2003 Indianapolis 500

87th running of the Indianapolis 500

The 87th Indianapolis 500 was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana on Sunday, May 25, 2003. Two time defending champion Hélio Castroneves won the pole position and was trying to become the first driver in Indy history to win three in a row. With 31 laps to go, however, Castroneves was passed by his Penske teammate Gil de Ferran, and the duo finished 1st–2nd, with de Ferran winning his first Indy 500. The race was sanctioned by the Indy Racing League and was part of the 2003 IndyCar Series season. For the 2003 season, the series adopted a new chassis package and saw the introduction of Toyota and Honda to the field. It was Honda's third period of involvement at Indy. They partnered with the Judd program in the 1987 race, and was an engine provider in CART in 1990s, entering at Indy in 1994–1995. Toyota, previously an engine provider in CART, however, was making their first ever trip to Indy. Due to cost issues, and a shortage of engines and drivers, there was considerable concern going into the event that the field might fall short of the traditional 33 starters. On the final day of qualifying, the field was filled, avoiding a PR "black eye". Former presidents George H. W. Bush and Bill Clinton were in attendance, the first time in Indy history that two former presidents were at the race. It was the elder Bush's second visit to the Speedway; he previously presided over the opening ceremonies of the 1987 Pan American Games, which was held at the track. Rookie A. J. Foyt IV, racing on his 19th birthday, became the youngest driver ever to compete in the race. the race was not announced as a sell out. Since 1985, the race was usually sold out by July of the previous year. (Note that Andretti came out of retirement and returned to drive at Indy in 2006–2007.) Despite the open wheel "split" continuing into what was now its eighth season, nearly all of the top CART based teams entered at Indy for 2003. It was the fourth consecutive year that CART based teams entered the Indy 500, and each successive year saw an increased number of participants "crossing over". The 2003 season was a turning point in the "split", as several teams, including Penske, Andretti Green, Ganassi, and Rahal pulled out of CART and defected permanently to the Indy Racing League on a full time bases. One of the few holdouts for 2003 was Newman/Haas Racing. Paul Tracy, a key fixture in the controversial 2002 race, also did not enter. During the spring Dario Franchitti of Andretti Green Racing was injured in a motorcycle accident, which sidelined him for most of the season. Robby Gordon replaced him in the car at Indy, and Gordon planned to attempt the Indy Charlotte "Double Duty". After changes in the rules, Greg Ray entered and qualified a car carrying the number 13. It was the first time #13 appeared on a car at the Indy 500 since George Mason in 1914. From 1926 to 2002, usage of #13 was not permitted, and throughout the entire history of the race, was generally avoided by competitors due to superstitions. For the first time ever, a support race was scheduled for the month of May at Indy. The Menards Infiniti Pro Series arrived at the Speedway for the inaugural Freedom 100. The race was scheduled for the Saturday of Bump Day weekend.

Andretti Green Racing driver, Tony Kanaan, suffered a radial fracture of his arm on April 15 in a crash at Motegi. On April 23, the 1969 Indianapolis 500 winner Mario Andretti took over Kanaan's car for a test session. Andretti retired in 1994, and this was the first time in nine years he had driven a major open wheel car. If Kanaan was not cleared to drive in enough time, tentative plans were being prepared for Andretti to qualify the car for him. During Andretti's test session, it was noted by many observers that despite his lack of experience in modern Indy cars (which had changed substantially since his retirement in 1994) and his advanced age (63), he quickly reached competitive speed. During the morning session, he turned a lap of 212.509 mph, Television footage from the WTHR helicopter cam showed that the car clipped the top of the debris fence, and was nearly high enough to go over it. The car fell back to the racing surface, slowed by its mid air tumble, and slid to a stop upright. Andretti walked away from the crash with very minor injuries. Andretti initially shrugged off the accident, and still contemplated returning to qualify the car in May. A day later, however, he reconsidered.

Practice opened on Sunday May 4, with roughly 29 car/driver combinations named to the field. That was short of the traditional 33 starters for the race, and there was ongoing speculation around the garage area on who would potentially fill the four open spots. At the onset, drivers were flirting with the 230 mph barrier. On Tuesday May 6, rookie Dan Wheldon (231.108 mph) became the first driver to break the 230 mph barrier. A day later, Kenny Bräck (231.039 mph) also broke 231 mph. Wheldon set the fastest lap of the month on Thursday May 8 at 232.202 mph, the fastest lap run at the Speedway since 1996. On "Fast Friday" May 9, Arie Luyendyk spun exiting turn one, and hit the outside wall with the back end of the car. The car slid down the track, and hit the outside wall in turn 2 also. Luyendyk suffered a back injury, and soreness in his neck and shoulders. Ultimately, Luyendyk decided to sit out the race, and retired from driving permanently.

Pole Day was scheduled for Saturday May 10. During the morning practice session Billy Boat spun out of turn four, and made heavy contact with the safety attenuator at the north end of the pit wall. The car hit with the back end, flew up into the air momentarily, and came to rest against the outside wall on the mainstretch. The energy absorbing barrier was demolished, but officials stated that the barrier withstood the impact, and worked effectively. Nonetheless, some members of the media chastised the effort, later nicknaming the afternoon "Fill Day" rather than the traditional Bump Day. During the television coverage, Bob Jenkins and Jack Arute passionately defended the event from its detractors. Despite pointing out the lack of drama on the final day of time trials, Robin Miller was among those who suggested that the 2003 field was the deepest talent wise since the open wheel "split".

RowInsideMiddleOutside1 3 Hélio Castroneves (W) 11 Tony Kanaan 27 Robby Gordon2 9 Scott Dixon (R) 26 Dan Wheldon (R) 15 Kenny Bräck (W)3 12 Tora Takagi (R) 32 Tony Renna (R) 8 Scott Sharp4 6 Gil de Ferran 55 Roger Yasukawa (R) 10 Tomas Scheckter5 7 Michael Andretti 13 Greg Ray 54 Shinji Nakano (R)6 21 Felipe Giaffone 31 Al Unser Jr. (W) 4 Sam Hornish Jr.7 52 Buddy Rice (R) 2 Jaques Lazier 91 Buddy Lazier (W)8 24 Robbie Buhl 14 A. J. Foyt IV (R) 23 Sarah Fisher9 20 Alex Barron 22 Vítor Meira (R) 19 Jimmy Vasser10 99 Richie Hearn 98 Billy Boat 5 Shigeaki Hattori11 44 Robby McGehee 18 Jimmy Kite 41 Airton Daré

The controversy of filling the field the previous weekend fizzled as race day arrived. Mari Hulman George gave the command to start engines at 10:47 a. m. EST, and all 33 cars pulled away from the starting grid. It would be the final time that the race would begin at the traditional 11 a. m. EST start time. Polesitter Hélio Castroneves took the lead at the start, and led for the first 16 laps. The first yellow came out on lap 9 when Billy Boat stalled in turn two. After the restart on lap 15, Sarah Fisher spun in turn three, hitting the outside wall. After pit stops, Scott Dixon took the lead on lap 17.

Michael Andretti led 28 laps in the first half, but during a pit stop on lap 98, the car quit with the broken throttle linkage. On lap 61, Richie Hearn got up in the "marbles" in turn two, hitting the outside wall. Jaques Lazier spun to avoid the crash and came to rest on the inside of the track. Both drivers were uninjured. The lead changed several times in the first half, with Tomas Scheckter, Tony Kanaan, and Jimmy Vasser each taking turns in the lead. Hélio Castroneves and Gil de Ferran were running in the top 5 most of the way.

Tomas Scheckter led from laps 101 128, with Hélio Castroneves close behind in second. On lap 127, Airton Dare crashed in turn 2, bringing out the caution, and the leaders all made pit stops. Castroneves beat Scheckter out of the pits and took the lead. Gil de Ferran was in third. On lap 135 restart, de Ferran passed Scheckter for second place. At lap 150, Penske teammates Castroneves and de Ferran were still running 1st–2nd. Castroneves was looking to put himself in position to win his third "500" in a row. The leaders made their final pit stops on laps 165–168. After the sequence of green flag stops, Castroneves and de Ferran were again running 1st–2nd. On lap 169, leader Castroneves was hung up behind the lapped car of A. J. Foyt IV down the backstretch. While it was not captured by TV cameras, earlier in the race Foyt had come down and made contact with Castroneves while being lapped in turn 2. This perhaps led to Castroneves following Foyt through the 2nd turn allowing de Ferran to make the pass for the lead going into turn 3. On lap 172, Robby Gordon stopped on the track with a broken gearbox. The yellow came out, but none of the leaders pitted. Gordon immediately departed the grounds, and flew to Charlotte for the Coca Cola 600. With 25 laps to go, the green came back out with de Ferran leading, and Castroneves in second.

On lap 182, Scott Sharp brushed the wall in turn 4, then crashed in turn 1. After the cleanup, the green came back out on lap 186. One lap later, however, Dan Wheldon spun in turn three, hit the outside wall, then the car flipped over and landed upside down. Wheldon was not injured. During the caution for the Wheldon crash, Scott Dixon, who was running in the top ten, was weaving back and forth on the mainstretch to warm up his tires. He began to do it too vigorously, and brushed the inside wall. The car was too damaged to continue. The green came out with six laps to go. Gil de Ferran held off Hélio Castroneves by 0.2290 seconds to win his first Indianapolis 500. After the race, Castroneves coaxed de Ferran to climb the catch fence on the mainstretch, mimicking his own traditional post race victory celebration. de Ferran ended up retiring at season's end, becoming the fourth Indy 500 winner to retire as a reigning "500" champion. The "curse of the Indy three peat" prevailed again as Castroneves failed to achieve victory. His three race career record of 1st–1st–2nd, however, established an Indy record for a driver's first three starts. Castroneves' second place tied Al Unser's 1970–1971–1972 effort of 1st–1st–2nd.