2011 Indianapolis 500


The 95th Indianapolis 500 was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana on Sunday May 29, 2011. The race was part of the 2011 IZOD IndyCar Series season. The track opened for practice on May 14 and time trials were held from May 21 to 22. Alex Tagliani won the pole position, and the race was won by Dan Wheldon. It was his second Indy 500 win after the 2005 race, and the last win of his racing career. It was the first of two Indy victories for car owner Bryan Herta.
American rookie J. R. Hildebrand of Panther Racing took the lead with two laps to go. As the leaders were cycling through pit stops, Hildebrand was nursing a car very low on fuel. He was attempting to stretch his tank to the finish line and hold on for an unexpected victory. It would have been the first Indy 500 win for Panther Racing, after three consecutive runner-up finishes, and two series championships. On the final turn of the final lap, Hildebrand went high to pass the slow car of Charlie Kimball. He drifted wide and crashed into the outside wall. As his wrecked car coasted down the front straight, Wheldon slipped by in the final 1,000 feet to take the victory. Hildebrand slid across the finish line to finish second. Four months later, Wheldon was killed in a crash in the IZOD IndyCar World Championship at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, driving the car Tagliani had qualified on the pole in.
The race was the culmination of the three-year-long Centennial era, celebrating the 100th anniversary of the opening of the track and the 100th anniversary of the inaugural race in 1911. Throughout May, the race was advertised as the 100th Anniversary Indianapolis 500 and the Centennial Indianapolis 500. Since the race was suspended during World War I and World War II, the 100th running of the 500 would not be held until 2016.

Event news

Other events

See Team and driver chart for more information
On April 15, 2011, the was released, featuring 83 cars for 42 entries. As of April 15, thirty-five car/driver combinations had been announced. On May 9, a revised version of the entry list was released. The entry from China Racing was withdrawn. The final list includes 79 cars for 41 entries.
Confirmed former winners entered include Dario Franchitti, Hélio Castroneves, Scott Dixon, Dan Wheldon, and Buddy Rice.

Rookie orientation

Pre-Indy oval testing

Since the Indy 500 was the first oval race of the 2011 season, per IndyCar regulations, rookies who have not competed on an oval were required to take part in Pre-Indy Oval testing. Scott Speed and Ho-Pin Tung, along with Wade Cunningham completed the test at Chicagoland Speedway on May 9. Speed was legally exempt from this test because of previous high-speed oval experience in ARCA and NASCAR, but chose to test with his teammate to learn the car.

Thursday, May 12 – Rookie Orientation Program

Saturday, May 14 – Opening Day

Late in the day, reports surfaced that Scott Speed had quit Dragon Racing, after having trouble getting up to speed. The rumor was denied.

Time Trials

Saturday May 21 – Pole Day

Indianapolis 500 Final Practice – Friday May 27

Source:

Starting grid

' = Former Indianapolis 500 winner; ' = Indianapolis 500 rookie
Post-qualifying changes
Failed to qualify
DriverTeamReason
8 Ho-Pin Tung 'Dragon RacingCrashed during qualifying attempt on Pole Day, not medically cleared to continue taking part in qualifying.
17 Raphael MatosAFS RacingBumped from the field, too slow to re-qualify.
18 James Jakes 'Dale Coyne RacingBumped from the field, too slow to re-qualify.
20 Scott Speed
Patrick Carpentier		Dragon RacingSpeed did not attempt to qualify on Pole Day.
Team withdrew on Bump Day after Carpentier crashed and the team could not secure a back-up car.
27 Mike ConwayAndretti AutosportBumped from the field, too slow to re-qualify.
28 Ryan Hunter-ReayAndretti AutosportBumped from the field – replaced Bruno Junqueira in the #41.
34 Sebastián SaavedraConquest RacingBumped from the field, too slow to re-qualify.

Race

Summary

First half

The 95th running of the Indianapolis 500 began at 12:00 PM EDT on a hot, muggy day, shortly after the traditional pre-race ceremonies of the invocation, national anthem, and the singing Back Home Again in Indiana by Jim Nabors. Mari Hulman George gave the starting command around 12:05 PM, as the cars took two parade laps and one pace lap, led by four-time Indianapolis 500 winner A. J. Foyt, who was driving the pace car. The green flag came out to see Scott Dixon pass by pole-sitter Alex Tagliani to take the early lead in the race. The first 20 laps of the race saw a relatively smooth pace set in. Unlike past years there was no accident in the first two laps, with the first caution coming out on Lap 18 when Takuma Sato made contact with the wall. During the first caution period many team made pit-stops including Will Power who left the pit area and drove a lap without a left-rear tire, which all but eliminated the IndyCar points leader from having an opportunity to win the race.
Shortly following the green flag restart Sato's teammate, E. J. Viso was turned heading into turn 1 by James Hinchcliffe and was the next driver to make contact with the wall and eliminate himself from the race. Following the cleanup and restart after Viso's crash saw the field taking shape and aligning themselves for the long 400+ miles remaining. Simona de Silvestro, who was burned in a crash earlier in the month, was not able to pick up speed in her back-up car and quickly fell from 23rd position, to last. On lap 44, it was clear that the car would not be able to keep up with the field, she was called into the pits and her day was over.
Defending winner Dario Franchitti, along with Scott Dixon, Alex Tagliani, and Oriol Servià all began to take their places at the top of the field with each of them leading more than 10 laps in the race respectively. Later accidents occurred with rookies Jay Howard and James Hinchcliffe. Howard lost a right-rear wheel on lap 61, while Hinchcliffe slid high in turn 3 and bounced off the wall at the halfway mark.

Second half

Following James Hinchcliffe's crash on lap 101, the green flag remained out for over 40 laps as many different drivers shared the lead and got in position for the shootout in the final 10. On lap 148, it was the pole-sitter Alex Tagliani who would be called into pit lane after making slight contact with the wall. Tagliani, who had not had a good day, started in first, fell all the way down to 12th before the crash, was finished for the day, with his final finish position being 28th. One of the few multi-car crashes of the day occurred on lap 158 between Ryan Briscoe and Townsend Bell. Up to that point in the day, Team Penske had been running slow and really did not have a good shot at any of their drivers winning the race, and with the crash and elimination of Ryan Briscoe all hope seemed gone as Hélio Castroneves and Will Power were both down due to bad pit stops and slow cars. With no more lengthy cautions the remainder of the race it turned into a fight for the lead as the laps dwindled down.
As the race prepared to go back to green on lap 164, a handful of drivers ducked into the pit area to top off their fuel, in hopes of going the distance without another pit stop. Dario Franchitti and J. R. Hildebrand were among those who gave up their track position, and topped off their fuel.
For the first time in his Indy career, Graham Rahal took the lead of the race and held it for six laps. However, he lost a battle to Scott Dixon and was forced to a pit stop which dropped out of the top five. However, he was able to finish the race in third place. Tony Kanaan also saw his flirt with Indy glory as he made his way all from the middle of the pack to second place at one point, but was forced as well to drop on a pit stop with less than 20 laps to go. As the race came to down to its final 15 laps, it was still Scott Dixon and Dario Franchitti, two Chip Ganassi Racing cars and former winners, who looked like they would win the race. However, late in the race after a series of pit stops by most in the lead, it was an unlikely Bertrand Baguette who would lead the race as the action came to it climax. Baguette was expected to pit again but as the laps dwindled down and he did not come in, it became increasingly likely that this new face would win the race.
The final 10 laps became a battle between Baguette, Franchitti, and rookie J. R. Hildebrand, as well as Dixon and Dan Wheldon behind but good to the finish having recently pitted. With three laps to go, Baguette pitted for fuel and Franchitti continued to slow to conserve fuel. This gave the lead to Hildebrand while Franchitti continued to fade, falling behind Dixon and the charging Wheldon. As the field was given the white flag, it seemed all but certain a rookie would win the 500 for the first time since Castroneves won it in 2001. Hildebrand moved his way down into the north short chute and down into turn four. Coming in on the front stretch, Hildebrand went high to avoid the slower car of Charlie Kimball, who was on the inside line, and collided with the wall. Without steering and on only three wheels, the car slid down the frontstretch towards the finish line. Dan Wheldon, who was second, skirted by in the final 1,000 feet, and crossed the line to win the race. Hildebrand continued to slide, and crossed the finish line in second.

Post-race

became the 18th person to win two or more Indianapolis 500's, his first coming in 2005. The 200th lap was the only one he led in the race, breaking Joe Dawson's 99-year-old record for the fewest laps led by an Indy winner. As he took to victory lane, he celebrated with the traditional ceremonies of the wreath, glass of milk, and the presentation of the Borg Warner Trophy. As the celebration was occurring, his former team Panther Racing considered filing for a review, stating that Wheldon made an illegal pass during the yellow on Hildebrand's car. In the end, video showed that the yellow did not come out until after Wheldon had passed, and even if it would have come out before the pass, the president of competition ruled that Hildebrand's car was a "wounded car", and was therefore allowed to be passed in the race.
Wheldon's average speed of 170.265 mph was the fourth-fastest Indy 500 in history, and was the first Indy 500 completed in less than three hours since Juan Pablo Montoya won in 2000.

Results

Box score

All cars utilized Dallara chassis, Honda engines, and Firestone Firehawk tires.
crashed on the final lap
The race had 23 lead changes among 10 drivers.
On LapLeader
1Scott Dixon
8Alex Tagliani
27Scott Dixon
34Alex Tagliani
35Scott Dixon
61Dario Franchitti
62Ed Carpenter
65Dario Franchitti
73Scott Dixon
99Dario Franchitti
100JR Hildebrand
104Dario Franchitti
113Oriol Servia
129Dario Franchitti
138JR Hildebrand
139Bertrand Baguette
141Dario Franchitti
164Oriol Servia
166Graham Rahal
172Scott Dixon
179Danica Patrick
189Bertrand Baguette
198JR Hildebrand
200Dan Wheldon

LapsLeader
73Scott Dixon
51Dario Franchitti
20Alex Tagliani
18Oriol Servia
11Bertrand Baguette
10Danica Patrick
7JR Hildebrand
6Graham Rahal
3Ed Carpenter
1Dan Wheldon

LapsReason
21 to 26Contact: Takuma Sato: Car #5 in Turn 1
28 to 32Contact: James Hinchcliffe: Car #06 and E.J. Viso: Car #59 in Turn 1
62 to 69Contact: Jay Howard: Car #88 in Turn 1
101 to 106Contact: James Hinchcliffe: Car #06 in Turn 3
148 to 154Contact: Alex Tagliani: Car #77 in Turn 4
158 to 164Contact: Ryan Briscoe: Car #6 and Townsend Bell: Car #99 in Turn 1
200 to 200Contact: JR Hildebrand: Car #4 in Turn 4

Awards

Race winner Dan Wheldon received $2,567,255 in cash prizes and designated awards.
Typically, the presentation of the Borg-Warner Trophy replicas for the driver and owner takes place in January in Detroit during the North American International Auto Show, but Wheldon was killed at Las Vegas in October. Car owners Bryan Herta and Steve Newey, along with Wheldon's widow Susie, were presented in Detroit with their trophies.
The Indianapolis 500-winning car, Dallara IR3007, was the seventh chassis made by Dallara Automobili from the 2003 specifications. Originally a Panther Racing car, it was sold to Adrian Fernandez and later Marty Roth, before FAZZT bought the car in 2010, which became Sam Schmidt Motorsports' car in 2011 when it was used to win the Indianapolis 500. It was raced the next race at Texas Motor Speedway as a Sam Schmidt Motorsports #99 for Wade Cunningham, who crashed it in the first of the Twin 275 km races. The car has been rebuilt and restored in 2011 Indianapolis 500 condition as part of a Wheldon tribute.

Broadcasting

Television

The race was televised in high definition in the United States on ABC, the 47th consecutive year on that network. Marty Reid served as anchor. The telecast utilized the Side-by-Side format for commercial breaks. In the Indianapolis market, the live broadcast was blacked out on WRTV, and shown same-day tape delay in prime time. In some markets in northern Indiana, the final 15 laps of the race were not shown due to a weather bulletin.
The race received a 4.3 overnight rating on ABC, up 7% over 2010. The top local markets included Indianapolis, Dayton, and Fort Myers/Naples. The final rating was 4.0 with 6.711 million viewers, up 11% in ratings and 16% in viewership compared to 2010.
Booth AnnouncersPit/garage reporters

Host: Brent Musburger

Announcer: Marty Reid

Color: Scott Goodyear

Color: Eddie Cheever
Vince Welch
Dr. Jerry Punch
Jamie Little
Rick DeBruhl

Time trials and Carb Day were covered live in the United States on Versus. The announcing team consisted of Bob Jenkins, Jon Beekhuis and Wally Dallenbach, Jr. Pit reporters included Lindy Thackston, Marty Snider, and Kevin Lee. Robin Miller serves as analyst and "insider."
Daily practice was streamed live over the internet.

Radio

The race was broadcast on radio by the IMS Radio Network. Mike King served as anchor. The broadcast reached approximately 400 affiliates, as well as AFN, the LeSEA broadcasting network, and World Harvest Radio. The broadcast was carried on XM channel 145 and on Sirius channel 212 through the "Best of XM" package.
After eliminating the position for 2010, the turn one location was brought back for the broadcast. Jerry Baker reprised his role in turn 1. The position was brought back in response to the league adopting double-wide restarts. Kenny Brack returned as "driver expert," joining the booth in-progress after participating in various pre-race festivities.
WFNI broadcast nightly from the track with Trackside with Curt Cavin and Kevin Lee, followed by Donald Davidson's The Talk of Gasoline Alley.
In 2010, drivers from the starting field were used to recite the famous out-cue "Stay tuned for the greatest spectacle in racing." For 2011, in celebration of the Centennial Era, the out-cues for each commercial break were recordings of previous renditions by the former "Voices of the 500." Each commercial break would feature a different chief announcer, rotating through Sid Collins, Paul Page, Lou Palmer, Bob Jenkins, and Mike King. This format was also used in 2009.
Booth AnnouncersTurn ReportersPit/garage reporters

Chief Announcer: Mike King

Driver expert: Kenny Brack

Analyst: Paul Page

Historian: Donald Davidson

Live in-car reports: Davey Hamilton

Commentary: Bob Jenkins

Turn 1: Jerry Baker

Turn 2: Jake Query

Turn 3: Mark Jaynes

Turn 4: Chris Denari
Michael Young
Nick Yeoman
Kevin Lee
Dave Wilson