2008 Indianapolis 500

92nd Indianapolis 500

Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Indianapolis 500
Sanctioning body	Indy Racing League
Season	2008 IndyCar season
Date	May 25, 2008
Winner	Scott Dixon
Winning team	Chip Ganassi Racing
Average speed	143.567 mph (231 km/h)
Pole position	Scott Dixon
Pole speed	226.366 mph (364 km/h)
Fastest qualifier	Scott Dixon
Rookie of the Year	Ryan Hunter-Reay
Most laps led	Scott Dixon (115)
Pre-race ceremonies
National anthem	Julianne Hough[1]
"Back Home Again in Indiana"	Jim Nabors
Starting command	Mari Hulman George
Pace car	Chevrolet Corvette
Pace car driver	Emerson Fittipaldi[2]
Starter	Bryan Howard
Honorary starter	Kristi Yamaguchi[3]
Estimated attendance	400,000+[4]
TV in the United States
Network	ESPN on ABC
Announcers	Marty Reid, Scott Goodyear, Eddie Cheever
Nielsen ratings	4.5[5] / TBD
Chronology
Previous Next 2007 2009

The 92nd Indianapolis 500 was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana on Sunday May 25, 2008. It was the fifth round of the 2008 IndyCar Series in DIRECTV HD season. Scott Dixon of New Zealand won the race from the pole position. It marked the first Indy 500 victory for Chip Ganassi Racing since 2000. Dixon led 115 laps, taking the lead for the final time during a sequence of yellow-flag pit stops on lap 172. Dixon held off Vítor Meira and Marco Andretti over the final 24 laps to secure the win.

The 2008 Indy 500 took place just three months after the open wheel "unification" took place. It featured a full complement of IndyCar Series regulars, as well as several teams and drivers from the now-shuttered Champ Car World Series. Following the organizational merger, the 2008 running was expected to be one of the most competitive in many years.^[6] However, most of the former Champ Car team struggled a bit to adapt to the new equipment. The transitioning Champ Car teams were provided a fleet of IRL chassis for the season, but many were used having been sold off by defunct teams. IRL/IndyCar Series-based teams swept the top ten finishing positions, with the best former Champ Car team finishing 11th.

It was the first Indy 500 where all qualifiers utilized the Dallara IR-03/IR-05 chassis after Phil Giebler failed to qualify with the Panoz chassis. Panoz had already ceased supporting their chassis program in 2006, effectively ushering in a four-year "spec" era. In addition, all full-time entries began utilizing semi-automatic paddle shifters in 2008. Paddle shifters for part-time Indy 500-only entries were optional due to cost reasons.^[7] IndyCar Series practice began May 4. Time trials took place over the two weekends prior to the race (May 10–11 and May 17–18). The final practice was held Friday May 23.