1992 Indianapolis 500 - Legacy

Legacy

Scott Goodyear's charge from 33rd place to second marked the second time a driver had done so in Indy history. The winning margin of Unser over Goodyear was later deemed to be closer than published. Unser's Galmer-Chevrolet placed its timing transponder in the nose of the car rather than the sidepod, the standard location in all the other cars. Goodyear's Lola lagged behind due to its placement of the transponder in the sidepod. USAC officials estimated an unofficial winning margin of 0.0331 seconds.

The exciting finish of the 1992 Indy 500 was largely overshadowed by the vast number of serious crashes during the month, including the fatal crash of Jovy Marcelo and the devastating injures suffered by Nelson Piquet and Jeff Andretti. The crash-filled race saw 13 cautions for 85 laps, and the slowest average speed since 1958. Several drivers spent time in the hospital, while others required lengthy rehabilitation. At the next Indy Car race at Detroit, several drivers required substitute drivers, including Mario Andretti, Rick Mears, Hiro Matsushita.

In the aftermath of his serious practice crash, followed by the crash during the race, Rick Mears raced only a partial schedule for the remainder of the 1992 season. He dropped out of the Michigan 500 due to the nagging injured wrist he suffered in his practice crash and abruptly retired from driving in December. The 1992 race was also the final start for A. J. Foyt, who would retire from the cockpit before the 1993 race.

Michael Andretti's failure to achieve victory reflected back to the Andretti Curse. Andretti would not return to Indy for two years, due to his ill-fated 1993 Formula One participation.

During the summer of 1992, the track would be reconfigured for safety reasons. The apron at the bottom of the track was removed and replaced with a new warm up lane. The outside retaining wall was also replaced. These improvements were completed in time for the 1993 race.