2015 Indianapolis 500

2015 Indianapolis 500

Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Indianapolis 500
Sanctioning body	IndyCar
Season	2015 IndyCar Series season
Date	May 24, 2015
Winner	Juan Pablo Montoya
Winning team	Team Penske
Average speed	161.341 mph (259.653 km/h)
Pole position	Scott Dixon
Pole speed	226.760 mph (364.935 km/h)
Fastest qualifier	Scott Dixon
Rookie of the Year	Gabby Chaves
Most laps led	Scott Dixon (84)
Pre-race ceremonies
National anthem	Jordin Sparks[1]
"Back Home Again in Indiana"	Straight No Chaser
Starting command	Mari Hulman George
Pace car	Chevrolet Corvette Z06
Pace car driver	Jeff Gordon[2]
Starter	Paul Blevin
Honorary starter	Patrick Dempsey
Estimated attendance	220,000[3]
TV in the United States
Network	ABC
Announcers	Allen Bestwick, Scott Goodyear, Eddie Cheever
Nielsen ratings	4.3 (6.4 million viewers)[4]
Chronology
Previous Next 2014 2016

The 2015 Indianapolis 500 was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana on Sunday May 24, 2015. It was the premier event of the 2015 season of the Verizon IndyCar Series. Juan Pablo Montoya won his second Indianapolis 500, followed in the finish by Will Power, Charlie Kimball, polesitter Scott Dixon, and Graham Rahal.^[5]

For the second year in a row, the month of May activities opened with the Grand Prix of Indianapolis over May 7–9. Practice opened on May 11, and time trials were held on May 16–17. Rain interrupted and eventually washed out time trials on May 16, and all qualifications were held on Sunday May 17.

The victory capped off a successful return to Indy car racing for Montoya. The 1999 CART champion and 2000 Indy 500 winner had left American open-wheel racing for Formula One for 2001–2005. He then switched to the NASCAR Cup Series, and also competed in Grand Am. Out of Indy car racing for thirteen seasons, Montoya surprisingly signed with Team Penske for 2014,^[6] and finished 5th in the 2014 race, only his second Indy 500 start. Later that year he won the Pocono 500, and by winning the 2015 Indy 500, set a record for most years between two victories - fifteen years (2000 and 2015).

The 2015 race saw the debut of unique aero kits from Chevrolet and Honda, respectively, outfitted for the Dallara DW12 chassis.^[7] As part of the ICONIC project, aero kits were originally planned for 2012, but a series of delays due to cost issues put off their homologation and implementation until 2015. During practice, three Chevrolet entries suffered major crashes that resulted in flip-overs. The crashes raised safety concerns around the paddock, and series officials delayed time trials for several hours in order to address the situation with rule and procedural changes, removing qualifying from its status as a points-paying event.

During a practice session on May 18, IndyCar's Holmatro Safety Team was lauded for a life-saving effort in their rescue of driver James Hinchcliffe. During the run, Hinchcliffe was involved in a major crash, and was impaled by a suspension member. The rapid response by the medical crews was credited with likely saving his life, and nine days later he was released from Methodist Hospital, expected to make a full recovery. Hinchcliffe was able to drive the IndyCar two-seater at a promotional event in August at the Golden Gate Bridge, then made his first competitive laps in a Dan Wheldon Memorial karting event in September.^[8]