89th Indianapolis 500

Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Indianapolis 500
Sanctioning body	Indy Racing League
Season	2005 IndyCar season
Date	May 29, 2005
Winner	Dan Wheldon
Winning team	Andretti-Green Racing
Average speed	157.603 mph (253.637 km/h)
Pole position	Tony Kanaan
Pole speed	227.566 mph (366.232 km/h)
Fastest qualifier	Kenny Bräck 227.598 mph (366.283 km/h)
Rookie of the Year	Danica Patrick
Most laps led	Sam Hornish Jr. (77)
Pre-race ceremonies
National anthem	Members ofUnited States Armed Forces
"Back Home Again in Indiana"	Jim Nabors
Starting command	Mari Hulman George
Pace car	Chevrolet Corvette
Pace car driver	Colin Powell
Starter	Bryan Howard
Honorary starter	Reggie Miller
Estimated attendance	250,000 (estimated)
TV in the United States
Network	ABC
Announcers	Todd Harris,Scott Goodyear
Nielsen ratings	6.5 (9.7 million viewers) / 18
Chronology
Previous Next 2004 2006

The89th Indianapolis 500 was held at theIndianapolis Motor Speedway inSpeedway, Indiana on Sunday, May 29, 2005. It was the premier event of the2005 IndyCar Series season and the tenth Indy 500 sanctioned by theIndy Racing League.Dan Wheldon won the race, his first of two Indy victories (2005 and2011).^[1] Wheldon became the firstBritish-born winner sinceGraham Hill in1966.^[2] It was the second consecutive Indy victory for Honda, and the first victory for theDallara chassis since2002. It was also the long-awaited first Indianapolis 500 victory for car ownerMichael Andretti ofAndretti-Green Racing. After many years of failing to win the race as a driver (contributing to the perception of the so-calledAndretti Curse), Andretti finally achieved victory at Indianapolis as an owner.

RookieDanica Patrick, who qualified and finished 4th, became the firstfemale driver in Indy history to lead laps during the race. She led three times for a total of 19 laps and won theRookie of the Year award.^[3] Considerable media hype and attention were focused on the race and on Patrick in particular during the month,^[4][5] giving birth to the term "Danica Mania".^[6][7][8] Her 4th place starting position broke the record set byLyn St. James (6th in1994) and her 4th-place finishing position broke the record set byJanet Guthrie (9th in1978).

The increased attention going into the race helped register a 6.5Nielsen rating, the highest since1996.^[9] Also making headlines during the month of May was the return of1999 winnerKenny Bräck. After suffering a violent crash inTexas in October 2003, Bräck sat out the2004 season, recovering from serious injuries. In what would be his final IndyCar race, he drove in substitution forBuddy Rice. Rice, the2004 winner suffered a concussion in a practice crash on May 11, and was forced to sit out the event. Bräck was the overall fastest qualifier during time trials but dropped out of the race near the halfway point due to mechanical problems.

Over the offseason, theIndianapolis Motor Speedway wasmilled and repaved inasphalt. Selectivediamond grinding was done in an effort to smooth out bumps in the turns. On April 5, 2005, a private test session saw four teams (AGR,Ganassi,Rahal, andPanther) test forFirestone. The session was canceled, however, when the inconsistent pavement in the turns created an unsuitable dual level of grip in the corners. A week later, the entire track was diamond ground to cure the problem.

The schedule for the Month of May was slightly retooled for 2005. The annual rookie orientation program was moved to opening day, as well as the 2nd day of official activity. Previously, in most cases, rookie orientation was held prior to the traditional "opening day" of practice, often in April. Veteran practice would commence on Tuesday, the 3rd day overall.

Carb Day, the traditional last day of practice before the race, was moved from its familiar Thursday slot to Friday of the race weekend. After 4 years of having 3 days of time trials scheduled (2001–2004), time trials reverted to 4 days, and a new format (dubbed"11/11/11") was introduced.

After they were first allowed in 2004, single-point refueling rigs were made mandatory for 2005.^[10]

After several decades of the race traditionally starting at 11:00 a.m.local time (EST), the start time was moved to 12:00 p.m.EST (1:00 p.m.EDT).

Among the numerous team/driver changes for 2005 includedRahal Letterman Racing.Defending Indy 500 winnerBuddy Rice returned, and was joined by rookieDanica Patrick.Newman/Haas Racing returned to the Indy 500, enteringSébastien Bourdais andBruno Junqueira.

Two-time winnerAl Unser Jr. took a brief retirement from driving in 2005 and did not enter. With him along with others such asMichael Andretti andArie Luyendyk on the sidelines, no participants from the 1980s would qualify for the field, the first time ever.

Opening day of practice focused on rookie orientation. The coveted 1st driver on the track wasDanica Patrick.^[11] Among the top drivers of the day were Patrick at 221.463 mph (356.410 km/h),Ryan Briscoe, andPatrick Carpentier. 7 out of the 9 drivers participating completed their required rookie test.

The 2nd day of rookie orientation sawDanica Patrick again set the pace. She set the fastest lap of the month thus far at 222.741 mph (358.467 km/h).Sébastien Bourdais completed his rookie test, whileJeff Ward completed a refresher test.^[11]

The 1st full day of veteran practice saw heavy activity.Dan Wheldon led the speed chart at 226.808 mph (365.012 km/h), and no incidents were reported.^[11]

Defending Indy 500 winnerBuddy Rice suffered a significant crash at 12:16 p.m. The car spun in Turn 2 and made heavy contact to the rear of the car.Kosuke Matsuura spun to avoid the crash, but received minimal damage. Rice was transported toMethodist Hospital with a concussion.^[11]

Rain ended the day about a half hour early, withTony Kanaan fastest of the day, and fastest of the month thus far, at 227.453 mph (366.050 km/h).^[11]

Darren Manning andPaul Dana both suffered single-car crashes during the session, but neither were seriously injured.Tony Kanaan led the pace early over 227 mph (365 km/h), but late in the day,Danica Patrick upped the speed to 227.633 mph (366.340 km/h). It marked the fastest lap thus far during the month, and the 1st time a female driver had led the speed chart on a full day of practice (without a rain delay) since 1977.^[11]

"Fast Friday" practice saw cloudy skies, and warm temperatures.Paul Dana wrecked his backup car, crashing for the 2nd day in a row. Exiting Turn 2, Dana spun and hit the outside wall, and slid down the back stretch.Sam Hornish Jr. hit a piece of debris from the wreck on the back stretch, and did a full flip. The car came down upright, but continued to spin and came to a rest overturned. Hornish was uninjured, but Dana was taken to the hospital for further evaluation.^[11]

Tomas Scheckter turned the fastest lap thus far around 1 p.m., at 227.804 mph (366.615 km/h). Rain began to fall shortly after 2 p.m., and closed the track for the day.^[11]

Rain fell overnight and into the morning, preventing any track activity. A new qualifying format was put into place for 2005, providing that only the top 11 cars would secure positions on Pole Day, and bumping would then occur. Track officials decided to cancel activities for the day at 12:15 p.m., and postpone Pole Qualifying until Sunday.^[11]

Shortly after the official postponement, the rain stopped and blue skies emerged.^[12] Some complained that qualifying could have been held after all, but head officialBrian Barnhart still felt there would not be sufficient time to finish the qualifying order.^[12]

Cool temperatures in the mid-50s were observed for morning practice.Danica Patrick set the fastest lap of the entire month during the morning session at 229.880 mph (369.956 km/h). The lap made her a favorite for the front row.Dario Franchitti andTony Kanaan were close behind on the speed chart.^[11]

Due to the rainout on Saturday, 22 positions were to be filled on Sunday. After the field filled to 22 cars, bumping would begin.

At noon,Scott Sharp was the 1st car to make a qualifying attempt. He placed himself in the field with a speed of 227.126 mph (365.524 km/h). Moments later,Tony Kanaan put himself on the provisional pole position with a speed of 227.566 mph (366.232 km/h).^[11]

At 12:45 p.m. Eastern time,Danica Patrick took to the track. On her 1st lap, midway through Turn 1, the back end of the car wiggled a bit, and slowed her exit from the turn. The 1st lap was a disappointing 224.920 mph (361.974 km/h). The 2nd lap, however, increased to 227.638 mph (366.348 km/h). Her 4th and final lap was run at 227.860 mph (366.705 km/h), the fastest single lap of the day. The final 4-lap average of 227.004 mph (365.328 km/h) put her in the 4th starting position. Many feel that if not for the mistake on the 1st lap, her speed would have been sufficient to secure the pole position.^[11]

Later in the day,Sam Hornish Jr. bumped his way onto the front row.Hélio Castroneves withdrew his earlier speed, but ended up losing a position when he re-qualified. The field filled to 22 cars, and the day ended asJaques Lazier was "bumped".^[11]

Rahal Letterman Racing namedKenny Bräck as the replacement for injuredBuddy Rice. Brack was the1999 winner, but sat out the2004 season recovering from a massive crash in October 2003 atTexas.

Nearly 2,500 laps were run during the afternoon, withDan Wheldon fastest at 227.320 mph (365.836 km/h). The fastest non-qualified car wasKenny Bräck, already up to 225.774 mph (363.348 km/h).^[11]

Rain washed out all practice for the day.^[11]

Another busy day of practice saw 2,228 laps completed incident-free.Dan Wheldon remained on top of the speech chart at 226.399 mph (364.354 km/h), untilTony Kanaan, at 226.490 mph (364.500 km/h), bumped him off in the final hour.^[11]

Arie Luyendyk Jr., attempting to complete his rookie test, suffered gearbox trouble, then later blew an engine.

The 3rd day of time trials saw the field fill to 32 cars. In the 1st hour,Ryan Briscoe,Marty Roth andKenny Bräck completed runs.Bräck qualified at 227.598 mph (366.283 km/h), the fastest qualifier in the field.^[11] Though he qualified faster than polesitterTony Kanaan, as a 3rd day qualifier, Bräck would be required to start 23rd.

After blowing an engine earlier,A. J. Foyt IV put a car in the field, and the field finished the day with 1 grid position open.^[11]

With 1 position open, very few teams in the garage area were prepared to make a qualifying attempt. Most teams used the morning and afternoon sessions for practice.Arie Luyendyk Jr. was the only entry going into the day confirming an intent to qualify.

At 3:10 p.m.,Luyendyk Jr. completed a run at 215.039 mph (346.072 km/h), and filled the field to 33 cars.^[11] Luyendyk Jr. was the slowest car in the field, and on the bubble. However, it appeared that Luyendyk would be safe, with no other teams preparing to qualify.

Shortly after the run,A. J. Foyt Racing announced that they had signed veteranFelipe Giaffone, and he would attempt to qualify. Giaffone had been shopping with his wife atBabies "Я" Us when he got a telephone call to run over to the Speedway.^[11][13] Within 2 hours of being at the store, Giaffone was suited up and ready to drive. In less than 45 minutes, he was up to speed and ready to qualify.

At 5:36 p.m., with less than 25 minutes left in the day,Giaffone took to the track and easily bumpedLuyendyk Jr. from the field.^[11] Luyendyk's team quickly scrambled his car to go out 1 final time. With 1 minute remaining before the6 o'clock gun, Luyendyk entered the track. His speed was slow, and he fell more than 7 mph (11 km/h) shy of bumping his way into the field.

Row	Inside		Middle		Outside
1	11	Tony Kanaan	6	Sam Hornish Jr.	8	Scott Sharp
2	16	Danica Patrick R	3	Hélio Castroneves W	27	Dario Franchitti
3	17	Vítor Meira	55	Kosuke Matsuura	95	Buddy Lazier W
4	2	Tomáš Enge R	4	Tomas Scheckter	36	Bruno Junqueira
5	9	Scott Dixon	5	Adrián Fernández	37	Sébastien Bourdais R
6	26	Dan Wheldon	24	Roger Yasukawa	7	Bryan Herta
7	10	Darren Manning	70	Richie Hearn	44	Jeff Bucknum R
8	51	Alex Barron	15	Kenny Bräck W	33	Ryan Briscoe R
9	83	Patrick Carpentier R	20	Ed Carpenter	21	Jaques Lazier
10	14	A. J. Foyt IV	25	Marty Roth	41	Larry Foyt
11	22	Jeff Ward	91	Jimmy Kite	48	Felipe Giaffone
Official report[14]

 W  = former Indianapolis 500 winner; R  = Indianapolis 500 rookie

• First alternate:Arie Luyendyk Jr. R  (#98) – bumped

• Paul Dana R  (#91) – injured during a practice crash; replaced byJimmy Kite
• Buddy Rice W  (#15) – injured during a practice crash; replaced byKenny Bräck
• Scott Mayer R  (#48) – failed to complete rookie orientation; replaced byFelipe Giaffone

For the first time in modern scheduling, Carb Day was moved to the Friday before the race (May 27). It was previously held on a Thursday. The final practice session was also trimmed back to 1 hour.

All 33 qualified cars took to the track. 9 minutes into the session,Buddy Lazier wrecked coming out of Turn 4, sliding along the outside wall down the front stretch. Lazier was not seriously injured, but the car would have to be repaired before Sunday.

Danica Patrick led the speed chart at 225.597 mph (363.063 km/h), and no other serious issues were reported.^[11]

The 29th annualCheckers and Rally'sPit Stop Challenge was held Friday May 27. Twelve teams competed in a single-elimination bracket. Eleven participants were named to the event. On May 18, a last-chance qualifying session was held, andDario Franchitti advanced to fill the final spot. The bracket was determined by a blind draw.

Four teams received byes for the first round. During the first round matches,Dan Wheldon was issued a 3-second penalty for a tire out-of-bounds, but he would have lost either way.Scott Sharp lost toBryan Herta due to a 5-second penalty for a missing lug nut. The matchup betweenSam Hornish Jr. andDario Franchitti was re-run due to a timing and scoring malfunction. During the quarterfinals, a rain shower halted the event for about 25 minutes. The finals pitted Penske versusAndretti Green, with the crew ofSam Hornish Jr. defeatingBryan Herta. It was the first and only victory in the event for Hornish, and the eighth overall for Penske.

Race day emerged warm and sunny, with temperatures in the mid 70s (°F), and no chance of rain. Speedway chairpersonMari Hulman George gave the command to start engines at 11:58 a.m. (EST). The field assembled for 2 parade laps and 1 pace lap behind theChevrolet Corvette C6 pace car, driven byColin Powell.

At the start, a very well-aligned field saw polesitterTony Kanaan take the lead into Turn 1. The field circulated safely through the 1st lap. In Turn 3,Sam Hornish Jr. passed Kanaan for the lead, and led the 1st lap.Kanaan re-took the lead on lap 3. The duo traded the lead once more beforeLarry Foyt crashed on lap 18, bringing out the first caution. Foyt would be hospitalized by the crash.^[15]

Most of the leaders pitted under the yellow, andKanaan won the race off the pit road.

Sam Hornish Jr. took the lead on lap 38, and the race began to settle into a pace. On lap 55, a series of green flag pit stops shuffled the field momentarily. Hornish ducked into the pits first, followed by Kanaan. The shuffle broughtDanica Patrick to the lead on lap 56. It marked the 1st time in Indy 500 history that a female driver led a lap in competition. She pitted the next time around, andHornish emerged once again as the leader.

On lap 78,Bruno Junqueira went to pass the lap car ofA. J. Foyt IV in turn 2. The 2 cars touched, and Junqueira crashed hard into the outside wall. He suffered aconcussion andfractured vertebrae.

Kenny Bräck headed for the pits on lap 82 with mechanical trouble. The car eventually dropped out due to a broken wishbone suspension.

As they approached the halfway point,Hornish andKanaan again battled back and forth for the lead.

On lap 114,Richie Hearn andScott Dixon tangled and crashed in Turn 1. On the restart,Kanaan andDario Franchitti passedHornish on the front stretch, and pulled away from the field.

On lap 147,Sam Hornish Jr. went to passSébastien Bourdais on the outside of Turn 1. He slid high, and smacked the outside wall. The leaders pitted on lap 149, which meant that only 1 more fuel stop would be required for each car. Exiting the pits,Bryan Herta was penalized for speeding on pit road, and was moved to the rear of the field for the upcoming restart.

On 155, the field prepared to go back to green. Accelerating in the north short chute,Danica Patrick, running 8th, did a half-spin, and taggedTomáš Enge.Tomas Scheckter spun to avoid the crash, and wrecked into the inside wall.Jeff Bucknum,Patrick Carpentier, andJaques Lazier also got caught up in the melee. Patrick damaged her nosecone and left front wing, and ducked immediately into the pits. The team replaced the nose of the car, then a second pit stop (lap 159) saw her change tires and top off the fuel. Patrick dropped to 11th, the last car on the lead lap. Just before the restart on lap 161,Bryan Herta ducked into the pits, and topped off the fuel. The team intended to go the distance without another pit stop.

With 30 laps to go,Dan Wheldon ledVitor Meira.Roger Yasukawa brought out the yellow when his car blew its engine down the front stretch. All of the leaders exceptPatrick andHerta went to the pits. Staying out, Patrick and Herta shuffled up to the front of the field. Patrick took the lead for the 2nd time of the day on lap 172, and led Herta on the lap 173 restart. To the delight of the crowd, Patrick pulled out to a 1-second lead. Her crew instructed her to dial down thefuel mixture (in an effort to make it to the finish), and her lead began to dwindle.Dan Wheldon caught her on lap 186, and took the lead. At the same time,Kosuke Matsuura hit the wall in the exit of Turn 4.

With 10 laps to go, the green flag came back out.Patrick darted aroundWheldon, and took the lead into Turn 1. She held the lead for 3 laps. With 7 laps to go,Wheldon passed her once again, and pulled out to a lead. With less than 3 laps to go,Vítor Meira andBryan Herta managed to get by Patrick, while Wheldon continued to pull away. Down the back stretch with less than 1½ laps to go,Buddy Lazier passedSébastien Bourdais on the outside for 5th place. Bourdais got loose in Turn 3, and crashed into the outside wall. The yellow and white flags were displayed, and 1 lap later,Dan Wheldon won the race under caution.

Bryan Herta's fuel strategy worked out, and he came home 3rd.Danica Patrick held on to 4th place, beatingJanet Guthrie's Indy 500 record (9th place in1978) for the best finish by a female driver.Buddy Lazier finished a strong 5th, despite nursing a broken front wing after contact byScott Sharp.

Finish	Start	Car No.	Driver	Chassis	Engine	Qual	Laps	Status	Team
1	16	26	Dan Wheldon	Dallara	Honda	224.308	200	157.603 mph	Andretti Green Racing
2	7	17	Vítor Meira	Panoz	Honda	226.848	200	Running	Rahal Letterman Racing
3	18	7	Bryan Herta	Dallara	Honda	223.972	200	Running	Andretti Green Racing
4	4	16	Danica Patrick R	Panoz	Honda	227.004	200	Running	Rahal Letterman Racing
5	9	95	Buddy Lazier W	Dallara	Chevrolet	226.353	200	Running	Panther Racing
6	6	27	Dario Franchitti	Dallara	Honda	226.873	200	Running	Andretti Green Racing
7	3	8	Scott Sharp	Panoz	Honda	227.126	200	Running	Fernandez Racing
8	1	11	Tony Kanaan	Dallara	Honda	227.566	200	Running	Andretti Green Racing
9	5	3	Hélio Castroneves W	Dallara	Toyota	226.927	200	Running	Team Penske
10	24	33	Ryan Briscoe R	Panoz	Toyota	224.080	199	-1 Lap	Chip Ganassi Racing
11	26	20	Ed Carpenter	Dallara	Toyota	221.439	199	-1 Lap	Vision Racing
12	15	37	Sébastien Bourdais R	Panoz	Honda	224.955	198	Crash T3	Newman/Haas Racing
13	22	51	Alex Barron	Dallara	Toyota	221.053	197	-3 Laps	Team Cheever
14	14	5	Adrián Fernández	Panoz	Honda	225.120	197	-3 Laps	Fernandez Racing
15	33	48	Felipe Giaffone	Panoz	Toyota	217.645	194	-6 Laps	A. J. Foyt Enterprises
16	27	21	Jaques Lazier	Panoz	Toyota	221.228	189	-11 Laps	Playa Del Racing
17	8	55	Kosuke Matsuura	Panoz	Honda	226.397	186	Crash T4	Super Aguri Fernandez Racing
18	17	24	Roger Yasukawa	Dallara	Honda	224.131	167	Mechanical	Dreyer & Reinbold Racing
19	10	2	Tomáš Enge R	Dallara	Chevrolet	226.107	155	Crash T4	Panther Racing
20	11	4	Tomas Scheckter	Dallara	Chevrolet	226.031	154	Crash T4	Panther Racing
21	25	83	Patrick Carpentier R	Dallara	Toyota	222.803	153	Mechanical	Team Cheever
22	21	44	Jeff Bucknum R	Dallara	Honda	221.521	150	Crash T4	Dreyer & Reinbold Racing
23	2	6	Sam Hornish Jr.	Dallara	Toyota	227.273	146	Crash T1	Team Penske
24	13	9	Scott Dixon	Panoz	Toyota	225.215	113	Crash T1	Chip Ganassi Racing
25	20	70	Richie Hearn	Panoz	Chevrolet	222.707	112	Crash T1	Sam Schmidt Motorsports
26	23	15	Kenny Bräck W	Panoz	Honda	227.598	92	Mechanical	Rahal Letterman Racing
27	31	22	Jeff Ward	Dallara	Toyota	218.714	92	Handling	Vision Racing
28	28	14	A. J. Foyt IV	Dallara	Toyota	220.442	84	Handling	A. J. Foyt Enterprises
29	19	10	Darren Manning	Panoz	Toyota	223.943	82	Mechanical	Chip Ganassi Racing
30	12	36	Bruno Junqueira	Panoz	Honda	225.704	76	Crash T2	Newman/Haas Racing
31	29	25	Marty Roth	Dallara	Chevrolet	219.497	47	Handling	Roth Racing
32	32	91	Jimmy Kite	Dallara	Toyota	218.565	47	Handling	Hemelgarn Racing
33	30	41	Larry Foyt	Dallara	Toyota	219.396	14	Crash T2	A. J. Foyt Enterprises

 W  Former Indianapolis 500 winner

 R  Indianapolis 500 Rookie

All entrants utilizedFirestone tires.

7 drivers led the race, with a total of 27 lead changes.^[16]

The massive media attention going into the race delivered a high television rating,^[9] and brought theIndyCar Series back into the limelight after several slumping years.Dan Wheldon rode the wave of success to six total victories in 2005, and clinched the2005 IndyCar Series championship.

Danica Patrick, however, emerged from the race as the biggest star.^[17] She was interviewed onGood Morning America the morning after the race, and appeared on the cover ofSports Illustrated. Patrick became a household name nearly overnight,^[18] and became a "watercooler" topic.^[19]

2 weeks after the race, other drivers in the series started to embrace and make light of the attention. Race winnerDan Wheldon wore at shirt stating "I actually 'won' the Indy 500."Buddy Rice, the2004 Indy 500 winner sported a shirt saying "Danica's teammate," whileVítor Meira, who finished 2nd wore a shirt with "Danica's other teammate."^[20]

The race was carried live on theIndianapolis Motor Speedway Radio Network.Mike King served as chief announcer.Pancho Carter served as "driver expert", a role he also participated as in1988.

The four turn reporters remained the same from the previous year. In the pit area Kim Morris and Jim Murphy departed. Joining the crew wereNicole Manske andUSACMidget champion Kevin Olson. During the pre-race, Olson interviewedDavid Letterman, a segment of the broadcast that would become a fixture in subsequent years.

Among the special guests interviewed in the booth were formerSecretary of StateColin Powell and the recently electedGovernor of IndianaMitch Daniels. Sponsor guests interviewed in the booth included Tim Manganello (BorgWarner), Keith Sirios (Checkers and Rally's), Al Spire (Firestone), John Middlebrook (GM), and Keith Newman (Jim Beam).

For 2005,ABC Sports replaced veteran announcerPaul Page withTodd Harris.^[21] Harris had previously covered theWorld's Strongest Man competitions, and worked as a sideline–pit reporter. However, he was inexperienced in anchoring live sports, and did not personally pursue the role.^[22] Harris was joined by analystScott Goodyear in the booth. Gone from the broadcast was veteranPaul Page, who had covered the 500 on television or radio dating back to 1974.

Also new to the broadcast wasBrent Musburger, who took over the host role.

The "Wide World of Sports" telecast opened with the pre-race billed as "Firestone Race Day". The opening teaser entitled "Speed City", created by Brice Bowman of Earshot Audio Post, would eventuallyearn aSports Emmy for "Outstanding post-produced audio/sound".

Going into the race broadcast, one of the most significant stories of the month wasDanica Patrick qualifying 4th, and having a legitimate chance to win the race. ABC Sports planned to focus considerably on Patrick during the pre-race and race running.^[21][23] Many felt that ABC was ignoring the other drivers, including polesitterTony Kanaan and eventual winnerDan Wheldon.^[24] In the days after the race,ABC, and Harris in particular, were largely criticised by columnists and bloggers for poor coverage, and for biased and subjective coverage of Patrick.^{[24][25][26][27][28][29]}

It was pointed out that despite the close attention, neither Harris norGoodyear noticed that Patrick had taken the lead during a sequence of pit stops on lap 56.^[26][27] Nine laps later, as ABC returned from commercial, Harris mentioned Patrick having taken the lead for the first time.^[26][30] His comments were criticised as he said she "...turned the trick..."^[24][26][30] (usually asexual reference), and that "Fifty years from now you will remember where you were when Danica Patrick made not only motorsports history, but she joined the likes ofAmelia Earhart andSally Ride in a barrier-breaking performance..."^[30][31] Of which Jerry Greene of theOrlando Sentinel wrote "I seriously doubt it, Todd."^[29] Greene also wrote that Harris "said many stupid things Sunday because of Ms. Patrick's efforts."^[29]

Richard Sandomir wrote that Harris and Goodyear faltered in three distinct instances late in the race.^[28] With 13 laps to go, they closely examinedDan Wheldon taking the lead by the nose of the car at the line repeatedly when a caution came out. It was portrayed as if they wereracing back to the caution. However, such was not allowed underIndy Racing League rules. It was later observed that the caution light did not turn on until the cars were in turn 1 (well after Wheldon had completed the pass), and the attention focused at the start–finish line was misguided, misleading, and irrelevant.

Three laps later, Harris awkwardly waited ten seconds before noting that Patrick had re-taken the lead on the restart.^[28] WhenWheldon took the lead for good on lap 193, Harris again hesitated, and waited 20 seconds to report the move, and another 30 seconds to report that Patrick had dropped to 4th place.^[28] Sandomir also criticized a perceived "softball" post-race interview of Patrick byJerry Punch.^[28]

Houston Chronicle writer David Barron said during the pre-race show and the race's first 90 minutes, he "counted an average of one Patrick reference every five minutes, and each reference went on for some time." Others blogged thatABC was intentionally bringing attention to Patrick's looks, at the same time trying to downplay them.^[32]

With all the hoopla regarding Danica Patrick it was also seen as interesting by some that the song that was played during the closing credits of the broadcast was a song by the title "Luckiest Man Alive" by the Finn Brothers. Some felt that while jumping on the Danica hype for all it was worth this pointed to ABC never really taking the idea seriously that she might actually win. Of course there could've been another version of the closing credits with another song available if she had won but no one at ABC has ever commented on it.

At the end of the2005 season, Todd Harris was removed from the booth, and replaced with veteranMarty Reid.

• 
  2005 Chevrolet Corvette pace car

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