The 92nd Indianapolis 500 was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana on Sunday May 25, 2008. It was the fifth round of the 2008 IndyCar Series in DIRECTV HD season. Scott Dixon of New Zealand won the race from the pole position. It marked the first Indy 500 victory for Chip Ganassi Racing since 2000. Dixon led 115 laps (of 200), taking the lead for the final time during a sequence of yellow-flag pit stops on lap 172. Dixon held off Vítor Meira and Marco Andretti over the final 24 laps to secure the win.
The 2008 Indy 500 took place just three months after the "Open-wheel Unification" took place. An organizational "Split" had lasted from 1996 to 2007, fracturing the sport, dividing participants, and imbittering fans. For the first time since 1978, the sport of Indy Car racing was unified under one sanctioning body. The 2008 field featured a full complement of IndyCar Series regulars, as well as several teams and drivers from the now-shuttered Champ Car World Series. Following the organizational merger, the 2008 running was expected to be one of the most competitive in many years. However, most of the former Champ Car teams struggled a bit to adapt to the new equipment. The transitioning Champ Car teams were provided a fleet of IRL chassis for the season, but many were used having been sold off by defunct teams. IRL/IndyCar Series-based teams swept the top ten finishing positions, with the best former Champ Car team finishing 11th.
It was the first Indy 500 where all 33 qualifiers utilized the Dallara IR-03/IR-05 chassis, which first saw competition in the 2003 season. Phil Giebler failed to qualify with the Panoz chassis (formerly known as the G-Force GF09), the final appearance at Indy for the brand. Panoz had already ceased supporting their chassis program in 2006, effectively ushering in a four-year "spec" era. In addition, all full-time entries began utilizing semi-automatic paddle shifters in 2008. Paddle shifters for part-time Indy 500-only entries were optional due to cost reasons. IndyCar Series practice began May 4. Time trials took place over the two weekends prior to the race (May 10–11 and May 17–18). The final practice was held Friday May 23.
Schedule + Race schedule — May 2008SunMonTueWedThuFriSat 1 2 3Mini-Marathon 4ROP 5ROP 6Practice 7Practice 8Practice 9Practice10Pole Day11Time Trials12 13 14Practice15Practice16Practice17Time Trials18Bump Day19 20 21Comm. Day22Lights Practice 23Carb Day Freedom 10024Parade Freedom 10025Indy 50026Memorial Day27 28 29 30 31 Color Notes Green Practice Dark Blue Time trials Silver Race day Red Rained out* Blank No track activity * Includes days where track activitywas significantly limited due to rain
ROP — denotes Rookie Orientation Program
Comm. Day — denotes 500 Festival Community Day
Entry list
The official entry list was released April 11. The initial list featured 39 cars and 32 drivers. Additional drivers were announced during practice and qualifying. Ryan Hunter-Reay, the 2007 IndyCar Series rookie of the year was eligible to compete for the Rookie of the Year award, under race rules. Even though he was an established IndyCar driver, he had not yet made a start at Indianapolis. Several other former Champ Car drivers were individually evaluated and some were only required to take a "refresher" level test in lieu of the traditional four-phase rookie test.
Practice (week 1) Sunday May 4 - Rookie Orientation and Veteran Refreshers Weather: Sunny, blue skies, Practice summary: Indianapolis Star Opening Day presents the Unsers started on-track activities for the month. The first day of rookie orientation opened with thirteen drivers eligible to participate. Each first-time starter must pass a four-phase rookie test before being allowed to practice with veterans and qualify. Graham Rahal, Oriol Servià, Ryan Hunter-Reay, Alex Lloyd, Hideki Mutoh, Will Power, Justin Wilson, Jaime Camara, E. J. Viso, and Jay Howard passed all four phases of the rookie test. Veteran Max Papis took part in a refresher test. Enrique Bernoldi completed 3 phases of his rookie test and Mario Moraes took to the track at the end of the day to shake his car down. The thirteen drivers turned 661 laps without incident.
+ Top Practice Speeds Rank CarNo. Driver Team BestSpeed18 Will PowerKV Racing233 E. J. VisoHVM Racing35 Oriol ServiàKV RacingOFFICIAL REPORT
Monday May 5 - Rookie Orientation and Veteran Refreshers Weather: Sunny, Practice summary: The second day of orientation saw more cars on track and a significant increase in speeds. Enrique Bernoldi completed the fourth and final phase of his rookie test, bringing the total to 11 drivers who have done so. Davey Hamilton and Bruno Junqueira returned to the cockpit for a refresher session. Around 1 p.m., Jamie Camara did a half spin and crashed in turn one. Mario Domínguez and Mario Moraes completed the first three phases of their rookie tests and will be allowed to complete the fourth phase during open practice. Alex Lloyd set the fastest lap of the day late in the session at just over , a speed that would put him tenth in the 2007 field in only his second day of practice. The sixteen cars on the track turned 655 laps.
+ Top Practice Speeds Rank CarNo. Driver Team BestSpeed116 Alex LloydRahal Letterman Racing w/ CGR227 Hideki MutohAndretti Green Racing38 Will PowerKV RacingOFFICIAL REPORT
Tuesday May 6 - Practice Weather: Mostly cloudy, Practice summary: The first day of veteran practice saw 33 car/driver combinations take to the Speedway. AGR teammates Marco Andretti and Tony Kanaan led the speed charts, with Ganassi and Penske entries also filling out the top ten. 2004 winner Buddy Rice put the Dreyer & Reinbold team back near the top of the speed chart for the first time in several years. No major incidents occurred. Early in the afternoon, Graham Rahal slid loose in the southchute, but maintained control and did not hit the wall. With rain in the forecast over the next two days, the participants logged 1,385 laps. Senator Hillary Clinton, in the Indianapolis area campaigning for the Indiana primary, visited the track as a guest of Sarah Fisher. Fisher went on to take her first laps on the track in the final hour of the session.
+ Top Practice Speeds Rank CarNo. Driver Team BestSpeed126 Marco AndrettiAndretti Green Racing211 Tony KanaanAndretti Green Racing39 Scott DixonChip Ganassi RacingOFFICIAL REPORT
Wednesday May 7 - Practice Weather: Rain, windy, Practice summary: Practice was scheduled to begin at 12:00 p.m., but rain delayed the start. Twice the track was nearly dry and preparing to open, but both times rain returned. At 3:20 p.m., the track was closed for the day.
Thursday May 8 - Practice Weather: Rain, windy, Practice summary: The rain from the previous day continued through the night and the day's on-track activities were canceled at approximately 1:45 p.m., when it was clear that the rain would not cease and the track could not be dried.
Friday May 9 - Fast Friday practice Weather: Cloudy, windy, Practice summary: After two days of rainouts practice resumed. Despite cool temperatures, the final day of practice before pole qualifying saw intense action. About 90 minutes into the session, Mario Domínguez spun exiting the pits, and hit the inside wall, suffering suspension damage. At 1:40 p.m., Alex Lloyd crashed hard in turn one, spinning and hitting the wall again in turn two. Around 2:00 p.m. in the pit area, Danica Patrick's car struck a member from Mario Moraes' pit crew, Chuck Buckman, who suffered a concussion. At 3:15 p.m., the session was halted by rain, with Scott Dixon posting the fastest lap of the day to that point. At 4:00 p.m., the track was officially closed for the day.
+ Top Practice Speeds Rank CarNo. Driver Team BestSpeed19 Scott DixonChip Ganassi Racing226 Marco AndrettiAndretti Green Racing311 Tony KanaanAndretti Green RacingOFFICIAL REPORT
Time trials (weekend 1) Saturday May 10 - Pole Day
Weather: Sunny, Blue skies, Practice summary Morning practice was delayed 45 minutes due to a slightly damp track from overnight rain. All of the cars were broken into two groups for practice. Marco Andretti set the fastest lap of the first session, and the fastest lap of the month at 228.318 mph. No incidents were reported.
+ Top Practice Speeds Rank CarNo. Driver Team BestSpeed126 Marco AndrettiAndretti Green Racing210 Dan WheldonChip Ganassi Racing36 Ryan BriscoePenske RacingOFFICIAL REPORT
Qualifications summary Ryan Briscoe was the first driver to make an attempt, turning a speed of 224.883 mph, which suggested that speeds would be lower than those which had been achieved in the morning practice by drafting. Danica Patrick later took over the provisional pole with a run over 225 mph. Hélio Castroneves then pulled out of line in favor of going out later in the day. Spins involving A. J. Foyt IV and Bruno Junqueira did not cause any damage.
After 11 positions were filled, bumping began. Dan Wheldon took to the track, and knocked Patrick from the provisional pole. In the mid-afternoon, Hideki Mutoh failed post-qualifying inspection when it was discovered that the housing for an on-board camera lacked the required ballast, and his previous qualification was disallowed.
Around 3 p.m., Hélio Castroneves had been practicing faster than Wheldon. He went out for his first attempt, but fell short of taking over the pole position. He did not rule out another attempt later in the day. At 3:34 p.m. Ryan Briscoe became the first driver to withdraw his earlier speed, and attempt to re-qualify. He knocked Wheldon from the top spot, only to be knocked down to second moments later by Scott Dixon.
The final hour concentrated largely on teams trying to bump their way into the top 11. Hideki Mutoh was successful, but Ryan Hunter-Reay crashed hard in turn 3. Former Champ Car entries Graham Rahal, Will Power and Justin Wilson all fell short of the top 11. Meanwhile, the AGR and Penske entries gave up on their efforts to secure the pole position, and pulled their cars out of line for the day. Dan Wheldon was the final driver to withdraw his speed and make a run for the pole. After two fast laps, his second two dropped off, and he settled for second position. When the gun sounded to close the track at 6:00 p.m., Scott Dixon won his first Indianapolis 500 pole position, and Chip Ganassi Racing secured their third Indy pole.
+ Pole Day Qualifying Results Rank CarNo. Driver Team Qual.Speed19 Scott DixonChip Ganassi Racing210 Dan WheldonChip Ganassi Racing36 Ryan BriscoePenske Racing43 Hélio CastronevesPenske Racing57 Danica PatrickAndretti Green Racing611 Tony KanaanAndretti Green Racing726 Marco AndrettiAndretti Green Racing84 Vítor MeiraPanther Racing927 Hideki MutohAndretti Green Racing1020 Ed CarpenterVision Racing1112 Tomas ScheckterLuczo-Dragon RacingOFFICIAL REPORT
Sunday May 11 - Second Day Weather: Rain, Qualifications summary: Rain cancelled all track activity for the day. Around 12:25 p.m., with continuing rain in the forecast, the track was officially closed. Starting positions 12-33 will be filled during the third day of qualifying, Saturday May 17.
Practice (week 2) Wednesday May 14 - Practice Weather: Fog & mist, Practice summary: The start of practice was delayed 4 hours, 56 minutes due to persistent misty drizzle at the track following overnight rainstorms. In the short session, 29 drivers turned 390 laps, led by Scott Dixon at who turned 17 laps while working with full fuel tanks on his race setup. Jeff Simmons and Roger Yasukawa turned their first laps of the month, making 16 and 15 circuits respectively. John Andretti turned the fastest lap among drivers not yet in the field with a speed of .
+ Top Practice Speeds Rank CarNo. Driver Team BestSpeed19 Scott DixonChip Ganassi Racing210 Dan WheldonChip Ganassi Racing326 Marco AndrettiAndretti Green RacingOFFICIAL REPORT
Thursday May 15 - Practice