The 70th Indianapolis 500 was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana on Saturday, May 31, 1986. After being rained out on May 25–26, the race was rescheduled for the following weekend. Bobby Rahal was the winner, becoming the first driver in Indy history to complete the 500 miles (800 km) in less than three hours.
Nearly the entire race unfolded as a three-way battle between polesitter Rick Mears, Bobby Rahal, and Kevin Cogan. Cogan, who was a key fixture in the controversial crash on the opening lap of the 1982 race, took the lead in dramatic fashion with 13 laps to go. He appeared to be on his way to victory, and career redemption, but his lead evaporated when a caution came out on lap 194. With two laps to go, the green flag came back out, and second place Bobby Rahal got the jump on the restart and grabbed the lead. Rahal pulled away and won the race, with car owner Jim Trueman, stricken with cancer, cheering him on in the pit area. Trueman died eleven days after the victory.[1]
The race was sanctioned by USAC, and was included as part of the 1986 CART PPG Indy Car World Series. For the first time ever, ABC Sports televised the race live "flag-to-flag" on network television in the United States. The race celebrated the 75th anniversary of the first 500, but there was very little fanfare of the milestone outside of the cover art of the official program. Taken from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1986_Indianapolis_500
Starting Lineup:
| Row | Inside | Middle | Outside |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Rick Mears (W) |
Danny Sullivan (W) |
Michael Andretti |
| 2 | Bobby Rahal |
Al Unser (W) |
Kevin Cogan |
| 3 | Tom Sneva (W) |
 Roberto Guerrero |
Al Unser, Jr. |
| 4 | Ed Pimm |
 Emerson Fittipaldi |
Johnny Rutherford (W) |
| 5 | Randy Lanier (R) |
Pancho Carter |
 Jacques Villeneuve (R) |
| 6 | Danny Ongais |
 Josele Garza |
Tony Bettenhausen, Jr. |
| 7 |  Arie Luyendyk |
 Geoff Brabham |
A.J. Foyt (W) |
| 8 | Raul Boesel |
Scott Brayton |
Phil Krueger (R) |
| 9 | Chip Ganassi |
 Jim Crawford |
Rich Vogler |
| 10 | Johnny Parsons |
Gary Bettenhausen |
Mario Andretti† (W) |
| 11 | George Snider†† |
Roberto Moreno†† (R) |
Dick Simon‡ |
Other Drivers on Entry List:
| Dennis Firestone |
| Derek Daly |
| Herm Johnson |
| Ian Ashley |
| Jan Lammers |
| John Paul, Jr. |
| Mike Nish |
| Rick Miaskiewicz |
| Rupert Keegan |
| Spike Gehlhausen |
| Steve Bren |
| Steve Chassey |
Lap-By-Lap Summery:
Red Flag: Car #33 Tom Sneva Crashed in Turn 2 on the Pace Lap
Green Flag: Michael Andretti Leads Lap 1
Lap 15: Caution #1 Car #2 Mario Andretti Tow-In
Lap 19: Green Flag
Lap 43: Kevin Cogan Took the lead
Lap 44: Al Unser Jr. Took the lead
Lap 48: Emerson Fittipaldi Took the lead
Lap 49: Rick Mears Took the lead
Lap 52: Caution #2 Debris on the track
Lap 56: Green Flag
Lap 75: Bobby Rahal Took the lead
Lap 76: Kevin Cogan Took the lead
Lap 78: Al Unser Jr. Took the lead
Lap 80: Michael Andretti Took the lead
Lap 83: Bobby Rahal Took the lead
Lap 102: Caution #3 Car #95 Johnny Parsons Jr. Crashed coming out of Turn 2; Rick Mears Took the lead
Lap 103: Bobby Rahal Took the lead
Lap 106: Green Flag
Lap 136: Caution #4 Car #6 Rich Vogler Crashed in Turn 3; Rick Mears Took the lead
Lap 141: Green Flag
Lap 166: Caution #5 Car #9 Roberto Moreno Tow-In; Bobby Rahal Took the lead
Lap 167: Rick Mears Took the lead
Lap 168: Roberto Guerrero Took the lead
Lap 169: Green Flag: Rick Mears Took the lead
Lap 187: Bobby Rahal Took the lead
Lap 188: Kevin Cogan Took the lead
Lap 195: Caution #6 Car #61 Arie Luyendyk Crashed coming out of Turn 4
Lap 198: Green Flag: Bobby Rahal Took the lead
Lap 200: Checkered Flag Bobby Rahal wins his only Indy 500 as a driver.
Race Results:
| Finish | Driver | Laps | Status | Prize Money |
| 1 | Bobby Rahal | 200 | 170.722 | $581,063 |
| 2 | Kevin Cogan | 200 | 170.698 | $253,363 |
| 3 | Rick Mears | 200 | 170.691 | $332,263 |
| 4 | Roberto Guerrero | 200 | 170.551 | $139,513 |
| 5 | Al Unser Jr. | 199 | Running | $113,463 |
| 6 | Michael Andretti | 199 | Running | $171,763 |
| 7 | Emerson Fittipaldi | 199 | Running | $104,563 |
| 8 | Johnny Rutherford | 198 | Running | $97,513 |
| 9 | Danny Sullivan | 197 | Running | $134,088 |
| 10 | Randy Lanier | 195 | Running | $103,438 |
| 11 | Gary Bettenhausen | 193 | Running | $108,913 |
| 12 | Geoff Brabham | 193 | Running | $94,613 |
| 13 | Raul Boesel | 192 | Running | $90,063 |
| 14 | Dick Simon | 189 | Running | $93,463 |
| 15 | Arie Luyendyk | 188 | Accident | $86,013 |
| 16 | Pancho Carter | 179 | Wheel bearing | $84,713 |
| 17 | Ed Pimm | 168 | Ignition | $83,863 |
| 18 | Josele Garza | 167 | Running | $88,363 |
| 19 | Roberto Moreno | 158 | Engine | $82,301 |
| 20 | Jacques Villeneuve (U) | 154 | Main bearing | $81,613 |
| 21 | Chip Ganassi | 151 | Blown engine | $81,163 |
| 22 | Al Unser | 149 | Vibration | $81,563 |
| 23 | Danny Ongais | 136 | Ignition | $79,713 |
| 24 | A.J. Foyt | 135 | Spun in pits | $97,713 |
| 25 | Rich Vogler | 132 | Accident | $90,563 |
| 26 | George Snider | 110 | Ignition | $80,163 |
| 27 | Johnny Parsons | 100 | CV joint | $78,013 |
| 28 | Tony Bettenhausen Jr. | 77 | Valve | $77,713 |
| 29 | Jim Crawford | 70 | Head gasket | $95,263 |
| 30 | Scott Brayton | 69 | Engine | $78,263 |
| 31 | Phil Krueger | 67 | Engine | $82,413 |
| 32 | Mario Andretti | 19 | Ignition | $77,013 |
| 33 | Tom Sneva | 0 | Accident | $76,963 |
