2005 Indianapolis 500
The 89th Indianapolis 500 was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana on Sunday, May 29, 2005. It was the premier event of the 2005 IndyCar Series season and the tenth Indy 500 sanctioned by the Indy Racing League. Dan Wheldon won the race, his first of two Indy victories. Wheldon became the first British-born winner since Graham Hill in 1966. It was the second consecutive Indy victory for Honda, and the first victory for the Dallara chassis since 2002. It was also the long-awaited first Indianapolis 500 victory for car owner Michael Andretti of Andretti-Green Racing. After many years of failing to win the race as a driver, Andretti finally achieved victory at Indianapolis as an owner.
Rookie Danica Patrick, who qualified and finished 4th, became the first female driver in Indy history to lead laps during the race. She led three times for a total of 19 laps and won the Rookie of the Year award. Considerable media hype and attention were focused on the race and on Patrick in particular during the month, giving birth to the term "Danica Mania". Her 4th place starting position broke the record set by Lyn St. James and her 4th-place finishing position broke the record set by Janet Guthrie.
The increased attention going into the race helped register a 6.5 Nielsen rating, the highest since 1996. Also making headlines during the month of May was the return of 1999 winner Kenny Bräck. After suffering a violent crash in Texas in October 2003, Bräck sat out the 2004 season, recovering from serious injuries. In what would be his final IndyCar race, he drove in substitution for Buddy Rice. Rice, the 2004 winner suffered a concussion in a practice crash on May 11, and was forced to sit out the event. Bräck was the overall fastest qualifier during time trials but dropped out of the race near the halfway point due to mechanical problems.
Background
Over the offseason, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway was milled and repaved in asphalt. Selective diamond grinding was done in an effort to smooth out bumps in the turns. On April 5, 2005, a private test session saw four teams test for Firestone. The session was canceled, however, when the inconsistent pavement in the turns created an unsuitable dual level of grip in the corners. A week later, the entire track was diamond ground to cure the problem.The schedule for the Month of May was slightly retooled for 2005. The annual rookie orientation program was moved to opening day, as well as the 2nd day of official activity. Previously, in most cases, rookie orientation was held prior to the traditional "opening day" of practice, often in April. Veteran practice would commence on Tuesday, the 3rd day overall.
Carb Day, the traditional last day of practice before the race, was moved from its familiar Thursday slot to Friday of the race weekend. After 4 years of having 3 days of time trials scheduled, time trials reverted to 4 days, and a new format was introduced.
After they were first allowed in 2004, single-point refueling rigs were made mandatory for 2005.
After several decades of the race traditionally starting at 11:00 a.m. local time, the start time was moved to 12:00 p.m. EST.
Team and driver changes
Among the numerous team/driver changes for 2005 included Rahal Letterman Racing. Defending Indy 500 winner Buddy Rice returned, and was joined by rookie Danica Patrick. Newman/Haas Racing returned to the Indy 500, entering Sébastien Bourdais and Bruno Junqueira.Two-time winner Al Unser Jr. took a brief retirement from driving in 2005 and did not enter. With him along with others such as Michael Andretti and Arie Luyendyk on the sidelines, no participants from the 1980s would qualify for the field, the first time ever.
Race schedule
Practice (week 1)
Sunday May 8
Opening day of practice focused on rookie orientation. The coveted 1st driver on the track was Danica Patrick. Among the top drivers of the day were Patrick at, Ryan Briscoe, and Patrick Carpentier. 7 out of the 9 drivers participating completed their required rookie test.Monday May 9
The 2nd day of rookie orientation saw Danica Patrick again set the pace. She set the fastest lap of the month thus far at. Sébastien Bourdais completed his rookie test, while Jeff Ward completed a refresher test.Tuesday May 10
The 1st full day of veteran practice saw heavy activity. Dan Wheldon led the speed chart at, and no incidents were reported.Wednesday May 11
Defending Indy 500 winner Buddy Rice suffered a significant crash at 12:16 p.m. The car spun in Turn 2 and made heavy contact to the rear of the car. Kosuke Matsuura spun to avoid the crash, but received minimal damage. Rice was transported to Methodist Hospital with a concussion.Rain ended the day about a half hour early, with Tony Kanaan fastest of the day, and fastest of the month thus far, at.
Thursday May 12
and Paul Dana both suffered single-car crashes during the session, but neither were seriously injured. Tony Kanaan led the pace early over, but late in the day, Danica Patrick upped the speed to. It marked the fastest lap thus far during the month, and the 1st time a female driver had led the speed chart on a full day of practice since 1977.Friday May 13
"Fast Friday" practice saw cloudy skies, and warm temperatures. Paul Dana wrecked his backup car, crashing for the 2nd day in a row. Exiting Turn 2, Dana spun and hit the outside wall, and slid down the back stretch. Sam Hornish Jr. hit a piece of debris from the wreck on the back stretch, and did a full flip. The car came down upright, but continued to spin and came to a rest overturned. Hornish was uninjured, but Dana was taken to the hospital for further evaluation.Tomas Scheckter turned the fastest lap thus far around 1 p.m., at. Rain began to fall shortly after 2 p.m., and closed the track for the day.
Time trials (weekend 1)
Saturday May 14
Rain fell overnight and into the morning, preventing any track activity. A new qualifying format was put into place for 2005, providing that only the top 11 cars would secure positions on Pole Day, and bumping would then occur. Track officials decided to cancel activities for the day at 12:15 p.m., and postpone Pole Qualifying until Sunday.Shortly after the official postponement, the rain stopped and blue skies emerged. Some complained that qualifying could have been held after all, but head official Brian Barnhart still felt there would not be sufficient time to finish the qualifying order.
Sunday May 15 (Pole Day)
Cool temperatures in the mid-50s were observed for morning practice. Danica Patrick set the fastest lap of the entire month during the morning session at. The lap made her a favorite for the front row. Dario Franchitti and Tony Kanaan were close behind on the speed chart.Due to the rainout on Saturday, 22 positions were to be filled on Sunday. After the field filled to 22 cars, bumping would begin.
At noon, Scott Sharp was the 1st car to make a qualifying attempt. He placed himself in the field with a speed of. Moments later, Tony Kanaan put himself on the provisional pole position with a speed of.
At 12:45 p.m. Eastern time, Danica Patrick took to the track. On her 1st lap, midway through Turn 1, the back end of the car wiggled a bit, and slowed her exit from the turn. The 1st lap was a disappointing. The 2nd lap, however, increased to. Her 4th and final lap was run at, the fastest single lap of the day. The final 4-lap average of put her in the 4th starting position. Many feel that if not for the mistake on the 1st lap, her speed would have been sufficient to secure the pole position.
Later in the day, Sam Hornish Jr. bumped his way onto the front row. Hélio Castroneves withdrew his earlier speed, but ended up losing a position when he re-qualified. The field filled to 22 cars, and the day ended as Jaques Lazier was "bumped".
Practice (week 2)
Wednesday May 18
named Kenny Bräck as the replacement for injured Buddy Rice. Brack was the 1999 winner, but sat out the 2004 season recovering from a massive crash in October 2003 at Texas.Nearly 2,500 laps were run during the afternoon, with Dan Wheldon fastest at. The fastest non-qualified car was Kenny Bräck, already up to.
Thursday May 19
Rain washed out all practice for the day.Friday May 20
Another busy day of practice saw 2,228 laps completed incident-free. Dan Wheldon remained on top of the speech chart at, until Tony Kanaan, at, bumped him off in the final hour.Arie Luyendyk Jr., attempting to complete his rookie test, suffered gearbox trouble, then later blew an engine.
Time trials (weekend 2)
Saturday May 21
The 3rd day of time trials saw the field fill to 32 cars. In the 1st hour, Ryan Briscoe, Marty Roth and Kenny Bräck completed runs. Bräck qualified at, the fastest qualifier in the field. Though he qualified faster than polesitter Tony Kanaan, as a 3rd day qualifier, Bräck would be required to start 23rd.After blowing an engine earlier, A. J. Foyt IV put a car in the field, and the field finished the day with 1 grid position open.
Sunday May 22 (Bump day)
With 1 position open, very few teams in the garage area were prepared to make a qualifying attempt. Most teams used the morning and afternoon sessions for practice. Arie Luyendyk Jr. was the only entry going into the day confirming an intent to qualify.At 3:10 p.m., Luyendyk Jr. completed a run at, and filled the field to 33 cars. Luyendyk Jr. was the slowest car in the field, and on the bubble. However, it appeared that Luyendyk would be safe, with no other teams preparing to qualify.
Shortly after the run, A. J. Foyt Racing announced that they had signed veteran Felipe Giaffone, and he would attempt to qualify. Giaffone had been shopping with his wife at Babies "Я" Us when he got a telephone call to run over to the Speedway. Within 2 hours of being at the store, Giaffone was suited up and ready to drive. In less than 45 minutes, he was up to speed and ready to qualify.
At 5:36 p.m., with less than 25 minutes left in the day, Giaffone took to the track and easily bumped Luyendyk Jr. from the field. Luyendyk's team quickly scrambled his car to go out 1 final time. With 1 minute remaining before the 6 o'clock gun, Luyendyk entered the track. His speed was slow, and he fell more than shy of bumping his way into the field.