2012 Indianapolis 500

The 96th Indianapolis 500 was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana on Sunday May 27, 2012. It was the premier event of the 2012 IZOD IndyCar Series season. For the first time since 1996 all entries featured turbocharged engines,^[7]^[8] and all entries were brand new model-year chassis,^[9] as part of the ICONIC Project. This was the first time since 2003, and only the fourth time since 1985, that all cars were a new model-year chassis.

The track opened for practice on Saturday May 12. Time trials were held May 19–20. Ryan Briscoe of Penske Racing qualified for the pole position. The final practice, traditionally dubbed "Carb Day," was held Friday May 25.

Dario Franchitti, who previously won the race in 2007 and 2010, won the event, becoming a three-time Indy 500 champion.^[10] On the final lap, second place Takuma Sato challenged Franchitti for the lead in turn one, but Franchitti pushed Sato's car down too low, causing Sato to lose control.^[11] As the two cars were side by side, Franchitti closed Sato's space to pass, resulting in his car clipping Sato's. Sato then spun and crashed into the outside wall. Sato finished in 17th, while Franchitti went on to take the victory.^[12] Franchitti's teammate Scott Dixon finished second, sweeping a 1-2 finish for Chip Ganassi Racing. The race set an all-time record with 34 lead changes.^[13] Franchitti's win represented the ninth consecutive Indy victory for Honda, despite the presence of multiple engine manufacturers for the first time since 2005.

Dario Franchitti won his first Indianapolis 500 with Brembo-equipped brakes.

Event background

For the first time since 1947, the previous year's race winner had been killed in a racing crash in the time between races. Defending race winner Dan Wheldon^[14] was killed in a horrific crash during the 2011 season finale, the 2011 IZOD IndyCar World Championship at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Several winners have missed the following year due to either retirements, injuries, or racing in a different series. The last time the defending champion did not participate in the race due to injury or death was 2004 race winner Buddy Rice, who suffered a concussion during practice, and sat out the 2005 race (also won by Wheldon). The last time a defending Indianapolis 500 champion did not participate in the race under any circumstances was 2007 race winner Dario Franchitti, who was injured in a NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Talladega Superspeedway in April 2008 and had a full-time racing schedule in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in 2008.

Due to safety concerns, IndyCar officials announced in the 2012 State of IndyCar address that restarts would revert to single-file for the two ovals whose distance is at least two miles or greater.

Jim Nabors, who has traditionally sung "Back Home Again in Indiana" during the pre-race ceremonies in most years since 1972, was not able to attend the race due to health reasons.^[15] The Speedway sent a film crew to record him performing the song at his home in Hawaiʻi, and aired it on race morning.^[3]

Going into the month, there was growing concern about filling the field to the traditional 33 cars. This was due in part to the struggles of Lotus, and lease issues in the first year of the new engine package, namely involving Dragon Racing. However, on Bump Day, the field was filled to exactly 33 cars, with no cars bumped, a similar situation to 2003.

Schedule

Race schedule — May 2012
Sun	Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Fri	Sat
29 São Paulo	30	1	2	3	4	5 Mini-Marathon
6	7 Oval test	8	9	10 ROP	11 Indy Lights	12 Practice
13 Practice	14 Practice	15 Practice	16 Practice	17 Practice	18 Practice	19 Pole Day
20 Bump Day	21	22	23 Comm. Day	24 Indy Lights	25 Carb Day	26 Legends Day
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

Other scheduled events included:^[16]

May 11 – Freedom 100 testing
May 12–13 – Second Annual Celebration of Automobiles / Emerging Technologies Day
May 24 – Freedom 100 practice and time trials
May 25 – Freedom 100 race, Carb Day concert featuring Lynyrd Skynyrd
May 26 – Legends Day featuring Roger Penske: Public Drivers Meeting, Autograph sessions

Entry list

See Team and driver chart for more information

On April 18, 2012, the Official Entry List was released. As of April 18, thirty-four car/driver combinations had been announced. Former winners entered include Dario Franchitti, Hélio Castroneves and Scott Dixon.

In an unusual move, Chip Ganassi Racing sponsor Target changed Franchitti's car number for the month. While Franchitti is legally entitled to using #1, the team decided instead to keep the team's #10 identity for the season, but to celebrate Target's fifty years in business, the car carried #50 for the race meet. The stylised #50 utilised the Target logo.

Former Formula One driver Jean Alesi^[17] was listed as an entry for Newman Haas Racing, but the car was later withdrawn. Lotus continued to find a team for Alesi, and struck a deal with Indy Lights team Fan Force United^[18] to run a car. Rubens Barrichello,^[19] winner of the 2002 U.S. Grand Prix at Indy should be the first former winner of that event to attempt to qualify for the Indy 500.

Michel Jourdain, Jr., who last raced at Indy sixteen years ago in 1996, was named to Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing. Jourdain would be the only driver in the field from the 1990s. With John Andretti not entered, not a single driver from the 1980s was in the field.

Testing and rookie orientation

With the introduction of the new chassis and engine package, testing was conducted at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway during the offseason. The first phase of testing involved Dan Wheldon, and testing was conducted on the USGP road course at Indianapolis on September 1,^[20] and on the oval in late September.^[21]^[22] Dario Franchitti and Tony Kanaan tested at Indianapolis in early November for Honda and Chevrolet.^[23] Test results were mixed at the Speedway,^[23]^[24] with drivers complaining of weight imbalance issues,^[23]^[24] and speeds (208–216 mph^[23]^[24]) were down from what was expected.

Open test — Wednesday, April 4

Weather: 64 °F (18 °C), partly cloudy
Practice summary: An open test was held for veteran drivers only.^[25] Multi-car teams were allowed only one car/driver combination for the test,^[24] rookies were not allowed, and Lotus did not participate. The cars were fitted with new rear wheel guards,^[24] designed to correct aerodynamic issues experienced during previous tests. Nine drivers took part in the test. Tony Kanaan, Marco Andretti, Hélio Castroneves, Ed Carpenter, and J. R. Hildebrand test for Chevrolet. Scott Dixon, Takuma Sato, Mike Conway, and Justin Wilson tested for Honda.^[26] The nine drivers completed 495 laps, with no incidents reported.

Top Practice Speeds
Pos	No.	Driver	Team	Engine	Speed
1	26	Marco Andretti	Andretti Autosport	Chevrolet	218.625
2	11	Tony Kanaan	KV Racing Technology	Chevrolet	218.439
3	10	Scott Dixon	Chip Ganassi Racing	Honda	218.094
OFFICIAL REPORT

Texas Motor Speedway Test — Monday, May 7

For the second year in a row, IndyCar held an official pre-Indy oval test. Since the Indy 500 will be the first oval race of the 2012 season, the league hosted a test for rookies to assimilate with ovals, and to test out an updated aero kit package for Texas Motor Speedway, which is a 1.5-mile 24-degree banked oval, which has been a type of circuit that was questionable in light of the Las Vegas tragedy. The aero kit package at Texas will not be used for Indianapolis or Fontana. Indianapolis and Fontana, home of the 2012 IZOD IndyCar World Championship, will use the same superspeedway aero and rules package. The test also saw Rubens Barrichello take his first competitive laps on an oval on Monday May 7.

Top Practice Speeds
Pos	No.	Driver	Team	Engine	Speed
1	9	Scott Dixon	Chip Ganassi Racing	Honda	212.371
2	83	Charlie Kimball	Chip Ganassi Racing	Honda	211.330
3	10	Dario Franchitti	Chip Ganassi Racing	Honda	210.525
OFFICIAL REPORT

Rookie orientation program — Thursday, May 10

Weather: 63 °F (17 °C), partly cloudy
Practice summary: On the first day of track activity in the month of May, eight rookies took to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway track. Of these eight driver, seven of them passed the mandatory Rookie Orientation Program with James Jakes leading the speed charts during the day with a top lap at 218.266 mph. Bryan Clauson, Josef Newgarden, Rubens Barrichello, Simon Pagenaud, Michel Jourdain Jr., and Wade Cunningham were all able to break 210 mph during the practice.^[27] Jean Alesi was the only driver not to pass the first two phases the program, running his best lap at 186.387 mph, however he was given permission to return the following day for more practice.^[28] On Friday May 11, Alesi completed the first two phases.^[29]

Top Practice Speeds
Pos	No.	Driver	Team	Engine	Speed
1	19	James Jakes (R)	Dale Coyne Racing	Honda	218.268
2	39	Bryan Clauson (R)	Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing	Honda	217.046
3	67	Josef Newgarden (R)	Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing	Honda	216.573
OFFICIAL REPORT

Practice

Opening Day — Saturday, May 12

Weather: 74 °F (23 °C), partly cloudy
Practice summary: Rookie Josef Newgarden led the way, while J.R. Hildebrand led the tow chart.^[30] Townsend Bell was not at the track, as he was competing in an American Le Mans race at Laguna Seca. Among the other drivers not making laps were Katherine Legge and Sébastien Bourdais, who are currently without an engine deal. The first cars on the track were the three Penske Racing cars, who completed a parade lap with all three cars alongside. Marco Andretti did not spend any time in his own car, but shook down the 17 and 25 cars for a couple laps.

Top Practice Speeds
Pos	No.	Driver	Team	Engine	Speed
1	67	Josef Newgarden (R)	Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing	Honda	220.250
2	4	J.R. Hildebrand	Panther Racing	Chevrolet	219.693
3	39	Bryan Clauson (R)	Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing	Honda	219.632
OFFICIAL REPORT

Open practice — Sunday, May 13

Weather: 75 °F (24 °C), partly cloudy
Practice summary: A total of 33 cars completed 1,138 practice laps without incident. Wade Cunningham completed the third phase of the rookie test, early in the day's practice session. Six drivers completed laps over 220 mph.

Top Practice Speeds
Pos	No.	Driver	Team	Engine	Speed
1	17	Sebastián Saavedra	AFS Racing/Andretti Autosport	Chevrolet	221.526
2	39	Bryan Clauson (R)	Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing	Honda	221.173
3	67	Josef Newgarden (R)	Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing	Honda	221.158
OFFICIAL REPORT

Open practice — Monday, May 14

Weather: 78 °F (26 °C), partly cloudy
Practice summary: After days of struggles, Jean Alesi finally completed the third phase of rookie orientation. This was accomplished with the approved use of the qualifying boost, which gave them an extra 5–6 mph.^[31] Graham Rahal's car suffered engine woes, the first of the month at Indianapolis. A total of 1,199 laps were completed without incident.

Top Practice Speeds
Pos	No.	Driver	Team	Engine	Speed
1	67	Josef Newgarden (R)	Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing	Honda	222.486
2	28	Ryan Hunter-Reay	Andretti Autosport	Chevrolet	221.639
3	26	Marco Andretti	Andretti Autosport	Chevrolet	221.519
OFFICIAL REPORT

Open practice — Tuesday, May 15

Weather: 79 °F (26 °C), partly cloudy
Practice summary: The busiest day of practice thus far saw Marco Andretti set the fastest lap of the month at 223.676 mph. Thirty car/driver combinations completed 1,602 laps without incident. Most of the day focused on race setups and drafting practice. Dragon Racing drivers Sébastien Bourdais and Katherine Legge have yet to turn a lap all month, as the team is trying to get out of their contract with Lotus.^[32]

Top Practice Speeds
Pos	No.	Driver	Team	Engine	Speed
1	26	Marco Andretti	Andretti Autosport	Chevrolet	223.676
2	3	Hélio Castroneves	Team Penske	Chevrolet	222.025
3	27	James Hinchcliffe	Andretti Autosport	Chevrolet	221.864
OFFICIAL REPORT

Open practice — Wednesday, May 16

Weather: 76 °F (24 °C), partly cloudy
Practice summary: Rookie Josef Newgarden led the speed chart with a lap of 222.785 mph, but also became the first car to suffer an incident on the track. With 16 minutes left in the day, Newgarden lost the back end at the exit of turn four, did two 360° spins, and tapped the inside wall on the mainstretch. Newgarden was not injured, and the car suffered only minor damage to the front wing and rear wheel assembly. A total of 30 cars completed 1,632 laps, the busiest day thus far during the month. Off the track, Dragon Racing, acquired a Chevrolet engine and began installing it in one of their cars, in preparations for Katherine Legge and Sébastien Bourdais to pass their rookie and refresher test, respectively, Thursday morning.

Top Practice Speeds
Pos	No.	Driver	Team	Engine	Speed
1	67	Josef Newgarden (R)	Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing	Honda	222.785
2	26	Marco Andretti	Andretti Autosport	Chevrolet	222.108
3	28	Ryan Hunter-Reay	Andretti Autosport	Chevrolet	221.763
OFFICIAL REPORT

Open practice — Thursday, May 17

Weather: 74 °F (23 °C), partly cloudy
Practice summary: The track opened early to give extra track time for Dragon Racing drivers Sébastien Bourdais and Katherine Legge. Bourdais completed his refresher course in the morning, and Legge completed ROP phase one, both in the Dragon #6 car. The track opened for all drivers at 1 p.m. Thursday was the final day of practice with race day turbocharger boost settings of 130 kPa. A total of 29 drivers took laps, with no incidents reported. Legge was granted additional time in the evening til 6:40 p.m., during which she completed the second phase of rookie orientation.

Top Practice Speeds
Pos	No.	Driver	Team	Engine	Speed
1	9	Scott Dixon	Chip Ganassi Racing	Honda	223.088
2	67	Josef Newgarden (R)	Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing	Honda	222.709
3	38	Graham Rahal	Chip Ganassi Racing	Honda	222.080
OFFICIAL REPORT

Fast Friday practice — Friday, May 18

Weather: 81 °F (27 °C), sunny
Practice summary: "Fast Friday" practice was the final full day of practice prior to time trials. Turbocharger boost settings were elevated to 140 kPa for this session, as well as for time trials. Marco Andretti (227.540 mph) set the fastest lap of the day and of the month on a sunny, hot afternoon. All cars took laps except for Oriol Servià, who experienced engine trouble. No wall contact was reported, but Michel Jourdain, Jr. suffered a blown engine and a subsequent oil fire on his car early in the session. For the first time since 1998, the entire first week of practice was conducted without any time lost due to rain.

Top Practice Speeds
Pos	No.	Driver	Team	Engine	Speed
1	26	Marco Andretti	Andretti Autosport	Chevrolet	227.540
2	2	Ryan Briscoe	Team Penske	Chevrolet	226.835
3	3	Hélio Castroneves	Team Penske	Chevrolet	226.716
OFFICIAL REPORT

Time Trials

Saturday May 19 – Pole Day

Weather:

Practice

Practice summary:

Top Practice Speeds
Pos	No.	Driver	Team	Engine	Speed
1	3	Hélio Castroneves	Team Penske	Chevrolet	227.744
2	25	Ana Beatriz	Andretti Autosport/Conquest Racing	Chevrolet	226.187
3	2	Ryan Briscoe	Team Penske	Chevrolet	226.027
OFFICIAL REPORT

Qualifying

Ryan Briscoe makes his pole-winning qualification run.

Front-row qualifiers (L to R): James Hinchcliffe, Ryan Briscoe, and Ryan Hunter-Reay.

Qualifying draw: Results
First segment summary: Tony Kanaan was the first driver out on the track, but his time was later disallowed after it was discovered he was missing a ballast on the rear view window. He would re-qualify later in the day. Mike Conway also had his time disallowed after inspection, as the car was found to be underweight. Bryan Clauson wrecked on his fourth qualifying lap, but despite a lot of damage to the car, the team was not planning on going to a backup car. Oriol Servià spun exiting turn four on his final warmup lap, hitting the inside wall and the pit wall. Ed Carpenter was bumped from the field and crashed heavily on his attempt to re-enter the field. Wade Cunningham, Mike Conway and Sébastien Bourdais were also bumped from the field of 24. Sebastián Saavedra started his qualifying run as the gun sounded, after Conway's crew changed the tires after going through technical inspection. Katherine Legge's run was waved off because her team was not in place to give the starter instructions. The nine drivers to advance to the fast nine were James Hinchcliffe, Will Power, Ryan Hunter-Reay, Helio Castroneves, Ryan Briscoe, Tony Kanaan, Marco Andretti, Josef Newgarden and E.J. Viso.
Fast Nine Shootout summary: Viso and Kanaan waved off their runs, and neither returned to the track for the session. Newgarden pulled his car from the line shortly afterward; he returned later and, in light of his team-mate's crash, set a conservative run of 224.037 mph. Ryan Briscoe set down an early quick time of 226.484 mph, as the second driver to complete a full qualifying run. Only James Hinchcliffe came close to topping his time on their first run, falling short by a scant .003 miles per hour. Castroneves made an attempt at a second run, but it was much slower and was waved off after the first lap. Power also made a second attempt, but waved it off after three laps. Hinchcliffe's second run was waved off by race control after it became clear he would not go faster on his second run. Ryan Hunter-Reay was the only car that picked up speed on a second run, but did not gain any positions. Ryan Briscoe held on to take the pole position, by the closest margin in Indianapolis 500 history.

Pole Day – Saturday, May 19, 2012
Pos	No.	Driver	Team	Engine	Speed	Pts
Fast Nine Shootout (positions 1–9)
1	2	Ryan Briscoe	Team Penske	Chevrolet	226.484	15
2	27	James Hinchcliffe	Andretti Autosport	Chevrolet	226.481	13
3	28	Ryan Hunter-Reay	Andretti Autosport	Chevrolet	226.240	12
4	26	Marco Andretti	Andretti Autosport	Chevrolet	225.456	11
5	12	Will Power	Team Penske	Chevrolet	225.422	10
6	3	Hélio Castroneves	Team Penske	Chevrolet	225.172	9
7	67	Josef Newgarden (R)	Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing	Honda	224.037	8
8	11	Tony Kanaan	KV Racing Technology	Chevrolet	224.751 ^Q1	7
9	5	E.J. Viso	KV Racing Technology	Chevrolet	224.422 ^Q1	6
Positions 10–24
10	8	Rubens Barrichello (R)	KV Racing Technology	Chevrolet	224.264	4
11	98	Alex Tagliani	Team Barracuda – BHA	Honda	224.000	4
12	38	Graham Rahal	Chip Ganassi Racing	Honda	223.959	4
13	25	Ana Beatriz	Andretti Autosport/Conquest Racing	Chevrolet	223.920	4
14	83	Charlie Kimball	Chip Ganassi Racing	Honda	223.868	4
15	9	Scott Dixon	Chip Ganassi Racing	Honda	223.684	4
16	50	Dario Franchitti	Chip Ganassi Racing	Honda	223.582	4
17	19	James Jakes (R)	Dale Coyne Racing	Honda	223.482	4
18	4	J.R. Hildebrand	Panther Racing	Chevrolet	223.422	4
19	15	Takuma Sato	Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing	Honda	223.392	4
20	99	Townsend Bell	Schmidt–Hamilton Motorsports	Honda	223.134	4
21	18	Justin Wilson	Dale Coyne Racing	Honda	222.929	4
22	30	Michel Jourdain, Jr.	Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing	Honda	222.893	4
23	77	Simon Pagenaud (R)	Schmidt–Hamilton Motorsports	Honda	222.891	4
24	17	Sebastián Saavedra	Andretti Autosport/AFS Racing	Chevrolet	222.811	4
Other Attempts
	41	Wade Cunningham (R)	A. J. Foyt Enterprises	Honda	222.689
	14	Mike Conway	A. J. Foyt Enterprises	Honda	222.434
	7	Sébastien Bourdais	Dragon Racing	Chevrolet	222.415
	39	Bryan Clauson (R)	Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing	Honda	Crashed
	20	Ed Carpenter	Ed Carpenter Racing	Chevrolet	Crashed
	6	Katherine Legge (R)	Dragon Racing	Chevrolet	Waved Off
	22	Oriol Servià	Panther/Dreyer & Reinbold Racing	Chevrolet	Crashed
	78	Simona de Silvestro	HVM Racing	Lotus	N/A
	64	Jean Alesi (R)	Fan Force United	Lotus	N/A
OFFICIAL REPORT

^Q1 The driver waved off and did not make an attempt during Q2. Per INDYCAR rules, Q1 times determine positions after the drivers who completed Q2.

Sunday May 20 – Bump Day

Weather:

Practice

Practice summary:

Top Practice Speeds
Pos	No.	Driver	Team	Engine	Speed
1	22	Oriol Servià	Panther/Dreyer & Reinbold Racing	Chevrolet	223.752
2	7	Sébastien Bourdais	Dragon Racing	Chevrolet	223.479
3	20T	Ed Carpenter	Ed Carpenter Racing	Chevrolet	222.886
OFFICIAL REPORT

Qualifying

Bump Day summary: Before the opening of the track, Jay Howard^[33] and Pippa Mann^[34] announced they would not make attempts to qualify for the field, with Howard citing an engine deal that had fallen apart. There had been some rumors that IndyCar had stopped last minute deals from coming together, with Mann and Howard's deals falling apart at the last moments, though Randy Bernard stated on his Twitter account that this was not the case.^[35]

Bump Day – Sunday, May 20, 2012
Pos	No.	Driver	Team	Engine	Speed	Pts
25	7	Sébastien Bourdais	Dragon Racing	Chevrolet	223.760	3
26	41	Wade Cunningham (R)	A. J. Foyt Enterprises	Honda	223.258	3
27	22	Oriol Servià	Panther/Dreyer & Reinbold Racing	Chevrolet	222.393	3
28	20T	Ed Carpenter	Ed Carpenter Racing	Chevrolet	222.324	3
29	14	Mike Conway	A. J. Foyt Enterprises	Honda	222.319	3
30	6	Katherine Legge (R)	Dragon Racing	Chevrolet	221.624	3
31	39	Bryan Clauson (R)	Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing	Honda	214.455	3
32	78	Simona de Silvestro	HVM Racing	Lotus	214.393	3
33	64	Jean Alesi (R)	Fan Force United	Lotus	210.094	3
OFFICIAL REPORT

Carb Day

Final practice — Friday, May 25

Weather: TBA
Practice summary: TBA

Top Practice Speeds
Pos	No.	Driver	Team	Engine	Speed
1	50	Dario Franchitti	Chip Ganassi Racing	Honda	222.360
2	9	Scott Dixon	Chip Ganassi Racing	Honda	222.274
3	26	Marco Andretti	Andretti Autosport	Chevrolet	221.702
OFFICIAL REPORT

Pit Stop Challenge

The annual Pit Stop Competition featured twelve participants in a single-elimination bracket-style match-up. Four teams received byes, while eight teams competed in the first round. A total purse of $100,000 was at stake, with $50,000 going to the winning team. The format has two cars competing in a layout that resembles a drag race. The cars race from a standing start and drive into the pit box, change four tires, simulate a refueling, and race to a finish line a few hundred feet down the pit lane.

Chip Ganassi Racing won the pit stop competition for the first time, with driver Scott Dixon.

First Round		Quarterfinals			Semifinals			Finals


		9	Scott Dixon	13.941

		38	Graham Rahal	17.166
27	James Hinchcliffe

38	Graham Rahal
					9	Scott Dixon	13.385

					12	Will Power	13.695



		2	Ryan Briscoe

		12	Will Power
4	J. R. Hildebrand

12	Will Power
								9	Scott Dixon	13.769

								22	Oriol Servia	17.194



		3	Helio Castroneves

		22	Oriol Servia
14	Mike Conway

22	Oriol Servia
					50	Dario Franchitti

					22	Oriol Servia



		50	Dario Franchitti

		28	Ryan Hunter-Reay
26	Marco Andretti

28	Ryan Hunter-Reay

Source: Daily Trackside Report

Starting grid

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

Row	Inside		Middle		Outside
1	2	Ryan Briscoe	27	James Hinchcliffe	28	Ryan Hunter-Reay
2	26	Marco Andretti	12	Will Power	3	Hélio Castroneves (W)
3	67	Josef Newgarden (R)	11	Tony Kanaan	5	E.J. Viso
4	8	Rubens Barrichello (R)	98	Alex Tagliani	38	Graham Rahal
5	25	Ana Beatriz	83	Charlie Kimball	9	Scott Dixon (W)
6	50	Dario Franchitti (W)	19	James Jakes (R)	4	J.R. Hildebrand
7	15	Takuma Sato	99	Townsend Bell	18	Justin Wilson
8	30	Michel Jourdain, Jr.	77	Simon Pagenaud (R)	17	Sebastian Saavedra
9	7	Sébastien Bourdais	41	Wade Cunningham (R)	22	Oriol Servià
10	20	Ed Carpenter	14	Mike Conway	6	Katherine Legge (R)
11	39	Bryan Clauson (R)	78	Simona de Silvestro	64	Jean Alesi (R)

Race summary

Start

Ryan Briscoe led from the start, was drafted and overtaken by James Hinchcliffe, who led at the end of the first lap. The pair swapped the lead again by the end of lap two. There were no accidents at the start and the green flag was given at the first attempt to start the race.^[36]

First half

Ryan Hunter-Reay overtook Marco Andretti before Bryan Clauson spun exiting turn one, akin to Danny Sullivan's spin in 1985, and brought out a caution period.^[36] Under caution many drivers chose to enter pit lane. Josef Newgarden stalled in the pits, was restarted and rejoined the race. 2007 and 2010 winner Dario Franchitti spun at his pit box, due to being hit from behind by E.J. Viso, but like Newgarden lost less time as the safety car was deployed.^[36] Jean Alesi and Simona de Silvestro were black flagged for failing to run within 105% of the front pace and duly retired. Upon the restart, which was intended to be single file, cars were seen on the pit straight before entering turn one as many as five abreast. At 32 laps Marco Andretti led from James Hinchcliffe and Ryan Briscoe.^[36] On lap 33 the stewards declared that Viso would not be penalised for the pit lane incident. No driver was able to pull away a substantial lead over the driver behind and cars behind appeared to face an aerodynamic advantage over those ahead. Takuma Sato then started to set fastest laps by lap 37 and Marco Andretti had led most laps with 15.^[36]

At the end of lap 46 the pitstops occurred for fuel and tires with Hinchcliffe and Castroneves pitting.^[36] Castroneves' pitstop was delayed due to a tire fitting problem. Scott Dixon and Dario Franchitti stopped a lap later. Josef Newgarden stalled again at his second stop, unable to put the car in gear. The Ganassis of Dixon and Franchitti had been setting the fastest pace. By lap 50, one quarter distance, and after the first full pits, Marco Andretti led. There had been six leaders and twelve changes of lead.^[36]

At the end of lap 75 James Hinchcliffe pitted, then all three Penske cars pitted simultaneously, and Castroneves almost stalled, making it his second flawed pitstop.^[36] Pit stops left Dixon leading with Franchitti second some 11 second behind.^[36] On lap 79 Mike Conway was given a drive through penalty for hitting a crew member in the pits and breaking his front wing.^[36] Conway collided with Will Power and caused a caution, the second of the race, on lap 81.^[36] Conway was driving slower than Power, having just left the pits, and slid. The rear of the car lost grip and Conway slid backwards into the wall, and Power hit Conway's spinning car with nowhere left to go as he caught Conway's car on the exit of the turn. The safety car remained out until the end of lap 88.^[36] Ana Beatriz spun on the exit of turn one and hit the wall, bringing out another full course caution with her car stopping in the middle of the track. Cars pitted under caution including Hinchcliffe. Dixon and Franchitti led.^[36]

Second half

At the half distance point the leaderboard was Dixon, Franchitti, Hunter-Reay, Rahal, Wilson, Sato, Kimball, Hildebrand, Bell.^[36] On lap 110 Briscoe had a gearbox issue and ran more slowly for a lap and put the car into an emergency gearbox setting whilst running seventeenth.^[36] Hunter-Reay stopped for fuel and tires on lap 113. This left all of the top six runners being Honda powered, in contrast to pre-race predictions on relative engine performance and economy. On lap 115 Hildebrand pitted from sixteenth. Rahal pitted afterwards.^[36] On lap 119 Franchitti pit stopped from second place with no adjustments made to the car and the following lap Dixon pitted from the lead having led for a total of 37 laps by that stage. This left Sato leading, the eighteenth leader of the day. Andretti ran second.^[36] Sato pitted from the lead on lap 124.^[36] On lap 125 Hinchcliffe pitted and Barrichello who had led for one lap pitted.^[36] On lap 126 Sato lead, with Franchitti behind.^[36] On lap 128 Ryan Hunter-Reay retired with a failure of an upright on the car's suspension. On lap 134 the leaderboard stood as Sato, Franchitti, Andretti, Dixon, Rahal. On lap 145 Andretti pitted having complained about a vibration on the car and replaced the tires. Rahal also pitted just before.^[36] The caution was issued on lap 146 when Saavedra stopped on the exit of the pitlane.^[36] Starting lap 147 under caution the majority of the lead drivers stopped including Sato, Franchitti, Dixon, Rahal, Hinchcliffe and more. Following such pitstops, by lap 150 Sato led followed by Franchitti, Dixon, Hinchcliffe, Wilson, Kimball, Briscoe, Kanaan and Castroneves. On lap 153 the restart occurred and Franchiti passed Sato on the backstraight of the circuit and at the start of lap 154 Dixon passed Sato for second into turn one.^[36] On lap 160 Dixon started to pressure Franchitti and had come under pressure from Sato behind. Dixon passed for the lead but starting lap 161 Dario Franchitti retook the lead at turn one. On lap 163 Josef Newgarden stopped due to engine problems, pulling over to the left hand area of grass on the inside of the track on the backstraight between turns two and three, bringing out the safety car and another full course caution. Sato, Franchitti and Dixon pitted under caution, along with Hinchcliffe and others. Hinchcliffe stopped for a longer period than the others and appeared to run over some pit equipment upon exiting. Prior to the restart Dixon led from Franchiti and Sato. On lap 171 the race restarted. Wilson passed Sato upon the restart. Franchitti repassed Dixon.^[36] Starting lap 173 Wilson was repassed by Sato and soon was passed by Carpenter, Kanaan and Kimball having run high on the exit of the turn when passed by Sato and lost speed. By lap 176, 28 lead changes had taken place, one fewer than the 1960 record of 29 changes in one Indianapolis 500 race. Starting lap 178 when Franchitti overtook Dixon this broke the record.^[36] The leading Ganassi pair of Franchitti and Dixon appeared to express concern over fuel consumption and speed. On lap 180 Carpenter spun but did not hit the wall, spinning across the track and coming to a halt, then gesticulating at marshals to help turn the car around. This caused a full course caution and seemingly eliminated the need for the leaders to need to refuel. Carpenter then continued.^[36] On lap 187 Andretti overcalculated and drove into the wall, sliding across the track and coming to a halt.^[36]

Finish

Tony Kanaan led the race during the caution, but when the green flag waved he soon fell to fourth behind Franchitti, Dixon and Sato.^[36] Teammates Franchitti and Dixon traded the lead several times until the start of lap 199, when Franchitti took the lead from Dixon and Sato followed him through into second place. On the final lap, Sato attempted a pass on Franchitti in turn one but was clipped and hit the turn 1 wall. Franchitti won the race, with Dixon second and Kanaan third. Under the final caution flag of the day, the three friends lined up to cross the finish line side by side.^[36]

In Victory Lane, Franchitti dedicated his win to the memory of 2005 and 2011 champion Dan Wheldon. When asked about the final-lap incident, he said that he had moved up the track to give Sato room on the inside. Sato had a different view, claiming that Franchitti had forced him nearly into the grass and caused him to lose control. Race officials ruled it a racing incident and confirmed Franchitti as the winner.^[36]

Race results

Pos	No.	Driver	Team	Engine	Laps	Time/Retired	Grid	Laps Led	Points¹
1	50	Dario Franchitti (W)	Chip Ganassi Racing	Honda	200	2:58:51.2532	16	23	54
2	9	Scott Dixon (W)	Chip Ganassi Racing	Honda	200	+ 0.0295^†	15	53	44
3	11	Tony Kanaan	KV Racing Technology	Chevrolet	200	+ 0.0677	8	7	42
4	22	Oriol Servià	Panther/Dreyer & Reinbold Racing	Chevrolet	200	+ 2.9166	27	0	38
5	2	Ryan Briscoe	Team Penske	Chevrolet	200	+ 3.6721	1	15	45
6	27	James Hinchcliffe	Andretti Autosport	Chevrolet	200	+ 4.0962	2	5	41
7	18	Justin Wilson	Dale Coyne Racing	Honda	200	+ 4.2430	21	0	30
8	83	Charlie Kimball	Chip Ganassi Racing	Honda	200	+ 4.6056	14	3	28
9	99	Townsend Bell	Schmidt–Hamilton Motorsports	Honda	200	+ 5.6168	20	0	26
10	3	Hélio Castroneves (W)	Team Penske	Chevrolet	200	+ 7.6352	6	0	29
11	8	Rubens Barrichello (R)	KV Racing Technology	Chevrolet	200	+ 7.9240	10	2	23
12	98	Alex Tagliani	Team Barracuda – BHA	Honda	200	+ 8.2543	11	2	22
13	38	Graham Rahal	Chip Ganassi Racing	Honda	200	+ 8.7539	12	0	21
14	4	J.R. Hildebrand	Panther Racing	Chevrolet	200	+ 11.3423	18	0	20
15	19	James Jakes (R)	Dale Coyne Racing	Honda	200	+ 13.4494	17	0	19
16	77	Simon Pagenaud (R)	Schmidt–Hamilton Motorsports	Honda	200	+ 14.1382	23	0	18
17	15	Takuma Sato	Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing	Honda	199	Crash T1	19	31	17
18	5	E.J. Viso	KV Racing Technology	Chevrolet	199	+ 1 lap	9	0	18
19	30	Michel Jourdain, Jr.	Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing	Honda	199	+ 1 lap	22	0	16
20	7	Sébastien Bourdais	Dragon Racing	Chevrolet	199	+ 1 lap	25	0	15
21	20	Ed Carpenter	Ed Carpenter Racing	Chevrolet	199	+ 1 lap	28	0	15
22	6	Katherine Legge (R)	Dragon Racing	Chevrolet	199	+ 1 lap	30	0	15
23	25	Ana Beatriz	Andretti Autosport/Conquest Racing	Chevrolet	190	+ 10 laps	13	0	16
24	26	Marco Andretti	Andretti Autosport	Chevrolet	187	Contact	4	59	23
25	67	Josef Newgarden (R)	Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing	Honda	161	Mechanical	7	0	18
26	17	Sebastián Saavedra	Andretti Autosport/AFS Racing	Chevrolet	143	Electrical	24	0	14
27	28	Ryan Hunter-Reay	Andretti Autosport	Chevrolet	123	Suspension	3	0	22
28	12	Will Power	Team Penske	Chevrolet	79	Contact	5	0	20
29	14	Mike Conway	A. J. Foyt Enterprises	Honda	78	Contact	29	0	13
30	39	Bryan Clauson (R)	Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing	Honda	46	Mechanical	31	0	13
31	41	Wade Cunningham (R)	A. J. Foyt Enterprises	Honda	42	Electrical	26	0	13
32	78	Simona de Silvestro	HVM Racing	Lotus	10	Black Flagged	32	0	13
33	64	Jean Alesi (R)	Fan Force United	Lotus	9	Black Flagged²	33	0	13
^† Under caution
OFFICIAL BOX SCORE

Notes

¹ Points include qualification points from Time Trials and 2 points for most laps led.

² Jean Alesi was penalized 2 laps for ignoring the black flag, which dropped him to last as he had been in front of Simona de Silvestro when they were both black flagged under the 105% rule.

Broadcasting

Television

Time trials and Carb Day were covered live in the United States on NBC Sports Network.^[37] The on-air crew consisted of Bob Jenkins, Jon Beekhuis, and Wally Dallenbach, Jr. Pit reporters included Marty Snider, Kevin Lee, Derek Daly, and Townsend Bell (who also qualified for the race). Robin Miller served as a reporter and "insider."

The 2012 Indianapolis 500 (race day) was broadcast live in high definition in the United States on ABC.^[37] ESPN3 simulcast the race with an alternate feed of twelve in-car cameras. The overnight television rating for the race was 4.1, and 1.9 for the pre-race. The Fast National rating of 4.34^[6] and 6.9 million viewers marked the highest ratings since 2008.

ABC Television
Booth Announcers	Pit/garage reporters
Host: Brent Musburger Announcer: Marty Reid Color: Scott Goodyear Color: Eddie Cheever	Jerry Punch Vince Welch Jamie Little Rick DeBruhl

Radio

The IMS Radio Network broadcast the race live on approximately 400 affiliates, as well as AFN, the LeSEA broadcasting network, and World Harvest Radio. The broadcast was carried on XM channel 94 and Sirius channel 212. Mike King served as chief announcer for the 14th year (18th year overall with the crew). Davey Hamilton, who did not secure a ride for the race (the first time since 2006), returned to the booth and served as "driver expert."

For 2012, the commercial out-cues used were both renditions by the former "Voices of the 500" and those recited by drivers in the starting field.

1070 The Fan broadcast nightly with Trackside with Curt Cavin and Kevin Lee, followed by Donald Davidson's The Talk of Gasoline Alley.

Indianapolis Motor Speedway Radio Network
Booth Announcers	Turn Reporters	Pit/garage reporters
Chief Announcer: Mike King Driver expert: Davey Hamilton Color: Paul Page Historian: Donald Davidson	Turn 1: Jerry Baker Turn 2: Jake Query Turn 3: Mark Jaynes Turn 4: Chris Denari	Kevin Lee (north/center pits) Michael Young (center pits) Nick Yeoman (south pits) Dave Wilson (garages)

References

↑ "Dario Franchitti (Scotland) is the second foreign driver to win the Indianapolis 500 three times.". Indianapolis: Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Retrieved May 28, 2012.
↑ Kightlinger, Cathy (2012-05-09). "Martina McBride to sing national anthem at Indy 500". The Indianapolis Star. Archived from the original on 2012-05-12.
1 2 Kelly, Paul (2012-05-02). "Nabors Will Sing 'Indiana' Despite Missing 2012 Indianapolis 500". IndianapolisMotorSpeedway.com. Retrieved 2012-05-02.
↑ "Celebrity Chef Tapped To Drive Indy 500 Pace Car". rtv6. 2012-05-03. Retrieved 2012-05-03.
↑ "Daniels To Serve As Honorary Starter For 500". rtv6. 2012-05-23. Retrieved 2012-05-23.
1 2 "TV ratings increase for Indianapolis 500". Fox News. 2012-05-29. Retrieved 2012-05-30.
↑ Pruett, Marshall (January 12, 2011). "INDYCAR: Greater Relevance with Smaller 2012 Engines". SpeedTV.com. Retrieved April 8, 2011.
↑ "INDYCAR: 2012 Engine Rules Announced". SPEED. 2010-06-02. Retrieved 2011-02-25.
↑ "2012 car strategy embraces innovation". IndyCar.com. 2010-07-14. Retrieved 2011-02-18.
↑ "Indy win puts fifth championship within Franchitti's reach". USA Today. May 27, 2012. Retrieved May 29, 2012.
↑ "Scotland’s Dario Franchitti dedicates record third win to memory of Dan Wheldon". Daily Telegraph. May 27, 2012. Retrieved May 29, 2012.
↑ "Rival’s Gamble Ends in Crash, and Third Win for Franchitti". New York Times. May 27, 2012. Retrieved May 29, 2012.
↑ "Dario Franchitti earns third Indy 500 win". Washington Post. May 27, 2012. Retrieved May 29, 2012.
↑ Lewandowski, Dave (2011-05-29). "Wheldon Edges Hildebrand In Unforgettable Indianapolis 500 Finish". IndianapolisMotorSpeedway.com. Retrieved 2011-07-19.
↑ Calabro, Dave (2012-05-01). "Jim Nabors will miss Indianapolis 500 after surgery". WTHR. Retrieved 2012-05-02.
↑ "Event Information – Schedule". IndianapolisMotorSpeedway.com. Retrieved 2012-02-18.
↑ "Jean Alesi, 47, to compete in Indy 500". ESPN. 2011-09-23. Retrieved 2012-03-02.
↑ "INDYCAR: Alesi Unites With Fan Force United For Indy". SPEED. 2012-05-05. Retrieved 2012-05-09.
↑ "Rubens Barrichello joins IndyCar field". ESPN. 2012-03-01. Retrieved 2012-03-02.
↑ Lewandowski, Dave (September 3, 2011). "Notes: New car passes biggest test yet". IndyCar.com. Retrieved January 17, 2012.
↑ Lewandowski, Dave (September 27, 2011). "Indy test will complete validation Phase". IndyCar.com. Retrieved January 17, 2012.
↑ Lewandowski, Dave (2011-09-27). "Smooth Sailing For Wheldon With 2012 Car At IMS Oval Test". Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Retrieved 2012-04-02.
1 2 3 4 "Rumors Page". AutoRacing1. 2010-11-09. Retrieved 2012-04-02.
1 2 3 4 5 Cavin, Curt (2012-04-02). "IndyCar hopes new DW12 car is ready for Indianapolis 500". IndyStar.com. Retrieved 2012-04-02.
↑ Pruett, Marshall (2012-03-28). "Series Sets Indianapolis Test Date". Speed. Retrieved 2012-04-02.
↑ Lewandowski, Dave (2012-04-04). "Test of Speedway aero kit lays foundation for May". IndyCar.com. Retrieved 2012-04-04.
↑ Miller, Robin (2012-05-10). "INDYCAR: Barrichello Among Five Drivers To Pass Indy ROP". Speed. Retrieved 2012-05-14.
↑ Cavin, Curt (2012-05-10). "Indy 500: Jakes's speed leads rookies at track orientation". The Indianapolis Star. Retrieved 2012-05-14.
↑ Cavin, Curt (2012-05-12). "Pit Pass: Auto 'icon' Carroll Shelby dies". The Indianapolis Star. Retrieved 2012-05-14.
↑ https://twitter.com/curtcavin/status/201709635047141376
↑ Marot, Michael (2012-05-17). "Alesi Says He Feels 'Unsafe' in Slow IndyCar". Associated Press. Retrieved 2012-05-17.
↑ http://www.indystar.com/article/20120516/SPORTS0101/205160321/Indy-500-Penske-surges-up-speed-chart-after-slow-start?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|Sports
↑ "Jay Howard's facebook page".
↑ "Pippa Mann's Official Site".
↑ Houghton, Zachary. "24 Thoughts After Pole Day".
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 "Dario Franchitti Wins 96th Running of the Indianapolis 500". IMS Public Relations. Retrieved May 29, 2012.
1 2 "ABC, IMS Extend Indianapolis 500 Partnership Through 2012". IndianapolisMotorSpeedway.com. 2008-08-07. Retrieved 2011-05-06.

External links

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