1994 Indianapolis 500

1994 Indianapolis 500

The 78th Indianapolis 500 was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Sunday, May 29, 1994. Al Unser, Jr. won from the pole position, his second Indy 500 victory. Much to the surprise of competitors, media, and fans, Marlboro Team Penske arrived at the Speedway with a brand new, secretly-built 209 in³ (3.42 L) displacement Mercedes-Benz pushrod engine, which was capable of a reported 1,000 horsepower (750 kW). Despite reliability issues with the engine and handling difficulties with the chassis, the three-car Penske team (Unser, Emerson Fittipaldi and Paul Tracy) dominated most of the month, and nearly the entire race.

On lap 185, about to pass his teammate Unser to again put him a lap down, Fittipaldi tagged the wall in turn 4, allowing Unser to cruise to victory.

The race marked the final Indy 500 for Mario Andretti, who retired after the 1994 season. Indy veterans Al Unser, Sr. and Johnny Rutherford also retired in the days leading up the race. John Andretti, who had left CART and moved to the NASCAR Winston Cup Series, became the first driver to race in both the Indy 500 and Coca-Cola 600 in the same day, an effort that has become known as "Double Duty." This was also the second and final Indy 500 for Nigel Mansell, who was knocked out of the race in a bizarre crash with Dennis Vitolo.

The race was sanctioned by USAC, and was included as part of the 1994 PPG IndyCar World Series.