Here are the five fastest races in Indy 500 history
The 2023 Indianapolis 500 is scheduled for May 28. Can it produce another speed record?
Raw speed is rarely the key to setting a race record. It's the number of laps run under the green flag. The more caution laps in a race, the slower the overall race speed.
Here are the fastest Indy 500s.
2021: Helio Castroneves, 190.690 mph, 2 hours, 37 minutes, 19 seconds
There were just two caution periods for 18 laps, and the last 76 laps were run under green. Castroneves beat Alex Palou over the Yard of Bricks by about one-half second to earn his record-tying fourth Indy 500 win.
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2013: Tony Kanaan, 187.433 mph, 2:40:03
Dario Franchitti's crash on Lap 198 forced this race to finish under caution, though just 21 laps were run under yellow. This race featured a record 68 passes for the lead.
2014: Ryan Hunter-Reay, 186.563 mph, 2:40:48
There were five caution periods totaling 21 laps. Hunter-Reay held off Helio Castroneves in a seven-lap shootout following the final caution period by less than one-tenth of a second.
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1990: Arie Luyendyk, 185.981 mph, 2:41:18
Luyendyk was well in control of a race that featured four caution periods totaling 28 laps. The final 54 laps were run under green, and he led from Lap 168 to the end, winning by more than 10 seconds.
1991: Rick Mears, 176.457 mph, 2:50:00
Mears earned his fourth Indy 500 title in convincing fashion, overtaking Michael Andretti on Lap 188 and winning by more than 3 seconds. There were seven cautions totaling 35 laps.
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What is the slowest Indy 500?
As you might expect, Ray Harroun won the first Indy 500 in 1911 at 74.602 mph.
What is the fastest lap in Indy 500 history?
Eddie Cheever completed a lap in the 1996 race at 236.103 mph.
Most cautions at the Indy 500
There were 14 caution periods on two occasions, in 1988 and 1997.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indy 500 2023: Five fastest races at Indianapolis Motor Speedway
