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2004 INDIANAPOLIS 500  

88th Indianapolis 500 - May 30, 2004

RACE SHORTENED BY RAIN (180 laps out of 200)

• race start delayed 2 hours by rain
• after 27 laps, rain delayed the race by another 2 hours
• race declared after 180 laps behind the Safety Car

RICE WINS

• 28 year old Buddy Rice from Arizona filled in for injured Kenny Brack and won the 88th Indy 500. Rice started from pole and led most number of laps (91 out of 180).

• His winner's prize of $1,761,740 was the highest in the history of Indy 500.
  Runner-up Tony Kannan received $659,240.

• 2nd consecutive win for American built Panoz G Force chassis.

• first ever Indy 500 win for Honda.

• Andretti Green team finished 2nd, 3rd and 4th behind Buddy Rice.

FINAL RESULT:

• 1. Buddy Rice G Force-Honda, Team Rahal 180 laps (led 91 laps)
• 2. Tony Kanaan Dallara-Honda, Andretti Green + 0.155s
• 3. Dan Wheldon Dallara-Honda, Andretti Green + 2.28s
• 4. Bryan Herta Dallara-Honda + 2.44
• 5. Bruno Junqueira G Force-Honda + 3.67
• 6. Vitor Meira G Force-Honda + 4.61
• 7. Adrian Fernandez G Force-Honda
• 8. Scott Dixon G Force-Toyota
• 9. Helio Castroneves Dallara-Toyota
• 10. Roger Yasukawa G Force-Honda
• 11. Kosuke Matsuura G Force-Honda
• 12. Alex Barron Dallara-Chevrolet
• 13. Scott Sharp Dallara-Toyota
• 14. Dario Franchitti Dallara-Honda
• 15. Felipe Giaffone Dallara-Chevrolet
• 16. Simmons 17 Unser Jr. 18 Scheckter 19 Takagi 20 Hearn 21 Fisher 22 McGehee
• DNF: Lazier, Roth, Manning, Hornish Jr. , Ray, Jones, R.Gordon/J.Lazier , Taylor, Carpenter, L Foyt, AJ Foyt IV

  BOBBY RAHAL (CO OWNER) WINNING TEAM: "... It's obviously very sweet. People have asked me, is it sweeter than doing it as a driver; I think it's just different. There's nothing like crossing the Yard of Bricks when you're driving a racing car. And yet, at the same token, this has been just a great achievement for our team ... And while I appreciate it, and appreciate it greatly, I am more so pleased for Scott and Dave and the entire team, and of course Buddy, a guy that people wouldn't give a chance to, and here he is. I think, I dare say, I believe that he dominated the race. I don't know how many laps he led, but he certainly drove around everybody when he had to. You know, just a fantastic performance"
  
  DAVID LETTERMAN (CO OWNER) WINNING TEAM : ".... You're 16th, and your heart sinks a little bit, but Buddy's heart didn't sink. He just kept gnawing at it and gnawing at it and running everybody down. The car was the strongest one in the field all the day. He opened up the early lead. Then we sit out an hour and a half for rain. Nothing phased him. Nothing phased the car. It was bound to happen, you know. Two-hundred laps, 400 laps -- I think it's still Buddy -- I don't think the rain was the factor. I'm disappointed it didn't go 200. For Buddy, I know he would like a full race, but I don't think it would have been a factor. The guy who was supposed to win this race won regardless of the weather."
  
  KANAAN (ANDRETTI GREEN) 2ND: "... I drove with everything I had, but Buddy (Rice) just had a faster car today. It's not always that the best car and best driver that wins, but I think today that Buddy deserved it. I did my best and the whole Team 7-Eleven did a great job, but he was just faster than me. All you can do is work as hard as you can. But, I'm happy. What a great job by Honda. I'm very happy for them for getting their first Indy 500 win, too."
  
  MICHAEL ANDRETTI (ANDRETTI GREEN) 2ND TEAM: ".. Buddy had too much car at the end for us. It's a little disappointing, but yeah, we'll take second, third and fourth. It's not too bad, and we're still in the lead for the championship. I think we might have opened it up a little bit with Tony (Kannan) and Dan (Wheldon) . We were competitive; we just weren't quite quick enough."

RACE

• 33 cars for the race ; 68 cars entered
• 500 mile race
• 2.5 mile Brickyard circuit
• PENSKE AIMINING FOR 4TH WIN IN A ROW        
• NEWMAN-HAAS RETURNS

SCHEDULE

• Practice: starts May 9, 2004
• Pole Day: May 15, 2004; 2nd qualifying May 16
• Bubble Day: May 23, 2004

RACE DAY: May 30, 2004:

• 5 am Military bomb signifies opening of track
• 8 am Spectacle of Bands
• 9.20 am Festival Princess Parade Laps
• 9.40 am "On the Banks of the Wabash" Purdue University Band
  Marion County Sheriff Motorcycle Drill Team
• 9.50 am Celebrity/VIP Parade Laps
• 10.15 am "I Hope You Dance" Lee Ann Womack, Victory Podium
  Military Recognition lap in Chevrolet vehicles
• 10.20 am Driver Introductions
• 10.31 am "God Bless America" Florence Henderson, Victory Podium
• 10.40 am "Star Spangled Banner" Jessica Simpson, Victory Podium
• 10.42 am "Drivers To Your Cars" announcement
• 10.44 am Invocation
• 10.45 am Memorial Day Recognition
• 10.47 am "Taps" Purdue University Band
• 10.49 am "Back Home Again in Indiana" Jim Nabors, Victory Podium
  Balloon Spectacle
• 10.51 am "Lady and Gentlemen, Start Your Engines" Mari Hulman George, Victory Podium
• 10.53 am 2004 Chevy Corvette leads pace lap driven by Morgan Freeman
• 11 am RACE START

QUALIFYING, POLE DAY, MAY 15, 2004

RICE, 1ST: "... The Honda has been the engine to have all year and we knew we had enough to go for the pole ... It's unbelievable sitting here with all the changes that we made. This is only going to help Kenny Brack's recovery (Rice is filling in for injured Brack) and his desire to get back in the car."

WHELDON, 2ND: "... I hadn't raced many ovals before coming into the IRL and it's different. It's a unique form of racing - a form of racing that I absolutely love ...It's competitive and different to what I expected. I think I am starting to get a grip as far as etiquette on the track. I have a lot to learn"

• 1. Buddy Rice, G Force-Honda 222.024 mph
• 2. Dan Wheldon, Dallara-Honda, 221.524
• 3. Dario Franchitti, Dallara-Honda, 221.471
• 4. Bruno Junqueira
• 5. Tony Kanaan
• 6. Adrian Fernandez
• 7. Meira 8. Castroneves 9. Matsuura 10. Scheckter
• FULL QUALIFYING / PRACTICE RESULTS

CHASSIS + ENGINE

• 46 Dallara Chassis
• 18 Panoz G Force Chassis
• 23 Toyota Engine
• 21 Chevrolet Engine
• 20 Honda Engine

DRIVERS

• former winners:
• Helio Castroneves - winner 2001, 2002
• Al Unser Jr. - winner 1992,1994
• Newman/Haas Racing returns to Indy 500 after 8 years with 1 driver:
• Bruno Junqueira
  HASS (NEWMAN-HAAS): "... We feel we have assembled a competitive program for our return to the Indianapolis 500 ... Throughout Honda’s history in racing, they have shown their willingness to commit to excellence and that concept, in conjunction with Newman/ Haas Racing’s track record, makes this Indy 500 joint venture very exciting. Bruno has had some success in his two previous Indy 500s and we believe that with the Honda/G-Force/Firestone combination, Bruno is capable of putting PacifiCare and Newman/Haas Racing in the winner’s circle"
• IRL champions:
• Scott Dixon
• Sam Hornish Jr
• Greg Ray
• 5 rookies:
• Kosuke Matsuura
• Mark Taylor - 2003 Infiniti Pro champion
• Ed Carpenter
• Darren Manning
• Marty Roth - oldest driver at 45
• Woman driver:
• Sarah Fisher

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