2017 Indianapolis 500

Regulations and rule changes

A series of procedural rule changes were implemented by the series for the 2017 season, however, none of the rule changes significantly affected the Indianapolis 500. ^[7] The IndyCar Grand Prix, which opens the on-track activities for the month, a three-day event, had only two days for the Verizon IndyCar Series. That mirrors similar changes made to other races event weekends on the schedule.

• Each entry was allowed 36 sets of tires (Firestone) total, for practice, time trials, and for the race. This remained the same from 2015-2016. The special compound "red" tires are not used for oval events. Entries taking part in the Rookie Orientation Program received an additional three sets for that session, and entries taking part in a refresher test received two additional sets. ^[8]
• All entries are subject to engine change-out rules. The standard minimum change-out mileage milestone per engine is set at 2,500 miles. Full-time entries are allotted up to two fresh engines for the month of May on-track activities, plus a third engine that is left over from the previous IndyCar Series races. Teams must first mileage-out their engine from the previous races during practice before they can install a fresh engine for Fast Friday practice and/or qualifying. The second fresh engine is intended to be installed for Carb Day and race day, however each team has a certain amount of latitude as to their installation decisions. Both the engine used for Fast Friday/qualifying and the engine used for Carb Day/race day must be re-utilized and properly mileaged out later in the IndyCar season. Unapproved engine changes are subject to penalty. ^[9] Teams participating in the Pit Stop Challenge are permitted to utilize a back-up car for that event, with one of the older engines installed.
• Engines are permitted 130 kPa of turbocharger "boost" during practice from May 15–18. Cars are allowed 140 kPa of "boost" on Fast Friday practice, and during time trials. The "boost" level reverts to 130 kPa for Carb day and race day.

2017 IndyCar season

The 101st Indianapolis 500 was the sixth round of the 2017 Verizon IndyCar Series season, and the 22nd sanctioned as part of the Indy Racing League/IndyCar Series. There were five different winners in the first five races leading up to the Indianapolis 500. The season began March 12 at St. Petersburg, with Sébastien Bourdais a surprise winner. Bourdais won from last place on the starting grid. ^[10] James Hinchcliffe won at Long Beach, ^[11] his first victory since suffering a near-fatal accident during practice for 2015 Indianapolis 500. Josef Newgarden won at Barber, ^[12] and defending series champion Simon Pagenaud won at Phoenix. ^[13] The IndyCar Grand Prix was won by Will Power, his second victory in the event.

Entering the month of May at Indy, Honda-powered teams were the prohibitive favorites over the Chevys. As the week began, Honda teams were even being accused of "sandbagging." ^[14] However, each day saw a different driver lead the speed charts, split almost evenly between both manufacturers. Honda began experiencing multiple engine failures, ^[15] raising significant concerns around the garage area of their reliability. ^[15]

Private testing – Friday, March 24

A private manufacturers test for Honda teams was scheduled for Friday March 24. The test was moved up one day due to inclement weather predicted for Saturday. ^[21] Three Honda teams, Chip Ganassi Racing, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, and Schmidt Peterson Motorsports, tested along with one Chevy team (Team Penske). A total of eleven drivers took to the track on a warm, but windy day. No incidents were reported. ^[22] Speeds were not reported. Attention during the test focused on Ganassi taking their first laps at the Speedway with Honda power since 2013, after a highly publicized switch from Chevrolet to Honda during the offseason. ^[23]

Private testing — Participants

No.	Driver	Team	Engine
1	Simon Pagenaud	Team Penske	Chevrolet
2	Josef Newgarden	Team Penske	Chevrolet
3	Hélio Castroneves	Team Penske	Chevrolet
5	James Hinchcliffe	Schmidt Peterson Motorsports	Honda
7	Mikhail Aleshin	Schmidt Peterson Motorsports	Honda
8	Max Chilton	Chip Ganassi Racing	Honda
9	Scott Dixon	Chip Ganassi Racing	Honda
10	Tony Kanaan	Chip Ganassi Racing	Honda
12	Will Power	Team Penske	Chevrolet
15	Graham Rahal	Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing	Honda
83	Charlie Kimball	Chip Ganassi Racing	Honda

Private testing – Sunday, April 2

A private test conducted by Chevrolet teams was scheduled for Saturday April 1. ^[24] Cold temperatures postponed the test until Sunday April 2. ^[25] Three Chevrolet teams were scheduled to participate. ^[26] No incidents were reported. ^[27]

Private testing — Participants

No.	Driver	Team	Engine
1	Simon Pagenaud	Team Penske	Chevrolet
2	Josef Newgarden	Team Penske	Chevrolet
3	Hélio Castroneves	Team Penske	Chevrolet
4	Conor Daly	A. J. Foyt Enterprises	Chevrolet
12	Will Power	Team Penske	Chevrolet
14	Carlos Muñoz	A. J. Foyt Enterprises	Chevrolet
20	Ed Carpenter	Ed Carpenter Racing	Chevrolet
21	J. R. Hildebrand	Ed Carpenter Racing	Chevrolet

Private testing – Wednesday May 3

A private test was scheduled for May 3 involving Fernando Alonso. ^[28] Marco Andretti started the day off, shaking the car down shortly after 9:00 a.m. Alonso took to the track and passed all three phases of his rookie test. ^[29] Alonso completed 110 laps with a best lap of 222.548 mph. Due to rain approaching the area, the test schedule for the day was slightly compressed, in order to complete all three phases before the weather arrived. ^[30] The test was broadcast as a live stream through IndyCar's social media channels, with combined live viewership of the test was estimated to be in excess of 2 million. ^[31]

Private test — Participant

No.	Driver	Team	Engine
29	Fernando Alonso  R	McLaren-Honda-Andretti	Honda

Rookie orientation – Monday May 15

The Rookie Orientation Program (ROP) was scheduled for Monday from 12:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. ^[32] Four rookies were slated to participate in the session, Fernando Alonso, Jack Harvey, Ed Jones, and Zach Veach. Track time for refresher tests was also available for Jay Howard, Oriol Servià, and Sebastián Saavedra. The three-phase rookie test requirements for 2017 consisted of ten laps at 205-210 mph, fifteen laps at 210-215 mph, and fifteen laps at over 215 mph. The two-phase refresher test consists of ten laps at 210-215 mph and fifteen laps at over 215 mph. ^[33]

Alonso had passed his rookie test previously on May 3, ^[33] but was permitted the additional track time during the session. Ed Jones passed his rookie test at 1:08 p.m., ^[33] while Jack Harvey experienced gearbox trouble, which delayed him taking to the track for almost one hour. Harvey passed only the first phase of the test after fuel pressure issues sidelined him even further. ^[34] Veach made no attempt to complete his rookie program, turning in only three laps late in the session. Veterans Howard, Servià, and Saavedra all completed their refresher programs during this time.

Top Practice Speeds — Rookie Orientation & Refresher Tests

Pos	No.	Driver	Team	Engine	Speed
1	29	Fernando Alonso  R	McLaren-Honda-Andretti	Honda	221.634
2	16	Oriol Servià	Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing	Honda	220.759
3	19	Ed Jones  R	Dale Coyne Racing	Honda	219.288
OFFICIAL REPORT

Monday, May 15

• Weather: 83 °F (28 °C), Sunny
• Practice summary: Veteran practice was scheduled from 2:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. ^[32] The green flag came out just after 2 p.m., and Juan Pablo Montoya earned the distinction of first car out on the track and first driver to complete a lap. At roughly 4:00 p.m., Jack Harvey became the first driver to crash during practice when a mechanical failure caused him to drift out of the warm-up lane and into the turn 2 wall. Harvey was uninjured in the incident. Graham Rahal suffered an engine failure just past 5:00 p.m., bringing his day to an end early as well. Marco Andretti led the speed charts for the day, with a fast lap at 226.338 mph. Ed Carpenter was the fastest of cars running Chevrolet engines, with a speed of 224.969 mph; good enough for third place overall. Honda dominated the day, however, placing eight cars in the top ten. ^[35] The fastest "no-tow" lap for the day was turned in by Tony Kanaan in a Honda at 223.554 mph. ^[36]

Top Practice Speeds — Practice

Pos	No.	Driver	Team	Engine	Speed
1	27	Marco Andretti	Andretti Autosport with Yorrow	Honda	226.338
2	9	Scott Dixon	Chip Ganassi Racing	Honda	225.296
3	20	Ed Carpenter	Ed Carpenter Racing	Chevrolet	224.969
OFFICIAL REPORT

Tuesday, May 16

• Weather: 86 °F (30 °C), Sunny and windy
• Practice summary: Warmer temperatures and stronger winds kept speeds lower than the previous day. During the session, Zach Veach and Jack Harvey both completed their rookie orientation programs. Chevrolet engines proved quicker on the day, taking the top three spots and seven out of the top ten. Will Power of Team Penske turned the fastest lap of the day at 224.656 mph. Ed Carpenter held the fastest "no-tow" lap, with a speed of 222.842 mph. No major incidents occurred during the session. ^[37]

Top Practice Speeds — Practice

Pos	No.	Driver	Team	Engine	Speed
1	12	Will Power	Team Penske	Chevrolet	224.656
2	3	Hélio Castroneves	Team Penske	Chevrolet	224.287
3	88	Gabby Chaves	Harding Racing	Chevrolet	223.991
OFFICIAL REPORT

Wednesday, May 17

• Weather: 83 °F (28 °C), Partly cloudy with sustained winds at 25-30 mph, and gusts up to 45 mph. ^[38]
• Practice summary: Gusty winds kept most cars off the track, as only 21 drivers took to the track, completing only 408 laps. Only 14 drivers attempted any laps at speed, the remaining seven drivers took only a handful of installation laps, some concentrating on pit stop practice. Team Penske parked their cars for the day, and Fernando Alonso was the only Andretti Autosport driver to take any laps at speed. Ed Carpenter (222.894 mph) was the fastest driver of the day, both overall and with "no-tow". ^[39]

Top Practice Speeds — Practice

Pos	No.	Driver	Team	Engine	Speed
1	20	Ed Carpenter	Ed Carpenter Racing	Chevrolet	222.894
2	9	Scott Dixon	Chip Ganassi Racing	Honda	222.599
3	21	J. R. Hildebrand	Ed Carpenter Racing	Chevrolet	220.553
OFFICIAL REPORT

Thursday, May 18

• Weather: 86 °F (30 °C), Mostly sunny
• Practice summary: For the first time during the month, all 33 entries turned in at least an installation lap, as Buddy Lazier appeared on track for the first time. The first major crash of the month occurred just after 1:00 p.m., when Josef Newgarden lost control of his car in turn 1 and crashed hard into the outside wall. One further incident occurred later in the session, when Sébastien Bourdais's engine failed on the backstraight, the second Honda engine failure in three days of practice. Jay Howard was fastest of the day, setting a lap of 226.744 mph; the fastest of the month thus far. Takuma Sato (224.734 mph) set the fastest "no-tow" lap of the day. ^[40]

Top Practice Speeds — Practice

Pos	No.	Driver	Team	Engine	Speed
1	77	Jay Howard	Schmidt Peterson Motorsports	Honda	226.744
2	28	Ryan Hunter-Reay	Andretti Autosport	Honda	225.826
3	27	Marco Andretti	Andretti Autosport with Yorrow	Honda	225.709
OFFICIAL REPORT

Fast Friday — Friday, May 19

• Weather: 77 °F (25 °C), Thunderstorms in early afternoon
• Practice summary: An eventful final day of practice saw over two and a half hours lost due to rain, and two major crashes. Fast Friday practice began on time at 12 noon, with a threat of rain approaching. Entries were permitted 140 kPa of turbocharger "boost", up from 130 kPa earlier in the week. A busy first hour saw Sébastien Bourdais set a fast lap of 233.116 mph, while Ryan Hunter-Reay set the fastest "no-tow" lap at 231.273 mph. Jack Harvey blew an engine after only 11 laps, the fifth Honda engine failure for the week. A heavy thunderstorm shut the track down at 1:30 p.m., but pushed through the area quickly, and the track re-opened at 4:30 p.m. During the later session, two separate crashes involved Spencer Pigot and Zach Veach. Neither driver was injured, but both cars were heavily damaged. ^[41] Following the conclusion of practice, the qualifying draw was held in the Pagoda Plaza. ^[42]

Top Practice Speeds — Practice

Pos	No.	Driver	Team	Engine	Speed
1	18	Sébastien Bourdais	Dale Coyne Racing	Honda	233.116
2	28	Ryan Hunter-Reay	Andretti Autosport	Honda	232.132
3	26	Takuma Sato	Andretti Autosport	Honda	231.969
OFFICIAL REPORT

First Day — Saturday, May 20

• Weather: 81 °F (27 °C), Heavy rain in late morning and early afternoon, partly cloudy later

The first day of time trials locks in the 33 cars that will comprise the starting field, and determines the nine cars eligible to participate in the Fast Nine Shootout for the pole position on Sunday. The start of qualifications was delayed until 4:01 p.m. due to a heavy thunderstorm. As a result of the delays, all drivers were given only one qualifying attempt. ^[43]

Remainder of day 1

Despite Honda's dominance in the speed charts during the week, it was Chevrolet driver Ed Carpenter who turned the fastest attempt of the day, with a four lap average of 230.468 mph. Joining him in the Fast Nine were Takuma Sato, Scott Dixon, J. R. Hildebrand, Alexander Rossi, Will Power, Fernando Alonso, Tony Kanaan, and Marco Andretti. Rookie Ed Jones was the first driver outside the Fast Nine. Team Penske was surprisingly lackluster during the session, with four of the team's five drivers failing to make the Fast Nine; Power being the lone exception. ^[45] Rookie Zach Veach made no attempt to qualify on the day due to damage from a crash in the previous day's practice. ^{[46] [47]} The only other minor incident of the day involved Pippa Mann, the first car out to qualify on the green track. After a clean first lap, the car stepped out in turn three and nearly tagged the wall in the north short chute. Mann's last three laps dropped off substantially, but she completed the four-lap run 219.282 mph, the slowest car of the day.

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Engine	Speed
Fast Nine Qualifiers
1	20	Ed Carpenter	Ed Carpenter Racing	Chevrolet	230.468
2	26	Takuma Sato	Andretti Autosport	Honda	230.382
3	9	Scott Dixon  W	Chip Ganassi Racing	Honda	230.333
4	21	J. R. Hildebrand	Ed Carpenter Racing	Chevrolet	230.205
5	98	Alexander Rossi  W	Andretti Herta Autosport	Honda	230.148
6	12	Will Power	Team Penske	Chevrolet	230.072
7	29	Fernando Alonso  R	Andretti Autosport	Honda	230.034
8	10	Tony Kanaan  W	Chip Ganassi Racing	Honda	230.007
9	27	Marco Andretti	Andretti Autosport with Yorrow	Honda	229.924
Positions 10-33
10	19	Ed Jones  R	Dale Coyne Racing	Honda	229.717
11	83	Charlie Kimball	Chip Ganassi Racing	Honda	229.713
12	8	Max Chilton	Chip Ganassi Racing	Honda	229.636
13	28	Ryan Hunter-Reay  W	Andretti Autosport	Honda	229.533
14	3	Hélio Castroneves  W	Team Penske	Chevrolet	229.390
15	7	Mikhail Aleshin	Schmidt Peterson Motorsports	Honda	229.217
16	15	Graham Rahal	Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing	Honda	228.835
17	2	Josef Newgarden	Team Penske	Chevrolet	228.696
18	22	Juan Pablo Montoya  W	Team Penske	Chevrolet	228.645
19	5	James Hinchcliffe	Schmidt Peterson Motorsports	Honda	228.557
20	1	Simon Pagenaud	Team Penske	Chevrolet	228.393
21	24	Sage Karam	Dreyer & Reinbold Racing	Chevrolet	227.943
22	77	Jay Howard	Schmidt Peterson Motorsports	Honda	227.853
23	14	Carlos Muñoz	A. J. Foyt Enterprises	Chevrolet	227.438
24	16	Oriol Servià	Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing	Honda	227.150
25	50	Jack Harvey  R	Andretti Autosport	Honda	226.894
26	88	Gabby Chaves	Harding Racing	Chevrolet	226.875
27	4	Conor Daly	A. J. Foyt Enterprises	Chevrolet	225.912
28	17	Sebastián Saavedra	Juncos Racing	Chevrolet	225.815
29	11	Spencer Pigot	Juncos Racing	Chevrolet	223.631
30	44	Buddy Lazier  W	Lazier Partners Racing	Chevrolet	221.427
31	63	Pippa Mann	Dale Coyne Racing	Honda	219.282
	18	Sébastien Bourdais	Dale Coyne Racing	Honda	Crash
	40	Zach Veach  R	A. J. Foyt Enterprises	Chevrolet	No Attempt
OFFICIAL REPORT

Positions 33 through 10 — Sunday, May 21

• Weather: 74 °F (23 °C), Showers in morning, mostly sunny in afternoon
• Qualifying Summary (Positions 10–33):

Early showers slightly delayed the morning warm-up session, but the skies stayed clear for the rest of the day and qualifying was run as scheduled. Prior to qualifying, Dale Coyne Racing announced that James Davison would fill in for the injured Bourdais in the No. 18 car. ^[48] As Davison had not driven in a Verizon IndyCar Series race since 2015, he was prohibited from participating in Sunday's qualifying session under Rule 4.3.8.7, an Indianapolis 500-specific rule mandating a driver who had not participated in an oval race prior to the previous year's Indianapolis 500 pass the refresher test (the second and third phases of the rookie test). Furthermore, the backup #18 car needed to be converted from road course to oval trim.

The group from positions 10-33 began qualifying first at 2:45 p.m., running in the reverse order of how drivers qualified in the previous day's session. Zach Veach, having made no attempt on Saturday, was first on course. The day saw, for most drivers, faster speeds thanks to lower temperatures and more rubber on the track than the previous day. Ryan Hunter-Reay was fastest of the session with a four-lap average of 231.442 mph; nearly a full mph faster than anyone else in the first group. Alongside him in the 4th row were Ed Jones and Oriol Servià. Team Penske once again struggled, with Juan Pablo Montoya in 18th being their highest qualifier in the group. No major incidents occurred during the session, though a few drivers, including Jack Harvey and Charlie Kimball, scraped the wall in turn 2 during their runs.

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Engine	Speed
Positions 10-33
10	28	Ryan Hunter-Reay  W	Andretti Autosport	Honda	231.442
11	19	Ed Jones  R	Dale Coyne Racing	Honda	230.578
12	16	Oriol Servià	Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing	Honda	230.309
13	7	Mikhail Aleshin	Schmidt Peterson Motorsports	Honda	230.271
14	15	Graham Rahal	Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing	Honda	230.253
15	8	Max Chilton	Chip Ganassi Racing	Honda	230.068
16	83	Charlie Kimball	Chip Ganassi Racing	Honda	229.956
17	5	James Hinchcliffe	Schmidt Peterson Motorsports	Honda	229.860
18	22	Juan Pablo Montoya  W	Team Penske	Chevrolet	229.565
19	3	Hélio Castroneves  W	Team Penske	Chevrolet	229.515
20	77	Jay Howard	Schmidt Peterson Motorsports	Honda	229.414
21	24	Sage Karam	Dreyer & Reinbold Racing	Chevrolet	229.380
22	2	Josef Newgarden	Team Penske	Chevrolet	228.501
23	1	Simon Pagenaud	Team Penske	Chevrolet	228.093
24	14	Carlos Muñoz	A. J. Foyt Enterprises	Chevrolet	227.921
25	88	Gabby Chaves	Harding Racing	Chevrolet	226.921
26	4	Conor Daly	A. J. Foyt Enterprises	Chevrolet	226.439
27	50	Jack Harvey  R	Andretti Autosport	Honda	225.742
28	63	Pippa Mann	Dale Coyne Racing	Honda	225.008
29	11	Spencer Pigot	Juncos Racing	Chevrolet	224.052
30	44	Buddy Lazier  W	Lazier Partners Racing	Chevrolet	223.417
31	17	Sebastián Saavedra	Juncos Racing	Chevrolet	221.142
32	40	Zach Veach  R	A. J. Foyt Enterprises	Chevrolet	221.081
	18	James Davison	Dale Coyne Racing	Honda	NT / 136 Pts
OFFICIAL REPORT

NOTE: Per INDYCAR Rule 8.4.9, Davison, who was ineligible to participate in qualifying, was classified by the Entrant Points of the #18 car during the current season.

Firestone Fast 9 — Sunday, May 21

Fast Nine qualifying began at 5:00 p.m., with each driver given one shot to reach pole position. Scott Dixon took the pole position with a four-lap average of 232.164 mph; the fastest four-lap average since Arie Luyendyk's track record run in 1996. In addition, his first lap of 232.565 mph was the fastest since Luyendyk's track-record 237.498 mph lap, also in 1996. The run was the third fastest pole speed in 500 history, behind only Scott Brayton's 1996 run and Roberto Guerrero's 1992 run. Joining Dixon on the front row were Ed Carpenter, the highest qualified Chevrolet, and defending winner Alexander Rossi. Fernando Alonso stunned during the session, qualifying fifth in his first ever start on an oval circuit. ^[49]

Alonso's day did not start out entirely smooth, as Honda officials ordered a last-minute engine change in the car. After examining data from the engine, it was decided to install a new engine, with only an hour and a half until the car was due to be in line for technical inspection. The team scrambled to finish the work, and got the car prepared with only minutes to spare. Takuma Sato had a potential front row starting position until his handling went away on his final two laps, and he subsequently brushed the wall in turn two.

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Engine	Speed
Firestone Fast Nine Shootout
1	9	Scott Dixon	Chip Ganassi Racing	Honda	232.164
2	20	Ed Carpenter	Ed Carpenter Racing	Chevrolet	231.664
3	98	Alexander Rossi	Andretti Herta Autosport	Honda	231.487
4	26	Takuma Sato	Andretti Autosport	Honda	231.365
5	29	Fernando Alonso  R	Andretti Autosport	Honda	231.300
6	21	J. R. Hildebrand	Ed Carpenter Racing	Chevrolet	230.889
7	10	Tony Kanaan	Chip Ganassi Racing	Honda	230.828
8	27	Marco Andretti	Andretti Autosport with Yarrow	Honda	230.474
9	12	Will Power	Team Penske	Chevrolet	230.200

Post-qualifying practice — Monday, May 22

• Weather: 77 °F (25 °C), Sunny
• Practice summary: During the first of two post-qualifying practices (the other is Friday), cars returned to their race boost levels, bringing speeds back down. The morning practice session was reserved for Indy Lights cars. The first afternoon session started 30 minutes earlier for James Davison to take the refresher test. The practice session ran from 12:30 p.m. to 4:00 p.m., and the second Indy Lights session began at 4:30 p.m. to conclude the day. The day's lone incident came early in the session, when the engine on Oriol Servià's car failed, bringing a short halt to practice. Max Chilton went fastest on the day with a speed of 228.592 mph. Off the track, news focused on pole position winner Scott Dixon. Late Sunday night, after the conclusion of time trials, Dixon accompanied by former driver Dario Franchitti, were robbed at gunpoint at a Taco Bell drive-thru about a mile away from the track. Neither driver was injured in the altercation. ^[50]

Top practice speeds
Pos	No.	Driver	Team	Engine	Speed
1	8	Max Chilton	Chip Ganassi Racing	Honda	228.592
2	19	Ed Jones  R	Dale Coyne Racing	Honda	228.118
3	9	Scott Dixon	Chip Ganassi Racing	Honda	227.165
OFFICIAL REPORT

Carb Day practice — Friday, May 26

• Weather: 82 °F (28 °C), Mostly cloudy
• Practice summary: The final one-hour practice session was held on Carb Day. Hélio Castroneves led the speed chart, with a total of four Team Penske cars in the top eleven. Polesitter Scott Dixon also ranked in the top five. A total of 960 laps were completed by the field without any wall major contact, however, James Hinchcliffe blew an engine, believed to be Honda's seventh engine failure dating to the IndyCar Grand Prix earlier in the month. Going into the session, Honda teams were limited by the manufacturer to a maximum of 40 laps. Takuma Sato reportedly ran over debris and cut a tire, and later Conor Daly reportedly brushed the wall on the main stretch, which brought two of the several yellow flags during the session.

Top practice speeds
Pos	No.	Driver	Team	Engine	Speed
1	3	Hélio Castroneves	Team Penske	Chevrolet	227.377
2	26	Takuma Sato	Andretti Autosport	Honda	226.802
3	10	Tony Kanaan	Chip Ganassi Racing	Honda	226.757
OFFICIAL REPORT

Pit Stop Challenge

The Pit Stop Challenge was scheduled for Friday May 26. For the first time in event history, the finals were a best-of-three format. ^[51] In addition, the set up was revised such that both cars start the race on asphalt pavement. Previously, one lane was asphalt and one was concrete, putting one lane at a grip disadvantage. Due to an earlier engine failure in James Hinchcliffe's #5 car, Hinchcliffe drove Jay Howard's #77 car for the Pit Stop Challenge.

In the second quarterfinals heat, Ed Carpenter was assessed a 5-second penalty due to an unsecured lug nut on the left-front wheel. In the final round, Schmidt Peterson Motorsports (James Hinchcliffe) faced Team Penske (Will Power) in a best two-out-of-three matchup. By virtue of the fastest individual time during the semifinals, Power was awarded lane choice for the first finals heats, and selected the left lane. The teams swapped for the second heat. Power had the best time from the first two finals heats, and was awarded lane choice for the third and final heat. He subsequently selected the left lane again.

• Will Power (Penske) won the first finals heat 11.803 seconds versus 12.843 seconds.
• James Hinchcliffe (Schmidt Peterson) won the second finals heat 12.017 seconds versus 12.300 seconds.
• Will Power (Penske) won the deciding third heat 11.619 versus 13.223 to take the victory. It was Team Penske's record 17th victory in the event. ^[52]

Withdrew

• Sébastien Bourdais (#18) — injured during a qualifying crash; replaced by James Davison

First half

Second half

Finish

Racing resumed with 11 laps to go with Chilton maintaining his lead over Sato. On lap 192, Castroneves was able to make a pass on Sato for second. One lap later, he managed to move around Chilton, placing the Brazilian in the lead of the race. However, Sato passed Chilton shortly thereafter and, one lap later, moved around Castroneves to take the lead. Castroneves made one last attempt to pass Sato with three laps to go, but was ultimately unable to catch back up to Sato. Takuma Sato took victory by just .2011 seconds over Castroneves, while Jones came across the line in third. ^[62] By taking the win, Sato became both the first driver from Japan and the first driver from Asia to take victory in the 500. Sato also became the first driver to win the Indianapolis 500 and finish on the podium in a United States Grand Prix hosted at Indianapolis, having finished third in 2004. It also marked the first time since 2011 that the winner of the race came from the first three rows. The victory was the third in four years for the Andretti Autosport team.

Race statistics

Television

The race was televised live in the United States on ABC. Allen Bestwick was the lead play-by-play announcer for the race, joined by Scott Goodyear and Eddie Cheever. ^[63] The race took place just after the highly publicized 2017 ESPN layoffs, of which both Bestwick and Punch were identified as casualties. Both Bestwick and Punch, and presumably the remainder of the contracted on-air crew, was officially terminated a week later after ABC's coverage of the Detroit Grand Prix. However, on February 7, 2018, ESPN communications director Andy Hall announced that the full IndyCar broadcast team, Bestwick and Punch included, would return for the 2018 season. ^[64]

The broadcast utilized 96 cameras, with 14 cars equipped with three in-car cameras each, and the introduction of Visor Cam, which featured live, first-person camera angles from cameras mounted on the helmets of Graham Rahal and Josef Newgarden. Live in-car camera feeds were available online via WatchESPN. ESPN also introduced a new "Race Strategist" feature, which featured predictive analysis based on various factors that could affect the race. As with all other IndyCar Series events, ESPN International produced a world feed broadcast for international markets. ^[65]

In the United States, the 2017 Indianapolis 500 was the least-watched edition of the race since the inception of live flag-to-flag coverage, with a 3.6 overnight Nielsen rating (down from 4.1 in 2016). The tape delayed broadcast in Indianapolis (the live broadcast was, as is customary, blacked out by WRTV) saw a 16% increase in viewership over 2015 (the last time the race was blacked out in Indianapolis, since the 2016 edition had its blackout lifted). ^[66] By contrast, viewership in Spain was significantly high due to Fernando Alonso's debut, with 443,000 viewers and a 3.6% share, higher than the Formula One Monaco Grand Prix that occurred earlier in the day. ^{[67] [68] [69]}

Carb Day, the final practice session, along with the Pit Stop Challenge and Freedom 100, were carried on NBCSN. The booth announcers for NBCSN were Kevin Lee, Townsend Bell and Paul Tracy. The pit reporters were Marty Snider, Jon Beekhuis, Katie Hargitt, and Robin Miller. Lee was joined in the booth by Anders Krohn and Ed Jones the Freedom 100 coverage segment.

Radio

The race was carried live by the IMS Radio Network, part of the Advance Auto Parts IndyCar Radio Network. Mark Jaynes served as chief announcer for the second year. The crew for 2017 was largely the same from 2016. Once again, all living former chief announcers took part in the broadcast. Paul Page joined as a guest commentator in the booth, and Bob Jenkins appeared during the pre-race in a pre-recorded segment recapping the 25th anniversary of the 1992 race. Jenkins then served on the Speedway Public Address system team. Mike King also appeared during the pre-race coverage, narrating a pre-recorded segment recapping the IndyCar Grand Prix, and Dave Wilson narrated a tribute to John Andretti (a former IMS Radio Network analyst for the Brickyard 400) who was battling colon concer. During the race, Wilson interviewed vice president Mike Pence, then reported from the track hospital. For the second straight year, Michael Young interviewed the winner in victory lane.

Among the guests in the booth was Governor Eric Holcomb, Mark Reuss (GM), Matt Davis (Advance Auto Parts/Carquest), and James Verrier (BorgWarner). For the first time, the traditional commercial out-cue was recorded by a voice-over announcer instead of the chief announcer or drivers in the field. This was the final 500 in Turn 1 for Jerry Baker as he would depart the crew for and join the public address crew for 2018 when it was decided that Turn 1 would not be used in 2018 but due to a new broadcast booth debuting in 2019 named after Sid Collins, Turn 1's broadcasting location would be reinstated.

According to a study from GfK Custom Research, the broadcast reached 20.5 million listeners, and averaged 8.8 million listeners per quarter hour. It represented a 75% increase in ratings over 2016, and the broadcast was carried on over 350 terrestrial radio affiliates, a 5% increase from 2016. ^[70]

1070 The Fan broadcast nightly beginning May 8 with Trackside with Curt Cavin and Kevin Lee, followed by Donald Davidson's The Talk of Gasoline Alley .