Check out our favorite IndyCar racing history moments!
Welcome to the exhilarating world of IndyCar racing history moments! For motorsport fans, certain unforgettable instances carve themselves into the fabric of our memories, forever shaping the sport’s rich tapestry.
From heart-stopping finishes at the iconic Indianapolis 500 to nail-biting battles on legendary circuits, each moment encapsulates the essence of skill, speed, and sheer determination.
Whether you’re a newcomer to the adrenaline-fueled world of IndyCar racing or a seasoned fan, these tremendous occasions will leave you breathless with excitement and astonishment.
So buckle up and get ready for a thrilling ride as we relive the 5 IndyCar racing history moments that fans will never forget.
Let’s hit the gas and dive into the action-packed world of IndyCar racing history moments!
IndyCar racing history moment: Helio’s closest near-miss
It’s easy to lose sight of how close Helio Castroneves came to joining Unser, Foyt, and Mears in the 4-time winners’ club before he finally won with Meyer Shank Racing. In 2003, he came up a mere 0.2290s short of Penske teammate Gil de Ferran.
And in 2017, he was only 0.2011s behind Andretti Autosport’s Takuma Sato. But if he ever finishes second again, it’ll surely not be closer than in the IndyCar racing history moment when in 2014, Andretti Autosport’s Ryan Hunter-Reay framed Helio by just 0.06s.
The duel between RHR and Castroneves really began on lap 183 but was interrupted ten laps later by a red flag forced by Townsend Bell shunting. IndyCar was excited to see a race to the finish after the 2012 and 2013 events concluded under caution.
There were six laps to go at the restart and, as was customary in that era of the original Dallara DW12 aero kit, the cars’ tow meant frequent changes of lead down the front stretch, where the leader would embrace the pit wall to push their pursuer to go a long way around at Turn 1.
On Lap 197, with Castroneves in the lead, Hunter-Reay came off Turn 2 with more promising momentum. While he felt like he’d gone far enough to the inside to drive the American to go for an outside pass into Turn 3, Hunter-Reay considered the gap between the Penske and the indfield grass was enough to cram his car through.
And it was… merely. Two laps later, Castroneves was back in front, and this time, as he headed down and spied Hunter-Reay was again close behind, he abolished any thoughts the Andretti driver might have of reprising his “pass in the grass” maneuver by edging nearer to the inside.
With a dash of irony, the defense left Helio more powerless because it was just enough to compromise his line into Turn 3 and his speed through the short chute.
Hitting the pit straight for the last time, Hunter-Reay was past him and leading even before they reached the yard of bricks, and then he held on throughout that final lap to score a shining triumph, making Indianapolis 500 history!
IndyCar racing history moment: Hornish pips Andretti on the line
For most of the day, this seemed like Wheldon’s second straight Indy victory and his first for Chip Ganassi Racing. He conquered the first 140 laps, pursued by team-mate Dixon and Sam Hornish Jr. Both would earn drive-through penalties. But an untimely caution period waddled Wheldon back in the pack.
The yellows were a gift for 19-year-old rookie Marco Andretti, who had been second but dipped into the pits just in time. At the restart, he quickly passed his father Michael’s sister Andretti Green Racing auto to seize the lead, but a revived Hornish wasn’t giving up, and he didn’t have a problem passing the older Andretti, either.
On the second to last lap, the Penske driver attempted to pass Marco heading into Turn 3 but was so firmly overlooked that he lost momentum. But Hornish then kept gaining on his quarry over the remaining five turns.
Leaving the final corner on the last lap, he was in Marco’s slipstream. Timing his pass perfectly, Hornish slipstreamed the youngster to triumph by 0.0635 seconds.
IndyCar racing history moment: Mears wins his best victory
Mears suffered his first-ever crash at the Speedway in a practice run when the right rear wheel of his car broke, and the following accident hurt his foot.
However, after qualifying, he performed astoundingly well to score his sixth pole position and headed up one of the most incredible front rows in Indianapolis 500 history, with Foyt second and Mario Andretti coming up third.
On race day, the Newman/Haas Racing Lola of Michael Andretti dominated at first, only letting go of the lead on pitstops. But Mears remained a lurking danger, constantly acclimating his car to the evolving track. Fittipaldi, the 1989 winner, lost on lap 171.
Mears pitted behind Michael Andretti by 10 seconds. While he got his tires sorted, that deficit extended to 13 seconds. Andretti still needed to stop but was able to do so under caution. When Sullivan’s engine let go, Michael rejoined directly behind Rick.
When restarting, John Andretti and Unser Jr kept out of the way of the leaders. Mears got the initiative, but Andretti had better momentum and, to everyone’s astonishment, went outside the Penske at Turn 1 to take the lead despite cold and worn tires.
Mears, nevertheless, stayed in Andretti’s wheel tracks, and when the Newman/Haas driver went for the Turn 1 apron the next time, the Penske pilot used the outside line to steal the lead.
Despite Mario coming to a complete halt at pit entry, causing a final yellow, his son Michael had nothing left for Mears, who scored his record-matching 4th Indy 500 win.
IndyCar racing history moment: Sullivan wins
Danny Sullivan had remembered well from Penske team-mate Rick Mears about continuously fine-tuning his car for the final shootout in 500-mile races. He got stronger throughout a particular event and found moving up onto Andretti’s tail relatively easy at the start of lap 120.
Pushing to make the pass on the inside of Turn 1, Sullivan had to use the track and the apron, and the change swung his car into a spin. Remarkably, though, he flew out 360 degrees without striking the wall.
Equally shocking, Andretti managed to avoid him through the smokescreen. Less than 20 laps later? Well that’s when a fired-up Sullivan made the Indianapolis 500 history moment by driving into the lead he’d never lose, able to pull away after all ensuing restarts.
IndyCar racing history moment: Rising star versus cunning veteran
Most folks remember the 66th running of the Indianapolis 500 for 3 main reasons: Gordon Smiley’s monstrous and fatal accident in qualifying, the startline crash that wiped out the two most prominent names in US racing, and when Gordon Johncock bordered Mears in an extremely close finish.
The Penske PC10s streaked 1-2 on the grid, but in qualifying, Mears had been an incredible 2.4 miles faster than his team-mate, who, on race day, lost control at the beginning.
His car pierced the March of third front-row starter Foyt before bobbing off him and traversing the track, where Pat Patrick-run Wildcat of Mario Andretti collected him. Both legends were enraged, but at least Foyt could resume, albeit in a now poor car.
At the restart, Foyt flew into the lead and stayed in view for the first part of the race, but after gearbox issues, he would later hit pitlane. The race on the track filtered to a straight battle between Mears and the determined, brave, and fast veteran Johncock in the second Patrick Wildcat.
With 40 laps left, there was a restart in which Mears kept his lead only until the back straight when Johncock took over, and the pair continued in tandem. Mears could run anywhere in the turns as he probed Johncock’s defenses.
Still, Johncock’s superior top-end speed permitted him to legitimately cut down from the outside to the apron at the back of the straights and take the perfect racing line, cutting off Mears and upsetting his downforce. It was a brilliant duel.
Mears was first in, and not only did he tag his left front wing on the tail of a backmarker, but he was also given more than a splash, which would hurt his dash. So, after Johncock halted three laps later, he was over 11 seconds to the good.
This is when Mears gave full vent to Penske’s prospect and sliced the deficit. Coming off Turn 4 to begin the last lap, he was so much faster that it looked like a lead change was unavoidable.
But pre-pitstop, he drew alongside and stalled, and he had no choice but to back off as Johncock came down to take his standard line for Turn 1.
Mears gathered it up and drove back onto Johncock’s tail as they started Turn 4 for the last time but transited the yard of bricks 0.16 seconds short. It would be the closest finish in Indy history for the next ten years.
What did you think about these IndyCar racing history moments? Please feel free to shar your thoughts with us in the comments section.
If like us, you can’t get enough of the Indianapolis 500, you might want to check out this fantastic read from Amazon: The Indianapolis 500: Inside the Greatest Spectacle in Racing
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