The 97th Indianapolis 500 was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana on Sunday May 26, 2013. It was the premier event of the 2013 IZOD IndyCar Series season. Tony Kanaan, a native of Brazil, was victorious on a record-setting day. Kanaan became the fourth Brazilian driver to win the Indianapolis 500 joined by Emerson Fittipaldi, Helio Castroneves, and Gil de Ferran.
The track opened for practice on Saturday, May 11. Time trials were held May 18–19, and the final practice, traditionally dubbed "Carb Day", was Friday, May 24. A support race, the Freedom 100 for the Indy Lights series was also held on Carb Day. In time trials, owner/driver Ed Carpenter of Indianapolis won the pole position, the first American-born pole-sitter since 2006, and the first owner/driver to sit on the pole since 1975.
For the first time since 1987, two drivers in the field entered the race attempting to win a fourth Indianapolis 500.The Talk of Gasoline Alley – WFNI, May 13, 2013. Three-time winners Hélio Castroneves (2001, 2002, 2009) and Dario Franchitti (2007, 2010, 2012) attempted to tie A. J. Foyt, Al Unser Sr. and Rick Mears for the most Indy 500 victories. Neither driver was victorious this day, though Castroneves would achieve the feat in 2021. Unknown at the time, the 2013 race would be Franchitti's last; he retired after suffering severe injuries in a crash at Houston about five months later.
After eleven previous attempts, Tony Kanaan, racing for KV Racing Technology, won the race. On a restart with three laps remaining, Kanaan overtook leader Ryan Hunter-Reay in the first turn. Three-time champion Dario Franchitti got loose and crashed into the outside wall bringing out the final caution of the race. Kanaan led Rookie of the Year Carlos Muñoz and Hunter-Reay across the line. The average speed of the race – – was the fastest Indianapolis 500, breaking the record set in 1990 by Arie Luyendyk. The record would stand until 2021. The 68 lead changes, and 14 different leaders, set during the race were also new records at the time. Other records set (each of which have since been broken) included most cars running at the finish in a race that completed 200 laps (26), fewest caution laps (21), most laps completed by the field (5,863), as well as a 133-lap caution-free segment from lap 61 through 193.
Chevrolet swept the top four finishing positions, and took its first Indianapolis 500 win since 2002, breaking Honda's streak of nine consecutive Indy 500 wins. Chassis manufacturer Dallara won its eighth straight Indy 500, and 13th overall since joining the series in 1997.
Event background
For the first time since 1989, the Indy 500 was part of an Indy car "triple crown" along with Pocono and Fontana. A $1 million bonus prize was offered for any driver to win all three races in the same season. Lotus, who fielded underpowered and uncompetitive engines in 2012, was released from its contract, and did not participate from 2013 onwards. On December 21, 2012, Firestone signed a five-year contract extension to be the exclusive official tire supplier through 2018. Following its popular success during the festivities surrounding Super Bowl XLVI, a zip-line was installed in the infield. After missing the 2012 race due to an illness, Jim Nabors returned to perform "Back Home Again in Indiana" during the pre-race ceremonies. It was his 33rd year performing the song in-person, and 35th overall.
Selected rules and rule changes Cars will be allowed 130 kPa of turbocharger "boost" during practice (Saturday through Thursday), Carb Day, and race day. Cars will be allowed 140 kPa of boost for "Fast Friday" practice, and during time trials. All entries will be allowed a total of 33 sets of tires for practice, time trials and race day. Rookie orientation participants receive four additional sets for exclusive use during that session, and likewise refresher test participants receive two additional sets for use during that session. Entries that qualify for the Fast Nine "Shootout" on Pole Day will receive an additional new set of tires for use during each shootout qualifying attempt, but they must be returned and can not be used during the race. Full-time IndyCar entries must adhere to the required 2,000-mile engine mileage limits. Unapproved engine changes will see a 10-position grid penalty at the next race of the season (Detroit). Most full-time teams will enter the month with the same engine they used earlier in the season (Brazil, Long Beach, etc.). The 2,000 miles on the engine must be exhausted during practice before installing a fresh engine for "Fast Friday" and qualifying. At the close of time trials, an additional fresh engine may be installed for Carb Day and race day, without penalty. However, the time trials engine (and the race day engine) must be re-installed and utilized for later events if it still has miles remaining on it. Part-time teams utilizing the "Short" engine program will be provided with one engine for use during practice, time trials, and race day.
Schedule
Race schedule — May 2013SunMonTueWedThuFriSat 1 2 3 456 7 8 910 11121314151617181920 21 22232425262728 29 30 31
Color Notes Green Practice Dark blue Time trials Silver Race day Red Rained out* Blank No track activity * Includes days where track activitywas significantly limited due to rain
ROP — denotes rookie orientation program
Comm. — denotes 500 Festival Community Day
Entry list
The official entry list was released May 7, featuring 34 entries. The initial entry list included four rookies (A. J. Allmendinger, Conor Daly, Tristan Vautier, Carlos Muñoz) and four former winners in Hélio Castroneves, Dario Franchitti, Scott Dixon and Buddy Lazier.
Ryan Briscoe—who took pole position for the 2012 race—was unable to secure a full-time drive for the 2013 season, but participated in the race in a fourth car entered by Chip Ganassi Racing.
Driver Status Entrant Engine Sponsor 1 Ryan Hunter-Reay Andretti Autosport Chevrolet DHL 2 A. J. Allmendinger Team Penske Chevrolet IZOD 3 Hélio Castroneves Team Penske Chevrolet Shell V-Power/Pennzoil Ultra 4 J. R. Hildebrand Panther Racing Chevrolet National Guard/Man of Steel 5 E. J. Viso Team Venezuela/Andretti Autosport/HVM Chevrolet PDVSA/Citgo 6 Sebastián Saavedra Dragon Racing Chevrolet TrueCar 7 Sébastien Bourdais Dragon Racing Chevrolet McAfee/Microsoft Bing 8 Ryan Briscoe Chip Ganassi Racing Honda NTT DATA/Hulu 9 Scott Dixon Target Chip Ganassi Racing Honda Target 10 Dario Franchitti Target Chip Ganassi Racing Honda Target 11 Tony Kanaan KV Racing Technology Chevrolet Hydroxycut/Mouser 12 Will Power Team Penske Chevrolet Verizon 14 Takuma Sato A. J. Foyt Enterprises Honda ABC Supply Co./Panasonic 15 Graham Rahal Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda Midas/Big O Tires 16 James Jakes Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda Acorn Stairlifts 17 Michel Jourdain Jr. Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda Office Depot 18 Ana Beatriz Dale Coyne Racing Honda Ipiranga 19 Justin Wilson Dale Coyne Racing Honda Boy Scouts of America/Sonny's BBQ 20 Ed Carpenter Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet Fuzzy's Vodka 21 Josef Newgarden Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing Honda Century 21 22 Oriol Servià Panther DRR Chevrolet Mecum Auctions 25 Marco Andretti Andretti Autosport Chevrolet RC Cola 26 Carlos Muñoz Andretti Autosport Chevrolet Electric Energy Straws/Dially-Ser 27 James Hinchcliffe Andretti Autosport Chevrolet GoDaddy.com 41 Conor Daly A. J. Foyt Enterprises Honda ABC Supply Co. 55 Tristan Vautier Schmidt Peterson Motorsports Honda Lucas Oil 60 Townsend Bell Panther Racing Chevrolet Sunoco "Turbo" 63 Pippa Mann Dale Coyne Racing Honda Cyclops Gear 77 Simon Pagenaud Schmidt Hamilton Motorsports Honda Hewlett-Packard 78 Simona de Silvestro KV Racing Technology Chevrolet Nuclear Clean Air Energy (Areva) 81 Katherine Legge Schmidt Peterson Motorsports Honda Angie's List 83 Charlie Kimball Chip Ganassi Racing Honda NovoLog FlexPen 91 Buddy Lazier Lazier Partners Racing Chevrolet Advance Auto Parts 98 Alex Tagliani Bryan Herta Autosport Honda Barracuda Networks/Bowers & Wilkins
Icon Meaning Rookie driver Former winner
Practice and rookie orientation Rookie orientation was scheduled for Thursday, April 11. However, due to a poor weather forecast, was postponed. Instead, rookies will participate in special two-hour sessions during the first two days of Indianapolis 500 practice.
Testing – Thursday, May 9 A private test focused on NASCAR driver Kurt Busch, who tested a car for Andretti Autosport. Busch conducted the evaluation test with the possibility of attempting "Double Duty" in 2014. Busch reached a top lap of 218 mph.
Practice and rookie orientation – Saturday, May 11 Weather: , cloudy Practice summary: Opening Day featured veteran practice from 12–2 p.m., rookie orientation from 2–4 p.m., followed by a second session of veteran practice from 4–6 p.m. Hélio Castroneves was the first car to pull out on to the track, while Josef Newgarden was the first to complete a lap. During the first session, nine cars took to the track, with no incidents reported.
Rookie orientation featured three drivers, A. J. Allmendinger, Carlos Muñoz and Tristan Vautier. Conor Daly was absent due to his participation in the GP3 race at Barcelona. All three drivers passed the three-phase rookie test, and became eligible to practice during the veteran sessions. Daly will be given time to complete the test on Monday.
After rookie orientation, a brief rain shower closed the track from 4:00 p.m. to 4:33 p.m. A total of 15 drivers completed 480 laps Saturday without incident.
Top practice speeds Driver Team Engine 120 Ed Carpenter Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet220.970221T Josef Newgarden Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing Honda220.920326 Carlos Muñoz Andretti Autosport Chevrolet220.720OFFICIAL DAILY TRACKSIDE REPORT
Practice – Sunday, May 12
Weather: , sunny, windy Practice summary: A total of 22 drivers completed 730 laps Sunday, without incident. A cool, windy afternoon kept some teams and drivers off the track for the day. Rookie Carlos Muñoz led the speed chart, while Andretti Autosport teammates swept five of the top six spots for the day.
Top practice speeds Driver Team Engine 126 Carlos Muñoz Andretti Autosport Chevrolet223.02321 Ryan Hunter-Reay Andretti Autosport Chevrolet222.82535 E. J. Viso Andretti Autosport Chevrolet222.523OFFICIAL DAILY TRACKSIDE REPORT
Practice – Monday, May 13 Weather: , sunny Practice summary: A total of 32 drivers took laps on a busy day of practice. Favorable weather conditions saw heavy action, with 1,799 laps completed. Andretti Autosport cars again topped the speed chart, with Marco Andretti setting the fastest lap thus far in the month. No incidents were reported. Rookie Conor Daly, who missed rookie orientation due to competing in Spain, completed his three-phase rookie test in the morning. In addition, Pippa Mann completed a refresher test.
Top practice speeds Driver Team Engine 125 Marco Andretti Andretti Autosport Chevrolet 225.10023 Hélio Castroneves Team Penske Chevrolet 225.07531 Ryan Hunter-Reay Andretti Autosport Chevrolet 224.386OFFICIAL DAILY TRACKSIDE REPORT
Practice – Tuesday, May 14 Weather: , sunny Practice summary: The warmest day of practice thus far saw temperatures in the mid-80s, and sunny skies. A total of 32 drivers took 2,226 laps without incident. James Hinchcliffe drove Marco Andretti's car #25 to a lap of 224.210 mph, for the fastest lap of the day. Andretti himself drove the car to a lap of 223.570 mph, good enough for third on the speed chart. Andretti Autosport took the top spot in practice for the third straight day. The only driver entered to not take any laps during the month has been Buddy Lazier.
Top practice speeds Driver Team Engine 125 James Hinchcliffe Andretti Autosport Chevrolet 224.21024 J. R. Hildebrand Panther Racing Chevrolet 223.652325 Marco Andretti Andretti Autosport Chevrolet 223.570 OFFICIAL DAILY TRACKSIDE REPORT