1984 Indianapolis 500

1984 Indianapolis 500

The 68th Indianapolis 500 was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Sunday May 27, 1984. Rick Mears, who previously won in 1979, won his second Indy 500 driving for Penske. Contenders Tom Sneva and Mario Andretti dropped out of the race in the second half, leaving Mears alone two laps ahead of the field, and he cruised to the victory.

Three rookies finished in the top five: Roberto Guerrero (2nd), Al Holbert (4th), and Michael Andretti (5th). Guerrero and Andretti shared the rookie of the year award. The race is well-remembered for the terrible crash of sportswriter-turned-racer, Pat Bedard, who tumbled through the infield in turn 4 on lap 58.

The race was sanctioned by USAC, and was included as part of the 1984 CART/PPG Indy Car World Series. The 1984 race has the distinction of having the record for most entries (117), and the most cars to actually be seen in the garage (87).