| Race Name: | 80th Indianapolis 500 |
| Race Logo: | Indy500winningcar1996.JPG |
| Sanction: | USAC/IRL |
| Season: | 1996 IRL season |
| Team: | Hemelgarn Racing |
| Date: | May 26, 1996 |
| Winner: |  Buddy Lazier |
| Mph: | 147.956 mph |
| Pole: | Tony Stewart |
| Pole Speed: | 233.718 mph |
| Fast Time: | Arie Luyendyk (236.986 mph) |
| Rookie: | Tony Stewart |
| Leader: |  Roberto Guerrero (47) |
| Anthem: | Florence Henderson |
| Back Home: | Jim Nabors |
| Start Engines: | Mary F. Hulman |
| Pace Car: | Dodge Viper GTS |
| Pace Driver: | Bob Lutz |
| Starter: | Duane Sweeney |
| Honorary Start: | Robert James Eaton |
| Attendance: | 300,000 |
| Network: | ABC |
| Announcers: | Paul Page, Danny Sullivan, and Bobby Unser |
| Rating: | 7.1 |
| Share: | 23 |
| Previous: | 1995 |
| Next: | 1997 |
The 80th Indianapolis 500 was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana on Sunday, May 26, 1996. This was the first Indy 500 contested as part of the new Indy Racing League, under the overall sanctioning umbrella of USAC. It was the third and final race of the 1996 IRL season. Veteran driver and former AIS champion Buddy Lazier won the race, his first career win in top-level Indy car competition, just over two months after he suffered a broken back in a crash at Phoenix. Lazier's victory marks the last (as of 2024) Indy victory for Ford, the second of two all-time victories for Reynard, and the first victory for Firestone since 1971.
The race was surrounded by months of controversy, and was a key component of "the Split", the name given in racing circles to the twelve-year organizational dispute in American open-wheel racing between the upstart Indy Racing League (IRL) and the established Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART). Most of the top teams and drivers in Indy car racing remained with CART, and protested over a perceived lockout because 1996 model-year chassis and engines not being approved and more prominently, the introduction of the 25/8 Rule, which guaranteed 25 spots in the 33-car starting field for the best performing IRL entries in previous races.[1] As a result, almost all of the CART teams chose to boycott the event, including Penske, Ganassi, Newman/Haas, Rahal, and many others. As a further protest, CART scheduled a competing race the same day, the U.S. 500 at Michigan International Speedway.
Participants in the 1996 Indy 500 included several familiar Indy car teams and owners such as A.J. Foyt, Dick Simon, Hemelgarn, and Menard, along with many new teams, some of which moved up from Indy Lights, AIS, or sports cars. More than half of the appointed drivers were rookies, and some had an obscure range of backgrounds, giving the impression of a field of replacement drivers. There was only one former Indy 500 winner in the field (Arie Luyendyk), and three former pole position winners entered. In addition, there were no former national champions in the field for the first time since 1928.
During practice, the month activity was marred by the death of pole position winner Scott Brayton, who was killed on May 17, while testing a back-up car. The month was also plagued by constant rain, as May 1996 was the fifth-wettest month of May at Indianapolis on record, and the fourth-wettest month of May in Indy 500 history.[2]
This was the final year of the turbocharged engine formula that had dominated the race for decades, which was not reintroduced until 2012. The track had been newly repaved, and all-time track record speeds were set during practice and time trials.[3] Arie Luyendyk set the official one-lap track record (237.498 mph), the four-lap track record (236.986 mph), and the fastest practice lap in Indy history (239.260 mph) just a fraction of a second shy of breaking the 240 mph barrier, while Eddie Cheever ran the fastest race lap (236.103 mph) in Indy 500 history - records that all still stand as of 2024.
The field was filled to the traditional 33 cars, but only one car was bumped (then-unknown Billy Boat). A total of 17 rookies qualified for the race, a post-WWII record, led by reigning USAC Silver Crown, Sprint and Midget champion Tony Stewart, who would become a future IRL and NASCAR champion. Stewart qualified for the front row, started on pole position due to Brayton's death, and took home rookie of the year honors. While comprising half the field, only two rookies managed to finish in the top ten.
Media attention of the open wheel "split" was highly critical going into the race, as a number of the IRL participants were ridiculed and the prestige of the Indianapolis 500 itself was brought into question. The "split" embittered a significant portion of the fanbase, and journalist Robin Miller of The Indianapolis Star was among the most outspoken of critics. However, the race itself was found to be competitive and entertaining, while the rival U.S. 500 suffered a multi-car pile-up prior to the green flag.
See also 1996 Indy Racing League season
The IRL/CART "Split" stemmed from earlier issues of USAC and CART sanctioning of Indy car racing since the 1970s. The first USAC/CART "split" in 1979 had already caused major controversy in the sport. The Indianapolis 500 counted for points towards the first CART championship in 1979, after a protracted legal dispute, and it remained that way in 1980 with a short-lived truce under the Championship Racing League (CRL) banner, which ended acrimoniously halfway through the season. USAC unsuccessfully tried to revive their own championship, and therefor the Indianapolis 500 did not pay points towards the CART championship in either 1981 and 1982. By that point, the "500" was the lone paved championship race sanctioned by USAC. Nevertheless, CART entrants comprised the majority, while other part-time or "Indy only" entries competed mostly on a one-off basis.
An arrangement around that time was put in place to recognize the Indianapolis 500 on the CART schedule from 1983, with USAC remaining as the sanctioning body for the event. The Indy 500 would be contested by the CART-based teams, along with numerous part-time and "Indy only" entries. Stability returned, and the sport settled into a relative harmony through 1995. Rules between the two sanctioning bodies were vastly similar, and for the most part, the same chassis and engines were used by both, with only minor technical differences.
In the early 1990s, newly named Indianapolis Motor Speedway president Tony George began exploring options of changes in the sport of Indy cars. Sharply rising costs, the lack of many ovals on the schedule, and the dwindling number of American participants were among his stated concerns. As early as May 1991, George announced intentions to change the engine formula to 3.5abbr=onNaNabbr=on normally aspirated powerplants (very similar to the engines used in Formula One and Group C at the time),[4] a proposal that never got past the planning stages. George joined the CART board of directors in 1992 as a non-voting member, but resigned in 1994 due to disagreements with the direction of the series and a lack of influence in prospective changes.
In the summer of 1994, George announced that the Indianapolis Motor Speedway would create its own series, the Indy Racing League, with the Indianapolis 500 as its centerpiece. George blueprinted the new series as a lower-cost alternative to CART, with an emphasis on attracting American grassroots drivers, an all-oval schedule, and new cars from 1997 with normally-aspirated, "production-based" engines, targeting a reduction in performance. As a result, the Indy 500 would no longer be recognized on the CART calendar, and machines used in the CART series would no longer be allowed at the Speedway starting in 1997. Furthermore, due to a planned "rules freeze", CART's 1996 model year chassis and engines were excluded as well.
Almost immediately, a turbulent political controversy erupted, with participants, media, fans, manufacturers, and sponsors all apprehensive of the sport's direction and pending shakeup. The prevailing opinion around the CART paddock was largely negative regarding the formation of the IRL. The 1995 season and 1995 Indy 500 were held as normal, but under a growing cloud of uncertainty about the future of the sport. During the summer of 1995, and into the offseason, the two factions of CART and the IRL were unable to reconcile on much of anything, and the "split" began to take shape. The biggest salvo was made on July 3, 1995, when IRL officials announced that the top 25 drivers in IRL points would be guaranteed starting positions in the 1996 Indy 500 (see 25/8 Rule and locked-in entries).
Throughout much of the summer and fall of 1995, CART teams in general were unhappy with the formation of the IRL. However, for the time being, they were still tentatively preparing to compete at Indy pending a reconciliation. Not interested in participating in the other IRL races, the CART teams were likely to be "Indy 500 only" entries. In November 1995, Penske Racing (who failed to qualify at the 1995 race), and other CART teams participated in a private tire test at Indy.[5] Meanwhile, rumors began circulating of a planned boycott, and a possible competing event. When invitations were sent out by the IRL management, all CART teams were included in the distribution.[6] [7]
On December 18, 1995[8] CART teams, convinced they were being deliberately locked out from the 1996 Indy 500, and the victims of a "power grab" by Tony George, announced their intentions to boycott the event. They jointly announced plans for a new race, the Inaugural U.S. 500, to be held at Michigan International Speedway the same day.[9]
The official reaction from IMS/IRL was one of disappointment and dismay, suggesting that CART was preparing to do considerable damage to Indy car racing.[8] CART participants were convinced of the opposite. The only CART teams that entered were Galles and Walker, but neither fielded their regular full-time CART drivers. Galles entered an Ilmor Mercedes-Benz 265-D (the only Mercedes entered) in a one-off entry for its test driver Davy Jones, while Walker fielded a car for Mike Groff, who raced with the team in Nazareth a week before practice began as a warm-up event. Out of the 33 starters from the previous edition, only 11 drivers re-entered the event, with Eliseo Salazar (4th) and Arie Luyendyk (7th) being the only top 10 finishers from 1995.
Irrespective of the "split", defending Indy 500 winner Jacques Villeneuve switched to Formula One and signed with the Williams team during the offseason. For the second year in a row, the defending champion would not race in the 500, as 1994 winner Al Unser Jr. had failed to qualify the previous year. With the recent retirements of several Indy legends, as well as active drivers racing at Michigan instead like Bobby Rahal, Emerson Fittipaldi (whose career would end in July due to a crash at the Marlboro 500) and Unser Jr., the only former Indy winner would be Arie Luyendyk. Additionally, the U.S. 500 field represented 109 Indy 500 starts and 5 wins, compared to just 75 previous 500 starts for the 1996 Indy 500 lineup; the lowest since 1932. The U.S. 500 competitors also accounted for 127 CART and USAC-sanctioned IndyCar wins and 7 National Championships, while the Indy 500 drivers had only 14 wins and no National Championships among the 33 starters.
For the 1996 Indy 500, the "25/8 Rule" was adopted, where 25 starting grid positions were set aside for the top 25 cars in 1996 season IRL points standings, and the remaining eight spots in the grid were open for the remaining entries.[10] The arrangement proved to be very controversial, and was a key issue for CART teams to boycott the race.
The format (similar in practice to NASCAR's Top 35 rule introduced years later) allowed the top 25 entries (not drivers) in owner points to have a guaranteed "locked-in" starting position, from which they could not be bumped, unless failing to complete a four-lap qualifying run over a minimum prescribed speed, which was set as 220 mph by race officials.[11] The grid would still be arranged by speed rank, and the pole position would still be the fastest car on the first day of qualifying (or first trip through the qualifying order), regardless of "locked-in" status.[12] The remaining eight positions would be filled by non-top 25 "at-large" entries, and bumping could only occur amongst those participants.
The first entry list was published on April 15. All 27 entries that had run the first two rounds of the 1996 year were entered, including the #41 A. J. Foyt Enterprises entry, vacated after Mike Groff's exit, and the #45 Zunne Group Racing entry, driven by Beck Motorsports driver Robbie Buhl at Phoenix, while Eliseo Salazar came back to his regular #7 drive at Team Scandia. Out of those 27 cars, only the #22 (Team Scandia) and the #96 (ABF Motorsports) were at-large entries. In the following weeks, Marco Greco reached a deal with Foyt to drive the #41 car, and Scandia entered Racin Gardner in the #90 car replacing Lyn St. James, who had faced budgetary issues.
Apart from Groff and Davy Jones' entries, eight further at-large driver/car combinations were registered: Fermín Vélez and a later signing, Indy 500 sophomore Alessandro Zampedri, would drive additional entries for Team Scandia. Team Menard and Hemelgarn Racing fielded third cars for Mark Dismore, returning to the Speedway five years after his horrific crash in 1991, and Brad Murphey, while Beck Motorsports prepared a second car for Hideshi Matsuda. Randy Tolsma was also signed by McCormack Motorsports, eventually falling under the Zunne Group Racing branding, Dan Drinan was entered with Loop Hole Racing and Scott Harrington entered his own car. EuroInternational, under their legal Osella USA name, and an outfit named Burns Motorsports also filled entries for Russ Wicks and Jeff Wood, but neither team appeared during the month.
Three of the "locked-in" entries made no attempt to qualify. The #17 entry was eventually withdrawn, as Leigh Miller Racing had sold its assets to Beck Motorsports after Stan Wattles had been ruled out of the race on medical grounds. As for Tempero–Giuffre Racing, the #15, initially assigned to David Kudrave until being replaced by Justin Bell at the start of practice, and the #25 entry, assigned for Joe Gosek a few days earlier, were both vacated between practice days. After the #2 car was forfeited due to Scott Brayton's death, only 21 of the 25 eligible "locked-in" entries were ready to qualify, leaving twelve at-large starting positions up for grabs. On the other hand, 27 drivers took the start at the U.S. 500 at Michigan.
Entries that were not locked-in for the race.
Locked-in entry repurposed as an at-large entry.
