2007 Indianapolis 500

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(Redirected from 91st Indianapolis 500)
Jump to navigation Jump to search

Template:Short description Script error: No such module "Unsubst".

Script error: No such module "Infobox". The 91st Indianapolis 500 was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana on Sunday May 27, 2007. It was the twelfth Indianapolis 500 sanctioned by the Indy Racing League and the fifth race of the 2007 IndyCar Series season. Hélio Castroneves started the race on the pole position. This would be the final Indy 500 held during the "Split" as the open wheel unification would take place in early 2008.

The race began at 1:11 p.m. EDT,[1] and was televised in the United States on the ABC. The race was broadcast in high-definition for the first time. The race also was carried live on the IMS Radio Network and XM Satellite Radio.

On lap 113, the race underwent a lengthy rain delay, with Tony Kanaan tentatively sitting as the leader. After three hours, the rain ceased, the track was dried, and the race restarted shortly before 6:15 p.m. EDT. A crash on lap 162 between Dan Wheldon and Marco Andretti brought out the yellow flag with Dario Franchitti leading. Under the caution, rain began falling again and officials halted the race on lap 166. Dario Franchitti was declared the winner after leading 34 laps during the race.

All entries utilized ethanol, after 42 years of utilizing methanol. As part of a two-year roll-out, the cars used a 10% ethanol blend in 2006, and for 2007, the cars utilized a full ethanol mixture. Although branded as "100% percent fuel-grade", the fuel was actually a denatured 98% ethanol/2% gasoline blend (E98). The 2007 race was also the final 500 to see the Panoz chassis in competition. Jim Nabors, who sang "Back Home Again in Indiana" during the pre-race festivities twenty-nine times from 1972 to 2006, missed the 2007 race due to an illness. The fans were asked to sing the song in his place.[2]

Race schedule

Race schedule — May 2007
Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat
    1
  		2
  		3
  		4
  		5
Mini-Marathon
6
ROP 		7
ROP 		8
Practice 		9
Practice 		10
Practice 		11
Practice 		12
Pole Day
13
Time Trials 		14
  		15
  		16
Practice 		17
Practice 		18
Practice 		19
Time Trials
20
Bump Day 		21
  		22
  		23
Comm. Day 		24
  		25
Carb Day 		26
Parade
27
Indy 500 		28
Memorial Day 		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 activity
was significantly limited due to rain

ROP — denotes Rookie Orientation Program

Comm. Day — denotes 500 Festival Community Day

Practice (week 1)

Unlike previous years, no testing took place prior to the start of official May activities.[3] Private testing was banned for 2007, and no official open test was held. Dreyer & Reinbold Racing was fined $25,000 for the use of an illegal fuel mixture, containing 27% methanol (no methanol is allowed) in one of its cars during pole day. Team officials claimed this was due to an inexperienced crew member using an old container of fuel and was not intentional. Indy Racing League chief administrator Brian Barnhart called this "at least plausible," noting that the presence of water in the fuel mixture supports the claim that the fuel was old. The illegal mixture was used only during practice, not for a qualification attempt.[4] From 1974 to 2005, only methanol fuel was used in the Indianapolis 500; and from 1965 to 1973, the rules were crafted in such a way to encourage the use of methanol in order to be competitive. In 2006, a 10% ethanol-90% methanol mixture had been used in the IRL in transition to the ethanol fuel used in the IRL for the 2007 season.

The initial official entry list was released on April 10, 2007, featuring 69 cars, four former winners, and one rookie.[5]

Sunday May 6, 2007 - A. J. Foyt Opening Day & Rookie Orientation Program

  • Weather: Sunny, Script error: No such module "convert".
  • Practice summary: The first day of practice opened with a ceremonial lap celebrating A. J. Foyt's fiftieth year of participation at Indianapolis. Practice focused on the rookie tests of Milka Duno and Phil Giebler, as well as refresher tests by five veterans. Duno completed all four phases of her rookie test, and Giebler completed two. Michael Andretti posted the fastest speed of the day, while popular Davey Hamilton made his return to the cockpit, after a devastating 2001 crash at Texas. No incidents were reported.
May 6, 2007 - Top Practice Speeds[6]
Rank Car
No.		 Driver Team Best
Speed
1 39 Template:Flagicon Michael Andretti Andretti Green 219.871
2 12 Template:Flagicon Ryan Briscoe Luczo-Dragon Racing 218.216
3 02 Template:Flagicon Davey Hamilton Vision Racing 218.022
4 21 Template:Flagicon Jaques Lazier Playa Del Racing 216.467
5 23 Template:Flagicon Milka Duno <templatestyles src="Legend/styles.css" /> R  SAMAX Motorsports 214.128

Monday May 7, 2007 - Rookie Orientation Program

  • Weather: Sunny, Script error: No such module "convert".
  • Practice summary: The second day of Rookie Orientation saw the same seven drivers from the previous day's practice without incident. Rookie Phil Giebler finished the final two phases of his rookie test. Rookie Milka Duno completed the most practice laps of the day (74), while Michael Andretti posted the fastest speed for the second day in a row.
May 7, 2007 - Top Practice Speeds[7]
Rank Car
No.		 Driver Team Best
Speed
1 39 Template:Flagicon Michael Andretti Andretti Green 221.579
2 12 Template:Flagicon Ryan Briscoe Luczo-Dragon Racing 221.427
3 02 Template:Flagicon Davey Hamilton Vision Racing 220.214
4 21 Template:Flagicon Phil Giebler <templatestyles src="Legend/styles.css" /> R  Playa Del Racing 217.091
5 19 Template:Flagicon Jon Herb Racing Professionals 216.763

Tuesday May 8, 2007 - IndyCar Series practice

  • Weather: Sunny, Script error: No such module "convert".
  • Practice summary: The first full day of practice featured veterans on the track for the first time. Dan Wheldon led the speed chart as the first driver over Script error: No such module "convert".. Jon Herb was involved in the first crash of the month, doing a half-spin at the exit of turn two and crashing into the outside wall. Herb was not injured.
May 8, 2007 - Top Practice Speeds[8]
Rank Car
No.		 Driver Team Best
Speed
1 10 Template:Flagicon Dan Wheldon Target Chip Ganassi 225.074
2 3 Template:Flagicon Hélio Castroneves Team Penske 224.996
3 2 Template:Flagicon Tomas Scheckter Vision Racing 224.783
4 11 Template:Flagicon Tony Kanaan Andretti Green 224.622
5 9 Template:Flagicon Scott Dixon Target Chip Ganassi 224.564

Wednesday May 9, 2007 - IndyCar Series practice

  • Weather: Morning rain, afternoon clouds, Script error: No such module "convert".
  • Practice summary: Rain in the morning and early afternoon delayed the start of practice until 4:00 p.m. The two-hours session saw heavy action, with Dan Wheldon leading the speed chart for the second day in a row. No incidents were reported.
May 9, 2007 - Top Practice Speeds[9]
Rank Car
No.		 Driver Team Best
Speed
1 10 Template:Flagicon Dan Wheldon Target Chip Ganassi 226.391
2 3 Template:Flagicon Hélio Castroneves Team Penske 225.820
3 9 Template:Flagicon Scott Dixon Target Chip Ganassi 224.902
4 26 Template:Flagicon Marco Andretti Andretti Green 224.745
5 11 Template:Flagicon Tony Kanaan Andretti Green 224.112

Thursday May 10, 2007 - IndyCar Series practice

  • Weather: Partly cloudy, Script error: No such module "convert".
  • Practice summary: The warmest day of the week thus far saw some of the fastest laps turned so far for the month. Scott Dixon set fast lap with two minutes remaining in the session. Danica Patrick was second fastest for the day. No incidents were reported
May 10, 2007 - Top Practice Speeds[10]
Rank Car
No.		 Driver Team Best
Speed
1 9 Template:Flagicon Scott Dixon Target Chip Ganassi 226.473
2 7 Template:Flagicon Danica Patrick Andretti Green 226.358
3 10 Template:Flagicon Dan Wheldon Target Chip Ganassi 224.902
4 2 Template:Flagicon Tomas Scheckter Vision Racing 226.161
5 12 Template:Flagicon Ryan Briscoe Luczo-Dragon Racing 225.995

Friday May 11, 2007 - "Fast" Friday IndyCar Series practice

  • Weather: Partly cloudy, Script error: No such module "convert".
  • Practice summary: The final day of practice before pole qualifying saw Scott Dixon turn the fastest lap of the month. Rookie Milka Duno crashed in the exit of turn 1. She spun and hit the SAFER barrier hard with the rear of the car, but she was not injured.
May 11, 2007 - Top Practice Speeds[11]
Rank Car
No.		 Driver Team Best
Speed
1 9 Template:Flagicon Scott Dixon Target Chip Ganassi 227.167
2 10 Template:Flagicon Dan Wheldon Target Chip Ganassi 226.650
3 11 Template:Flagicon Tony Kanaan Andretti Green 226.236
4 26 Template:Flagicon Marco Andretti Andretti Green 226.230
5 27 Template:Flagicon Dario Franchitti Andretti Green 226.189

Qualifying (first weekend)

File:Castroneves Pole 20070512.jpg
Hélio Castroneves makes his pole-winning qualification run.

Saturday May 12, 2007 - AAMCO Pole Day

  • Weather: Sunny, high Script error: No such module "convert".
  • Qualifying summary: Pole day time trials were held under a new qualifying procedure, implemented in 2005, but not fully utilized in 2005 or 2006 due to rain delays. Only the top 11 cars would qualify on pole day, and the remaining would be "bumped" out. Each qualifying run consisted of four laps, and each car was allowed three attempts per day. Buddy Rice was the first out to qualify, but his speed ultimately did not make the top 11. During the first trip through the qualifying order, Team Penske pulled both Hélio Castroneves and Sam Hornish Jr. out of line, and decided to attempt to qualify later in the day, when the temperatures would be cooler. After the initial qualifying runs, Dario Franchitti qualified for the provisional pole position. Later in the afternoon, both Castroneves and Hornish completed qualifying runs, but neither were unable to knock Franchitti off the pole. Hornish's first attempt would have been fast enough to take the pole, but he nearly hit the outside wall in the southchute on his second lap. Even with this error, however, Hornish's run was only 0.0327 seconds slower than Franchitti's. Almost immediately, Hornish withdrew and tried a second attempt, and again nearly took the pole, but on his final lap, his car bobbled in the north chute, and his second attempt was slower than his first. This would cost him a spot on the starting grid when Scott Dixon later withdrew his qualifying run and made another attempt, this one faster than Hornish's second attempt. With eight minutes left in qualifying, Castroneves' car was withdrawn, and he made a second attempt. After nearly four hours, Franchitti was finally knocked off the pole position. With only three minutes left, Tony Kanaan withdrew his first attempt, made the final qualifying run of the day. While his first three laps were fast enough to take the pole away from Castroneves, his last lap fell short and qualified second. This was Hélio Castroneves' second Indy 500 pole position. He also won the pole in 2003.

<templatestyles src="Col-begin/styles.css"/>

Sunday May 13, 2007 - Second Day Qualifying

  • Weather: Fair skies, high Script error: No such module "convert".
  • Qualifying summary: The second day of time trials filled positions 12–22 on the starting grid. The first hour saw heavy action, featuring strong runs from IndyCar Series regulars such as Scott Sharp (the first to qualify, and his 223.875 speed would hold up as the fastest of the day), Jeff Simmons and Darren Manning. Fan favorite Davey Hamilton also qualified with a solid speed. Later in the afternoon, Sarah Fisher became the second woman to qualify for the field. Bumping began with Marty Roth, Buddy Lazier and Jon Herb all being bumped. Herb went out later, and bumped himself back into the field, only to be bumped out a second time by Lazier. As time was running out, Jaques Lazier took to the track to try to bump himself into the top 22, and effectively bump his brother Buddy out. He was too slow and waved off the run. At the end of the day, two-time Indy 500 winner Al Unser Jr. was the most notable driver bumped for the day, and had to attempt to qualify on the second weekend.

<templatestyles src="Col-begin/styles.css"/>

Practice (week 2)

Wednesday May 16, 2007 - IndyCar Series practice

  • Weather: Mostly cloudy early, clearing late, high Script error: No such module "convert"., Script error: No such module "convert". WNW winds
  • Practice summary: The first day of practice for second-week deals. Only incident was a spin of Jimmy Kite's car when the gearbox casing of his PDM Racing Panoz cracked in turn 2, causing the left-rear suspension to fail. The car made moderate wall contact with the left-front corner and Kite was cleared to drive. Several teams that qualified during the first weekend tested race set ups and ran in packs, including Danica Patrick who set the fastest lap of the day. Jaques Lazier (Script error: No such module "convert".) had the fastest lap among drivers who are not yet in the field.
May 16, 2007 - Top Practice Speeds[14]
Rank Car
No.		 Driver Team Best
Speed
1 7 Template:Flagicon Danica Patrick Andretti Green 221.189
2 9 Template:Flagicon Scott Dixon Target Chip Ganassi 220.556
3 6 Template:Flagicon Sam Hornish Jr. Team Penske 220.484
4 26 Template:Flagicon Marco Andretti Andretti Green 220.399
5 27 Template:Flagicon Dario Franchitti Andretti Green 220.131

Thursday May 17, 2007 - IndyCar Series practice

  • Weather: Mostly cloudy early, clearing late, high Script error: No such module "convert"., Script error: No such module "convert". North winds
  • Practice summary: The second straight day of cold and windy weather resulted in fewer than 800 total laps being turned among 23 drivers. The only incident of the day resulted when Stephan Gregoire lost control on the exit of turn 1 and backed the car into the wall in the south short chute. Only light damage was sustained to the car, but Gregoire complained of back pain and was transported to Methodist Hospital where he was diagnosed with a fracture of the third vertebra endplate and was ruled out for the rest of the month. John Andretti made his first appearance in an IndyCar since 1994 and completed his refresher test. Scott Dixon turned the fastest lap of the day while drafting with teammate Dan Wheldon. Gregoire (Script error: No such module "convert".) turned the fastest lap among drivers yet to qualify before his encounter with the wall.
May 17, 2007 - Top Practice Speeds[15]
Rank Car
No.		 Driver Team Best
Speed
1 9 Template:Flagicon Scott Dixon Target Chip Ganassi 219.985
2 10 Template:Flagicon Dan Wheldon Target Chip Ganassi 219.773
3 14 Template:Flagicon Darren Manning A. J. Foyt Racing 219.116
4 2 Template:Flagicon Tomas Scheckter Vision Racing 218.230
5 20 Template:Flagicon Ed Carpenter Vision Racing 217.995

Friday May 18, 2007 - IndyCar Series practice

  • Weather: Sunny, high Script error: No such module "convert".
  • Practice summary: The final full day of practice went incident free as 31 cars took to the track. All the front runners were running in packs, learning how their cars performed in "dirty air." Sam Hornish Jr. turned the fastest lap of the day during such a session. The non-qualified cars of John Andretti and Roger Yasukawa both turned laps over Script error: No such module "convert". without drafting assistance as their teams trimmed their cars out to prepare for qualifying. Friday marked the last day of full practice; however, all cars will be permitted to practice on Saturday and Sunday during down periods when no cars are presenting to qualify.
May 18, 2007 - Top Practice Speeds[16]
Rank Car
No.		 Driver Team Best
Speed
1 6 Template:Flagicon Sam Hornish Jr. Team Penske 225.006
2 9 Template:Flagicon Scott Dixon Target Chip Ganassi 224.458
3 11 Template:Flagicon Tony Kanaan Andretti Green 224.340
4 27 Template:Flagicon Dario Franchitti Andretti Green 224.253
5 26 Template:Flagicon Marco Andretti Andretti Green 223.668

Qualifying (second weekend)

Saturday May 19, 2007 - Third Day Qualifying

  • Weather: Script error: No such module "convert"., sunny and fair skies
  • Qualifying summary: The third day of time trials focused on positions 23–33. Rookie Milka Duno was the first car to make an attempt, and she became the third female (along with Danica Patrick and Sarah Fisher) to qualify for the same race, an Indy 500 record, becoming the fifth female in Indy 500 history to start the race. Veterans Al Unser Jr. and John Andretti qualified solidly, while second-week drivers Roger Yasukawa and Alex Barron also completed runs. In the final hour, Jon Herb finally made the field, after being bumped the weekend before, but rookie Phil Giebler crashed on his fourth and final lap. Veteran Roberto Moreno, just named to replace Gregoire on Friday, along with Jimmy Kite, wrapped up the qualifying for the day. At the end of the day, the field stood with 32 qualified cars, one short of a full field. During the morning and afternoon, 32 cars made practice runs, most in preparations for race day. Since only 10 of the 11 allotted positions were filled, no bumping occurred Saturday.

<templatestyles src="Col-begin/styles.css"/>

Sunday May 20, 2007 - Bump Day Qualifying

File:MichaelAndretti2007Indy500Practice.jpg
Michael Andretti practicing for the 2007 Indianapolis 500 on May 20
  • Weather: Sunny and warm
  • Qualifying summary: The field filled to 33 cars just before 3 p.m. as Richie Hearn completed a qualifying attempt. Phil Giebler recovered from his crash the previous day and was able to put his car solidly in the field, bumping Jimmy Kite. Roberto Moreno withdrew his time from the previous day and improved his average by about Script error: No such module "convert"., putting Marty Roth on the bubble. P. J. Jones and Jimmy Kite spent the afternoon trying to get their cars up to speed. In the final hour, both Jones and Kite were running out of miles on their Honda engines leases, and neither had made much progress. Ultimately, Jones gave up. Meanwhile, Kite decided to go out and make last ditch qualifying effort, but his speed was not nearly fast enough to bump Roth. The 6 p.m. gun sounded, and Roth held on to qualify for his third Indy 500.

<templatestyles src="Col-begin/styles.css"/>

Carb Day

Friday May 25, 2007 - IndyCar Series final practice

  • Weather: cloudy, humid, Script error: No such module "convert".
  • Practice summary: All 33 qualified cars took to the track and turned in a complete hour-long final practice without incident. Later that day at 3:30 the Miller Lite Concert started with headline act Kid Rock.
May 25, 2007 - Top Practice Speeds
Rank Car
No.		 Driver Team Best
Speed
1 11 Template:Flagicon Tony Kanaan Andretti Green 225.467
2 27 Template:Flagicon Dario Franchitti Andretti Green 223.807
3 39 Template:Flagicon Michael Andretti Andretti Green 223.575
4 3 Template:Flagicon Hélio Castroneves Team Penske 223.527
5 21 Template:Flagicon Jaques Lazier Playa Del Racing 223.468

Pit Stop Challenge

Team Penske won the 31st annual Checkers/Rally's Pit Stop Challenge, their record tenth overall victory in the event. The teams of Hélio Castroneves and Sam Hornish Jr. (both Penske entries) met in the finals with Castroneves and his chief mechanic Rick Rinaman winning the $100,000 first prize after an 8.335-second pit stop.

Script error: No such module "Team bracket".

Qualifying chronology

Pole Day - Saturday, May 12, 2007[19][20]
Attempt Time Day Car
No.		 Driver Laps Total
Time		 Speed
(mph)		 Result Position Rank
1 12:03 1 15 Template:Flagicon Buddy Rice 4 2:42.3336 221.766 Qualified; bumped by Michael Andretti — —
2 12:08 1 9 Template:Flagicon Scott Dixon 4 2:40.4630 224.351 Qualified; withdrawn — —
3 12:12 1 12 Template:Flagicon Ryan Briscoe 4 2:40.4208 224.410 Qualified 7 7
4 12:18 1 8 Template:Flagicon Scott Sharp 4 2:41.7994 222.498 Qualified; bumped by Marco Andretti — —
5 12:21 1 10 Template:Flagicon Dan Wheldon 4 2:40.9401 223.686 Qualified; withdrawn — —
6 12:27 1 20 Template:Flagicon Ed Carpenter 4 2:41.6630 222.685 Qualified; bumped by Castroneves — —
7 12:31 1 22 Template:Flagicon A. J. Foyt IV 4 2:42.5527 221.467 Qualified; bumped by Scheckter — —
8 12:36 1 55 Template:Flagicon Kosuke Matsuura 4 2:42.2603 221.866 Qualified; bumped by Simmons — —
9 12:40 1 7 Template:Flagicon Danica Patrick 4 2:40.6596 224.076 Qualified 8 8
10 12:45 1 4 Template:Flagicon Vítor Meira 2 1:21.4705 220.939 Waved off — —
11 12:48 1 11 Template:Flagicon Tony Kanaan 4 2:40.2719 224.618 Qualified; withdrawn — —
12 12:53 1 27 Template:Flagicon Dario Franchitti 4 2:39.8642 225.191 Qualified 3 3
13 12:58 1 2 Template:Flagicon Tomas Scheckter 4 2:41.5238 222.877 Qualified, bumping Foyt IV 10 14
14 1:03 1 39 Template:Flagicon Michael Andretti 4 2:41.5880 222.789 Qualified, bumping Rice 11 16
15 1:07 1 17 Template:Flagicon Jeff Simmons 4 2:41.6617 222.687 Qualified, bumping Matsuura; bumped by Hornish — —
16 1:11 1 26 Template:Flagicon Marco Andretti 4 2:41.2186 223.299 Qualified, bumping Sharp 9 13
17 4:12 1 3 Template:Flagicon Hélio Castroneves 4 2:40.0088 224.988 Qualified, bumping Carpenter; withdrawn — —
18 4:36 1 6 Template:Flagicon Sam Hornish Jr. 4 2:39.8969 225.145 Qualified, bumping Simmons; withdrawn — —
19 4:51 1 6 Template:Flagicon Sam Hornish Jr. 4 2:39.9227 225.109 Qualified 5 5
20 5:23 1 9 Template:Flagicon Scott Dixon 4 2:39.9136 225.122 Qualified 4 4
21 5:28 1 8 Template:Flagicon Scott Sharp 4 2:41.6209 222.743 Failed to qualify — —
22 5:33 1 17 Template:Flagicon Jeff Simmons 4 2:41.8433 222.437 Failed to qualify — —
23 5:38 1 10 Template:Flagicon Dan Wheldon 4 2:40.2557 224.641 Qualified 6 6
24 5:42 1 20 Template:Flagicon Ed Carpenter 4 2:41.6871 222.652 Failed to qualify — —
25 5:48 1 14 Template:Flagicon Darren Manning 4 2:41.6844 222.656 Failed to qualify — —
26 5:52 1 3 Template:Flagicon Hélio Castroneves 4 2:39.4214 225.817 Qualified 1 1
27 5:57 1 11 Template:Flagicon Tony Kanaan 4 2:39.4634 225.757 Qualified 2 2
Sunday May 13, 2007[20][21]
Attempt Time Day Car
No.		 Driver Laps Total
Time		 Speed
(mph)		 Result Position Rank
28 12:02 2 8 Template:Flagicon Scott Sharp 4 2:40.8041 223.875 Qualified 12 9
29 12:07 2 55 Template:Flagicon Kosuke Matsuura 4 2:41.7290 222.595 Qualified 17 18
30 12:11 2 99 Template:Flagicon Buddy Lazier 4 2:43.3010 220.452 Qualified; bumped by Rice — —
31 12:16 2 17 Template:Flagicon Jeff Simmons 4 2:40.9352 223.693 Qualified 13 10
32 12:20 2 25 Template:Flagicon Marty Roth 4 2:43.7193 219.889 Qualified; bumped by Foyt IV — —
33 12:25 2 14 Template:Flagicon Darren Manning 4 2:41.0950 223.471 Qualified 15 12
34 12:30 2 50 Template:Flagicon Al Unser Jr. 4 2:42.9233 220.963 Qualified; bumped by Herb — —
35 12:35 2 19 Template:Flagicon Jon Herb 4 2:43.7065 219.906 Qualified; bumped by Fisher — —
36 12:39 2 02 Template:Flagicon Davey Hamilton 4 2:41.9238 222.327 Qualified 20 21
37 1:09 2 4 Template:Flagicon Vítor Meira 4 2:41.9196 222.333 Qualified 19 20
38 1:45 2 20 Template:Flagicon Ed Carpenter 4 2:41.0777 223.495 Qualified 14 11
39 2:24 2 22 Template:Flagicon A. J. Foyt IV 4 2:41.8607 222.413 Qualified, bumping Roth 18 19
40 3:26 2 5 Template:Flagicon Sarah Fisher 4 2:42.1914 221.960 Qualified, bumping Herb 21 22
41 3:34 2 15 Template:Flagicon Buddy Rice 4 2:41.5612 222.826 Qualified, bumping B. Lazier 16 15
42 5:29 2 19 Template:Flagicon Jon Herb 4 2:42.8440 221.070 Qualified, bumping Unser Jr.; bumped by B. Lazier — —
43 5:53 2 99 Template:Flagicon Buddy Lazier 4 2:42.6165 221.380 Qualified, bumping Herb 22 24
44 5:58 2 21 Template:Flagicon Jaques Lazier 1 0:40.8700 220.210 Waved off — —
Saturday May 19, 2007[20][22]
Attempt Time Day Car
No.		 Driver Laps Total
Time		 Speed
(mph)		 Result Position Rank
45 12:03 3 23 Template:Flagicon Milka Duno 4 2:44.2129 219.228 Qualified 29 32
46 12:07 3 24 Template:Flagicon Roger Yasukawa 4 2:41.6855 222.654 Qualified 23 17
47 12:12 3 19 Template:Flagicon Jon Herb 3 2:02.5974 220.233 Waved off — —
48 12:25 3 25 Template:Flagicon Marty Roth 4 2:44.4421 218.922 Qualified 30 33
49 12:59 3 33 Template:Flagicon John Andretti 4 2:42.3403 221.756 Qualified 24 23
50 2:20 3 50 Template:Flagicon Al Unser Jr. 4 2:42.9871 220.876 Qualified 25 25
51 5:14 3 98 Template:Flagicon Alex Barron 4 2:43.2871 220.471 Qualified 26 26
52 5:18 3 21 Template:Flagicon Jaques Lazier 4 2:44.0774 219.409 Qualified 28 31
53 5:23 3 19 Template:Flagicon Jon Herb 4 2:43.5561 220.108 Qualified 27 28
54 5:27 3 31 Template:Flagicon Phil Giebler 3 2:01.9724 221.362 Crashed in turn 2 on 4th lap — —
55 5:44 3 77 Template:Flagicon Roberto Moreno 4 2:46.4902 216.229 Qualified; withdrawn on bump day — —
56 5:54 3 18 Template:Flagicon Jimmy Kite 4 2:47.8104 214.528 Qualified; bumped by Giebler on bump day — —
Bump Day - Sunday May 20, 2007[20][23][24]
Attempt Time Day Car
No.		 Driver Laps Total
Time		 Speed
(mph)		 Result Position Rank
57 2:39 4 91 Template:Flagicon Richie Hearn 4 2:43.7408 219.860 Qualified 32 29
58 3:52 4 31 Template:Flagicon Phil Giebler 4 2:43.9071 219.637 Qualified, bumping Kite 33 30
59 5:01 4 77 Template:Flagicon Roberto Moreno 4 2:43.4139 220.299 Qualified 31 27
60 5:57 4 18 Template:Flagicon Jimmy Kite 1 0:41.9103 214.744 Waved off — —

Starting grid

Row Inside Middle Outside
1 3 Template:Flagicon Hélio Castroneves <templatestyles src="Legend/styles.css" /> W  11 Template:Flagicon Tony Kanaan 27 Template:Flagicon Dario Franchitti
2 9 Template:Flagicon Scott Dixon 6 Template:Flagicon Sam Hornish Jr. <templatestyles src="Legend/styles.css" /> W  10 Template:Flagicon Dan Wheldon <templatestyles src="Legend/styles.css" /> W 
3 12 Template:Flagicon Ryan Briscoe 7 Template:Flagicon Danica Patrick 26 Template:Flagicon Marco Andretti
4 2 Template:Flagicon Tomas Scheckter 39 Template:Flagicon Michael Andretti 8 Template:Flagicon Scott Sharp
5 17 Template:Flagicon Jeff Simmons 20 Template:Flagicon Ed Carpenter 14 Template:Flagicon Darren Manning
6 15 Template:Flagicon Buddy Rice <templatestyles src="Legend/styles.css" /> W  55 Template:Flagicon Kosuke Matsuura 22 Template:Flagicon A. J. Foyt IV
7 4 Template:Flagicon Vítor Meira 02 Template:Flagicon Davey Hamilton 5 Template:Flagicon Sarah Fisher
8 99 Template:Flagicon Buddy Lazier <templatestyles src="Legend/styles.css" /> W  24 Template:Flagicon Roger Yasukawa 33 Template:Flagicon John Andretti
9 50 Template:Flagicon Al Unser Jr. <templatestyles src="Legend/styles.css" /> W  98 Template:Flagicon Alex Barron 19 Template:Flagicon Jon Herb
10 21 Template:Flagicon Jaques Lazier 23 Template:Flagicon Milka Duno <templatestyles src="Legend/styles.css" /> R  25 Template:Flagicon Marty Roth
11 77 Template:Flagicon Roberto Moreno 91 Template:Flagicon Richie Hearn 31 Template:Flagicon Phil Giebler <templatestyles src="Legend/styles.css" /> R 

<templatestyles src="Legend/styles.css" /> W  = Former Indianapolis 500 winner; <templatestyles src="Legend/styles.css" /> R  = Indianapolis 500 rookie

Failed to Qualify

No. Driver Team Reason
18 Template:Flagicon Jimmy Kite PDM Racing Bumped, too slow
40 Template:Flagicon P. J. Jones Team Leader Motorsports Too slow
77 Template:Flagicon Stéphan Grégoire Chastain Motorsports Injured in practice crash

Race summary

File:Bloomington gold 2007 04.jpg
The pace car, a 2007 Chevrolet Camaro
File:2007 Indianapolis 500 - Starting field formation before start.jpg
The field in formation entering Turn 4 en route to the green flag
File:2007 500 Rain.jpg
Emergency crews attempting to dry the track during the red flag
File:2007 Indianapolis 500 - Final restart.jpg
Dario Franchitti leads the field back to the final restart on Lap 162
File:2007 Indianapolis 500 - Marco Andretti's car after a crash (149).jpg
Marco Andretti's beaten car being towed after his wreck
File:2007 500 Franchitti Kanaan.JPG
Race winner Dario Franchitti celebrating with teammate Tony Kanaan in the rain

Pre-race

  • Weather: Script error: No such module "convert"., cloudy and rain, some patches of sunshine in the afternoon

Rain fell overnight, but stopped before the gates opened in the morning. At 7:45 a.m., rain began to fall again, and threatened to delay or wash out the race. Around 10:00 a.m., the rain stopped and maintenance crews began to dry the track. Despite the morning showers, Speedway chairperson Mari Hulman George gave the command to start engines on time as scheduled at 1:05 p.m. EDT.

Start

During the pace lap, the race nearly took a dramatic turn as pole-sitter Hélio Castroneves failed to start. After several attempts, his car finally fired, and he joined the field in turn 4. A rather ragged start saw Castroneves take the lead into the first turn, but Tony Kanaan slipped by to lead lap one. Green-flag racing continued until lap 11, when John Andretti lost a rear-view mirror, bringing out a debris caution yellow flag.

When racing resumed, Castroneves, Tony Kanaan, Marco Andretti, and Scott Dixon all took their turn at the lead. Roberto Moreno caused the 2nd caution when he slid high in turn 1, slapped the wall, and hit the wall again in turn 2 before coming to rest. Jon Herb was the next car to be in an accident after he slid in turn 2 and hit the wall, ending his day. Milka Duno also spun in turn 1 and backed her car into the wall, damaging and ending her day as well.

On the 74th lap, Dario Franchitti took the lead for the first time, and led until he pit on the 89th lap. Around that time, officials were warning that rain was approaching the area. After several drivers sequenced through green-flag pit stops, Tony Kanaan led Marco Andretti. Suddenly, on the 99th lap, John Andretti got high in turn two, and crashed into the outside wall, bringing out the caution. Jeff Simmons found himself unexpectedly in the lead, but pitted a lap later, giving Marco Andretti the lead. With rain only a few miles away, the ensuing lap 107 restart could decide the winner. As the green came out, Tony Kanaan got the jump on Andretti, and took the lead in turn 1. Moments later, Phil Giebler spun and crashed in turn 1, bringing the yellow out once again. Before safety crews could clear the track, heavy rain fell, and the race was red flagged.

Red flag

When the race was stopped, 113 laps were completed. A race is required to go a minimum of 101 laps before it can be official. If rain continued the rest of the afternoon, it could be declared official. Andretti Green Racing was scored 1st-2nd-3rd with Kanaan leading, Marco Andretti second, and Danica Patrick third. After nearly three hours, the rain stopped and the track was dry. Shortly after 6:00 p.m., the field lined up in the pits for a restart.

Restart

Tony Kanaan took over where he left off and pulled away from the field. Danica Patrick got by Marco Andretti and took over second place. Approximately 30 laps of uninterrupted intense green flag racing followed. Another sequence of green-flag pit stops saw all of the leaders head to the pits. Jaques Lazier stayed out a couple of extra laps, and led the race for the first time in his career. After the stops, Kanaan returned to the lead, followed by defending champion Sam Hornish Jr.

Finish

On the 151st lap, Marty Roth slid high in turn 1 and smacked the wall, and started an exciting sequence of events. The skies were darkening, and rain was fast approaching again, which would certainly end the race for good. Under the yellow, many leaders pit for tires and fuel, while some drivers, including Dario Franchitti and Scott Dixon, stayed out to gain track position. On the 156th lap, the field went back to green, however, in turn four, Tony Kanaan came up on the back of Jaques Lazier, sending Lazier into the wall, and sending Kanaan's car into a spin. He blew a tire and coasted into the pits. Moments later, the field assembled for what was expected to be the final restart before the rains came. Franchitti, working lap 163, held the lead into the backstretch. Behind him, Marco Andretti tangled with Dan Wheldon, and Andretti's car flipped down the backstretch. Buddy Rice was also involved. Before the track could be cleared, a heavy rainstorm fell on the track, and the race was called after 166 laps with Dario Franchitti declared the winner. As was the case in 2004, victory lane celebrations were cancelled. Franchitti drove his car inside the Master Control Tower ("Pagoda") for victory ceremonies in an indoor setting, which is now established as the standard procedure in inclement weather.

As of the 2024 race, this was the most recent "500" to be shortened by rain.

Box score

Finish Start Car
No. 		Driver Team Chassis Engine Laps Status Points
1 3 27 Template:Flagicon Dario Franchitti Andretti Green Racing Dallara Honda 166 2:44:03.5608 50
2 4 9 Template:Flagicon Scott Dixon Chip Ganassi Racing Dallara Honda 166 +0.3610 40
3 1 3 Template:Flagicon Hélio Castroneves <templatestyles src="Legend/styles.css" /> W  Team Penske Dallara Honda 166 +1.8485 35
4 5 6 Template:Flagicon Sam Hornish Jr. <templatestyles src="Legend/styles.css" /> W  Team Penske Dallara Honda 166 +4.6324 32
5 7 12 Template:Flagicon Ryan Briscoe Luczo-Dragon Racing Dallara Honda 166 +5.2109 30
6 12 8 Template:Flagicon Scott Sharp Rahal Letterman Racing Dallara Honda 166 +9.3470 28
7 10 2 Template:Flagicon Tomas Scheckter Vision Racing Dallara Honda 166 +11.3823 26
8 8 7 Template:Flagicon Danica Patrick Andretti Green Racing Dallara Honda 166 +12.1789 24
9 20 02 Template:Flagicon Davey Hamilton Vision Racing Dallara Honda 166 +15.4116 22
10 19 4 Template:Flagicon Vítor Meira Panther Racing Dallara Honda 166 +17.6991 20
11 13 17 Template:Flagicon Jeff Simmons Rahal Letterman Racing Dallara Honda 166 +19.7119 19
12 2 11 Template:Flagicon Tony Kanaan Andretti Green Racing Dallara Honda 166 +21.4339 18+3
13 11 39 Template:Flagicon Michael Andretti Andretti Green Racing Dallara Honda 166 +35.1235 17
14 18 22 Template:Flagicon A. J. Foyt IV Vision Racing Dallara Honda 165 -1 Lap 16
15 26 98 Template:Flagicon Alex Barron CURB/Agajanian/Beck Motorsports Dallara Honda 165 -1 Lap 15
16 17 55 Template:Flagicon Kosuke Matsuura Panther Racing Dallara Honda 165 -1 Lap 14
17 14 20 Template:Flagicon Ed Carpenter Vision Racing Dallara Honda 164 -1 Lap 13
18 21 5 Template:Flagicon Sarah Fisher Dreyer & Reinbold Racing Dallara Honda 164 -2 Laps 12
19 22 99 Template:Flagicon Buddy Lazier <templatestyles src="Legend/styles.css" /> W  Sam Schmidt Motorsports Dallara Honda 164 -2 Laps 12
20 15 14 Template:Flagicon Darren Manning A. J. Foyt Racing Dallara Honda 164 -2 Laps 12
21 23 24 Template:Flagicon Roger Yasukawa Dreyer & Reinbold Racing Dallara Honda 164 -2 Laps 12
22 6 10 Template:Flagicon Dan Wheldon <templatestyles src="Legend/styles.css" /> W  Chip Ganassi Racing Dallara Honda 163 Crash 12
23 32 91 Template:Flagicon Richie Hearn Hemelgarn Racing/Racing Professionals Dallara Honda 163 -3 Laps 12
24 9 26 Template:Flagicon Marco Andretti Andretti Green Racing Dallara Honda 162 Crash 12
25 16 15 Template:Flagicon Buddy Rice <templatestyles src="Legend/styles.css" /> W  Dreyer & Reinbold Racing Dallara Honda 162 Crash 10
26 25 50 Template:Flagicon Al Unser Jr. <templatestyles src="Legend/styles.css" /> W  A. J. Foyt Racing Dallara Honda 161 -5 Laps 10
27 28 21 Template:Flagicon Jaques Lazier Playa Del Racing Panoz Honda 155 Crash 10
28 30 25 Template:Flagicon Marty Roth Roth Racing Dallara Honda 148 Crash 10
29 33 31 Template:Flagicon Phil Giebler <templatestyles src="Legend/styles.css" /> R  Playa Del Racing Panoz Honda 106 Crash 10
30 24 33 Template:Flagicon John Andretti Panther Racing Dallara Honda 95 Crash 10
31 29 23 Template:Flagicon Milka Duno <templatestyles src="Legend/styles.css" /> R  SAMAX Motorsport Dallara Honda 65 Crash 10
32 27 19 Template:Flagicon Jon Herb Racing Professionals Dallara Honda 51 Crash 10
33 31 77 Template:Flagicon Roberto Moreno Chastain Motorsports Panoz Honda 36 Crash 10

<templatestyles src="Legend/styles.css" /> W  Former Indianapolis 500 winner

<templatestyles src="Legend/styles.css" /> R  Indianapolis 500 Rookie

All entrants utilized Firestone tires.

Race statistics

Nine drivers led the race, with a total of twenty-three lead changes.[25]

<templatestyles src="Col-begin/styles.css"/>

Awards

The Victory Celebration was held Monday May 28, 2007.[26] Some of the many awards handed out during the evening included:

Broadcasting

Television

The race was broadcast in the United States on ABC for the 43rd consecutive year. Time trials were shown live on ABC, ESPN, and ESPN2. For the first time, the race would be aired in high definition.

This was the final 500 broadcast for Rusty Wallace as he was involved with ESPN on ABC NASCAR broadcasts.

For the second year in a row, the telecast utilized the Side-by-Side format for commercial breaks.

ABC Television
Booth Announcers Pit/garage reporters

Host: Brent Musburger
Announcer: Marty Reid
Color: Scott Goodyear
Color: Rusty Wallace

 Jack Arute
Vince Welch
Brienne Pedigo
Jamie Little

Radio

The race was broadcast on radio by the IMS Radio Network for the 55th consecutive year. Mike King served as anchor. Davey Hamilton, who previously served as the "driver expert" on the network, returned to cockpit for the first time since 2001. After six years recovery from his serious crash, he offered live in-car reporting to the broadcast during caution periods.

Making a popular return to the IMS Radio Network was former "Voice of the 500" Bob Jenkins. In 2006, Jenkins had worked on the Speedway public address system, but for 2007, he took over the turn two reporting location. Jenkins filled the spot previously held by Adam Alexander, who departed the network.

For the third year in a row, Kevin Olson conducted his annual pre-race interview with David Letterman. Olson served as a pit reporter in the center pits during the early stages of the race, then later moved to cover the garages and track hospital.

Indianapolis Motor Speedway Radio Network
Booth Announcers Turn Reporters Pit/garage reporters

Chief Announcer: Mike King
Driver expert: Johnny Parsons
Color: Dave Wilson
Historian: Donald Davidson
Live in-car reports: Davey Hamilton
Commentary: Chris Economaki

Turn 1: Jerry Baker
Turn 2: Bob Jenkins
Turn 3: Mark Jaynes
Turn 4: Chris Denari

 Jake Query (north pits)
Dave Argabright (center pits)
Kevin Lee (south pits)
Kevin Olson (garages/hospital)

See also

Script error: No such module "Side box".

Notes

References

<templatestyles src="Reflist/styles.css" />

  1. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  2. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  3. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  4. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  5. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  6. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  7. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  8. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  9. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  10. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  11. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  12. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  13. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  14. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  15. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  16. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  17. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  18. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  19. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  20. ↑ a b c d Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  21. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  22. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  23. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  24. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  25. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  26. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".

Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".

Works cited


2006 Indianapolis 500
Sam Hornish Jr. 		2007 Indianapolis 500
Dario Franchitti 		2008 Indianapolis 500
Scott Dixon

Template:S-break

Template:S-break

Preceded byTemplate:S-bef/checkTemplate:Succession box/check IRL IndyCar Series
round 5
2007 Template:S-ttl/check 		Template:S-aft/check Succeeded by

Script error: No such module "Navbox". Script error: No such module "Navbox". Template:IndyCar Series on ABC

Retrieved from "http://debianws.lexgopc.com/wiki143/index.php?title=2007_Indianapolis_500&oldid=2921048"