Round 6: The 102nd Running of the Indianapolis 500, 15th-27th May.
With the first practice session and the Rookie Orientation Program starting tomorrow, it's time to start the thread for the 102nd running of the Indianapolis 500.
Indianapolis Motor Speedway is one of the world's oldest tracks that is still in use. In 1905 Indiana businessman Carl G. Fisher, envisioned building a circuit after watching some of the world's earliest car races in France. He felt Europe had the upper hand in car design and thought one reason was the lack of permanent testing facilities for American car manufacturers. After another visit to Europe and seeing the banked oval at Brooklands, England, he decided to build his own track.
Fisher convinced local businessmen James A. Allison, Arthur Newby and Frank W. Wheeler to join him in purchasing Pressley Farm, five miles outside of Indianapolis and totalling 328 acres for about $72,000. On March 20, 1909, The Indianapolis Motor Speedway company was incorporated and construction began that month.
The track surface consisted of packed soil covered by two inches of gravel, two inches of limestone covered with a solution of tar and oil, or taroid, one–two inches of crushed stone chips, also drenched with taroid and topped with crushed stones.
The first motorsport event was a series of motorcycle races planned over two days, under the sanction of the Federation of American Motorcyclists (FAM), starting on August 14, 1909. Concerns about the track surface stopped the event part way through day one. Five days later 15 teams arrived for the first car event, held over three days. This was not without incident.
On day one Wilfred Bourque suffered a rear-axle failure, resulting in his car flipping end over end on the main straight, before crashing into a fence post, killing him and his mechanic Harry Halcomb. On day three the right front tire blew on Charlie Merz's car, knocking down five fence posts and dozens of spectators, killing two as well as his mechanic Claude Kellum. Ten laps later, after another accident, the race was cancelled.
The AAA, American Automobile Association, announced it would boycott further events unless the surface was changed. A concrete surface was considered but the track owners decided to pave the entire facility with bricks, after tests proved their durability. Five Indiana manufacturers
supplied 3.2 million, 10-pound bricks. Each was hand laid on a 2 inch bed of sand, then leveled and the gaps filled with mortar. A concrete wall 33 inches tall was also constructed in front of the main grandstand and around all four corners to protect spectators. The final brick was made of
gold and laid in a special ceremony by Governor Thomas R. Marshall.
In December 1909, the track reopened for testing, with speeds of up to 112 mph being reported. Racing returned the next year, with a series of short races held over the three main holiday weekends: Memorial Day, Fourth of July and Labor Day. The following year, 1911, racing was just
confined to Memorial Day and the very first 500 mile race was held on May 30. It was won by a former racer and Marmon engineer Ray Harroun, who came out of retirement for just one race, driving the legendary Marmon-Wasp. Since then, the event has always been held on the Sunday before Memorial Day and the race has been held every year since 1911, except for 1917-18 and 1942-45, due to World Wars I and II.
Last year
After the 100th running of Indianapolis 500 and the anticipation that goes with such an historic event, one might have expected last year's 101st running to be a little down beat. However, in April, 2017 two time F1 World Driver's Champion, Fernando Alonso: 2005, 2006, decided not to compete at the jewel in the crown of the F1 calendar, the Monaco Grand Prix but instead compete in last year's Indianapolis 500 on Sunday the 28th of May, the same day as the Monaco Grand Prix.
At the end of 2014 McLaren's F1 engine deal with Mercedes ended. McLaren decided to renew their historic links with Honda, with whom they had a very successful partnership in the late '80s and early '90s, with drivers Alain Prost and the late Ayrton Senna. Alonso who raced with McLaren in 2007, was lured back from Ferrari, after a somewhat frustrating five years, having been runner up three times in the F1 world Driver's Championship.
The Honda engine was problematic from the start and With little improvement during last year's Formula 1 season and Alonso's increasing frustration, McLaren and Alonso agreed on a joint venture to race at last year's 500. This would mean not taking part in the 2017 Monaco Grand Prix as both races clash. However, the likelihood of a decent finish was remote.
Alonso's overall aim is to win motorsport's triple crown: the Indianapolis 500, the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the Monaco Grand Prix. This has only been achieved by one other driver, the late Graham Hill. So far, Alonso has won the Monaco Grand Prix in 2006-7.
McLaren's entry was in partnership with Andretti Autsoport, one of the top Honda IndyCar teams, winning the 500 with Ryan Hunter-Reay in 2014 and partnering with Bryan Herta, to clinch Alexander Rossi's rookie win in the 100th running of the race, in 2016. Alonso qualified 5th but an engine issue that saw team mate Ryan Hunter-Reay retire, meant he also retired finishing 27th.
Last year's race
At the start, pole sitter Dixon moved into the lead, while Will Power managed to jumped from ninth to second place. By Lap 6, Kanaan was second and then passed Dixon for the lead, while Rossi moved into third. Alonso made a slow start but moved his way to sixth by lap 19. As the first round of pit stops neared, Dixon fell down the order losing second to Rossi and third to Carpenter. The first round of stops came at Lap 29, with Carpenter taking the lead, Rossi second, Alonso third, Kanaan fourth, and Sato fifth. Both Andretti Autosport teammates Rossi and Alonso soon overtook Carpenter and on Lap 37 Alonso took the lead. On Lap 43, Rossi overtook Alonso before Alonso took back the lead on Lap 48.
On Lap 53, Howard drifted wide at Turn 1, having been passed by Hunter-Reay, sending him into the wall. After the initial impact, Howard's car drifted across the track into Dixon's car, which was launched off the back of Howard's, sending it airborne and flipping it, before coming down on top of the Turn 2 inside wall, destroying some of the catch fencing. Amazingly, neither Dixon nor Howard were injured but repairs were needed to the catch fencing, forcing the race to be red flagged. After 18:39 minutes, the cars re-started and the race resumed under yellow, with Alonso still in the lead. During the caution, Castroneves was forced to make repairs to his car after receiving minor damage, as he attempted to avoid Dixon's car, putting him in 22nd place.
By Lap 61, Rossi regained the lead, while Sato and Hunter-Reay both passed Alonso. On Lap 65, Sato moved into the lead for the first time. Two laps later came the second caution, as Daly lost control trying to pass at Turn 3 and crashed into the wall. Harvey spun, in an attempt to avoid Daly's debris, which sent him into the inside wall in the North short-chute, forcing him to retire. During the caution, Castroneves was given a drive-thru penalty for jumping the previous restart.
The race restarted and Rossi overtook Sato for the lead, while both Hunter-Reay and Tony Kanaan passed Sato in the following laps, to move into second and third respectively. This green flag period was short lived, as on Lap 81 a winglett from Andretti's car broke off, landing on the front straight. During the caution, the majority of drivers pitted, with Hunter-Reay leading Rossi and Alonso out of the pit lane. Power, Chilton, and Castroneves elected to stay out, having made pit stops only six laps earlier during the previous caution, putting them at the front of the field.
The race resumed, with Chilton taking the lead from Power but by Lap 86, the drivers who had pitted under caution were now at the front of the field. Power fell back and by Lap 96, Castroneves took the lead, after passing Hunter-Reay, while Kanaan moved back into the top five after passing teammate Chilton. On Lap 104, Castroneves, who was still off sequence from the previous caution, made his pit stop, starting the cycle of green flag stops and handing the lead back to Hunter-Reay. The majority of the field came in around Lap 110, with Hunter-Reay resuming the lead with three seconds over teammate Rossi. Alonso, Castroneves and Power rounded out the top five.
On Lap 122, 1996 Indy 500 winner Lazier, lost control of his car in Turn 2 and hit the wall, forcing him to retire and bringing out the yellow. During the caution period, Sage Karam's race came to an end, when a dead battery caused him to grind to a halt on the track.
Racing resumed on Lap 129, with Hunter-Reay ahead of Alonso and Rossi, though One lap later Alonso moved back into the lead. Caution waved again but briefly for debris on the front straight but ended on Lap 135, with Alonso and Hunter-Reay battling for the top spot and Alonso taking the lead on Lap 136. Unfortunately, pre-race concerns about Honda's engine reliability were realised the same lap, as Hunter-Reay's engine let go on the back straight before slowing and coming to a halt, just before the pit entrance. Caution waved again, with most drivers pitting and Alonso leading the field off pit lane. Rossi had a major refueling issue that dropped him down the field and outside the top 20. Some drivers elected not to pit, including Chilton, Kimball, J. R. Hildebrand, James Davison and Ed Jones.
The restart saw Kimball grab the lead from Chilton but caution waved almost immediately, as Ed Carpenter did a half spin and punched a hole in the sidepod of Aleshin's car, breaking Carpenter's front wing and sending debris across the track at Turn 1. Racing resumed on lap 147, with Chilton quickly overtaking Kimball. On lap 149, Rahal's hopes were dashed when a deflating tire forced him to pit under green.
By Lap 151, Castroneves was up to fourth, while Davison moved into second place. Meanwhile, Takuma Sato had moved to eighth by the end of Lap 163. On Lap 166, Chilton made what would be his final pit stop, giving Davison the lead. Davison became the first driver since Alex Tagliani in the 2016 Indianapolis 500, to lead after starting last. Caution flew again almost immediately after this, as Kimball's Honda engine gave up in similar fashion to Hunter-Reay's. At the same time, rookie Zach Veach stopped on the back straight, his race over. Nearly the entire field pitted during this caution period, with Jones and Castroneves leading off pit lane but having just made a green flag stop, Chilton resumed the lead. The running order was now Chilton, Jones, Castroneves, Davison and Sato.
The race resumed, as Castroneves fought with Jones for second. Behind them, Sato moved to fourth after passing Davison. Eventually, Sato passed both Castroneves and Jones, allowing him to pursue Chilton. On Lap 179, Alonso who was 7th retired, as his Honda engine failed, like Hunter-Reay's and Kimball's, as he came down the front straight; the third Honda failure of the race. Caution once again bunched up the field.
Racing resumed on Lap 184, as Castroneves managed to pass Jones for third. Just behind, chaos ensued as Davison and ServiÃ* made contact in Turn 1, triggering a multi-car pile-up involving Davison, Servia, Power, Hinchcliffe and Newgarden. Of the five, only Newgarden was able to resume but only after losing several laps.
The race restarted with 11 laps to go and Chilton still leading over Sato. On Lap 192, Castroneves passed Sato for second and one lap later, he passed Chilton, taking the lead. However, Sato soon passed Chilton and one lap later, got past Castroneves to take the lead. Castroneves made one last attempt to pass Sato, with three laps to go but was unable to catch up with him. Sato took victory by just 0.2011 seconds over Castroneves, while Jones came across the line in third.
Sato became both the first driver from Japan and the first driver from Asia to take victory in the 500. It also marked the first time since 2011 that the winner of the race came from the first three rows. This was also the third win in four years for Andretti Autosport.
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Some 500 Trivia:
1911: Ray Harroun was the first winner of the 500, driving a Marmon-Wasp.
Race Time: 6:42:08.039.
Average speed: 74.59 mph (120.04 km/h).
1913: Jules Goux, from France was the first non American to win the Indy 500 and the first rookie winner, excluding the inaugural race.
1922: Jimmy Murphy was the first driver to win the race from pole position.
1939-40: Wilbur Shaw was the first driver to win back to back races.
1947: Mauri Rose and Bill Holland, scored the first team 1, 2 for entrant Lou Moore
1952: Art Cross won the first Rookie of the Year Award.
1961: Sir Jack Brabham was the first driver to race a rear engined car, a Cooper-Coventry Climax
1965: Jim Clark was the first driver to win in a rear engined car, in the Lotus 38-Ford.
1966: Graham Hill won The 50th Indy 500, in a Lola T90-Ford, the first rookie winner since 1927.
1967: Parnelli Jones raced the first gas turbine powered car, the Granatelli STP-Paxton Turbocar.
1977: Janet Guthrie was the first woman to qualify for the Indy 500.
1992: Al Unser Jr. beat Scott Goodyear by 0.043 seconds in the 500's closest finish.
1992: Lyn St. James wins the first Female Rookie of the Year Award.
1996: Arie Luyendyk sets a new 1 lap track record of 37.895 seconds, 237.498 mph (382.216 km/h) and a new 4-lap track record of 2:31.908, 236.986 mph (381.392 km/h). He also recorded an unofficial 1 lap of 00:37.616 seconds, 239.260 mph (385.052 km/h). Will Arie Luyendyk's 20 year old lap records be finally broken this year? I doubt it.
2005: Danica Patrick became the first female driver to lead the Indy 500.
2009: Danica Patrick finished 3rd, the highest position for a female driver.
2013: was the fastest race, with a time of 2:40:03.4181 and average Speed of 187.433 mph (301.644 km/h).
2016: Alexander Rossi was the first American to win since 2006 and the first rookie to win since 2009.
2017: Takumo Sato was the first Japanese driver to win the Indy 500.
The most wins by any driver is 4, held jointly by:
A.J. Foyt: 1961, 1964, 1967, 1977.
Al Unser Sr.: 1970, 1971, 1978, 1987.
Rick Mears: 1979, 1984, 1988, 1991.
The team with the most wins: Penske, 16.
1972, 1979, 1981, 1984, 1985, 1987, 1988,
1991, 1993, 1994, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2006,
2009, 2015
The driver/team owner with the most wins: A.J. Foyt.
1964, 1967, 1977.
Current driver with the most wins: Hélio Castroneves.
2001, 2002, 2009.
This year six former 500 winners will be taking part.
Helio Castroneves. 2001, 2002, 2009
Scott Dixon. 2008
Tony Kanaan. 2013
Ryan Hunter-Reay. 2014
Alexander Rossi. 2016
Takuma Sato. 2017
There are 35 entries for this year's race.
Track layout:
Length: 2.5 Miles (4.0 Km)
Turns: 4
1 lap record:
Arie Luyendyk, May 10, 1996. 00:37.895 seconds, 237.498 mph (382.216 km/h). Reynard 96i-Ford Cosworth XB, Indy Racing League.
4 lap record:
Arie Luyendyk, May 12, 1996. 2:31.908, 236.986 mph (381.392 km/h), Reynard 96i-Ford Cosworth XB, Indy Racing League.
Last year's race:
Pole:
Scott Dixon, Chip Ganassi Racing. Dallara-Honda HI17RTT V6 Indy. Combined lap time, 2:35.0630.
Average Speed, 232.164 mph (373.632 km/h)
Winner:
Takumo Sato,
Andretti-Autosport,
Dallara DW12-Honda HI17RTT V6 Indy.
Laps: 200
Distance: 500 Miles (805 km)
Race Time: 03:13:03.358
Average Speed: 155.395 mph (250.084 km/h).
Caution periods: 10
Caution laps: 50
Race broadcast:
ABC. May 27th, 11:00am ET.