2007 Indianapolis 500

The 91st Indianapolis 500 was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana on Sunday May 27, 2007. It was the twelfth Indy 500 sanctioned by the Indy Racing League, and marked the fifth race of the 2007 IndyCar Series season. Hélio Castroneves started the race on the pole position.
The race began at 1:11 p.m. EDT, and was televised in the United States on the ABC. The race was broadcast in high-definition for the first time. The race also was carried live on the IMS Radio Network and XM Satellite Radio.
On lap 113, the race underwent a lengthy rain delay, with Tony Kanaan tentatively sitting as the leader. After three hours, the rain ceased, the track was dried, and the race restarted shortly before 6:15 p.m. EDT. A crash on lap 162 between Dan Wheldon and Marco Andretti brought out the yellow flag with Dario Franchitti leading. Under the caution, rain began falling again and officials halted the race on lap 166. Dario Franchitti was declared the winner after leading 34 laps during the race.
All entries utilized ethanol, after 42 years of utilizing methanol. As part of a two-year roll-out, the cars used a 10% ethanol blend in 2006, and for 2007, the cars utilized a full ethanol mixture. Although branded as "100% percent fuel-grade", the fuel was actually a denatured 98% ethanol/2% gasoline blend (E98). The 2007 race was also the final 500 to see the Panoz chassis in competition.
Qualifying (second weekend).
Saturday May 19, 2007 - Third Day Qualifying.
†Qualification withdrawn on bump day.
††Bumped on bump day.
Carb Day.
Friday May 25, 2007 - Checkers/Rally's Pit Stop Challenge.
Team Penske won the 31st annual pit stop contest, their record tenth overall victory in the event. The teams of Hélio Castroneves and Sam Hornish, Jr. (both Penske entries) met in the finals with Castroneves and his chief mechanic Rick Rinaman winning the $100,000 first prize after an 8.335-second pit stop.
Starting grid.
' = Former Indianapolis 500 winner; ' = Indianapolis 500 rookie 
Failed to Qualify
Race summary.
Pre-race.
Rain fell overnight, but stopped before the gates opened in the morning. At 7:45 a.m., rain began to fall again, and threatened to delay or wash out the race. Around 10:00 a.m., the rain stopped and maintenance crews began to dry the track. Despite the morning showers, Speedway chairperson Mari Hulman George gave the command to start engines on time as scheduled at 1:05 p.m. EDT.
Start.
During the pace lap, the race nearly took a dramatic turn as pole-sitter Hélio Castroneves failed to start. After several attempts, his car finally fired, and he joined the field in turn 4. A rather ragged start saw Castroneves take the lead into the first turn, but Tony Kanaan slipped by to lead lap one. Green-flag racing continued until lap 11, when John Andretti lost a rear-view mirror, bringing out a debris caution yellow flag.
When racing resumed, Castroneves, Tony Kanaan, Marco Andretti, and Scott Dixon all took their turn at the lead. Roberto Moreno caused the 2nd caution when he slid high in turn 1, slapped the wall, and hit the wall again in turn 2 before coming to rest. Jon Herb was the next car to be in an accident after he slid in turn 2 and hit the wall, ending his day. Milka Duno also spun in turn 1 and backed her car into the wall, damaging and ending her day as well.
On the 74th lap, Dario Franchitti took the lead for the first time, and led until he pit on the 89th lap. Around that time, officials were warning that rain was approaching the area. After several drivers sequenced through green-flag pit stops, Tony Kanaan led Marco Andretti. Suddenly, on the 99th lap, John Andretti got high in turn two, and crashed into the outside wall, bringing out the caution. Jeff Simmons found himself unexpectedly in the lead, but pitted a lap later, giving Marco Andretti the lead. With rain only a few miles away, the ensuing lap 107 restart could decide the winner. As the green came out, Tony Kanaan got the jump on Andretti, and took the lead in turn 1. Moments later, Phil Giebler spun and crashed in turn 1, bringing the yellow out once again. Before safety crews could clear the track, heavy rain fell, and the race was red flagged.
Red flag.
When the race was stopped, 113 laps were completed. A race is required to go a minimum of 101 laps before it can be official. If rain continued the rest of the afternoon, it could be declared official. Andretti Green Racing was scored 1st-2nd-3rd with Kanaan leading, Marco Andretti second, and Danica Patrick third. After nearly three hours, the rain stopped and the track was dry. Shortly after 6:00 p.m., the field lined up in the pits for a restart.
Restart.
Tony Kanaan took over where he left off and pulled away from the field. Danica Patrick got by Marco Andretti and took over second place. Approximately 30 laps of uninterrupted intense green flag racing followed. Another sequence of green-flag pit stops saw all of the leaders head to the pits. Jaques Lazier stayed out a couple of extra laps, and led the race for the first time in his career. After the stops, Kanaan returned to the lead, followed by defending champion Sam Hornish Jr.
Finish.
On the 151st lap, Marty Roth slid high in turn 1 and smacked the wall, and started an exciting sequence of events. The skies were darkening, and rain was fast approaching again, which would certainly end the race for good. Under the yellow, many leaders pit for tires and fuel, while some drivers, including Dario Franchitti and Scott Dixon, stayed out to gain track position. On the 156th lap, the field went back to green, however, in turn four, Tony Kanaan came up on the back of Jaques Lazier, sending Lazier into the wall, and sending Kanaan's car into a spin. He blew a tire and coasted into the pits. Moments later, the field assembled for what was expected to be the final restart before the rains came. Franchitti, working lap 163, held the lead into the backstretch. Behind him, Marco Andretti tangled with Dan Wheldon, and Andretti's car flipped down the backstretch. Buddy Rice was also involved. Before the track could be cleared, a heavy rainstorm fell on the track, and the race was called after 166 laps with Dario Franchitti declared the winner. A makeshift victory lane celebration was held indoors underneath the Pagoda, as had been done for Rice who also won in the rain in 2004.
As of the 2020 race, this was the most recent "500" to be shortened by rain.
Full race results.
All cars in the 2007 Indianapolis 500 used Honda engines and Firestone tires.
Race Leaders.
Nine drivers led the race, with a total of twenty-three lead changes.
Caution Periods.
There were eleven caution periods during the race, with a total of fifty-five laps run under yellow, including the race's final lap.
Awards.
The Victory Celebration was held Monday May 28, 2007. Some of the many awards handed out during the evening included:
Broadcasting.
Television.
The race was broadcast in the United States on ABC for the 43rd consecutive year. Time trials were shown live on ABC, ESPN, and ESPN2. For the first time, the race would be aired in high definition.
This was the final 500 broadcast for Rusty Wallace as he was involved with ESPN on ABC NASCAR broadcasts.
For the second year in a row, the telecast utilized the Side-by-Side format for commercial breaks.
Radio.
The race was broadcast on radio by the IMS Radio Network for the 55th consecutive year. Mike King served as anchor. Davey Hamilton, who previously served as the "driver expert" on the network, returned to cockpit for the first time since 2001. After six years recovery from his serious crash, he offered live in-car reporting to the broadcast during caution periods.
Making a popular return to the IMS Radio Network was former "Voice of the 500" Bob Jenkins. In 2006, Jenkins had worked on the Speedway public address system, but for 2007, he took over the turn two reporting location. Jenkins filled the spot previously held by Adam Alexander, who departed the network.
For the third year in a row, Kevin Olson conducted his annual pre-race interview with David Letterman. Olson served as a pit reporter in the center pits during the early stages of the race, then later moved to cover the garages and track hospital.