The track opened for practice on Saturday, May 11. Time trials were held May 18–19, and the final practice, traditionally dubbed "Carb Day", was Friday, May 24. A support race, the Freedom 100 for the Indy Lights series was also held on Carb Day. In time trials, owner/driver Ed Carpenter of Indianapolis won the pole position, the first American-born pole-sitter since 2006, and the first owner/driver to sit on the pole since 1975.
For the first time since 1987, two drivers in the field entered the race attempting to win a fourth Indianapolis 500.[2] Three-time winners Hélio Castroneves (2001, 2002, 2009) and Dario Franchitti (2007, 2010, 2012) attempted to tie A. J. Foyt, Al Unser Sr. and Rick Mears for the most Indy 500 victories. Neither driver was victorious this day, through Castroneves would achieve the feat in 2021. Unknown at the time, the 2013 race would be Franchitti's last; he retired after suffering severe injuries in a crash at Houston about five months later.[3]
After eleven previous attempts, Tony Kanaan, racing for KV Racing Technology, won the race. On a restart with three laps remaining, Kanaan overtook leader Ryan Hunter-Reay in the first turn. Three-time champion Dario Franchitti got loose and crashed into the outside wall bringing out the final caution of the race. Kanaan led Rookie of the YearCarlos Muñoz and Hunter-Reay across the line. The average speed of the race – 187.433mph (301.644km/h) – was the fastest Indianapolis 500, breaking the record set in 1990 by Arie Luyendyk. The record would stand until 2021. The 68 lead changes, and 14 different leaders, set during the race are also new records. Other records set (each of which have since been broken) included most cars running at the finish in a race that completed 200 laps (26), fewest caution laps (21), most laps completed by the field (5,863), as well as a 133-lap caution-free segment from lap 61 through 193.
Chevrolet swept the top four finishing positions, and took its first Indianapolis 500 win since 2002, breaking Honda's streak of nine consecutive Indy 500 wins. Chassis manufacturer Dallara won its 8th straight Indy 500, and 13th overall since joining the series in 1997.
For the first time since 1989, the Indy 500 will be part of an Indy car"triple crown" along with Pocono and Fontana. A $1 million bonus prize will be offered for any driver to win all three races in the same season.[4]
Lotus, who fielded underpowered and uncompetitive engines in 2012, was released from its contract, and did not participate from 2013 onwards.
On December 21, 2012, Firestone signed a five-year contract extension to be the exclusive official tire supplier through 2018.[6]
Following its popular success during the festivities surrounding Super Bowl XLVI, a zip-line was installed in the infield.[7]
After missing the 2012 race due to an illness, Jim Nabors returned once again to perform "Back Home Again in Indiana" during the pre-race ceremonies. It was his 33rd year performing the song in-person, and 35th overall.
Selected rules and rule changes
Cars will be allowed 130 kPa of turbocharger "boost" during practice (Saturday through Thursday), Carb Day, and race day. Cars will be allowed 140 kPa of boost for "Fast Friday" practice, and during time trials.[8]
All entries will be allowed a total of 33 sets of tires for practice, time trials and race day. Rookie orientation participants receive four additional sets for exclusive use during that session, and likewise refresher test participants receive two additional sets for use during that session. Entries that qualify for the Fast Nine "Shootout" on Pole Day will receive an additional new set of tires for use during each shootout qualifying attempt, but they must be returned and can not be used during the race.
Full-time IndyCar entries must adhere to the required 2,000-mile engine mileage limits. Unapproved engine changes will see a 10-position grid penalty at the next race of the season (Detroit). Most full-time teams will enter the month with the same engine they used earlier in the season (Brazil, Long Beach, etc.). The 2,000 miles on the engine must be exhausted during practice before installing a fresh engine for "Fast Friday" and qualifying. At the close of time trials, an additional fresh engine may be installed for Carb Day and race day, without penalty. However, the time trials engine (and the race day engine) must be re-installed and utilized for later events if it still has miles remaining on it.
Part-time teams utilizing the "Short" engine program will be provided with one engine for use during practice, time trials, and race day.
Rookie orientation was scheduled for Thursday, April 11. However, due to a poor weather forecast, was postponed. Instead, rookies will participate in special two-hour sessions during the first two days of Indianapolis 500 practice.[10]
Testing– Thursday, May 9
A private test focused on NASCAR driver Kurt Busch, who tested a car for Andretti Autosport. Busch conducted the evaluation test with the possibility of attempting "Double Duty" in 2014. Busch reached a top lap of 218mph.[11]
Practice and rookie orientation– Saturday, May 11
Weather: 51°F (11°C), cloudy
Practice summary: Opening Day featured veteran practice from 12–2 p.m., rookie orientation from 2–4 p.m., followed by a second session of veteran practice from 4–6 p.m. Hélio Castroneves was the first car to pull out on to the track, while Josef Newgarden was the first to complete a lap. During the first session, nine cars took to the track, with no incidents reported.
Rookie orientation featured three drivers, A. J. Allmendinger, Carlos Muñoz and Tristan Vautier.[12]Conor Daly was absent due to his participation in the GP3 race at Barcelona. All three drivers passed the three-phase rookie test, and became eligible to practice during the veteran sessions.[12] Daly will be given time to complete the test on Monday.
After rookie orientation, a brief rain shower closed the track from 4:00 p.m. to 4:33 p.m. A total of 15 drivers completed 480 laps Saturday without incident.
Rookie Carlos Muñoz led practice on two days, and qualified second on the starting grid.
Weather: 51°F (11°C), sunny, windy
Practice summary: A total of 22 drivers completed 730 laps Sunday, without incident.[13] A cool, windy afternoon kept some teams and drivers off the track for the day. Rookie Carlos Muñoz led the speed chart, while Andretti Autosport teammates swept five of the top six spots for the day.[13]
Practice summary: A total of 32 drivers took laps on a busy day of practice.[14] Favorable weather conditions saw heavy action, with 1,799 laps completed. Andretti Autosport cars again topped the speed chart, with Marco Andretti setting the fastest lap thus far in the month.[14] No incidents were reported. Rookie Conor Daly, who missed rookie orientation due to competing in Spain, completed his three-phase rookie test in the morning.[14] In addition, Pippa Mann completed a refresher test.
Practice summary: The warmest day of practice thus far saw temperatures in the mid-80s, and sunny skies. A total of 32 drivers took 2,226 laps without incident. James Hinchcliffe drove Marco Andretti's car #25 to a lap of 224.210mph, for the fastest lap of the day.[15] Andretti himself drove the car to a lap of 223.570mph, good enough for third on the speed chart.[15]Andretti Autosport took the top spot in practice for the third straight day. The only driver entered to not take any laps during the month has been Buddy Lazier.[15]
Practice summary: A total of 32 drivers completed 2,165 laps without any major incidents. Several drivers took time driving in packs, simulating race conditions. Dario Franchitti, along with Honda, topped the speed chart for the first for the month.[16] The only minor incident of the day involved Sebastián Saavedra. His car lost paint and decals off the engine cover, bringing out a yellow for debris and track inspection.[16] Sixteen of the full-time entries had passed the required 2,000-mile threshold, and took to the track Wednesday with fresh powerplants.
Weather: 83°F (28°C), sunny. Brief shower at 12:11p.m.
Practice summary: At 2:19p.m., rookie Conor Daly crashed in turn one, the first major incident of the week.[17] Halfway through the turn, the rear end stepped out, and he made contact with the SAFER barrier at the exit one with the right side. He spun through the southchute, and the car nearly overturned, coming to rest upright in turn 2. Daly exited the car and was uninjured.[17]
For the second time of the week, rookie Carlos Muñoz topped the speed chart, with a lap of 225.163 mph, the fastest of the month.[18] It was Andretti Autosport's fourth day leading practice, and the second time they swept the top three speeds for the day. A total of 2,227 laps were completed, with 33 drivers having taken laps during the month. Buddy Lazier made it 33 as he took the track for the first time.[18] He conducted installation laps in preparations for a refresher test scheduled for Friday.
Weather: 81°F (27°C), cloudy; light rain at 2:52p.m., thunderstorms at 3:15p.m.
Practice summary: E. J. Viso led the speed chart with a lap of 229.537mph, the fastest lap of the month, and the fastest practice lap at the track since 2003.[19] Veteran Buddy Lazier opened the morning with a refresher test. Within a few laps, Lazier was practicing over 219mph. During the "Fast Friday" practice session, a total of 32 drivers took laps, with Conor Daly the only participant not on the track. Daly was sidelined while the Foyt team rebuilt his car after his Thursday crash.[19] With Andretti Autosport cars again sweeping the top three spots on the speed chart, rain entered the area around 3 p.m. Severe thunderstorms closed the track for the day officially at 3:42p.m.
Qualifying summary: During the morning practice session, Will Power turned the fastest lap of the month at 229.808mph.[20] At the conclusion of practice, rain fell and delayed the start of time trials. The rain shower was short in duration, and the track was dried. Trials began at 1:28p.m. Scott Dixon was the first driver in the field. During the afternoon session, a total of 31 drivers completed attempts. Chevrolet swept the top ten spots on the speed chart, and 13 of the top 15.[21]Alex Tagliani, the fastest of the Honda teams, managed only an 11th starting position on the grid.[21]Will Power (228.844mph) set the fastest speed of Session 1, and the top nine would advance to the Top Nine Shootout.
As the segment came to a close, the attention focused on Graham Rahal, Josef Newgarden and Simona de Silvestro. All three were among the drivers attempting to make the top 24 for the day. Rahal was too slow to make the field, while de Silvestro managed to bump her way in.[21] In the last 30 minutes, Townsend Bell made two attempts, the second of which bumped his way in. With time running out, Newgarden was bumped out by James Jakes. Newgarden ran out of time to get back in line to make an attempt, and would have to wait until Sunday to qualify.
Summary: The top nine drivers from segment 1 returned to the track for the Fast Nine Shootout to determine the pole position. Due to the rain delay earlier in the afternoon, the Shootout segment was rescheduled for 6:30p.m.[20] Each of the nine cars would be allowed one qualifying attempt.
Marco Andretti was the first driver to make a significant improvement on his starting position, putting himself tentatively on the pole. The next car out, Ed Carpenter, raised eyebrows with a first lap of 229.347 mph, and a four-lap average of 228.762 mph.[21] Carpenter bumped Andretti off the top spot, but still had four drivers waiting to make attempts. Rookie Carlos Muñoz squeezed himself on to the front row, landing in second starting position.[21] The final driver with a shot for the pole was Will Power, who was fastest in segment 1. Power's first lap was in the 229 mph range, but his third and fourth laps dropped off significantly. Power ended up 6th, and Ed Carpenter secured his first Indy 500 pole position.[22] It was the first pole for an American-born driver since Sam Hornish Jr. in 2006, and the first by an owner/driver since A. J. Foyt in 1975.
Bump Day summary: The day opened with nine spots available in the starting field. A total of ten drivers were preparing to make qualifying attempts. During morning practice, Katherine Legge took practice laps for the first time during the month. At 12 noon, qualifying opened, and in the first hour, the field was filled to 33 cars. At 1 p.m., Katherine Legge was on the bubble, and the only car to not make an attempt was Michel Jourdain Jr.[23] The Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing team was having considerable difficulty getting Jourdain's car up to speed, and as the afternoon progressed, the team was not making progress. After several drastic changes to the car's set-ups, the team decided to park the car at 5:45p.m., and did not make a qualifying attempt.[23]
For the first time since 1987, multiple three-time winners of the race were in contention (Franchitti and Castroneves); however, neither driver ended up being a serious threat to win the race.[24] The race started at 12:15p.m. EDT (4:15p.m. UTC). Ed Carpenter started in pole position,[24] but Marco Andretti, who started in third position, soon took the lead. The initial start and first laps commenced without any crashes or yellow flags.[25]
First half
The first caution flag flew when J. R. Hildebrand hit the wall in Turn 2 on the fourth lap of the race, just after posting the fastest time for a lap in the race.[26] Hildebrand had almost won the 2011 Indianapolis 500 but lost due to a crash during the final lap, and then in the 2013 was out of contention after the early crash.[26] On lap 36, driver Sebastián Saavedra was bumped between turns three and four and subsequently crashed into the wall outside of turn four. Driver Pippa Mann later apologized for the accident on her website.[27] The first half of the race featured many lead changes, with Tony Kanaan, Carpenter, and Andretti exchanging the leading spot; however, just before the halfway point in the race, A. J. Allmendinger passed Kanaan to take the lead, with Ryan Hunter-Reay and Andretti following behind in third and fourth, respectively.[28]
Second half
Allmendinger, leading with under 90 laps to go, had a clasp from his seatbelt come loose and was forced to make a pitstop so his pit crew could refasten it, losing the lead.[29] Driver Graham Rahal then crashed with 7 laps left to go, bringing the race under a yellow caution flag.[29] Ryan Hunter-Reay had been in the lead during this caution flag, but when the caution ended, Kanaan, who ran in the top ten most of the race, slipped by Hunter-Reay to take the lead.[25] Just when Kanaan led in the first turn, Dario Franchitti crashed with three laps left, causing another yellow caution flag that would last for the remainder of the race.[25] Under the yellow flag, Kanaan finished the final 2.5 laps to win his first Indy 500, with Carlos Muñoz in second place and Hunter-Reay in third. The race featured more lead changes than any previous Indianapolis 500 with 68, twice the number of the previous record (34), set in 2012.[25] Kanaan said after the race, "I was looking at the stands, and it was unbelievable ... This is it, man. I made it. Finally they're going to put my ugly face on this trophy".[25]
Numerous race records and statistical milestones were set during the race:
The race was completed in 2 hours, 40 minutes, 3.4181 second at an average speed of 187.433mph. It was the fastest Indy 500 in history to-date, breaking the record set by Arie Luyendyk in 1990 (185.981mph). The speed record stood until 2021.
There were 68 official lead changes, breaking the record of 34 set in 2012. This record still stands as of 2021.
There were 14 different leaders, breaking the record of 12 set in 1993 (this record was later broken in 2017 and 2018 with 15).
Unofficially, there were 84 lead changes between 15 drivers. Lead changes and leaders are only scored at the start/finish line. However, there were 16 additional interim lead changes during the course of the race, and one additional driver, Dario Franchitti, briefly led the field exiting the pit area on lap 189.
A total of 26 cars were running at the finish, tying the record set in 1911 (40 cars started that year). This record was broken in 2021 (30).
A total of 19 cars finished on the lead lap, tying the record set in 2009. This record was broken in 2021 (22).
The 33-car field completed a record total of 5,863 laps out of a possible 6,600 (88.8%). This record was broken in 2021 (6,308).
There was a green flag stint from lap 61 through 193 (a total of 133 consecutive laps without a caution). That breaks the record in the modern era for most consecutive laps completed without a caution. Since the "pack-up" rule was adopted in 1979, the previous longest stretch of green flags laps occurred in 2002 (74 consecutive laps). Note that this record was later broken in 2014 (149 consecutive laps).
There were only 21 laps run under caution, breaking the modern era record of 26 set in 1990 for a full 500-mile race. This record was broken in 2021 (18 laps).
Winner Tony Kanaan won the race in his 12th attempt, matching the mark set by Sam Hanks (1957). Hanks qualified 13 times, but started only 12 due to an injury in 1941.
Car #11 won for the first time.
Hélio Castroneves completed the full 500 miles without relief for a record 9th time in his career. Ted Horn and A. J. Foyt had done so eight times.
Scott Dixon completed the full 500 miles for a record-tying 6th consecutive year.
Scott Dixon has completed a record 1,566 consecutive laps dating back to the start of the 2006 race.
Ed Carpenter led the most laps during the race with 37. That is the lowest total by the driver leading the most laps during a single race. In 1996, Roberto Guerrero had previously set that low mark when he led the most laps in 1996, his total was 47.
There were seven different leaders in a seven-lap stretch during laps 120–126. This betters a mark set in 1981 when there were five different leaders over a five-lap stretch from lap 56–60.
For the third year in a row, the lead changed hands with less than three laps to go.
Unknown to all at the time, this would be Dario Franchitti's final Indy 500. On October 6, 2013, Franchitti was involved in a serious crash in the Grand Prix of Houston, when his car flew into catch-fencing after contact with the cars of Takuma Sato and E. J. Viso.[30] Franchitti suffered 2 fractured vertebrae, a broken ankle, and a concussion in the crash. A month later, on 14 November, Franchitti announced his immediate retirement from motor racing on medical advice; he retired with 31 victories from 265 starts in his American open-wheel racing career,[31] a tally which put him in a tie for ninth on the all-time wins list with former teammate Paul Tracy.[32]
The race was broadcast live in high definition in the United States on ABC. A newcomer to the telecast was Lindsay Czarniak, served as host. Brent Musburger, who served as host from 2005 to 2012, departed the broadcast crew.[33]
Australian broadcasts moved to Foxtel for 2013.
Time trials, Carb Day, and the 500 Festival Parade were covered live in the United States on NBC Sports Network.[34] Two separate crews will be used for the qualifying weekend and final practice.
For final practice, the on-air crew was Bob Jenkins, Jon Beekhuis and Wally Dallenbach Jr. in the booth, with pit reporters Snider, Lee and Miller.[36] Jenkins was filling in for Diffey, who was leading NBC's Monaco Grand Prix broadcast. The Freedom 100 was covered by Mike King, Davey Hamilton and Josef Newgarden, with Jake Query covering the pits, and the parade coverage on Saturday was anchored by Jenkins, Diane Willis and Lee.[36]
The IMS Radio Network broadcast the race live on approximately 400 affiliates, as well as AFN, the LeSEA broadcasting network, and World Harvest Radio.[37] The broadcast was carried on XM channel 94 and Sirius channel 212.[38]Mike King served as anchor for the 15th and unknown to all final year.[37] King resigned his position in late October 2013.[39] Historian Donald Davidson celebrated his 50th year as an official member of the network broadcast. Several drivers, including A. J. Foyt and Bobby Unser recorded celebratory greetings. The commercial out-cues used in 2013 were the drivers (like 2010) during the pre-race coverage, and the historical chief announcers during the race (like 2011-2012).
Katie Hargitt, who had worked other races during the year as a pit reporter, joined the crew for the first time. Her duties were limited to interviews during the pre-race coverage. During the first half of the race, Mike King interviewed future Vice President of the United States and current Indiana GovernorMike Pence in the broadcast booth.
1070 The Fan broadcast nightly with Trackside with Curt Cavin and Kevin Lee, followed by Donald Davidson's The Talk of Gasoline Alley.
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Tony Kanaan 
Ed Carpenter 
Will Power 
Carlos Muñoz 
