95th Indianapolis 500

Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Indianapolis 500
Sanctioning body	INDYCAR
Season	2011 IndyCar season
Date	May 29, 2011
Winner	Dan Wheldon[1]
Winning team	Bryan Herta Autosport
Average speed	170.265 mph (274.015 km/h)
Pole position	Alex Tagliani
Pole speed	227.472 mph (366.081 km/h)
Fastest qualifier	Alex Tagliani
Rookie of the Year	J. R. Hildebrand[1]
Most laps led	Scott Dixon (73)
Pre-race ceremonies
National anthem	Seal,Kelly Clarkson, andDavid Foster
"Back Home Again in Indiana"	Jim Nabors[2]
Starting command	Mari Hulman George
Pace car	Chevrolet Camaro SS Convertible
Pace car driver	A. J. Foyt[3]
Starter	Bryan Howard
Honorary starter	Bruce P. Crandall[4]
Estimated attendance	Est. 300,000+
TV in the United States
Network	ABC
Announcers	Marty Reid,Scott Goodyear,Eddie Cheever
Nielsen ratings	4.0[5]
Chronology
Previous Next 2010 2012

The95th Indianapolis 500 was held at theIndianapolis Motor Speedway inSpeedway, Indiana on Sunday May 29, 2011. The race was part of the2011 IZOD IndyCar Series season. The track opened for practice on May 14 and time trials were held from May 21 to 22.Alex Tagliani won the pole position, and the race was won byDan Wheldon. It was his second Indy 500 win after the2005 race, and the last win of his racing career. It was the first of two Indy victories for car ownerBryan Herta.

Differing strategies from the frontrunners led to one of the wildest finishes in race history. American rookieJ. R. Hildebrand ofPanther Racing took the lead with two laps to go. As the leaders were cycling through pit stops, Hildebrand was nursing a car very low on fuel. He was attempting to stretch his tank to the finish line and hold on for an unexpected victory. It would have been the first Indy 500 win for Panther Racing, after three consecutive runner-up finishes, and two series championships. On the final turn of the final lap, Hildebrand went high to pass the slow car ofCharlie Kimball. He drifted wide and crashed into the outside wall. As his wrecked car coasted down the front straight, Wheldon slipped by in the final 1,000 feet to take the victory. Hildebrand slid across the finish line to finish second. It was the second Indianapolis 500 that ended in a last lap pass after the2006 race, and the only time to date that the race winner led only the final lap. Four months later, Wheldon was killed in a crash in theIZOD IndyCar World Championship atLas Vegas Motor Speedway, driving the car Tagliani had qualified on the pole in.^[6]

The race was the culmination of the three-year-long Centennial era, celebrating the 100th anniversary of the opening of thetrack (1909) and the 100th anniversary of theinaugural race in 1911. Throughout May, the race was advertised as the100th Anniversary Indianapolis 500 and theCentennial Indianapolis 500. Since the race was suspended duringWorld War I andWorld War II, the100th running of the 500 would not be held until 2016.

• On February 21, the Speedway announced the start time for the race would be 12 noonEDT (UTC−04), one hour earlier that it had been scheduled from 2006 to 2010.^[7]
• The 100th anniversary Indy 500 Celebration of Automobiles was held the weekend of opening day. It was aclassic/antiquecar show and contest featuring automobiles linked to race and to the city of Indianapolis from 1911 to 1961.^[8]
• Staind headlined the annual Carb Day concert on Friday May 27, with special guestPapa Roach.^[9]
• On April 5,Donald Trump^[10] was named the driver of theChevrolet Camaro SS pace car.^[11] However, after mountingcriticism of Trump, and a Facebook campaign to oust him from the position,^[12] he announced he was stepping down from the honor due to business and time constraints.^[13] He was replaced by four-time Indianapolis 500 winnerA. J. Foyt.^[3]
• On the morning of the race, a special autostunt was performed in the infield. For "IZOD Presents Hot Wheels Fearless at the 500", a mysterystunt driver (later to be revealed asTanner Foust) from TeamHot Wheels sped down a 90-foot ramp, suspended on a 10-story high door and jumped across the track's infield inside the fourth turn.^[14]
• Thenational anthem was performed bySeal andKelly Clarkson, accompanied byDavid Foster on piano.^[15]
• All of the 269 living Indy 500 veteran drivers were invited to attend the race. At least 161 attended during race weekend (including the 28 veteran drivers that qualified for the race)^[16] and upwards of 175 attended throughout the entire month of May.^[17] A total of 21 of the 27 livingwinners of the Indianapolis 500 attended the race.^{[citation needed]} Those in attendance included:
  • Dario Franchitti,Hélio Castroneves,Scott Dixon,Dan Wheldon, andBuddy Rice who drove in the race
  • A. J. Foyt,Bobby Rahal,Rick Mears,Arie Luyendyk, andMario Andretti who were team owners or had team-related duties
  • Johnny Rutherford andAl Unser Jr. who worked as officials
  • Eddie Cheever andKenny Brack who worked in broadcasting
  • Gil de Ferran,Buddy Lazier,Emerson Fittipaldi,Tom Sneva,Bobby Unser,Al Unser, andParnelli Jones also attended, taking part in various special pre-race activities.
  • Danny Sullivan made an appearance at the track during May but had to leave prior to race day due to a previous commitment.^[18]
  • Those not attending includedJuan Pablo Montoya, who was atCharlotte for theCoca-Cola 600,Sam Hornish Jr., who was also in Charlotte for theNationwide Series race;Jim Rathmann, who was in poor health and could not travel;Gordon Johncock andJacques Villeneuve.
• In the days leading up to the race, a special list entitledThe Greatest 33 was compiled from a panel of experts and fan voting, to establish the best drivers of the first century of the event.

• For the first time, double-file restarts were used. At the conclusion of yellow caution periods, the pace car would pull off in turn one, and the field would align in rows of two down the backstretch. The race leader paced the restart, and the entrance to turn four was the designated restart zone. Passing prior to the start/finish line was allowed if the green flag was waving, except on the first lap.^[19]
• The Honda overtake assist system ("Push-to-pass") was utilized. Each car was permitted 15 presses (18 seconds in duration) with a 10-second recharge time.^[19]

• May 7 – Hot-air balloon festival / Emerging Technologies Day
• May 13 –Freedom 100 testing
• May 14 – 100th Anniversary Indy 500 Celebration of Automobiles
• May 26 –Freedom 100 practice and time trials
• May 27 –Freedom 100 race, Carb Day concert
• May 28 – Public Drivers Meeting, Memorabilia Show, Autograph sessions,500 Festival Parade

SeeTeam and driver chart for more information

On April 15, 2011, theOfficial Entry List was released, featuring 83 cars for 42 entries. As of April 15, thirty-five car/driver combinations had been announced.^[20] On May 9, a revised version of the entry list was released. The entry from China Racing was withdrawn. The final list includes 79 cars for 41 entries.

Confirmed former winners entered includeDario Franchitti,Hélio Castroneves,Scott Dixon,Dan Wheldon, andBuddy Rice.

Since the Indy 500 was the firstoval race of the2011 season, per IndyCar regulations, rookies who have not competed on an oval were required to take part in Pre-Indy Oval testing.Scott Speed andHo-Pin Tung, along withWade Cunningham (who didn't race Indy but participated atTexas) completed the test atChicagoland Speedway on May 9.^[21]Speed was legally exempt from this test because of previous high-speed oval experience inARCA andNASCAR, but chose to test with his teammate to learn the car.

• Weather: 83 °F (28 °C), overcast
• Practice summary: Seven rookies participated in the rookie orientation program. For 2011, the session was open to rookies only in order to pass the four-part rookie test. There would not be any refresher tests (phases three and four) for part-time veteran drivers as had been in years past. The drivers included:J. R. Hildebrand,James Hinchcliffe,James Jakes,Charlie Kimball,Ho-Pin Tung,Pippa Mann andScott Speed.^[22] Six drivers completed all four phases, while Jakes completed three. Jakes can complete the fourth and final phase at any time prior to time trials on May 21.J. R. Hildebrand (221.533 mph (356.523 km/h)) turned the fastest lap of the day, and no incidents were reported.^[23] An eighth Indy 500 rookie is entered,Jay Howard, who is an IndyCar Series veteran (four starts in 2010). He failed to qualify for the Indy 500 in 2010, however since he passed all four phases of the rookie test, and has other oval experience from 2010, he was exempted from participating.

Top Practice Speeds

Pos	No.	Driver	Team	Speed
1	4	J. R. Hildebrand	Panther Racing	221.533
2	8	Ho-Pin Tung	Dragon Racing	220.477
3	06	James Hinchcliffe	Newman/Haas Racing	219.602
OFFICIAL REPORT

• Weather: 67 °F (19 °C), overcast/ rain
• Practice summary: On opening day, 32 cars took to the track, completing 669 laps with no incidents reported.Ed Carpenter led the speed chart at 224.786 mph (361.758 km/h). Around 3 p.m., rain halted the session, but the track dried, and practice resumed for a short time. At 5:30 p.m., rain returned and the session came to a close.^[24]

Top Practice Speeds

Pos	No.	Driver	Team	Speed
1	67	Ed Carpenter	Sarah Fisher Racing	224.786
2	9T	Scott Dixon	Chip Ganassi Racing	224.491
3	4T	J. R. Hildebrand	Panther Racing	224.433
OFFICIAL REPORT

• Weather: 56 °F (13 °C), rain
• Practice summary: Rain washed out practice for the entire day.^[25]

• Weather: 58 °F (14 °C), partly cloudy/ overcast
• Practice summary: In the first full practice for the 2011 Indianapolis 500 (1,379 total laps run),Alex Tagliani ofSam Schmidt Motorsports ran the fastest lap of the day, and of the month so far, at 225.878. The top three rounded out with former winnerScott Dixon coming in second andGraham Rahal finishing third on the day. A total of 39 drivers took to the track, on a cool, windy afternoon. No incidents were reported.^[26]

Top Practice Speeds

Pos	No.	Driver	Team	Speed
1	77	Alex Tagliani	Sam Schmidt Motorsports	225.878
2	9	Scott Dixon	Chip Ganassi Racing	225.124
3	38	Graham Rahal	Chip Ganassi Racing	225.071
OFFICIAL REPORT

• Weather: 51 °F (11 °C), overcast/ rain
• Practice summary: Cold temperatures delayed the start of practice until 1:12 p.m.Firestone requires the ambient and track temperature to be over 50 °F (10 °C) before cars are allowed to enter the track.^[27] Only two drivers (teammatesMarco Andretti andMike Conway) managed to take laps, and few teams left the garage area. Lingering moisture kept the yellow light on most of the afternoon, and the track closed officially for the day at 4:05 p.m.

Top Practice Speeds

Pos	No.	Driver	Team	Speed
1	26	Marco Andretti	Andretti Autosport	220.656
2	27	Mike Conway	Andretti Autosport	219.910
OFFICIAL REPORT

• Weather: 57 °F (14 °C), overcast/ rain
• Practice summary: Rain washed out practice for the entire day.

• Weather: 72 °F (22 °C), partly cloudy
• Practice summary: After two consecutiverainouts (and three overall), the cars took to the track for a full day of practice. At 12:25 p.m.,Simona de Silvestro's car lost control in the north chute after leaking fluid, causing her to spin and flip up into thecatch fence. The car came to a rest upside-down, with flames coming from the sides, but she climbed from the car and walked to the safety truck. She was transported toMethodist Hospital with second degree burns on her right hand.^[28] Following the accident, practice resumed uninterrupted for the rest of the day withWill Power taking the top position, putting up the fastest speed of the month to date. Power was followed byAlex Tagliani and teammateRyan Briscoe in the top speed charts.^[29]

Top Practice Speeds

Pos	No.	Driver	Team	Speed
1	12	Will Power	Team Penske	227.778
2	77	Alex Tagliani	Sam Schmidt Motorsports	227.652
3	6	Ryan Briscoe	Team Penske	227.217
OFFICIAL REPORT

• Weather: 84 °F (29 °C), sunny/ partly cloudy
• Practice summary: Fast Friday saw the second consecutive day of full practice.Alex Tagliani was atop the leader board for most of the day, like many of the practice sessions before, breaking the record speed during the month at over 228 mph (367 km/h). However, later in the day, three-time Indianapolis 500 winnerHélio Castroneves took to the top five in practice for the first time this month, running a best 228.611 mph (367.914 km/h). Castroneves stayed in first position for the rest of the day with Tagliani finishing second, who has finished in the top three on all three full practices of the year. The 2008 Indianapolis 500 winner,Scott Dixon finished third on the day with a speed over 228 mph (367 km/h).

Late in the day, reports surfaced thatScott Speed had quitDragon Racing, after having trouble getting up to speed. The rumor was denied.^[30]

Top Practice Speeds

Pos	No.	Driver	Team	Speed
1	3	Hélio Castroneves	Team Penske	228.611
2	77	Alex Tagliani	Sam Schmidt Motorsports	228.327
3	9	Scott Dixon	Chip Ganassi Racing	228.181
OFFICIAL REPORT

• Weather: 78 °F (26 °C), partly cloudy/ periodic rain

• Practice summary: The final practice before Pole Day commenced at 8:00 AM EDT with the first group taking the track for 30 minutes of practice. In the first session,Ryan Briscoe crashed his car coming out on turn two and was forced to practice the rest of the day with his back-up car. After the green flag came back out there were no more interruptions during the practice with the second group finishing their 30 minutes of practice and the remainder of the time given to all the cars for practice. After the two hours session, it wasAlex Tagliani who held the top position, withBuddy Rice making his first appearance in the "fast five", andWill Power rounding out the top three.

Top Practice Speeds

Pos	No.	Driver	Team	Speed
1	77	Alex Tagliani	Sam Schmidt Motorsports	228.184
2	44	Buddy Rice	Panther Racing	227.849
3	12	Will Power	Team Penske	227.766
OFFICIAL REPORT

• First segment summary: The first segment was scheduled from 11 a.m. until 4 p.m. All drivers in the qualifying order were guaranteed at least one opportunity to make a qualifying attempt. The top 24 would make up the provisional starting field. The top nine would advance to the pole position "shootout".Alex Tagliani set the pace early, with a run of 226.954 mph (365.247 km/h). Other drivers putting in top 9 speeds includedDan Wheldon,Townsend Bell, andWill Power. The day was headlined by several part-time IndyCar teams, while several full-time contenders struggled mightily.Penske failed to get all three of their cars in the top 9; after his morning practice crash,Ryan Briscoe failed to make the top 24.Hélio Castroneves, trying to become the first driver to win three consecutive Indy poles, missed the top 9. All five cars ofAndretti Autosport struggled, withJohn Andretti the only driver to crack the top 24.Ed Carpenter was one of the final drivers to make an attempt, and qualified with an impressive 226.171 mph (363.987 km/h), good enough for 6th fastest forSarah Fisher Racing. After being burned in a crash on Thursday,Simona de Silvestro made three qualifying attempts, and on her third attempt, managed to qualify 24th. The only crash of the session was byHo-Pin Tung, who wrecked on his final lap and suffered a concussion. A short rain shower ended the session about 25 minutes early.
• Fast Nine Shootout summary: Rain delayed the start of the Fast Nine "shootout", therefore each of the nine participants were allowed only one attempt at the pole position. The top nine drivers from the earlier segment took to the track in reverse order of speed.Oriol Servià set the pace early with a run of 227.168 mph (365.591 km/h).Dario Franchitti was running fast enough to clinch a front row position, but he ran out of fuel on the final lap and dropped to ninth.Scott Dixon was the second to last driver to make an attempt. He took over the provisional pole position from Servià, and he himself ran out of fuel in the last few seconds of his run.Alex Tagliani was the final driver to go out. His run of 227.472 mph (366.081 km/h) secured the pole position forSam Schmidt Motorsports.

Pole Day – Saturday, May 21, 2011

Fast Nine Shootout (positions 1–9)

Pos	No.	Driver	Team	Speed	Pts
1	77	Alex Tagliani	Sam Schmidt Motorsports	227.472 mph (366 km/h)	15
2	9	Scott Dixon	Chip Ganassi Racing	227.340 mph (366 km/h)	13
3	2	Oriol Servià	Newman/Haas Racing	227.168 mph (366 km/h)	12
4	99	Townsend Bell	Sam Schmidt Motorsports	226.887 mph (365 km/h)	11
5	12	Will Power	Team Penske	226.773 mph (365 km/h)	10
6	98	Dan Wheldon	Bryan Herta Autosport	226.490 mph (365 km/h)	9
7	44	Buddy Rice	Panther Racing	225.786 mph (363 km/h)	8
8	67	Ed Carpenter	Sarah Fisher Racing	225.121 mph (362 km/h)	7
9	10	Dario Franchitti	Chip Ganassi Racing	No time	6
OFFICIAL REPORT

Positions 10–24

Pos	No.	Driver	Team	Speed	Pts
10	5	Takuma Sato	KV Racing Technology –Lotus	225.736 mph (363 km/h)	4
11	14	Vítor Meira	A. J. Foyt Enterprises	225.590 mph (363 km/h)	4
12	4	J. R. Hildebrand R	Panther Racing	225.579 mph (363 km/h)	4
13	06	James Hinchcliffe R	Newman/Haas Racing	225.572 mph (363 km/h)	4
14	30	Bertrand Baguette	Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing	225.285 mph (363 km/h)	4
15	11	Davey Hamilton	Dreyer & Reinbold Racing	225.250 mph (363 km/h)	4
16	3	Hélio Castroneves	Team Penske	225.216 mph (362 km/h)	4
17	43	John Andretti	Andretti Autosport	224.981 mph (362 km/h)	4
18	59	E. J. Viso	KV Racing Technology –Lotus	224.732 mph (362 km/h)	4
19	41	Bruno Junqueira	A. J. Foyt Enterprises	224.691 mph (362 km/h)	4
20	22	Justin Wilson	Dreyer & Reinbold Racing	224.511 mph (361 km/h)	4
21	88	Jay Howard R	Sam Schmidt Motorsports	224.483 mph (361 km/h)	4
22	07	Tomas Scheckter	SH Racing	224.433 mph (361 km/h)	4
23	82	Tony Kanaan	KV Racing Technology –Lotus	224.417 mph (361 km/h)	4
24	78T	Simona de Silvestro	HVM Racing	224.392 mph (361 km/h)	4
OFFICIAL REPORT

• Weather:

• Practice summary:Patrick Carpentier took over forScott Speed in theDragon Racing entry, and took several shake down laps in the morning session. However, his effort ended when he crashed in turn 1. Around noon,Dragon Racing announced they were withdrawing, and would not attempt to qualify.Charlie Kimball topped the speed chart with a lap of 226.822 mph (365.035 km/h).

Top Practice Speeds

Pos	No.	Driver	Team	Speed
1	83	Charlie Kimball	Chip Ganassi Racing	226.822 mph (365 km/h)
2	7	Danica Patrick	Andretti Autosport	226.252 mph (364 km/h)
3	26	Marco Andretti	Andretti Autosport	226.181 mph (364 km/h)
OFFICIAL REPORT[permanent dead link]

• Bump Day summary – First segment: Qualifying began at noon, with thunderstorms approaching. Only two cars (Ana Beatriz andGraham Rahal) made it onto the track before heavy rains fell at the track. Track crews dried the racing surface, and the track re-opened for qualifying at 2:30 p.m.
• Second segment: A hectic period of qualifying saw the field filled to 33 cars, and bumping began.Paul Tracy took to the track, with weather once again threatening. He completed his run in light misty rain, and bumped his way into the field with the fastest run of the day.Danica Patrick was the next car in line at 3:15 p.m., and the only car that had not yet made an attempt Sunday. However, the rain returned, and halted track activity. There was considerable concern that Patrick may not get an opportunity to qualify, if the rain continued the remainder of the day.
• Third segment: Crews dried the track, and it re-opened at 4:45 p.m.Danica Patrick was the first car out, and bumped her way in comfortably. The rest of theAndretti Autosport team, however, was struggling with speed.Mike Conway made three attempts, and was too slow to qualify. In the final fifteen minutes,Marco Andretti was on the bubble, and his teammateRyan Hunter-Reay was the second slowest.Alex Lloyd took to track, and bumped outMarco Andretti in the final five minutes. Andretti hurried to get back in the qualifying line, but was beaten byJames Jakes. Jakes was waved off after two slow laps, which gave Andretti one final chance to bump his way back in. With 55 seconds left before the 6 o'clock gun, Andretti pulled away from the pits. His qualifying run of 224.628 mph (361.504 km/h) bumpedRyan Hunter-Reay from the field.

Bump Day – Sunday, May 22, 2011

Pos	No.	Driver	Team	Speed	Pts
25	23	Paul Tracy	Dreyer & Reinbold Racing	224.939 mph (362 km/h)	3
26	7	Danica Patrick	Andretti Autosport	224.861 mph (362 km/h)	3
27	6T	Ryan Briscoe	Team Penske	224.639 mph (362 km/h)	3
28	26	Marco Andretti	Andretti Autosport	224.628 mph (362 km/h)	3
29	83	Charlie Kimball R	Chip Ganassi Racing	224.499 mph (361 km/h)	3
30	38	Graham Rahal	Chip Ganassi Racing	224.380 mph (361 km/h)	3
31	19	Alex Lloyd	Dale Coyne Racing	223.957 mph (360 km/h)	3
32	36	Pippa Mann R	Conquest Racing	223.936 mph (360 km/h)	3
33	24	Ana Beatriz	Dreyer & Reinbold Racing	223.879 mph (360 km/h)	3
OFFICIAL REPORT

• Weather: 61 °F (16 °C), partly cloudy
• Practice summary: The final practice before the 2011 Indianapolis 500 saw all 33 qualified cars take to the track during the hour. Former winnerScott Dixon saw the fastest time of the session while pole-sitter,Alex Tagliani, who had been very fast for most of the month, came into second with a lap speed of 224.739 mph (361.682 km/h). Former winnerDario Franchitti closed out the top three for the day, a day when over 1,000 laps were run by all cars in the preparation for the race.

Top Practice Speeds

Pos	No.	Driver	Team	Speed
1	9	Scott Dixon	Chip Ganassi Racing	225.474
2	77	Alex Tagliani	Sam Schmidt Motorsports	224.739
3	10	Dario Franchitti	Chip Ganassi Racing	224.658
OFFICIAL REPORT

The 34th annualPit Stop Challenge was held Friday May 27. The crew ofRyan Briscoe (Penske) defeatedDario Franchitti (Ganassi) in the final round. It was the 13th victory for Penske in the event.^[31]

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

Row	Inside		Middle		Outside
1	77	Alex Tagliani	9	Scott Dixon W	2	Oriol Servià
2	99	Townsend Bell	12	Will Power	98	Dan Wheldon W
3	44	Buddy Rice W	67	Ed Carpenter	10	Dario Franchitti W
4	5	Takuma Sato	14	Vítor Meira	4	J. R. Hildebrand R
5	06	James Hinchcliffe R	30	Bertrand Baguette	11	Davey Hamilton
6	3	Hélio Castroneves W	43	John Andretti	59	E. J. Viso
7	22	Justin Wilson	88	Jay Howard R	07	Tomas Scheckter
8	82	Tony Kanaan	78	Simona de Silvestro	23	Paul Tracy
9	7	Danica Patrick	6	Ryan Briscoe	26	Marco Andretti
10	83	Charlie Kimball R	38	Graham Rahal	19	Alex Lloyd
11	36	Pippa Mann R	24	Ana Beatriz	41	Ryan Hunter-Reay1

Post-qualifying changes

¹ On Monday, May 23,Andretti Autosport andA. J. Foyt Enterprises reached an agreement forRyan Hunter-Reay to replaceBruno Junqueira as driver of the #41 car. Per race rules, the car, which had originally qualified for the 19th starting position, was moved to the end of the field.^[32]

Failed to qualify

No.	Driver	Team	Reason
8	Ho-Pin Tung R	Dragon Racing	Crashed during qualifying attempt on Pole Day, not medically cleared to continue taking part in qualifying.
17	Raphael Matos	AFS Racing	Bumped from the field, too slow to re-qualify.
18	James Jakes R	Dale Coyne Racing	Bumped from the field, too slow to re-qualify.
20	Scott Speed R  Patrick Carpentier	Dragon Racing	Speed did not attempt to qualify on Pole Day. Team withdrew on Bump Day after Carpentier crashed and the team could not secure a back-up car.
27	Mike Conway	Andretti Autosport	Bumped from the field, too slow to re-qualify.
28	Ryan Hunter-Reay	Andretti Autosport	Bumped from the field – replaced Bruno Junqueira in the #41.
34	Sebastián Saavedra	Conquest Racing	Bumped from the field, too slow to re-qualify.

The 95th running of the Indianapolis 500 began at 12:00 PM EDT on a hot, muggy day, shortly after the traditional pre-race ceremonies of the invocation, national anthem, and the singingBack Home Again in Indiana byJim Nabors.Mari Hulman George gave the starting command around 12:05 PM, as the cars took two parade laps and one pace lap, led by four-time Indianapolis 500 winnerA. J. Foyt, who was driving the pace car. The green flag came out to seeScott Dixon pass by pole-sitterAlex Tagliani to take the early lead in the race. The first 20 laps of the race saw a relatively smooth pace set in. Unlike past years there was no accident in the first two laps, with the first caution coming out on Lap 21 whenTakuma Sato made contact with the wall. During the first caution period many team made pit-stops includingWill Power who left the pit area and drove a lap without a left-rear tire, which all but eliminated the IndyCar points leader from having an opportunity to win the race.

Shortly following the green flag restart (which was changed to a two-car abreast start during the drivers meetings) Sato's teammate,E. J. Viso was turned heading into turn 1 by James Hinchcliffe and was the next driver to make contact with the wall and eliminate himself from the race. Following the cleanup and restart after Viso's crash saw the field taking shape and aligning themselves for the long 400+ miles remaining.Simona de Silvestro, who was burned in a crash earlier in the month, was not able to pick up speed in her back-up car and quickly fell from 23rd position, to last. On lap 44, it was clear that the car would not be able to keep up with the field, she was called into the pits and her day was over.

Defending winnerDario Franchitti, along with Scott Dixon, Alex Tagliani, andOriol Servià all began to take their places at the top of the field with each of them leading more than 10 laps in the race respectively. Later accidents occurred with rookiesJay Howard andJames Hinchcliffe. Howard lost a right-rear wheel on lap 61, while Hinchcliffe slid high in turn 3 and bounced off the wall at the halfway mark.

Following James Hinchcliffe's crash on lap 101, the green flag remained out for over 40 laps as many different drivers shared the lead and got in position for the shootout in the final 10. On lap 148, it was the pole-sitter Alex Tagliani who would be called into pit lane after making slight contact with the wall. Tagliani, who had not had a good day, started in first, fell all the way down to 12th before the crash, was finished for the day, with his final finish position being 28th. One of the few multi-car crashes of the day occurred on lap 158 betweenRyan Briscoe andTownsend Bell. Up to that point in the day,Team Penske had been running slow and really did not have a good shot at any of their drivers winning the race, and with the crash and elimination ofRyan Briscoe all hope seemed gone asHélio Castroneves and Will Power were both down due to bad pit stops and slow cars. With no more lengthy cautions the remainder of the race it turned into a fight for the lead as the laps dwindled down.

As the race prepared to go back to green on lap 164, a handful of drivers ducked into the pit area to top off their fuel, in hopes of going the distance without another pit stop.Dario Franchitti andJ. R. Hildebrand were among those who gave up their track position, and topped off their fuel.

For the first time in his Indy career, Graham Rahal took the lead of the race and held it for six laps. However, he lost a battle to Scott Dixon and was forced to a pit stop which dropped out of the top five. However, he was able to finish the race in third place. Tony Kanaan also saw his flirt with Indy glory as he made his way all from the middle of the pack to second place at one point, but was forced as well to drop on a pit stop with less than 20 laps to go. As the race came to down to its final 15 laps, it was still Scott Dixon and Dario Franchitti, two Chip Ganassi Racing cars and former winners, who looked like they would win the race. However, late in the race after a series of pit stops by most in the lead, it was an unlikely Bertrand Baguette who would lead the race as the action came to it climax. Baguette was expected to pit again but as the laps dwindled down and he did not come in, it became increasingly likely that this new face would win the race.

The final 10 laps became a battle between Baguette, Franchitti, and rookieJ. R. Hildebrand (all of whom were all trying to stretch their fuel to the finish), as well as Dixon andDan Wheldon behind but good to the finish having recently pitted. With three laps to go, Baguette pitted for fuel and Franchitti continued to slow to conserve fuel. This gave the lead to Hildebrand while Franchitti continued to fade, falling behind Dixon and the charging Wheldon. As the field was given the white flag, it seemed all but certain a rookie would win the 500 for the first time since Castroneves won it in 2001. Hildebrand moved his way down into the north short chute and down into turn four. Coming in on the front stretch, Hildebrand went high to avoid the slower car ofCharlie Kimball, who was on the inside line, and collided with the wall. Without steering and on only three wheels, the car slid down the frontstretch towards the finish line.Dan Wheldon, who was second, skirted by in the final 1,000 feet, and crossed the line to win the race.^[33] Hildebrand continued to slide, and crossed the finish line in second.

Dan Wheldon became the 18th person to win two or more Indianapolis 500's, his first coming in 2005. The 200th lap was the only one he led in the race, breakingJoe Dawson's 99-year-old record for the fewest laps led by an Indy winner. As he took to victory lane, he celebrated with the traditional ceremonies of the wreath, glass of milk, and the presentation of theBorg Warner Trophy. As the celebration was occurring, his former teamPanther Racing considered filing for a review, stating that Wheldon made an illegal pass during the yellow on Hildebrand's car. In the end, video showed that the yellow did not come out until after Wheldon had passed, and even if it would have come out before the pass, the president of competition ruled that Hildebrand's car was a "wounded car", and was therefore allowed to be passed in the race.^[34]

Wheldon's average speed of 170.265 mph (274.015 km/h) was the fourth-fastest Indy 500 in history, and was the first Indy 500 completed in less than three hours sinceJuan Pablo Montoya won in2000.

Pos	No.	Driver	Team	Chassis	Engine	Laps	Status	Grid	Points
1	98	Dan Wheldon W	Bryan Herta Autosport	Dallara	Honda	200	2:56:11.7267	6	59
2	4	J. R. Hildebrand R	Panther Racing	Dallara	Honda	200	+2.1086	12	44
3	38	Graham Rahal	Chip Ganassi Racing	Dallara	Honda	200	+5.5949	29	38
4	82	Tony Kanaan	KV Racing Technology –Lotus	Dallara	Honda	200	+7.4870	22	36
5	9	Scott Dixon W 1	Chip Ganassi Racing	Dallara	Honda	200	+9.5434	2	45
6	2	Oriol Servià1	Newman/Haas Racing	Dallara	Honda	200	+9.5435*	3	42
7	30	Bertrand Baguette	Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing	Dallara	Honda	200	+23.9631	14	30
8	07	Tomas Scheckter	SH Racing	Dallara	Honda	200	+24.3299	21	28
9	26	Marco Andretti	Andretti Autosport	Dallara	Honda	200	+25.7411	27	25
10	7	Danica Patrick	Andretti Autosport	Dallara	Honda	200	+26.4483	25	23
11	67	Ed Carpenter	Sarah Fisher Racing	Dallara	Honda	200	+27.0375	8	26
12	10	Dario Franchitti W	Chip Ganassi Racing	Dallara	Honda	200	+56.4167	9	24
13	83	Charlie Kimball R	Chip Ganassi Racing	Dallara	Honda	199	-1 lap	28	20
14	12	Will Power	Team Penske	Dallara	Honda	199	-1 lap	5	26
15	14	Vítor Meira	A. J. Foyt Enterprises	Dallara	Honda	199	-1 lap	11	19
16	22	Justin Wilson	Dreyer & Reinbold Racing	Dallara	Honda	199	-1 lap	19	18
17	3	Hélio Castroneves W	Team Penske	Dallara	Honda	199	-1 lap	16	17
18	44	Buddy Rice W	Panther Racing	Dallara	Honda	198	-2 laps	7	20
19	19	Alex Lloyd	Dale Coyne Racing	Dallara	Honda	198	-2 laps	30	15
20	36	Pippa Mann R	Conquest Racing	Dallara	Honda	198	-2 laps	31	15
21	24	Ana Beatriz	Dreyer & Reinbold Racing	Dallara	Honda	197	-3 laps	32	15
22	43	John Andretti	Andretti Autosport	Dallara	Honda	197	-3 laps	17	16
23	41	Ryan Hunter-Reay	A. J. Foyt Enterprises	Dallara	Honda	197	-3 laps	33	12
24	11	Davey Hamilton	Dreyer & Reinbold Racing	Dallara	Honda	193	-7 laps	15	16
25	23	Paul Tracy	Dreyer & Reinbold Racing	Dallara	Honda	175	-25 laps	24	13
26	99	Townsend Bell	Sam Schmidt Motorsports	Dallara	Honda	157	Contact	4	21
27	6	Ryan Briscoe	Team Penske	Dallara	Honda	157	Contact	26	13
28	77	Alex Tagliani	Sam Schmidt Motorsports	Dallara	Honda	147	Contact	1	25
29	06	James Hinchcliffe R	Newman/Haas Racing	Dallara	Honda	99	Contact	13	14
30	88	Jay Howard R	Sam Schmidt Motorsports	Dallara	Honda	60	Contact	20	14
31	78	Simona de Silvestro	HVM Racing	Dallara	Honda	44	Handling	23	14
32	59	E. J. Viso	KV Racing Technology –Lotus	Dallara	Honda	27	Contact	18	14
33	5	Takuma Sato	KV Racing Technology –Lotus	Dallara	Honda	20	Contact	10	14

 W  Former Indianapolis 500 winner

 R  Indianapolis 500 Rookie

All entrants utilizedFirestone tires.

Note: UnofficiallyOriol Servià finished 5th, 8.8757 seconds behind the leader, withScott Dixon placing 6th. When the official results were posted, it was determined that Servia passed Dixon on the final lap while the yellow caution light was illuminated. Officials re-instated Dixon to 5th, and dropped Servia to 6th in the final standings.

Race winnerDan Wheldon received$2,567,255 in cash prizes and designated awards.

Typically, the presentation of theBorg-Warner Trophy replicas ("Baby Borg") for the driver and owner takes place in January in Detroit during theNorth American International Auto Show, but Wheldon was killed atLas Vegas in October. Car ownersBryan Herta and Steve Newey, along with Wheldon's widow Susie, were presented in Detroit with their trophies.^[35]

The Indianapolis 500-winning car, Dallara IR3007, was the seventh chassis made by Dallara Automobili from the 2003 specifications. Originally a Panther Racing car, it was sold to Adrian Fernandez and later Marty Roth, before FAZZT bought the car in 2010, which became Sam Schmidt Motorsports' car in 2011 when it was used to win the Indianapolis 500. It was raced the next race atTexas Motor Speedway as a Sam Schmidt Motorsports #99 forWade Cunningham, who crashed it in the first of the Twin 275 km races. The car has been rebuilt and restored in 2011 Indianapolis 500 condition as part of a Wheldon tribute. (Andretti Autosport owns the other Wheldon winner, and is restoring that car too in 2005 Indianapolis 500 race-winning trim.)

The race was televised inhigh definition in theUnited States onABC,^[36][37] the 47th consecutive year on that network.Marty Reid served as anchor. The telecast utilized theSide-by-Side format for commercial breaks. In theIndianapolis market, the live broadcast wasblacked out onWRTV, and shownsame-day tape delay in prime time. In some markets in northern Indiana, the final 15 laps of the race were not shown due to a weather bulletin.

The race received a 4.3 overnight rating onABC,^[38] up 7% over 2010.^[39] The top local markets includedIndianapolis (14.5),Dayton (10.5), andFort Myers/Naples (8.5).^[40] The final rating was 4.0 with 6.711 million viewers, up 11% in ratings and 16% in viewership compared to 2010.^[41]

Time trials and Carb Day were covered live in the United States onVersus.^[36] The announcing team consisted ofBob Jenkins,Jon Beekhuis andWally Dallenbach Jr. Pit reporters includedLindy Thackston, Marty Snider, and Kevin Lee.Robin Miller serves as analyst and "insider".^[42]

Daily practice was streamed live over the internet.^[43]

The race was broadcast on radio by theIMS Radio Network.Mike King served as anchor. The broadcast reached approximately 400affiliates, as well asAFN, theLeSEA broadcasting network, andWorld Harvest Radio. The broadcast was carried onXM channel 145 and onSirius channel 212 through the "Best of XM" package.

After eliminating the position for 2010, the turn one location was brought back for the broadcast.Jerry Baker reprised his role in turn 1. The position was brought back in response to the league adopting double-wide restarts.Kenny Brack returned as "driver expert", joining the booth in-progress after participating in various pre-race festivities.

WFNI broadcast nightly from the track withTrackside with Curt Cavin and Kevin Lee, followed byDonald Davidson'sThe Talk of Gasoline Alley.

In 2010, drivers from the starting field were used to recite the famous out-cue"Stay tuned for the greatest spectacle in racing." For 2011, in celebration of the Centennial Era, the out-cues for each commercial break were recordings of previous renditions by the former "Voices of the 500". Each commercial break would feature a different chief announcer, rotating throughSid Collins,Paul Page,Lou Palmer,Bob Jenkins, and Mike King. This format was also used in 2009.

• 2011 IndyCar Series season

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