Night before the 500

Night before the 500

Venue	Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis
Location	Brownsburg, Indiana 39°48′46″N 86°20′27″W / 39.81278°N 86.34083°WCoordinates: 39°48′46″N 86°20′27″W / 39.81278°N 86.34083°W
First race	1946
Most wins (driver)	Eddie Haddad (4)
Circuit information
Surface	Asphalt
Length	0.5 mi (0.80 km)
Turns	4
Lap record	0:19.581 (Mark Smith, Ralt RT5, 1989, Formula Super Vee)

The Night before the 500 (also called the Day before the 500) is an annual autosport event in the state of Indiana. It occurs the night before every Indianapolis 500 race. It is one of the Indianapolis 500 traditions.

History

1989 Formula Super Vee race winner Mark Smith

The first Night before the 500 event was held at the 16th Street Speedway. The headline event was a double feature with USAC midget cars. The feature races were won by Leroy Warriner and Benny Emerick. In the following decades the event switched between local short courses in the state of Indiana. After leaving 16th Street Speedway, Kokomo Speedway, Indianapolis Speedrome, Indianapolis Raceway Park and the Indiana State Fairgrounds were used. As of 1980 the Indianapolis Raceway Park is the location for this prestigious event.

Various racing series supported the midget race. Formula Super Vee ran at the oval for five races. Mark Smith won the race in 1989. His fastest lap of 0:19.581 is still the current track record. For a number of years USF2000 and Star Mazda supported the series.

As of 2010 the Road to Indy USF2000 and Pro Mazda series run with the headline USAC Silver Crown Series.

Race winners

Year	USAC Midget race
1946	Leroy Warriner
	Benny Emerick
1947	Sam Hanks
	Ted Duncan
1948	Eddie Haddad
	Eddie Haddad
	Johnnie Parsons
1949	Eddie Haddad
	Eddie Haddad
	Mike O'Halloran
1950	Mike Nazaruk
	Leroy Warriner
	Manuel Ayulo
1951	not run
1952	Potsy Goacher
1953	Johnnie Tolan
1954	Potsy Goacher
	Johnny Kay
	Tony Bonadies
1955	Eddie Sachs
	Forrest Parker
1956	Shorty Templeman
	Shorty Templeman
	Shorty Templeman
1957	Chuck Rodee
	Len Sutton
1958	Mauri Wilson
	Gene Force
	Tony Bonadies
1959	Gene Force
1960	Jimmy Davies
1961	Jimmy Davies
1962	Jimmy Davies
1963	Mel Kenyon
1964	Chuck Rodee
1965	Mel Kenyon
1966	Chuck Arnold
1967	Mike McGreevy
1968	rained out
1969	Bob Wente
	Henry Pens
1970	Lee Kunzman
1971	Jimmy Caruthers
1972	Tom Bigelow
	Pancho Carter
1973	rained out
1974	Tommy Astone
1975	Bill Engelhart
1976	Bob Wente
1977	Mel Kenyon
1978	Rich Vogler
1979	Sleepy Tripp
	Jeff Nuckles
1980	Mel Kenyon
1981	Mack McClellan
1982	rained out
1983	Ken Schrader
1984	Steve Lotshaw
1985	Nick Fornoro, Jr.
		Formula Super Vee
		Mike Hooper
1986	Sam Isenhower	Didier Theys
1987	Nick Fornoro, Jr.	E.J. Lenzi
1988	Jack Calabrase	Mike Smith
1989	Jeff Gordon	Mark Smith
1990	Jeff Gordon
1991	Mike Fedorcak
1992	Doug Kalitta
		USF2000
		Greg Tracy
1993	Mike Bliss	Clay Collier
1994	Ted Hines	Anthony Lazzaro
1995	Andy Michner	Memo Gidley
1996	Kenneth Nichols	Allen May
1997	Ryan Newman	not run
1998	Dave Steele	not run
			Pro Mazda
			Tony Buffomante
1999	Ryan Newman	not run	not run
2000	Kasey Kahne	Aaron Justus	not run
2001	Kasey Kahne	Piero Rodarte	not run
2002	Jason Leffler	Tom Dyer	not run
2003	Aaron Fike	not run	not run
2004	Ron Gregory	not run	not run
2005	Michael Lewis	not run	not run
2006	Bobby Santos III	not run	not run
2007	Kevin Swindell	not run	not run
2008	Bobby East	not run	not run
2009	Chuck Gurney, Jr.	not run	not run
2010	Tanner Swanson	Patrick McKenna	Conor Daly
2011	Darren Hagen	Petri Suvanto	Connor De Phillippi
2012	Tracy Hines	Spencer Pigot	Connor De Phillippi
2013	Darren Hagen	Neil Alberico	Matthew Brabham
2014	Tracy Hines	Aaron Telitz	Garett Grist
2015	Tanner Swanson	Jake Eidson	Weiron Tan

^[1][2][3]

References

1. "Midget Racing All-time records 1933-2013". Midget National Driver of the Year. Retrieved 11 February 2016.
2. "Driver Career Stats". USF2000. Retrieved 11 February 2016.
3. "American Formula Super Vee Championship (1971-1990)". Motorsport Winners. Retrieved 11 February 2016.