2016 Indianapolis 500

On May 25, Speedway officials announced that the race had reached a total sellout with all general admission tickets sold. In addition, it was announced that for the first time since 1950, the race would not be blacked out for the local audience.[4]

This race would turn out to be the final race of Alex Tagliani's career. For 2017 and onwards, Tagliani would shift his focus to mainly NASCAR. This would also be the final race for Townsend Bell after 13 seasons in IndyCar. After this race, Bell would shift his focus to sports cars racing in the IMSA SportsCar Championship from 2017 onwards.

Entry list

• Matthew Brabham, son of Geoff Brabham, and grandson of Sir Jack Brabham entered with KV Racing Technology.^[5] Brabham became the third third-generation driver to qualify in Indy 500 history. The previous two were Billy Vukovich III and Marco Andretti. The car carried No. 61.
• Sage Karam drove for Dreyer & Reinbold Kingdom Racing in the No. 24 Gas Monkey Energy / Havoline-sponsored Chevy.
• Jonathan Byrd's Racing
  in the No. 88.
• Pippa Mann drove for Dale Coyne Racing.
• Buddy Lazier drove for Lazier Partners Racing. The 2016 running marked the 20th anniversary of Lazier's Indy 500 victory.
• Spencer Pigot drove for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing.
• A. J. Foyt Enterprises
  . Tagliani drove the No. 35 car in honor of Foyt's record of 35 consecutive starts in the race as a driver.
• J. R. Hildebrand drove the No. 6 car for Ed Carpenter Racing.
• Andretti Autosport
  .
• Schmidt Peterson Motorsports
  . The Honda-powered car featured No.77 and was in conjunction with Marotti Racing.
• KVSH Racing. Stefan is the younger brother of Justin Wilson, who was killed in a racing incident at the ABC Supply 500
  in August 2015. The car carried No. 25, a tribute to the number Justin drove in the 2015 season.

 W  Winner  R  Rookie

No.	Driver	Team	Engine/ Aero Kit
2	Juan Pablo Montoya  W	Team Penske	Chevrolet
3	Hélio Castroneves  W	Team Penske	Chevrolet
4	Buddy Lazier  W	Lazier Burns Racing	Chevrolet
5	James Hinchcliffe	Schmidt Peterson Motorsports	Honda
6	J. R. Hildebrand	Ed Carpenter Racing	Chevrolet
7	Mikhail Aleshin	Schmidt Peterson Motorsports	Honda
8	Max Chilton  R	Chip Ganassi Racing	Chevrolet
9	Scott Dixon  W	Chip Ganassi Racing	Chevrolet
10	Tony Kanaan  W	Chip Ganassi Racing	Chevrolet
11	Sébastien Bourdais	KVSH Racing	Chevrolet
12	Will Power	Team Penske	Chevrolet
14	Takuma Sato	A. J. Foyt Enterprises	Honda
15	Graham Rahal	Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing	Honda
16	Spencer Pigot  R	Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing	Honda
18	Conor Daly	Dale Coyne Racing	Honda
19	Gabby Chaves	Dale Coyne Racing	Honda
20	Ed Carpenter	Ed Carpenter Racing	Chevrolet
21	Josef Newgarden	Ed Carpenter Racing	Chevrolet
22	Simon Pagenaud	Team Penske	Chevrolet
24	Sage Karam	Dreyer & Reinbold Racing	Chevrolet
25	Stefan Wilson  R	KVSH Racing	Chevrolet
26	Carlos Muñoz	Andretti Autosport	Honda
27	Marco Andretti	Andretti Autosport	Honda
28	Ryan Hunter-Reay  W	Andretti Autosport	Honda
29	Townsend Bell	Andretti Autosport	Honda
35	Alex Tagliani	A. J. Foyt Enterprises	Honda
41	Jack Hawksworth	A. J. Foyt Enterprises	Honda
42	Charlie Kimball	Chip Ganassi Racing	Chevrolet
61	Matthew Brabham  R	PIRTEK Team Murray	Chevrolet
63	Pippa Mann	Dale Coyne Racing	Honda
77	Oriol Servià	Schmidt Peterson Motorsports	Honda
88	Bryan Clauson	Jonathan Byrd's Racing	Honda
98	Alexander Rossi  R	Andretti Herta Autosport w/ Curb-Agajanian	Honda

Regulations and rule changes

• Minimum car weight was increased from 1580 pounds to 1610 pounds to accommodate enhancements made to the Suspension Wheel/Wing Energy Management System (SWEMS).
• Rookie Orientation was revised for 2016. Each rookie driver was required to complete the following three phases: 10 laps at 210-215 mph (346 km/h); 15 laps at 215-220 mph (350 km/h); 15 laps at over 220 mph (350 km/h). The changes represented an increase of 5 mph (8.0 km/h) as compared to the previous year.
• All cars utilized a uniform E85 fuel mixture. Previously, Chevrolet entries were allowed an additive.^[6]
• Domed skid plates and rear wing beam flaps were made mandatory. Domed skids were affixed to the underside of the chassis, designed to reduce the chance of cars becoming airborne during a crash. Rear wing beam flaps deploy during a spin or when the car is travelling backward and disrupt the airflow to create downforce and reduce the chance of a car becoming airborne.
• Each entry was allowed 36 sets of tires (Firestone) total, for practice, time trials, and for the race. This remained the same from 2015. The special compound "red" tires are not used for oval events.
• Engines were permitted 130 kPa of turbocharger "boost" during practice from May 16–20. Cars were allowed 140 kPa of "boost" on Fast Friday practice, and during time trials. The "boost" level reverted to 130 kPa for Carb day and race day.

Sponsorship

For the first time in race history, the Indianapolis 500 had a presenting sponsor: the PennGrade brand of the

• Darius Rucker performed "The Star-Spangled Banner".^[1]
• Chris Pine was the honorary starter.^{[citation needed]}

Schedule

• 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

• Weather: 64 °F (18 °C), mostly cloudy and windy
• Summary: 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 (359.571 km/h)) set the fastest lap of the day in a Honda machine. Simon Pagenaud (221.293 mph (356.137 km/h)) 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 (64 km/h), 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/ Aero Kit	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

Rookie Orientation and Refresher Tests – Monday, May 16

Rookie orientation and veteran refresher tests were held on the first day of practice from 12:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. The 40-lap rookie test consisted of three phases demonstrating car control, placement, and a consistent driving pattern. Phase one consists of 10 laps over 210 mph (340 km/h), phase two consists of 15 laps at 215 mph (346 km/h), and phase three requires 15 laps at over 220 mph (350 km/h). Five rookies took part in the session.

• Weather: 63 °F (17 °C), overcast
• Practice summary: The first day of practice was scheduled Monday, May 16. The day opened with the rookie orientation and refresher tests.
  Andretti Autosport led the speed chart for the day, with five of the top six drivers being from the team. Marco Andretti set the fastest lap of the day at 228.978 mph (368.504 km/h), while teammate Townsend Bell set the fastest "no-tow
  " lap at 223.940 mph (360.396 km/h).

Top Practice Speeds — Practice

Pos	No.	Driver	Team	Engine/ Aero Kit	Speed
1	27	Marco Andretti	Andretti Autosport	Honda	228.978
2	26	Carlos Muñoz	Andretti Autosport	Honda	228.945
3	28	Ryan Hunter-Reay	Andretti Autosport	Honda	228.003
OFFICIAL REPORT

Tuesday, May 17

• Weather: 58 °F (14 °C), cloudy and rain
• Practice summary: Rain washed out practice for the day. The track was closed at 2:45 p.m. It was the first practice day completely lost due to rain since 2011.

Wednesday, May 18

• Weather: 68 °F (20 °C), partly cloudy
• Practice summary: At 1:55 p.m.,
  Andretti Autosport once again led the day, with Ryan Hunter-Reay setting the fastest lap at 228.202 mph (367.256 km/h). Josef Newgarden
  led the way in "no-tow" laps, turning a 224.541 mph (361.364 km/h) lap late in the session.

Top Practice Speeds

Pos	No.	Driver	Team	Engine/ Aero Kit	Speed
1	28	Ryan Hunter-Reay	Andretti Autosport	Honda	228.202
2	26	Carlos Muñoz	Andretti Autosport	Honda	228.066
3	12	Will Power	Team Penske	Chevrolet	227.733
OFFICIAL REPORT

Thursday, May 19

• Weather: 70 °F (21 °C), mostly sunny
• Practice summary: All 33 entries took to the track for practice, completing 2,563 laps. No major accidents occurred during the day, but mechanical failures again brought brief halts to practice. Just after 3:30 p.m.,
  Andretti Autosport stable to lead a practice session, with a lap at 227.961 mph (366.868 km/h). Will Power led the "no-tow" rankings with a speed of 225.381 mph (362.716 km/h). After crashing on Wednesday, Spencer Pigot
  returned to the track in a back-up car for one "shake-down" lap just before the session ended.

Top Practice Speeds

Pos	No.	Driver	Team	Engine/ Aero Kit	Speed
1	19	Gabby Chaves	Dale Coyne Racing	Honda	227.961
2	29	Townsend Bell	Andretti Autosport	Honda	227.593
3	26	Carlos Muñoz	Andretti Autosport	Honda	227.589
OFFICIAL REPORT

Fast Friday — Friday, May 20

• Weather: 67 °F (19 °C), overcast, rain late
• Practice summary: Turbocharger "boost" settings were increased from 130 kPa to 140 kPa for the "Fast Friday" practice session. At 12:30 p.m., Marco Andretti became the first driver of the week to break the 230 mph (370 km/h) barrier. Will Power set the fastest lap of the day 232.672 mph (374.449 km/h). Power also had a "no-tow" lap of 231.339 mph (372.304 km/h). At 4:05 p.m., the track was closed for about 45 minutes due to moisture from a brief, light rain shower. The track re-opened in time for the final "Happy Hour" session. At the end of the day, a total of fourteen drivers broke the 230 mph (370 km/h) barrier. Townsend Bell set the fastest "no-tow" lap of the day at 231.672 mph (372.840 km/h).

Top Practice Speeds

Pos	No.	Driver	Team	Engine/ Aero Kit	Speed
1	12	Will Power	Team Penske	Chevrolet	232.672
2	21	Josef Newgarden	Ed Carpenter Racing	Chevrolet	232.344
3	5	James Hinchcliffe	Schmidt Peterson Motorsports	Honda	231.972
OFFICIAL REPORT

Time trials

First Day — Saturday, May 21

• Weather: 73 °F (23 °C), partly cloudy early, mostly sunny late

Morning rain delayed the start of practice until 12:30 p.m. Six minutes into the practice session,

Qualifying began at 2:15 p.m. Tony Kanaan was the first driver to complete an attempt. The early qualifiers were led by Josef Newgarden (230.229 mph (370.518 km/h)), who tentatively took the top spot of the qualifying chart. Rising track temperatures, and wind gusts in turn one, were making qualifying runs challenging for drivers. About an hour later, at 3:40 p.m., Townsend Bell upped the speed to 230.452 mph (370.877 km/h), and took over the top spot.

At 4:24 p.m., Pippa Mann was on her qualifying run, when a rear wing end fence failed. The car broke into a spin in turn two, scrubbed off speed, and tagged the outside wall twice. It came to rest against the inside wall. The car suffered moderate damage, and Mann was not injured. The track stood mostly quiet over the next hour, as teams awaited better track conditions, and waited to see who would make the first move to re-qualify.

At 5:52 p.m., Mikhail Aleshin was the first car to get in line to re-qualify, and improved on his earlier speed. Within moments, teams up and down the pit lane began scrambling to get into the qualifying line. Teams could elect to get into one of two lines. The normal qualifying allowed drivers an opportunity to re-qualify, but if they did not improve, they could revert to the earlier speed. The "fast track" line allowed drivers to move directly to the front of the queue, but at the expense of withdrawing their earlier speed. Hélio Castroneves set the tone for the final hour, moving to position 1 with a speed of 230.500 mph (370.954 km/h). Not to be upstaged, James Hinchcliffe went even faster (230.946 mph (371.672 km/h)). In the final minutes, Marco Andretti made a last-ditch effort to make the Fast Nine. With seven minutes left, Andretti bumped out his teammate Ryan Hunter-Reay. Hunter-Reay answered, putting himself second, and bumping Andretti out of the Fast Nine. With just seconds left before the final gun, Mikhail Aleshin got out onto the track for one more run. Aleshin bumped his way into the top nine as time expired. All top nine qualifiers were over the 230 mph (370 km/h) barrier.

Saturday, May 21, 2016

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Engine/ Aero Kit	Speed
Fast Nine Qualifiers
1	5	James Hinchcliffe	Schmidt Peterson Motorsports	Honda	230.946
2	28	Ryan Hunter-Reay	Andretti Autosport	Honda	230.805
3	12	Will Power	Team Penske	Chevrolet	230.736
4	3	Hélio Castroneves	Team Penske	Chevrolet	230.500
5	29	Townsend Bell	Andretti Autosport	Honda	230.452
6	21	Josef Newgarden	Ed Carpenter Racing	Chevrolet	230.229
7	7	Mikhail Aleshin	Schmidt Peterson Motorsports	Honda	230.209
8	26	Carlos Muñoz	Andretti Autosport	Honda	230.173
9	22	Simon Pagenaud	Team Penske	Chevrolet	230.102
Positions 10-33
10	98	Alexander Rossi  R	Andretti Herta Autosport w/ Curb-Agajanian	Honda	230.048
11	27	Marco Andretti	Andretti Autosport	Honda	230.037
12	2	Juan Pablo Montoya	Team Penske	Chevrolet	229.745
13	9	Scott Dixon	Chip Ganassi Racing	Chevrolet	229.497
14	20	Ed Carpenter	Ed Carpenter Racing	Chevrolet	229.429
15	6	J. R. Hildebrand	Ed Carpenter Racing	Chevrolet	229.075
16	14	Takuma Sato	A. J. Foyt Enterprises	Honda	228.096
17	18	Conor Daly	Dale Coyne Racing	Honda	227.862
18	24	Sage Karam	Dreyer & Reinbold Racing	Chevrolet	227.821
19	10	Tony Kanaan	Chip Ganassi Racing	Chevrolet	227.679
20	11	Sébastien Bourdais	KVSH Racing	Chevrolet	227.442
21	15	Graham Rahal	Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing	Honda	227.437
22	88	Bryan Clauson	Jonathan Byrd's Racing	Honda	227.110
23	16	Spencer Pigot  R	Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing	Honda	227.100
24	77	Oriol Servià	Schmidt Peterson Motorsports	Honda	226.893
25	42	Charlie Kimball	Chip Ganassi Racing	Chevrolet	226.549
26	61	Matthew Brabham  R	PIRTEK Team Murray	Chevrolet	226.390
27	25	Stefan Wilson  R	KVSH Racing	Chevrolet	225.560
28	41	Jack Hawksworth	A. J. Foyt Enterprises	Honda	225.388
29	35	Alex Tagliani	A. J. Foyt Enterprises	Honda	224.507
30	4	Buddy Lazier	Lazier Burns Racing	Chevrolet	224.341
31	8	Max Chilton  R	Chip Ganassi Racing	Chevrolet	No time
32	19	Gabby Chaves	Dale Coyne Racing	Honda	Wave off
33	63	Pippa Mann	Dale Coyne Racing	Honda	Crash
OFFICIAL REPORT

Second Day — Sunday, May 22

• Weather: 81 °F (27 °C), mostly sunny

Pole Day qualification saw warmer temperatures than the previous day's trials with roughly the same amount of wind, resulting in lower speeds and an even slicker track. Qualifications began with the determining of positions 10 through 33. Early in the session,

Sunday, May 22, 2016
Positions 10-33
Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Engine/ Aero Kit	Speed
10	77	Oriol Servià	Schmidt Peterson Motorsports	Honda	229.060
11	98	Alexander Rossi  R	Andretti Herta Autosport	Honda	228.473
12	14	Takuma Sato	A. J. Foyt Enterprises	Honda	228.029
13	9	Scott Dixon	Chip Ganassi Racing	Chevrolet	227.991
14	27	Marco Andretti	Andretti Autosport	Honda	227.969
15	6	J. R. Hildebrand	Ed Carpenter Racing	Chevrolet	227.876
16	42	Charlie Kimball	Chip Ganassi Racing	Chevrolet	227.822
17	2	Juan Pablo Montoya	Team Penske	Chevrolet	227.684
18	10	Tony Kanaan	Chip Ganassi Racing	Chevrolet	227.430
19	11	Sébastien Bourdais	KVSH Racing	Chevrolet	227.428
20	20	Ed Carpenter	Ed Carpenter Racing	Chevrolet	227.226
21	19	Gabby Chaves	Dale Coyne Racing	Honda	227.192
22	8	Max Chilton  R	Chip Ganassi Racing	Chevrolet	226.686
23	24	Sage Karam	Dreyer & Reinbold Racing	Chevrolet	226.436
24	18	Conor Daly	Dale Coyne Racing	Honda	226.312
25	63	Pippa Mann	Dale Coyne Racing	Honda	226.006
26	15	Graham Rahal	Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing	Honda	225.847
27	61	Matthew Brabham  R	PIRTEK Team Murray	Chevrolet	225.727
28	88	Bryan Clauson	Jonathan Byrd's Racing	Honda	225.266
29	16	Spencer Pigot  R	Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing	Honda	224.847
30	25	Stefan Wilson  R	KVSH Racing	Chevrolet	224.602
31	41	Jack Hawksworth	A. J. Foyt Enterprises	Honda	224.596
32	4	Buddy Lazier	Lazier Burns Racing	Chevrolet	222.154
33	35	Alex Tagliani	A. J. Foyt Enterprises	Honda	Crash

Fast Nine qualifying began shortly after the final run from the first group.

.

Fast Nine
Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Engine/ Aero Kit	Speed
1	5	James Hinchcliffe	Schmidt Peterson Motorsports	Honda	230.760
2	21	Josef Newgarden	Ed Carpenter Racing	Chevrolet	230.700
3	28	Ryan Hunter-Reay	Andretti Autosport	Honda	230.648
4	29	Townsend Bell	Andretti Autosport	Honda	230.481
5	26	Carlos Muñoz	Andretti Autosport	Honda	230.287
6	12	Will Power	Team Penske	Chevrolet	229.669
7	7	Mikhail Aleshin	Schmidt Peterson Motorsports	Honda	229.562
8	22	Simon Pagenaud	Team Penske	Chevrolet	229.139
9	3	Hélio Castroneves	Team Penske	Chevrolet	229.115
OFFICIAL REPORT

Post-qualifying practice

Monday, May 23

• Weather: 77 °F (25 °C), sunny

Post-qualifying practice was scheduled on Monday, May 23. The session was scheduled only until 4:00 p.m. to allow practice for

running the fastest lap at 227.414 mph (365.987 km/h).

Top practice speeds
Pos	No.	Driver	Team	Engine/ Aero Kit	Speed
1	21	Josef Newgarden	Ed Carpenter Racing	Chevrolet	227.414
2	10	Tony Kanaan	Chip Ganassi Racing	Chevrolet	226.393
3	9	Scott Dixon	Chip Ganassi Racing	Chevrolet	226.339
OFFICIAL REPORT

Carb Day

Practice — Friday, May 27

• Weather: 85 °F (29 °C), partly cloudy

Carb day practice was scheduled Friday, May 27. Practice was only scheduled for 70 minutes to allow for other events later in the day. The day also turned out to be the warmest practice session of the month. One incident occurred during the day when Pippa Mann slapped the wall coming off of turn four early in the session. Tony Kanaan set the fastest time of the day at 226.280 mph (364.162 km/h).

Top Practice Speeds
Pos	No.	Driver	Team	Engine/ Aero Kit	Speed
1	10	Tony Kanaan	Chip Ganassi Racing	Chevrolet	226.280
2	26	Carlos Muñoz	Andretti Autosport	Honda	224.772
3	9	Scott Dixon	Chip Ganassi Racing	Chevrolet	224.606
OFFICIAL REPORT

Pit Stop Challenge

Source:^[19][20]

Starting grid

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

Row	Inside		Middle		Outside
1	5	James Hinchcliffe	21	Josef Newgarden	28	Ryan Hunter-Reay (W)
2	29	Townsend Bell	26	Carlos Muñoz	12	Will Power
3	7	Mikhail Aleshin	22	Simon Pagenaud	3	Hélio Castroneves (W)
4	77	Oriol Servià	98	Alexander Rossi (R)	14	Takuma Sato
5	9	Scott Dixon (W)	27	Marco Andretti	6	J. R. Hildebrand
6	42	Charlie Kimball	2	Juan Pablo Montoya (W)	10	Tony Kanaan (W)
7	11	Sébastien Bourdais	20	Ed Carpenter	19	Gabby Chaves
8	8	Max Chilton (R)	24	Sage Karam	18	Conor Daly
9	63	Pippa Mann	15	Graham Rahal	61	Matthew Brabham (R)
10	88	Bryan Clauson	16	Spencer Pigot (R)	25	Stefan Wilson (R)
11	41	Jack Hawksworth	4	Buddy Lazier (W)	35	Alex Tagliani

Race

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First half

Raceday featured partly cloudy skies and temperatures in the low 80 °F (27 °C) range. Hélio Castroneves had a small issue getting his car started, but quickly resumed his place on the grid. During the first parade lap, smoke began to come from underneath the car of Buddy Lazier, stemming from what was later reported to be a stuck throttle. Lazier would not return to the race until roughly a quarter of the way through.

Start

Pole starter James Hinchcliffe led the field into the first turn, but was passed on the backstretch by Ryan Hunter-Reay, who led the first lap of the race. From here, the first quarter of the race became a three-way battle for the lead between Hunter-Reay, Hinchcliffe, and Josef Newgarden. The first round of pit stops occurred during this time, which served to spread out the field and separate the leaders from the rest of the pack. They also allowed for Townsend Bell to join in on the battle for the lead. On lap 47, the first caution of the day flew for debris on the backstretch. During the ensuing pit stops, an incident occurred when Will Power pushed Tony Kanaan against the pit lane wall while exiting his own pit stall. Power was penalized for the incident (Unsafe Pit Exit Release) and sent to the rear of the field.

Second quarter

Green flag racing resumed on lap 54 with Ryan Hunter-Reay in the lead. The battle between him and James Hinchcliffe resumed with the two swapping the lead regularly. The battle was interrupted on lap 64 when defending champion Juan Pablo Montoya lost control of his car in turn two and hit the outside wall. This marked the first time that Montoya failed to finish an Indy 500. Pit stops again occurred during this yellow. A second pit lane incident occurred when Simon Pagenaud, who had been running well up in the field, bumped into the car of Mikhail Aleshin while leaving his pit box. Pagenaud, just as his teammate Will Power, was sent to the back of the field for the incident (Unsafe Pit Exit Release). During the pit stop sequence, Will Power elected to stay out, giving him the lead.

The race was attempted to be resumed on lap 71, but reports of moisture briefly delayed the restart. The race went back green on lap 74, where Will Power was quickly shuffled back by James Hinchcliffe and Ryan Hunter-Reay, who once again resumed their duel for the lead. At roughly lap 90, Hélio Castroneves joined the leading group and inherited the lead for the first time on lap 92. The third caution of the day came out just laps later on lap 94, when Sage Karam went wide while trying to pass Townsend Bell and slapped the wall in turn one. Karam's car slid against the wall all the way to the backstretch. Pit stops occurred during the yellow with no major incidents. Bryan Clauson stayed out to lead three laps during this yellow before making his own stop, promoting Castroneves back into the lead. Also during this yellow, Simon Pagenaud began to report that the engine in his car had started to misfire, effectively ending his chances of winning the race.

Second half

Halfway

The green flag came out again on lap 104. Hélio Castroneves led for the opening few laps after the restart, but soon fell behind Ryan Hunter-Reay, Townsend Bell, and Tony Kanaan. These three would fight for the lead for the next several laps, swapping positions regularly. On lap 115, the 4th caution period of the race occurred when the rear suspension on the car of Mikhail Aleshin broke, sending him spinning into the turn one wall. Conor Daly was also collected in the incident after spinning in an attempt to avoid Aleshin's car. Daly retired from the race due to the incident, while Aleshin would eventually return after many laps of repair.

Yellow flag pit stops during this caution period brought one of the most pivotal moments of the race. As cars exited the pits, previous race leader

Racing resumed on lap 121 with Alex Tagliani in the lead. Alex Tagliani matched a record set by Tom Sneva in the 1980 race and became the second driver in Indy 500 history to start last and lead laps during the race.

The battle for the lead became a battle between Tagliani and

Racing resumed on lap 158 with Hélio Castroneves in the lead, but Tony Kanaan took the lead almost immediately. A four-way battle for the lead ensued as Castroneves and Kaanan were joined by Josef Newgarden and James Hinchcliffe. On lap 161, Castroneves's chances of winning were dashed when J. R. Hildebrand clipped the left rear bumper pod on Castroneves's car, forcing him to the pit to make repairs. Castroneves caught a small break, though, when the sixth and final caution of the race flew just two laps later after Takuma Sato hit the outside wall at the exit of turn four. Believing all cars would need to stop again, most drivers made yellow flag pit stops.

The green flag flew once again on lap 167. The battle for the lead became a three way duel between Tony Kanaan, Josef Newgarden, and Carlos Muñoz. J. R. Hildebrand also ran in the lead group, but was off sequence in pit stop strategy and came in much earlier than anyone else.

Finish

With 10 laps to go, it became apparent that the leaders would need a splash of fuel to get the cars to the end of the race. Of the leading group, Tony Kanaan would be the first to pit, followed by Josef Newgarden a few laps later, and finally Carlos Muñoz with five laps to go. It appeared the winner would be the driver with the best pit stop.

When Muñoz made his stop, the lead of the race passed to

took victory in his first attempt. Rossi would eventually run out of fuel on the cool-down lap, requiring his car to be towed into Victory Lane.

Box score

Pos	No.	Driver	Team	Engine/Aero Kit	Laps	Time/Retired	Pit Stops	Grid	Pts.1
1	98	Alexander Rossi  R	Andretti Herta Autosport w/ Curb-Agajanian	Honda	200	3:00:02.0872	8	11	124
2	26	Carlos Muñoz	Andretti Autosport	Honda	200	+4.4975	8	5	115
3	21	Josef Newgarden	Ed Carpenter Racing	Chevrolet	200	+4.9304	8	2	111
4	10	Tony Kanaan  W	Chip Ganassi Racing	Chevrolet	200	+10.4963	8	18	81
5	42	Charlie Kimball	Chip Ganassi Racing	Chevrolet	200	+10.5218	9	16	78
6	6	J. R. Hildebrand	Ed Carpenter Racing	Chevrolet	200	+11.3459	7	15	76
7	5	James Hinchcliffe	Schmidt Peterson Motorsports	Honda	200	+12.7744	8	1	95
8	9	Scott Dixon  W	Chip Ganassi Racing	Chevrolet	200	+15.1607	8	13	69
9	11	Sébastien Bourdais	KVSH Racing	Chevrolet	200	+21.0613	9	19	59
10	12	Will Power	Team Penske	Chevrolet	200	+21.5171	8	6	73
11	3	Hélio Castroneves  W	Team Penske	Chevrolet	200	+22.1015	9	9	65
12	77	Oriol Servià	Schmidt Peterson Motorsports	Honda	200	+23.8140	9	10	60
13	27	Marco Andretti	Andretti Autosport	Honda	200	+24.9700	9	14	54
14	15	Graham Rahal	Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing	Honda	200	+28.2494	9	26	40
15	8	Max Chilton  R	Chip Ganassi Racing	Chevrolet	200	+28.7589	10	22	42
16	41	Jack Hawksworth	A. J. Foyt Enterprises	Honda	200	+32.1748	9	31	31
17	35	Alex Tagliani	A. J. Foyt Enterprises	Honda	200	+32.1993	7	33	28
18	63	Pippa Mann	Dale Coyne Racing	Honda	199	+1 Lap	8	25	33
19	22	Simon Pagenaud	Team Penske	Chevrolet	199	+1 Lap	10	8	50
20	19	Gabby Chaves	Dale Coyne Racing	Honda	199	+1 Lap	11	21	33
21	29	Townsend Bell	Andretti Autosport	Honda	199	+1 Lap	11	4	55
22	61	Matthew Brabham  R	PIRTEK Team Murray	Chevrolet	199	+1 Lap	8	27	23
23	88	Bryan Clauson	Jonathan Byrd's Racing	Honda	198	+2 Laps	10	28	21
24	28	Ryan Hunter-Reay  W	Andretti Autosport	Honda	198	+2 Laps	8	3	53
25	16	Spencer Pigot  R	Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing	Honda	195	+5 Laps	8	29	15
26	14	Takuma Sato	A. J. Foyt Enterprises	Honda	163	Contact	6	12	32
27	7	Mikhail Aleshin	Schmidt Peterson Motorsports	Honda	126	Contact	5	7	40
28	25	Stefan Wilson  R	KVSH Racing	Chevrolet	119	Electrical	6	30	14
29	18	Conor Daly	Dale Coyne Racing	Honda	115	Contact	4	24	20
30	4	Buddy Lazier  W	Lazier Burns Racing	Chevrolet	100	Mechanical	6	32	12
31	20	Ed Carpenter	Ed Carpenter Racing	Chevrolet	98	Mechanical	5	20	24
32	24	Sage Karam	Dreyer & Reinbold Racing	Chevrolet	93	Contact	3	23	22
33	2	Juan Pablo Montoya  W	Team Penske	Chevrolet	63	Contact	2	17	27
OFFICIAL BOX SCORE

 W  Former Indianapolis 500 winner

 R  Indianapolis 500 Rookie

All entrants utilized Firestone tires.

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

Race statistics

Championship standings after the race

Drivers' Championship standings Pos Driver Points 1 Simon Pagenaud 292 2 Scott Dixon 235 1 3 Hélio Castroneves 224 7 4 Josef Newgarden 211 3 5 James Hinchcliffe 205

Manufacturer standings Pos Manufacturer Points 1 Chevrolet 500 2 Honda 319

• Note: Only the top five positions are included.

Broadcasting

Television

The Indianapolis 500 was broadcast live in the United States on ABC and streaming on WatchESPN and the ESPN app,^[22] called by Allen Bestwick, Scott Goodyear and Eddie Cheever.^[23] The broadcast utilized 100 television cameras, including 36 on-board cameras on twelve cars. Pre-race coverage began race morning with SportsCenter on the Road live at the Speedway with hosts Matt Barrie, Sara Walsh, Marty Smith and Ryan McGee.^[24]

On May 25, Speedway officials announced that all grandstand and general admission tickets had sold out. As a result, the local television blackout of the ABC network telecast was lifted for the first time since the race went to live "flag-to-flag" coverage in 1986.^[4] For Indianapolis viewers, it was the first time since 1950 that they were able to watch the race live on local television (the 1949 and 1950 races were broadcast locally on WFBM-TV, but Speedway officials barred live television coverage after 1950 out of fear that such broadcasts would cut into live attendance).

The race was also aired in Spanish through ABC's

The race was also aired in Portuguese through the Band and BandSports channels in Brazil, called by Téo José and former IndyCar driver Felipe Giaffone.

Radio

The race was carried live by the IMS Radio Network, part of the Advanced Auto Parts IndyCar Radio Network. Paul Page announced his retirement from the crew, and handed over play-by-play duties to the new "Voice of the 500" Mark Jaynes. Page, and fellow former chief announcers Bob Jenkins, and Mike King, took part in the pre-race coverage. Page called the pace laps and the start of the race, then handed the call over to Jaynes for the completion of the first lap. Jenkins recorded commentary for the pre-race, then spent the day at his normal role on the public address announcing team. Page, as well as Mike King, visited the booth during the race and during the post-race for guest commentary. The pre-race coverage was extended from one hour to two hours, with the first hour celebrating the 100th running with recaps and highlights of past races.

With Jaynes moving from his long-time position in turn three (2000-2015) to the Pagoda booth, the announcing crew shuffled slightly from previous years. Jake Query, previously a pit reporter, and then the turn two reporter, took over the turn three position. Nick Yeoman, also previously a pit reporter, took over the turn two location. Historian Donald Davidson celebrated his 52nd year as a part of the broadcast, and Jerry Baker his 43rd. This was Baker's 29th year reporting from turn one, which is believed to be the second-longest tenure of any reporter in one of the turns - second only to Jim Shelton in turn four (32 years). Newcomer Rob Howden joined the crew in the pits. Dave Wilson returned to the crew, this time monitoring the race coverage and impressions on social media. No reporters were specifically assigned to the garage area and/or track medical center, but pit reporter Rob Howden made one roving report at each location.

During the broadcast, the commercial out-cues were recited by Jaynes, and the historical chief announcers (like 2009, 2011-2013). During commercial breaks, the classic Stark & Wetzel "whistle" jingle was also used, as well as a classic Stark & Wetzel commercial, reflecting the famous former sponsor of the network from the 1950s and 1960s. Sponsor guests included Mark Reuss (GM), Dale Herrigle (Firestone), James Verrier (BorgWarner), and Speedway president Doug Boles.

1070 The Fan broadcast nightly beginning May 2 with Trackside with Curt Cavin and Kevin Lee, followed by Donald Davidson's The Talk of Gasoline Alley.

Footnotes

References