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2007 Indianapolis 500
Totally Explained
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Everything about 2007 Indianapolis 500 totally explainedThe 91st Indianapolis 500 ran on Sunday, May 27, 2007 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. It was the 12th Indy 500 sanctioned by the Indy Racing League, and marked the fifth race of the 2007 IndyCar Series season just after the 2007 Kansas Lottery Indy 300 and just before the 2007 ABC Supply Company A.J. Foyt 225. Hélio Castroneves started the race on the pole position.
The race began at 1:11 p.m. EDT, and was televised in the United States on the ABC network, with a one-hour pre-race show at 12 noon EDT. The race was broadcast in high-definition for the first time. The race also was carried live on the IMS Radio Network, XM Satellite Radio, and simulcast on XM Sports Nation. At lap 113, the race underwent a lengthy rain delay, but re-started shortly before 6:15 p.m. EDT. A crash on lap 162 between Dan Wheldon and Marco Andretti brought out the yellow flag and, shortly thereafter, rain began falling hard again and the race was ended, still under a yellow flag, after lap 166. Dario Franchitti was declared the winner after leading 34 laps during the race.
Schedule
| Date(s) |
Day(s) |
Event |
| May 6-7 |
Sunday - Monday |
IndyCar Series Rookie Orientation |
| May 8-11 |
Tuesday - Friday |
IndyCar Series Practice |
| May 12 |
Saturday |
Pole Day Time Trials |
| May 13 |
Sunday |
Second Day Time Trials |
| May 14-15 |
Monday - Tuesday |
No track activity |
| May 16-18 |
Wednesday - Friday |
IndyCar Series Practice |
| May 19 |
Saturday |
Third Day Time Trials |
| May 20 |
Sunday |
Bump Day Time Trials |
| May 21-22 |
Monday - Tuesday |
No track activity |
| May 23 |
Wednesday |
500 Festival Community Day |
| May 24 |
Thursday |
Indy Pro Series Practice and qualifying |
| May 25 |
Friday |
Miller Lite Carb Day
IndyCar Series Practice
Pit Stop Challenge
Indy Pro Series Freedom 100
Kid Rock concert |
| May 26 |
Saturday |
Public Drivers' Meeting
IPL 500 Festival Parade |
| May 27 |
Sunday |
91st Indianapolis 500-Mile Race |
News
Kid Rock headlined the Miller Lite Carb Day concert. Other performers during the month included Daughtry, Saliva, Augustana, and Bräck (a band headed by the former Indy 500 champion).
Indianapolis Colts quarterback and Super Bowl XLI MVP Peyton Manning served as the grand marshal of the IPL 500 Festival Parade on May 26, and waved the green flag to start the 2007 Indy 500.
No testing took place prior to the start of official May activities.
The initial official entry list was released on April 10, 2007 featuring 69 cars, four former winners, and one rookie.
Davey Hamilton's 02 car marks the first time in which a car number beginning with the digit "0" has been entered in the 500.
ESPN on ABC announced that the race would be broadcast in HD for the first time ever. The HD broadcast was presented via Sony high-definition technology.
Dreyer & Reinbold Racing was fined $25,000 for the use of an illegal fuel mixture, containing 27% methanol (no methanol is allowed) in one of its cars during Pole day. Team officials claimed this was due to an inexperienced crew member using an old container of fuel and wasn't intentional. Indy Racing League chief administrator Brian Barnhart called this "at least plausible," noting that the presence of water in the fuel mixture supports the claim that the fuel was old. The illegal mixture was used only during practice, not for a qualification attempt.
Jim Nabors, who sang "Back Home Again in Indiana" during the pre-race festivities twenty-nine times from 1972 to 2006, missed the 2007 race due to an illness. The fans were asked to sing the song in his place.
Practice (week 1)
Sunday May 6, 2007 - A.J. Foyt Opening Day & Rookie Orientation Program
Weather: Sunny, 73° F
Practice summary: The first day of practice opened with a ceremonial lap celebrating A.J. Foyt's fiftieth year of participation at Indianapolis. Practice focused on the rookie tests of Milka Duno and Phil Giebler, as well as refresher tests by five veterans. Duno completed all four phases of her rookie test, and Giebler completed two. Michael Andretti posted the fastest speed of the day, while popular Davey Hamilton made his return to the cockpit, after a devastating 2001 crash at Texas. No incidents were reported.
Monday May 7, 2007 - Rookie Orientation Program
Weather: Sunny, 76° F
Practice summary: The second day of Rookie Orientation saw the same seven drivers from the previous day's practice without incident. Rookie Phil Giebler finished the final two phases of his rookie test. Rookie Milka Duno completed the most practice laps of the day (74), while Michael Andretti posted the fastest speed for the second day in a row.
Tuesday May 8, 2007 - IndyCar Series practice
Weather: Sunny, 82° F
Practice summary: The first full day of practice featured veterans on the track for the first time. Dan Wheldon led the speed chart as the first driver over 225 m.p.h. Jon Herb was involved in the first crash of the month, doing a half-spin at the exit of turn two and crashing in to the outside wall. Herb wasn't injured.
Wednesday May 9, 2007 - IndyCar Series practice
Weather: Morning rain, afternoon clouds, 78° F
Practice summary: Rain in the morning and early afternoon delayed the start of practice until 4:00 p.m. The two-hours session saw heavy action, with Dan Wheldon leading the speed chart for the second day in a row. No incidents were reported.
Thursday May 10, 2007 - IndyCar Series practice
Weather: Partly cloudy, 86° F
Practice summary: The warmest day of the week thus far saw some of the fastest laps turned so far for the month. Scott Dixon set fast lap with two minutes remaining in the session. Danica Patrick was second fastest for the day. No incidents were reported
Friday May 11, 2007 - Fast Friday IndyCar Series practice
Weather: Partly cloudy, 85° F
Practice summary: The final day of practice before pole qualifying saw Scott Dixon turn the fastest lap of the month. Rookie Milka Duno crashed in the exit of turn 1. She spun and hit the SAFER barrier hard with the rear of the car, but she wasn't injured.
Qualifying (first weekend)
Saturday May 12, 2007 - AAMCO Pole Day
Weather: Sunny, high 82° F
Qualifying summary: Pole day time trials were held under a new qualifying procedure, implemented in 2005, but not fully utilized in 2005 or 2006 due to rain delays. Only the top 11 cars would qualify on pole day, and the remaining would be "bumped" out. Each qualifying run consisted of four laps, and each car was allowed three attempts per day. Buddy Rice was the first out to qualify, but his speed ultimately didn't make the top 11. During the first trip though the qualifying order, Team Penske pulled both Hélio Castroneves and Sam Hornish, Jr. out of line, and decided to attempt to qualify later in the day, when the temperatures would be cooler. After the initial qualifying runs, Dario Franchitti qualified for the provisional pole position. Later in the afternoon, both Castroneves and Hornish completed qualifying runs, but neither were unable to knock Franchitti off the pole. Hornish's first attempt would have been fast enough to take the pole, but he nearly hit the outside wall in the southchute on his second lap. Even with this error, however, Hornish's run was only 0.0327 seconds slower than Franchitti's. Almost immediately, Hornish withdrew and tried a second attempt, and again nearly took the pole, but on his final lap, his car bobbled in the northchute, and his second attempt was slower than his first. This would cost him a spot on the starting grid when Scott Dixon later withdrew his qualifying run and made another attempt, this one faster than Hornish's second attempt. With eight minutes left in qualifying, Castroneves' car was withdrawn, and he made a second attempt. After nearly four hours, Franchitti was finally knocked off the pole position. With only three minutes left, Tony Kanaan withdrew his first attempt, made the final qualifying run of the day. While his first three laps were fast enough to take the pole away from Castroneves, his last lap fell short and qualified second. This is Hélio Castroneves' second Indy 500 pole position. He also won the pole in 2003.
Sunday May 13, 2007 - Second Day Qualifying
Weather: Fair skies, high 74° F
Qualifying summary: The second day of time trials filled positions 12-22 on the starting grid. The first hour saw heavy action, featuring strong runs from IndyCar Series regulars such as Scott Sharp (the first to qualify, and his 223.875 speed would hold up as the fastest of the day), Jeff Simmons and Darren Manning. Fan favorite Davey Hamilton also qualified with a solid speed. Later in the afternoon, Sarah Fisher became the second woman to qualify for the field. Bumping began with Marty Roth, Buddy Lazier and Jon Herb all being bumped. Herb went out later, and bumped himself back into the field, only to be bumped out a second time by Lazier. As time was running out, Jaques Lazier took to the track to try and bump himself into the top 22, and effectively bump his brother Buddy out. He was too slow and waved off the run. At the end of the day, two-time Indy 500 winner Al Unser, Jr. was the most notable driver bumped for the day, and had to attempt to qualify on the second weekend.
Practice (week 2)
Wednesday May 16, 2007 - IndyCar Series practice
Weather: Mostly cloudy early, clearing late, high 62° F, 18 mph WNW winds
Practice summary: The first day of practice for second-week deals. Only incident was a spin of Jimmy Kite's car when the gearbox casing of his PDM Racing Panoz cracked in turn 2, causing the left-rear suspension to fail. The car made moderate wall contact with the left-front corner and Kite was cleared to drive. Several teams that qualified during the first weekend tested race set ups and ran in packs, including Danica Patrick who set the fastest lap of the day. Jaques Lazier (217.159 mph) had the fastest lap among drivers who are not yet in the field.
Thursday May 17, 2007 - IndyCar Series practice
Weather: Mostly cloudy early, clearing late, high 65° F, 16 mph North winds
Practice summary: The second straight day of cold and windy weather resulted in fewer than 800 total laps being turned among 23 drivers. The only incident of the day resulted when Stephan Gregoire lost control on the exit of turn 1 and backed the car into the wall in the south short chute. Only light damage was sustained to the car, but Gregoire complained of back pain and was transported to Methodist Hospital where he was diagnosed with a fracture of the third vertebra endplate. John Andretti made his first appearance in an IndyCar since 1994 and completed his refresher test. Scott Dixon turned the fastest lap of the day while drafting with teammate Dan Wheldon. Gregoire (217.851 mph) turned the fastest lap among drivers yet to qualify before his encounter with the wall.
Friday May 18, 2007 - IndyCar Series practice
Weather: Sunny, high 65° F
Practice summary: The final full day of practice went incident free as 31 cars took to the track. All the front runners were running in packs, learning how their cars performed in "dirty air." Sam Hornish, Jr. turned the fastest lap of the day during such a session. The non-qualified cars of John Andretti and Roger Yasukawa both turned laps over 222 mph without drafting assistance as their teams trimmed their cars out to prepare for qualifying. Friday marked the last day of full practice; however, all cars will be permitted to practice on Saturday and Sunday during down periods when no cars are presenting to qualify.
Qualifying (second weekend)
Saturday May 19, 2007 - Third Day Qualifying
Weather: 72 degrees, sunny and fair skies
Qualifying summary: The third day of time trials focused on positions 23-33. Rookie Milka Duno was the first car to make an attempt, and she became the third female (along with Danica Patrick and Sarah Fisher) to qualify for the same race, an Indy 500 record. If her speed holds up on Bump Day, she'll become the fifth female in Indy 500 history to start the race. Veterans Al Unser, Jr. and John Andretti qualified solidly, while second-week drivers Roger Yasukawa and Alex Barron also completed runs. In the final hour, Jon Herb finally made the field, after being bumped the weekend before, but rookie Phil Giebler crashed on his fourth and final lap. Roberto Moreno, just named to the ride Friday, along with Jimmy Kite, wrapped up the qualifying for the day. At the end of the day, the field stood with 32 qualified cars, one short of a full field. During the morning and afternoon, 32 cars made practice runs, most in preparations for race day. Since only 10 of the 11 allotted positions were filled, no bumping occurred Saturday.
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†Qualification withdrawn on bump day.
††Bumped on bump day.
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Sunday May 20, 2007 - Bump Day Qualifying
Weather: Sunny and warm
Qualifying summary: The field filled to 33 cars just before 3 p.m. as Richie Hearn completed a qualifying attempt. Phil Giebler recovered from his crash the previous day and was able to put his car solidly in the field, bumping Jimmy Kite. Roberto Moreno withdrew his time from the previous day and improved his average by about 4 mph, putting Marty Roth on the bubble. P. J. Jones and Jimmy Kite spent the afternoon trying to get their cars up to speed. In the final hour, both Jones and Kite were running out of miles on their Honda engines leases, and neither had made much progress. Ultimately, Jones gave up. Meanwhile, Kite decided to go out and make last ditch qualifying effort, but his speed wasn't nearly fast enough to bump Roth. The 6 p.m. gun sounded, and Roth held on to qualify for his third Indy 500.
Carb Day
Friday May 25, 2007 - IndyCar Series final practice
Weather: cloudy, humid, 82° F
Practice summary: All 33 qualified cars took to the track and turned in a complete hour-long final practice without incident. Later that evening at 3:30 the Miller Lite Concert started with headline act Kid Rock.
Friday May 25, 2007 - Checkers/Rally's Pit Stop Challenge
Team Penske won the 31st annual pit stop contest, their record tenth overall victory in the event. The teams of Helio Castroneves and Sam Hornish, Jr. (both Penske entries) met in the finals with Castroneves and his chief mechanic Rick Rinaman winning the $100,000 first prize after an 8.335-second pit stop.
Qualifying Chronology
| Pole Day - Saturday, May 12, 2007 |
| Attempt |
Time |
Day |
Car
No. |
Driver |
Laps |
Total
Time |
Speed
(mph) |
Result |
Position |
Rank |
| 1 |
12:03 |
1 |
15 |
Buddy Rice |
4 |
2:42.3336 |
221.766 |
Qualified; bumped by Michael Andretti |
— |
— |
| 2 |
12:08 |
1 |
9 |
Scott Dixon |
4 |
2:40.4630 |
224.351 |
Qualified; withdrawn |
— |
— |
| 3 |
12:12 |
1 |
12 |
Ryan Briscoe |
4 |
2:40.4208 |
224.410 |
Qualified |
7 |
7 |
| 4 |
12:18 |
1 |
8 |
Scott Sharp |
4 |
2:41.7994 |
222.498 |
Qualified; bumped by Marco Andretti |
— |
— |
| 5 |
12:21 |
1 |
10 |
Dan Wheldon |
4 |
2:40.9401 |
223.686 |
Qualified; withdrawn |
— |
— |
| 6 |
12:27 |
1 |
20 |
Ed Carpenter |
4 |
2:41.6630 |
222.685 |
Qualified; bumped by Castroneves |
— |
— |
| 7 |
12:31 |
1 |
22 |
A. J. Foyt, IV |
4 |
2:42.5527 |
221.467 |
Qualified; bumped by Scheckter |
— |
— |
| 8 |
12:36 |
1 |
55 |
Kosuke Matsuura |
4 |
2:42.2603 |
221.866 |
Qualified; bumped by Simmons |
— |
— |
| 9 |
12:40 |
1 |
7 |
Danica Patrick |
4 |
2:40.6596 |
224.076 |
Qualified |
8 |
8 |
| 10 |
12:45 |
1 |
4 |
Vitor Meira |
2 |
1:21.4705 |
220.939 |
Waved off |
— |
— |
| 11 |
12:48 |
1 |
11 |
Tony Kanaan |
4 |
2:40.2719 |
224.618 |
Qualified; withdrawn |
— |
— |
| 12 |
12:53 |
1 |
27 |
Dario Franchitti |
4 |
2:39.8642 |
225.191 |
Qualified |
3 |
3 |
| 13 |
12:58 |
1 |
2 |
Tomas Scheckter |
4 |
2:41.5238 |
222.877 |
Qualified, bumping Foyt IV |
10 |
14 |
| 14 |
1:03 |
1 |
39 |
Michael Andretti |
4 |
2:41.5880 |
222.789 |
Qualified, bumping Rice |
11 |
16 |
| 15 |
1:07 |
1 |
17 |
Jeff Simmons |
4 |
2:41.6617 |
222.687 |
Qualified, bumping Matsuura; bumped by Hornish |
— |
— |
| 16 |
1:11 |
1 |
26 |
Marco Andretti |
4 |
2:41.2186 |
223.299 |
Qualified, bumping Sharp |
9 |
13 |
| 17 |
4:12 |
1 |
3 |
Hélio Castroneves |
4 |
2:40.0088 |
224.988 |
Qualified, bumping Carpenter; withdrawn |
— |
— |
| 18 |
4:36 |
1 |
6 |
Sam Hornish, Jr. |
4 |
2:39.8969 |
225.145 |
Qualified, bumping Simmons; withdrawn |
— |
— |
| 19 |
4:51 |
1 |
6 |
Sam Hornish, Jr. |
4 |
2:39.9227 |
225.109 |
Qualified |
5 |
5 |
| 20 |
5:23 |
1 |
9 |
Scott Dixon |
4 |
2:39.9136 |
225.122 |
Qualified |
4 |
4 |
| 21 |
5:28 |
1 |
8 |
Scott Sharp |
4 |
2:41.6209 |
222.743 |
Failed to qualify |
— |
— |
| 22 |
5:33 |
1 |
17 |
Jeff Simmons |
4 |
2:41.8433 |
222.437 |
Failed to qualify |
— |
— |
| 23 |
5:38 |
1 |
10 |
Dan Wheldon |
4 |
2:40.2557 |
224.641 |
Qualified |
6 |
6 |
| 24 |
5:42 |
1 |
20 |
Ed Carpenter |
4 |
2:41.6871 |
222.652 |
Failed to qualify |
— |
— |
| 25 |
5:48 |
1 |
14 |
Darren Manning |
4 |
2:41.6844 |
222.656 |
Failed to qualify |
— |
— |
| 26 |
5:52 |
1 |
3 |
Hélio Castroneves |
4 |
2:39.4214 |
225.817 |
Qualified |
1 |
1 |
| 27 |
5:57 |
1 |
11 |
Tony Kanaan |
4 |
2:39.4634 |
225.757 |
Qualified |
2 |
2 |
| Sunday May 13, 2007 |
| Attempt |
Time |
Day |
Car
No. |
Driver |
Laps |
Total
Time |
Speed
(mph) |
Result |
Position |
Rank |
| 57 |
2:39 |
4 |
91 |
Richie Hearn |
4 |
2:43.7408 |
219.860 |
Qualified |
32 |
29 |
| 58 |
3:52 |
4 |
31 |
Phil Giebler |
4 |
2:43.9071 |
219.637 |
Qualified, bumping Kite |
33 |
30 |
| 59 |
5:01 |
4 |
77 |
Roberto Moreno |
4 |
2:43.4139 |
220.299 |
Qualified |
31 |
27 |
| 60 |
5:57 |
4 |
18 |
Jimmy Kite |
1 |
0:41.9103 |
214.744 |
Waved off |
— |
— |
Starting Grid
(W) = Former Indianapolis 500 winner; (R) = Indianapolis 500 rookie
Failed to Qualify: P. J. Jones (#40), Jimmy Kite (#18)
Race
Weather: 76 degrees, cloudy and rain, some patches of sunshine in the afternoon
Race summary » Pre-race: Rain fell overnight, but stopped before the gates opened in the morning. At 7:45 a.m., rain began to fall again, and threatened to delay or wash out the race. Around 10:00 a.m., the rain stopped and maintenance crews began to dry the track. Despite the morning showers, Speedway chairperson Mari Hulman George gave the command to start engines on time as scheduled at 1:05 p.m. EDT.
Start: During the pace lap, the race nearly took a dramatic turn as pole-sitter Helio Castroneves failed to start. After several attempts, his car finally fired, and he joined the field in turn 4. A rather ragged start saw Castroneves take the lead into the first turn, but Tony Kanaan slipped by to lead lap one. Green-flag racing continued until lap 11, when John Andretti lost a rear-view mirror, bringing out a debris caution yellow flag.
» When racing resumed, Castroneves, Tony Kanaan, Marco Andretti, and Scott Dixon all took their turn at the lead. Three single car crashes involving Roberto Moreno, Jon Herb and Milka Duno slowed the pace of the race, and allowed the leaders to make several yellow flag pit stops.
» On the 74th lap, Dario Franchitti took the lead for the first time, and led until he pit on the 89th lap. Around that time, officials were warning that rain was approaching the area. After several drivers sequenced through green-flag pit stops, Tony Kanaan led Marco Andretti. Suddenly, on the 99th lap, John Andretti got high in turn two, and crashed into the outside wall, bringing out the caution. Jeff Simmons found himself unexpectedly in the lead, but pitted a lap later, giving Marco Andretti the lead. With rain only a few miles away, the ensuing lap 107 restart could decide the winner. As the green came out, Tony Kanaan got the jump on Andretti, and took the lead in turn 1. Moments later, Phil Giebler crashed, bringing the yellow out once again. Before safety crews could clear the track, heavy rain fell, and the race was red flagged.
» Red flag: When the race was stopped, 113 laps were completed. A race is required to go a minimum of 101 laps before it can be official. If rain continued the rest of the afternoon, it could be declared over. Andretti Green Racing was scored 1st-2nd-3rd with Kanaan leading, Marco Andretti second, and Danica Patrick third. After nearly three hours, the rain stopped and the track was dry. Shortly after 6:00 p.m., the field lined up in the pits for a restart.
» Restart: Tony Kanaan took over where he left off and pulled away from the field. Danica Patrick got by Marco Andretti and took over second place. Approximately 30 laps of uninterrupted intense green flag racing followed. Another sequence of green-flag pit stops saw all of the leaders head to the pits. Jaques Lazier stayed out a couple of extra laps, and led the race for the first time in his career. After the stops, Kanaan returned to the lead, followed by defending champion Sam Hornish Jr.
» Finish: On the 151st lap, Marty Roth crashed in turn one, and started an exciting sequence of events. The skies were darkening, and rain was fast approaching again, which would certainly end the race for good. Under the yellow, many leaders pit for tires and fuel, while some drivers, including Dario Franchitti and Scott Dixon, stayed out to gain track position. On the 156th lap, the field went back to green, however, in turn four, Tony Kanaan came up on the back of Jacques Lazier, sending Lazier into the wall, and sending Kanaan's car into a spin. He blew a tire and coasted into the pits. Moments later, the field assembled for what was expected to be the final restart before the rains came. Franchitti, working lap 163, held the lead into the backstretch. Behind him, Marco Andretti tangled with Dan Wheldon, and Andretti's car flipped down the backstretch. Before the track could be cleared, a heavy rainstorm fell on the track, and the race was called after 166 laps with Dario Franchitti declared the winner. A makeshift victory lane celebration was held indoors underneath the Pagoda, as had been done for Buddy Rice who also won in the rain in 2004.
Full race results
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