The 79th Indianapolis 500 was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana on Sunday, May 28, 1995. Sanctioned by USAC, it was part of the 1995 CART PPG Indy Car World Series season. Jacques Villeneuve was victorious in his second start, the first Canadian to win the "500". Villeneuve would go on to win the 1995 CART Championship, before leaving the series to race in Formula One with Williams for 1996.
After dominating the 1994 race and the 1994 season, Marlboro Team Penske failed to qualify for the race. Two-time and defending Indy 500 winner Al Unser Jr. (too slow) and two-time winner Emerson Fittipaldi (bumped) could not get their cars up to speed. A noticeable period of decline followed for the team, including being absent from Indianapolis from 1996 to 2000 due to the forthcoming open wheel "Split". The team returned to their winning ways in 2000 when Gil de Ferran won the CART championship. They then made a victorious return to Indianapolis in 2001.
On lap 190, with the field coming back to green on a restart, race leader Scott Goodyear passed the pace car in turn four, and was assessed a stop-and-go penalty. Goodyear refused to serve the penalty, claiming that the green light was on, and he stayed out on the track. Per the black flag rules, officials ceased scoring Goodyear five laps later (lap 195), which handed Jacques Villeneuve the lead of the race, and ultimately, a controversial victory. Examination of video evidence after the race proved that Goodyear passed the pace car while the yellow caution light was on, and his team declined to protest the ruling. Villeneuve's winning car was powered by the Ford Cosworth XB engine, the powerplant's first Indy victory in its fourth attempt. The win broke a seven-year winning streak by Ilmor-constructed engines. It was the first Cosworth-built engine to win since 1987, and the first Ford-badged engine to win since 1971. With Goodyear's disqualification, Honda was effectively denied their first Indy victory, and did not win at Indianapolis until 2004 with Buddy Rice.
Race winner Jacques Villeneuve's day was not without incident, as he was issued a two-lap penalty for inadvertently passing the pace car during a caution period on lap 38. Through both strategy and luck, the young driver made up the deficit during the course of the race, earning the "Indy 505" sobriquet. In addition to the race controversies, the day was marred by a multi-car crash on the opening lap involving Stan Fox, Eddie Cheever, and others. Fox suffered career-ending head injuries.
The race was held under a growing cloud of uncertainty about the future of the sport of open wheel racing in the United States. Since the early 1980s, the sport had operated in relative harmony, with an arrangement such that CART sanctioned the season-long Indy car national championship, and USAC sanctioned the Indy 500 singly. The Speedway's management, led by Tony George, had already announced the formation of the rival Indy Racing League for 1996, and the Indy 500 was to be its centerpiece. Competitors, fans, and media alike, were apprehensive about the event's future beyond 1995. The 1995 race was the final Indy 500 that featured a field of CART-based drivers and teams.
Due to injuries, retirements, and the open wheel "Split" months later, the race was the final Indy 500 for several drivers, including Bobby Rahal, Danny Sullivan, Teo Fabi, Scott Pruett, Stan Fox, Hiro Matsushita, Stefan Johansson, and others. Emerson Fittipaldi (who failed to qualify) suffered career ending injuries at Michigan in 1996, and never raced at Indy again.
The 1995 month of May celebrated the 50th anniversary of Hulman/George family ownership of the Speedway.
Race schedule Race schedule – April/May 1995SunMonTueWedThuFriSat23Nazareth24 25 26 27 28 29ROP30ROP 1 2 3 4 5 6Practice 7Practice 8Practice 9Practice10Practice11Practice12Practice13Pole Day14Time Trials15Practice16Practice17Practice18Practice19Practice20Time Trials21Bump Day22 23 24 25Carb Day26 27Parade28Indy 50029Memorial Day30 31 Color Notes Green Practice Dark Blue Time trials Silver Race day Red Rained out* Blank No track activity * Includes days where trackactivity was significantlylimited due to rain
ROP — denotes RookieOrientation Program
Background
Rule changes Team Penske dominated the 1994 race with the 209-cid Mercedes-Benz 500I purpose-built pushrod engine. Fearing an unfair advantage, and the possibility of escalating costs, both USAC and CART separately evaluated the situation. Two weeks after the 1994 race, USAC announced that for 1995, the 209 cid purpose-built pushrod engines were allowed 52 inHG of "boost" (down from 55 inHG). The traditional "stock block" production-based engines (e.g., Buick and Menard) were still allowed 55 inHG. Meanwhile, the mainstay overhead cam 2.65L V-8 engines stayed at 45 inHG.
During the summer of 1994, Tony George announced his plans to start the Indy Racing League in 1996, with an emphasis on cost-saving measures. On August 11, 1994, USAC changed its decision, and scaled back the boost for the purpose-built pushrod engines further to 48 inches; and outlawing it outright for 1996. The move was considered by Roger Penske as "politically motivated", and ultimately set back the Penske Team going into 1995.
Marlboro Team Penske won 12 (of 16) races in 1994, including five 1-2-3 finishes, and swept the top 3 in the final 1994 CART championship points standings. As the 1995 season started, Penske drivers Al Unser Jr. and Emerson Fittipaldi each won a race prior to Indy. Despite the outward appearance that the team was still at the top of their game entering Indianapolis, insiders at the team were growing apprehensive, and were concerned that they were ill-prepared. A private test yielded poor results related to the chassis handling, and it was becoming increasingly apparent that the team had lost considerable ground after losing the use of the Mercedes-Benz 500I. A test in mid-April yielded speeds of , which would have been enough to make the race, though not put either car on the front row.
Other changes for 1995 included an updated Honda V-8 engine, and the heralded return of Firestone tires, which had last competed in 1974. Firestone arrived at the Speedway with two tire compounds, a hard and soft option. Most teams used the soft option for qualifying, and switched to the hard compound on race day. Goodyear started the month with only one compound, but introduced a soft option tire four days before the race.
Team and driver changes Rahal-Hogan Racing dropped the Honda program, and instead, Tasman Motorsports became the prominent team involved. Honda introduced a new engine for the 1995 race, the aluminum alloy block HRH V-8, replacing the older iron block HRX V-8. After a one-year sabbatical (spending time in broadcasting and in NASCAR), Danny Sullivan returned to Indy for PacWest Racing. Michael Andretti, after one year at Ganassi, returned to his familiar spot at Newman/Haas, alongside Paul Tracy, who moved over to that team from Penske.
A re-booted Patrick Racing arrived at Indy with driver Scott Pruett. During the previous year, the team had served as a non-competing factory test outfit for Firestone.
Davy Jones announced plans to attempt "Double Duty". He qualified at Indy, but ultimately failed to make the field at Charlotte.
Practice – week 1 Saturday May 6 Opening day saw the Menard cars of Arie Luyendyk (233.281 mph) and Scott Brayton (232.408 mph) lead the speed chart for the day.
Sunday May 7 Menard cars once again were the top 2, with Luyendyk (232.715 mph) best of the day. Penske drivers Emerson Fittipaldi and defending Indy 500 winner Al Unser Jr. took their first practice laps of the month, but neither were among the top ten.
Monday May 8 Arie Luyendyk posted the fastest practice lap in Indy history, 234.107 mph. With Scott Brayton second, Paul Tracy also was over 230 mph.
Tuesday May 9 Scott Brayton finally bumped Luyendyk off the top spot, with a lap of 231.410 mph for the day. Teo Fabi (230.716 mph) became the fourth driver over 230 mph for the month.
Wednesday 10 Rain delayed the start of practice until shortly after 1:30 p.m. Arie Luyendyk again led the speed charts at 232.468 mph.
At 3:31 p.m., Davey Hamilton crashed in turn four, suffering a broken ankle. The brief practice session was ended around 4 p.m. due to rain.
Thursday May 11 Arie Luyendyk upped the fastest practice lap in Indy history to 234.322 mph. Scott Brayton later bettered the time with a lap of 234.656 mph. Eight drivers were over 230 mph for the day.
Friday, May 12 At 5:12 p.m., Jacques Villeneuve went high in turn 2 and crashed into the outside wall. The car was heavily damaged, but Villeneuve was not seriously injured.
Arie Luyendyk set yet another unofficial track record, with a practice lap of 234.913 mph. The top nine drivers were all over 231 mph.
Time trials – weekend 1 Pole day – Saturday May 13 Rain delayed the start of time trials until late in the afternoon. At 4:45 p.m., pole day qualifying began. Arie Luyendyk in a Menard entry, took the provisional pole at 231.031 mph. A tight schedule saw several cars take runs, including Eddie Cheever (226.314 mph) and Paul Tracy (225.795 mph)
At 5:16 p.m., Scott Brayton, also driving for Menard, secured the pole position with a run of 231.604 mph. Before the close of the day, Michael Andretti (229.294 mph) tentatively squeezed his way onto the front row.
When the 6 o'clock gun sounded, 11 cars were in the field, and several drivers were still in the qualifying line. Pole day qualifying would be extended into the next day.
Pole Day conclusion & Second day – Sunday May 14 A windy but warm day was observed for the second day of time trials. Pole qualifying continued from the previous day. Several cars qualified, with Jacques Villeneuve leading the early cars at 228.397 mph.
At 1:07 p.m., Scott Goodyear (230.759 mph) qualified his Honda-powered machine for the third starting position, bumping Michael Andretti to the second row. At 1:12 p.m., the original pole day qualifying order was exhausted, and Scott Brayton was officially awarded the pole position. Among the cars who had not qualified included Rahal-Hogan drivers Bobby Rahal & Raul Boesel. Neither Penske entry (Emerson Fittipaldi & Al Unser Jr.) made an attempt in the pole round.
Second day qualifying started at just before 1:30 p.m. Among the quicker runs were Hideshi Matsuda, Bobby Rahal and Raul Boesel. Buddy Lazier joined the two previous Menard entries and put a third team car in the field. At the close of the second day of time trials, the field was filled to 25 cars (8 vacant). After continuing problems getting up to speed, neither Penske entry attempted to qualify all weekend.
Practice – week 2 Monday May 15 Team Menard cars took their first day off since the Speedway opened for the month. Paul Tracy (228.339 mph) led the speed chart for the day. The fastest non-qualified car was Éric Bachelart at 227.261 mph.
At Team Penske, Emerson Fittipaldi wheeled out a year-old Penske chassis and practiced for 59 laps, with a top lap of 220.745 mph.
Tuesday May 16 Rain kept the track closed until 2:11 p.m. Team Penske borrowed a Reynard chassis from Roberto Guerrero's team, and Al Unser Jr. took his first laps in the car. In 44 laps, Unser posted a top lap of 218.050 mph.
At 4:45 p.m., Bryan Herta spun and crashed hard in turn 2. The car became slightly airborne, and Herta momentarily lost consciousness. Herta was diagnosed with a minor concussion, and was sidelined for several days.
Teo Fabi (226.998 mph) posted the fastest lap of the day.
Wednesday May 17 Rain closed the track for the day.