The 93rd Indianapolis 500 was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana on Sunday May 24, 2009. It was the 14th Indy 500 sanctioned by the Indy Racing League, and the premier event of the 2009 IndyCar Series season.
Hélio Castroneves, a native of Brazil, won the race from the pole position, his third of four Indy 500 victories. He became the first foreign-born three-time winner of the race, and tied a record by winning the race three times in the same decade (2001, 2002, 2009). The win was car owner Roger Penske's 15th Indy 500 triumph, extending his team's own record. Former winner Dan Wheldon of England came second, with Danica Patrick third, the best finish ever by a female driver. There were eight crashes, with Vítor Meira and Tony Kanaan both suffering non-permanent injuries.
The race began the three-year-long Centennial era, celebrating the 100th anniversary of the opening of the track (1909) and the 100th anniversary of the inaugural race in 1911.
The victory by Castroneves marked the milestone 60th Indianapolis 500 victory for Firestone. It came less than two months after Castroneves was acquitted of federal charges of tax evasion and conspiracy. The IRS filed the charges against Castroneves in the fall of 2008, and the trial was held in March 2009 at the U.S. District Court in Miami. A guilty verdict in the trial would have likely sent Castroneves to prison, and ended his driving career.
Schedule Race schedule — May 2009SunMonTueWedThuFriSat 1 2Mini-Marathon3 4 5ROP6ROP7Practice8Practice9Pole Day10Time Trials11 12 13 14Practice15Practice16Time Trials17Bump Day18 19 20Comm. Day21 22Carb Day23Parade24Indy 50025Memorial Day26 27 28 29 30 31 ColorNotesGreenPracticeDark BlueTime trialsSilverRace dayRedRained out*BlankNo track activity * Includes days where track activitywas significantly limited due to rain
ROP — denotes Rookie Orientation Program
Comm. Day — denotes 500 Festival Community Day
Other selected events May 21: Firestone Indy Lights practice and qualifying May 22: Freedom 100
Entry list See Team and Driver Chart for more information
The official entry list was released April 20. The initial list includes 77 cars for 40 entries. 32 driver–car combinations have already been announced, as of Monday, May 4. Among the participants include five former winners (Lazier, Castroneves, Wheldon, Franchitti, Dixon), and six rookies.
Paul Tracy, the runner-up of the controversial 2002 race, returned for the first time since that race, and Scott Sharp also returns. However, this would mark the final IndyCar Series race for the 1996 Indy Racing League co-champion.
Race and event news
The pace car was the 2010 Chevrolet Camaro SS. It was the first Camaro pace car since 1993, and the first time the Corvette was not the pace car since 2003. Actor Josh Duhamel served as the driver. Miss America Katie Stam sang "America the Beautiful" during the pre-race ceremonies. Jim Nabors traditionally performed "Back Home Again in Indiana". The pre-race fly-by was conducted by two vintage B-25 Mitchell bombers to honor Disabled American Veterans In addition, a ten-member firing detail from the Indiana National Guard executed the three-volley salute. The Centennial Era Balloon Festival opened the month of activities on May 1–3. The 33rd annual OneAmerica 500 Festival Mini-Marathon was held May 2. Drivers Will Power and Mike Conway participated. 3 Doors Down headlined the annual Carb Day concert. NASCAR team Richard Petty Motorsports collaborated with Dreyer & Reinbold Racing in fielding an entry for veteran John Andretti. The drivers of the starting field participated in the annual New York City publicity tour at Herald Square on May 18. The 2009 race would prove to be the final time that Team Penske ran the Marlboro colors at the Speedway. During the offseason that followed the 2009 IndyCar season, Phillip Morris USA ended their relationship with Penske Racing, closing out a 21-year partnership.
Practice – Week 1
Tuesday May 5 – Rookie Orientation Weather: Partly cloudy, Practice summary: Nine drivers took to the track for the first day of rookie orientation. Six rookies participated and three veterans took refresher tests. Robert Doornbos, Raphael Matos, Alex Tagliani, and Mike Conway completed all four phases of the rookie test. Nelson Philippe completed three phases, while Stanton Barrett finished two. No incidents were reported. May 5, 2009 – Top Practice SpeedsRank CarNo. Driver Team BestSpeed115 Paul TracyKV Racing216 Scott SharpPanther Racing306 Robert DoornbosNewman/Haas/Lanigan Racing42 Raphael MatosLuczo Dragon Racing534 Alex TaglianiConquest Racing OFFICIAL REPORT
Wednesday May 6 – Rookie Orientation & IndyCar Series practice Weather: Rain, Practice summary: The second session of rookie orientation began at 9 a.m. Three cars took to the track for 45 minutes before rain interrupted the session. Nelson Philippe completed the final phase of his rookie test. All veteran practice was washed out for the day. May 6, 2009 – Top Practice SpeedsRank CarNo. Driver Team BestSpeed100 Nelson PhilippeHVM Racing299 Alex LloydSam Schmidt Motorsports398 Stanton BarrettTeam 3GOFFICIAL REPORT
Thursday May 7 – IndyCar Series practice Weather: , foggy in the morning Practice summary: Practice opened early to make up for lost time on Wednesday. Veterans took to the track for the first time just before 11 a.m. At 2:19 p.m., Ryan Hunter-Reay spun exiting turn two and hit the outside wall down the backstretch. He was not injured. A busy day of practice saw 2,199 practice laps completed. May 7, 2009 – Top Practice SpeedsRank CarNo. Driver Team BestSpeed126 Marco AndrettiAndretti Green Racing23 Hélio CastronevesTeam Penske36 Ryan BriscoeTeam Penske49 Scott DixonChip Ganassi Racing510 Dario FranchittiChip Ganassi Racing OFFICIAL REPORT
Friday May 8 – IndyCar Series Fast Friday practice Weather: , cloudy, light rain in the afternoon Practice summary: The final full day of practice was held before pole qualifying. Two significant crashes occurred. At 12:30 p.m., rookie Robert Doornbos went high and crashed into the wall in turn two. The car continued to slide down the backstretch. About two hours later, Scott Sharp lost the back end in the southchute, and crashed hard in turn two. Both drivers climbed from their cars. Largely aided by a tow, both Penske cars broke the 225 mph barrier. Midway through the afternoon, a light shower delayed practice for one hour.
May 8, 2009 – Top Practice SpeedsRank CarNo. Driver Team BestSpeed16 Ryan BriscoeTeam Penske23 Hélio CastronevesTeam Penske310 Dario FranchittiChip Ganassi Racing49 Scott DixonChip Ganassi Racing57 Danica PatrickAndretti Green RacingOFFICIAL REPORT
Time trials – Weekend 1
Saturday May 9 – Pole day
Weather: , sunny and windy Television: Versus (Bob Jenkins, Robbie Buhl, Jon Beekhuis, Jack Arute, Robbie Floyd, Lindy Thackston) Rating: 0.35 (385,000 households) Practice summary Windy conditions kept many speeds down during the morning practice session. Robert Doornbos crashed for the second day in a row in turn two, this time in his backup car. Penske teammates Ryan Briscoe (225.182 mph) and Hélio Castroneves (224.525 mph) again led the speed chart. Later in the afternoon, Dan Wheldon hit a gust of wind and backed the car into the wall in turn two. He would not go on to make a qualifying attempt.
Time trials summary The first wave of qualifiers began at 12 noon. Justin Wilson was the first car to complete an attempt. Marco Andretti was second out, and put himself on the provisional pole at 222.789 mph. It did not last long, as Penske driver Ryan Briscoe up the speed to 224.131 mph. Hélio Castroneves rounded out the first wave of time trials, filling the field to eleven cars, and tentatively putting himself second on the grid.
About an hour later, Dario Franchitti squeezed himself into the front row as second-fastest. Later, his Ganassi teammate Scott Dixon also completed a run, but did not threaten the top three. Meanwhile, Wilson's run was disallowed due to an improper ballast location, and Tony Kanaan was disqualified for being underweight.
At 3:45 p.m., Danica Patrick was the first to withdraw an earlier speed and go out for a second attempt. She improved her speed by nearly a mile per hour. Hélio Castroneves then withdrew and took to the track. His 224.864 mph run took over the pole position. Several drivers took their shot, but no one was able to bump Castroneves from the pole position. Sitting on the bubble, Paul Tracy endured seven instances where his car was re-instated to the field (due to cars withdrawing). However, he ultimately was bumped. With five minutes left in the day, Alex Lloyd made his first attempt. He surprisingly bumped his way into the field, and held on to make the top 11.
May 9, 2009 – Pole Day Qualifying ResultsRank CarNo. Driver Team Qual.Speed13 Hélio CastronevesPenske Racing26 Ryan BriscoePenske Racing310 Dario FranchittiChip Ganassi Racing402 Graham RahalNewman/Haas/Lanigan Racing59 Scott DixonChip Ganassi Racing611 Tony KanaanAndretti Green Racing75 Mario MoraesKV Racing Technology826 Marco AndrettiAndretti Green Racing912 Will PowerPenske Racing107 Danica PatrickAndretti Green Racing1199 Alex LloydSam Schmidt MotorsportsOFFICIAL REPORT
Sunday May 10 – Second day Weather: , partly cloudy Practice summary On only his second lap of the day, rookie Mike Conway spun and crashed hard in turn one, badly damaging the car. Conway was transferred to Methodist Hospital with bruised lungs. Twenty minutes later, Alex Tagliani also wrecked in turn one, but was not injured.
During afternoon practice, John Andretti added to the D & R Team's woes, with a wreck in turn one. Sitting on the bubble, Andretti was practicing in expectations to re-qualify. The back end broke loose, and he slid into the wall. Graham Rahal was following close behind the crash. He went high to avoid debris, but Andretti's car slid right back into his path. Rahal took evasive action, and spun the car inside to avoid contact. He suffered four flat tires, but kept the car off the wall.
Time trials summary For the second day of time trials, positions 12–22 were open for qualifying. Sarah Fisher started out the day at noon. She slipped in turn one, and completed a disappointing run of 219.911 mph. After one hour, nine additional cars completed runs, including Vítor Meira, Paul Tracy, and Justin Wilson. Fisher withdrew her previous time, and on her second attempt, improved her speed to over 222 mph.
After some downtime, Dan Wheldon, who had wrecked in practice a day earlier, put his car solidly in the field at 222.777 mph. He was followed by surprising runs by Ed Carpenter, and Raphael Matos. At 223.492 mph, Matos was the seventh-fastest car overall in the field, the fastest car of the day, and the first rookie to qualify.
Late in the afternoon, several drivers began jockeying for the final few spots open for the day. Scott Sharp completed a slow run, but eventually withdrew the time. About an hour later, Sharp went back out to try again, this time bumping John Andretti. Andretti had just wrecked his car in practice, and was not going to return to the track for the day. Sharp's speed of 221.333 mph, however, put him on the bubble. He was scheduled to race in the ALMS Utah Grand Prix the following weekend, and hoped to qualify at Indy before departing for Utah.