1993 Indianapolis 500

77th running of the Indianapolis 500
The 77th Indianapolis 500 was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana on Sunday, May 30, 1993. Emerson Fittipaldi took the lead with 16 laps to go, and won his second career Indy 500 victory. The race was sanctioned by USAC and was part of the 1993 PPG Indy Car World Series. Several sidebar stories during the month complemented one of the most competitive Indy 500 races in recent years. Much of the pre race attention for the month focused heavily on rookie Nigel Mansell, the reigning Formula One World Champion, who joined the CART Indy car series during the offseason. A large international media contingent arrived at the track creating a huge frenzy surrounding the Englishman. Mansell was competitive all afternoon, and was leading the race on lap 184 as the field was coming to a restart. His inexperience on oval circuits, however, led to him misjudging the restart speed and he was quickly passed down the main stretch by Fittipaldi, which proved to be the winning move. The top three finishers consisted of the Brazilian Fittipaldi, Dutchman Arie Luyendyk, and the English Mansell, the first time since 1915 that all of the top three finishers were from countries other than the United States. Additionally, the fourth and fifth place finishers were Brazilian Raul Boesel and Italian born American Mario Andretti. After hinting about retirement in 1991 (and later retracting retirement plans in 1992), four time Indy 500 winner A. J. Foyt entered the 1993 race and participated in the first week of practice. On the morning of pole day qualifying, rookie Robby Gordon, driving a Foyt team car, crashed during a practice session. The incident led to Foyt deciding to retire from Indy car racing after a 35 year career. The 1993 race would be the final competitive drives at Indy for both Mario Andretti and Al Unser Sr. Andretti led the most laps, and finished in fifth place. Unser also led laps during the race, en route to a 12th place finish. Andretti would drop out of the 1994 race, and retired after the 1994 season. Unser abruptly retired during practice for the 1994 race. Also grabbing headlines during qualifying was the plight of defending CART champion and 1986 Indy winner Bobby Rahal. After struggling to get his car up to speed, Rahal was bumped from the field on the final day of time trials. Raul Boesel led 18 laps for owner Dick Simon, the first time a Simon owned car ever led the Indy 500. Boesel took the lead at the start and had one of the fastest cars during the race. His chances for victory, however, were foiled due to two pit stop penalties, which dropped him to the back of the pack. He worked his way back up to a remarkable 4th place finish, but in post race interviews, felt the race had been stolen from him, saying "in my mind, this race is mine."

Sweeping changes were seen at Indy for 1993, both at the track and amongst the competitors. After the many crashes during the 1992 race, rule changes were implemented to slow cars down and to better protect drivers in crashes. Among the noticeable changes were smaller rear wings, and the banning of the wheel disc inserts. In addition, the front noses of the cars were changed, intended to protect the drivers' feet in a crash. Cockpits were to be redesigned to allow drivers to pull their feet back before impact. Also making news at the Speedway was the official announcement of the Brickyard 400, to be held in 1994. Tony George and Bill France Jr. jointly announced the race on April 14 during a ceremony at the museum, a few weeks before opening day. The race would give the Speedway two major events annually starting in 1994. Beginning in 1993, a speed limit in the pit lane (100 mph) was enforced at all times. In the previous year, it was only in force during caution periods.

During the offseason, four time Indy 500 winner Rick Mears announced his retirement from racing. Penske driver Paul Tracy was elevated into the ride, taking over full time, where he had previously driven part time in 1991–1992. Tracy would earn his first career Indy car victory at Long Beach, the last race before Indianapolis. The biggest story going into the season surrounded Newman/Haas Racing. Michael Andretti left the CART series and signed with McLaren to drive in Formula One. Taking Andretti's place would be reigning Formula One World Champion Nigel Mansell. Mansell came to the American open wheel series with considerable fanfare and huge media attention. Mansell joined fellow former World Driving champion Mario Andretti as teammates. Mansell won the CART season opener at Surfers Paradise, but was involved in a crash during practice for the Valvoline 200 at Phoenix. He suffered an injured back, and sat out that event. Since he missed the Phoenix race, Indianapolis would serve as Mansell's first ever oval race start. Mansell underwent back surgery on April 28, forcing him to miss rookie orientation, and the opening weekend of practice at Indy. Truesports racing was absorbed by Rahal Hogan Racing, and driver Bobby Rahal took over the existing Truesports chassis program to start out the season. Rahal entered the race as the defending CART series champion, and was coming off a second place finish at Long Beach. Galles Racing maintained its driver lineup for 1993. Defending Indy 500 winner Al Unser Jr. returned, as did Danny Sullivan. The team, however, scrapped the Galmer chassis program. Kevin Cogan joined the team at Indy only, making it a three car Indy 500 effort. At Chip Ganassi Racing, Eddie Cheever departed, and was replaced by Arie Luyendyk. In 1992, Luyendyk was out of a full time ride, and drove for Ganassi at Indy and Michigan only. For 1993, Luyendyk was back with the team, this time for a full season ride. After his devastating crash in 1992, Nelson Piquet returned to Indy after a lengthy rehabilitation. Former winners Tom Sneva and Gordon Johncock also retired during the off season, though Sneva did arrive at the track hoping for an outside chance to land a ride. After two years of retirement rumors, four time winner A. J. Foyt entered once again as a driver, looking to qualify for his 36th consecutive Indy 500. Rookie driver Robby Gordon was entered in a second Foyt team car. The other active four time winner, Al Unser Sr., secured a ride with King Racing. The previous two years, Unser had entered the month without a ride.

Following the 1992 race, an extensive construction project was undertaken at the Speedway. The "apron" lane at the bottom of the track was removed, and replaced with a new separated warm up lane, similar to the one at Nazareth Speedway. A grass strip physically separated the track surface from the new warm up lane. Rumble strips were installed below the white line to discourage drivers from dipping below the white line. The improvements were made in an effort to curtail speeds, and reduce impact angles, but were criticized by some who said that it made the track too narrow and would make passing more difficult. The entire outer retaining wall and catch fence was replaced, mostly in anticipation of the 1994 Brickyard 400. Other physical improvements included new grandstands at the north end of the circuit, observation mounds in the infield, and the completion of a new championship caliber golf course on the grounds, designed by Pete Dye called Brickyard Crossing.

The traditional opening day ceremonies were capped off when Dick Simon Racing was the first team out on the track (for the 6th consecutive year). Marco Greco was the first driver to complete a lap, with the rest of the Simon cars following in a diamond formation. Shortly before 3 p. m., Jeff Andretti entered the warm up lane in turn three too fast, and slid back onto the track into the path of Roberto Guerrero's car. Guerrero went high to avoid Andretti's spinning car, and brushed the outside wall. Neither driver was injured. Mario Andretti (222.124 mph) was the fastest car of the day.

Paul Tracy was the fastest of the day. Jeff Andretti blew an engine, starting a huge fire at the back of his car, which he was able to guide back to the pits.

Team Penske led the speed charts, with Paul Tracy (220.724 mph) first and Emerson Fittipaldi (220.691 mph) second. Nelson Piquet was 9th fastest before he clipped the outside wall exiting turn 2.

Arie Luyendyk set the fastest lap thus far for the month at 225.89 mph. Hiro Matsushita and Paul Tracy both survived separate spins at the pit entrance without hitting anything. At about 1:30 p. m., A. J. Foyt took his first shake down laps of the month, reaching a top lap of 212 mph.

Rookie Nigel Mansell passed his physical and began his four phase drivers test. He breezed through all four phases, with a top lap of 218.579 mph. Though he was unable to attend the Rookie Orientation Program, Mansell received special permission from USAC to skip the program, due to his extensive auto racing experience and expertise. Robbie Buhl crashed in turn two, suffering a concussion, which sidelined him until May 19. Ross Bentley and Olivier Grouillard also spun out on the track. Raul Boesel topped the speed chart for the day at 224.461 mph.

Arie Luyendyk once again set the fastest lap thus far for the month, raising it to 226.182 mph. The day was without incident, except for Robby Gordon, who "whitewalled" the outside wall at the southchute, suffering minor suspension damage. Mario Andretti was second fastest (225.423 mph), the second driver of the month over 225 mph. In his first full day of practice, Nigel Mansell was 6th fastest, with lap of 224.372 mph.

Raul Boesel (225.592 mph) topped the speed chart for the final day of practice before pole day. Nigel Mansell continued to impress, posting the second fastest lap of the day (224.949 mph). Mario Andretti was third, but Arie Luyendyk was only 9th fastest. Incidents on the track involved three drivers. At 12:20 p. m., Didier Theys spun out of turn 4 and hit the inside wall, bouncing back to the middle of the frontstretch. The car was heavily damaged, but Theys suffered only a bruised thigh. At 1:53 p. m., Ross Bentley abruptly stopped on the main stretch, with the car on fire. He quickly scrambled to exit the cockpit. A fuel pressure regulator broke, spilling fuel, and igniting. Bentley suffered first and second degree burns to his face and hands, and he would sit out the rest of the month. Late in the day, Mario Andretti spun in the warmup lane, but did not make contact.

Promptly at 11:00 a. m., time trials began with Stan Fox the first driver in line. After three inconsistent laps, Fox waved off. Due to the challenging track layout (without the apron) and rules changes, several drivers and teams were uneasy about qualifying speeds and many waved off. Mario Andretti was the second car out, and completed his run at 223.414 mph, putting him on the provisional pole position. In the first hour and fifteen minutes, only four cars completed runs. Nine cars waved off, including Arie Luyendyk, and Gary Bettenhausen wrecked on his fourth lap. At 12:30 p. m., Raul Boesel put his car on the front row with a run of 222.379 mph. Nigel Mansell waved off his first run, after three laps in the 218 219 mph range. At 1 p. m., with ten cars in the field, the track became quiet, as drivers awaited better conditions. At 5 p. m., time trials resumed. Arie Luyendyk secured the pole position with a speed of 223.967 mph. Luyendyk bumped Mario Andretti to the middle of the front row, and Raul Boesel held on for the outside of the front row. Nigel Mansell was the next car out, making his second attempt. After a first lap of 221.811 mph, Mansell wildly veered to the middle of the track out of turn four (fearing that he brushed the wall exiting turn 4). His second lap dropped to 219 mph, and his four lap average ended up 220.255 mph, good enough for 8th starting position in the middle of row 3. Emerson Fittipaldi, Kevin Cogan, and Stefan Johansson were the only other cars to complete runs. The day ended with 15 cars in the field, and Pruett (216.794 mph) as the slowest. Bobby Rahal was among the drivers not yet in the field. Pole DayPos. (Position)No. (Car number) Driver Team Chassis Engine Speed (Four lap average speed in mph)1 10 Arie Luyendyk Chip Ganassi RacingLolaFordXB 223.9672 6 Mario Andretti Newman/Haas RacingLolaFordXB 223.4143 9 Raul BoeselDick Simon RacingLolaFordXB 222.3794 2 Scott GoodyearWalker RacingLolaFordXB 222.3445 3 Al Unser Jr. Galles RacingLolaChevrolet 221.7736 16 Stefan Johansson Bettenhausen RacingPenskeChevrolet 220.8247 12 Paul TracyTeam PenskePenskeChevrolet 220.2988 5 Nigel Mansell Newman/Haas RacingLolaFordXB 220.2559 4 Emerson Fittipaldi Team PenskePenskeChevrolet 220.15010 40 Roberto GuerreroBudweiser King RacingLolaChevrolet 219.64511 22 Scott BraytonDick Simon RacingLolaFordXB 219.63712 7 Danny Sullivan Galles RacingLolaChevrolet 219.42813 77 Nelson Piquet Menard RacingLolaMenard (Buick) 217.94914 11 Kevin Cogan Galles RacingLolaChevrolet 217.23015 46 Scott Pruett ProFormance Motorsports LolaChevrolet 216.794

Several drivers who waved off on pole day completed runs on the second day. Among those who qualified comfortably were Jeff Andretti, Lyn St. James, and Teo Fabi. After struggling all week with the Truesports chassis, Bobby Rahal completed a run at 217.140 mph. French rookie Stéphan Grégoire's last minute run of 220.851 mph, just before the closing gun, made him the fastest rookie and quickest qualifier for the day. With the field filled to 26 cars, Mark Smith (214.356 mph) was the slowest car in the field. The only incident of the day involved Davy Jones, who blew an engine on the first lap of his qualifying attempt. The hot fluids entered the cockpit, and Jones scrambled to stop the car against the inside wall near the pit entrance and climbed out.

A light day of track activity saw John Andretti shaking down a car for Willy T. Ribbs at Walker Motorsports. Andretti hit 220.157 mph in the car, the fastest non qualified car of the afternoon.

Rain kept cars off the track until 3 p. m. An abbreviated practice session saw only 15 cars on the track, with Teo Fabi (223.381 mph) the fastest of the day; his fastest lap all month. Willy T. Ribbs took his first laps of the month, and first laps since 1991, topping out in the 210 mph range.

Éric Bachelart wrecked early in the session in turn 1, but he suffered only minor injuries. After being cleared to drive Wednesday morning, Robbie Buhl wrecked again, this time suffering an injured foot. To date, Dale Coyne Racing had now suffered four crashes in the month. Emerson Fittipaldi, testing race setups, set the second fastest lap of the month, at 226.051 mph, faster than the pole position speed. Olivier Grouillard, Eddie Cheever, and Jim Crawford led the speed chart for the non qualified drivers.

The fastest lap of the month was turned in by Mario Andretti, who blistered the track at 227.118 mph. Jim Crawford (221.212 mph) set the pace for the non qualified drivers. The day ended 15 minutes early due to rain.

The final full day of practice saw heavy activity. A total of 33 cars ran 1,693 laps during the session, and the field passed 20,000 practice laps for the month. Nigel Mansell (225.468 mph) was the fastest car of the day, and Robby Gordon (221.272 mph) led the non qualified cars. The only incident of the day involved Dominic Dobson, who spun to the inside of turn one, and lightly tapped the outside wall. The car was not damaged, and Dobson was not injured.

At the opening of time trials, Eddie Cheever was the first car to complete a qualifying run, It was his third and final attempt in the #99 Turley Motorsports entry. His speed of 216.415 mph, was disappointingly slow compared to his previous practice laps. Jim Crawford put a third King Racing entry in the field, with a comfortable speed of 217.612 mph. John Andretti signed last minute to drive the #84 Foyt entry, and quickly posted a speed of 221.746 mph, the fastest car of the afternoon, and 6th fastest in the entire field. Robby Gordon, now the primary driver for Foyt, followed with a run of 220.085 mph. At 5:17 p. m., Geoff Brabham easily bumped rookie Mark Smith from the field. Smith turned around and re qualified his back up car at 217.150 mph, bumping Eddie Cheever. The bumping continued with Willy T. Ribbs posting a solid run of 217.711 mph to bump Olivier Grouillard. Eddie Cheever took out his backup #99T car for an attempt (his fourth attempt of the month), but waved off. The day ended with Dominic Dobson bumping out Scott Pruett. With questionable weather in the forecast for Sunday, the field was filled to 33 cars, with Bobby Rahal on the bubble.

With the field already filled to 33 cars, Bump Day, the final day of time trials, started with unfavorable weather conditions. Wind gusts up to 30 mph were observed, which kept cars off the track most of the early afternoon. 1986 winner, and defending CART champion Bobby Rahal (217.140 mph) started the day on the bubble, as the slowest car in the field. His R/H chassis was proving to be uncompetitive in superspeedway trim. In the morning, Team Menard offered a spare car deal for Bobby Rahal, who was in considerable danger of failing to qualify. Rahal declined, opting instead to roll out his backup car, and start getting it up to speed. After a difficult time in qualifying, Eddie Cheever quit the Turley team, and took the vacant ride at Menard. Qualifying began at 5 p. m., with Eddie Cheever first out. Though his speed was seemingly fast enough to bump his way into the field, the crew waved off the run. Bobby Rahal remained on the bubble. Over the next half hour, four drivers (Didier Theys, Scott Pruett, John Paul Jr., and Éric Bachelart) all attempted to bump Bobby Rahal from the field. John Paul Jr. blew his engine, and the rest were too slow and waved off. Rahal's team had to keep pulling his backup car out of line, and moving to the rear, increasing the risk that he would not be able to re qualify if he got bumped. With fifteen minutes left in the day, Eddie Cheever took to the track, overall, his record sixth qualifying attempt of the month. At 217.599 mph, he bumped Bobby Rahal from the field. The move put rookie Mark Smith (217.150 mph) on the bubble. At 5:54 p. m., Didier Theys took to the track, and completed his run at 217.752 mph. Theys bumped Smith, and added to the lore of the Curse of the Smiths at the Indy 500. With just seconds remaining until the 6 o'clock gun, Bobby Rahal made it to the front of the qualifying line. At 5:59 p. m., he pulled away for his warm up laps. Kevin Cogan (217.230 mph) was now on the bubble. Rahal's first lap was completed at 217.360 mph, just fast enough to bump his way in. However, his second lap dropped to 216.820 mph. His third lap (214.782 mph) was the dagger, and Rahal failed to qualify.

The final practice session saw Scott Brayton (223.547 mph) set the fastest lap. Nigel Mansell was second, and Raul Boesel third. No incidents were reported, but a few drivers, namely Stan Fox, reported relatively minor mechanical issues. First alternate Bobby Rahal did not take the opportunity to practice. Paul Tracy was absent for the day, due to the birth of his daughter in Toronto. Emerson Fittipaldi shook down Tracy's car for a handful of practice laps. Galles Racing won the Miller Pit Stop Contest with driver Al Unser Jr.

RowInsideMiddleOutside1 10 Arie Luyendyk 6 Mario Andretti 9 Raul Boesel2 2 Scott Goodyear 3 Al Unser Jr. 16 Stefan Johansson 3 12 Paul Tracy 5 Nigel Mansell 4 Emerson Fittipaldi 4 40 Roberto Guerrero 22 Scott Brayton 7 Danny Sullivan 5 77 Nelson Piquet 11 Kevin Cogan 36 Stéphan Grégoire 6 21 Jeff Andretti 8 Teo Fabi 51 Gary Bettenhausen7 18 Jimmy Vasser 91 Stan Fox 90 Lyn St. James8 76 Tony Bettenhausen Jr. 80 Al Unser 84 John Andretti9 41 Robby Gordon 15 Hiro Matsushita 66 Dominic Dobson10 50 Davy Jones 27 Geoff Brabham 75 Willy T. Ribbs11 60 Jim Crawford 92 Didier Theys 59 Eddie Cheever

After the tumultuous off season, and surprising events during time trials, the 500 would line up with several familiar drivers on the sidelines for one reason or another. A. J. Foyt, Rick Mears, Gordon Johncock, and Tom Sneva had retired; Bobby Rahal and Scott Pruett both failed to qualify; and Michael Andretti's commitments in Formula One prevented him from entering the race. After the miserable cold weather from the previous year, race day dawned sunny and warm. There was pre race concern about approaching precipitation, and the forecast was questionable. Some teams prepared for a possible rain shortened race. However, the rain never arrived, and the race was completed without interruption.

At the green flag, polesitter Arie Luyendyk and Raul Boesel drag raced down the frontstretch, with Mario Andretti dropping back into third. Boesel got the edge, and grabbed the lead into turn 1. The entire field circulated through the first lap cleanly, and started to pick up the pace. Boesel began lapping the backmarkers on lap 8, meanwhile Andretti moved past Luyendyk to take second place. On lap 16, Jim Crawford spun exiting turn 2. He flat spotted his tires, but did not make contact. He drove back to the pits, and re entered the race. Under the caution most of the leaders pitted. Kevin Cogan stayed out, and inherited the lead. In doing so, Cogan accomplished a rare feat in which the slowest qualifier in the field led lap(s) during the race. In the pits, Raul Boesel was among those who pitted, and in the process, the crew was able to remove a hot dog wrapper that was blocking the radiator inlet. As Boesel was exiting his pit stall, he was momentarily blocked when Scott Goodyear pulled out of his stall. Further down the lane, Mario Andretti slowly pulled out of his pit box, and was ahead of Boesel. Both cars entered the warm up lane together. Boesel was going much faster and slipped by Andretti in the warm up lane. Boesel was unaware and was not informed by the officials that Mario had crossed the blend line first. After the field went back to green on lap 21, the black flag was displayed for Boesel. A controversial stop and go penalty was assessed to Boesel. Confusion hovered over the reason for penalty. Owner Dick Simon was initially informed it was for speeding in the pits, but then it was changed to passing under the yellow. Boesel darted into the pits to serve the penalty, and fell all the way back to the rear of the field. He lost a lap in the process.

With Al Unser, Sr. leading on lap 31, Danny Sullivan, suffering from a pushing condition, went high in turn three and smacked the outside wall. A piece of the suspension pierced through the side of the tub, and narrowly missed puncturing his leg. Danny would not return as a driver in 1994 but did one last time in 1995. Nelson Piquet, who returned to Indy after his bad crash in 1992, dropped out with a blown engine. Mario Andretti led the field back to green on lap 36, Arie Luyendyk ran second, and Emerson Fittipaldi third. Mario led comfortably for the next 15 laps. On lap 47, the leaders approached traffic, and Luyendyk passed Andretti to take the lead into turn one. Nigel Mansell began showing strength, passing Fittipaldi for third, then closing in his teammate Mario Andretti in second. Down the main stretch on lap 50, Mansell dove inside Mario for position, but Mario held him off, sweeping down in front in turn 1. Three laps later, Mansell finally got by Mario in turn 1, after a hot pursuit. Andretti pitted one lap later. On lap 56, Mansell passed Luyendyk coming out of turn 2 to take the lead for the first time. However, Mansell ducked into the pits on that same lap, and was not credited with leading a lap yet. During the sequence of green flag pit stops, the lead changed hands several times. After all of the leaders pitted, Nigel Mansell took over the lead. The yellow came out for debris on lap 89, and after pit stops, Mario Andretti was back in the lead. Nigel Mansell overshot his pit stall, and his crew had to wheel him back to administer service. Mansell dropped to 6th place after a 40 second pit stop. The green came out on lap 94, but only lasted two laps. Scott Brayton and Paul Tracy tangled entering turn three, and Tracy was forced into the outside wall. Brayton came down on Tracy, pinching him to the grass, and clipped his front wheel.

On lap 128, the only multi car crash of the day occurred. Jeff Andretti and Roberto Guerrero came together in turn three, with both cars crashing out. Leader Mario Andretti ducked into the pits, however, he entered the pit lane when it was closed. He was given the black flag and assessed a stop and go penalty. After the shuffle, Al Unser Jr. took over the lead, with Andretti second. Meanwhile, Raul Boesel was now back on the lead lap in 8th place. Robby Gordon brought out the yellow on lap 169 when he stalled on the track with a broken gearbox. Under the yellow, Raul Boesel entered the pits while they were closed, and was assessed a stop and go penalty; however, he did not lose any considerable track position. After the shuffle from the final sequence of pit stops, Nigel Mansell was now back in the lead, with Emerson Fittipaldi second, and Arie Luyendyk third.

On lap 182, the yellow came out when Lyn St. James stalled in turn 4. Nigel Mansell was leading Emerson Fittipaldi and Arie Luyendyk. On lap 184, the field was ready to go back to green. Mansell, driving in his first ever Indy car oval race, was inexperienced in restarts, and was too hesitant bringing the field back to green. He exited turn four too slow, and immediately Fittipaldi and Luyendyk were on his rear bumper. Mansell realized he was a sitting duck, and swept to the inside of the track to attempt to block. Fittipaldi quickly diced around, and got by on the outside to take the lead. Going into turn one, Luyendyk precariously swept by Mansell on the outside and took over second place. With Fittipaldi pulling away, the laps dwindled down, and Mansell's chances for victory started to slip away. On lap 192, Mansell slid high exiting turn two, and "whitewalled" the outside wall. A caution came out for the contact, but Mansell stayed out on the track. His suspension suffered minor damage, but he continued. The green flag came out for the final time with 5 laps to go. Emerson Fittipaldi got the jump on the restart, and pulled away to a comfortable lead. Fittipaldi won his second Indy 500 by 2.8 seconds over Arie Luyendyk. Nigel Mansell held on to finish third, while Raul Boesel worked his way all the way back to the front runners to come home fourth. Nigel Mansell became the first rookie to finish the full 500 miles since Donnie Allison in 1970. He won the rookie of the year award, and led a total of 34 laps during the race. His late race miscue cost him two positions, and was largely chalked up as a 'rookie mistake.' During post race interviews, Mansell claimed he was trying to follow the rules, waiting for the green flag to come out before he accelerated, and he was surprised that Fittipaldi and Luyendyk had caught up such ground on him so quickly. He claimed that "everybody, if you like, cheats on the restarts, and I'm trying to do it by the rules and I lost the lead " However, he did not protest the results, and was pleased with his performance. Later that same year, Mansell won the Michigan 500 and went on to win the 1993 CART IndyCar championship. Mansell was honored with the Driver of the Year award, the Autosport International Racing Driver Award and an ESPY.

There were 23 lead changes involving a race record 12 different leaders. Kevin Cogan, the slowest qualifier, led 3 laps, the first time since 1923 that the slowest driver in the field led a lap at Indy. The ten cars finishing on the lead lap was the most in Indy history up to that point, although it was not the most cars completing the full 500 miles (the record was 16 in 1959). However, since the implementation of the "pack up" rule during caution periods in 1979, and the fact that extra time to complete the 500 miles was eliminated in the mid 1970s, ten cars completing 500 miles on the lead lap broke the CART era record of four (1980, 1986, 1992). The field completed a then race record 5,733 out of a possible 6,600 laps (86.9%) for a full 500 mile race; a record that stood until 2013. Lap Leaders Laps Leader1–17 Raul Boesel18 Stéphan Grégoire19–22 Kevin Cogan23–31 Al Unser Sr.32–46 Mario Andretti47–57 Arie Luyendyk58–63 Al Unser Sr.64–65 John Andretti66–67 Robby Gordon68–69 Scott Goodyear70–91 Nigel Mansell92–128 Mario Andretti129–130 Nigel Mansell131–132 Arie Luyendyk133 Mario Andretti134 Arie Luyendyk135–151 Al Unser Jr.152–168 Mario Andretti169–171 Scott Goodyear172 Mario Andretti173 Raul Boesel174 Mario Andretti175–184 Nigel Mansell185–200 Emerson Fittipaldi

Total laps led Driver LapsMario Andretti 72Nigel Mansell 34Raul Boesel 18Al Unser Jr. 17Emerson Fittipaldi 16Al Unser Sr. 15Arie Luyendyk 14Scott Goodyear 5Kevin Cogan 4John Andretti 2Robby Gordon 2Stéphan Grégoire 1

Cautions: 8 for 49 laps Laps Reason16–20 Jim Crawford spin on backstretch31–37 Danny Sullivan crash in turn 389–93 Debris95–103 Paul Tracy crash in turn 3128–138 Jeff Andretti, Roberto Guerrero crash in turn 3169–174 Robby Gordon stalled on track183–185 Lyn St. James stalled on track193–195 Nigel Mansell brushed wall in turn 2

The race was carried live flag to flag coverage in the United States on ABC Sports. Paul Page served as host and play by play announcer, joined by color commentators Bobby Unser and Sam Posey. A slight change came about for 1993. Bobby Unser left the announcing booth, and reported from the turn two position on top of the luxury suites. The move was supposedly to offer a fresh perspective, but others believed it was to separate Unser and Posey, who were known to engage in heated exchanges and debates on air. Besides Unser moving his reporting position, the same exact crew, and respective duties, from 1990 to 1992 returned. Bobby Rahal, who failed to qualify for the 1993 race, was invited to be part of the crew, but declined.