 | |||||
| Indianapolis Motor Speedway | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Indianapolis 500 | |||||
| Sanctioning body | USAC | ||||
| Season | 1990 CART season 1989–90 Gold Crown | ||||
| Date | May 27, 1990 | ||||
| Winner |  Arie Luyendyk | ||||
| Winning team | Doug Shierson Racing | ||||
| Average speed | 185.981 mph | ||||
| Pole position |  Emerson Fittipaldi | ||||
| Pole speed | 225.301 mph | ||||
| Fastest qualifier | Emerson Fittipaldi | ||||
| Rookie of the Year |  Eddie Cheever | ||||
| Most laps led | Emerson Fittipaldi (128) | ||||
| Pre-race ceremonies | |||||
| National anthem | Sandi Patti | ||||
| "Back Home Again in Indiana" | Jim Nabors | ||||
| Starting command | Mary F. Hulman | ||||
| Pace car | Chevrolet Beretta | ||||
| Pace car driver | Jim Perkins | ||||
| Starter | Duane Sweeney[1] | ||||
| Estimated attendance | 400,000[2] | ||||
| TV in the United States | |||||
| Network | ABC | ||||
| Announcers | Host/Lap-by-lap: Paul Page Color Analyst: Sam Posey Color Analyst Bobby Unser | ||||
| Chronology | |||||
| |||||
The 74th Indianapolis 500 was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana on Sunday, May 27, 1990. Dutchman Arie Luyendyk took the lead with 32 laps to go, and earned his first-ever victory in championship-level competition. It was the second consecutive year the Indy 500 was won by a foreign-born competitor, the first time that had occurred since 1965–1966. Luyendyk completed the 500 miles at an average speed of 185.981 mph (299.307 km/h), a record that stood for 23 years until 2013.[3] In reference to the long-standing speed record, for many years the 1990 race was often referred to as "The Fastest 500".
Defending champion Emerson Fittipaldi started on the pole position and dominated the first half of the race. Setting a new track record in qualifying, Fittipaldi became the first driver to break the 225 mph barrier in time trials. Fittipaldi took the lead at the start, and led the first 92 laps, a new race record. He was looking to become the first back-to-back winner in nineteen years. In the second half of the race, however, he fell victim to blistering tires, fell a lap down, and wound up finishing third. Bobby Rahal, the 1986 winner, was in position to win his second Indy 500, but he too suffered handling problems, which dropped him to second at the finish. Luyendyk, driving for Doug Shierson Racing (the race would be Shierson's final 500), did not experience the handling issues that befell the other competitors, and won the race by a margin of 11.878 seconds.
A. J. Foyt, making his 33rd consecutive Indy start, finished in sixth place. Rookie Jeff Andretti attempted to become the unprecedented fourth member of the Andretti family to qualify for the same race, but was bumped on the final day of time trials. Jim Crawford survived a spectacular airborne crash during practice, and for the second year in a row, three-time winner Johnny Rutherford struggled to get his car up to speed, and failed to qualify.
Rain hampered much of the month, washing out nearly the entire first weekend of time trials as well as two practice days. The 1990 race was also the first Indy 500 presided over by Tony George, who was named president of the Speedway in January. The race was sanctioned by USAC, and was included as part of the 1990 CART PPG Indy Car World Series.
- ^ Fox, Jack C. (1994). The Illustrated History of the Indianapolis 500 1911-1994 (4th ed.). Carl Hungness Publishing. p. 22. ISBN 0-915088-05-3.
- ^ Lacy, Bridgette A. (May 28, 1990). "Snake Pit was party to a good time". The Indianapolis Star. p. 9. Retrieved June 2, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Lewandowski, Dave (2013-05-26). "Inside the box score: Records smashed in race". IndyCar.com. Retrieved 2013-05-27.
