The 72nd Indianapolis 500 was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana, on Sunday May 29, 1988. Team Penske dominated the month, sweeping the top three starting positions with Rick Mears winning the pole position, Danny Sullivan at the center of the front row, and Al Unser on the outside. Mears set a new track record, becoming the first driver to break the 220 mph barrier in time trials. On race day, the three Penske teammates proceeded to lead 192 of the 200 laps, with Rick Mears taking the checkered flag, his third-career Indy 500 victory. The race represented the milestone 50th victory in Championship car racing for owner Roger Penske and Penske Racing.

The victory was the first of six consecutive Indy 500 wins by the Chevrolet Indy V-8 engine, and the first of seven consecutive overall by Ilmor-constructed powerplants. Chevrolet-powered cars swept the first five starting positions, and the top three finishing positions. The victory also marked a triumphant return of success for the Penske chassis (in this case the PC-17), after dismal results in 1987 (PC-16), and sparse use during the previous four seasons.

One year after suffering severe leg injuries, Jim Crawford returned to the cockpit, and led eight laps during the race (the only laps not led by the Penske team). Crawford finished 6th, the best finish at the time for the Buick V-6 engine. Three-time winner and Indy legend Johnny Rutherford, driving as a teammate to Crawford, turned his final lap of competition at Indy during the 1988 race. Rutherford crashed out on lap 107. He failed to qualify in 1989–1990, and again in 1992, and he formally retired in 1994.

The race was the third round of the 1988 CART PPG Indy Car World Series, and was sanctioned by USAC. Also notable for 1988 was that veteran announcer Paul Page, formerly the radio "Voice of the 500", called the race on television for the first time. It was the first of 14 years that Page anchored the telecast on ABC. Off the track, Mary F. Hulman, the widow of Tony Hulman, stepped down and was named chairman of the board emeritus of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Her daughter Mari Hulman George was elevated to chairperson. Mary F. Hulman, however, would continue to deliver the starting command for the race through 1996.

Background

After a dismal go around with the PC-16 in 1987, Penske Racing introduced the brand-new PC-17. Rick Mears and Danny Sullivan, respectively, won the pole positions for the first two races of the CART season. For the third year, Penske was fielding the Ilmor-Chevy Indy V-8 engine. Defending Indy 500 winner Al Unser Sr. joined Mears and Sullivan as a third entry for the three 500-mile races (Indianapolis, Michigan, and Pocono).

Back-to-back defending CART champion, and 1986 Indy 500 winner Bobby Rahal returned for what would be his last season at Truesports. The team dropped the Cosworth DFX and they took up the development of the Judd AV engine. The engine was known to be down on horsepower, but excelled in fuel mileage and reliability, particularly in the 500-mile races.

Among the other changes included Al Unser Jr., who left Shierson after a winless 1987 campaign and re-joined the Galles team. Galles was now running the Ilmor-Chevy engine, after running the Brabham-Honda and Buick in previous years. Raul Boesel took Unser's place in the #30 Domino's Pizza entry.

During a tire test session at the Speedway in September 1987, Roberto Guerrero had a crash, and suffered a serious head injury that put him in a coma for seventeen days. After a lengthy recovery, Guerrero was back in the cockpit for 1988. Jim Crawford, who suffered serious leg injuries during time trials in 1987, also returned, signing with King Racing.

Billy Vukovich III, son of Bill Vukovich II, and grandson of two-time winner Bill Vukovich, would become the first third-generation driver in Indy history.

Many of the cars in the field were sporting new style wheels with flush discs, giving the 1988 month of May a unique visual appearance.

After becoming famous for being "first in line" at the Indy 500 from 1950 to 1987, longtime fan Larry Bisceglia of Chicago, and later from Phoenix, fell ill and missed the 1988 race. With failing health, he died December 7, 1988.

Rule changes Starting in 1988, teams were allowed to have six crew members over the wall during a pit stop. The crews would consist of four tire changers, a fueler, and a fuel vent/airhose man. Previously they were only allowed five (i.e., three tire changers). This was due in part to the fact that after the series changed from bias-ply tires to radials, the left-front tire (which at the time was seldom changed) would now be changed much more frequently.

For 1988, turbocharger "boost" pressure was reduced from 47 to 45 inHG. Stock-block engines were permitted 55 inHG.

Race schedule Race schedule — April/May 1988SunMonTueWedThuFriSat24 25 26 27 28 29ROP30ROP 1ROP 2  3  4  5  6  7Practice 8Practice 9Practice10Practice11Practice12Practice13Practice14Time Trials15Time Trials16Practice17Practice18Practice19Practice20Practice21Time Trials22Bump Day23 24 25 26Carb Day27Mini-Marathon28Parade29Indy 50030Memorial Day31      Color Notes Green Practice Dark Blue Time trials Silver Race day Red Rained out* Blank No track activity * Includes days where trackactivity was significantlylimited due to rain

ROP — denotes RookieOrientation Program

Practice - Week 1

Rookie Orientation Six drivers took part in rookie orientation. John Andretti led the group, putting in 220 laps with a top speed of 201.974 mph. After being denied entry five years ago, Harry Sauce returned to attempt the program once again.

Saturday May 7 Opening day saw Raul Boesel first out on the track for Shierson. Dick Simon (211.665 mph) posted the best lap of the day, with less than 15 minutes to go in the session.

Sunday May 8 The track closed about two hours early due to rain. Mario Andretti set the best lap of the day (210.970 mph), but did not eclipse Simon's speed from Saturday.

Monday May 9 Rick Mears turned the fastest lap of the month thus far at 213.118 mph. Two cars, Teo Fabi in the Porsche entry, and Ludwig Heimrath suffered mechanical/engine-related problems.

Tuesday May 10 Rick Mears turned the fastest unofficial practice lap in Indy history, breaking the 220 mph for the first time. His lap of 220.048 mph was just a tick faster than Mario Andretti's lap of 219.995 mph.

Roberto Guerrero was involved in the first crash of the week. He spun in turn one and tapped the outside wall. His car suffered damage to the rear wing. He was not injured.

Wednesday May 11 After two days of Mears topping the speed chart, Mario Andretti moved back into the top spot. His lap of 221.565 mph broke the day-old unofficial track record at 5:45 p.m.

Thursday May 12 Ludwig Heimrath went high in turn 2 and brushed the outside wall, the second crash of the month. His car whipped around, and hit the wall again. He was not injured, and car had light damage.

Mario Andretti (219.084 mph) led the speed chart, with Scott Brayton second.

Friday May 13 The final day of practice was anticipated to be a duel between Rick Mears and Mario Andretti, the two drivers who had distanced themselves from the rest of the field. Mears and Andretti finished the day with identical laps at 221.465 mph to tie at the top of the speed chart. Danny Sullivan came in third-best with a lap of 218.446 mph.

Andretti finished the week of practice with the fastest over speed, set on Wednesday. Mears was second, and the pair went into time trials as the favorites for the pole position.

Time Trials - First weekend

Pole day - Saturday May 14 On pole day morning, Rick Mears blistered the track with a lap of 222.827 mph during the morning practice session. It was a new all-time unofficial track record. Mario Andretti (220.372 mph) was close behind with the second-fastest. Raul Boesel and Tom Bigelow suffered single-car crashes during the session.

Mario Andretti drew the coveted first qualifying attempt. After leading the speed charts in practice much of the week, his qualifying speed was inconsistent and disappointingly slow. His first lap of 217.014 mph was his fastest, but 4 mph slower than he practiced a day earlier. His final lap of 212.761 mph pulled his four-lap average down to 214.692 mph. He claims to have hit a patch of oil-dry in turn four, which was laid down earlier that morning due to Boesel's crash.

At 12:07 p.m., just over an hour into the session, Al Unser Sr. completed his attempt at 215.270 mph, good enough to take over the provisional pole position, and secure a spot on the front row. Derek Daly and Scott Brayton completed runs over 212 mph, and by 1 p.m., the field was filled to ten cars.

At 1:21 p.m., Danny Sullivan took to the track and on his second lap, he set a new one-lap track record of 217.749 mph. His four-lap average fell short of a record, but his speed of 216.214 mph took over the pole position for the moment. Rick Mears, the third of the three Penske cars, took to the track at 1:58 p.m. With Sullivan and Unser tentatively sitting 1st–2nd, the attention focused on Mears and if he could make it an all-Penske front row. His first lap of 220.453 mph was an all-time official track record, and he became the first driver to break the 220 mph barrier at Indy. Lap 1 – 40.825 seconds, 220.453 mph (new 1-lap track record) Lap 2 – 40.932 seconds, 219.877 mph Lap 3 – 41.137 seconds, 218.781 mph Lap 4 – 41.341 seconds, 217.702 mph Total – 2:44.235, 219.198 mph (new 4-lap track record)

The third and fourth laps dropped off a bit, but Mears still set a record four-lap average of 219.198 mph. Mears won his then-record fourth Indy 500 pole. With Penske cars Mears, Sullivan, and Unser, ranked 1st–2nd–3rd, the team became the first team in Indy history to sweep all three spots on the front row of the starting grid. After Mears' run, the track stayed mostly quiet due to the hot conditions. Several teams pulled out of line and elected to wait until the final hour.

With better conditions at 5 p.m., Arie Luyendyk put his car in the field at just over 213 mph. Al Unser Jr. was the last car with a realistic shot at the front row. Unser Jr. fell short, with a speed of 214.186 mph, good enough for 5th position.

At the end of the day, Bobby Rahal was among those not yet in the field. His first presentation to the line was aborted when the car would not crank. He waved off two attempts, the second attempt was averaging 212.8 mph after three laps. A. J. Foyt went out early, but debris on the track forced him to pull off. His second attempt was too slow, and he waved off. At the end of the day, the field was filled to 19 cars.

Second day - Sunday May 15 A hot, 88 degree day kept cars off the track most of the afternoon. Only two cars would complete qualifying attempts, both in the final hour. At about 5:30 p.m., Jim Crawford put his car in the field at 210.564 mph. Bobby Rahal was the other qualifier, with a speed of 208.526 mph, slower than his speeds from Saturday.

At the close of the first weekend of time trials, there were 21 cars in the field. Among those not yet in the field were A. J. Foyt, Raul Boesel, Johnny Rutherford, and rookie John Andretti.

Practice - Week 2

Monday May 16 Rookie Harry Sauce spun in turn one during the final phase of his rookie test. The car was not damaged. Mario Andretti (216.398 mph) was the fastest of the day.

Tuesday May 17 Gordon Johncock took to the track for his first shakedown laps of the month. Rookie Dominic Dobson completed his refresher test. Danny Sullivan (214.183 mph), was the fastest of the day.

Wednesday May 18