2007 Indianapolis 500

91st Indianapolis 500
Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Indianapolis 500
Sanctioning body Indy Racing League
Season 2007 IndyCar season
Date May 27, 2007
Winner United Kingdom Dario Franchitti
Average speed 151.774
Pole position Brazil Hélio Castroneves
Pole speed 225.817
Fastest qualifier Brazil Hélio Castroneves
Rookie of the Year United States Phil Giebler
Most laps led Brazil Tony Kanaan (83)
Pre-race ceremonies
National anthem Members of United States Armed Forces
"Back Home Again in Indiana" Race fans & the Purdue Band
Starting Command Mari Hulman George
Pace car Chevrolet Corvette
Pace car driver Patrick Dempsey
Starter Bryan Howard
Honorary starter Peyton Manning
Estimated attendance 300,000+ (estimated)[1]
TV in the United States
Network ESPN on ABC
Announcers Marty Reid, Scott Goodyear, and Rusty Wallace
Nielsen Ratings 4.3 / 12
Chronology
Previous Next
2006 2008

The 91st Indianapolis 500 was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana on Sunday May 27, 2007. It was the twelfth Indy 500 sanctioned by the Indy Racing League, and marked the fifth race of the 2007 IndyCar Series season. Hélio Castroneves started the race on the pole position.

The race began at 1:11 p.m. EDT,[2] and was televised in the United States on the ABC. The race was broadcast in high-definition for the first time. The race also was carried live on the IMS Radio Network and XM Satellite Radio.

On lap 113, the race underwent a lengthy rain delay, with Tony Kanaan tentatively sitting as the leader. After three hours, the rain ceased, the track was dried, and the race restarted shortly before 6:15 p.m. EDT. A crash on lap 162 between Dan Wheldon and Marco Andretti brought out the yellow flag with Dario Franchitti leading. Under the caution, rain began falling again and officials halted the race on lap 166. Dario Franchitti was declared the winner after leading 34 laps during the race.

For the first time, all entries utilized a 100% percent fuel-grade Ethanol blend, after 42 years of utilizing methanol. The fuel was actually a denatured 98% ethanol / 2% gasoline blend (E98). The 2007 race was also the final 500 to see the Panoz chassis in the race

Race schedule

Race schedule — May 2007
Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat
    1
 
2
 
3
 
4
 
5
Mini-Marathon
6
ROP
7
ROP
8
Practice
9
Practice
10
Practice
11
Practice
12
Time Trials
13
Time Trials
14
 
15
 
16
Practice
17
Practice
18
Practice
19
Pole Day
20
Bump Day
21
 
22
 
23
Comm. Day
24
 
25
Carb Day
26
Parade
27
Indy 500
28
Memorial Day
29
 
30
 
31
 
   
Color Notes
Green Practice
Dark Blue Time trials
Silver Race day
Red Rained out*
Blank No track activity

* Includes days where track activity
was significantly limited due to rain

ROP — denotes Rookie Orientation Program

Comm. Day — denotes 500 Festival Community Day

News

Practice (week 1)

Sunday May 6, 2007 - A.J. Foyt Opening Day & Rookie Orientation Program

May 6, 2007 - Top Practice Speeds[13]
Rank Car
No.
Driver Team Best
Speed
1 39 United States Michael Andretti Andretti Green 219.871
2 12 Australia Ryan Briscoe Luczo-Dragon Racing 218.216
3 02 United States Davey Hamilton Vision Racing 218.022
4 21 United States Jaques Lazier Playa Del Racing 216.467
5 23 Venezuela Milka Duno (R) SAMAX Motorsports 214.128

Monday May 7, 2007 - Rookie Orientation Program

May 7, 2007 - Top Practice Speeds[14]
Rank Car
No.
Driver Team Best
Speed
1 39 United States Michael Andretti Andretti Green 221.579
2 12 Australia Ryan Briscoe Luczo-Dragon Racing 221.427
3 02 United States Davey Hamilton Vision Racing 220.214
4 21 United States Phil Giebler (R) Playa Del Racing 217.091
5 19 United States Jon Herb Racing Professionals 216.763

Tuesday May 8, 2007 - IndyCar Series practice

May 8, 2007 - Top Practice Speeds[15]
Rank Car
No.
Driver Team Best
Speed
1 10 United Kingdom Dan Wheldon Target Chip Ganassi 225.074
2 3 Brazil Hélio Castroneves Team Penske 224.996
3 2 South Africa Tomas Scheckter Vision Racing 224.783
4 11 Brazil Tony Kanaan Andretti Green 224.622
5 9 New Zealand Scott Dixon Target Chip Ganassi 224.564

Wednesday May 9, 2007 - IndyCar Series practice

May 9, 2007 - Top Practice Speeds[16]
Rank Car
No.
Driver Team Best
Speed
1 10 United Kingdom Dan Wheldon Target Chip Ganassi 226.391
2 3 Brazil Hélio Castroneves Team Penske 225.820
3 9 New Zealand Scott Dixon Target Chip Ganassi 224.902
4 26 United States Marco Andretti Andretti Green 224.745
5 11 Brazil Tony Kanaan Andretti Green 224.112

Thursday May 10, 2007 - IndyCar Series practice

May 10, 2007 - Top Practice Speeds[17]
Rank Car
No.
Driver Team Best
Speed
1 9 New Zealand Scott Dixon Target Chip Ganassi 226.473
2 7 United States Danica Patrick Andretti Green 226.358
3 10 United Kingdom Dan Wheldon Target Chip Ganassi 224.902
4 2 South Africa Tomas Scheckter Vision Racing 226.161
5 12 Australia Ryan Briscoe Luczo-Dragon Racing 225.995

Friday May 11, 2007 - Fast Friday IndyCar Series practice

May 11, 2007 - Top Practice Speeds[18]
Rank Car
No.
Driver Team Best
Speed
1 9 New Zealand Scott Dixon Target Chip Ganassi 227.167
2 10 United Kingdom Dan Wheldon Target Chip Ganassi 226.650
3 11 Brazil Tony Kanaan Andretti Green 226.236
4 26 United States Marco Andretti Andretti Green 226.230
5 27 United Kingdom Dario Franchitti Andretti Green 226.189

Qualifying (first weekend)

Hélio Castroneves makes his pole-winning qualification run.

Saturday May 12, 2007 - AAMCO Pole Day

May 12, 2007 - Pole Day Qualifying Results
Rank Car
No.
Driver Team Qual.
Speed
1 3 Brazil Hélio Castroneves Team Penske 225.817
2 11 Brazil Tony Kanaan Andretti Green 225.757
3 27 United Kingdom Dario Franchitti Andretti Green 225.191
4 9 New Zealand Scott Dixon Target Chip Ganassi 225.122
5 6 United States Sam Hornish, Jr. Team Penske 225.109
6 10 United Kingdom Dan Wheldon Target Chip Ganassi 224.641
7 12 Australia Ryan Briscoe Luczo-Dragon Racing 224.410
8 7 United States Danica Patrick Andretti Green 224.076
9 26 United States Marco Andretti Andretti Green 223.299
10 2 South Africa Tomas Scheckter Vision Racing 222.877
11 39 United States Michael Andretti Andretti Green 222.789

May 12, 2007 - Top Practice Speeds[19]
Rank Car
No.
Driver Team Best
Speed
1 11 Brazil Tony Kanaan Andretti Green 226.827
2 7 United States Danica Patrick Andretti Green 226.058
3 9 New Zealand Scott Dixon Target Chip Ganassi 225.968
4 3 Brazil Hélio Castroneves Team Penske 225.920
5 10 United Kingdom Dan Wheldon Target Chip Ganassi 225.917

Sunday May 13, 2007 - Second Day Qualifying

May 13, 2007 - Second Day Qualifying Results
Rank Car
No.
Driver Team Qual.
Speed
12 8 United States Scott Sharp Rahal Letterman 223.875
13 17 United States Jeff Simmons Rahal Letterman 223.693
14 20 United States Ed Carpenter Vision Racing 223.495
15 14 United Kingdom Darren Manning A.J. Foyt Racing 223.471
16 15 United States Buddy Rice Dreyer & Reinbold 222.820
17 55 Japan Kosuke Matsuura Panther Racing 222.595
18 22 United States A. J. Foyt IV Vision Racing 222.413
19 4 Brazil Vitor Meira Panther Racing 222.333
20 02 United States Davey Hamilton Vision Racing 222.327
21 5 United States Sarah Fisher Dreyer & Reinbold 221.960
22 99 United States Buddy Lazier Sam Schmidt Motorsports 221.380

May 13, 2007 - Top Practice Speeds[20]
Rank Car
No.
Driver Team Best
Speed
1 8 United States Scott Sharp Rahal Letterman 224.214
2 20 United States Ed Carpenter Vision Racing 224.106
3 17 United States Jeff Simmons Rahal Letterman 223.894
4 14 United Kingdom Darren Manning A.J. Foyt Racing 223.603
5 4 Brazil Vitor Meira Panther Racing 223.095

Practice (week 2)

Wednesday May 16, 2007 - IndyCar Series practice

May 16, 2007 - Top Practice Speeds[21]
Rank Car
No.
Driver Team Best
Speed
1 7 United States Danica Patrick Andretti Green 221.189
2 9 New Zealand Scott Dixon Target Chip Ganassi 220.556
3 6 United States Sam Hornish, Jr. Team Penske 220.484
4 26 United States Marco Andretti Andretti Green 220.399
5 27 United Kingdom Dario Franchitti Andretti Green 220.131

Thursday May 17, 2007 - IndyCar Series practice

May 17, 2007 - Top Practice Speeds[22]
Rank Car
No.
Driver Team Best
Speed
1 9 New Zealand Scott Dixon Target Chip Ganassi 219.985
2 10 United Kingdom Dan Wheldon Target Chip Ganassi 219.773
3 14 United Kingdom Darren Manning A.J. Foyt Racing 219.116
4 2 South Africa Tomas Scheckter Vision Racing 218.230
5 20 United States Ed Carpenter Vision Racing 217.995

Friday May 18, 2007 - IndyCar Series practice

May 18, 2007 - Top Practice Speeds[23]
Rank Car
No.
Driver Team Best
Speed
1 6 United States Sam Hornish, Jr. Team Penske 225.006
2 9 New Zealand Scott Dixon Target Chip Ganassi 224.458
3 11 Brazil Tony Kanaan Andretti Green 224.340
4 27 United Kingdom Dario Franchitti Andretti Green 224.253
5 26 United States Marco Andretti Andretti Green 223.668

Qualifying (second weekend)

Saturday May 19, 2007 - Third Day Qualifying

May 19, 2007 - Third Day Qualifying Results
Rank Car
No.
Driver Team Qual.
Speed
23 24 United States Roger Yasukawa Dreyer & Reinbold Racing 222.654
24 33 United States John Andretti Panther Racing 221.756
25 50 United States Al Unser, Jr. A.J. Foyt Racing 220.876
26 98 United States Alex Barron CURB/Agajanian/Beck Motorsports 220.471
27 19 United States Jon Herb Racing Professionals 220.108
28 21 United States Jaques Lazier Playa Del Racing 219.409
29 23 Venezuela Milka Duno SAMAX Motorsports 219.228
30 25 Canada Marty Roth Roth Racing 218.922
31 77 Brazil Roberto Moreno Chastain Motorsports 216.229
32†† 18 United States Jimmy Kite PDM Racing 214.528

Qualification withdrawn on bump day.

††Bumped on bump day.

May 19, 2007 - Top Practice Speeds[24]
Rank Car
No.
Driver Team Best
Speed
1 10 United Kingdom Dan Wheldon Target Chip Ganassi 224.895
2 3 Brazil Hélio Castroneves Team Penske 224.692
3 11 Brazil Tony Kanaan Andretti Green 224.593
4 9 New Zealand Scott Dixon Target Chip Ganassi 223.692
5 39 United States Michael Andretti Andretti Green 223.417

Sunday May 20, 2007 - Bump Day Qualifying

May 20, 2007 - Bump Day Qualifying Results
Rank Car
No.
Driver Team Qual.
Speed
31 77 Brazil Roberto Moreno Chastain Motorsports 220.299
32 91 United States Richie Hearn Hemelgarn Racing/Racing Professionals 219.860
33 31 United States Phil Giebler Playa Del Racing 219.637

May 20, 2007 - Top Practice Speeds[25]
Rank Car
No.
Driver Team Best
Speed
1 10 United Kingdom Dan Wheldon Target Chip Ganassi 222.797
2 9 New Zealand Scott Dixon Target Chip Ganassi 222.779
3 27 United Kingdom Dario Franchitti Andretti Green 222.699
4 11 Brazil Tony Kanaan Andretti Green 222.632
5 26 United States Marco Andretti Andretti Green 222.144

Carb Day

Friday May 25, 2007 - IndyCar Series final practice

May 25, 2007 - Top Practice Speeds
Rank Car
No.
Driver Team Best
Speed
1 11 Brazil Tony Kanaan Andretti Green 225.467
2 27 United Kingdom Dario Franchitti Andretti Green 223.807
3 39 United States Michael Andretti Andretti Green 223.575
4 3 Brazil Hélio Castroneves Team Penske 223.527
5 21 United States Jaques Lazier Playa Del Racing 223.468

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.

Quarterfinals   Semifinals   Final
                   
    Helio Castroneves (Penske)  7.6770   
Scott Sharp (RLR)  8.466      Scott Sharp (RLR)   stalled   
Scott Dixon (Ganassi)  11.650        Helio Castroneves (Penske)   8.335 
    Sam Hornish, Jr. (Penske)   8.888 
    Sam Hornish, Jr. (Penske)   8.4471
Vitor Meira (Panther)   10.095      Vitor Meira (Panther)   11.7395   
Dario Franchitti (AGR)   11.773   

Qualifying Chronology

Pole Day - Saturday, May 12, 2007[26][27]
Attempt Time Day Car
No.
Driver Laps Total
Time
Speed
(mph)
Result Position Rank
1 12:03 1 15United States Buddy Rice 4 2:42.3336 221.766 Qualified; bumped by Michael Andretti
2 12:08 1 9New Zealand Scott Dixon 4 2:40.4630 224.351 Qualified; withdrawn
3 12:12 1 12Australia Ryan Briscoe 4 2:40.4208 224.410 Qualified 7 7
4 12:18 1 8United States Scott Sharp 4 2:41.7994 222.498 Qualified; bumped by Marco Andretti
5 12:21 1 10 United Kingdom Dan Wheldon 4 2:40.9401 223.686 Qualified; withdrawn
6 12:27 1 20United States Ed Carpenter 4 2:41.6630 222.685 Qualified; bumped by Castroneves
7 12:31 1 22United States A. J. Foyt, IV 4 2:42.5527 221.467 Qualified; bumped by Scheckter
8 12:36 1 55Japan Kosuke Matsuura 4 2:42.2603 221.866 Qualified; bumped by Simmons
9 12:40 1 7 United States Danica Patrick 4 2:40.6596 224.076 Qualified 8 8
10 12:45 1 4Brazil Vitor Meira 2 1:21.4705 220.939 Waved off
11 12:48 1 11Brazil Tony Kanaan 4 2:40.2719 224.618 Qualified; withdrawn
12 12:53 1 27United Kingdom Dario Franchitti 4 2:39.8642 225.191 Qualified 3 3
13 12:58 1 2South Africa Tomas Scheckter 4 2:41.5238 222.877 Qualified, bumping Foyt IV 10 14
14 1:03 1 39United States Michael Andretti 4 2:41.5880 222.789 Qualified, bumping Rice 11 16
15 1:07 1 17United States Jeff Simmons 4 2:41.6617 222.687 Qualified, bumping Matsuura; bumped by Hornish
16 1:11 1 26United States Marco Andretti 4 2:41.2186 223.299 Qualified, bumping Sharp 9 13
17 4:12 1 3Brazil Hélio Castroneves 4 2:40.0088 224.988 Qualified, bumping Carpenter; withdrawn
18 4:36 1 6United States Sam Hornish, Jr. 4 2:39.8969 225.145 Qualified, bumping Simmons; withdrawn
19 4:51 1 6United States Sam Hornish, Jr. 4 2:39.9227 225.109 Qualified 5 5
20 5:23 1 9New Zealand Scott Dixon 4 2:39.9136 225.122 Qualified 4 4
21 5:28 1 8United States Scott Sharp 4 2:41.6209 222.743 Failed to qualify
22 5:33 1 17United States Jeff Simmons 4 2:41.8433 222.437 Failed to qualify
23 5:38 1 10United Kingdom Dan Wheldon 4 2:40.2557 224.641 Qualified 6 6
24 5:42 1 20United States Ed Carpenter 4 2:41.6871 222.652 Failed to qualify
25 5:48 1 14United Kingdom Darren Manning 4 2:41.6844 222.656 Failed to qualify
26 5:52 1 3Brazil Hélio Castroneves 4 2:39.4214 225.817 Qualified 1 1
27 5:57 1 11Brazil Tony Kanaan 4 2:39.4634 225.757 Qualified 2 2
Sunday May 13, 2007[27][28]
Attempt Time Day Car
No.
Driver Laps Total
Time
Speed
(mph)
Result Position Rank
28 12:02 2 8United States Scott Sharp 4 2:40.8041 223.875 Qualified 12 9
29 12:07 2 55Japan Kosuke Matsuura 4 2:41.7290 222.595 Qualified 17 18
30 12:11 2 99United States Buddy Lazier 4 2:43.3010 220.452 Qualified; bumped by Rice
31 12:16 2 17United States Jeff Simmons 4 2:40.9352 223.693 Qualified 13 10
32 12:20 2 25Canada Marty Roth 4 2:43.7193 219.889 Qualified; bumped by Foyt IV
33 12:25 2 14United Kingdom Darren Manning 4 2:41.0950 223.471 Qualified 15 12
34 12:30 2 50United States Al Unser, Jr. 4 2:42.9233 220.963 Qualified; bumped by Herb
35 12:35 2 19United States Jon Herb 4 2:43.7065 219.906 Qualified; bumped by Fisher
36 12:39 2 02United States Davey Hamilton 4 2:41.9238 222.327 Qualified 20 21
37 1:09 2 4Brazil Vitor Meira 4 2:41.9196 222.333 Qualified 19 20
38 1:45 2 20United States Ed Carpenter 4 2:41.0777 223.495 Qualified 14 11
39 2:24 2 22United States A. J. Foyt, IV 4 2:41.8607 222.413 Qualified, bumping Roth 18 19
40 3:26 2 5United States Sarah Fisher 4 2:42.1914 221.960 Qualified, bumping Herb 21 22
41 3:34 2 15United States Buddy Rice 4 2:41.5612 222.826 Qualified, bumping B. Lazier 16 15
42 5:29 2 19United States Jon Herb 4 2:42.8440 221.070 Qualified, bumping Unser Jr.; bumped by B. Lazier
43 5:53 2 99United States Buddy Lazier 4 2:42.6165 221.380 Qualified, bumping Herb 22 24
44 5:58 2 21United States Jaques Lazier 1 0:40.8700 220.210 Waved off
Saturday May 19, 2007[27][29]
Attempt Time Day Car
No.
Driver Laps Total
Time
Speed
(mph)
Result Position Rank
45 12:03 3 23Venezuela Milka Duno 4 2:44.2129 219.228 Qualified 29 32
46 12:07 3 24United States Roger Yasukawa 4 2:41.6855 222.654 Qualified 23 17
47 12:12 3 19United States Jon Herb 3 2:02.5974 220.233 Waved off
48 12:25 3 25Canada Marty Roth 4 2:44.4421 218.922 Qualified 30 33
49 12:59 3 33United States John Andretti 4 2:42.3403 221.756 Qualified 24 23
50 2:20 3 50United States Al Unser Jr. 4 2:42.9871 220.876 Qualified 25 25
51 5:14 3 98United States Alex Barron 4 2:43.2871 220.471 Qualified 26 26
52 5:18 3 21United States Jaques Lazier 4 2:44.0774 219.409 Qualified 28 31
53 5:23 3 19United States Jon Herb 4 2:43.5561 220.108 Qualified 27 28
54 5:27 3 31United States Phil Giebler 3 2:01.9724 221.362 Crashed in turn 2 on 4th lap
55 5:44 3 77Brazil Roberto Moreno 4 2:46.4902 216.229 Qualified; withdrawn on bump day
56 5:54 3 18United States Jimmy Kite 4 2:47.8104 214.528 Qualified; bumped by Giebler on bump day
Bump Day - Sunday May 20, 2007[27][30][31]
Attempt Time Day Car
No.
Driver Laps Total
Time
Speed
(mph)
Result Position Rank
57 2:39 4 91United States Richie Hearn 4 2:43.7408 219.860 Qualified 32 29
58 3:52 4 31United States Phil Giebler 4 2:43.9071 219.637 Qualified, bumping Kite 33 30
59 5:01 4 77Brazil Roberto Moreno 4 2:43.4139 220.299 Qualified 31 27
60 5:57 4 18United States Jimmy Kite 1 0:41.9103 214.744 Waved off

Starting Grid

Row Inside Middle Outside
1 3 Brazil Hélio Castroneves (W) 11 Brazil Tony Kanaan 27 United Kingdom Dario Franchitti
2 9 New Zealand Scott Dixon 6 United States Sam Hornish, Jr. (W) 10 United Kingdom Dan Wheldon (W)
3 12 Australia Ryan Briscoe 7 United States Danica Patrick 26 United States Marco Andretti
4 2 South Africa Tomas Scheckter 39 United States Michael Andretti 8 United States Scott Sharp
5 17 United States Jeff Simmons 20 United States Ed Carpenter 14 United Kingdom Darren Manning
6 15 United States Buddy Rice (W) 55 Japan Kosuke Matsuura 22 United States A. J. Foyt IV
7 4 Brazil Vitor Meira 02 United States Davey Hamilton 5 United States Sarah Fisher
8 99 United States Buddy Lazier (W) 24 United States Roger Yasukawa 33 United States John Andretti
9 50 United States Al Unser, Jr. (W) 98 United States Alex Barron 19 United States Jon Herb
10 21 United States Jaques Lazier 23 Venezuela Milka Duno (R) 25 Canada Marty Roth
11 77 Brazil Roberto Moreno 91 United States Richie Hearn 31 United States Phil Giebler (R)

(W) = Former Indianapolis 500 winner; (R) = Indianapolis 500 rookie

Failed to Qualify:
#40 United States P. J. Jones
#18 United States Jimmy Kite

Race summary

The field in formation entering Turn 4 en route to the green flag.
Emergency crews attempting to dry the track during the red flag.
Dario Franchitti leads the field back to the final restart on Lap 162.
Marco Andretti's beaten car being towed after his wreck.
Race-winner Dario Franchitti celebrating with teammate Tony Kanaan in the rain.

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. Roberto Moreno caused the 2nd caution when he slid high in turn 1, slapped the wall, and hit the wall again in turn 2 before coming to rest. Jon Herb was the next car to be in an accident after he slid in turn 2 and hit the wall, ending his day. Milka Duno also spun in turn 1 and backed her car into the wall, damaging and ending her day as well.

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 spun and crashed in turn 1, 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 slid high in turn 1 and smacked the wall, 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. Buddy Rice was also involved. 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 Rice who also won in the rain in 2004.

As of the start of the 2017 race, this was the most recent "500" to be shortened by rain.

Full race results

Finish Start Change Car
No.
Driver C* Laps Time/Retired Team Points
1 3 +2 27 United Kingdom Dario Franchitti D 166 2:44:03.5608 Andretti Green 50
2 4 +2 9 New Zealand Scott Dixon D 166 +0.3610 Target Chip Ganassi 40
3 1 -2 3 Brazil Hélio Castroneves (W) D 166 +1.8485 Team Penske 35
4 5 +1 6 United States Sam Hornish Jr. (W) D 166 +4.6324 Team Penske 32
5 7 +2 12 Australia Ryan Briscoe D 166 +5.2109 Luczo-Dragon Racing 30
6 12 +6 8 United States Scott Sharp D 166 +9.3470 Rahal Letterman 28
7 10 +3 2 South Africa Tomas Scheckter D 166 +11.3823 Vision Racing 26
8 8 0 7 United States Danica Patrick D 166 +12.1789 Andretti Green 24
9 20 +11 02 United States Davey Hamilton D 166 +15.4116 Vision Racing 22
10 19 +9 4 Brazil Vitor Meira D 166 +17.6991 Panther Racing 20
11 13 +2 17 United States Jeff Simmons D 166 +19.7119 Rahal Letterman 19
12 2 -10 11 Brazil Tony Kanaan D 166 +21.4339 Andretti Green 18+3
13 11 -2 39 United States Michael Andretti D 166 +35.1235 Andretti Green 17
14 18 +4 22 United States A.J. Foyt IV D 165 +1 Lap Vision Racing 16
15 26 +11 98 United States Alex Barron D 165 +1 Lap CURB/Agajanian/Beck Motorsports 15
16 17 +1 55 Japan Kosuke Matsuura D 165 +1 Lap Panther Racing 14
17 14 -3 20 United States Ed Carpenter D 164 +1 Lap Vision Racing 13
18 21 +3 5 United States Sarah Fisher D 164 +2 Laps Dreyer & Reinbold Racing 12
19 22 +3 99 United States Buddy Lazier (W) D 164 +2 Laps Sam Schmidt Motorsports 12
20 15 -5 14 United Kingdom Darren Manning D 164 +2 Laps A.J. Foyt Racing 12
21 23 +2 24 United States Roger Yasukawa D 164 +2 Laps Dreyer & Reinbold Racing 12
22 6 -18 10 United Kingdom Dan Wheldon (W) D 163 Collision Target Chip Ganassi 12
23 32 +9 91 United States Richie Hearn D 163 +3 Laps Hemelgarn Racing/Racing Professionals 12
24 9 -15 26 United States Marco Andretti D 162 Collision Andretti Green 12
25 16 -9 15 United States Buddy Rice (W) D 162 Collision Dreyer & Reinbold Racing 10
26 25 -1 50 United States Al Unser, Jr. (W) D 161 +5 Laps A.J. Foyt Racing 10
27 28 +1 21 United States Jaques Lazier P 155 Accident Playa Del Racing 10
28 30 +2 25 Canada Marty Roth D 148 Accident Roth Racing 10
29 33 +4 31 United States Phil Giebler (R) P 106 Accident Playa Del Racing 10
30 24 -6 33 United States John Andretti D 95 Accident Panther Racing 10
31 29 -2 23 Venezuela Milka Duno (R) D 65 Accident SAMAX Motorsport 10
32 27 -5 19 United States Jon Herb D 51 Accident Racing Professionals 10
33 31 -2 77 Brazil Roberto Moreno P 36 Accident Chastain Motorsports 10
Race average speed: 151.774 mph (244.257 km/h)
Official box score

*C Chassis: D=Dallara; P=Panoz. All cars in the 2007 Indianapolis 500 used Honda engines and Firestone tires.

Race Leaders

Nine drivers led the race, with a total of twenty-three lead changes.[32]

Laps Leader
1-2 Tony Kanaan
3 Hélio Castroneves
4-13 Tony Kanaan
14-17 Hélio Castroneves
18-26 Tony Kanaan
27-40 Hélio Castroneves
41-46 Marco Andretti
47-53 Scott Dixon
54-68 Tony Kanaan
69-71 Scott Dixon
72-73 Sam Hornish, Jr.
74-88 Dario Franchitti
89 Scott Dixon
90 Michael Andretti
91-100 Tony Kanaan
101 Jeff Simmons
102-107 Marco Andretti
108-116 Tony Kanaan
117 Marco Andretti
118-136 Tony Kanaan
137-143 Dario Franchitti
144-145 Jaques Lazier
146-154 Tony Kanaan
155-166 Dario Franchitti
 
Driver Laps led
Tony Kanaan 83
Dario Franchitti 34
Hélio Castroneves 19
Marco Andretti 13
Scott Dixon 11
Sam Hornish, Jr. 2
Jaques Lazier 2
Michael Andretti 1
Jeff Simmons 1

Caution Periods

There were eleven caution periods during the race, with a total of fifty-five laps run under yellow, including the race's final lap.[32]

Laps Cause
11-15 Debris in turn 1 from John Andretti
38-43 Roberto Moreno crash, turn 1
52-59 Jon Herb crash, turn 2
66-70 Milka Duno crash, turn 1
99-106 John Andretti crash, turn 2
108-111 Phil Giebler crash, turn 1
112-113 rain (red flag after lap 113)
114-115 restart
151-156 Marty Roth crash, turn 1
157-161 Tony Kanaan/Jacques Lazier crash, turn 4
163-166 Marco Andretti/Dan Wheldon/Buddy Rice/Ed Carpenter crash, backstretch

Awards

The Victory Celebration was held Monday May 28, 2007.[33] Some of the many awards handed out during the evening included:

Broadcasting

Television

The race was broadcast in the United States on ABC for the 43rd consecutive year. Time trials were shown live on ABC, ESPN, and ESPN2. For the first time, the race would be aired in high definition.

This was the final 500 broadcast for Rusty Wallace as he was involved with ESPN on ABC NASCAR broadcasts.

For the second year in a row, the telecast utilized the Side-by-Side format for commercial breaks.

ABC Television
Booth AnnouncersPit/garage reporters

Host: Brent Musburger
Announcer: Marty Reid
Color: Scott Goodyear
Color: Rusty Wallace

Jack Arute
Vince Welch
Brienne Pedigo
Jamie Little

Radio

The race was broadcast on radio by the IMS Radio Network for the 55th consecutive year. Mike King served as anchor. Davey Hamilton, who previously served as the "driver expert" on the network, returned to cockpit for the first time since 2001. After six years recovery from his serious crash, he offered live in-car reporting to the broadcast during caution periods.

Making a popular return to the IMS Radio Network was former "Voice of the 500" Bob Jenkins. In 2006, Jenkins had worked on the Speedway public address system, but for 2007, he took over the turn two reporting location. Jenkins filled the spot previously held by Adam Alexander, who departed the network.

For the third year in a row, Kevin Olson conducted his annual pre-race interview with David Letterman. Olson served as a pit reporter in the center pits during the early stages of the race, then later moved to cover the garages and track hospital.

Indianapolis Motor Speedway Radio Network
Booth AnnouncersTurn ReportersPit/garage reporters

Chief Announcer: Mike King
Driver expert: Johnny Parsons
Color: Dave Wilson
Historian: Donald Davidson
Live in-car reports: Davey Hamilton
Commentary: Chris Economaki

Turn 1: Jerry Baker
Turn 2: Bob Jenkins
Turn 3: Mark Jaynes
Turn 4: Chris Denari

Jake Query (north pits)
Dave Argabright (center pits)
Kevin Lee (south pits)
Kevin Olson (garages/hospital)

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to 2007 Indianapolis 500.

Notes

References

  1. "Franchitti wins rain-interrupted Indy 500". Motorsport.com. 2007-05-27. Retrieved 2007-05-27.
  2. "Race Weekend Guide" (PDF). indy500.com. 2007-05-24. Archived (PDF) from the original on 25 June 2007. Retrieved 2007-05-24.
  3. "Chevrolet Corvette Convertible To Pace 2007 Indianapolis 500". IndianapolisMotorSpeedway.com. 2007-02-01. Retrieved 2007-02-01.
  4. "Actor Patrick Dempsey To Drive Pace Car In 91st Indianapolis 500". indy500.com. 2007-05-01. Retrieved 2007-05-01.
  5. "Kid Rock headlines Carb Day concert". Indycar.com. 2007-03-01. Retrieved 2007-03-12.
  6. "Kid Rock, Daughtry, Saliva, Augustana In Lineup". indy500.com. 2007-04-30. Retrieved 2007-05-01.
  7. "Super Bowl MVP Manning To Wave Green Flag To Start 91st Indy 500". Indy500.com. 2007-03-14. Archived from the original on 22 March 2007. Retrieved 2007-03-15.
  8. "irl notebook". IndyStar.com. 2007-03-24. Archived from the original on September 26, 2007. Retrieved 2007-03-26.
  9. "Four Winners, Three Women Among Drivers On Indy 500 Entry List". Indy500.com. 2007-04-10. Retrieved 2007-04-11.
  10. Davidson, Donald. (2007). "The Talk of Gasoline Alley" [Radio program]. WIBC, May 6, 2007. Archived at http://media.wibc.com/av/audio/talk_gas/2007/may6.mp3, retrieved on May 9, 2007.
  11. Cavin, Curt (2007-05-23). "Team fined for illegal fuel". Archived from the original on 2007-09-26. Retrieved 2007-05-24.
  12. Cavin, Curt (2007-05-25). "Jim Nabors to skip singing at Indy 500". Archived from the original on 2007-10-07. Retrieved 2007-05-26.
  13. "Rookie Orientation Results of Session (Practice 1)" (PDF). 2007-05-06. Retrieved 2007-05-13.
  14. "Rookie Orientation Results of Session (Practice 2)" (PDF). 2007-05-07. Retrieved 2007-05-13.
  15. "91st Indianapolis 500 Mile Race Results of Session (Practice 1)" (PDF). 2007-05-08. Retrieved 2007-05-13.
  16. "91st Indianapolis 500 Mile Race Results of Session (Practice 2)" (PDF). 2007-05-09. Retrieved 2007-05-13.
  17. "91st Indianapolis 500 Mile Race Results of Session (Practice 3)" (PDF). 2007-05-10. Retrieved 2007-05-13.
  18. "91st Indianapolis 500 Mile Race Results of Session (Practice 4)" (PDF). 2007-05-11. Retrieved 2007-05-13.
  19. "91st Indianapolis 500 Mile Race Results of Session (Practice 5/Pole Day)" (PDF). 2007-05-12. Retrieved 2007-05-24.
  20. "91st Indianapolis 500 Mile Race Results of Session (Practice 6/2nd Day)" (PDF). 2007-05-13. Retrieved 2007-05-24.
  21. "91st Indianapolis 500 Mile Race Results of Session (Practice 7)" (PDF). 2007-05-16. Retrieved 2007-05-16.
  22. "91st Indianapolis 500 Mile Race Results of Session (Practice 8)" (PDF). 2007-05-17. Retrieved 2007-05-18.
  23. "91st Indianapolis 500 Mile Race Results of Session (Practice 9)" (PDF). 2007-05-18. Retrieved 2007-05-19.
  24. "91st Indianapolis 500 Mile Race Results of Session (Practice 10/3rd Day)" (PDF). 2007-05-19. Retrieved 2007-05-24.
  25. "91st Indianapolis 500 Mile Race Results of Session (Practice 11/Bump Day)" (PDF). 2007-05-20. Retrieved 2007-05-24.
  26. "91st Indianapolis 500 Daily Trackside Report -- May 12". 2007-05-12. Retrieved 2007-05-18.
  27. 1 2 3 4 "2007 Indianapolis 500 May 20, 2007 (Bump Day) Qualification Results" (PDF). 2007-05-20. Retrieved 2007-05-24.
  28. "91st Indianapolis 500 Daily Trackside Report -- May 13". 2007-05-13. Retrieved 2007-05-18.
  29. "91st Indianapolis 500 Daily Trackside Report -- May 19". 2007-05-19. Retrieved 2007-05-19.
  30. "91st Indianapolis 500 Daily Trackside Report -- May 20". 2007-05-20. Retrieved 2007-05-20.
  31. "91st Indianapolis 500 Starting Line-up". 2007-05-20. Archived from the original on 31 May 2007. Retrieved 2007-05-20.
  32. 1 2 "Official Box Score" (PDF). 2007-05-27. Retrieved 2008-05-11.
  33. "Franchitti Earns $1.6 Million From Record Indianapolis 500 Purse". 2007-05-28. Retrieved 2007-06-29.

Works cited

2006 Indianapolis 500
Sam Hornish, Jr.
2007 Indianapolis 500
Dario Franchitti
2008 Indianapolis 500
Scott Dixon
Preceded by
Kansas Lottery Indy 300
IRL IndyCar Series
round 5

2007
Succeeded by
ABC Supply Company A.J. Foyt 225
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