2011 Indianapolis 500

Last updated

95th Indianapolis 500
INDIANAPOLIS 500 LOGO 2011.png
Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Indianapolis 500
Sanctioning body INDYCAR
Season 2011 IndyCar season
DateMay 29, 2011
Winner Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Dan Wheldon [1]
Winning team Bryan Herta Autosport
Average speed170.265 mph (274.015 km/h)
Pole position Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Alex Tagliani
Pole speed227.472 mph (366.081 km/h)
Fastest qualifier Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Alex Tagliani
Rookie of the Year Flag of the United States.svg J. R. Hildebrand [1]
Most laps led Flag of New Zealand.svg Scott Dixon (73)
Pre-race ceremonies
National anthem Seal, Kelly Clarkson, and David Foster
"Back Home Again in Indiana" Jim Nabors [2]
Starting command Mari Hulman George
Pace car Chevrolet Camaro SS Convertible
Pace car driver A. J. Foyt [3]
StarterBryan Howard
Honorary starter Bruce P. Crandall [4]
Estimated attendanceEst. 300,000+
TV in the United States
Network ABC
Announcers Marty Reid, Scott Goodyear, Eddie Cheever
Nielsen ratings 4.0 [5]
Chronology
PreviousNext
2010 2012

The 95th Indianapolis 500 was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana on Sunday May 29, 2011. The race was part of the 2011 IZOD IndyCar Series season. The track opened for practice on May 14 and time trials were held from May 21 to 22. Alex Tagliani won the pole position, and the race was won by Dan Wheldon. It was his second Indy 500 win after the 2005 race, and the last win of his racing career. It was the first of two Indy victories for car owner Bryan Herta.

Contents

Differing strategies from the frontrunners led to one of the wildest finishes in race history. American rookie J. R. Hildebrand of Panther Racing took the lead with two laps to go. As the leaders were cycling through pit stops, Hildebrand was nursing a car very low on fuel. He was attempting to stretch his tank to the finish line and hold on for an unexpected victory. It would have been the first Indy 500 win for Panther Racing, after three consecutive runner-up finishes, and two series championships. On the final turn of the final lap, Hildebrand went high to pass the slow car of Charlie Kimball. He drifted wide and crashed into the outside wall. As his wrecked car coasted down the front straight, Wheldon slipped by in the final 1,000 feet to take the victory. Hildebrand slid across the finish line to finish second. It was the second Indianapolis 500 that ended in a last lap pass after the 2006 race, and the only time to date that the race winner led only the final lap. Four months later, Wheldon was killed in a crash in the IZOD IndyCar World Championship at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, driving the car Tagliani had qualified on the pole in. [6]

The race was the culmination of the three-year-long Centennial era, celebrating the 100th anniversary of the opening of the track (1909) and the 100th anniversary of the inaugural race in 1911. Throughout May, the race was advertised as the 100th Anniversary Indianapolis 500 and the Centennial Indianapolis 500. Since the race was suspended during World War I and World War II, the 100th running of the 500 would not be held until 2016.

Event news

Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the race track where the race was held. Indianapolis Oval 2007-2013.svg
Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the race track where the race was held.
Tanner Foust from Team Hot Wheels sped down a 90-foot ramp, suspended on a 10-story high door and jumped across the Indianapolis Motor Speedway's infield inside the fourth turn. Fearless at the 500 20110529.jpg
Tanner Foust from Team Hot Wheels sped down a 90-foot ramp, suspended on a 10-story high door and jumped across the Indianapolis Motor Speedway's infield inside the fourth turn.

Rule changes

Schedule

Race schedule — May 2011
SunMonTueWedThuFriSat
1
São Paulo
2
São Paulo
3
 
4
 
5
 
6
 
7
Mini-Marathon
8
 
9
Testing
10
 
11
 
12
ROP
13
 
14
Practice
15
Practice
16
Practice
17
Practice
18
Practice
19
Practice
20
Practice
21
Pole Day
22
Bump Day
23
 
24
 
25
Comm. Day
26
 
27
Carb Day
28
Parade
29
Indy 500
30
Memorial Day
31
 
    
ColorNotes
GreenPractice
Dark BlueTime trials
SilverRace day
RedRained out*
BlankNo 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

Other events

The race logo drew elements from historical tickets and program cover art INDIANAPOLIS 500 LOGO 2011.png
The race logo drew elements from historical tickets and program cover art

Entry list

See Team and driver chart for more information

On April 15, 2011, the Official Entry List was released, featuring 83 cars for 42 entries. As of April 15, thirty-five car/driver combinations had been announced. [20] On May 9, a revised version of the entry list was released. The entry from China Racing was withdrawn. The final list includes 79 cars for 41 entries.

Confirmed former winners entered include Dario Franchitti, Hélio Castroneves, Scott Dixon, Dan Wheldon, and Buddy Rice.

Rookie orientation

Pre-Indy oval testing

Since the Indy 500 was the first oval race of the 2011 season, per IndyCar regulations, rookies who have not competed on an oval were required to take part in Pre-Indy Oval testing. Scott Speed and Ho-Pin Tung, along with Wade Cunningham (who didn't race Indy but participated at Texas) completed the test at Chicagoland Speedway on May 9. [21] Speed was legally exempt from this test because of previous high-speed oval experience in ARCA and NASCAR, but chose to test with his teammate to learn the car.

Thursday, May 12 – Rookie Orientation Program

Top Practice Speeds
PosNo.DriverTeamSpeed
14 Flag of the United States.svg J. R. Hildebrand Panther Racing 221.533
28 Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg Ho-Pin Tung Dragon Racing 220.477
306 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg James Hinchcliffe Newman/Haas Racing 219.602
OFFICIAL REPORT

Practice

Saturday, May 14 – Opening Day

Top Practice Speeds
PosNo.DriverTeamSpeed
167 Flag of the United States.svg Ed Carpenter Sarah Fisher Racing 224.786
29T Flag of New Zealand.svg Scott Dixon Chip Ganassi Racing 224.491
34T Flag of the United States.svg J. R. Hildebrand Panther Racing 224.433
OFFICIAL REPORT

Sunday, May 15

Monday, May 16

Top Practice Speeds
PosNo.DriverTeamSpeed
177 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Alex Tagliani Sam Schmidt Motorsports 225.878
29 Flag of New Zealand.svg Scott Dixon Chip Ganassi Racing 225.124
338 Flag of the United States.svg Graham Rahal Chip Ganassi Racing 225.071
OFFICIAL REPORT

Tuesday, May 17

Top Practice Speeds
PosNo.DriverTeamSpeed
126 Flag of the United States.svg Marco Andretti Andretti Autosport 220.656
227 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Mike Conway Andretti Autosport 219.910
OFFICIAL REPORT

Wednesday, May 18

Thursday, May 19

Top Practice Speeds
PosNo.DriverTeamSpeed
112 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Will Power Team Penske 227.778
277 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Alex Tagliani Sam Schmidt Motorsports 227.652
36 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Ryan Briscoe Team Penske 227.217
OFFICIAL REPORT

Friday, May 20 – Fast Friday

Late in the day, reports surfaced that Scott Speed had quit Dragon Racing, after having trouble getting up to speed. The rumor was denied. [30]

Top Practice Speeds
PosNo.DriverTeamSpeed
13 Flag of Brazil.svg Hélio Castroneves Team Penske 228.611
277 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Alex Tagliani Sam Schmidt Motorsports 228.327
39 Flag of New Zealand.svg Scott Dixon Chip Ganassi Racing 228.181
OFFICIAL REPORT

Time Trials

Saturday May 21 – Pole Day

Practice

  • Practice summary: The final practice before Pole Day commenced at 8:00 AM EDT with the first group taking the track for 30 minutes of practice. In the first session, Ryan Briscoe crashed his car coming out on turn two and was forced to practice the rest of the day with his back-up car. After the green flag came back out there were no more interruptions during the practice with the second group finishing their 30 minutes of practice and the remainder of the time given to all the cars for practice. After the two hours session, it was Alex Tagliani who held the top position, with Buddy Rice making his first appearance in the "fast five", and Will Power rounding out the top three.
Top Practice Speeds
PosNo.DriverTeamSpeed
177 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Alex Tagliani Sam Schmidt Motorsports 228.184
244 Flag of the United States.svg Buddy Rice Panther Racing 227.849
312 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Will Power Team Penske 227.766
OFFICIAL REPORT

Qualifying

Front row qualifiers (L to R): Scott Dixon, Alex Tagliani, and Oriol Servia. Front row 2011 Indy 500.jpg
Front row qualifiers (L to R): Scott Dixon, Alex Tagliani, and Oriol Servià.
Car owner Sam Schmidt with pole winner Alex Tagliani. Schmidt & Tagliani 20110521.jpg
Car owner Sam Schmidt with pole winner Alex Tagliani.
  • First segment summary: The first segment was scheduled from 11 a.m. until 4 p.m. All drivers in the qualifying order were guaranteed at least one opportunity to make a qualifying attempt. The top 24 would make up the provisional starting field. The top nine would advance to the pole position "shootout". Alex Tagliani set the pace early, with a run of 226.954 mph (365.247 km/h). Other drivers putting in top 9 speeds included Dan Wheldon, Townsend Bell, and Will Power. The day was headlined by several part-time IndyCar teams, while several full-time contenders struggled mightily. Penske failed to get all three of their cars in the top 9; after his morning practice crash, Ryan Briscoe failed to make the top 24. Hélio Castroneves, trying to become the first driver to win three consecutive Indy poles, missed the top 9. All five cars of Andretti Autosport struggled, with John Andretti the only driver to crack the top 24. Ed Carpenter was one of the final drivers to make an attempt, and qualified with an impressive 226.171 mph (363.987 km/h), good enough for 6th fastest for Sarah Fisher Racing. After being burned in a crash on Thursday, Simona de Silvestro made three qualifying attempts, and on her third attempt, managed to qualify 24th. The only crash of the session was by Ho-Pin Tung, who wrecked on his final lap and suffered a concussion. A short rain shower ended the session about 25 minutes early.
  • Fast Nine Shootout summary: Rain delayed the start of the Fast Nine "shootout", therefore each of the nine participants were allowed only one attempt at the pole position. The top nine drivers from the earlier segment took to the track in reverse order of speed. Oriol Servià set the pace early with a run of 227.168 mph (365.591 km/h). Dario Franchitti was running fast enough to clinch a front row position, but he ran out of fuel on the final lap and dropped to ninth. Scott Dixon was the second to last driver to make an attempt. He took over the provisional pole position from Servià, and he himself ran out of fuel in the last few seconds of his run. Alex Tagliani was the final driver to go out. His run of 227.472 mph (366.081 km/h) secured the pole position for Sam Schmidt Motorsports.
Pole Day – Saturday, May 21, 2011
Fast Nine Shootout (positions 1–9)
PosNo.DriverTeamSpeedPts
177 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Alex Tagliani Sam Schmidt Motorsports 227.472 mph (366 km/h)15
29 Flag of New Zealand.svg Scott Dixon Chip Ganassi Racing 227.340 mph (366 km/h)13
32 Flag of Spain.svg Oriol Servià Newman/Haas Racing 227.168 mph (366 km/h)12
499 Flag of the United States.svg Townsend Bell Sam Schmidt Motorsports 226.887 mph (365 km/h)11
512 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Will Power Team Penske 226.773 mph (365 km/h)10
698 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Dan Wheldon Bryan Herta Autosport 226.490 mph (365 km/h)9
744 Flag of the United States.svg Buddy Rice Panther Racing 225.786 mph (363 km/h)8
867 Flag of the United States.svg Ed Carpenter Sarah Fisher Racing 225.121 mph (362 km/h)7
910 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Dario Franchitti Chip Ganassi Racing No time6
OFFICIAL REPORT
Positions 10–24
PosNo.DriverTeamSpeedPts
105 Flag of Japan.svg Takuma Sato KV Racing TechnologyLotus 225.736 mph (363 km/h)4
1114 Flag of Brazil.svg Vítor Meira A. J. Foyt Enterprises 225.590 mph (363 km/h)4
124 Flag of the United States.svg J. R. Hildebrand  R  Panther Racing 225.579 mph (363 km/h)4
1306 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg James Hinchcliffe  R  Newman/Haas Racing 225.572 mph (363 km/h)4
1430 Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Bertrand Baguette Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing 225.285 mph (363 km/h)4
1511 Flag of the United States.svg Davey Hamilton Dreyer & Reinbold Racing 225.250 mph (363 km/h)4
163 Flag of Brazil.svg Hélio Castroneves Team Penske 225.216 mph (362 km/h)4
1743 Flag of the United States.svg John Andretti Andretti Autosport 224.981 mph (362 km/h)4
1859 Flag of Venezuela.svg E. J. Viso KV Racing TechnologyLotus 224.732 mph (362 km/h)4
1941 Flag of Brazil.svg Bruno Junqueira A. J. Foyt Enterprises 224.691 mph (362 km/h)4
2022 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Justin Wilson Dreyer & Reinbold Racing 224.511 mph (361 km/h)4
2188 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Jay Howard  R  Sam Schmidt Motorsports 224.483 mph (361 km/h)4
2207 Flag of South Africa.svg Tomas Scheckter SH Racing224.433 mph (361 km/h)4
2382 Flag of Brazil.svg Tony Kanaan KV Racing TechnologyLotus 224.417 mph (361 km/h)4
2478T Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg Simona de Silvestro HVM Racing 224.392 mph (361 km/h)4
OFFICIAL REPORT

Sunday May 22 – Bump Day

Practice

  • Practice summary: Patrick Carpentier took over for Scott Speed in the Dragon Racing entry, and took several shake down laps in the morning session. However, his effort ended when he crashed in turn 1. Around noon, Dragon Racing announced they were withdrawing, and would not attempt to qualify. Charlie Kimball topped the speed chart with a lap of 226.822 mph (365.035 km/h).
Top Practice Speeds
PosNo.DriverTeamSpeed
183 Flag of the United States.svg Charlie Kimball Chip Ganassi Racing 226.822 mph (365 km/h)
27 Flag of the United States.svg Danica Patrick Andretti Autosport 226.252 mph (364 km/h)
326 Flag of the United States.svg Marco Andretti Andretti Autosport 226.181 mph (364 km/h)
OFFICIAL REPORT [ permanent dead link ]

Qualifying

  • Bump Day summary – First segment: Qualifying began at noon, with thunderstorms approaching. Only two cars (Ana Beatriz and Graham Rahal) made it onto the track before heavy rains fell at the track. Track crews dried the racing surface, and the track re-opened for qualifying at 2:30 p.m.
  • Second segment: A hectic period of qualifying saw the field filled to 33 cars, and bumping began. Paul Tracy took to the track, with weather once again threatening. He completed his run in light misty rain, and bumped his way into the field with the fastest run of the day. Danica Patrick was the next car in line at 3:15 p.m., and the only car that had not yet made an attempt Sunday. However, the rain returned, and halted track activity. There was considerable concern that Patrick may not get an opportunity to qualify, if the rain continued the remainder of the day.
  • Third segment: Crews dried the track, and it re-opened at 4:45 p.m. Danica Patrick was the first car out, and bumped her way in comfortably. The rest of the Andretti Autosport team, however, was struggling with speed. Mike Conway made three attempts, and was too slow to qualify. In the final fifteen minutes, Marco Andretti was on the bubble, and his teammate Ryan Hunter-Reay was the second slowest. Alex Lloyd took to track, and bumped out Marco Andretti in the final five minutes. Andretti hurried to get back in the qualifying line, but was beaten by James Jakes. Jakes was waved off after two slow laps, which gave Andretti one final chance to bump his way back in. With 55 seconds left before the 6 o'clock gun, Andretti pulled away from the pits. His qualifying run of 224.628 mph (361.504 km/h) bumped Ryan Hunter-Reay from the field.
Bump Day – Sunday, May 22, 2011
PosNo.DriverTeamSpeedPts
2523 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Paul Tracy Dreyer & Reinbold Racing 224.939 mph (362 km/h)3
267 Flag of the United States.svg Danica Patrick Andretti Autosport 224.861 mph (362 km/h)3
276T Flag of Australia (converted).svg Ryan Briscoe Team Penske 224.639 mph (362 km/h)3
2826 Flag of the United States.svg Marco Andretti Andretti Autosport 224.628 mph (362 km/h)3
2983 Flag of the United States.svg Charlie Kimball  R  Chip Ganassi Racing 224.499 mph (361 km/h)3
3038 Flag of the United States.svg Graham Rahal Chip Ganassi Racing 224.380 mph (361 km/h)3
3119 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Alex Lloyd Dale Coyne Racing 223.957 mph (360 km/h)3
3236 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Pippa Mann  R  Conquest Racing 223.936 mph (360 km/h)3
3324 Flag of Brazil.svg Ana Beatriz Dreyer & Reinbold Racing 223.879 mph (360 km/h)3
OFFICIAL REPORT

Carb Day

Indianapolis 500 Final Practice – Friday May 27

Top Practice Speeds
PosNo.DriverTeamSpeed
19 Flag of New Zealand.svg Scott Dixon Chip Ganassi Racing 225.474
277 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Alex Tagliani Sam Schmidt Motorsports 224.739
310 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Dario Franchitti Chip Ganassi Racing 224.658
OFFICIAL REPORT

Pit Stop Challenge

First Round Quarterfinals Semifinals Finals
            
12Will Power
28 Ryan Hunter-Reay
3 Hélio Castroneves
28 Ryan Hunter-Reay
12 Will Power
10Dario Franchitti
10Dario Franchitti
19 Alex Lloyd
19 Alex Lloyd
06 James Hinchcliffe
10 Dario Franchitti 8.481
6Ryan Briscoe7.882
9 Scott Dixon
82Tony Kanaan
82Tony Kanaan
26 Marco Andretti
82 Tony Kanaan
6Ryan Briscoe7.568
6Ryan Briscoe7.788
22 Justin Wilson
5 Takuma Sato
22Justin Wilson

Source:

Starting grid

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

RowInsideMiddleOutside
177 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Alex Tagliani 9 Flag of New Zealand.svg Scott Dixon  W 2 Flag of Spain.svg Oriol Servià
299 Flag of the United States.svg Townsend Bell 12 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Will Power 98 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Dan Wheldon  W 
344 Flag of the United States.svg Buddy Rice  W 67 Flag of the United States.svg Ed Carpenter 10 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Dario Franchitti  W 
45 Flag of Japan.svg Takuma Sato 14 Flag of Brazil.svg Vítor Meira 4 Flag of the United States.svg J. R. Hildebrand  R 
506 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg James Hinchcliffe  R 30 Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Bertrand Baguette 11 Flag of the United States.svg Davey Hamilton
63 Flag of Brazil.svg Hélio Castroneves  W 43 Flag of the United States.svg John Andretti 59 Flag of Venezuela.svg E. J. Viso
722 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Justin Wilson 88 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Jay Howard  R 07 Flag of South Africa.svg Tomas Scheckter
882 Flag of Brazil.svg Tony Kanaan 78 Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg Simona de Silvestro 23 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Paul Tracy
97 Flag of the United States.svg Danica Patrick 6 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Ryan Briscoe 26 Flag of the United States.svg Marco Andretti
1083 Flag of the United States.svg Charlie Kimball  R 38 Flag of the United States.svg Graham Rahal 19 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Alex Lloyd
1136 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Pippa Mann  R 24 Flag of Brazil.svg Ana Beatriz 41 Flag of the United States.svg Ryan Hunter-Reay 1

Post-qualifying changes

1 On Monday, May 23, Andretti Autosport and A. J. Foyt Enterprises reached an agreement for Ryan Hunter-Reay to replace Bruno Junqueira as driver of the #41 car. Per race rules, the car, which had originally qualified for the 19th starting position, was moved to the end of the field. [31]

Failed to qualify

No.DriverTeamReason
8 Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg Ho-Pin Tung  R  Dragon Racing Crashed during qualifying attempt on Pole Day, not medically cleared to continue taking part in qualifying.
17 Flag of Brazil.svg Raphael Matos AFS Racing Bumped from the field, too slow to re-qualify.
18 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg James Jakes  R  Dale Coyne Racing Bumped from the field, too slow to re-qualify.
20 Flag of the United States.svg Scott Speed  R 
Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Patrick Carpentier
Dragon Racing Speed did not attempt to qualify on Pole Day.
Team withdrew on Bump Day after Carpentier crashed and the team could not secure a back-up car.
27 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Mike Conway Andretti Autosport Bumped from the field, too slow to re-qualify.
28 Flag of the United States.svg Ryan Hunter-Reay Andretti Autosport Bumped from the field – replaced Bruno Junqueira in the #41.
34 Flag of Colombia.svg Sebastián Saavedra Conquest Racing Bumped from the field, too slow to re-qualify.

Race

A ceremonial golden brick was installed at the start/finish line of the track to commemorate the 100th anniversary Indy500GoldenBrick.JPG
A ceremonial golden brick was installed at the start/finish line of the track to commemorate the 100th anniversary

Summary

First half

The 95th running of the Indianapolis 500 began at 12:00 PM EDT on a hot, muggy day, shortly after the traditional pre-race ceremonies of the invocation, national anthem, and the singing Back Home Again in Indiana by Jim Nabors. Mari Hulman George gave the starting command around 12:05 PM, as the cars took two parade laps and one pace lap, led by four-time Indianapolis 500 winner A. J. Foyt, who was driving the pace car. The green flag came out to see Scott Dixon pass by pole-sitter Alex Tagliani to take the early lead in the race. The first 20 laps of the race saw a relatively smooth pace set in. Unlike past years there was no accident in the first two laps, with the first caution coming out on Lap 21 when Takuma Sato made contact with the wall. During the first caution period many team made pit-stops including Will Power who left the pit area and drove a lap without a left-rear tire, which all but eliminated the IndyCar points leader from having an opportunity to win the race.

Shortly following the green flag restart (which was changed to a two-car abreast start during the drivers meetings) Sato's teammate, E. J. Viso was turned heading into turn 1 by James Hinchcliffe and was the next driver to make contact with the wall and eliminate himself from the race. Following the cleanup and restart after Viso's crash saw the field taking shape and aligning themselves for the long 400+ miles remaining. Simona de Silvestro, who was burned in a crash earlier in the month, was not able to pick up speed in her back-up car and quickly fell from 23rd position, to last. On lap 44, it was clear that the car would not be able to keep up with the field, she was called into the pits and her day was over.

Defending winner Dario Franchitti, along with Scott Dixon, Alex Tagliani, and Oriol Servià all began to take their places at the top of the field with each of them leading more than 10 laps in the race respectively. Later accidents occurred with rookies Jay Howard and James Hinchcliffe. Howard lost a right-rear wheel on lap 61, while Hinchcliffe slid high in turn 3 and bounced off the wall at the halfway mark.

Second half

Following James Hinchcliffe's crash on lap 101, the green flag remained out for over 40 laps as many different drivers shared the lead and got in position for the shootout in the final 10. On lap 148, it was the pole-sitter Alex Tagliani who would be called into pit lane after making slight contact with the wall. Tagliani, who had not had a good day, started in first, fell all the way down to 12th before the crash, was finished for the day, with his final finish position being 28th. One of the few multi-car crashes of the day occurred on lap 158 between Ryan Briscoe and Townsend Bell. Up to that point in the day, Team Penske had been running slow and really did not have a good shot at any of their drivers winning the race, and with the crash and elimination of Ryan Briscoe all hope seemed gone as Hélio Castroneves and Will Power were both down due to bad pit stops and slow cars. With no more lengthy cautions the remainder of the race it turned into a fight for the lead as the laps dwindled down.

As the race prepared to go back to green on lap 164, a handful of drivers ducked into the pit area to top off their fuel, in hopes of going the distance without another pit stop. Dario Franchitti and J. R. Hildebrand were among those who gave up their track position, and topped off their fuel.

Dan Wheldon Dan Wheldon 2011 Indy 500.jpg
Dan Wheldon

For the first time in his Indy career, Graham Rahal took the lead of the race and held it for six laps. However, he lost a battle to Scott Dixon and was forced to a pit stop which dropped out of the top five. However, he was able to finish the race in third place. Tony Kanaan also saw his flirt with Indy glory as he made his way all from the middle of the pack to second place at one point, but was forced as well to drop on a pit stop with less than 20 laps to go. As the race came to down to its final 15 laps, it was still Scott Dixon and Dario Franchitti, two Chip Ganassi Racing cars and former winners, who looked like they would win the race. However, late in the race after a series of pit stops by most in the lead, it was an unlikely Bertrand Baguette who would lead the race as the action came to it climax. Baguette was expected to pit again but as the laps dwindled down and he did not come in, it became increasingly likely that this new face would win the race.

The final 10 laps became a battle between Baguette, Franchitti, and rookie J. R. Hildebrand (all of whom were all trying to stretch their fuel to the finish), as well as Dixon and Dan Wheldon behind but good to the finish having recently pitted. With three laps to go, Baguette pitted for fuel and Franchitti continued to slow to conserve fuel. This gave the lead to Hildebrand while Franchitti continued to fade, falling behind Dixon and the charging Wheldon. As the field was given the white flag, it seemed all but certain a rookie would win the 500 for the first time since Castroneves won it in 2001. Hildebrand moved his way down into the north short chute and down into turn four. Coming in on the front stretch, Hildebrand went high to avoid the slower car of Charlie Kimball, who was on the inside line, and collided with the wall. Without steering and on only three wheels, the car slid down the frontstretch towards the finish line. Dan Wheldon, who was second, skirted by in the final 1,000 feet, and crossed the line to win the race. [32] Hildebrand continued to slide, and crossed the finish line in second.

Post-race

Race winner Dan Wheldon celebrates in victory lane 2011 Indy 500 Winner - Dan Wheldon.jpg
Race winner Dan Wheldon celebrates in victory lane

Dan Wheldon became the 18th person to win two or more Indianapolis 500's, his first coming in 2005. The 200th lap was the only one he led in the race, breaking Joe Dawson's 99-year-old record for the fewest laps led by an Indy winner. As he took to victory lane, he celebrated with the traditional ceremonies of the wreath, glass of milk, and the presentation of the Borg Warner Trophy. As the celebration was occurring, his former team Panther Racing considered filing for a review, stating that Wheldon made an illegal pass during the yellow on Hildebrand's car. In the end, video showed that the yellow did not come out until after Wheldon had passed, and even if it would have come out before the pass, the president of competition ruled that Hildebrand's car was a "wounded car", and was therefore allowed to be passed in the race. [33]

Wheldon's average speed of 170.265 mph (274.015 km/h) was the fourth-fastest Indy 500 in history, and was the first Indy 500 completed in less than three hours since Juan Pablo Montoya won in 2000.

Box score

J. R. Hildebrand crashed on the final lap JRHildebrand2011.jpg
J. R. Hildebrand crashed on the final lap
PosNo.DriverTeamChassisEngineLapsStatusGridPoints
198 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Dan Wheldon  W  Bryan Herta Autosport Dallara Honda 2002:56:11.7267659
24 Flag of the United States.svg J. R. Hildebrand  R  Panther Racing Dallara Honda 200+2.10861244
338 Flag of the United States.svg Graham Rahal Chip Ganassi Racing Dallara Honda 200+5.59492938
482 Flag of Brazil.svg Tony Kanaan KV Racing TechnologyLotus Dallara Honda 200+7.48702236
59 Flag of New Zealand.svg Scott Dixon  W 1 Chip Ganassi Racing Dallara Honda 200+9.5434245
62 Flag of Spain.svg Oriol Servià 1 Newman/Haas Racing Dallara Honda 200+9.5435*342
730 Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Bertrand Baguette Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Dallara Honda 200+23.96311430
807 Flag of South Africa.svg Tomas Scheckter SH Racing Dallara Honda 200+24.32992128
926 Flag of the United States.svg Marco Andretti Andretti Autosport Dallara Honda 200+25.74112725
107 Flag of the United States.svg Danica Patrick Andretti Autosport Dallara Honda 200+26.44832523
1167 Flag of the United States.svg Ed Carpenter Sarah Fisher Racing Dallara Honda 200+27.0375826
1210 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Dario Franchitti  W  Chip Ganassi Racing Dallara Honda 200+56.4167924
1383 Flag of the United States.svg Charlie Kimball  R  Chip Ganassi Racing Dallara Honda 199+1 lap2820
1412 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Will Power Team Penske Dallara Honda 199+1 lap526
1514 Flag of Brazil.svg Vítor Meira A. J. Foyt Enterprises Dallara Honda 199+1 lap1119
1622 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Justin Wilson Dreyer & Reinbold Racing Dallara Honda 199+1 lap1918
173 Flag of Brazil.svg Hélio Castroneves  W  Team Penske Dallara Honda 199+1 lap1617
1844 Flag of the United States.svg Buddy Rice  W  Panther Racing Dallara Honda 198+2 laps720
1919 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Alex Lloyd Dale Coyne Racing Dallara Honda 198+2 laps3015
2036 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Pippa Mann  R  Conquest Racing Dallara Honda 198+2 laps3115
2124 Flag of Brazil.svg Ana Beatriz Dreyer & Reinbold Racing Dallara Honda 197+3 laps3215
2243 Flag of the United States.svg John Andretti Andretti Autosport Dallara Honda 197+3 laps1716
2341 Flag of the United States.svg Ryan Hunter-Reay A. J. Foyt Enterprises Dallara Honda 197+3 laps3312
2411 Flag of the United States.svg Davey Hamilton Dreyer & Reinbold Racing Dallara Honda 193+7 laps1516
2523 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Paul Tracy Dreyer & Reinbold Racing Dallara Honda 175+25 laps2413
2699 Flag of the United States.svg Townsend Bell Sam Schmidt Motorsports Dallara Honda 157Contact421
276 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Ryan Briscoe Team Penske Dallara Honda 157Contact2613
2877 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Alex Tagliani Sam Schmidt Motorsports Dallara Honda 147Contact125
2906 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg James Hinchcliffe  R  Newman/Haas Racing Dallara Honda 99Contact1314
3088 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Jay Howard  R  Sam Schmidt Motorsports Dallara Honda 60Contact2014
3178 Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg Simona de Silvestro HVM Racing Dallara Honda 44Handling2314
3259 Flag of Venezuela.svg E. J. Viso KV Racing TechnologyLotus Dallara Honda 27Contact1814
335 Flag of Japan.svg Takuma Sato KV Racing TechnologyLotus Dallara Honda 20Contact1014

 W  Former Indianapolis 500 winner

 R  Indianapolis 500 Rookie

All entrants utilized Firestone tires.

Note: Unofficially Oriol Servià finished 5th, 8.8757 seconds behind the leader, with Scott Dixon placing 6th. When the official results were posted, it was determined that Servia passed Dixon on the final lap while the yellow caution light was illuminated. Officials re-instated Dixon to 5th, and dropped Servia to 6th in the final standings.

Race statistics

Awards

Winning car on display in 2012. 2011 Indianapolis 500 winning car.jpg
Winning car on display in 2012.

Race winner Dan Wheldon received $2,567,255 in cash prizes and designated awards.

Typically, the presentation of the Borg-Warner Trophy replicas ("Baby Borg") for the driver and owner takes place in January in Detroit during the North American International Auto Show, but Wheldon was killed at Las Vegas in October. Car owners Bryan Herta and Steve Newey, along with Wheldon's widow Susie, were presented in Detroit with their trophies. [34]

The Indianapolis 500-winning car, Dallara IR3007, was the seventh chassis made by Dallara Automobili from the 2003 specifications. Originally a Panther Racing car, it was sold to Adrian Fernandez and later Marty Roth, before FAZZT bought the car in 2010, which became Sam Schmidt Motorsports' car in 2011 when it was used to win the Indianapolis 500. It was raced the next race at Texas Motor Speedway as a Sam Schmidt Motorsports #99 for Wade Cunningham, who crashed it in the first of the Twin 275 km races. The car has been rebuilt and restored in 2011 Indianapolis 500 condition as part of a Wheldon tribute. (Andretti Autosport owns the other Wheldon winner, and is restoring that car too in 2005 Indianapolis 500 race-winning trim.)

Broadcasting

Television

The race was televised in high definition in the United States on ABC, [35] [36] the 47th consecutive year on that network. Marty Reid served as anchor. The telecast utilized the Side-by-Side format for commercial breaks. In the Indianapolis market, the live broadcast was blacked out on WRTV, and shown same-day tape delay in prime time. In some markets in northern Indiana, the final 15 laps of the race were not shown due to a weather bulletin.

The race received a 4.3 overnight rating on ABC, [37] up 7% over 2010. [38] The top local markets included Indianapolis (14.5), Dayton (10.5), and Fort Myers/Naples (8.5). [39] The final rating was 4.0 with 6.711 million viewers, up 11% in ratings and 16% in viewership compared to 2010. [40]

ABC Television
Booth Announcers Pit/garage reporters

Host: Brent Musburger
Announcer: Marty Reid
Color: Scott Goodyear
Color: Eddie Cheever

Vince Welch
Dr. Jerry Punch
Jamie Little
Rick DeBruhl

Time trials and Carb Day were covered live in the United States on Versus. [35] The announcing team consisted of Bob Jenkins, Jon Beekhuis and Wally Dallenbach Jr. Pit reporters included Lindy Thackston, Marty Snider, and Kevin Lee. Robin Miller serves as analyst and "insider". [41]

Daily practice was streamed live over the internet. [42]

Radio

The race was broadcast on radio by the IMS Radio Network. Mike King served as anchor. The broadcast reached approximately 400 affiliates, as well as AFN, the LeSEA broadcasting network, and World Harvest Radio. The broadcast was carried on XM channel 145 and on Sirius channel 212 through the "Best of XM" package.

After eliminating the position for 2010, the turn one location was brought back for the broadcast. Jerry Baker reprised his role in turn 1. The position was brought back in response to the league adopting double-wide restarts. Kenny Brack returned as "driver expert", joining the booth in-progress after participating in various pre-race festivities.

WFNI broadcast nightly from the track with Trackside with Curt Cavin and Kevin Lee, followed by Donald Davidson's The Talk of Gasoline Alley.

In 2010, drivers from the starting field were used to recite the famous out-cue "Stay tuned for the greatest spectacle in racing." For 2011, in celebration of the Centennial Era, the out-cues for each commercial break were recordings of previous renditions by the former "Voices of the 500". Each commercial break would feature a different chief announcer, rotating through Sid Collins, Paul Page, Lou Palmer, Bob Jenkins, and Mike King. This format was also used in 2009.

Indianapolis Motor Speedway Radio Network
Booth AnnouncersTurn Reporters Pit/garage reporters

Chief Announcer: Mike King
Driver expert: Kenny Brack
Analyst: Paul Page
Historian: Donald Davidson
Live in-car reports: Davey Hamilton
Commentary: Bob Jenkins

Turn 1: Jerry Baker
Turn 2: Jake Query
Turn 3: Mark Jaynes
Turn 4: Chris Denari

Michael Young (north pits)
Nick Yeoman (center pits)
Kevin Lee (south pits)
Dave Wilson (garages)

See also

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