2007 Indianapolis 500
The 91st Indianapolis 500 was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana on Sunday May 27, 2007. It was the twelfth Indy 500 sanctioned by the Indy Racing League, and marked the fifth race of the 2007 IndyCar Series season. Hélio Castroneves started the race on the pole position.
| Indianapolis Motor Speedway | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Indianapolis 500 | |||||
| Sanctioning body | Indy Racing League | ||||
| Season | 2007 IndyCar season | ||||
| Date | May 27, 2007 | ||||
| Winner | Dario Franchitti | ||||
| Average speed | 151.774 | ||||
| Pole position | Hélio Castroneves | ||||
| Pole speed | 225.817 | ||||
| Fastest qualifier | Hélio Castroneves | ||||
| Rookie of the Year | Phil Giebler | ||||
| Most laps led | Tony Kanaan (83) | ||||
| Pre-race ceremonies | |||||
| National anthem | Members of United States Armed Forces | ||||
| "Back Home Again in Indiana" | Race fans & the Purdue Band | ||||
| Starting command | Mari Hulman George | ||||
| Pace car | Chevrolet Corvette | ||||
| Pace car driver | Patrick Dempsey | ||||
| Starter | Bryan Howard | ||||
| Honorary starter | Peyton Manning | ||||
| Estimated attendance | 300,000+ (estimated) | ||||
| TV in the United States | |||||
| Network | ESPN on ABC | ||||
| Announcers | Marty Reid, Scott Goodyear, and Rusty Wallace | ||||
| Nielsen ratings | 4.3 / 12 | ||||
| Chronology | |||||
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The race began at 1:11 p.m. EDT, 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.