| Indianapolis Motor Speedway | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Indianapolis 500 | |||||
| Sanctioning body | Indy Racing League | ||||
| Season | 2000 IRL season | ||||
| Date | May 28, 2000 | ||||
| Winner | |||||
| Winning team | Chip Ganassi Racing | ||||
| Average speed | 167.607 mph (269.737 km/h) | ||||
| Pole position | |||||
| Pole speed | 223.471 mph (359.642 km/h) | ||||
| Fastest qualifier | |||||
| Rookie of the Year | |||||
| Most laps led | |||||
| Pre-race ceremonies | |||||
| National anthem | Jessica Andrews | ||||
| "Back Home Again in Indiana" | Jim Nabors | ||||
| Starting command | Mari George | ||||
| Pace car | Oldsmobile Aurora | ||||
| Pace car driver | Anthony Edwards | ||||
| Starter | Bryan Howard | ||||
| Honorary starter | Howard Katz (ABC Sports) | ||||
| Estimated attendance | 250,000 (estimated) | ||||
| TV in the United States | |||||
| Network | ABC | ||||
| Announcers | Bob Jenkins,Tom Sneva,Arie Luyendyk | ||||
| Nielsen ratings | 5.5 / 15 | ||||
| Chronology | |||||
| |||||
The84th Indianapolis 500 was held at theIndianapolis Motor Speedway inSpeedway, Indiana on Sunday, May 28, 2000. The race was sanctioned by theIndy Racing League, and was part of the2000 Indy Racing Northern Lights Series season. After four years of an ongoing organizational dispute and "split" inIndy car racing,[1]Chip Ganassi Racing became the first majorCART-based team to compete at the race since1995.[2] The Ganassi team ofJimmy Vasser andJuan Pablo Montoya competed as a one-off entry, and were well received by fans and fellow competitors.[1] Both drivers were quickly up to speed with theIRL regulars, and were expected to be favorites in both qualifying and on race day. Also making a heralded return to Indianapolis was two-time winnerAl Unser Jr.[1] who had switched full-time to the IRL in 2000.
During qualifying,defendingIRL championGreg Ray took thepole position. However, on race day,reigningCART championJuan Pablo Montoya dominated the race.[2] Montoya led 167 laps, and cruised to victory, becoming the first rookie winner sinceGraham Hill in1966.[3][4] It was the first of two Indy victories for Montoya (2000,2015).Buddy Lazier, the1996 winner, and eventualseason champion, finished second, his second runner-up finish at Indy, and fifth consecutive top ten.
The 2000 race was the first to feature two female starters in the field,Lyn St. James andSarah Fisher. The start of the race was delayed over three hours due to rain. The green flag dropped at 2:10 p.m.EST, and the race was completed shortly after 5 p.m. Seven minutes after the checkered flag, the rain returned, and doused the victory lane celebration.
The first 65 laps of the race were run caution-free, a new Indy 500 record at the time. Montoya became only the fourth winner to complete the race in under three hours, and at 167.607 mph, it was the fastest Indy 500 since1991. At the end of the season, Montoya promptly departed Indy car racing forFormula One, then went toNASCAR. He would not return for his second Indy start until2014.[5]
|
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
During a yellow flag caution period, when the field is one lap away from going back to green flag conditions, the pace car would now drop off the track in turn one, and the race leader would pace the field back to the green flag and the ensuing restart. This was an effort to prevent any chance of the leader(s) accidentally passing the pace car on a restart (which happened toScott Goodyear in the1995 race).
A year later, this would be combined with the "wave around" rule.
Time trials were scheduled for two days in 2000, May 20–21. During practice,IRL regulars generally topped the speed charts, with different names leading nearly each day.Jimmy Vasser andJuan Pablo Montoya were quickly up to speed in the IRL machines, and each managed to lead one day of practice. Both were considered contenders for the front row.Greg Ray (223.948 mph) set the fastest lap of the week on "Fast Friday".
Pole qualifying began at 11 a.m. The weather was cool and cloudy.Al Unser Jr. (220.293 mph) was the first car in the field. At 12:07 p.m.,Eliseo Salazar took over the top spot with a run of 223.231 mph. Salazar remained on top for over an hour, as most cars waved off, awaiting better conditions.
At 1:19 p.m.,Juan Pablo Montoya took to the track. His run of 223.372 mph took over the provisional pole position.Greg Ray pulled his car out of line due to handling issues, andTeam Menard announced that they were planning to wait until later in the day to make a qualifying attempt.Jimmy Vasser went out next, and at 221.976 mph, he was not able to join hisGanassi teammate on the front row.
Later in the afternoon, conditions improved slightly, and several cars returned to the track. At 3:49 p.m.,Greg Ray completed his run at 223.471 mph, and secured the pole position. The front row ofRay,Montoya, andSalazar was separated by only 0.173 seconds, the closest such margin in Indy history. The front row shaped up such that the reigning champions ofIRL (Ray) andCART (Montoya) would line up 1st–2nd.
A total of 23 cars qualified for the field.Lyn St. James wrecked on her first attempt, flipping the car up on its side in the south chute. Also into the wall wereJimmy Kite,Scott Harrington, rookieMemo Gidley and veteranHideshi Matsuda. None of the drivers were seriously injured.
Sarah Fisher (220.237 mph) qualified 19th, becoming the third female driver in Indy history.
The second and final day of time trials opened with ten spots remaining.Raul Boesel was the first car out, and at 222.113 mph, he would be the fastest driver of the afternoon. After two wave-offs on Saturday,Billy Boat wrecked on his first attempt on Sunday. He would be forced to find a backup car.
The field was filled to 33 cars by 5:30 p.m.. Among the drivers who completed attempts wereJimmy Kite,Davey Hamilton, and popularhometown rookieAndy Hillenburg. Independent driver and co-owner Hillenburg was fielding a "throwback" entry named the Sumar Special, a gesture to the car driven byPat O'Connor, which won the pole position in1957.
Billy Boat secured a backup car with theFoyt team, but the car (#41, previously driven byRoberto Guerrero) only had one attempt left. After stalling three times trying to pull away, Boat's first two laps were fair. The car lost power on the third lap,[6] and his speed dropped to 150 mph. It picked back up for the final lap, and he ran it at 198 mph. His four lap average was 192.105 mph, by far the slowest car in the field, and he was the first car on the bubble.
Lyn St. James andDick Simon Racing reorganized after Saturday's crash, and she qualified comfortably. She bumped Boat's #41 car with 25 minutes left in the day. With less than a minute until the 6 o'clock gun,Billy Boat climbed into another Foyt backup, (#11) a car that had not been driven all week. Boat managed a run of 218.872 mph out of the unproven machine. He shockingly bumped his way into the field as time expired.
Davy Jones attempted a comeback after breaking his neck in 1997, but he was bumped.[6]
The final practice took place on Thursday May 25. All 33 cars took laps withJuan Pablo Montoya (218.257 mph) the fastest of the day. No major incidents were reported, thoughScott Sharp suffered mechanical problems which delayed his arrival on pit lane. He managed to only take a few shake down laps in the final five minutes.
Jimmy Kite took laps in the car ofJason Leffler, as Leffler was in Charlotte for the day.Robby Gordon stayed for about an hour and twenty minutes, then he too departed for Charlotte.
The 24th annualCoorsPit Stop Challenge was held Thursday May 25. Twelve teams competed in a single-elimination bracket. Nine teams earned berths based on winning the Coors Light Pit Performance Award at the Indy Racing League events since the previous year's Indianapolis 500. Two spots would be filled by a last-chance qualifying session on May 16. The final spot would be filled by the highest race qualifier not already in the contest.Al Unser Jr. (Galles) with a time of 9.42 seconds, along withBuddy Lazier (Hemelgarn) with a time of 13.48 seconds, advanced from the last-chance qualifying session.Juan Pablo Montoya (Ganassi), who qualified for the middle of the front row, secured the final berth.
The bracket was determined by a blind draw. Four teams received byes for the first round.Billy Boat, who actually qualified for the race in aFoyt back-up car, participated in the contest with his original entrant,Team Pelfrey. During the first round matches,Mark Dismore's crew was issued a 5-second penalty for improper handoff of an air gun, but he would have lost either way.Buddy Lazier was issued a 5-second penalty for a loose lug nut, but it did change the outcome. In the quarterfinals,Juan Pablo Montoya was disqualified for stalling the engine and not leaving the pits under power. During the semifinal match between race polesitterGreg Ray andRobby McGehee, Ray lost a wheel while exiting the pit stall. The finals pitted Panther versus Treadway, with the crew ofScott Goodyear defeatingRobby McGehee. The Treadway crew was penalized 3 seconds for a tire rolling outside the pit stall. It was the second win in the event for Panther Racing.
| First Round | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Finals | ||||||||||||||||
| 5 | Robby McGehee (Treadway Racing) | 10.27 | |||||||||||||||||
| 9 | Juan Pablo Montoya (Chip Ganassi Racing) | no time | |||||||||||||||||
| 5 | Robby McGehee (Treadway Racing) | 10.03 | |||||||||||||||||
| 81 | Billy Boat (Team Pelfrey) | 13.37 | |||||||||||||||||
| 5 | Robby McGehee (Treadway Racing) | 9.49 | |||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Greg Ray (Team Menard) | 16.04 | |||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Greg Ray (Team Menard) | 10.43 | |||||||||||||||||
| 51 | Eddie Cheever (Cheever Racing) | 15.18 | |||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Greg Ray (Team Menard) | 10.62 | |||||||||||||||||
| 14 | Jeff Ward (Foyt Racing) | 11.22 | |||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Scott Goodyear (Panther Racing) | 11.19 | |||||||||||||||||
| 5 | Robby McGehee (Treadway Racing) | 12.73 | |||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Scott Goodyear (Panther Racing) | 9.99 | |||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Al Unser Jr. (Galles Racing) | 11.90 | |||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Scott Goodyear (Panther Racing) | 10.28 | |||||||||||||||||
| 28 | Mark Dismore (Kelley Racing) | 18.13 | |||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Scott Goodyear (Panther Racing) | 9.49 | |||||||||||||||||
| 8 | Scott Sharp (Kelley Racing) | 10.11 | |||||||||||||||||
| 8 | Scott Sharp (Kelley Racing) | 10.93 | |||||||||||||||||
| 24 | Robbie Buhl (Dreyer & Reinbold) | 12.26 | |||||||||||||||||
| 24 | Robbie Buhl (Dreyer & Reinbold) | 12.86 | |||||||||||||||||
| 91 | Buddy Lazier (Hemelgarn Racing) | 18.86 | |||||||||||||||||
| Fila | Inside | Middle | Outside |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Team Conseco/Quaker State/Menards Team Menard Dallara-Oldsmobile Aurora 223.471 mph | Target Chip Ganassi Racing G-Force-Oldsmobile Aurora 223.372 mph | Rio A. J. Foyt Racing G-Force-Oldsmobile Aurora 223.231 mph |
| 2 | Turtle Wax/Burger King/Moen/Johns Manville/Menards Team Menard Dallara-Oldsmobile Aurora 222.885 mph | Delphi Automotive Systems/MCI Worldcom Kelley Racing Dallara-Oldsmobile Aurora 222.810 mph | Harrah's A. J. Foyt Racing G-Force-Oldsmobile Aurora 222.639 mph |
| 3 | Target Chip Ganassi Racing G-Force-Oldsmobile Aurora 221.976 mph | Metro Racing Hemelgarn Racing Dallara-Oldsmobile Aurora 221.508 mph | Team Purex Dreyer & Reinbold Racing G-Force-Oldsmobile Aurora 221.357 mph |
| 4 | #51 Excite@Home Indy Race Car Team Cheever Dallara-Infiniti 221.270 mph | OnStar/GM BuyPower/Bryant Heating & Cooling Kelley Racing Dallara-Oldsmobile Aurora 220.970 mph | Meijer /Energizer Advanced Formula Treadway Racing G-Force-Oldsmobile Aurora 220.611 mph |
| 5 | Pennzoil Panther Racing Dallara-Oldsmobile Aurora 220.496 mph | Hornish Trucking / Advantage Powder Coating PDM Racing Dallara-Oldsmobile Aurora 220.496 mph | Cahill Racing Dallara-Oldsmobile Aurora 220.482 mph |
| 6 | Delta Faucet/Coors Light/Tae -Bo Hemelgarn Racing Dallara-Oldsmobile Aurora 220.482 mph | United Auto Group Special Treadway Racing G-ForceOldsmobile 220.417 mph | ECR / RacingTickets.com Galles Racing G-ForceOldsmobile Aurora 220.293 mph |
| 7 | Cummins Walker Racing Dallara-Oldsmobile Aurora 220.237 mph | Mexmil/Tokheim/Viking Air Tools Dick Simon Racing G-ForceOldsmobile Aurora 219.970 mph | USACredit.com Team Xtreme G-Force-Oldsmobile Aurora 219.970 mph |
| 8 | Bradley Motorsports / Team CAN Bradley Motorsports Dallara-Oldsmobile Aurora 219.862 mph | NetZero Pagan Racing Dallara-Oldsmobile Aurora 219.816 mph | EPSON Treadway Racing G-Force-Oldsmobile Aurora 222.113 mph |
| 9 | Big Daddy's BBQ/Founders Bank Blueprint Racing G-Force-Oldsmobile Aurora 220.718 mph | Miles of Hope Truscelli Team Racing G-Force-Oldsmobile Aurora 220.675 mph | Dreyer & Reinbold Racing G-Force-Nissan Infiniti 220.290 mph |
| 10 | FreeInternet.com Team Xtreme G-Force-Oldsmobile Aurora 219.878 mph | Kroger Tri Star Motorsports Dallara-Oldsmobile Aurora 219.322 mph | Delco-Remy/Microdigicom/Homier Tools Indy Regency Racing G-Force-Oldsmobile Aurora 219.066 mph |
| 11 | Harrah's A. J. Foyt Racing G-Force-Oldsmobile Aurora 218.872 mph | Yellow Freight System Dick Simon Racing G-Force-Oldsmobile Aurora 218.826 mph | The Sumar Special ByIrwindale Speedway Fast Track Racing Dallara-Oldsmobile Aurora 218.285 mph |
On Saturday May 27, the day before the Indy 500,Juan Pablo Montoya andJimmy Vasser participated in theCARTBosch Spark Plug Grand Prix atNazareth Speedway. The race had been scheduled for April 11, but snow postponed it until the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend. Montoya finished 4th, and Vasser 7th.
Jason Leffler, who qualified 17th at Indy, traveled toCharlotte on Saturday to participate in theNASCARBusch SeriesCarquest Auto Parts 300. Leffler finished 21st at Charlotte. Also in Charlotte for part of the week wasRobby Gordon, who was preparing to attempt the Indy 500/Coca-Cola 600"Double Duty". Gordon required a provisional starting position for Charlotte, and he would line up 42nd.P. J. Jones was scheduled to stand by for Gordon at Charlotte if he could not make it in time for the start.
On race day, Sunday May 28, the morning dawned warm and sunny, but rain was in the forecast. At 10:07 a.m., rain started to fall, and the start of the race was delayed. After three brief periods of showers, at approximately 12:40 p.m., the rain stopped and held off just long enough to complete the race. Track-drying efforts began, and at 2:01 p.m. EST,Mari Hulman George gave the command to start engines, and the field pulled away.
At the start, polesitterGreg Ray took the lead.Juan Pablo Montoya settled into second, andRobby Gordon third. A fast pace over the first 20 laps saw Ray dominate, withMontoya aggressively dicing through traffic, holding a close second place.
On lap 27, the leaders went four-wide through traffic, andMontoya took the lead for the first time. There would only be 6 laps that he would not be in front for the rest of the race. A few laps later, all the leaders were into the pits for the first round of green flag pit stops. On lap 33Montoya emerged with the lead, and began to flex some strength. His lead grew from 11.9 seconds on lap 34 to over 21 seconds on lap 55.
A blistering pace over the first 60 laps saw thus far zero yellow flags. The average speed at lap 60 (150 miles) was an all-time record 207.101 mph. Montoya held a 30-second lead over second placeJimmy Vasser. On lap 66, however,Greg Ray became caught up in a wind gust, and his carpushed into the outside wall exiting turn two. This resulted in the first caution of the day, setting a new modern era Indy record (66 laps) before the first yellow.Al Unser Jr. hit a piece of debris from Ray's crash and punctured his car'sradiator, causing him to drop out 22 laps later.
Montoya now ledRobby Gordon andBuddy Lazier. After the restart, however,Lyn St. James crashed into the outside wall in turn 1.Sarah Fisher was collected in the incident, and also crashed.
At the halfway point,Montoya still led.Vasser was second, about 5 seconds behind.
In the second halfJuan Pablo Montoya continued to dominate. His teammateJimmy Vasser, however, started to drop down the top ten.Buddy Lazier andJeff Ward were now in the top three, all chasing Montoya.
On lap 143,Greg Ray returned to the track after lengthy repairs. His return did not last long, as he smacked the outside wall in turn two - close to the same place he crashed earlier - and he was finally out of the race. Ray became the fourth polesitter (Woodbury,Carter, andGuerrero) to finish last.
The green came back out on lap 150, withMontoya first andLazier close behind in second. RookieSam Hornish Jr. crashed on lap 158, but most of the leaders did not pit. On the restart on lap 162,Lazier made a run for the lead in turn one, butMontoya held him off.
Stan Wattles brought out the final yellow flag on lap 174 for a blown engine.Montoya andLazier pitted, which allowedJimmy Vasser to take over the lead. The green came out with 23 laps to go.
Vasser's lead did not last long, asMontoya got by him on lap 180.Lazier caught up toVasser and passed him for second. Lazier set the fastest lap of the race (218.494 mph) on lap 198, but Montoya was too far ahead. Montoya pulled away and won the Indianapolis 500 in his first start by 7.1839 seconds over1996 winnerBuddy Lazier.
W Former Indianapolis 500 winner
R Indianapolis 500 Rookie
All entrants utilizedFirestone tires.
|
|
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
After the2000 CART season,Juan Pablo Montoya signed withthe Williams Formula One team, and thus did not return to defend his Indianapolis 500 championship in 2001. Later, Montoya switched to theNASCARCup Series, and did not race again in the Indianapolis 500 until2014. He has also raced in theU.S. Grand Prix,Brickyard 400, andBrickyard Grand Prix, all held atIMS. He won the 99th edition of theIndianapolis 500 in 2015.
The 2000 Indy 500 marked a turning point in the ongoing, five-year "split" betweenIRL andCART. While neither side was prepared to make concessions towards a unification or buyout, it became evident that sponsors in theCART series desired to have their teams participate in the Indianapolis 500 to benefit from the increased exposure.Ganassi's arrival, and subsequent domination of the event led other CART-based teams to follow suit.Penske Racing considered an entry for 2000, but decided against it due to lack of preparation time. Furthermore, at the time, they only ownedRiley & Scott chassis, which were deemed uncompetitive.[7] Instead,Roger Penske andTim Cindric lent support toJason Leffler's car atTreadway Racing. Thefollowing year additional teams (namelyPenske andTeam Green) returned to Indianapolis with competitive efforts. By2004, nearly all of the major teams from CART/Champ Car had either entered singly at Indy, or defected completely to the Indy Racing League. Despite these moves, a formal unification would not take place until2008.
CART-basedWalker Racing also "crossed picket lines" to enter the 2000 race, but received little publicity for doing so. Noticeably neither of the team's full-time CART drivers (Bryan Herta andShinji Nakano), were part of the effort. The attention for Walker was instead focused on their new driver, rookieSarah Fisher,[1] who would become a popular fixture in theIRL in the years to come.
Juan Pablo Montoya won the race from the 2nd starting position. It was the first time a driver had won from the middle of the front row sinceMario Andretti in1969. From 1911 to 1969, the second starting position statistically produced the most race winners (ten total), more so than even the pole position (which had produced only seven winners at that time), a reflection of theAndretti curse. Montoya broke a thirty-year streak of losses by the second starting position, including many years where the no. 2 starter failed to even finish the race. As of 2024 the second starting position has not produced any additional race winners, a win–loss record of 1–54.
Second place finisherBuddy Lazier (the1996 winner) was the only car towards the end of the race that was in striking distance ofMontoya, but a combination of slower pit stops[2][8] and difficulties in traffic,[2] thwarted any chance of victory. It was Lazier's second runner-up finish in three years, and fifth straight finish in the top 7. Lazier, however, would go on to win the2000 IRL championship.
Greg Ray (67 laps) fell just seven laps short of breakingBill Homeier's record of 74 laps for the last place finisher.
WithGoodyear announcing in October 1999 that it was leaving the sport of open wheel racing indefinitely, the Speedway lost one of its fixtures in 2000. TheGoodyear Blimp had flown over the Indy 500 in most years from 1925 to 1999, but was absent in 2000, in what was believed to be the first time in decades.
The race was carried live on theIndy Racing Radio Network.Mike King served as chief announcer. The broadcast was moved into a brand new studio on the 9th floor of the newly completed Pagoda control tower. The race was heard on 549 affiliates. Due to the rain delay, the broadcast came on-air for one hour, then signed off to wait out the delay. Hourly updates were aired, then the broadcast came back to cover the pre-race ceremonies and race in its entirety.
Several minor changes were made to the crew. Ken Double worked his final 500 on the network. Mark Jaynes moved from the pits to take over the turn three location vacated by one-year member Kevin O'Neal.Larry Rice and Mike Lewis joined the crew as pit reporters. This would be Rice's only year on the network. Vince Welch, formerly a pit reporter, left the crew and eventually would join ABC television. This was the last year of the Statistician position. Starting on 2001 there were no more full field rundowns every 25 laps.
Bob Lamey who joined the crew in 1988, and had become a fixture in turn 4, would be on the crew for the final time in 2000. Guests interviewed in the broadcast booth includedSecretary of DefenseWilliam Cohen, John F. Fielder (BorgWarner), David Seuss (Northern Light), Kevin Forbes (IMS), Mark Miller (Nokia), and Ira Kisver (Pennzoil).
| Indy Racing Radio Network | ||
|---|---|---|
| Booth Announcers | Turn Reporters | Pit/garage reporters |
Chief Announcer:Mike King | Turn 1:Jerry Baker | Mike Lewis (north pits) Chris Denari (center pits) Larry Rice (south pits) Chuck Marlowe (garages) |
The race was carried live flag-to-flag coverage in the United States onABC Sports.Al Michaels returned as host, withBob Jenkins as announcer.Arie Luyendyk, who had announced his first retirement, joined the broadcast as analyst, alongsideTom Sneva.
After a one-year absence,Jack Arute returned as a pit reporter, andLeslie Gudel was added as a fourth pit reporter. Back in the ABC studios,Robin Roberts had a small role asWide World of Sports studio host.
| ABCTelevision | |
|---|---|
| Booth Announcers | Pit/garage reporters |
Host:Al Michaels | Jack Arute Dr. Jerry Punch Vince Welch Leslie Gudel |
| 1999 Indianapolis 500 Kenny Bräck | 2000 Indianapolis 500 Juan Pablo Montoya | 2001 Indianapolis 500 Hélio Castroneves |