2011 Indianapolis 500

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, and David 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
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The 95th Indianapolis 500 was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana on Sunday May 29, 2011. The race was part of the 2011 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 by Dan Wheldon. It was his second Indy 500 win after the 2005 race, and the last win of his racing career. It was the first of two Indy victories for car owner Bryan Herta.

Differing strategies from the frontrunners led to one of the wildest finishes in race history. American rookie J. R. Hildebrand of Panther 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 of Charlie 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 the 2006 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 the IZOD IndyCar World Championship at Las 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 the track (1909) and the 100th anniversary of the inaugural race in 1911. Throughout May, the race was advertised as the 100th Anniversary Indianapolis 500 and the Centennial Indianapolis 500. Since the race was suspended during World War I and World War II, the 100th running of the 500 would not be held until 2016.