The 68th Indianapolis 500 was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana on Sunday May 27, 1984. Rick Mears, who previously won in 1979, won his second (of four) Indy 500 victories driving for Penske. Contenders Tom Sneva and Mario Andretti dropped out of the race in the second half. Sneva broke a CV joint, and Andretti tangled with another car during a pit stop, damaging his nosecone. That left Mears alone two laps ahead of the field, and he cruised to the victory. Mears set a new speed record for 500 miles (163.612 mph), breaking Mark Donohue's 1972 record. It is also tied for the largest margin of victory (two laps) since the "pack-up" rule was adopted in 1979. Three months after the race, Mears would suffer severe leg injuries in a practice crash at Sanair.

Three rookies finished in the top five: Roberto Guerrero (2nd), Al Holbert (4th), and Michael Andretti (5th). Guerrero and Andretti shared the rookie of the year award. The race is well-remembered for the terrible crash of sportswriter-turned-racer Pat Bedard, who tumbled through the infield in turn 4 on lap 58. Another rookie, two-time World Champion and future two-time Indy winner Emerson Fittipaldi made a quiet debut.

The race was sanctioned by USAC, and was included as part of the 1984 CART PPG Indy Car World Series. The 1984 race has the distinction of having the record for most entries (117), and the most cars to actually be seen in the garage (87). Defending race winner Tom Sneva, who broke the 200 mph barrier during time trials in 1977, headlined qualifying on pole day. Sneva made history once again, as he became the first driver to break the 210 mph barrier, en route to his third pole position. This Indy 500 was the last for 33 years that an active Formula One driver (in this case Teo Fabi), qualified for the field. Two-time World Champion Fernando Alonso would be the next, making his "500" debut in 2017.

Race schedule Race schedule — April/May 1984SunMonTueWedThuFriSat22 23 24 25 26 27ROP28ROP29ROP30  1  2  3  4  5Practice 6Practice 7Practice 8Practice 9Practice10Practice11Practice12Pole Day13Time Trials14Practice15Practice16Practice17Practice18Practice19Time Trials20Bump Day21 22 23 24Carb Day25Mini-Marathon26Parade27Indy 50028Memorial Day29 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

Time trials

During the offseason, defending "500" winner Tom Sneva notably parted ways with Bignotti-Cotter Racing after a dispute with the team. Sneva and sponsor Texaco eventually landed at Mayer Motor Racing, a new Indy car team formed by former McLaren colleagues Teddy Mayer and Tyler Alexander.

On May 11, Mario Andretti turned a lap of 212.414 mph during practice, the fastest lap ever run at the Speedway. Andretti established himself as a favorite for the pole. Gordon Johncock practiced at over 211 mph, and Tom Sneva was over 208 mph.

Pole Day – Saturday May 12 Pole Day was a historic day as Tom Sneva broke the track record with the first lap official over 210 mph at Indianapolis. Sneva was also the first driver to break the 200 mph barrier, which he accomplished during time trials in 1977.

Rick Mears was the first driver in the field, completing his run with an early track record of 207.847 mph. Rookie Michael Andretti was the next car out (207.805 mph), running surprisingly close to Mears. At 12:45 pm, Mario Andretti took to the track with high expectations. His first lap was completed at 209.687 mph, a new one-lap track record. His second and third laps dropped off, however. As he came out of turn four on the fourth and final lap, the car's engine quit. Andretti coasted across the finish line powerless to complete the run. The average speed sank to 207.467 mph. It would be good enough for row 2, but a disappointment compared to his practice speeds earlier in the week.

Shortly before 2 p.m., Tom Sneva took to the track, and electrified the crowd. His third lap was run at 210.423 mph, a new track record, and the first qualifying lap ever at Indy over 210 mph. His fourth lap was the fastest. His four-lap average speed of 210.029 mph was also a new record, and secured him the pole position. It was Sneva's third Indy pole, and fourth time as the overall fastest qualifier.

Lap 1 – 43.039 seconds, 209.113 mph Lap 2 – 42.878 seconds, 209.898 mph (new 1-lap track record) Lap 3 – 42.771 seconds, 210.423 mph (new 1-lap track record) Lap 4 – 42.717 seconds, 210.689 mph (new 1-lap track record) Total – 2:51.405, 210.029 mph (new 4-lap track record)

Later in the day, Howdy Holmes, the teammate of Sneva, squeezed onto the front row with a run of 207.977 mph. It put him in second starting position, and bumped Rick Mears to the outside of the front row. Rookie Michael Andretti out-qualified his father, and would line up in 4th position (Mario qualified 6th). A total of 28 cars qualified on pole day.

Second Day – Sunday May 13 Rain kept the track closed until nearly 1 p.m. Only three cars made attempts all afternoon, but none of them were run to completion. Johnny Rutherford went out for his second attempt in a Foyt entry, but never completed a lap due to mechanical problems.

During a practice run, John Paul Jr. wrecked in turn four, suffering leg injuries.

Third Day – Saturday May 19 The third day of time trials began with five spots remaining unfilled on the grid. Rain was in the forecast for Sunday, so several teams scrambled to get their cars prepared to qualify on Saturday. Bill Alsup was the first driver to make an attempt, but his crew waved off the run.

George Snider was the first driver to complete his run, putting in a safe speed of 201.860 mph in a Foyt backup car. Later, Steve Chassey wrecked on his qualifying attempt. He would sit out the rest of the month with a concussion.

At 1 p.m. the field was filled to 33 cars. Chris Kneifel (199.831 mph) was on the bubble, the slowest car in the field. Among the drivers still not in the field was three-time winner Johnny Rutherford. He was struggling to get his car up to speed, and exhausted his three allotted attempts in a Foyt Chevy V-6. The team bought a back-up car from Galles, and Rutherford immediately began shaking the car down. Rutherford was in danger of missing the race for the second year in a row. In 1983, Rutherford was sidelined with a broken foot and broken ankle suffered in a practice crash.

At 5:50 p.m., with only ten minutes left before the 6 o'clock gun, Johnny Rutherford took to the track for one last attempt to qualify. His first lap was an impressive 203.156 mph, but the car began smoking as he went through the turns. Rutherford decided to ride it out, and he was not black-flagged. His speed slipped over the final three laps, but his four-lap average of 202.062 mph was fast enough to bump his way into the field.

Spike Gehlhausen (200.478 mph) was now on the bubble. Gary Bettenhausen made a last-ditch effort to bump him out, but he waved off after only two laps.

Bump Day – Sunday May 20 As predicted, rain washed out the final day of time trials. Since the field had been filled to 33 cars a day earlier, the field was set, and there would be no further qualifying.

Carburetion Day The final practice was held Thursday May 24. All of the eligible cars took laps except for Johnny Rutherford. Rick Mears (208.719 mph) was the fastest driver of the day. No incidents were reported.

Jacques Villeneuve, who suffered a crash during practice while using his backup car on May 17, withdrew from the starting field after being ruled medically unfit to drive. The first alternate, Chris Kneifel was re-instated to the field to fill the vacancy. Kneifel became the last driver to start the Indianapolis 500 with a qualifying speed under 200 mph, and the first alternate starter since 1929.

Pit Stop Contest The eliminations rounds for the 8th annual Miller Pit Stop Contest were held on Thursday May 24. The top four race qualifiers and their respective pit crews were automatically eligible: Tom Sneva, Howdy Holmes, Rick Mears, and Michael Andretti. Four additional spots would be available, for a total of eight participants. Qualifying heats were scheduled for Thursday May 17 in order to fill the four at-large berths.

On May 17, seven teams took part in qualifying heats. The results were as follows: Al Holbert (14.250 seconds), Dick Simon (15.469 seconds), Teo Fabi (16.832 seconds), and Tom Gloy (19.423 seconds). Mario Andretti posted a time of 13.306 seconds, but was penalized 10 seconds for running over an air hose. Al Unser Jr. and Geoff Brabham also failed to advance.

The eliminations would consist of two rounds. The preliminary round would feature two teams at a time, racing head-to-head against the clock. The two fastest teams overall - regardless of the individual head-to-head results - would advance to the final round. The preliminary pairings were as follows: Sneva vs. Gloy, Holmes vs. Fabi, Mears vs. Simon, and Andretti vs. Holbert.

Rick Mears was issued a 3-second penalty for a loose nut, which dropped him from 2nd to 5th. Tom Gloy was disqualified for stalling his engine and crossing the finish line not under power. Andretti and Holmes registered the two fastest times during the preliminary round, and both advanced to the final round. Andretti and his KRACO Racing team won the finals, the first rookie driver to win the event.

+ Preliminary RoundRank CarNo. Driver Team Time(seconds)199 Michael Andretti KRACO Racing12.318241 Howdy Holmes Mayer Motor Racing13.093333 Teo Fabi Forsythe Racing13.786422 Dick Simon Dick Simon Racing14.29656 Rick Mears Penske Racing15.73761 Tom Sneva Mayer Motor Racing16.714777 Tom Gloy Galles RacingNo time821 Al Holbert Alex Morales MotorsportsWithdrew

Starting grid RowInsideMiddleOutside1 1 - Tom Sneva 41 - Howdy Holmes 6 - Rick Mears 2 99 - Michael Andretti 20 - Gordon Johncock 3 - Mario Andretti 3 9 - Roberto Guerrero 18 - Geoff Brabham 28 - Herm Johnson4 2 - Al Unser 25 - Danny Ongais 14 - A. J. Foyt 5 77 - Tom Gloy 33 - Teo Fabi 7 - Al Unser Jr.6 21 - Al Holbert 16 - Tony Bettenhausen Jr. 5 - Bobby Rahal7 35 - Patrick Bedard 22 - Dick Simon 10 - Pancho Carter8 40 - Chip Ganassi 47 - Emerson Fittipaldi 55 - Josele Garza9 57 - Spike Gehlhausen 37 - Scott Brayton 98 - Kevin Cogan10 30 - Danny Sullivan 61 - Derek Daly 84 - Johnny Rutherford 11 4 - George Snider 50 - Dennis Firestone 73 - Chris Kneifel

Qualified cars withdrawn Jacques Villeneuve (#76) – Withdrew qualified car due to practice crash on May 17

Alternates First alternate: Chris Kneifel (#73) - Bumped; Elevated to the starting field on May 24 Second alternate: none

Failed to qualify

Stan Fox (#24) – Too slow, waved off Gary Bettenhausen (#8, #60, #82) – Too slow, waved off Tom Bigelow (#75) – Car quit during qualifying attempt Pete Halsmer (#11) – Too slow, waved off Roger Mears (#55, #76) – Too slow, waved off Steve Chassey (#56, #65) – Wrecked during qualifying attempt Johnny Parsons (#34, #59) – Incomplete qualifying attempt Bill Alsup (#27) – Too slow, waved off Ed Pimm (#64) – Incomplete qualifying attempt Phil Caliva (#69) – Incomplete qualifying attempt Jim Crawford (#68, #78) – Too slow, waved off Mike Chandler (#88) – Practice crash, injured John Paul Jr. (#12) – Practice crash, injured Steve Krisiloff (#87) – Practice crash, injured Jerry Sneva (#66) – Practice crash, injured Larry Cannon (#81) – Practice crash Chuck Ciprich (#36) Dick Ferguson (#31, #51) Chet Fillip (#38) Bruno Giacomelli (#52) Jerry Karl (#59) Phil Krueger (#85) Desiré Wilson (#34) Al Loquasto (#86) – Withdrew; team sold car to GTS Racing for Emerson Fittipaldi

Race summary

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