2016 Indianapolis 500

100th Indianapolis 500

Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Indianapolis 500
Sanctioning body	IndyCar
Season	2016 IndyCar season
Date	May 29, 2016
Pre-race ceremonies
National anthem	Darius Rucker[1]
"Back Home Again in Indiana"	Josh Kaufman[2]
Starting Command	Mari Hulman George
Pace car	Chevrolet Camaro
Pace car driver	Roger Penske
TV in the United States
Network	ABC
Chronology
Previous Next 2015 2017

The 100th Indianapolis 500 (known as the 100th Indianapolis 500 presented by PennGrade Motor Oil for sponsorship reasons) is scheduled for Sunday, May 29, 2016, at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana. It will be the premier event of the 2016 Verizon IndyCar Series season. Juan Pablo Montoya will enter the race as the defending champion.^[3]

The 2016 race marks a milestone as the 100th running of the Indianapolis 500. The races comes five years after the event's Centennial Era, a three-year long commemoration which celebrated the 100th anniversary of the opening of the circuit (1909), and the 100th anniversary of the first Indy 500 (1911). This will be the ninety-ninth scheduled 500-mile race of the canon, as the 1916 race was scheduled as a 300-mile race.^{[N 1]}

The track activity opens with the third annual Grand Prix of Indianapolis on May 12–14.

Race background

Entry list

For complete entry list information, see 2016 IndyCar Series § Team and driver list

• Matthew Brabham, son of Geoff Brabham, and grandson of Sir Jack Brabham will enter with KV Racing Technology.^[4] Brabham will attempt to become the third, third-generation driver to qualify in Indy 500 history. The previous two were Billy Vukovich III and Marco Andretti. The car will carry No. 61.
• Katherine Legge will join Grace Autosport for the 2016 race.^[5] This will be her first attempt since the 2013 Indianapolis 500. Grace Autosport is the first ever all-female racing team to compete at Indianapolis.
• Sage Karam will drive for Dreyer & Reinbold Racing-Kingdom Racing in the No. 24 Gas Monkey Energy/Havoline Chevy.
• Bryan Clauson will drive for Dale Coyne Racing-Jonathan Byrd's Racing in the No. 88.
• Pippa Mann will drive for Dale Coyne Racing.
• Buddy Lazier will drive for Lazier Partners Racing. This year marks the 20th anniversary of Lazier's Indy 500 victory.
• Spencer Pigot will drive for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing.
• Alex Tagliani will drive for A.J. Foyt Enterprises. Tagliani will drive car No. 35 in honor of Foyt's record of 35 consecutive starts in the race as a driver.
• J.R. Hildebrand will drive car No. 6 for Ed Carpenter Racing.
• Townsend Bell will drive car No. 29 for Andretti Autosport.
• Oriol Servià will drive a third entry for Schmidt Peterson Motorsports. The Honda-powered car will feature No.77 and will be in conjunction with Marotti Racing.
• Stefan Wilson will drive for KVSH Racing. Stefan is the younger brother of Justin Wilson, who was killed in a racing incident last August at the ABC Supply 500. The car will carry No. 25, a tribute to the number Justin drove in the 2015 season.

Rule changes

• The pit road speed limit has been reduced from 60 mph to 50 mph.
• Minimum car weight has been increased from 1580 pounds to 1610 pounds to accommodate enhancements made to the Suspension Wheel/Wing Energy Management System (SWEMS).
• Rookie Orientation has been revised for 2016. Each rookie driver will be required to complete the following three phases: 10 laps at 210-215 mph; 15 laps at 215-220 mph; 15 laps at over 220 mph. The changes represent an increase of 5 mph as compared to the previous year.
• All cars will utilize a uniform E85 fuel mixture. Previously, Chevrolet entries were allowed an additive.^[6]
• Domed skid plates were made mandatory. They are to be affixed to the underside of the chassis, designed to reduce the chance of cars becoming airborne during a crash.

Sponsorship

For the first time in race history, the 2016 Indianapolis 500 will have a presenting sponsor, the PennGrade brand of the Lebanon, Indiana-based D-A Lubricant company. D-A Lubricant has had a long history of involvement in the Indianapolis 500, having historically sponsored teams at the race in the late-1950's, and being a current associate sponsor of Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing. Although terms of the deal were not officially announced, the Indianapolis Star reported via sources that it is a three-year deal valued around $5 million.^[7][8]

Pre-race ceremonies

On April 27, 2016, it was announced that Darius Rucker would perform the "The Star-Spangled Banner".^[1]

Schedule

Race schedules — May 2016 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Mini-Marathon 8 9 10 11 12 Grand Prix Practice 13 Grand Prix Qualifying 14 Angie's List GP of Indianapolis 15 Car conversion day 16 ROP Practice 17 Practice 18 Practice 19 Practice 20 Practice Fast Friday 21 Time Trials 22 Pole Day 23 Practice 24 25 26 Indy Lights Qualifying 27 Carb Day Freedom 100 28 Legends Day Parade 29 Indianapolis 500 30 Memorial Day 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

• Source: Indianapolis Motor Speedway

Testing and Rookie orientation

Manufacturer's test – Tuesday April 5

Four Chevrolet teams and one Honda team conducted a private test at the Speedway on Tuesday April 5. The test was primarily to evaluate dome skids, a titanium safety device affixed to the underside of the chassis intended to reduce the chance of cars becoming airborne in a crash. Honda teams had already tested the dome skids once at Fontana.^[9] A new rear wing flap was also added being tested.

Marco Andretti was the lone Honda participant on Tuesday. Chevrolet participants included Sébastien Bourdais, Ed Carpenter, Hélio Castroneves, Scott Dixon and Juan Pablo Montoya.^[10] Temperatures were cool, and no incidents were reported.

Safety test – Wednesday April 6

An open test was held on Wednesday April 6 to allow teams to test new and old aero kit configurations for use during the month of May.^[11] Marco Andretti (223.427 mph) set the fastest lap of the day in a Honda machine. Simon Pagenaud (221 mph) was the fastest of the Chevrolet participants.^[12] A total of fifteen cars attended the test.^[13]

Weather conditions were not favorable. Winds gusted to 40 mph, with temperatures in the low 60s (°F). After a morning test session, a rain shower closed the track for two hours during the middle of the afternoon. After the track was dried, a late afternoon session was held. No incidents were reported.^[14]

One week after the test sessions, IndyCar officials announced revised regulations for the aero kits. The domed skid plates were made mandatory, and optional underwing sidewalls were extended.^[15]

Top Practice Speeds — Overall
Pos	No.	Driver	Team	Engine	Speed
1	27	Marco Andretti	Andretti Autosport	Honda	223.427
2	28	Ryan Hunter-Reay	Andretti Autosport	Honda	222.047
3	22	Simon Pagenaud	Team Penske	Chevrolet	221.293
OFFICIAL REPORT

Wednesday May 18

• Weather:

Top Practice Speeds
Pos	No.	Driver	Team	Engine	Speed
1
2
3

Thursday May 19

• Weather:

Top Practice Speeds
Pos	No.	Driver	Team	Engine	Speed
1
2
3

Fast Friday — Friday May 20

• Weather:

Top Practice Speeds
Pos	No.	Driver	Team	Engine	Speed
1
2
3

|}

Last row shootout

Locked-In Qualifiers: Positions 31–33
Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Engine	Speed
31
32
33
Failed to qualify
—

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Post-qualifying practice

Monday May 23

• Weather:

Top Practice Speeds
Pos	No.	Driver	Team	Engine	Speed
1
2
3

Carb Day — Friday May 27

• Weather:

Top Practice Speeds
Pos	No.	Driver	Team	Engine	Speed
1
2
3

Pit Stop Challenge

First Round

Quarterfinals

Semifinals

Finals

Starting grid

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

Row	Inside		Middle		Outside
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
Cars moved to the rear of the field are ordered by entrant points.

Post-qualifying changes

Box score

Pos	No.	Driver	Team	Engine	Laps	Time/Retired	Pit Stops	Grid	Laps Led	Pts.^1
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
31
32
33

Notes

¹ Points include qualification points from Time Trials, 1 point for leading a lap, and 2 points for most laps led.

Championship standings after the race

Drivers' Championship standings Pos Driver Points 1 2 3 4 5

Manufacturer standings Pos Manufacturer Points 1 2

• Note: Only the top five positions are included.

Broadcasting

Television

The Grand Prix of Indianapolis and the Indianapolis 500 are broadcast live in the United States on ABC.

ABC Television
Booth Announcers	Pit/garage reporters
Host: Announcer: Color: Color:

In Hispanic America, ESPN Latin America shows the race live.

Radio

The race is carried live by the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Radio Network, part of the Advanced Auto Parts IndyCar Radio Network.

Indianapolis Motor Speedway Radio Network
Booth Announcers	Turn Reporters	Pit/garage reporters
Chief Announcer: Driver expert: Historian: Statistician:	Turn 1: Turn 2: Turn 3: Turn 4:	(south pits) (south-center pits) (center pits/garages) (north-center pits) (north pits)

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Footnotes

1. Although the first race was held in 1911, the Indianapolis 500 was not held in 1917 and 1918 due to World War I, and was again cancelled from 1942 to 1945 owing to World War II. The 1916 race is part of the canon, despite having been only scheduled for 300 miles.

References

1. "Darius Rucker To Sing National Anthem At Indianapolis 500". WLTX (Gannett Company). April 27, 2016. Retrieved April 28, 2016.
2. Lindquist, David (April 7, 2016). "Josh Kaufman is 'Back Home' singer for Indy 500's 100th running". The Indianapolis Star (Gannett Company). Retrieved April 7, 2016.
3. "IMS Unveils Logo for 100th Running of the Indianapolis 500 Mile Race". Indianapolis Motor Speedway. May 21, 2015. Retrieved May 21, 2015.
4. Browning, Jennifer (December 3, 2015). "Jack Brabham's grandson, Matt, to contest Indianapolis 500". Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). Retrieved December 4, 2015.
5. Fabrizio, Tony (May 21, 2015). "Grace Autosport's All-Female IndyCar Initiative Gaining Steam". ESPN.com. ESPN Internet Ventures. Retrieved January 11, 2016.
6. Malsher, Dave (December 21, 2015). "Aero alterations among IndyCar's 2016 rule changes". Motorsport.com. Motorsport Network, LLC. Retrieved February 9, 2016.
7. Brady, Eric; Cavin, Curt (January 21, 2016). "Indianapolis 500 stays in the family with sponsor deal". USA Today (Indianapolis: Gannett Company). Retrieved May 1, 2016.
8. Brady, Eric; Cavin, Curt (January 22, 2016). "Indy 500 gets presenting sponsor in 3-year deal worth about $5 million". The Indianapolis Star (Gannett Company). Retrieved May 1, 2016.
9. Pruett, Marshall (April 4, 2016). "NDYCAR: Key test for dome skids set for IMS". Racer.com. Racer Media & Marketing, Inc. Retrieved April 7, 2016.
10. Cavin, Curt (April 5, 2016). "IndyCar tests controversial aero parts". The Indianapolis Star (Gannett Company). Retrieved April 7, 2016.
11. Pruett, Marshall (April 5, 2016). "INDYCAR: Aero kit safety test set for IMS". Racer.com. Racer Media & Marketing, Inc. Retrieved April 7, 2016.
12. Malsher, David (April 6, 2016). "Marco Andretti tops test at Indianapolis". Motorsport.com. Motorsport Network, LLC. Retrieved April 7, 2016.
13. Robinson, Mark (April 6, 2016). "Indianapolis Motor Speedway aero kit test yields valuable data". IndyCar.com. Indianapolis: Brickyard Trademarks, Inc. Retrieved April 14, 2016.
14. Marot, Michael (April 6, 2016). "Early test leaves Indy 500 drivers confident cars are safer". Associated Press (Indianapolis: AP Sports). Associated Press. Archived from the original on April 24, 2016. Retrieved April 7, 2016.
15. "NDYCAR allows optional lower underwing sidewalls for cars in Indianapolis 500". IndyCar.com. Brickyard Trademarks, Inc. April 6, 2016. Retrieved April 14, 2016.