The Associated Press has compiled a list of highlights of all past Indianapolis 500 races, as the buildup to the 100th running presented by PennGrade Motor Oil took place this May 29.
Now with the 100th running complete, we can complete the links of all of the past AP roundups with rookie Alexander Rossi having taken a shock but amazing first win in the race.
Here are runnings 91-100, from 2007 through 2016.
Past pieces:
- Runnings 1-10
- Runnings 11-20
- Runnings 21-30
- Runnings 31-40
- Runnings 41-50
- Runnings 51-60
- Runnings 61-70
- Runnings 71-80
- Runnings 81-90
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RACE: 91st Indianapolis 500
DATE: May 27, 2007
WINNER: Dario Franchitti
AVERAGE SPEED: 151.774 mph
WHAT HAPPENED: Once again, rain played havoc with “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing.” There was a three-hour delay with Tony Kanaan, still chasing his first Indy 500 victory, sitting in the lead. The track was eventually dried and the race restarted, but a crash on Lap 162 between Dan Wheldon and Marco Andretti brought out the caution with Franchitti in the lead. He was declared the victor when rain halted the race.
NOTABLE: The race is broadcast in high-definition for the first time, rain delay and all. Less obvious to fans was the change in fuel from methanol to ethanol, and one team was fined for using a mixture of methanol on pole day. It was also the final race with Panoz chassis - Dallara would provide all of the chassis in the field the following year. Fans sang “Back Home Again in Indiana” when Jim Nabors had to miss the race due to illness.
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RACE: 92nd Indianapolis 500
DATE: May 25, 2008
WINNER: Scott Dixon
AVERAGE SPEED: 143.567 mph
WHAT HAPPENED: The split that nearly ruined American open-wheel racing was a memory when the flag dropped on the first Indy 500 after unification. Marco Andretti again led the race as he tried to end the “Andretti curse,” but Vitor Meira took the lead on a restart with 41 laps to go. Dixon took the lead and held it the final 24 laps, with Meira finishing second and Andretti third. Helio Castroneves was fourth in his bid for his third victory.
NOTABLE: Ryan Briscoe tagged Danica Patrick as they were exiting pit road on the final sequence of stops, ending both of their days. Patrick tried to walk toward Briscoe’s pit stall before security intervened, and both drivers were summoned to the IndyCar trailer. They were ultimately fined $100,000 apiece and placed on probation. Meanwhile, Dixon became the first New Zealander to win.
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RACE: 93rd Indianapolis 500
DATE: May 24, 2009
WINNER: Helio Castroneves
AVERAGE SPEED: 150.318 mph
WHAT HAPPENED: Castroneves won from the pole to become the first foreign-born three-time winner of the race. Former winner Dan Wheldon finished second and Danica Patrick, a year after her pit-road dust-up with Ryan Briscoe, finished third for the best result ever by a woman.
NOTABLE: The race began a three-year centennial celebration leading up to 2011, the 100th anniversary of the first edition of the race. Tony Kanaan wrecked when his driveshaft failed him near the midpoint of the race, leaving him visibly shaken afterward. Paul Tracy also returned for the first time since 2002, when his pass of Castroneves for the lead on Lap 199 was determined to have come after the caution flew for a wreck on another part of the track.
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RACE: 94th Indianapolis 500
DATE: May 30, 2010
WINNER: Dario Franchitti
AVERAGE SPEED: 161.623 mph
WHAT HAPPENED: Franchitti took the lead on Lap 192 when the leaders, having chosen not to pit when Sebastian Saavedra spun 31 laps earlier, had to stop for fuel. Franchitti also began to conserve fuel over the final laps, but he was able to hold off Dan Wheldon. Marco Andretti wound up with his third top-three finish in five starts. Ryan Hunter-Reay ran out of fuel on the last lap and was hit by Mike Conway, who broke his leg in the accident.
NOTABLE: It was the first race with four female starters. Danica Patrick finished sixth and Simona de Silvestro won rookie of the year after finishing 14th. Franchitti’s victory eventually gave team owner Chip Ganassi a sweep of the Daytona 500 (Jamie McMurray), the Indy 500 and the Brickyard 400 when McMurray won at Indianapolis later in the year.
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RACE: 95th Indianapolis 500
DATE: May 29, 2011
WINNER: Dan Wheldon
AVERAGE SPEED: 170.265 mph
WHAT HAPPENED: American rookie J.R. Hildebrand was poised to take the checkered flag when his car drifted high on the final turn of the last lap and he hit the wall. Wheldon slipped by as Hildebrand skidded down the front stretch, winning his second Indy 500. Hildebrand finished second in his wrecked car.
NOTABLE: The race capped a three-year centennial celebration of the Indy 500. Donald Trump was supposed to drive the pace car but stepped away due to “time constraints,” though there was a public campaign to prevent him from participating. Wheldon won for one-off team Bryan Herta Autosport, much to the chagrin of Hildebrand’s team Panther Racing - which fired Wheldon before the season. Wheldon was killed that October in a wreck at Las Vegas.
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RACE: 96th Indianapolis 500
DATE: May 27, 2012
WINNER: Dario Franchitti
AVERAGE SPEED: 167.734 mph
WHAT HAPPENED: Franchitti was getting pushed by Takuma Sato on the final lap when Sato challenged him low in Turn 1. Sato lost control as the cars touched, sending him into the wall. Franchitti went on to victory with Chip Ganassi Racing teammate Scott Dixon finishing second. The victory was Franchitti’s third at Indy.
NOTABLE: Franchitti dedicated the victory to two-time winner Dan Wheldon, who had been killed in a crash at Las Vegas the previous October. The race featured the new Dallara chassis and reintroduced turbocharged engines. It also marked the return of engine manufacturer Chevrolet. Tony Kanaan led the race during a late caution as he tried to secure his first win, but he faded on the restart and finished third.
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RACE: 97th Indianapolis 500
DATE: May 26, 2013
WINNER: Tony Kanaan
AVERAGE SPEED: 187.433 mph
WHAT HAPPENED: After 11 failed attempts and numerous close calls, Kanaan finally got his face on the Borg-Warner Trophy. The popular Brazilian overtook Ryan Hunter-Reay on a restart with three laps to go, then led Carlos Munoz and Hunter-Reay across the finish line when Dario Franchitti crashed to bring out the final caution. Marco Andretti finished fourth in yet another close call for his famous family.
NOTABLE: The average speed made the race he fastest in Indy 500 history, beating the mark set by Arie Luyendyk in 1990. There were an astounding 68 lead changes and 14 different leaders, both records, and the 26 cars running at the finish was also a record. Chevrolet dominated the month of May and swept the top four spots, breaking Honda’s streak of nine consecutive Indy 500 wins. Jim Nabors was back at the Brickyard to sing “Back Home Again in Indiana” after missing the previous year with an illness.
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RACE: 98th Indianapolis 500
DATE: May 25, 2014
WINNER: Ryan Hunter-Reay
AVERAGE SPEED: 186.563 mph
WHAT HAPPENED: Trying once again to join the exclusive club of four-time winners, Helio Castroneves pushed Hunter-Reay hard in the final laps. The first American to win the Indy 500 since Sam Hornish Jr. in 2006 held off Castroneves by 0.600 seconds, the second-closest finish in race history.
NOTABLE: The month began with the inaugural Grand Prix of Indianapolis on the road course, which was won by Simon Pagenaud. Ed Carpenter won his second straight pole, but it was Kurt Busch who made headlines in his bid to run the Indy 500 and Coca-Cola 600 on the same day. Busch finished sixth in the Indy 500 but could not finish the NASCAR race because of a blown engine that night in Charlotte. Jim Nabors sang “Back Home Again in Indiana” for the 35th and final time.
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RACE: 99th Indianapolis 500
DATE: May 24, 2015
WINNER: Juan Pablo Montoya
AVERAGE SPEED: 161.341 mph
WHAT HAPPENED: His career at a crossroads, Montoya returned to open-wheel racing from NASCAR with Penske Racing. He swapped the lead with Scott Dixon and Will Power four times in the final 13 laps, the final move coming with four laps to go as Montoya slipped outside of Power in Turn 1 for the lead. He held off Power for the remaining three laps to win his second Indy 500.
NOTABLE: Three crashes during practice sent cars outfitted with new aerokits airborne, forcing safety to the forefront for IndyCar. Among those hurt in a crash was James Hinchcliffe, who nearly lost his life after his leg was impaled by a piece of equipment. Some changes addressed the issue by race day. An a cappella group sang “Back Home Again in Indiana” after the retirement the previous year of Jim Nabors.
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RACE: 100th Indianapolis 500
DATE: May 29, 2016
WINNER: Alexander Rossi
AVERAGE SPEED: 166.634 mph
WHAT HAPPENED: Rossi was a 66-to-1 longshot, an IndyCar rookie who had chased a ride in Formula One since he was 10. Stuck without one, the California native returned to the U.S. and landed a ride with Andretti Autosport. He stunned his faster rivals by outlasting them in a fuel-mileage showdown, his car running out of gas during his victory lap.
NOTABLE: Ryan Hunter-Reay and Townsend Bell combined to lead 64 of the first 119 laps, but the Americans were knocked from contention when they got tangled with each other on pit road. It was the first sellout in Indy 500 history, with more than 350,000 in attendance, and the race was televised locally for the first time since the 1950s.