mears
, Hiro Matsushita
.
In the aftermath of his serious practice crash, followed by the crash during the race, Rick Mears
raced only a partial schedule for the remainder of the 1992 season. He dropped out of the Michigan 500 due to the nagging injured wrist he suffered in his practice crash and abruptly retired from driving in December. The 1992 race was also the final start for A. J. Foyt
, who would retire from the cockpit before the 1993 race.
Michael Andretti
's failure to achieve victory reflected back to the Andretti Curse
. Andretti would not return to Indy for two years, due to his ill-fated 1993 Formula One participation.
During the summer of 1992, the track would be reconfigured for safety reasons. The apron at the bottom of the track was removed and replaced with a new warm up lane. The outside retaining wall was also replaced. These improvements were completed in time for the 1993 race
.
Three-time winner Johnny Rutherford
also attempted to qualify, but was too slow. With Al Unser, Jr.
a first-time winner, the field ultimately comprised 11 winners. In addition, Eddie Cheever
and Buddy Lazier
would eventually go on to win the race, bringing the winners total to 13 drivers (representing 26 victories) in the 1992 field.
Indianapolis Motor Speedway Radio Network
" Al Unser, Jr. has the lead, one more turn to go...here they come, coming to the finish line, Bob Jenkins
, who's gonna win it?!"
"The checkered flag is out...Goodyear makes a move!...Little Al wins by just a few tenths of a second!...perhaps the closest finish in the history of the Indianapolis 500
!"
"I believe that's the closest finish in Indy history, closer than the race ten years ago when Gordon Johncock beat Rick Mears!"
"Ten years ago, when Little Al was new to this track...And now, Al Unser, Jr. is a winner at the Indianapolis 500..."
Indianapolis Motor Speedway
The Indianapolis Motor Speedway, located in Speedway, Indiana in the United States, is the home of the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race and the Brickyard 400....
on Sunday, May 24, 1992. The race is famous for the fierce battle in the closing laps, as race winner Al Unser, Jr.
Al Unser, Jr.
Alfred Unser, Jr. , nicknamed "Little Al", "Al Junior" or simply "Junior" is a retired American race car driver and two-time Indianapolis 500 winner.-History:...
held off second place Scott Goodyear
Scott Goodyear
Scott Goodyear is a former race car driver from Newmarket, Ontario, Canada. Goodyear ran the IRL and Champ Car series during his career from 1987, winning the Michigan 500 in 1992 and 1994...
for the victory by 0.043 seconds, the closest finish in Indy history.
Cold temperatures and high winds turned the race into a crash-filled, marathon day, dominated by Michael Andretti
Michael Andretti
Michael Mario Andretti is a retired American CART and Formula One driver and owner of the Andretti Autosport team in the IndyCar Series. Andretti is the son of Mario Andretti. His son is Marco Andretti.-Early career:...
. Andretti led 160 laps and was 30 seconds in front when his fuel pump suddenly failed with eleven laps to go. The tone for the race was set early when pole position winner Roberto Guerrero
Roberto Guerrero
Roberto José Guerrero Isaza is a former racing driver from Colombia. He participated in 29 Formula One Grands Prix, debuting on 23 January 1982...
crashed on the pace lap. A race-record ten former winners started in the field. Thirteen cars were eliminated in crashes during the race, and several other serious wrecks occurred during practice.
Following the race, sweeping changes came about at the track, largely in the interest of safety. In addition, a noticeable "changing of the guard" followed, as the 1992 race signaled the final race for several Indy legends, including A. J. Foyt
A. J. Foyt
Anthony Joseph Foyt, Jr., or as he is universally known as in motorsports circles, A. J. Foyt , is a retired American automobile racing driver. He raced in numerous genres of motorsports. His open wheel racing includes USAC Champ cars and midget cars. He raced stock cars in NASCAR and USAC. He won...
, Rick Mears
Rick Mears
Rick Ravon Mears is a retired American race car driver. He is one of three men to have won the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race four times , and the current record-holder for pole positions in the race with six...
, Tom Sneva
Tom Sneva
Tom Sneva is a former Indy Car driver who was named to the prestigious Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 2005. Sneva is best remembered for winning the 1983 Indianapolis 500. Nicknamed "The Gas Man," Sneva was an outstanding qualifier, winning the pole position for the Indianapolis 500 three...
, and Gordon Johncock
Gordon Johncock
Gordon Johncock is a former racing driver, best known as a two-time winner of the Indianapolis 500 and the 1976 USAC Marlboro Championship Trail champion. Johncock was most often simply referred to as "Gordy."...
.
Offseason and testing
A busy offseason began at the conclusion of the 1991 PPG Indy Car World Series. The biggest announcement was the return of Ford to the IndyCarAmerican Championship Car Racing
Since 1916 there has been a recognized United States national automobile racing National Championship for drivers of professional-level, single-seat open wheel race cars. The championship has been under the auspices of several different sanctioning bodies since 1909. Since 1911, the Indianapolis...
ranks. The Ford Cosworth XB
Cosworth
Cosworth is a high performance engineering company founded in London in 1958, specialising in engines and electronics for automobile racing , mainstream automotive and defence industries...
was developing quickly into an engine of choice, and for 1992, was the powerplant for Newman/Haas Racing
Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing
Newman/Haas Racing was a motor racing team competing in the IndyCar Series. The team operations were based in Lincolnshire, Illinois. Newman/Haas Racing was formed when actor Paul Newman and long-time racer Carl Haas, competitors in the Can-Am championship, each began looking to Champ Car racing...
and Chip Ganassi Racing
Chip Ganassi Racing
Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates is an automotive racing organization with teams competing in the IZOD IndyCar Series and the Rolex Sports Car Series. It is owned by businessmen Chip Ganassi and Felix Sabates. They have won 4 Champ Car, 3 Indy Racing League and 1 Grand-Am championships...
. For 1992, Ilmor
Ilmor
Ilmor, founded by Mario Illien and Paul Morgan in November 1983, is a British independent high-performance autosport engineering company. With manufacturing based in Brixworth, Northamptonshire, and maintenance offices in Plymouth, Michigan, the company supplies engines and consultancy to the...
introduced an updated motor, badged the "Chevy-B," and it was fielded by Penske Racing
Penske Racing
Penske Racing is a racing team that competes in the IndyCar Series and NASCAR. They also previously competed in road racing, and Formula One. Penske Racing is a division of Penske Corporation, and is owned and chaired by Roger Penske...
. The rest of the Chevrolet teams utilized the existing Ilmor, which was retronym
Retronym
A retronym is a type of neologism that provides a new name for an object or concept to differentiate the original form or version of it from a more recent form or version. The original name is most often augmented with an adjective to account for later developments of the object or concept itself...
ically referred to as the "Chevy-A." Galles-Kraco Racing
Galles Racing
Galles Racing is a former auto racing team owned by Rick Galles that competed in the CART series, Can-Am and Indy Racing League, winning the 1990 CART Championship and 1992 Indianapolis 500 with driver Al Unser, Jr..-Early years:...
unveiled their new in-house Galmer
Galmer
Galmer was an American racecar manufacturer that built cars used from 1992 through 1993 in CART competition and the Indianapolis 500. The cars were commissioned by the Galles Racing team...
chassis for 1992. Truesports
Truesports
Truesports was an automobile racing team founded by Jim Trueman based in Hilliard, Ohio. The team is best known for winning the 1986 Indianapolis 500 and back-to-back CART championships in 1986 and 1987....
also fielded their own chassis for the second year in a row.
After much fanfare of a pending retirement in 1991, A. J. Foyt
A. J. Foyt
Anthony Joseph Foyt, Jr., or as he is universally known as in motorsports circles, A. J. Foyt , is a retired American automobile racing driver. He raced in numerous genres of motorsports. His open wheel racing includes USAC Champ cars and midget cars. He raced stock cars in NASCAR and USAC. He won...
brushed off the idea, and returned to the cockpit. He raced in the 1992 Daytona 500
Daytona 500
The Daytona 500 is a -long NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race held annually at the Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. It is one of four restrictor plate races on the Cup schedule....
, and entered as a driver for Indianapolis. It would be his record 35th consecutive Indy 500 start.
Team and driver switches for 1992 included most notably Bobby Rahal
Bobby Rahal
Robert "Bobby" Woodward Rahal is an American auto racing driver and team owner. As a driver, he won three championships and 24 races in the CART open-wheel series, including the 1986 Indianapolis 500...
and Danny Sullivan
Danny Sullivan
Daniel John "Danny" Sullivan III is a former racing driver from the United States. He is best known for winning the 1985 Indianapolis 500.-Before racing:...
, who swapped rides with each other at Galles-Kraco Racing
Galles Racing
Galles Racing is a former auto racing team owned by Rick Galles that competed in the CART series, Can-Am and Indy Racing League, winning the 1990 CART Championship and 1992 Indianapolis 500 with driver Al Unser, Jr..-Early years:...
and Patrick Racing
Patrick Racing
Patrick Racing was an auto racing team in both Champ Car and the Indy Racing League.Patrick Racing was started by Pat Patrick with the formation of CART in 1978. Patrick Racing would win three Indianapolis 500s and two CART championships, making it one of the most successful CART teams ever.In...
respectively. In December, however, Pat Patrick
U. E. Patrick
Ueal Eugene Patrick, nicknamed "Pat", is the founder and owner of Patrick Racing, a team that raced in Champ Cars and the Indy Racing League. Pat was also one of the founding members of CART in 1978 and the Indy Lights series in 1986. In addition, he was founder of Patrick Petroleum in the...
sold the assets of Patrick Racing to Rahal, and it became Rahal-Hogan Racing
Rahal Letterman Racing
Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing is an auto racing team that currently races in the American Le Mans Series and part–time in the IndyCar Series. Based in Hilliard, Ohio, it is co–owned by 1986 Indianapolis 500 winner Bobby Rahal, television talk show host David Letterman, and businessman Mike...
. Rookie driver Paul Tracy
Paul Tracy
Paul Tracy is a professional automobile racer who has competed in CART, the ChampCar World Series and the IndyCar Series...
continued into his second year with Penske
Penske Racing
Penske Racing is a racing team that competes in the IndyCar Series and NASCAR. They also previously competed in road racing, and Formula One. Penske Racing is a division of Penske Corporation, and is owned and chaired by Roger Penske...
, and was offered his first attempt at Indy.
During testing in March and April, King Racing
King Racing
King Racing was the name of famed NHRA champion Kenny Bernstein's racing team which fielded cars in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series as well as in CART and the Indianapolis 500.-NASCAR:...
set the early pace. On March 28, Roberto Guerrero
Roberto Guerrero
Roberto José Guerrero Isaza is a former racing driver from Colombia. He participated in 29 Formula One Grands Prix, debuting on 23 January 1982...
became the first driver to run a test lap over 230 mph. Teammate Jim Crawford
Jim Crawford (driver)
Jim Crawford was a Scottish racing driver. He first came to the racing community's notice when he borrowed Stephen Choularton's Lotus 69 and won on his first outing at Croft Racing Track in the North East of England...
also ran a 230 mph lap.
Practice - week 1
Saturday May 2King Racing
King Racing
King Racing was the name of famed NHRA champion Kenny Bernstein's racing team which fielded cars in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series as well as in CART and the Indianapolis 500.-NASCAR:...
teammates Jim Crawford
Jim Crawford (driver)
Jim Crawford was a Scottish racing driver. He first came to the racing community's notice when he borrowed Stephen Choularton's Lotus 69 and won on his first outing at Croft Racing Track in the North East of England...
and Roberto Guerrero
Roberto Guerrero
Roberto José Guerrero Isaza is a former racing driver from Colombia. He participated in 29 Formula One Grands Prix, debuting on 23 January 1982...
quickly established themselves as the cars to beat during the first week of practice. The two drivers fielded a pair of Lola V-6 Buicks, an engine that many thought was finally beginning to show its potential after years of development. On opening day, Crawford broke the unofficial track record with a lap of 229.609 mph. Several rookies finished their rookie tests, including Paul Tracy
Paul Tracy
Paul Tracy is a professional automobile racer who has competed in CART, the ChampCar World Series and the IndyCar Series...
, Jimmy Vasser
Jimmy Vasser
Jimmy Vasser is a retired American racing driver and current co-owner of KV Racing Technology. Vasser won the 1996 IndyCar season championship with Chip Ganassi Racing, and scored ten victories in the series...
, Lyn St. James
Lyn St. James
Lyn St. James is a retired professional IndyCar driver with 8 CART and 5 Indy Racing League starts to her name. She is just one of seven women who successfully qualified for the Indianapolis 500, and became the first woman to win the Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year award...
, and the most noteworthy of the rookies, former Formula One world champion Nelson Piquet
Nelson Piquet
Nelson Piquet Souto Maior , known as Nelson Piquet, is a Brazilian former racing driver. He was Formula One world champion in , and . He is one of eight drivers to win three or more world championships, the others being Jack Brabham, Jackie Stewart, Niki Lauda, Ayrton Senna , Alain Prost , Juan...
.
Sunday May 3
Fabrizio Barbazza
Fabrizio Barbazza
Fabrizio Barbazza is an Italian former Formula One driver who raced for the AGS and Minardi teams.-Career:...
crashed in turn 1 midway through the day during a refresher test. he was not injured. Late in the day, Al Unser, Jr.
Al Unser, Jr.
Alfred Unser, Jr. , nicknamed "Little Al", "Al Junior" or simply "Junior" is a retired American race car driver and two-time Indianapolis 500 winner.-History:...
, driving the new Galmer
Galmer
Galmer was an American racecar manufacturer that built cars used from 1992 through 1993 in CART competition and the Indianapolis 500. The cars were commissioned by the Galles Racing team...
chassis, blew a motor. Michael Andretti
Michael Andretti
Michael Mario Andretti is a retired American CART and Formula One driver and owner of the Andretti Autosport team in the IndyCar Series. Andretti is the son of Mario Andretti. His son is Marco Andretti.-Early career:...
led the speed chart for the afternoon at 226.187 mph.
Monday May 4
Roberto Guerrero
Roberto Guerrero
Roberto José Guerrero Isaza is a former racing driver from Colombia. He participated in 29 Formula One Grands Prix, debuting on 23 January 1982...
upped the speed for the month, becoming the first driver to practice over 230 mph at the Speedway. His lap of 230.432 mph earling in the session, however, lasted only a couple hours. Teammate Jim Crawford
Jim Crawford (driver)
Jim Crawford was a Scottish racing driver. He first came to the racing community's notice when he borrowed Stephen Choularton's Lotus 69 and won on his first outing at Croft Racing Track in the North East of England...
upped the speed, and by the end of the day, posted a 233.433 mph lap. Meanwhile, Nelson Piquet
Nelson Piquet
Nelson Piquet Souto Maior , known as Nelson Piquet, is a Brazilian former racing driver. He was Formula One world champion in , and . He is one of eight drivers to win three or more world championships, the others being Jack Brabham, Jackie Stewart, Niki Lauda, Ayrton Senna , Alain Prost , Juan...
was comfortably getting up to speed, running a top lap of 226.809 mph.
Tuesday May 5
Several incidents occurred on Tuesday, during a cool, windy day. Scott Brayton
Scott Brayton
Scott Everets Brayton was a race car driver from Coldwater, Michigan, on the American open-wheel circuit. He competed in 14 Indianapolis 500s, beginning with the 1981 event...
, Buddy Lazier
Buddy Lazier
Robert Buddy Lazier is an American Indycar driver. He won the 1996 Indianapolis 500 and has finished in the Top Ten in that race six times...
, and Paul Tracy
Paul Tracy
Paul Tracy is a professional automobile racer who has competed in CART, the ChampCar World Series and the IndyCar Series...
each suffered separate spins/crashes. Rookie Lyn St. James
Lyn St. James
Lyn St. James is a retired professional IndyCar driver with 8 CART and 5 Indy Racing League starts to her name. She is just one of seven women who successfully qualified for the Indianapolis 500, and became the first woman to win the Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year award...
was finding speed difficult, running a 217.097 mph, her fastest lap of the month, nowhere near the top of the charts. Guerrero
Roberto Guerrero
Roberto José Guerrero Isaza is a former racing driver from Colombia. He participated in 29 Formula One Grands Prix, debuting on 23 January 1982...
continued King Racing
King Racing
King Racing was the name of famed NHRA champion Kenny Bernstein's racing team which fielded cars in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series as well as in CART and the Indianapolis 500.-NASCAR:...
's dominance, turing in another 230 mph practice lap.
Wednesday May 6
Crawford
Jim Crawford (driver)
Jim Crawford was a Scottish racing driver. He first came to the racing community's notice when he borrowed Stephen Choularton's Lotus 69 and won on his first outing at Croft Racing Track in the North East of England...
and Guerrero
Roberto Guerrero
Roberto José Guerrero Isaza is a former racing driver from Colombia. He participated in 29 Formula One Grands Prix, debuting on 23 January 1982...
led the speed chart once again, with Crawford over 233 mph for the second time. The biggest story of the day, however, was the massive crash by Rick Mears
Rick Mears
Rick Ravon Mears is a retired American race car driver. He is one of three men to have won the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race four times , and the current record-holder for pole positions in the race with six...
. Late in the afternoon, Mears entered turn 2, and a fluid leak sprayed water over the back wheels. The car broke out into a spin, and he crashed hard into the wall in turn two. The car flipped over and slid upsidedown down the backstrech. Mears suffered a minor foot fracture and an injury to his wrist.
Thursday May 7
The second major crash in two days occurred, this time involving Nelson Piquet
Nelson Piquet
Nelson Piquet Souto Maior , known as Nelson Piquet, is a Brazilian former racing driver. He was Formula One world champion in , and . He is one of eight drivers to win three or more world championships, the others being Jack Brabham, Jackie Stewart, Niki Lauda, Ayrton Senna , Alain Prost , Juan...
. In turn four, Piquet's car did a reverse spin, and hit the wall head-on with the nose. Piquet suffered serious injuries to both legs, and was immediately admitted to the hospital for surgery. Piquet withdrew and would require nearly a year of rehabilitation. Guerrero
Roberto Guerrero
Roberto José Guerrero Isaza is a former racing driver from Colombia. He participated in 29 Formula One Grands Prix, debuting on 23 January 1982...
was back at the top of the speed chart, running his fastest of the month, 232.624 mph.
Friday May 8
The final day of practice before the run for the pole position saw four drivers over 231 mph. Mario Andretti
Mario Andretti
Mario Gabriele Andretti is a retired Italian American world champion racing driver, one of the most successful Americans in the history of the sport. He is one of only two drivers to win races in Formula One, IndyCar, World Sportscar Championship and NASCAR...
led the chart for the day, at 233.202 mph. Arie Luyendyk
Arie Luyendyk
Arie Luyendyk, originally Arie Luijendijk is a Dutch auto racing driver, twice winner of the Indianapolis 500....
was second, while Crawford
Jim Crawford (driver)
Jim Crawford was a Scottish racing driver. He first came to the racing community's notice when he borrowed Stephen Choularton's Lotus 69 and won on his first outing at Croft Racing Track in the North East of England...
and Guerrero
Roberto Guerrero
Roberto José Guerrero Isaza is a former racing driver from Colombia. He participated in 29 Formula One Grands Prix, debuting on 23 January 1982...
were close behind. Al Unser, Sr.
Al Unser
Alfred "Al" Unser is a former American automobile racing driver, the younger brother of fellow racing drivers Jerry and Bobby Unser, and father of Al Unser, Jr....
was named as a replacement for Nelson Piquet
Nelson Piquet
Nelson Piquet Souto Maior , known as Nelson Piquet, is a Brazilian former racing driver. He was Formula One world champion in , and . He is one of eight drivers to win three or more world championships, the others being Jack Brabham, Jackie Stewart, Niki Lauda, Ayrton Senna , Alain Prost , Juan...
's entry, and Gary Bettenhausen
Gary Bettenhausen
Gary Bettenhausen is a retired American auto racing driver. He was born in Blue Island, Illinois, raised in Tinley Park, Illinois, and currently resides in Monrovia, Indiana.-Racing family:...
suffered damage when his engine blew, causing a lazy spin in turn 1.
Time trials - weekend 1
Saturday May 9Rain kept the cars off the track until noon, and persistent "weepers" plagued the rest of the afternoon. During the first practice session, Jim Crawford
Jim Crawford (driver)
Jim Crawford was a Scottish racing driver. He first came to the racing community's notice when he borrowed Stephen Choularton's Lotus 69 and won on his first outing at Croft Racing Track in the North East of England...
's hopes for a pole position were set back when he blew an engine and spun.
Several yellows for wet spots on the track, and for debris dragged out the 60-minute practice session until 3:15 p.m. Roberto Guerrero
Roberto Guerrero
Roberto José Guerrero Isaza is a former racing driver from Colombia. He participated in 29 Formula One Grands Prix, debuting on 23 January 1982...
(232.090 mph) set the fastest practice lap of the day.
Qualifying finally began at 4 p.m. Arie Luyendyk
Arie Luyendyk
Arie Luyendyk, originally Arie Luijendijk is a Dutch auto racing driver, twice winner of the Indianapolis 500....
was the first car out, and he did not disappoint. He set a new one-lap track record of 229.305 mph, and grabbed the provisional pole position with a four-lap record of 229.127 mph. A hectic round of time trials followed, as drivers scrambled for their shot at qualifying before the 6 p.m. gun. At 4:50 p.m., Gary Bettenhausen
Gary Bettenhausen
Gary Bettenhausen is a retired American auto racing driver. He was born in Blue Island, Illinois, raised in Tinley Park, Illinois, and currently resides in Monrovia, Indiana.-Racing family:...
set a one-lap record of 229.317 mph, but his four-lap record was shy of the pole. Among the other drivers securing a starting position were Bobby Rahal
Bobby Rahal
Robert "Bobby" Woodward Rahal is an American auto racing driver and team owner. As a driver, he won three championships and 24 races in the CART open-wheel series, including the 1986 Indianapolis 500...
, Emerson Fittipaldi
Emerson Fittipaldi
Emerson Fittipaldi |São Paulo]], Brazil) is a Brazilian automobile racing driver who throughout a long and successful career won the Indianapolis 500 twice and championships in both Formula One and CART.-Early and personal life:...
, Paul Tracy
Paul Tracy
Paul Tracy is a professional automobile racer who has competed in CART, the ChampCar World Series and the IndyCar Series...
, and Al Unser, Jr.
Al Unser, Jr.
Alfred Unser, Jr. , nicknamed "Little Al", "Al Junior" or simply "Junior" is a retired American race car driver and two-time Indianapolis 500 winner.-History:...
. Scott Goodyear
Scott Goodyear
Scott Goodyear is a former race car driver from Newmarket, Ontario, Canada. Goodyear ran the IRL and Champ Car series during his career from 1987, winning the Michigan 500 in 1992 and 1994...
also put a Walker Racing
Walker Racing
Walker Racing is a racing team founded by Derrick Walker in 1991 racing originally in the CART Championship Car series. Presently the team competes in the Firestone Indy Lights series.-Early success:...
team car in the field, taking a run of 219.054 mph.
At 5:34 p.m., Roberto Guerrero
Roberto Guerrero
Roberto José Guerrero Isaza is a former racing driver from Colombia. He participated in 29 Formula One Grands Prix, debuting on 23 January 1982...
took to the track. He set new all-time one- and four lap track records on his way to the pole position.
- Lap 1 - 38.762 seconds, 232.186 mph (new 1-lap track record)
- Lap 2 - 38.707 seconds, 232.516 mph (new 1-lap track record)
- Lap 3 - 38.690 seconds, 232.618 mph (new 1-lap track record)
- Lap 4 - 38.692 seconds, 232.606 mph
- Total - 2:34.851, 232.482 mph (new 4-lap track record)
Following the run, Guerrero ran out of fuel, and stalled on the backstrech. The next car out to qualify was Danny Sullivan
Danny Sullivan
Daniel John "Danny" Sullivan III is a former racing driver from the United States. He is best known for winning the 1985 Indianapolis 500.-Before racing:...
, who had already left the pits. The resulting yellow light condition, halted qualifying for several minutes, and precipitated Sullivan to pull off the track and get back in line to qualify later.
After Guerrero was towed back to the pits, Rick Mears
Rick Mears
Rick Ravon Mears is a retired American race car driver. He is one of three men to have won the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race four times , and the current record-holder for pole positions in the race with six...
took to the track, shaking off his accident earlier in the week. Mario Andretti
Mario Andretti
Mario Gabriele Andretti is a retired Italian American world champion racing driver, one of the most successful Americans in the history of the sport. He is one of only two drivers to win races in Formula One, IndyCar, World Sportscar Championship and NASCAR...
squeezed himself onto the front row, with one lap over 230 mph. A. J. Foyt
A. J. Foyt
Anthony Joseph Foyt, Jr., or as he is universally known as in motorsports circles, A. J. Foyt , is a retired American automobile racing driver. He raced in numerous genres of motorsports. His open wheel racing includes USAC Champ cars and midget cars. He raced stock cars in NASCAR and USAC. He won...
was the final car of the day. After three laps in the 226 mph range, the engine quit on the final lap, and Foyt aborted the run.
Since the original qualifying order had not yet exhausted before the 6 p.m. close, pole qualifying was to be extended into the next day. Among the cars still in line were Jim Crawford
Jim Crawford (driver)
Jim Crawford was a Scottish racing driver. He first came to the racing community's notice when he borrowed Stephen Choularton's Lotus 69 and won on his first outing at Croft Racing Track in the North East of England...
, Michael Andretti
Michael Andretti
Michael Mario Andretti is a retired American CART and Formula One driver and owner of the Andretti Autosport team in the IndyCar Series. Andretti is the son of Mario Andretti. His son is Marco Andretti.-Early career:...
, Eddie Cheever
Eddie Cheever
Edward "Eddie" McKay Cheever, Jr. is an American racing driver who raced for almost thirty years in Formula One, Sports cars, CART and the Indy Racing League. Cheever participated in 143 World Championship Formula One races and started 132, more than any other American, driving for nine different...
, and Danny Sullivan
Danny Sullivan
Daniel John "Danny" Sullivan III is a former racing driver from the United States. He is best known for winning the 1985 Indianapolis 500.-Before racing:...
, who could not get back in line in enough time after refueling.
Sunday May 10
With a handful of cars still eligible for the pole, Roberto Guerrero
Roberto Guerrero
Roberto José Guerrero Isaza is a former racing driver from Colombia. He participated in 29 Formula One Grands Prix, debuting on 23 January 1982...
was forced to wait through the night to see if his pole run would hold up. Teammate Jim Crawford
Jim Crawford (driver)
Jim Crawford was a Scottish racing driver. He first came to the racing community's notice when he borrowed Stephen Choularton's Lotus 69 and won on his first outing at Croft Racing Track in the North East of England...
was still considered a threat, but another engine failure in the morning practice set the team back. Eddie Cheever
Eddie Cheever
Edward "Eddie" McKay Cheever, Jr. is an American racing driver who raced for almost thirty years in Formula One, Sports cars, CART and the Indy Racing League. Cheever participated in 143 World Championship Formula One races and started 132, more than any other American, driving for nine different...
bumped his way into the front row with a 229.639 mph run. Michael Andretti
Michael Andretti
Michael Mario Andretti is a retired American CART and Formula One driver and owner of the Andretti Autosport team in the IndyCar Series. Andretti is the son of Mario Andretti. His son is Marco Andretti.-Early career:...
qualified for the second row.
Crawford's crew, scrambling to install a new motor, wheeled the car out to the pits yet unfinished, with parts in hand. Two crew members were actually sitting in the engine bay, working on it, as others pushed it pushed towards the qualifying line. They were unable to finish the engine work in time, and Crawford missed out on his chance for the pole position. Moments later Roberto Guerrero
Roberto Guerrero
Roberto José Guerrero Isaza is a former racing driver from Colombia. He participated in 29 Formula One Grands Prix, debuting on 23 January 1982...
was officially awarded the $100,000 PPG pole award.
Late in the day, the field filled to 27 cars. Al Unser, Sr.
Al Unser
Alfred "Al" Unser is a former American automobile racing driver, the younger brother of fellow racing drivers Jerry and Bobby Unser, and father of Al Unser, Jr....
, A. J. Foyt
A. J. Foyt
Anthony Joseph Foyt, Jr., or as he is universally known as in motorsports circles, A. J. Foyt , is a retired American automobile racing driver. He raced in numerous genres of motorsports. His open wheel racing includes USAC Champ cars and midget cars. He raced stock cars in NASCAR and USAC. He won...
, Raul Boesel
Raul Boesel
Raul de Mesquita Boesel is a former racing driver who raced for the March and Ligier Formula One teams and later raced in Champ Car and the Indy Racing League.He won the 1987 World Sportscar Championship and the 1988 24 Hours of Daytona...
all made runs. Crawford
Jim Crawford (driver)
Jim Crawford was a Scottish racing driver. He first came to the racing community's notice when he borrowed Stephen Choularton's Lotus 69 and won on his first outing at Croft Racing Track in the North East of England...
finally put his car in the field, but despite the 228.859 mph average (6th fastest overall), his status as a second day qualifier forced him to line up 21st.
Practice - week 2
Monday May 11A light day of activity saw Jeff Wood
Jeff Wood (auto racer)
Jeff Wood is an American former race car driver born in Wichita, Kansas. He was Formula Atlantic Rookie of the Year in 1977. He drove in the CanAm series for Carl Haas in 1981 and finished 5th in the series behind Danny Sullivan. In 1982, driving for Bob Garnetson Racing, finished 3rd place in the...
and Jovy Marcelo
Jovy Marcelo
Edward Jovy Marcelo was a Filipino race car driver from Quezon City, Philippines, who was killed in practice for the 1992 Indianapolis 500....
the fastest among non-qualified cars. Scott Pruett
Scott Pruett
Scott Donald Pruett is an American race car driver who has competed in NASCAR, Champ Car, IMSA, Trans-Am and Grand-Am. He and his wife Judy have three children, and are children's book authors....
did a light spin, but made no contact.
Tuesday May 12
Rain closed the track early at 2:25 p.m. Jovy Marcelo
Jovy Marcelo
Edward Jovy Marcelo was a Filipino race car driver from Quezon City, Philippines, who was killed in practice for the 1992 Indianapolis 500....
was the fastest among non-qualified cars, at 216.534 mph.
Wednesday May 13
Increased activity was seen at the track. Lyn St. James
Lyn St. James
Lyn St. James is a retired professional IndyCar driver with 8 CART and 5 Indy Racing League starts to her name. She is just one of seven women who successfully qualified for the Indianapolis 500, and became the first woman to win the Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year award...
was still struggling in the 212 mph range in her Cosworth
Cosworth
Cosworth is a high performance engineering company founded in London in 1958, specialising in engines and electronics for automobile racing , mainstream automotive and defence industries...
. St. James' contract for Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK...
had prevented her from driving the more powerful Chevrolet so far during the month.
Thursday May 14
Ted Prappas
Ted Prappas
Ted Prappas , is a former driver in the CART Championship Car series. He raced in the 1991-1992 seasons with 26 career starts, including the 1992 Indianapolis 500. He finished in the top ten 4 times and his best career finish was in 6th position at the 1991 Grand Prix of Long Beach...
led the non-qualified cars at 221.212 mph. Dick Simon Racing
Dick Simon Racing
Dick Simon Racing was a race team owned by racer Dick Simon that competed in the CART Championship Car series from 1983 to 1995 and the Indy Racing League from 1999 to 2001.-CART:...
announced that an agreement had been made for Lyn St. James
Lyn St. James
Lyn St. James is a retired professional IndyCar driver with 8 CART and 5 Indy Racing League starts to her name. She is just one of seven women who successfully qualified for the Indianapolis 500, and became the first woman to win the Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year award...
to utilize Philippe Gache
Philippe Gache
Philippe Gache is a French racecar driver. He has raced in a number of disciplines, but for the last 20 years has specialized in off-road racing. In 1992 he competed in the Indianapolis 500, but crashed his car. He has driven in the Dakar Rally in 2003-2006 and 7 times in the 24 Hours of Le Mans...
's back up car, a Lola/Chevrolet. St. James was quickly over 218 mph.
Friday May 15
At 4:07 p.m., rookie Jovy Marcelo
Jovy Marcelo
Edward Jovy Marcelo was a Filipino race car driver from Quezon City, Philippines, who was killed in practice for the 1992 Indianapolis 500....
went low in turn one, and spun into the outside wall. His car suffered major front end damage, and Marcelo was found unconscious. At 4:35 p.m., Marcelo was pronounced dead at Methodist Hospital
Methodist Hospital of Indianapolis
Methodist Hospital of Indianapolis is a hospital part of Indiana University Health, located in Indianapolis, state of Indiana, United States. It is the largest hospital in the state of Indiana and one of only two regional Level I Trauma Centers in the state...
of a basal skull fracture. It was the first driver fatality at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Indianapolis Motor Speedway
The Indianapolis Motor Speedway, located in Speedway, Indiana in the United States, is the home of the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race and the Brickyard 400....
since Gordon Smiley
Gordon Smiley
Gordon Eugene Smiley was an American race car driver from Omaha, Nebraska who was killed in a single-car crash at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. He was inducted into the Nebraska Auto Racing Hall of Fame in 2000....
in 1982. The final full day of practice, meanwhile, saw Tony Bettenhausen
Tony Bettenhausen
Melvin E. "Tony" Bettenhausen was an American racing driver, who won the National Championship in 1951 and 1958....
run the fastest lap of the week for non-qualified cars, 221.033 mph. Didier Theys
Didier Theys
Didier Theys is an Belgian sports car driver. He is a two-time overall winner of the 24 Hours of Daytona ; a winner of the 12 Hours of Sebring ; the Sports Racing Prototype driver champion of the Grand-American Road Racing Association and the winner of the 24 Hours of Spa...
was second at 220.146 mph in a John Andretti
John Andretti
John Andretti is an American race car driver. He has won in CART, IMSA GTP, Rolex Sports Car Series and NASCAR. He was the last NASCAR driver to win a Cup race for the famous Petty Enterprises team.-Andretti family:...
back-up car.
Time trials - weekend 2
Saturday May 16The third day of time trials saw three cars added to the field. Tom Sneva
Tom Sneva
Tom Sneva is a former Indy Car driver who was named to the prestigious Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 2005. Sneva is best remembered for winning the 1983 Indianapolis 500. Nicknamed "The Gas Man," Sneva was an outstanding qualifier, winning the pole position for the Indianapolis 500 three...
joined as a third driver for Menard Racing
Team Menard
Team Menard was an auto racing team in the Indianapolis 500 and Indy Racing League owned by John Menard. From 1991 to 1996 they modified their own Buick V6 engines for racing. This combination won pole for the 500 with Scott Brayton in 1995 and 1996; Tony Stewart used this combination for the first...
, and Pancho Carter
Pancho Carter
Duane "Pancho" Carter, Jr. is a retired American race car driver. He is most famous for his participation in CART races.-Background:...
's month came to an end when he broke his arm in a turn 2 crash.
Lyn St. James
Lyn St. James
Lyn St. James is a retired professional IndyCar driver with 8 CART and 5 Indy Racing League starts to her name. She is just one of seven women who successfully qualified for the Indianapolis 500, and became the first woman to win the Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year award...
ran her fastest laps of the month and became the second female driver to qualify for the Indianapolis 500. Her third lap of 220.902 mph was also a closed-course record for a female racing driver. Brian Bonner
Brian Bonner
Brian Bonner , is a former driver in the CART Championship Car series.Bonner began his racing career on two wheels, racing motorcycles from 1975 to 1985. He attended a racing school at Lime Rock Park in 1986 and quickly saw success in Formula Ford competition. He then drove in the Firestone...
and Mike Groff
Mike Groff
Mike Groff is a former race car driver in CART and the Indy Racing League and the 1989 Indy Lights champion. He made 54 starts in CART beginning in 1990 with a best finish of 6th, occurring at Phoenix International Raceway in 1994...
(a teammate to Scott Goodyear
Scott Goodyear
Scott Goodyear is a former race car driver from Newmarket, Ontario, Canada. Goodyear ran the IRL and Champ Car series during his career from 1987, winning the Michigan 500 in 1992 and 1994...
) also completed runs, filling the field to 30 cars. Tom Sneva
Tom Sneva
Tom Sneva is a former Indy Car driver who was named to the prestigious Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 2005. Sneva is best remembered for winning the 1983 Indianapolis 500. Nicknamed "The Gas Man," Sneva was an outstanding qualifier, winning the pole position for the Indianapolis 500 three...
and Gordon Johncock
Gordon Johncock
Gordon Johncock is a former racing driver, best known as a two-time winner of the Indianapolis 500 and the 1976 USAC Marlboro Championship Trail champion. Johncock was most often simply referred to as "Gordy."...
were among those who waved off attempts.
Sunday May 17
The final day of qualifying saw heavy track action. Several cars went out early on to qualify, but only Kenji Momota
Kenji Momota
is a Japanese former racing driver.Momota drove in the All Japan Touring Car Championship in the mid to late 1980s. In 1990 he competed in the first two American Racing Series races of the season for TEAMKAR International, finishing 17th and 20th...
and Dominic Dobson
Dominic Dobson
Dominic Dobson is a German-born former CART and Craftsman Truck Series driver who made 7 starts in the Indianapolis 500 with a best finish of 12th in 1992, over 60 starts in the CART , with a best finish of 3rd at the Michigan 500 in 1994...
finished their runs. At 2:45 p.m., in his third and final attempt, Tom Sneva
Tom Sneva
Tom Sneva is a former Indy Car driver who was named to the prestigious Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 2005. Sneva is best remembered for winning the 1983 Indianapolis 500. Nicknamed "The Gas Man," Sneva was an outstanding qualifier, winning the pole position for the Indianapolis 500 three...
put his car safely in the field at 219.737 mph. At that point, the field was filled, with Jimmy Vasser
Jimmy Vasser
Jimmy Vasser is a retired American racing driver and current co-owner of KV Racing Technology. Vasser won the 1996 IndyCar season championship with Chip Ganassi Racing, and scored ten victories in the series...
(218.268 mph) on the bubble.
At 3:50 p.m., Gordon Johncock
Gordon Johncock
Gordon Johncock is a former racing driver, best known as a two-time winner of the Indianapolis 500 and the 1976 USAC Marlboro Championship Trail champion. Johncock was most often simply referred to as "Gordy."...
bumped Vasser, which put Kenji Momota
Kenji Momota
is a Japanese former racing driver.Momota drove in the All Japan Touring Car Championship in the mid to late 1980s. In 1990 he competed in the first two American Racing Series races of the season for TEAMKAR International, finishing 17th and 20th...
on the bubble. Vasser turned right around and re-qualified in a back-up car. Vasser's speed of 222.313 mph established him as the fastest rookie qualifier. The move put Scott Goodyear
Scott Goodyear
Scott Goodyear is a former race car driver from Newmarket, Ontario, Canada. Goodyear ran the IRL and Champ Car series during his career from 1987, winning the Michigan 500 in 1992 and 1994...
(219.054 mph) on the bubble.
In the final hour, after showing promise during practice, Didier Theys
Didier Theys
Didier Theys is an Belgian sports car driver. He is a two-time overall winner of the 24 Hours of Daytona ; a winner of the 12 Hours of Sebring ; the Sports Racing Prototype driver champion of the Grand-American Road Racing Association and the winner of the 24 Hours of Spa...
' third and final qualifying attempt ended with a blown engine. Likewise Tony Bettenhausen
Tony Bettenhausen, Jr.
Tony Bettenhausen, Jr. was a Champ Car team owner and driver who died in a 2000 plane crash. He was the son of former 14-time Indianapolis 500 competitor Tony Bettenhausen and the brother of 21-time Indy racer Gary Bettenhausen. The family holds the dubious distinction of the most combined starts...
could not get up to speed and waved off. With six minutes left until the 6 o'clock gun, Ted Prappas
Ted Prappas
Ted Prappas , is a former driver in the CART Championship Car series. He raced in the 1991-1992 seasons with 26 career starts, including the 1992 Indianapolis 500. He finished in the top ten 4 times and his best career finish was in 6th position at the 1991 Grand Prix of Long Beach...
took to the track. He bumped Scott Goodyear
Scott Goodyear
Scott Goodyear is a former race car driver from Newmarket, Ontario, Canada. Goodyear ran the IRL and Champ Car series during his career from 1987, winning the Michigan 500 in 1992 and 1994...
out by 0.089 seconds. Johnny Rutherford made one last futile attempt to qualify, but was too slow to bump his way in.
Grid
| Row | Inside | Middle | Outside |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Roberto GuerreroRoberto Guerrero Roberto José Guerrero Isaza is a former racing driver from Colombia. He participated in 29 Formula One Grands Prix, debuting on 23 January 1982... |
 Eddie CheeverEddie Cheever Edward "Eddie" McKay Cheever, Jr. is an American racing driver who raced for almost thirty years in Formula One, Sports cars, CART and the Indy Racing League. Cheever participated in 143 World Championship Formula One races and started 132, more than any other American, driving for nine different... |
Mario Andretti Mario Andretti Mario Gabriele Andretti is a retired Italian American world champion racing driver, one of the most successful Americans in the history of the sport. He is one of only two drivers to win races in Formula One, IndyCar, World Sportscar Championship and NASCAR... |
| 2 |  Arie LuyendykArie Luyendyk Arie Luyendyk, originally Arie Luijendijk is a Dutch auto racing driver, twice winner of the Indianapolis 500.... |
Gary Bettenhausen Gary Bettenhausen Gary Bettenhausen is a retired American auto racing driver. He was born in Blue Island, Illinois, raised in Tinley Park, Illinois, and currently resides in Monrovia, Indiana.-Racing family:... |
Michael Andretti Michael Andretti Michael Mario Andretti is a retired American CART and Formula One driver and owner of the Andretti Autosport team in the IndyCar Series. Andretti is the son of Mario Andretti. His son is Marco Andretti.-Early career:... |
| 3 | Scott Brayton Scott Brayton Scott Everets Brayton was a race car driver from Coldwater, Michigan, on the American open-wheel circuit. He competed in 14 Indianapolis 500s, beginning with the 1981 event... |
Danny Sullivan Danny Sullivan Daniel John "Danny" Sullivan III is a former racing driver from the United States. He is best known for winning the 1985 Indianapolis 500.-Before racing:... |
Rick Mears Rick Mears Rick Ravon Mears is a retired American race car driver. He is one of three men to have won the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race four times , and the current record-holder for pole positions in the race with six... |
| 4 | Bobby Rahal Bobby Rahal Robert "Bobby" Woodward Rahal is an American auto racing driver and team owner. As a driver, he won three championships and 24 races in the CART open-wheel series, including the 1986 Indianapolis 500... |
 Emerson FittipaldiEmerson Fittipaldi Emerson Fittipaldi |São Paulo]], Brazil) is a Brazilian automobile racing driver who throughout a long and successful career won the Indianapolis 500 twice and championships in both Formula One and CART.-Early and personal life:... |
Al Unser, Jr. Al Unser, Jr. Alfred Unser, Jr. , nicknamed "Little Al", "Al Junior" or simply "Junior" is a retired American race car driver and two-time Indianapolis 500 winner.-History:... |
| 5 | Stan Fox Stan Fox Stan Fox was a United States open wheel race car driver. Fox was one of the last links between the midget car racing world and the Indianapolis 500.-Midget car career:... |
John Andretti John Andretti John Andretti is an American race car driver. He has won in CART, IMSA GTP, Rolex Sports Car Series and NASCAR. He was the last NASCAR driver to win a Cup race for the famous Petty Enterprises team.-Andretti family:... |
 Eric BachelartEric Bachelart Eric Bachelart is a former race car driver and current Conquest Racing team owner.-Racing career:... (R) |
| 6 |  Philippe GachePhilippe Gache Philippe Gache is a French racecar driver. He has raced in a number of disciplines, but for the last 20 years has specialized in off-road racing. In 1992 he competed in the Indianapolis 500, but crashed his car. He has driven in the Dakar Rally in 2003-2006 and 7 times in the 24 Hours of Le Mans... (R) |
Scott Pruett Scott Pruett Scott Donald Pruett is an American race car driver who has competed in NASCAR, Champ Car, IMSA, Trans-Am and Grand-Am. He and his wife Judy have three children, and are children's book authors.... |
John Paul, Jr. John Paul, Jr. John Lee Paul, Jr. is a former race car driver in CART and the Indy Racing League IndyCar Series and winner of the 1982 12 Hours of Sebring while co-driving with his father John Paul, Sr.... |
| 7 |  Paul TracyPaul Tracy Paul Tracy is a professional automobile racer who has competed in CART, the ChampCar World Series and the IndyCar Series... (R) |
Jeff Andretti Jeff Andretti Jeff Andretti is an American race car driver. He competed in CART, and was the series' Rookie of the Year in 1991.-Racing career:... |
 Jim CrawfordJim Crawford (driver) Jim Crawford was a Scottish racing driver. He first came to the racing community's notice when he borrowed Stephen Choularton's Lotus 69 and won on his first outing at Croft Racing Track in the North East of England... |
| 8 | Al Unser Al Unser Alfred "Al" Unser is a former American automobile racing driver, the younger brother of fellow racing drivers Jerry and Bobby Unser, and father of Al Unser, Jr.... |
A. J. Foyt A. J. Foyt Anthony Joseph Foyt, Jr., or as he is universally known as in motorsports circles, A. J. Foyt , is a retired American automobile racing driver. He raced in numerous genres of motorsports. His open wheel racing includes USAC Champ cars and midget cars. He raced stock cars in NASCAR and USAC. He won... |
Buddy Lazier Buddy Lazier Robert Buddy Lazier is an American Indycar driver. He won the 1996 Indianapolis 500 and has finished in the Top Ten in that race six times... |
| 9 | Raul Boesel Raul Boesel Raul de Mesquita Boesel is a former racing driver who raced for the March and Ligier Formula One teams and later raced in Champ Car and the Indy Racing League.He won the 1987 World Sportscar Championship and the 1988 24 Hours of Daytona... |
Brian Bonner Brian Bonner Brian Bonner , is a former driver in the CART Championship Car series.Bonner began his racing career on two wheels, racing motorcycles from 1975 to 1985. He attended a racing school at Lime Rock Park in 1986 and quickly saw success in Formula Ford competition. He then drove in the Firestone... (R) |
Lyn St. James Lyn St. James Lyn St. James is a retired professional IndyCar driver with 8 CART and 5 Indy Racing League starts to her name. She is just one of seven women who successfully qualified for the Indianapolis 500, and became the first woman to win the Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year award... (R) |
| 10 | Jimmy Vasser Jimmy Vasser Jimmy Vasser is a retired American racing driver and current co-owner of KV Racing Technology. Vasser won the 1996 IndyCar season championship with Chip Ganassi Racing, and scored ten victories in the series... (R) |
Dominic Dobson Dominic Dobson Dominic Dobson is a German-born former CART and Craftsman Truck Series driver who made 7 starts in the Indianapolis 500 with a best finish of 12th in 1992, over 60 starts in the CART , with a best finish of 3rd at the Michigan 500 in 1994... |
Tom Sneva Tom Sneva Tom Sneva is a former Indy Car driver who was named to the prestigious Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 2005. Sneva is best remembered for winning the 1983 Indianapolis 500. Nicknamed "The Gas Man," Sneva was an outstanding qualifier, winning the pole position for the Indianapolis 500 three... |
| 11 | Gordon Johncock Gordon Johncock Gordon Johncock is a former racing driver, best known as a two-time winner of the Indianapolis 500 and the 1976 USAC Marlboro Championship Trail champion. Johncock was most often simply referred to as "Gordy."... |
Ted Prappas Ted Prappas Ted Prappas , is a former driver in the CART Championship Car series. He raced in the 1991-1992 seasons with 26 career starts, including the 1992 Indianapolis 500. He finished in the top ten 4 times and his best career finish was in 6th position at the 1991 Grand Prix of Long Beach... (R) |
Scott Goodyear Scott Goodyear Scott Goodyear is a former race car driver from Newmarket, Ontario, Canada. Goodyear ran the IRL and Champ Car series during his career from 1987, winning the Michigan 500 in 1992 and 1994... † |
- Guerrero crashed during the second parade lap, and did not start the race. Gache also spun on the parade lap, and drove to the pits and missed the start. He joined the field on lap 3.
- Scott GoodyearScott GoodyearScott Goodyear is a former race car driver from Newmarket, Ontario, Canada. Goodyear ran the IRL and Champ Car series during his career from 1987, winning the Michigan 500 in 1992 and 1994...
and Mike GroffMike GroffMike Groff is a former race car driver in CART and the Indy Racing League and the 1989 Indy Lights champion. He made 54 starts in CART beginning in 1990 with a best finish of 6th, occurring at Phoenix International Raceway in 1994...
were teammates for Walker RacingWalker RacingWalker Racing is a racing team founded by Derrick Walker in 1991 racing originally in the CART Championship Car series. Presently the team competes in the Firestone Indy Lights series.-Early success:...
. Goodyear was the full-time primary driver (entered in a 1992 chassis), and Groff the second team driver (entered in a 1991 chassis). Due to a lingering oil pressure problem, and the hectic nature of the abbreviated pole day time trials session, Goodyear and Groff temporarily swapped cars to qualify, in order to take advantage of the favorable draw. At the close of qualifying, the team pre-planned to swap the drivers back to their original cars, and Goodyear and Groff would move to the rear of the field. However, at the close of qualifing, Groff had qualified 26th, but Goodyear was bumped. As expected, and as planned, Goodyear took Groff's place behind the wheel in the primary car. The driver switch required the car to be moved to the rear of the field (33rd).
Failed to Qualify
Fabrizio BarbazzaFabrizio Barbazza
Fabrizio Barbazza is an Italian former Formula One driver who raced for the AGS and Minardi teams.-Career:...
(#30/#42) - practiced, but did not make a qualifying attempt Tony Bettenhausen, Jr.
Tony Bettenhausen, Jr.
Tony Bettenhausen, Jr. was a Champ Car team owner and driver who died in a 2000 plane crash. He was the son of former 14-time Indianapolis 500 competitor Tony Bettenhausen and the brother of 21-time Indy racer Gary Bettenhausen. The family holds the dubious distinction of the most combined starts...
(#16/#61) - too slow Pancho Carter
Pancho Carter
Duane "Pancho" Carter, Jr. is a retired American race car driver. He is most famous for his participation in CART races.-Background:...
(#81) - wrecked in practice; suffered broken arm Mark Dismore
Mark Dismore
Mark Dismore is a former driver in the Indy Racing League and the 1990 Toyota Pacific champion as well as the winner of the 1993 24 Hours of Daytona with Dan Gurney's All American Racers in a Toyota GTP car with co-drivers Rocky Moran and P. J. Jones...
(#66/#93) - too slow Mike Groff
Mike Groff
Mike Groff is a former race car driver in CART and the Indy Racing League and the 1989 Indy Lights champion. He made 54 starts in CART beginning in 1990 with a best finish of 6th, occurring at Phoenix International Raceway in 1994...
(#17) - qualified 26th, but turned the car over to teammate Scott Goodyear
Scott Goodyear
Scott Goodyear is a former race car driver from Newmarket, Ontario, Canada. Goodyear ran the IRL and Champ Car series during his career from 1987, winning the Michigan 500 in 1992 and 1994...
Jovy Marcelo
Jovy Marcelo
Edward Jovy Marcelo was a Filipino race car driver from Quezon City, Philippines, who was killed in practice for the 1992 Indianapolis 500....
(#50) - wrecked practice; fatally injured Hiro Matsushita
Hiro Matsushita
, is a former driver in the Champ Car series. He is the grandson of Konosuke Matsushita, founder of Matsushita Electric Industrial Co.. The family relationship has allowed him to receive financial backing from Panasonic throughout his racing career.-Early career:...
(#11) - wrecked in practice; suffered broken leg Kenji Momota
Kenji Momota
is a Japanese former racing driver.Momota drove in the All Japan Touring Car Championship in the mid to late 1980s. In 1990 he competed in the first two American Racing Series races of the season for TEAMKAR International, finishing 17th and 20th...
(#88) - bumped Johnny Parsons
Johnny Parsons
Johnny Parsons is an American racecar driver.-Racing family:Parsons is the son of Arza and 1950 Indianapolis 500 winner Johnnie Parsons. His parents divorced, and Johnny was raised with half-brothers Dana and Pancho Carter, the product of Arza'a marriage with Duane Carter. The Carters grew up...
(#30) - too slow Johnny Rutherford
Johnny Rutherford
For the Major League Baseball pitcher, see Johnny Rutherford . For other people with a similar name, see John RutherfordJohn Sherman Rutherford III , better known as Johnny Rutherford, and also known as "Lone Star JR" is a former U.S...
(#17) - too slow Didier Theys
Didier Theys
Didier Theys is an Belgian sports car driver. He is a two-time overall winner of the 24 Hours of Daytona ; a winner of the 12 Hours of Sebring ; the Sports Racing Prototype driver champion of the Grand-American Road Racing Association and the winner of the 24 Hours of Spa...
(#38) - blew an engine during qualifying Nelson Piquet
Nelson Piquet
Nelson Piquet Souto Maior , known as Nelson Piquet, is a Brazilian former racing driver. He was Formula One world champion in , and . He is one of eight drivers to win three or more world championships, the others being Jack Brabham, Jackie Stewart, Niki Lauda, Ayrton Senna , Alain Prost , Juan...
(#27) - wrecked in practice; suffered serious leg injuries
Carburetion Day
During the week leading up to the race, Walker RacingWalker Racing
Walker Racing is a racing team founded by Derrick Walker in 1991 racing originally in the CART Championship Car series. Presently the team competes in the Firestone Indy Lights series.-Early success:...
announced that Scott Goodyear
Scott Goodyear
Scott Goodyear is a former race car driver from Newmarket, Ontario, Canada. Goodyear ran the IRL and Champ Car series during his career from 1987, winning the Michigan 500 in 1992 and 1994...
would replace Mike Groff
Mike Groff
Mike Groff is a former race car driver in CART and the Indy Racing League and the 1989 Indy Lights champion. He made 54 starts in CART beginning in 1990 with a best finish of 6th, occurring at Phoenix International Raceway in 1994...
in the team's qualified car. Goodyear, the team's primary driver, was bumped on the final day of time trials. The switch required the #15 car to be moved to the rear of the field, and Goodyear would start 33rd on race day.
The final practice session saw the Ford Cosworth drivers take the top speeds. Bobby Rahal
Bobby Rahal
Robert "Bobby" Woodward Rahal is an American auto racing driver and team owner. As a driver, he won three championships and 24 races in the CART open-wheel series, including the 1986 Indianapolis 500...
was the fastest Chevrolet driver, and polesitter Roberto Guerrero
Roberto Guerrero
Roberto José Guerrero Isaza is a former racing driver from Colombia. He participated in 29 Formula One Grands Prix, debuting on 23 January 1982...
was only 5th fastest. Al Unser, Jr.
Al Unser, Jr.
Alfred Unser, Jr. , nicknamed "Little Al", "Al Junior" or simply "Junior" is a retired American race car driver and two-time Indianapolis 500 winner.-History:...
practiced a disappointing 25th speed rank. No incidents were reported.
Later in the afternoon, Rahal-Hogan Racing
Rahal Letterman Racing
Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing is an auto racing team that currently races in the American Le Mans Series and part–time in the IndyCar Series. Based in Hilliard, Ohio, it is co–owned by 1986 Indianapolis 500 winner Bobby Rahal, television talk show host David Letterman, and businessman Mike...
with driver Bobby Rahal
Bobby Rahal
Robert "Bobby" Woodward Rahal is an American auto racing driver and team owner. As a driver, he won three championships and 24 races in the CART open-wheel series, including the 1986 Indianapolis 500...
won the Miller Genuine Draft Pit Stop Contest.
Pre-race
A cold frontCold front
A cold front is defined as the leading edge of a cooler mass of air, replacing a warmer mass of air.-Development of cold front:The cooler and denser air wedges under the less-dense warmer air, lifting it...
entered the Indianapolis
Indianapolis
Indianapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Indiana, and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population is 839,489. It is by far Indiana's largest city and, as of the 2010 U.S...
area the evening before the race, bringing misty rain and cold temperatures. Race morning dawned at 50°F, with a windchill of 36° Mary F. Hulman
Mary Fendrich Hulman
Mary Fendrich Hulman was the wife of the late Indiana industrialist Anton "Tony" Hulman, Jr. and matriarch of the Hulman-George family which today controls Hulman & Co., the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the Indy Racing League.-Early life:Born in Evansville, Indiana, Mary was the daughter of...
gave the starting command at 10:51 a.m., and the pace car, driven by Bobby Unser
Bobby Unser
Robert William "Bobby" Unser is a retired U.S. automobile racer. He is the brother of Al Unser, Jerry Unser and Louie Unser, the father of Robby Unser, and the uncle of Al Unser, Jr. and Johnny Unser...
led the field on the way to the first parade lap. John Paul, Jr.
John Paul, Jr.
John Lee Paul, Jr. is a former race car driver in CART and the Indy Racing League IndyCar Series and winner of the 1982 12 Hours of Sebring while co-driving with his father John Paul, Sr....
's car suffered a mechanical failure on the starting grid, but at the last minute, he hastily pulled away to join the field. The cold weather made for precarious conditions for the drivers, as it would be increasingly difficult to warm up the slick tires.
As the field entered the backstrech on the second parade lap, polesitter Roberto Guerrero
Roberto Guerrero
Roberto José Guerrero Isaza is a former racing driver from Colombia. He participated in 29 Formula One Grands Prix, debuting on 23 January 1982...
gunned his machine to warm up the tires, but the back end whipped around, and the car spun into the inside wall. The suspension was damaged enough that he could not continue, and he was out of the race before the green flag. Moments later, Philippe Gache
Philippe Gache
Philippe Gache is a French racecar driver. He has raced in a number of disciplines, but for the last 20 years has specialized in off-road racing. In 1992 he competed in the Indianapolis 500, but crashed his car. He has driven in the Dakar Rally in 2003-2006 and 7 times in the 24 Hours of Le Mans...
lost control on cold tires, and spun lazily into the apron of turn 4. The incidents delayed the start by five minutes.
Without the polesitter in the race, second place starter Eddie Cheever
Eddie Cheever
Edward "Eddie" McKay Cheever, Jr. is an American racing driver who raced for almost thirty years in Formula One, Sports cars, CART and the Indy Racing League. Cheever participated in 143 World Championship Formula One races and started 132, more than any other American, driving for nine different...
was charged with leading the field to the green flag. In turn one, Michael
Michael Andretti
Michael Mario Andretti is a retired American CART and Formula One driver and owner of the Andretti Autosport team in the IndyCar Series. Andretti is the son of Mario Andretti. His son is Marco Andretti.-Early career:...
and Mario Andretti
Mario Andretti
Mario Gabriele Andretti is a retired Italian American world champion racing driver, one of the most successful Americans in the history of the sport. He is one of only two drivers to win races in Formula One, IndyCar, World Sportscar Championship and NASCAR...
split Cheever on the inside and outside and took the lead. Michael Andretti
Michael Andretti
Michael Mario Andretti is a retired American CART and Formula One driver and owner of the Andretti Autosport team in the IndyCar Series. Andretti is the son of Mario Andretti. His son is Marco Andretti.-Early career:...
blistered the track to set a new record for the first lap at 210.339 mph. After only four laps of green flag racing, however, Eric Bachelart
Eric Bachelart
Eric Bachelart is a former race car driver and current Conquest Racing team owner.-Racing career:...
blew an engine, and brought out the yellow.
Early segments
The field went back to green on lap 11. In turn four, Tom SnevaTom Sneva
Tom Sneva is a former Indy Car driver who was named to the prestigious Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 2005. Sneva is best remembered for winning the 1983 Indianapolis 500. Nicknamed "The Gas Man," Sneva was an outstanding qualifier, winning the pole position for the Indianapolis 500 three...
lost control with cold tires, and crashed hard into the outside wall. A long caution followed to clean up the debris. On lap 21, the race finally got going, with Michael Andretti
Michael Andretti
Michael Mario Andretti is a retired American CART and Formula One driver and owner of the Andretti Autosport team in the IndyCar Series. Andretti is the son of Mario Andretti. His son is Marco Andretti.-Early career:...
the early and dominating leader.
A fairly long strech of green flag racing saw Andretti
Michael Andretti
Michael Mario Andretti is a retired American CART and Formula One driver and owner of the Andretti Autosport team in the IndyCar Series. Andretti is the son of Mario Andretti. His son is Marco Andretti.-Early career:...
starting to lap the field up through 12th place. Andretti was running race laps in the high 220 mph range. Andretti was being chased primarily by Arie Luyendyk
Arie Luyendyk
Arie Luyendyk, originally Arie Luijendijk is a Dutch auto racing driver, twice winner of the Indianapolis 500....
, Scott Brayton
Scott Brayton
Scott Everets Brayton was a race car driver from Coldwater, Michigan, on the American open-wheel circuit. He competed in 14 Indianapolis 500s, beginning with the 1981 event...
and Eddie Cheever
Eddie Cheever
Edward "Eddie" McKay Cheever, Jr. is an American racing driver who raced for almost thirty years in Formula One, Sports cars, CART and the Indy Racing League. Cheever participated in 143 World Championship Formula One races and started 132, more than any other American, driving for nine different...
. Mario Andretti
Mario Andretti
Mario Gabriele Andretti is a retired Italian American world champion racing driver, one of the most successful Americans in the history of the sport. He is one of only two drivers to win races in Formula One, IndyCar, World Sportscar Championship and NASCAR...
, however, required an unscheduled pit stop to cure an electrical problem. By lap 60, Andretti
Michael Andretti
Michael Mario Andretti is a retired American CART and Formula One driver and owner of the Andretti Autosport team in the IndyCar Series. Andretti is the son of Mario Andretti. His son is Marco Andretti.-Early career:...
held a 30-second lead, and only three cars were on the lead lap. The average speed at lap 60 had climbed to 161.458 mph
Multiple crashes
AndrettiMichael Andretti
Michael Mario Andretti is a retired American CART and Formula One driver and owner of the Andretti Autosport team in the IndyCar Series. Andretti is the son of Mario Andretti. His son is Marco Andretti.-Early career:...
's blistering pace was halted on lap 62 when Gordon Johncock
Gordon Johncock
Gordon Johncock is a former racing driver, best known as a two-time winner of the Indianapolis 500 and the 1976 USAC Marlboro Championship Trail champion. Johncock was most often simply referred to as "Gordy."...
blew an engine. The caution bunched the field for a restart on lap 67. Moments after the green, rookie Philippe Gache
Philippe Gache
Philippe Gache is a French racecar driver. He has raced in a number of disciplines, but for the last 20 years has specialized in off-road racing. In 1992 he competed in the Indianapolis 500, but crashed his car. He has driven in the Dakar Rally in 2003-2006 and 7 times in the 24 Hours of Le Mans...
spun and hit the outside wall. The car slid into the path of Stan Fox
Stan Fox
Stan Fox was a United States open wheel race car driver. Fox was one of the last links between the midget car racing world and the Indianapolis 500.-Midget car career:...
, and Fox plowed into the wreck. The crash was blamed on cold tires, and Gache's inexperience.
The green came back out on lap 75. In turn one, Jim Crawford
Jim Crawford (driver)
Jim Crawford was a Scottish racing driver. He first came to the racing community's notice when he borrowed Stephen Choularton's Lotus 69 and won on his first outing at Croft Racing Track in the North East of England...
lost control, and collected Rick Mears
Rick Mears
Rick Ravon Mears is a retired American race car driver. He is one of three men to have won the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race four times , and the current record-holder for pole positions in the race with six...
. Both cars crashed hard into the outside wall. Further up the track, Emerson Fittipaldi
Emerson Fittipaldi
Emerson Fittipaldi |São Paulo]], Brazil) is a Brazilian automobile racing driver who throughout a long and successful career won the Indianapolis 500 twice and championships in both Formula One and CART.-Early and personal life:...
slammed into the outside wall. All three drivers were sent to Methodist Hospital
Methodist Hospital of Indianapolis
Methodist Hospital of Indianapolis is a hospital part of Indiana University Health, located in Indianapolis, state of Indiana, United States. It is the largest hospital in the state of Indiana and one of only two regional Level I Trauma Centers in the state...
for relatively minor injuries.
On lap 84, the green came out once again, but as the field headed down the mainstrech, Mario Andretti
Mario Andretti
Mario Gabriele Andretti is a retired Italian American world champion racing driver, one of the most successful Americans in the history of the sport. He is one of only two drivers to win races in Formula One, IndyCar, World Sportscar Championship and NASCAR...
crashed in turn four. The car lost the back end due to cold tires, and slammed nose-first hard into the wall. Andretti
Mario Andretti
Mario Gabriele Andretti is a retired Italian American world champion racing driver, one of the most successful Americans in the history of the sport. He is one of only two drivers to win races in Formula One, IndyCar, World Sportscar Championship and NASCAR...
went to Methodist Hospital
Methodist Hospital of Indianapolis
Methodist Hospital of Indianapolis is a hospital part of Indiana University Health, located in Indianapolis, state of Indiana, United States. It is the largest hospital in the state of Indiana and one of only two regional Level I Trauma Centers in the state...
with broken toes.
The green came back out on lap 90, but was short-lived when Scott Brayton
Scott Brayton
Scott Everets Brayton was a race car driver from Coldwater, Michigan, on the American open-wheel circuit. He competed in 14 Indianapolis 500s, beginning with the 1981 event...
blew an engine on lap 94. The caution was followed by another when Paul Tracy
Paul Tracy
Paul Tracy is a professional automobile racer who has competed in CART, the ChampCar World Series and the IndyCar Series...
also blew an engine on lap 97, and Jimmy Vasser
Jimmy Vasser
Jimmy Vasser is a retired American racing driver and current co-owner of KV Racing Technology. Vasser won the 1996 IndyCar season championship with Chip Ganassi Racing, and scored ten victories in the series...
subsequently smacked the wall in turn one. The field went back to green on lap 103, but cold tires struck again, as rookie Brian Bonner
Brian Bonner
Brian Bonner , is a former driver in the CART Championship Car series.Bonner began his racing career on two wheels, racing motorcycles from 1975 to 1985. He attended a racing school at Lime Rock Park in 1986 and quickly saw success in Formula Ford competition. He then drove in the Firestone...
lost control and crashed in turn 4.
The field restarted on lap 110, and appeared to safely circulate the track. Five laps later, a major crash occurred. Jeff Andretti
Jeff Andretti
Jeff Andretti is an American race car driver. He competed in CART, and was the series' Rookie of the Year in 1991.-Racing career:...
's car broke a wheel hub in turn two. The car immediately turned around, and Jeff Andretti crashed head-on into the wall near the Turn Two Suites. The front of the car was demolished, and Andretti suffered severe leg injuries. Gary Bettenhausen
Gary Bettenhausen
Gary Bettenhausen is a retired American auto racing driver. He was born in Blue Island, Illinois, raised in Tinley Park, Illinois, and currently resides in Monrovia, Indiana.-Racing family:...
ran over some debris, and was also caught up in the crash. It took 18 minutes to extracate Jeff Andretti from the car, and he was immediately transported to Methodist Hospital
Methodist Hospital of Indianapolis
Methodist Hospital of Indianapolis is a hospital part of Indiana University Health, located in Indianapolis, state of Indiana, United States. It is the largest hospital in the state of Indiana and one of only two regional Level I Trauma Centers in the state...
for surgery. Meanwhile, Jeff's older brother Michael Andretti
Michael Andretti
Michael Mario Andretti is a retired American CART and Formula One driver and owner of the Andretti Autosport team in the IndyCar Series. Andretti is the son of Mario Andretti. His son is Marco Andretti.-Early career:...
was still leading. Michael, however, had just seem both his father and brother crash and be sent to the hospital.
From lap 62-122, only nine laps of green flag racing were turned in. Eight cautions slowed the race for almost 90 minutes. The race finally got back underway at lap 123.
Second half
Michael AndrettiMichael Andretti
Michael Mario Andretti is a retired American CART and Formula One driver and owner of the Andretti Autosport team in the IndyCar Series. Andretti is the son of Mario Andretti. His son is Marco Andretti.-Early career:...
took over where he had left off, and pulled away from the competition. The dwindling field was down to 17 cars, and six were on the lead lap. Among the cars still in contention were Ganassi
Chip Ganassi Racing
Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates is an automotive racing organization with teams competing in the IZOD IndyCar Series and the Rolex Sports Car Series. It is owned by businessmen Chip Ganassi and Felix Sabates. They have won 4 Champ Car, 3 Indy Racing League and 1 Grand-Am championships...
teammates Cheever
Eddie Cheever
Edward "Eddie" McKay Cheever, Jr. is an American racing driver who raced for almost thirty years in Formula One, Sports cars, CART and the Indy Racing League. Cheever participated in 143 World Championship Formula One races and started 132, more than any other American, driving for nine different...
and Luyendyk
Arie Luyendyk
Arie Luyendyk, originally Arie Luijendijk is a Dutch auto racing driver, twice winner of the Indianapolis 500....
. Al Unser, Jr.
Al Unser, Jr.
Alfred Unser, Jr. , nicknamed "Little Al", "Al Junior" or simply "Junior" is a retired American race car driver and two-time Indianapolis 500 winner.-History:...
and Al Unser, Sr.
Al Unser
Alfred "Al" Unser is a former American automobile racing driver, the younger brother of fellow racing drivers Jerry and Bobby Unser, and father of Al Unser, Jr....
had moved up into the top five, and Scott Goodyear
Scott Goodyear
Scott Goodyear is a former race car driver from Newmarket, Ontario, Canada. Goodyear ran the IRL and Champ Car series during his career from 1987, winning the Michigan 500 in 1992 and 1994...
had climbed from last starting position to the last car on the lead lap (6th place). A. J. Foyt
A. J. Foyt
Anthony Joseph Foyt, Jr., or as he is universally known as in motorsports circles, A. J. Foyt , is a retired American automobile racing driver. He raced in numerous genres of motorsports. His open wheel racing includes USAC Champ cars and midget cars. He raced stock cars in NASCAR and USAC. He won...
had worked his way into the top 10, and Lyn St. James
Lyn St. James
Lyn St. James is a retired professional IndyCar driver with 8 CART and 5 Indy Racing League starts to her name. She is just one of seven women who successfully qualified for the Indianapolis 500, and became the first woman to win the Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year award...
was the only rookie left running by lap 135.
On lap 137, Arie Luyendyk
Arie Luyendyk
Arie Luyendyk, originally Arie Luijendijk is a Dutch auto racing driver, twice winner of the Indianapolis 500....
attempted to lap A. J. Foyt
A. J. Foyt
Anthony Joseph Foyt, Jr., or as he is universally known as in motorsports circles, A. J. Foyt , is a retired American automobile racing driver. He raced in numerous genres of motorsports. His open wheel racing includes USAC Champ cars and midget cars. He raced stock cars in NASCAR and USAC. He won...
, but Foyt had lost a mirror and did not see him. Luyendyk got into the "marbles," and slid up into the turn 4 wall.
The green resumed on lap 144, with Al Unser, Jr.
Al Unser, Jr.
Alfred Unser, Jr. , nicknamed "Little Al", "Al Junior" or simply "Junior" is a retired American race car driver and two-time Indianapolis 500 winner.-History:...
in the lead after a sequence of pit stops. Michael Andretti
Michael Andretti
Michael Mario Andretti is a retired American CART and Formula One driver and owner of the Andretti Autosport team in the IndyCar Series. Andretti is the son of Mario Andretti. His son is Marco Andretti.-Early career:...
charged towards the front, but Al Unser, Sr.
Al Unser
Alfred "Al" Unser is a former American automobile racing driver, the younger brother of fellow racing drivers Jerry and Bobby Unser, and father of Al Unser, Jr....
passed him for second momentarily. The dicing was halted when Buddy Lazier
Buddy Lazier
Robert Buddy Lazier is an American Indycar driver. He won the 1996 Indianapolis 500 and has finished in the Top Ten in that race six times...
blew an engine and brought the yellow back out.
With 50 laps to go, only 15 cars were running, and only five cars were on the lead lap.
Late race
With 45 laps to go, the green came out and the field began the race to the finish. Michael AndrettiMichael Andretti
Michael Mario Andretti is a retired American CART and Formula One driver and owner of the Andretti Autosport team in the IndyCar Series. Andretti is the son of Mario Andretti. His son is Marco Andretti.-Early career:...
once again, began to easily pull away from his competitors. On the 166th lap, he ran a record race lap of 229.118 mph, en route to a 15-second lead.
On laps 171-177, the field began circulating through a series of green-flag pit stops. It would be the final stops of the day. During the sequence, Al Unser, Sr.
Al Unser
Alfred "Al" Unser is a former American automobile racing driver, the younger brother of fellow racing drivers Jerry and Bobby Unser, and father of Al Unser, Jr....
passed his son Al, Jr.
Al Unser, Jr.
Alfred Unser, Jr. , nicknamed "Little Al", "Al Junior" or simply "Junior" is a retired American race car driver and two-time Indianapolis 500 winner.-History:...
and led for four laps. After the field shuffled through their stops, Michael Andretti
Michael Andretti
Michael Mario Andretti is a retired American CART and Formula One driver and owner of the Andretti Autosport team in the IndyCar Series. Andretti is the son of Mario Andretti. His son is Marco Andretti.-Early career:...
was back in the lead, by 23 seconds.
With the majority of crashes happening in turn 4, the safety crews had an extensive workout for the entire race. They were rewarded with a standing ovation from the grandstands after what turned out to be the final wreck of the day.
Finish
With 12 laps to go, Michael AndrettiMichael Andretti
Michael Mario Andretti is a retired American CART and Formula One driver and owner of the Andretti Autosport team in the IndyCar Series. Andretti is the son of Mario Andretti. His son is Marco Andretti.-Early career:...
held a 28-second lead of Scott Goodyear
Scott Goodyear
Scott Goodyear is a former race car driver from Newmarket, Ontario, Canada. Goodyear ran the IRL and Champ Car series during his career from 1987, winning the Michigan 500 in 1992 and 1994...
. A lap later, Al Unser, Jr.
Al Unser, Jr.
Alfred Unser, Jr. , nicknamed "Little Al", "Al Junior" or simply "Junior" is a retired American race car driver and two-time Indianapolis 500 winner.-History:...
passed Goodyear for second place. On lap 189, Michael Andretti
Michael Andretti
Michael Mario Andretti is a retired American CART and Formula One driver and owner of the Andretti Autosport team in the IndyCar Series. Andretti is the son of Mario Andretti. His son is Marco Andretti.-Early career:...
pulled alongside Al Unser, Sr.
Al Unser
Alfred "Al" Unser is a former American automobile racing driver, the younger brother of fellow racing drivers Jerry and Bobby Unser, and father of Al Unser, Jr....
and put him a lap down in turn two. Down the backstretch, however, Andretti suddenly began to slow. His fuel pump had failed, and the car coasted to a stop in the north short chute. Andretti had dominated the entire race, and had led 160 of the first 189 laps.
Al Unser, Jr.
Al Unser, Jr.
Alfred Unser, Jr. , nicknamed "Little Al", "Al Junior" or simply "Junior" is a retired American race car driver and two-time Indianapolis 500 winner.-History:...
suddenly inherited the lead, with Scott Goodyear
Scott Goodyear
Scott Goodyear is a former race car driver from Newmarket, Ontario, Canada. Goodyear ran the IRL and Champ Car series during his career from 1987, winning the Michigan 500 in 1992 and 1994...
right behind in second. The caution came out for Andretti's stalled car, and the field bunched up for a late-race restart.
With 7 laps to go, the green flag came out, and the race was down to a tense two-man battle between Al Unser, Jr.
Al Unser, Jr.
Alfred Unser, Jr. , nicknamed "Little Al", "Al Junior" or simply "Junior" is a retired American race car driver and two-time Indianapolis 500 winner.-History:...
and Scott Goodyear
Scott Goodyear
Scott Goodyear is a former race car driver from Newmarket, Ontario, Canada. Goodyear ran the IRL and Champ Car series during his career from 1987, winning the Michigan 500 in 1992 and 1994...
. With four laps to go, Unser held a 0.3-second lead. The cars battled nose-to-tail around the entire track, with the savvy Unser holding Goodyear off thus far. On the final lap, Goodyear drafted Unser down the backstretch, and tucked closely behind through the final turn. Out of the final turn, Goodyear zig-zagged behind Unser, and dove his nose inside over the final few hundred yards. Goodyear pulled alongside, but Unser held him off officially by 0.043 seconds, the closest finish in Indy 500 history.
Al Unser, Sr.
Al Unser
Alfred "Al" Unser is a former American automobile racing driver, the younger brother of fellow racing drivers Jerry and Bobby Unser, and father of Al Unser, Jr....
edged out Eddie Cheever
Eddie Cheever
Edward "Eddie" McKay Cheever, Jr. is an American racing driver who raced for almost thirty years in Formula One, Sports cars, CART and the Indy Racing League. Cheever participated in 143 World Championship Formula One races and started 132, more than any other American, driving for nine different...
for third place. A. J. Foyt
A. J. Foyt
Anthony Joseph Foyt, Jr., or as he is universally known as in motorsports circles, A. J. Foyt , is a retired American automobile racing driver. He raced in numerous genres of motorsports. His open wheel racing includes USAC Champ cars and midget cars. He raced stock cars in NASCAR and USAC. He won...
brought his car home in 9th, while John Paul, Jr.
John Paul, Jr.
John Lee Paul, Jr. is a former race car driver in CART and the Indy Racing League IndyCar Series and winner of the 1982 12 Hours of Sebring while co-driving with his father John Paul, Sr....
, who nursed his car all day with a broken fuel cable, avoided all the crashes to finish 10th. Lyn St. James
Lyn St. James
Lyn St. James is a retired professional IndyCar driver with 8 CART and 5 Indy Racing League starts to her name. She is just one of seven women who successfully qualified for the Indianapolis 500, and became the first woman to win the Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year award...
clinched the rookie of the year award, as she was the only rookie left running, in 11th place.
Results
| Finish | Start | No | Name | Qual | Rank | Laps | Led | Status | Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 12 | 3 | Al Unser, Jr. Al Unser, Jr. Alfred Unser, Jr. , nicknamed "Little Al", "Al Junior" or simply "Junior" is a retired American race car driver and two-time Indianapolis 500 winner.-History:... |
222.989 | 14 | 200 | 25 | Running | Galles/KRACO Racing Galles Racing Galles Racing is a former auto racing team owned by Rick Galles that competed in the CART series, Can-Am and Indy Racing League, winning the 1990 CART Championship and 1992 Indianapolis 500 with driver Al Unser, Jr..-Early years:... |
| 2 | 33 | 15 | Scott Goodyear Scott Goodyear Scott Goodyear is a former race car driver from Newmarket, Ontario, Canada. Goodyear ran the IRL and Champ Car series during his career from 1987, winning the Michigan 500 in 1992 and 1994... |
221.800 | 21 | 200 | 0 | Running | Walker Racing Walker Racing Walker Racing is a racing team founded by Derrick Walker in 1991 racing originally in the CART Championship Car series. Presently the team competes in the Firestone Indy Lights series.-Early success:... |
| 3 | 22 | 27 | Al Unser, Sr. Al Unser Alfred "Al" Unser is a former American automobile racing driver, the younger brother of fellow racing drivers Jerry and Bobby Unser, and father of Al Unser, Jr.... |
223.744 | 12 | 200 | 4 | Running | Team Menard Team Menard Team Menard was an auto racing team in the Indianapolis 500 and Indy Racing League owned by John Menard. From 1991 to 1996 they modified their own Buick V6 engines for racing. This combination won pole for the 500 with Scott Brayton in 1995 and 1996; Tony Stewart used this combination for the first... |
| 4 | 2 | 9 | Eddie Cheever Eddie Cheever Edward "Eddie" McKay Cheever, Jr. is an American racing driver who raced for almost thirty years in Formula One, Sports cars, CART and the Indy Racing League. Cheever participated in 143 World Championship Formula One races and started 132, more than any other American, driving for nine different... |
229.639 | 2 | 200 | 9 | Running | Chip Ganassi Racing Chip Ganassi Racing Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates is an automotive racing organization with teams competing in the IZOD IndyCar Series and the Rolex Sports Car Series. It is owned by businessmen Chip Ganassi and Felix Sabates. They have won 4 Champ Car, 3 Indy Racing League and 1 Grand-Am championships... |
| 5 | 8 | 18 | Danny Sullivan Danny Sullivan Daniel John "Danny" Sullivan III is a former racing driver from the United States. He is best known for winning the 1985 Indianapolis 500.-Before racing:... |
224.838 | 9 | 199 | 0 | Flagged | Galles/KRACO Racing Galles Racing Galles Racing is a former auto racing team owned by Rick Galles that competed in the CART series, Can-Am and Indy Racing League, winning the 1990 CART Championship and 1992 Indianapolis 500 with driver Al Unser, Jr..-Early years:... |
| 6 | 10 | 12 | Bobby Rahal Bobby Rahal Robert "Bobby" Woodward Rahal is an American auto racing driver and team owner. As a driver, he won three championships and 24 races in the CART open-wheel series, including the 1986 Indianapolis 500... |
224.158 | 11 | 199 | 0 | Flagged | Rahal/Hogan Racing |
| 7 | 25 | 11 | Raul Boesel Raul Boesel Raul de Mesquita Boesel is a former racing driver who raced for the March and Ligier Formula One teams and later raced in Champ Car and the Indy Racing League.He won the 1987 World Sportscar Championship and the 1988 24 Hours of Daytona... |
222.433 | 19 | 198 | 0 | Flagged | Dick Simon Racing Dick Simon Racing Dick Simon Racing was a race team owned by racer Dick Simon that competed in the CART Championship Car series from 1983 to 1995 and the Indy Racing League from 1999 to 2001.-CART:... |
| 8 | 14 | 8 | John Andretti John Andretti John Andretti is an American race car driver. He has won in CART, IMSA GTP, Rolex Sports Car Series and NASCAR. He was the last NASCAR driver to win a Cup race for the famous Petty Enterprises team.-Andretti family:... |
222.644 | 18 | 195 | 0 | Flagged | Jim Hall Racing Jim Hall (race car driver) Jim Hall is a former racecar driver and constructor from the United States. He competed in Formula One from to , participating in 12 World Championship Grands Prix and numerous non-Championship races.... |
| 9 | 23 | 14 | A. J. Foyt A. J. Foyt Anthony Joseph Foyt, Jr., or as he is universally known as in motorsports circles, A. J. Foyt , is a retired American automobile racing driver. He raced in numerous genres of motorsports. His open wheel racing includes USAC Champ cars and midget cars. He raced stock cars in NASCAR and USAC. He won... |
222.798 | 16 | 195 | 0 | Flagged | A.J. Foyt Enterprises |
| 10 | 18 | 93 | John Paul, Jr. John Paul, Jr. John Lee Paul, Jr. is a former race car driver in CART and the Indy Racing League IndyCar Series and winner of the 1982 12 Hours of Sebring while co-driving with his father John Paul, Sr.... |
220.244 | 27 | 194 | 0 | Flagged | D.B. Mann Development |
| 11 | 27 | 90 | Lyn St. James Lyn St. James Lyn St. James is a retired professional IndyCar driver with 8 CART and 5 Indy Racing League starts to her name. She is just one of seven women who successfully qualified for the Indianapolis 500, and became the first woman to win the Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year award... (R) |
220.150 | 28 | 193 | 0 | Flagged | Dick Simon Racing Dick Simon Racing Dick Simon Racing was a race team owned by racer Dick Simon that competed in the CART Championship Car series from 1983 to 1995 and the Indy Racing League from 1999 to 2001.-CART:... |
| 12 | 29 | 68 | Dominic Dobson Dominic Dobson Dominic Dobson is a German-born former CART and Craftsman Truck Series driver who made 7 starts in the Indianapolis 500 with a best finish of 12th in 1992, over 60 starts in the CART , with a best finish of 3rd at the Michigan 500 in 1994... |
220.359 | 26 | 193 | 0 | Flagged | Burns Racing |
| 13 | 6 | 1 | Michael Andretti Michael Andretti Michael Mario Andretti is a retired American CART and Formula One driver and owner of the Andretti Autosport team in the IndyCar Series. Andretti is the son of Mario Andretti. His son is Marco Andretti.-Early career:... |
228.168 | 7 | 189 | 160 | Fuel Pressure | Newman/Haas Racing |
| 14 | 24 | 21 | Buddy Lazier Buddy Lazier Robert Buddy Lazier is an American Indycar driver. He won the 1996 Indianapolis 500 and has finished in the Top Ten in that race six times... |
222.688 | 17 | 139 | 0 | Engine | Leader Cards Racing |
| 15 | 4 | 6 | Arie Luyendyk Arie Luyendyk Arie Luyendyk, originally Arie Luijendijk is a Dutch auto racing driver, twice winner of the Indianapolis 500.... |
229.127 | 4 | 135 | 1 | Crash T4 | Chip Ganassi Racing Chip Ganassi Racing Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates is an automotive racing organization with teams competing in the IZOD IndyCar Series and the Rolex Sports Car Series. It is owned by businessmen Chip Ganassi and Felix Sabates. They have won 4 Champ Car, 3 Indy Racing League and 1 Grand-Am championships... |
| 16 | 32 | 31 | Ted Prappas Ted Prappas Ted Prappas , is a former driver in the CART Championship Car series. He raced in the 1991-1992 seasons with 26 career starts, including the 1992 Indianapolis 500. He finished in the top ten 4 times and his best career finish was in 6th position at the 1991 Grand Prix of Long Beach... (R) |
219.173 | 33 | 135 | 0 | Gear Box | P.I.G. Racing |
| 17 | 5 | 51 | Gary Bettenhausen Gary Bettenhausen Gary Bettenhausen is a retired American auto racing driver. He was born in Blue Island, Illinois, raised in Tinley Park, Illinois, and currently resides in Monrovia, Indiana.-Racing family:... |
228.932 | 5 | 112 | 0 | Crash BS | Team Menard Team Menard Team Menard was an auto racing team in the Indianapolis 500 and Indy Racing League owned by John Menard. From 1991 to 1996 they modified their own Buick V6 engines for racing. This combination won pole for the 500 with Scott Brayton in 1995 and 1996; Tony Stewart used this combination for the first... |
| 18 | 20 | 48 | Jeff Andretti Jeff Andretti Jeff Andretti is an American race car driver. He competed in CART, and was the series' Rookie of the Year in 1991.-Racing career:... |
219.306 | 31 | 109 | 0 | Crash T2 | A.J. Foyt Enterprises |
| 19 | 26 | 39 | Brian Bonner Brian Bonner Brian Bonner , is a former driver in the CART Championship Car series.Bonner began his racing career on two wheels, racing motorcycles from 1975 to 1985. He attended a racing school at Lime Rock Park in 1986 and quickly saw success in Formula Ford competition. He then drove in the Firestone... (R) |
220.845 | 24 | 97 | 0 | Crash T4 | Dale Coyne Racing Dale Coyne Racing Dale Coyne Racing is a motorsports team in the IndyCar Series owned by former driver Dale Coyne. It was founded in 1986 with Chicago Bears great Walter Payton as Payton/Coyne Racing. The team fields the No. 18 Acorn Stairlifts and No... |
| 20 | 19 | 7 | Paul Tracy Paul Tracy Paul Tracy is a professional automobile racer who has competed in CART, the ChampCar World Series and the IndyCar Series... (R) |
219.751 | 29 | 96 | 0 | Engine | Penske Racing Penske Racing Penske Racing is a racing team that competes in the IndyCar Series and NASCAR. They also previously competed in road racing, and Formula One. Penske Racing is a division of Penske Corporation, and is owned and chaired by Roger Penske... |
| 21 | 28 | 47 | Jimmy Vasser Jimmy Vasser Jimmy Vasser is a retired American racing driver and current co-owner of KV Racing Technology. Vasser won the 1996 IndyCar season championship with Chip Ganassi Racing, and scored ten victories in the series... |
222.313 | 20 | 94 | 0 | Crash T1 | Hayhoe Racing |
| 22 | 7 | 22 | Scott Brayton Scott Brayton Scott Everets Brayton was a race car driver from Coldwater, Michigan, on the American open-wheel circuit. He competed in 14 Indianapolis 500s, beginning with the 1981 event... |
226.142 | 8 | 93 | 0 | Engine | Dick Simon Racing Dick Simon Racing Dick Simon Racing was a race team owned by racer Dick Simon that competed in the CART Championship Car series from 1983 to 1995 and the Indy Racing League from 1999 to 2001.-CART:... |
| 23 | 3 | 2 | Mario Andretti Mario Andretti Mario Gabriele Andretti is a retired Italian American world champion racing driver, one of the most successful Americans in the history of the sport. He is one of only two drivers to win races in Formula One, IndyCar, World Sportscar Championship and NASCAR... |
229.503 | 3 | 78 | 1 | Crash T4 | Newman/Haas Racing |
| 24 | 11 | 5 | Emerson Fittipaldi Emerson Fittipaldi Emerson Fittipaldi |São Paulo]], Brazil) is a Brazilian automobile racing driver who throughout a long and successful career won the Indianapolis 500 twice and championships in both Formula One and CART.-Early and personal life:... |
223.607 | 13 | 75 | 0 | Crash T1 | Penske Racing Penske Racing Penske Racing is a racing team that competes in the IndyCar Series and NASCAR. They also previously competed in road racing, and Formula One. Penske Racing is a division of Penske Corporation, and is owned and chaired by Roger Penske... |
| 25 | 21 | 26 | Jim Crawford Jim Crawford (driver) Jim Crawford was a Scottish racing driver. He first came to the racing community's notice when he borrowed Stephen Choularton's Lotus 69 and won on his first outing at Croft Racing Track in the North East of England... |
228.859 | 6 | 74 | 0 | Crash T1 | King Racing King Racing King Racing was the name of famed NHRA champion Kenny Bernstein's racing team which fielded cars in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series as well as in CART and the Indianapolis 500.-NASCAR:... |
| 26 | 9 | 4 | Rick Mears Rick Mears Rick Ravon Mears is a retired American race car driver. He is one of three men to have won the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race four times , and the current record-holder for pole positions in the race with six... |
224.594 | 10 | 74 | 0 | Crash T1 | Penske Racing Penske Racing Penske Racing is a racing team that competes in the IndyCar Series and NASCAR. They also previously competed in road racing, and Formula One. Penske Racing is a division of Penske Corporation, and is owned and chaired by Roger Penske... |
| 27 | 13 | 91 | Stan Fox Stan Fox Stan Fox was a United States open wheel race car driver. Fox was one of the last links between the midget car racing world and the Indianapolis 500.-Midget car career:... |
222.867 | 15 | 63 | 0 | Crash SS | Hemelgarn Racing Hemelgarn Racing Hemelgarn Racing was a racing team in the Indy Racing League owned by Ron Hemelgarn. The team won the 1996 Indianapolis 500 and 2000 Series Championship with driver Buddy Lazier. Along with A.J... |
| 28 | 16 | 44 | Philippe Gache Philippe Gache Philippe Gache is a French racecar driver. He has raced in a number of disciplines, but for the last 20 years has specialized in off-road racing. In 1992 he competed in the Indianapolis 500, but crashed his car. He has driven in the Dakar Rally in 2003-2006 and 7 times in the 24 Hours of Le Mans... (R) |
221.496 | 23 | 61 | 0 | Crash T1 | Dick Simon Racing Dick Simon Racing Dick Simon Racing was a race team owned by racer Dick Simon that competed in the CART Championship Car series from 1983 to 1995 and the Indy Racing League from 1999 to 2001.-CART:... |
| 29 | 31 | 92 | Gordon Johncock Gordon Johncock Gordon Johncock is a former racing driver, best known as a two-time winner of the Indianapolis 500 and the 1976 USAC Marlboro Championship Trail champion. Johncock was most often simply referred to as "Gordy."... |
219.287 | 32 | 60 | 0 | Engine | Hemelgarn Racing Hemelgarn Racing Hemelgarn Racing was a racing team in the Indy Racing League owned by Ron Hemelgarn. The team won the 1996 Indianapolis 500 and 2000 Series Championship with driver Buddy Lazier. Along with A.J... |
| 30 | 17 | 10 | Scott Pruett Scott Pruett Scott Donald Pruett is an American race car driver who has competed in NASCAR, Champ Car, IMSA, Trans-Am and Grand-Am. He and his wife Judy have three children, and are children's book authors.... |
220.464 | 25 | 52 | 0 | Engine | TrueSports Truesports Truesports was an automobile racing team founded by Jim Trueman based in Hilliard, Ohio. The team is best known for winning the 1986 Indianapolis 500 and back-to-back CART championships in 1986 and 1987.... |
| 31 | 30 | 59 | Tom Sneva Tom Sneva Tom Sneva is a former Indy Car driver who was named to the prestigious Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 2005. Sneva is best remembered for winning the 1983 Indianapolis 500. Nicknamed "The Gas Man," Sneva was an outstanding qualifier, winning the pole position for the Indianapolis 500 three... |
219.737 | 30 | 10 | 0 | Crash T4 | Team Menard Team Menard Team Menard was an auto racing team in the Indianapolis 500 and Indy Racing League owned by John Menard. From 1991 to 1996 they modified their own Buick V6 engines for racing. This combination won pole for the 500 with Scott Brayton in 1995 and 1996; Tony Stewart used this combination for the first... |
| 32 | 15 | 19 | Eric Bachelart Eric Bachelart Eric Bachelart is a former race car driver and current Conquest Racing team owner.-Racing career:... (R) |
221.549 | 22 | 4 | 0 | Engine | Dale Coyne Racing Dale Coyne Racing Dale Coyne Racing is a motorsports team in the IndyCar Series owned by former driver Dale Coyne. It was founded in 1986 with Chicago Bears great Walter Payton as Payton/Coyne Racing. The team fields the No. 18 Acorn Stairlifts and No... |
| 33 | 1 | 36 | Roberto Guerrero Roberto Guerrero Roberto José Guerrero Isaza is a former racing driver from Colombia. He participated in 29 Formula One Grands Prix, debuting on 23 January 1982... |
232.481 | 1 | 0 | 0 | Crash BS | King Racing King Racing King Racing was the name of famed NHRA champion Kenny Bernstein's racing team which fielded cars in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series as well as in CART and the Indianapolis 500.-NASCAR:... |
Legacy
Scott GoodyearScott Goodyear
Scott Goodyear is a former race car driver from Newmarket, Ontario, Canada. Goodyear ran the IRL and Champ Car series during his career from 1987, winning the Michigan 500 in 1992 and 1994...
's charge from 33rd place to second marked the second time a driver had done so in Indy history. The winning margin of Unser over Goodyear was later deemed to be closer than published. Unser's Galmer
Galmer
Galmer was an American racecar manufacturer that built cars used from 1992 through 1993 in CART competition and the Indianapolis 500. The cars were commissioned by the Galles Racing team...
-Chevrolet
Chevrolet
Chevrolet , also known as Chevy , is a brand of vehicle produced by General Motors Company . Founded by Louis Chevrolet and ousted GM founder William C. Durant on November 3, 1911, General Motors acquired Chevrolet in 1918...
placed its timing transponder nose of the car rather than the sidepod, the standard location in all the other cars. Goodyear's Lola lagged behind due to its placement of the transponder in the sidepod. USAC officials estimated an unofficial winning margin of 0.0331 seconds.
The exciting finish of the 1992 Indy 500 was largely overshadowed by the vast number of serious crashes during the month, including the fatal crash of Jovy Marcelo
Jovy Marcelo
Edward Jovy Marcelo was a Filipino race car driver from Quezon City, Philippines, who was killed in practice for the 1992 Indianapolis 500....
and the devastating injures suffered by Nelson Piquet
Nelson Piquet
Nelson Piquet Souto Maior , known as Nelson Piquet, is a Brazilian former racing driver. He was Formula One world champion in , and . He is one of eight drivers to win three or more world championships, the others being Jack Brabham, Jackie Stewart, Niki Lauda, Ayrton Senna , Alain Prost , Juan...
and Jeff Andretti
Jeff Andretti
Jeff Andretti is an American race car driver. He competed in CART, and was the series' Rookie of the Year in 1991.-Racing career:...
. The crash-filled race saw 13 cautions for 85 laps, and the slowest average speed since 1958
1958 Indianapolis 500
The 1958 Indianapolis 500 was an automobile race held on Friday, May 30, 1958 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The event was the fourth round of the 1958 World Drivers' Championship....
. Several drivers spent time in the hospital, while others required lengthy rehabilitation. At the next Indy Car race at Detroit, several drivers required substitute drivers, including Mario Andretti
Mario Andretti
Mario Gabriele Andretti is a retired Italian American world champion racing driver, one of the most successful Americans in the history of the sport. He is one of only two drivers to win races in Formula One, IndyCar, World Sportscar Championship and NASCAR...
, Rick Mears
Rick Mears
Rick Ravon Mears is a retired American race car driver. He is one of three men to have won the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race four times , and the current record-holder for pole positions in the race with six...
, Hiro Matsushita
Hiro Matsushita
, is a former driver in the Champ Car series. He is the grandson of Konosuke Matsushita, founder of Matsushita Electric Industrial Co.. The family relationship has allowed him to receive financial backing from Panasonic throughout his racing career.-Early career:...
.
In the aftermath of his serious practice crash, followed by the crash during the race, Rick Mears
Rick Mears
Rick Ravon Mears is a retired American race car driver. He is one of three men to have won the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race four times , and the current record-holder for pole positions in the race with six...
raced only a partial schedule for the remainder of the 1992 season. He dropped out of the Michigan 500 due to the nagging injured wrist he suffered in his practice crash and abruptly retired from driving in December. The 1992 race was also the final start for A. J. Foyt
A. J. Foyt
Anthony Joseph Foyt, Jr., or as he is universally known as in motorsports circles, A. J. Foyt , is a retired American automobile racing driver. He raced in numerous genres of motorsports. His open wheel racing includes USAC Champ cars and midget cars. He raced stock cars in NASCAR and USAC. He won...
, who would retire from the cockpit before the 1993 race.
Michael Andretti
Michael Andretti
Michael Mario Andretti is a retired American CART and Formula One driver and owner of the Andretti Autosport team in the IndyCar Series. Andretti is the son of Mario Andretti. His son is Marco Andretti.-Early career:...
's failure to achieve victory reflected back to the Andretti Curse
Andretti Curse
The Andretti Curse, sometimes referred to as Andretti Luck, and in some rare circles, the Curse of Andy Granatelli's kiss, is in reference to the unexplainable bad luck the Andretti racing family has experienced in their efforts to win the Indianapolis 500. Patriarch and auto racing legend Mario...
. Andretti would not return to Indy for two years, due to his ill-fated 1993 Formula One participation.
During the summer of 1992, the track would be reconfigured for safety reasons. The apron at the bottom of the track was removed and replaced with a new warm up lane. The outside retaining wall was also replaced. These improvements were completed in time for the 1993 race
1993 Indianapolis 500
The 77th Indianapolis 500 was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Sunday, May 30, 1993. Emerson Fittipaldi took the lead with 16 laps to go, and won his second career Indy 500 victory...
.
Statistics
- The race was held on May 24, only the third time in Indy history the race had fallen on that date. The previous winners on that date had been Bobby UnserBobby UnserRobert William "Bobby" Unser is a retired U.S. automobile racer. He is the brother of Al Unser, Jerry Unser and Louie Unser, the father of Robby Unser, and the uncle of Al Unser, Jr. and Johnny Unser...
(May 24, 1981) and Al Unser, Sr.Al UnserAlfred "Al" Unser is a former American automobile racing driver, the younger brother of fellow racing drivers Jerry and Bobby Unser, and father of Al Unser, Jr....
(May 24, 1987). Al Unser, Jr.Al Unser, Jr.Alfred Unser, Jr. , nicknamed "Little Al", "Al Junior" or simply "Junior" is a retired American race car driver and two-time Indianapolis 500 winner.-History:...
's victory on May 24, 1992 marked all three runnings on that date as victories by the Unser family. - Michael AndrettiMichael AndrettiMichael Mario Andretti is a retired American CART and Formula One driver and owner of the Andretti Autosport team in the IndyCar Series. Andretti is the son of Mario Andretti. His son is Marco Andretti.-Early career:...
led 160 laps but failed to win the race. It was the most laps led by a non-winner since his father MarioMario AndrettiMario Gabriele Andretti is a retired Italian American world champion racing driver, one of the most successful Americans in the history of the sport. He is one of only two drivers to win races in Formula One, IndyCar, World Sportscar Championship and NASCAR...
led 170 in a losing effort in the 1987 race1987 Indianapolis 500The 71st Indianapolis 500 was held Sunday May 24, 1987 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. During the month of May, an unusually high 25 crashes occurred during practice and qualifying. After dominating practice, qualifying, and most of the race, leader Mario Andretti slowed with mechanical...
. - Polesitter Roberto GuerreroRoberto GuerreroRoberto José Guerrero Isaza is a former racing driver from Colombia. He participated in 29 Formula One Grands Prix, debuting on 23 January 1982...
became the third pole winner to finish last. Cliff WoodburyCliff WoodburyCliff Woodbury was an American racecar driver. After crashing on the third lap of the 1929 Indianapolis 500, Woodbury becomes the first Indy pole-sitter to finish in last place. This feat will not be repeated until Pancho Carter retires with mechanical problems six laps into the 1985 Indianapolis...
(19291929 Indianapolis 500Results of the 1929 Indianapolis 500 held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Thursday, May 30, 1929.*Ray Keech reigned as champion for only 17 days; he was killed at Altoona Speedway June 15, 1929....
) and Pancho CarterPancho CarterDuane "Pancho" Carter, Jr. is a retired American race car driver. He is most famous for his participation in CART races.-Background:...
(19851985 Indianapolis 500The 69th Indianapolis 500 was held at Indianapolis, United States on Sunday, May 26, 1985. Due to a dramatic spin by eventual race winner Danny Sullivan, the race is known in auto racing lore as the "Spin and Win".-Recap:...
) were the previous two at the time. - Eddie CheeverEddie CheeverEdward "Eddie" McKay Cheever, Jr. is an American racing driver who raced for almost thirty years in Formula One, Sports cars, CART and the Indy Racing League. Cheever participated in 143 World Championship Formula One races and started 132, more than any other American, driving for nine different...
became the first #2 starter to complete 500 miles since Mario AndrettiMario AndrettiMario Gabriele Andretti is a retired Italian American world champion racing driver, one of the most successful Americans in the history of the sport. He is one of only two drivers to win races in Formula One, IndyCar, World Sportscar Championship and NASCAR...
in 19691969 Indianapolis 500Results of the 1969 Indianapolis 500 held at Indianapolis on Friday, May 30, 1969.-Race schedule:-Jigger Sirois:On pole day, Saturday May 17, rain threatened to wash out the afternoon. At the time, the rules did not specifically provide for rain delay extensions during the pole round...
. During that period, the second starting position was experiencing a perceived "curse," where it produced no winners, and cars frequently dropping out. In the intervening 22 races, the #1 and #3 starting positions had accounted for 12 victories. - A record ten former winners representing 20 victories started the race. The ten drivers included:
- A. J. FoytA. J. FoytAnthony Joseph Foyt, Jr., or as he is universally known as in motorsports circles, A. J. Foyt , is a retired American automobile racing driver. He raced in numerous genres of motorsports. His open wheel racing includes USAC Champ cars and midget cars. He raced stock cars in NASCAR and USAC. He won...
(4 wins) - Al Unser, Sr.Al UnserAlfred "Al" Unser is a former American automobile racing driver, the younger brother of fellow racing drivers Jerry and Bobby Unser, and father of Al Unser, Jr....
(4) - Rick MearsRick MearsRick Ravon Mears is a retired American race car driver. He is one of three men to have won the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race four times , and the current record-holder for pole positions in the race with six...
(4) - Gordon JohncockGordon JohncockGordon Johncock is a former racing driver, best known as a two-time winner of the Indianapolis 500 and the 1976 USAC Marlboro Championship Trail champion. Johncock was most often simply referred to as "Gordy."...
(2) - Mario AndrettiMario AndrettiMario Gabriele Andretti is a retired Italian American world champion racing driver, one of the most successful Americans in the history of the sport. He is one of only two drivers to win races in Formula One, IndyCar, World Sportscar Championship and NASCAR...
(1) - Tom SnevaTom SnevaTom Sneva is a former Indy Car driver who was named to the prestigious Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 2005. Sneva is best remembered for winning the 1983 Indianapolis 500. Nicknamed "The Gas Man," Sneva was an outstanding qualifier, winning the pole position for the Indianapolis 500 three...
(1) - Danny SullivanDanny SullivanDaniel John "Danny" Sullivan III is a former racing driver from the United States. He is best known for winning the 1985 Indianapolis 500.-Before racing:...
(1) - Bobby RahalBobby RahalRobert "Bobby" Woodward Rahal is an American auto racing driver and team owner. As a driver, he won three championships and 24 races in the CART open-wheel series, including the 1986 Indianapolis 500...
(1) - Emerson FittipaldiEmerson FittipaldiEmerson Fittipaldi |São Paulo]], Brazil) is a Brazilian automobile racing driver who throughout a long and successful career won the Indianapolis 500 twice and championships in both Formula One and CART.-Early and personal life:...
(1) - Arie LuyendykArie LuyendykArie Luyendyk, originally Arie Luijendijk is a Dutch auto racing driver, twice winner of the Indianapolis 500....
(1)
- A. J. Foyt
Three-time winner Johnny Rutherford
Johnny Rutherford
For the Major League Baseball pitcher, see Johnny Rutherford . For other people with a similar name, see John RutherfordJohn Sherman Rutherford III , better known as Johnny Rutherford, and also known as "Lone Star JR" is a former U.S...
also attempted to qualify, but was too slow. With Al Unser, Jr.
Al Unser, Jr.
Alfred Unser, Jr. , nicknamed "Little Al", "Al Junior" or simply "Junior" is a retired American race car driver and two-time Indianapolis 500 winner.-History:...
a first-time winner, the field ultimately comprised 11 winners. In addition, Eddie Cheever
Eddie Cheever
Edward "Eddie" McKay Cheever, Jr. is an American racing driver who raced for almost thirty years in Formula One, Sports cars, CART and the Indy Racing League. Cheever participated in 143 World Championship Formula One races and started 132, more than any other American, driving for nine different...
and Buddy Lazier
Buddy Lazier
Robert Buddy Lazier is an American Indycar driver. He won the 1996 Indianapolis 500 and has finished in the Top Ten in that race six times...
would eventually go on to win the race, bringing the winners total to 13 drivers (representing 26 victories) in the 1992 field.
Indianapolis Motor Speedway Radio NetworkIndianapolis Motor Speedway Radio NetworkThe Indianapolis Motor Speedway Radio Network , is an in-house radio syndication arrangement which broadcasts the Indianapolis 500, IndyCar, and the Brickyard 400 to radio stations covering most of North America....
" Al Unser, Jr. has the lead, one more turn to go...here they come, coming to the finish line, Bob JenkinsBob Jenkins
Bob Jenkins is an American television and radio sports announcer with NBC Sports Network, also known for his work at ABC and ESPN calling IndyCar and NASCAR telecasts. He is currently the lead commentator for the IndyCar Series on NBC Sports Network.-ESPN and ABC:Bob Jenkins was born in Richmond,...
, who's gonna win it?!"
- - Bob LameyBob LameyBob Lamey is an American sportscaster, currently the radio play-by-play announcer for the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League...
, calling the fourth turn of the final lap of the race.
"The checkered flag is out...Goodyear makes a move!...Little Al wins by just a few tenths of a second!...perhaps the closest finish in the history of the Indianapolis 500
Indianapolis 500
The Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, also known as the Indianapolis 500, the 500 Miles at Indianapolis, the Indy 500 or The 500, is an American automobile race, held annually, typically on the last weekend in May at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana...
!"
- - Bob JenkinsBob JenkinsBob Jenkins is an American television and radio sports announcer with NBC Sports Network, also known for his work at ABC and ESPN calling IndyCar and NASCAR telecasts. He is currently the lead commentator for the IndyCar Series on NBC Sports Network.-ESPN and ABC:Bob Jenkins was born in Richmond,...
, calling the final straightaway of the race.
ABC Sports
"They make the turn for home now! On the mainstretch, Scott Goodyear closes in...he looks for a place to come by! Scott Goodyear tries it...but no!""I believe that's the closest finish in Indy history, closer than the race ten years ago when Gordon Johncock beat Rick Mears!"
"Ten years ago, when Little Al was new to this track...And now, Al Unser, Jr. is a winner at the Indianapolis 500..."
- - Paul PagePaul PagePaul Page is an American motorsports broadcaster who was the lead announcer for ABC Sports' coverage of CART and the IRL from 1988 to 2004. He currently is the lead announcer for NHRA.-Early life and career:...
and Sam PoseySam PoseySam Posey is a retired American racecar driver and sports broadcast journalist.-Driving career:...
, calling the final straightaway of the race, and immediately after.