2007 Indy Car Series Season - Race Summaries - Round 5 of 17: 91st Indianapolis 500

Round 5 of 17: 91st Indianapolis 500

• Sunday May 27 - 1:00 p.m. EDT
• Indianapolis Motor Speedway - Speedway, Indiana (2.50 mile oval)
• Distance: 200 laps / 500 miles, although reduced to 166 laps / 415 miles, due to rain.
• Race weather: Overcast, with rain throughout the day, high 76 F.
• Television: ABC - race advertised as Indianapolis 500 broadcast presented by GoDaddy.com
  • Announcers: Marty Reid, Scott Goodyear, Rusty Wallace, Jack Arute, Vince Welch, Brienne Pedigo, Jamie Little
  • Ratings: 4.3/12
• Attendance: 251,000 (estimated based on track capacity)
• AAMCO Pole Award: Hélio Castroneves - 2:42.3336, 225.817 mph (363.417 km/h)
• Race Summary: Rain fell overnight, and in the morning, but the race started on-time as scheduled. In the early segments of the race, the competition was intense as Helio Castroneves, Tony Kanaan, Marco Andretti, and Scott Dixon all took their turn at the lead. After a caution period, with rain only a few miles away, a restart on lap 107 could have decided the winner. As the green came out, Tony Kanaan got the jump on Marco Andretti, and took the lead in turn 1. Moments later, Phil Giebler crashed, bringing the yellow out once again. Before safety crews could clear the track, heavy rain fell, and the race was red flagged after lap 113. After nearly three hours, the race resumed, with Kanaan leading. On the 156th lap, the field went back to green after Marty Roth's crash, however, in turn four, Tony Kanaan came up on the back of Jacques Lazier, sending Lazier into the wall, and sending Kanaan's car into a spin. He blew a tire and coasted into the pits. Moments later, the field assembled for what was expected to be the final restart before the rains came. Franchitti, working lap 163, held the lead into the backstrech. Behind him, Marco Andretti tangled with Dan Wheldon, and Andretti's car flipped down the backstrech. Before the track could be cleared, a heavy rainstorm fell on the track, and the race was called after 166 laps with Dario Franchitti declared the winner.