Thursday, May 5, 2016

1992 INDIANAPOLIS 500

The 76th Indianapolis 500 was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana on Sunday, May 24, 1992. The race is famous for the fierce battle in the closing laps, as race winner Al Unser, Jr. held off second place Scott Goodyear for the victory by 0.043 seconds, the closest finish in Indy history. Unser, Jr. became the first second-generation driver to win the Indy 500, following in the footsteps of his father Al Unser, Sr. He also became the third member of the famous Unser family to win the race.
Cold temperatures and high winds turned the race into a crash-filled, marathon day. The tone for the race was set early when pole position winner Roberto Guerrero spun out and crashed on the pace lap. The race was dominated by Michael Andretti in the debut of the Ford Cosworth XB engine. Andretti led 160 laps and was 30 seconds in front when his fuel pump suddenly failed with eleven laps to go.
Thirteen cars were eliminated in crashes during the race, and several other serious wrecks occurred during practice. Former Formula One World Champion Nelson Piquet suffered serious leg injuries in a crash on May 7. Pancho Carter and Hiro Matsushita suffered broken bones in separate crashes, and rookie Jovy Marcelo was fatally injured after a practice crash on May 15. Defending champion Rick Mears crashed during practice and during the race, while Jeff Andretti experienced the worst crash during the race itself, suffering serious injuries to his legs and feet.
Following the race, sweeping changes came about at the track, largely in the interest of safety. In addition, a noticeable "changing of the guard" followed, as the 1992 race signaled the final race for several Indy legends, including A. J. Foyt, Rick Mears, Tom Sneva, and Gordon Johncock. A race-record ten former winners started in the field.
The race was sanctioned by USAC, and was included as part of the 1992 PPG Indy Car World Series. Unser's victory was considered by some an "upset," as his somewhat inauspicious Galmer chassis was not expected to excel on ovals, and its first generation Chevy engine was starting to become a lame duck powerplant in the series. It was also a long-awaited victory for Unser, Jr., who was making his tenth Indy attempt. Unser, the 1990 CART champion, had recently confided with Paul Page that he was afraid he may never win the 500. Taken from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1992_Indianapolis_500

Starting Lineup:
Row Inside Middle Outside
1 Colombia 36 - Roberto Guerrero United States 9 - Eddie Cheever United States 2 - Mario Andretti (W)
2 Netherlands 6 - Arie Luyendyk (W) United States 51 - Gary Bettenhausen United States 1 - Michael Andretti
3 United States 22 - Scott Brayton United States 18 - Danny Sullivan (W) United States 4 - Rick Mears (W)
4 United States 12 - Bobby Rahal (W) Brazil 5 - Emerson Fittipaldi (W) United States 3 - Al Unser, Jr.
5 United States 91 - Stan Fox United States 8 - John Andretti Belgium 19 - Éric Bachelart (R)
6 France 44 - Philippe Gache (R) United States 10 - Scott Pruett United States 93 - John Paul, Jr.
7 Canada 7 - Paul Tracy (R) United States 48 - Jeff Andretti United Kingdom 26 - Jim Crawford
8 United States 27 - Al Unser (W) United States 14 - A. J. Foyt (W) United States 21 - Buddy Lazier
9 Brazil 11 - Raul Boesel United States 39 - Brian Bonner (R) United States 90 - Lyn St. James (R)
10 United States 47 - Jimmy Vasser (R) United States 68 - Dominic Dobson United States 59 - Tom Sneva (W)
11 United States 92 - Gordon Johncock (W) United States 31 - Ted Prappas (R) Canada 15 - Scott Goodyear

Other Drivers on Entry List:

Didier Theys
Fabrizio Barbazza
Gregor Foitek
Hiro Matsushita
Jeff Wood
Johnny Parsons
Johnny Rutherford
Jovy Marcelo
Kenji Momota
Mark Dismore
Mike Groff
Nelson Piquet
Pancho Carter
Rocky Moran
Tony Bettenhausen, Jr.

Lap-By-Lap Summery:

2nd Parade Lap: Car #36 Roberto Guerrero Crashed in Turn 2

Green Flag: Michael Andretti Lead Lap 1

Lap 6: Caution #1 Car #19 Eric Bachelart Tow-In

Lap 7: Mario Andretti Took the lead

Lap 8: Michael Andretti Took the lead

Lap 10: Green Flag 

Lap 12: Caution #2 Car #59 Tom Sneva Crashed in Turn 4

Lap 14: Eddie Cheever Took the lead

Lap 20: Green Flag 

Lap 21: Michael Andretti Took the lead

Lap 47: Eddie Cheever Took the lead

Lap 48: Arie Luyendyk Took the lead

Lap 49: Michael Andretti Took the lead

Lap 62: Caution #3 Car #92 Gordon Johncock Blew an Engine

Lap 66: Green Flag 

Lap 67: Caution #4 Car #44 Philippe Gache, and Car #91 Stan Fox Crashed in Turns 1 and 2

Lap 75: Green Flag 

Lap 76: Caution #5 Car #4 Rick Mears, Car #5 Emerson Fittipaldi, and Car #26 Jim Crawford Crashed in Turns 1 and 2

Lap 83: Green Flag 

Lap 84: Caution #6 Car #2 Mario Andretti Crashed in Turn 4

Lap 88: Eddie Cheever Took the lead

Lap 89: Green Flag: Michael Andretti Took the lead

Lap 94: Caution #7 Car #22 Scott Brayton Blew an Engine

Lap 96: Green Flag 

Lap 97: Caution #8 Car #7 Paul Tracy Tow-In, and Car #47 Jimmy Vasser Crashed in Turn 1

Lap 102: Green Flag 

Lap 103: Caution #9 Car #39 Brian Bonner Crashed in Turn 4

Lap 108: Al Unser Jr. Took the lead

Lap 109: Green Flag 

Lap 110: Michael Andretti Took the lead

Lap 115: Caution #10 Car #48 Jeff Andretti Crashed in Turn 2, Car #51 Gary Bettenhausen Struck debris from the crash.

Lap 116: Al Unser Jr. Took the lead

Lap 117: Michael Andretti Took the lead

Lap 122: Green Flag 

Lap 137: Caution #11 Car #6 Arie Luyendyk Crashed in Turn 4

Lap 141: Al Unser Jr. Took the lead

Lap 143: Green Flag 

Lap 150: Caution #12 Car #21 Buddy Lazier Tow-In

Lap 152: Michael Andretti Took the lead    

Lap 155: Green Flag 

Lap 174: Al Unser Jr. Took the lead

Lap 178: Michael Andretti Took the lead

Lap 190: Caution #13Car #1 Michael Andretti Tow-In from the lead; Al Unser Jr. Took the lead

Lap 193: Green Flag 

Lap 200: Checkered Flag: Al Unser Jr. holds off Scott Goodyear in the closest finish in Indy 500 history, for his first win.

Race Results: 

Finish Driver Laps Status Prize Money
1 Al Unser Jr. 200 134.477 $1,244,184
2 Scott Goodyear 200 134.476 $609,333
3 Al Unser 200 134.375 $368,533
4 Eddie Cheever Jr. 200 134.374 $271,103
5 Danny Sullivan 199 Running $211,803
6 Bobby Rahal 199 Running $237,703
7 Raul Boesel 198 Running $191,503
8 John Andretti 195 Running $186,203
9 A.J. Foyt 195 Running $189,883
10 John Paul Jr. 194 Running $171,403
11 Lyn St. James 193 Running $187,953
12 Dominic Dobson 193 Running $179,983
13 Michael Andretti 189 Fuel pressure $295,383
14 Buddy Lazier 139 Engine $164,283
15 Arie Luyendyk 135 Accident $166,953
16 Ted Prappas 135 Gear box $163,253
17 Gary Bettenhausen 112 Accident $150,803
18 Jeff Andretti 109 Accident $153,703
19 Brian Bonner 97 Accident $156,953
20 Paul Tracy 96 Engine $160,053
21 Jimmy Vasser 94 Accident $170,853
22 Scott Brayton 93 Engine $173,683
23 Mario Andretti 78 Accident $156,633
24 Emerson Fittipaldi 75 Accident $138,703
25 Jim Crawford 74 Accident $167,503
26 Rick Mears 74 Accident $136,403
27 Stan Fox 63 Accident $136,683
28 Philippe Gache 61 Accident $136,128
29 Gordon Johncock 60 Engine $136,003
30 Scott Pruett 52 Engine $143,503
31 Tom Sneva 10 Accident $139,778
32 Eric Bachelart 4 Engine $144,228
33 Roberto Guerrero 0 Accident $286,378

        

 

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