Round 6: The 105th running of the Indianapolis 500. May 18-30, 2021.

[bjohnsonsmith]

Round 6: The 105th running of the Indianapolis 500. May 18-30, 2021.


With the fitst practice session starting tomorrow, it's time to start the thread for the 105th running of the Indianapolis 500.

Last year's race was the first Indianapolis 500 to be run by new series and IMS owner Roger Penske. However, with the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, it was doubtful whether there would be a 2020 IndyCar season, let alone the 104th running of the Indianapolis 500. The season eventually got underway in June, though that meant the 104th running of the race wouldn't take place until August. It was also hoped there would be a limited crowd attendance of 25% capacity but unfortunately it was decided to hold the race behind closed doors; at least there was a race.

This year the Indy 500 is back where it belongs on the calendar, the Sunday before Memorial Day. However there is a different format from previous years, with the Rookie Orientation Program and refresher session having already taken place during the Open Test on April 8th. Sebastien Bourdais making his return to a full season since 2019, with A.J. Foyt Enterprises, topped the rookies and refreshers session with a lap time of 40.1022 and speed of 224.427mph (361.180 km/h). Two-time IndyCar champion Josef Newgarden topped the second day, with a lap time of 39.679 seconds and speed of 226.819mph (365.030 km/h).


Qualifying:
A two day format will be used for qualifying.

Saturday 22nd:
12:00 pm to 5:50 pm, Qualifying.
All cars entered will be guaranteed at least one attempt, consisting of a four lap average.
Additional attempts are allowed, time/weather permitting.
Positions 1–9 will advance to the Fast Nine Shootout.
Positions 10–30 will be locked-in and will not re-qualify.
Positions 31 and lower will be entered into the Last Chance Shootout.

Sunday 23rd:
1:15 - 2:30 pm, Last Chance Shootout.
Times from Saturday will be erased,
Entries that finished 31st and lower on Saturday will have one attempt to qualify.
Grid positions 31–33 will then be set.

3:00-3:45 pm, Fast Nine Shootout.
Times from Saturday will be erased.
Entries that finished 1-9 on Saturday will have one attempt to qualify
Grid positions 1–9, including Pole position will be set.
Championship points (9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1) will be awarded, based on the results of the Fast Nine Shootout.

There are 35 entries for this year's race.


History
Indianapolis Motor Speedway is one of the world's oldest, purpose-built 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 totaling 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, 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 usually been held on the Sunday before Memorial Day, though there have been exceptions, due to World Wars I and II, the weather intervening and more recently the Covid-19 pandemic.


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 of France was the European and the first rookie, excluding the innaugural race, to win, .

1920-21: Ralph DePalma, first consecutive Poles.

1922: Jimmy Murphy was the first driver to win the race from pole position.

1936: Louis Meyer was the first driver to win three times, 1928, 1933, 1936. It was after his third win that the Lois Meyer asked for a glass of buttermilk, something his mother had encouraged him to drink on hot days, hence the tradition of the bottle of milk.

1940: Wilbur Shaw was the first driver to win back to back races, 1939-1940

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 Scotsman to win and 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: A.J. Foyt was the first driver to win 4 times.
Janet Guthrie was the first woman to qualify for the Indy 500.

1989: Emerson Fittipaldi was the first Brazilian driver to win.

1990: Arie Luyendyk was the first Dutch driver to win

1992: Al Unser Jr. beat Scott Goodyear by 0.043 seconds in the 500's closest finish.

1992: Lyn St. James won the first Female Rookie of the Year Award.

1995: Jacques Villeneuve first Canadian driver to win.

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 average 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 kmh). Will Arie Luyendyk's 24 year old lap records be finally broken this year? I doubt it.

1999: Kenny Bräck first Swedish driver to win,

2005: Danica Patrick became the first female driver to lead the Indy 500.

2008: Scott Dixon first New Zealand driver to win.

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 kmh).

2016: Alexander Rossi won the 100th running of the Indianapolis 500, the first rookie since 2001.

2017: Takumo Sato was the first Japanese driver to win.

2018: Will Power was the first Australian driver to win.

The car number with the most wins is #3 with 11.

The starting grid position with the most wins is Pole with 21.

This year nine former 500 winners will be taking part, three are multiple winners.
Helio Castroneves, 2001, 2002, 2009
Juan Pablo Montoya, 2000, 2015
Takuma Sato, 2017, 2020
Scott Dixon, 2008
Tony Kanaan, 2013
Ryan Hunter-Reay, 2014
Alexander Rossi, 2016
Will Power, 2018
Simon Pagenaud, 2019

There have been 10 rookie winners:
Ray Harroun (1911, inaugural race)
Jules Goux (1913)
Rene Thomas (1914)
Frank Lockhart (1926)
George Souders (1927)
Louis Meyer (1928)
Graham Hill (1966)
Juan Pablo Montoya (2000)
Helio Castroneves (2001)
Alexander Rossi (2016)

There have been 9 women drivers:
Janet Guthrie (1977-79)
Lyn St. James (1992-97, 2000)
Sarah Fisher (2000-04, 2007-10)
Danica Patrick (2005-11, 2018)
Milka Duno (2007-09)
Ana Beatriz (2010-12, 2021)
Simona de Silvestro (2010-12)
Pippa Mann (2011, 2013-2017, 2019)
Katherine Legge (2012)

The driver with the most wins 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:
Tram Penske, 16.
1972, 1979, 1981, 1984, 1985, 1987, 1988,
1991, 1993, 1994, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2006,
2009, 2015, 2017

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.


Track layout:


Length: 2.5 Miles (4.02 Km)
Straightaways: 5/8 of a mile (1000 m)
Short chutes: 1/8 of a mile (200 m)
Turns: 4, with 9.2º banking. 1/4 of mile (400 m)

1 lap record:
Arie Luyendyk, May 10, 1996. 00:37.895 seconds, 237.498 mph (382.216 kmh).
Reynard 94i-Ford Cosworth XB,
Indy Racing League.

4 lap average record:
Arie Luyendyk, May 12, 1996. 2:31.908, 236.986 mph (381.392 kmh),
Reynard 94i-Ford Cosworth XB,
Indy Racing League.


Last year's race:
https://www.motorsport.com/indycar/n...aign=widget-22

Pole:
Marco Andretti,
Andretti Herta Autosport w/ Marco Andretti & Curb-Agajanian
Dallara IR18-Honda HI20R Indy-V-6
Combined four lap average 2:35.7985 minutes. 231.068 mph (371.867 km/h)

Winner:
Takumo Sato,
Rahal Letterman Lannigan Racing,
Dallara IR18-Honda HI20R Indy-V-6.

Laps: 200
Distance: 500 Miles (805 km)
Race Time: 2:59:42.6365
Average Speed: 157.824 mph (253.993 km/h).
Fastest lap: James Hinchcliffe, Arrow McLaren SP, Lap 66. 40.3290 sec, 223.164 mph, (359.147 km/h)

Caution periods: 7
Laps 52: 6-11, 25-30, 84-91, 92-99, 122-130, 144-153, 196-200.


Race broadcast:
NBC May 30th, 11:00 am, ET. 3:00pm UTC, 4:00 BST
Sky Sports F1 and Sky Sports Main Event, 6:00 pm BST