1987 Indianapolis 500

71st running of the Indianapolis 500

The 71st Indianapolis 500 was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana, on Sunday May 24, 1987. After dominating practice, qualifying, and most of the race, leader Mario Andretti slowed with mechanical problems with only 23 laps to go. Five laps later, Al Unser Sr. assumed the lead, and won his record tying fourth Indianapolis 500 victory. At age 47, just days short of his 48th birthday, Unser became the oldest winner of the Indy 500, a record that still stands as of 2023. During the month of May, an unusually high 25 crashes occurred during practice and qualifying, with one driver in particular, Jim Crawford, suffering serious leg injuries. Al Unser's victory is considered one of the biggest upsets in Indianapolis 500 history. Unser, whose driving career was beginning to wind down, had dropped down to part time status a year earlier. He entered the 1987 month of May without a ride and without sponsorship money, which left him on the sidelines during the first week of practice. After Danny Ongais suffered a concussion in a practice crash, Unser was hired by Penske to fill the vacant seat. Unser proceeded to win the race with a year old March 86C chassis, and the venerable Cosworth DFX, the powerplant's tenth consecutive Indy victory. Unser's car, originally entered as a back up, had been sitting in a hotel lobby in Reading, Pennsylvania, as a show car just weeks prior. The race was sanctioned by the United States Auto Club, and was included as part of the 1987 CART PPG Indy Car World Series. Of the notable statistics, the 1987 Indy 500 was the first such where the entry list did not include a single car built in the United States. During the race, a spectator was killed when an errant tire was hit into the grandstand, the first spectator fatality at the event in a racing related incident since 1938.

Defending Indy 500 winner Bobby Rahal went on to win the 1986 CART championship. During the offseason, his Truesports racing team made a highly publicized switch from the March chassis to the up and coming Lola chassis. Truesports, however, stayed with the proven Cosworth engine. Rahal was a strong favorite to repeat as winner. For 1987, the Ilmor Chevrolet Indy V 8 expanded its participation in Indy car racing. Penske Racing fielded a three car effort with the powerplant, while resuming its in house chassis program. The PC 16 chassis was the primary car for the team, but as a backup, three one year old March 86C chassis were also entered. Newman/Haas Racing joined the Ilmor Chevrolet program, pairing the engine in a Lola. With it, Mario Andretti scored the engine's first victory a month earlier at Long Beach. Patrick Racing (Emerson Fittipaldi & Kevin Cogan) was the third team to utilize the Ilmor Chevrolet, but they used the 1987 March chassis. Roberto Guerrero won the second race of the season, held at Phoenix. Guerrero was a rising star on the circuit, and the impressive victory from last starting position at Phoenix made him a favorite for Indy. For 1987, his Vince Granatelli Racing team was sporting a special paint job, a "throwback" day glow orange which resembled the Andy Granatelli entries from the late 1960s and early 1970s. A new engine arrived at Indianapolis in 1987. The Judd AV V 8 was badged as the Brabham Honda, and was fielded by Galles Racing. After part time use during the 1986 CART season, the engine was utilized full time beginning in 1987. Indy veteran Geoff Brabham, son of Jack Brabham (co founder of Engine Developments Ltd.) and rookie Jeff MacPherson were the drivers. At Penske Racing, Rick Mears and Danny Sullivan returned as the full time entries. During the offseason, three time Indy 500 winner (1970, 1971, 1978), and three time national champion (1970, 1983, 1985) Al Unser Sr. retired from full time driving duties. Unser had been driving for Penske from 1983 to 1986, and was still interested in driving part time, particularly at Indianapolis and the other 500 mile races (Michigan and Pocono). Meanwhile, businessman and media mogul Ted Field arranged a deal with Roger Penske to field Indy veteran Danny Ongais in the third Penske entry. Al Unser was unable to secure a ride before the month of May, and arrived at the track unemployed, albeit shopping around for a competitive car. Goodyear arrived at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the first time with a new radial tire. After a few years of development in the CART series, the radials were ready for competition in the Indy 500. The most noticeable construction project completed at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for 1987 was a series of electronic dot matrix scoreboards installed around the track.

Practice started on Opening Day, Saturday May 2. Rookie Ludwig Heimrath Jr. was the first car on the track. A somewhat light day of activity saw several drivers pass their rookie tests. Michael Andretti posted the fastest lap of the day, at His father Mario, however, did not take any laps. The first two cars waved off, and Rick Mears became the first car in the field at
Bobby Rahal tentatively secured the top spot with a run of Over the next hour and a half, five cars started runs, but all were waved off. By 1 p. m., there were still only two cars in the field. At 1:09 p. m., Mario Andretti took to the track. Despite hot and slick conditions, and gusty winds, Andretti took the pole position with a speed of Andretti's run was "nerve wracking", inconsistent, and at times he lost traction, but the battle for the pole was settled. After Andretti's run, sparse activity took place until late in the day. Most teams stayed off the track altogether. Veteran drivers, Johnny Rutherford and Dick Simon managed successful runs, and filled the field to five cars. Jim Crawford, a darkhorse favorite for the front row in a Buick entry, made his first attempt at 2:25 p. m. The crew waved off after a slower than expected speed. A little over an hour later, Crawford returned to the track. After a quick warm up lap, he lost control in turn one, and hit the wall nose first. He suffered severe injuries, fractures to both ankles, a fractured lower right shin, and a fractured left knee.

Penske Racing driver Danny Ongais was officially withdrawn from his entry. Following his crash on May 7, Ongais was diagnosed with a concussion, and was not medically cleared to drive. No replacement was yet announced, but Al Unser was rumored as the choice. Track activity was leisurely, with Mario Andretti leading the speed chart at 212.916 in a back up car. Rookie Fabrizio Barbazza was the fastest driver not yet qualified at 206.091. Dominic Dobson, another rookie, used the afternoon to finish the final phases of his rookie test.

Three time Indy 500 winner Al Unser Sr. was officially announced as the replacement for the injured Danny Ongais at Penske Racing. Unser took his first laps of the month, driving a newly arrived 1986 March/Cosworth. Unser had entered the month unemployed, and was at the track supporting his son Al Unser Jr. in his efforts at Doug Shierson Racing, all the while shopping around the garage area for a competitive ride for himself. Al Unser Jr. had been struggling to get his 1987 March/Cosworth up to speed during the first week of practice, and was unable to qualify during the first weekend of time trials. Unser Sr. had planned to go home to Albuquerque by Monday, if he had not yet secured a ride. But he decided to stay through the week to help his son Unser Jr. get his car up to speed. a rare female car owner. Pancho Carter withdrew his qualified car, and re qualified faster in a backup. Phil Krueger was the third car out on the track, and his first lap would have been fast enough to ultimately make the field. On his second lap, however, he dipped low in turn one, hit the outside wall, then spun and hit the wall again. It was the 24th crash of the month. After the crash, the track stayed mostly quiet until 4:45 p. m.

Steve Chassey made his second attempt to qualify, but again waved off following three, slow, inconsistent laps. Rocky Moran was next, and despite only a average, he completed his run. Dominic Dobson and Davy Jones (driving for Foyt Racing) then filled the field to 33 cars. Jones in the process, became the fastest rookie qualifier in the field. With 49 minutes to go before the 6 o'clock gun, George Snider took another Foyt back up car and bumped out Rocky Moran. It was the fourth Foyt entry to qualify for the field. The move put rookie Dominic Dobson (201.240 mph) on the bubble. Dobson survived attempts by Ed Pimm and Rick Miaskiewicz, and at 5:30 p. m., still clung to the starting field. Steve Chassey made his third and final allotted attempt. At , he bumped his way into the field by just over 1 mph. Dobson was out, and Sammy Swindell (201.840 mph) was now on the bubble. Ed Pimm, after days of frustration, handling problems, and with the oil light flashing during his run, managed to bump Swindell out. That move dropped Chassey down to the bubble spot. Over the final twenty minutes, Chassey held on, and the field was set.

On Thursday May 21, the final scheduled practice session was held. The weather continued to be hot and dry. Two incidents during the session altered the grid for race day, bringing the total for the month to 25 crashes leading up to the race. About a half hour into the session, A. J. Foyt, who qualified 4th on the grid, got into turbulence in turn one. He lost control, did a half spin, and crashed hard into the wall. About an hour later, Emerson Fittipaldi, nursing an ill handling car, spun and crashed in turn three. Foyt was uninjured, but was furious with himself after warning his rookie drivers about the difficult conditions, only to crash himself. Foyt's car was deemed repairable, and he was able to start in his qualified position. Fittipaldi's car, however, was a total loss, and he would be required to start a backup car on race day. He was moved from the 10th starting position to the rear of the field. Mario Andretti continued his complete dominance of the month, and posted the fastest lap of the day. His speed of was over faster than Rick Mears, who was second fastest. Likewise, Andretti marched closer towards a clean sweep for the month, guiding his Newman Haas team to a win in the Miller Indy Pit Stop Championship. He beat Bobby Rahal (Truesports racing) in the final round.

RowInsideMiddleOutside15 Mario AndrettiHanna Auto WashNewman/Haas RacingLola T8700, Chevrolet 2651 Bobby RahalBudweiserTruesportsLola T8700, Cosworth DFX8 Rick MearsPennzoil Z 7Penske RacingMarch 86C, Chevrolet 265214 A. J. FoytCopenhagen/GilmoreA. J. Foyt EnterprisesLola T8700, Cosworth DFX4 Roberto GuerreroTrue Value/STPGranatelli RacingMarch 87C, Cosworth DFX22 Dick SimonSoundesignDick Simon RacingLola T8700, Cosworth DFX371 Arie LuyendykLiving Well/Provimi Veal/WTTVHemelgarn RacingMarch 87C, Cosworth DFX21 Johnny RutherfordVermont AmericanAlex Morales RacingMarch 87C, Cosworth DFX18 Michael AndrettiKraco/STPKraco RacingMarch 87C, Cosworth DFX423 Ludwig Heimrath Jr. MacKenzie Financial/Tim Horton DoughnutsDick Simon RacingLola T8700, Cosworth DFX81 Rich VoglerByrd's Kentucky Fried Chicken/Living WellHemelgarn RacingMarch 87C, Buick V 611 Jeff MacPhersonMcHoward LeasingGalles RacingMarch 87C, Judd591 Scott BraytonAmway/AutostyleHemelgarn RacingMarch 87C, Cosworth DFX15 Geoff BrabhamTeam ValvolineGalles RacingMarch 87C, Judd56 Gary BettenhausenGenesee Beer WagonGohr RacingMarch 86C, Cosworth DFX63 Danny SullivanMiller AmericanPenske RacingMarch 86C, Chevrolet 26512 Fabrizio BarbazzaArciero WineryArciero RacingMarch 87C, Cosworth DFX2 Gordon JohncockSTP Oil TreatmentAmerican RacingMarch 86C, Buick V 6777 Derek DalyScheid Tire/Superior Training/MetrolinkPace RacingMarch 87C, Buick V 625 Al UnserCummins/Holset TurboPenske RacingMarch 86C, Cosworth DFX33 Tom SnevaSkoal BanditMike CurbMarch 86C, Buick V 6830 Al Unser Jr. Domino's PizzaDoug Shierson RacingMarch 87C, Cosworth DFX24 Randy LewisToshiba/Altos/OracleLeader Cards RacingMarch 87C, Cosworth DFX7 Kevin CoganMarlboroPatrick RacingMarch 87C, Chevrolet 265955 Josele GarzaBryant Heating & Cooling/SchaeferMachinists Union RacingMarch 87C, Cosworth DFX41 Stan FoxKerker Exhaust/Skoal ClassicA. J. Foyt EnterprisesMarch 86C, Cosworth DFX16 Tony Bettenhausen Jr. Nationwise/PaylessBettenhausen MotorsportsMarch 86C, Cosworth DFX1044 Davy JonesSkoal Classic/Gilmore/UNOA. J. Foyt EnterprisesMarch 86C, Cosworth DFX29 Pancho CarterHardee'sMachinists Union RacingMarch 87C, Cosworth DFX98 Ed PimmSkoal ClassicMike CurbMarch 86C, Cosworth DFX1184 George SniderCalumet/CopenhagenA. J. Foyt EnterprisesMarch 86C, Chevy V 687 Steve ChasseyUnited Oil/Life of IndianaUnited OilMarch 87C, Cosworth DFX20 Emerson Fittipaldi†MarlboroPatrick RacingMarch 87C, Chevrolet 265

† Emerson Fittipaldi qualified 10th on pole day. On Carburetion Day, he crashed his already qualified car, and it was damaged beyond repair. The car was replaced with a back up car, and was moved the rear of the field.

Race day dawned warm with clear blue skies. During the pace lap, the car of George Snider caught fire, with a turbocharger failure. Snider pulled into the pits, as the rest of the field took the green flag. Mario Andretti charged from the pole position, and led the field into turn one. In the first turn of the first lap, Josele Garza was down low on the white line, and lost the back end of the car. Right next to Al Unser, he started spinning. Unser slipped by cleanly, but reported being tagged gently from behind. Garza spun up the track, and collected Pancho Carter. Neither driver was injured, but both cars suffered damage.

On lap 6, the green came back out, with Mario Andretti continuing to lead. Driving at a blistering pace, it took only seven laps for him to start lapping backmarkers. On lap 25, Ludwig Heimrath was running 7th, and made his first pit stop, but one of the wheels was not properly secured. The wheel came off, and he spun in turn four. Under the caution, Mario Andretti pitted, and managed to stay in the lead. Only seven cars remained on the lead lap. Around the 100 mile (161 km) mark, several cars were dropping out of contention. Kevin Cogan blew an engine, Randy Lewis dropped out with a gearbox failure, and Michael Andretti broke a CV joint, then had a pit fire. On lap 34, Bobby Rahal, who had been running as high as second, made an unscheduled, five minute long pit stop due to an electrical problem. After several long stops, Rahal would eventually drop out. Mario Andretti continued to dominate, giving up the lead temporarily only through the sequence of pit stops. Roberto Guerrero and Danny Sullivan consistently were chasing him. Shortly before the halfway point, Rick Mears was forced to the pits with an electrical problem, and would also be forced to drop out. At the 90 lap mark, Al Unser Sr. had worked up to 4th, and Tom Sneva 5th. Unser had been lapped by Andretti early in the going. At that juncture, he elected to change his strategy and started charging up the standings. Andretti was still dominating, running laps in the low 200 mph range, while most other cars were in the 190 mph range, or slower. Dick Simon was running 7th, but ran the car out of fuel on the backstretch. He lost several laps as he was towed back to the pits, but received fuel, and returned to the track.

The dominance by Mario Andretti continued in the second half, leading Roberto Guerrero by several seconds. The rest of the field was at least one lap down. Several of the other competitors were falling by the wayside, including A. J. Foyt (who was running 9th) and Rich Vogler. Sullivan and Unser Sr., both in the top 5, were now close to 2 laps down. Meanwhile, Tom Sneva and Arie Luyendyk, clinging to the top ten, both started losing ground to Fabrizio Barbazza.

On the 130th lap, Tony Bettenhausen started suffering a handling problem exiting turn two. Down the backstretch, his right front wheel lug nut may have come off the car, and the wheel began to loosen. In turn three, the wheel came off and began rolling though the north short chute. Second place Roberto Guerrero came up on the wheel suddenly, and hit it with his nosecone. The nosecone cover was broken off, and the wheel was punted high into the air. The wheel cleared the catchfencing, and flew towards the "K" grandstand. Spectators were witnessed fleeing the seating in a "V" shape as the 18 pound wheel headed their direction. The wheel came down and struck 41 year old Lyle Kurtenbach of Rothschild, Wisconsin in the head, sitting in the top row of the grandstand. He suffered massive head injuries, and was pronounced dead at Methodist Hospital shortly afterwards. The wheel bounded and came to rest in the tunnel underneath the north short chute. Guerrero slowed, and nursed his car back to the pits. The extent of injury was unknown at the time. The live ABC television broadcast, however, was at commercial when it occurred. During the commercial, the incident was noticed by the producers and commentators. When they returned on air, however, footage of the incident was not shown, nor were specific details given of what had occurred. in hopes of moving up to second place. Andretti, leading by 1 lap, slowed down between turns 3 and 4, allowing Guerrero to pass him. At first it was believed that Andretti was ducking into the pits for his final pit stop. However, after leading 170 of 177 laps, Andretti suddenly slowed down the frontstretch on lap 177. An electrical failure in the fuel metering device, part of the fuel injection system, began flooding the engine with raw fuel. Andretti coasted around to the pit area, and the team immediately replaced the spark box and wastegate. In post race interviews, brothers Bobby Unser and Al Unser had a live conversation from the television broadcasting booth to victory circle, with Bobby congratulating his brother Al. It is believed to be the only time brothers were part of the victory lane interview. Bobby was seen in tears of joy as he watched his family celebrate in victory lane, from the broadcast booth. Bobby was in his first race broadcasting the Indy 500 on ABC television (the previous year he was part of the radio network crew). Two nights before the race, at the Hulman Hundred, Al Unser Sr.'s nephew Robby Unser suffered a broken leg in a crash. Robby listened to the race on the radio at the hospital, while Robby's father Bobby Unser called the race live on ABC Sports. This was the final Indy 500 for famous spectator Larry Bisceglia of Yuma. He traditionally was the first person in line since 1950, as well as 1948–1949 when he was one of the first in line. Bisceglia died on December 7, 1988. A little more than two months after the race, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway hosted the opening ceremonies for the Pan Am Games.

The 1986–87 USAC Gold Crown Championship season consisted of one sanctioned race. The schedule was based on a split calendar, beginning in June 1986 and running through May 1987. Starting in 1981, USAC scaled back their participation in top level Indy car racing, and ultimately ceased sanctioning races outside of the Indianapolis 500 following their 1983–84 season. Subsequently the Gold Crown Championship would consist of only one event annually; the winner of the Indianapolis 500 would be the de facto Gold Crown champion, as it was their lone points paying event. The preeminent national championship season was instead sanctioned by CART, and the Indy 500 paid championship points separately (on a different scale) toward the CART championship as well. Al Unser Sr., by virtue of winning the 1987 Indianapolis 500, also won the 1986–87 USAC Championship.