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 2026. Seeking his long-awaited second "500" victory, Andretti had led 170 of the first 177 laps, and at one point, had lapped the entire field. His failure to win reflected on the Andretti curse, and in an ironic twist, his act of slowing down to preserve his engine developed a harmonic imbalance which broke a valve spring. Despite dropping out, due to high attrition, Andretti still placed 9th, his eighth career top ten at Indy.
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. Dennis Firestone suffered a fractured neck and a concussion, which ended his racing career. The abundance of crashes was attributed to a combination of no rain (resulting in a greasy, slippery track), the introduction of Goodyear's radial tires, increased turbulence, and handling difficulties with the March 87C.
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."The Legends of the Brickyard" - 1987 Indy 500
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.
Background 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 265-A engine 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 with a Lola T87. 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 March 87C 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.
Race schedule Race schedule – April/May 1987SunMonTueWedThuFriSat19 20 21 22 23 24ROP25ROP26ROP27 28 29 30 1 2Practice 3Practice 4Practice 5Practice 6Practice 7Practice 8Practice 9Pole Day10Time Trials11Practice12Practice13Practice14Practice15Practice16Time Trials17Bump Day18 19 20 21Carb Day22Mini-Marathon23Parade24Indy 50025Memorial Day26 27 28 29 30 31 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
Saturday May 2 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.
Sunday May 3 The second day of practice saw increased activity. Mario Andretti posted the fastest lap of the day at . Later in the day, the weather cooled, and wind picked up. At 5:58 p.m., Pancho Carter suffered a spectacular crash. His car spun in turn three, air got underneath, and flipped upside-down. The car landed on the pavement on its roll bar, and proceeded to skid about through the north chute. The car hit the outside wall in turn four, and came to a rest still upside-down. Carter, however, was not seriously injured. His helmet had three major scrapes from rubbing along the pavement. Carter later proudly showed off the helmet, showing where he had rotated his head to spread the abrasion damage.
Monday May 4 High winds kept the speeds down. Dennis Firestone and Roberto Guerrero tied for fast lap of the day (211.565 mph), while Mario Andretti was third.
Tuesday May 5 Tuesday saw the fastest lap in Indy history to date. Mario Andretti blistered the track at an unofficial track record of . It made him the favorite for the pole position. The next fastest time, turned in by Bobby Rahal was a full slower. The second crash of the month occurred, involving Dennis Firestone. He spun and crashed in turn four, breaking bones in his left foot and fracturing his left leg, eventually this crash with a second crash would sideline him for the month, and end his driving career.
Wednesday May 6 Four crashes occurred during practice on Wednesday. Kevin Cogan drifted high exiting turn 1, and crashed into the outside wall. Later, Scott Brayton hit the wall in turn four. Derek Daly and Dick Ferguson both brushed the wall in the south short chutes, but both nursed their cars back to the pits. None of the four drivers were seriously injured. Mario Andretti continued his dominance of practice, leading the speed charts again, at . A surprising second-fastest was Jim Crawford, driving a Buick-powered 1986 March to a lap of . Cogan, Brayton, and Daly were all driving 1987 March chassis. By mid-week, teams fielding the 1987 March chassis were finding the cars difficult to handle with the new Goodyear radial tires. Coupled with the warmer temperatures, and often windy conditions, many teams were finding the search for speed difficult.
Thursday May 7
Breezy conditions continued on Thursday. The most serious crash of the month to date occurred less than an hour into the day. Danny Ongais, driving the third Penske entry, crashed hard into the outside wall in turn 4. He suffered a concussion and was sidelined for the rest of the month. The crash added to the frustration the Penske team was having so far during the month. While they were having little trouble with the Ilmor Chevrolet engine, the PC-16 chassis was deemed a lemon. Rick Mears and Danny Sullivan were struggling to keep pace, and were rarely amongst the top ten each day on the speed chart. Meanwhile, Mario Andretti continued to top the speed chart, again by , with a lap at . Rocky Moran upped the crash tally for the week to eight, when he crashed exiting turn 2.
Late in the afternoon of May 7, Penske Racing decided to park the PC-16 chassis in favor of their stable of 1986 Marches. However, none were presently at the track, nor immediately race ready. In some cases, they were serving as show cars. The first car would arrive the following morning, and Rick Mears and Danny Sullivan flipped a coin to see who would drive it. Mears won the toss.
"Fast" Friday May 8 The final day of practice before Pole Day was warm and windy. Mario Andretti led the speed chart once again (216.242 mph), but Bobby Rahal was a close second (215.568 mph). Four more crashes occurred, bringing the total for the month to twelve. Tom Sneva crashed exiting turn one. Dick Ferguson crashed for the second time, and suffered major damage. Gary Bettenhausen spun, and Phil Krueger suffered rear suspension damage after tagging the turn four wall.
Time trials – weekend 1
Pole day qualifying – Saturday May 9 During morning practice on Saturday May 9, Bobby Rahal led the speed chart at . Mario Andretti was second-fastest. Rick Mears, who only a day earlier stepped into a 1986 March, already had the car up to speed at . Stan Fox was involved in the 13th crash of the month, when he spun out of turn three and tapped the inside wall.
Hot, slick, and windy conditions were observed during pole day. Many teams who had struggled during the week with handling problems, sat idle on pole day, waiting for better track conditions. 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.