2012 Indianapolis 500 (original) (raw)

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96th running of the Indianapolis 500

96th Indianapolis 500

Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Indianapolis 500
Sanctioning body IndyCar
Season 2012 IndyCar season
Date May 27, 2012
Winner United Kingdom Dario Franchitti[1]
Winning team Chip Ganassi Racing
Average speed 167.734 mph (269.942 km/h)
Pole position Australia Ryan Briscoe
Pole speed 226.484 mph (364.491 km/h)
Fastest qualifier Australia Ryan Briscoe
Rookie of the Year Brazil Rubens Barrichello
Most laps led United States Marco Andretti (59)
Pre-race ceremonies
National anthem Martina McBride[2]
"Back Home Again in Indiana" Jim Nabors (video)[3]
Starting command Mari Hulman George
Pace car Chevrolet Corvette ZR1
Pace car driver Guy Fieri[4]
Starter Paul Blevin
Honorary starter Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels[5]
Estimated attendance 300,000+ (est.)
TV in the United States
Network ABC
Announcers Marty Reid, Scott Goodyear, and Eddie Cheever
Nielsen ratings 4.34[6]
Chronology
Previous Next 2011 2013

The 96th Indianapolis 500 was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana, on Sunday May 27, 2012. It was the premier event of the 2012 IZOD IndyCar Series season. For the first time since 1996 all entries featured turbocharged engines,[7][8] and all entries were brand new model-year chassis,[9] as part of the ICONIC Project. This was the first time since 2003, and only the fourth time since 1985, that all cars were a new model-year chassis.

The track opened for practice on Saturday May 12. Time trials were held May 19–20. Ryan Briscoe of Penske Racing qualified for the pole position. The final practice, traditionally dubbed "Carb Day", was held Friday May 25.

Dario Franchitti, who previously won the race in 2007 and 2010, won the event, becoming a three-time Indy 500 champion.[10]On the final lap, second place Takuma Sato challenged Franchitti for the lead in turn one, but Franchitti maintained a low line, forcing Sato's left tires on or over the white line marking the edge of the course.[11]As the two cars were side by side, Sato spun and crashed into the outside wall. Sato finished in 17th, while Franchitti went on to take the victory.[12]Franchitti's teammate Scott Dixon finished second, sweeping a 1-2 finish for Chip Ganassi Racing. The race set an all-time record with 34 lead changes.[13] Franchitti's win represented the ninth consecutive Indy victory for Honda, despite the presence of multiple engine manufacturers for the first time since 2005.

Dario Franchitti won his first Indianapolis 500 with Brembo-equipped brakes. This was the last win of Dario Franchitti's 12 season career. In the penultimate race of the 2013 IndyCar Series in Houston, Franchitti would be involved in a multi-car accident that would prematurely end his career.

Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the race track where the race was held.

For the first time since 1947, the previous year's race winner had been killed in a racing crash in the time between races. Defending race winner Dan Wheldon[14] was killed in a horrific crash during the 2011 season finale, the 2011 IZOD IndyCar World Championship at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Several winners have missed the following year due to either retirements, injuries, or racing in a different series. The last time the defending champion did not participate in the race due to injury or death was 2004 race winner Buddy Rice, who suffered a concussion during practice, and sat out the 2005 race (also won by Wheldon). The last time a defending Indianapolis 500 champion did not participate in the race under any circumstances was 2007 race winner Dario Franchitti, who was injured in a NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Talladega Superspeedway in April 2008 and had a full-time racing schedule in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in 2008.

Jim Nabors, who has traditionally sung "Back Home Again in Indiana" during the pre-race ceremonies in most years since 1972, was not able to attend the race for health reasons.[15] The Speedway sent a film crew to record a video of him performing the song at his home in Hawaii, and aired it on video boards on race morning.[3]

Going into the month, there was growing concern about filling the field to the traditional 33 cars. This was due in part to the struggles of Lotus, and lease issues in the first year of the new engine package, namely involving Dragon Racing. However, on Bump Day, the field was filled to exactly 33 cars, with no cars bumped, a similar situation to 2003.

Race schedule — May 2012 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat 29São Paulo 30 1 2 3 4 5Mini-Marathon 6 7Oval test 8 9 10ROP 11Indy Lights 12Practice 13Practice 14Practice 15Practice 16Practice 17Practice 18Practice 19Pole Day 20Bump Day 21 22 23Comm. Day 24Indy Lights 25Carb Day 26Legends Day 27Indy 500 28Memorial Day 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

Other scheduled events included:[16]

See Team and driver chart for more information

On April 18, 2012, the official entry list of thirty-four car/driver combinations was released. Former winners entered include Dario Franchitti, Hélio Castroneves and Scott Dixon. In an unusual move, Chip Ganassi Racing sponsor Target changed Franchitti's car number for the month. While Franchitti was legally entitled to using #1, the team decided instead to keep the team's #10 identity for the season, but to celebrate Target's fifty years in business, the car carried #50 for the race. The stylised #50 utilised the Target logo.

Former Formula One driver Jean Alesi was listed as an entry for Newman Haas Racing,[17] but the car was later withdrawn. Lotus continued to find a team for Alesi, and struck a deal with Indy Lights team Fan Force United to run a car.[18] Rubens Barrichello, winner of the 2002 U.S. Grand Prix at Indy was the first former winner of that event to attempt to qualify for the Indy 500.[19]

Michel Jourdain Jr., who had last raced at Indy sixteen years earlier in 1996, was named to Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing. Jourdain would be the only driver in the field from the 1990s. With John Andretti not entered, not a single driver from the 1980s was in the field.

Testing and rookie orientation

[edit]

With the introduction of the new chassis and engine package, testing was conducted at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway during the offseason. The first phase of testing involved Dan Wheldon, and testing was conducted on the USGP road course at Indianapolis on September 1,[20] and on the oval in late September.[21][22] Dario Franchitti and Tony Kanaan tested at Indianapolis in early November for Honda and Chevrolet.[23] Test results were mixed at the Speedway,[23][24] with drivers complaining of weight imbalance issues,[23][24] and speeds (208–216 mph[23][24]) were down from what was expected.

Open test — Wednesday, April 4

[edit]

Top Practice Speeds

Pos No. Driver Team Engine Speed
1 26 United States Marco Andretti Andretti Autosport Chevrolet 218.625
2 11 Brazil Tony Kanaan KV Racing Technology Chevrolet 218.439
3 10 New Zealand Scott Dixon Chip Ganassi Racing Honda 218.094
OFFICIAL REPORT Archived 2012-05-24 at the Wayback Machine

Texas Motor Speedway Test — Monday, May 7

[edit]

For the second year in a row, IndyCar held an official pre-Indy oval test. Since the Indy 500 will be the first oval race of the 2012 season, the league hosted a test for rookies to assimilate with ovals, and to test out an updated aero kit package for Texas Motor Speedway, a 1.5-mile 24-degree banked oval which has been a type of circuit that was questionable in light of the Las Vegas tragedy. The aero kit package at Texas was not used for Indianapolis or Fontana. Indianapolis and Fontana, home of the 2012 IZOD IndyCar World Championship, used the same superspeedway aero and rules package. The test also saw Rubens Barrichello take his first competitive laps on an oval on Monday May 7.

Top Practice Speeds

Pos No. Driver Team Engine Speed
1 9 New Zealand Scott Dixon Chip Ganassi Racing Honda 212.371
2 83 United States Charlie Kimball Chip Ganassi Racing Honda 211.330
3 10 United Kingdom Dario Franchitti Chip Ganassi Racing Honda 210.525
OFFICIAL REPORT Archived 2012-05-23 at the Wayback Machine

Rookie orientation program — Thursday, May 10

[edit]

Top Practice Speeds

Pos No. Driver Team Engine Speed
1 19 United Kingdom James Jakes R Dale Coyne Racing Honda 218.268
2 39 United States Bryan Clauson R Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing Honda 217.046
3 67 United States Josef Newgarden R Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing Honda 216.573
OFFICIAL REPORT Archived 2012-05-23 at the Wayback Machine

Opening Day — Saturday, May 12

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Top Practice Speeds

Pos No. Driver Team Engine Speed
1 67 United States Josef Newgarden R Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing Honda 220.250
2 4 United States J. R. Hildebrand Panther Racing Chevrolet 219.693
3 39 United States Bryan Clauson R Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing Honda 219.632
OFFICIAL REPORT Archived 2012-05-26 at the Wayback Machine

Open practice — Sunday, May 13

[edit]

Top Practice Speeds

Pos No. Driver Team Engine Speed
1 17 Colombia Sebastián Saavedra AFS Racing/Andretti Autosport Chevrolet 221.526
2 39 United States Bryan Clauson R Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing Honda 221.173
3 67 United States Josef Newgarden R Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing Honda 221.158
OFFICIAL REPORT Archived 2012-05-26 at the Wayback Machine

Open practice — Monday, May 14

[edit]

Top Practice Speeds

Pos No. Driver Team Engine Speed
1 67 United States Josef Newgarden R Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing Honda 222.486
2 28 United States Ryan Hunter-Reay Andretti Autosport Chevrolet 221.639
3 26 United States Marco Andretti Andretti Autosport Chevrolet 221.519
OFFICIAL REPORT Archived 2012-05-23 at the Wayback Machine

Open practice — Tuesday, May 15

[edit]

Top Practice Speeds

Pos No. Driver Team Engine Speed
1 26 United States Marco Andretti Andretti Autosport Chevrolet 223.676
2 3 Brazil Hélio Castroneves Team Penske Chevrolet 222.025
3 27 Canada James Hinchcliffe Andretti Autosport Chevrolet 221.864
OFFICIAL REPORT Archived 2020-09-23 at the Wayback Machine

Open practice — Wednesday, May 16

[edit]

Top Practice Speeds

Pos No. Driver Team Engine Speed
1 67 United States Josef Newgarden R Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing Honda 222.785
2 26 United States Marco Andretti Andretti Autosport Chevrolet 222.108
3 28 United States Ryan Hunter-Reay Andretti Autosport Chevrolet 221.763
OFFICIAL REPORT Archived 2012-05-26 at the Wayback Machine

Open practice — Thursday, May 17

[edit]

Top Practice Speeds

Pos No. Driver Team Engine Speed
1 9 New Zealand Scott Dixon Chip Ganassi Racing Honda 223.088
2 67 United States Josef Newgarden R Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing Honda 222.709
3 38 United States Graham Rahal Chip Ganassi Racing Honda 222.080
OFFICIAL REPORT Archived 2012-05-23 at the Wayback Machine

Fast Friday practice — Friday, May 18

[edit]

Top Practice Speeds

Pos No. Driver Team Engine Speed
1 26 United States Marco Andretti Andretti Autosport Chevrolet 227.540
2 2 Australia Ryan Briscoe Team Penske Chevrolet 226.835
3 3 Brazil Hélio Castroneves Team Penske Chevrolet 226.716
OFFICIAL REPORT Archived 2012-05-22 at the Wayback Machine

Saturday May 19 – Pole Day

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Top Practice Speeds

Pos No. Driver Team Engine Speed
1 3 Brazil Hélio Castroneves Team Penske Chevrolet 227.744
2 25 Brazil Ana Beatriz Andretti Autosport/Conquest Racing Chevrolet 226.187
3 2 Australia Ryan Briscoe Team Penske Chevrolet 226.027
OFFICIAL REPORT Archived 2021-09-28 at the Wayback Machine

Ryan Briscoe makes his pole-winning qualification run.

Front-row qualifiers (L to R): James Hinchcliffe, Ryan Briscoe, and Ryan Hunter-Reay.

Pole Day – Saturday, May 19, 2012

Pos No. Driver Team Engine Speed Pts
Fast Nine Shootout (positions 1–9)
1 2 Australia Ryan Briscoe Team Penske Chevrolet 226.484 15
2 27 Canada James Hinchcliffe Andretti Autosport Chevrolet 226.481 13
3 28 United States Ryan Hunter-Reay Andretti Autosport Chevrolet 226.240 12
4 26 United States Marco Andretti Andretti Autosport Chevrolet 225.456 11
5 12 Australia Will Power Team Penske Chevrolet 225.422 10
6 3 Brazil Hélio Castroneves Team Penske Chevrolet 225.172 9
7 67 United States Josef Newgarden R Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing Honda 224.037 8
8 11 Brazil Tony Kanaan KV Racing Technology Chevrolet 224.751 Q1 7
9 5 Venezuela E. J. Viso KV Racing Technology Chevrolet 224.422 Q1 6
Positions 10–24
10 8 Brazil Rubens Barrichello R KV Racing Technology Chevrolet 224.264 4
11 98 Canada Alex Tagliani Team Barracuda – BHA Honda 224.000 4
12 38 United States Graham Rahal Chip Ganassi Racing Honda 223.959 4
13 25 Brazil Ana Beatriz Andretti Autosport/Conquest Racing Chevrolet 223.920 4
14 83 United States Charlie Kimball Chip Ganassi Racing Honda 223.868 4
15 9 New Zealand Scott Dixon Chip Ganassi Racing Honda 223.684 4
16 50 United Kingdom Dario Franchitti Chip Ganassi Racing Honda 223.582 4
17 19 United Kingdom James Jakes R Dale Coyne Racing Honda 223.482 4
18 4 United States J. R. Hildebrand Panther Racing Chevrolet 223.422 4
19 15 Japan Takuma Sato Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda 223.392 4
20 99 United States Townsend Bell Schmidt–Hamilton Motorsports Honda 223.134 4
21 18 United Kingdom Justin Wilson Dale Coyne Racing Honda 222.929 4
22 30 Mexico Michel Jourdain Jr. Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda 222.893 4
23 77 France Simon Pagenaud R Schmidt–Hamilton Motorsports Honda 222.891 4
24 17 Colombia Sebastián Saavedra Andretti Autosport/AFS Racing Chevrolet 222.811 4
Other Attempts
41 New Zealand Wade Cunningham R A. J. Foyt Enterprises Honda 222.689
14 United Kingdom Mike Conway A. J. Foyt Enterprises Honda 222.434
7 France Sébastien Bourdais Dragon Racing Chevrolet 222.415
39 United States Bryan Clauson R Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing Honda Crashed
20 United States Ed Carpenter Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet Crashed
6 United Kingdom Katherine Legge R Dragon Racing Chevrolet Waved Off
22 Spain Oriol Servià Panther/Dreyer & Reinbold Racing Chevrolet Crashed
78 Switzerland Simona de Silvestro HVM Racing Lotus N/A
64 France Jean Alesi R Fan Force United Lotus N/A
OFFICIAL REPORT Archived 2012-05-23 at the Wayback Machine

Q1 The driver waved off and did not make an attempt during Q2. Per INDYCAR rules, Q1 times determine positions after the drivers who completed Q2.

Sunday May 20 – Bump Day

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Top Practice Speeds

Pos No. Driver Team Engine Speed
1 22 Spain Oriol Servià Panther/Dreyer & Reinbold Racing Chevrolet 223.752
2 7 France Sébastien Bourdais Dragon Racing Chevrolet 223.479
3 20T United States Ed Carpenter Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet 222.886
OFFICIAL REPORT Archived 2012-05-26 at the Wayback Machine

Bump Day – Sunday, May 20, 2012

Pos No. Driver Team Engine Speed Pts
25 7 France Sébastien Bourdais Dragon Racing Chevrolet 223.760 3
26 41 New Zealand Wade Cunningham R A. J. Foyt Enterprises Honda 223.258 3
27 22 Spain Oriol Servià Panther/Dreyer & Reinbold Racing Chevrolet 222.393 3
28 20T United States Ed Carpenter Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet 222.324 3
29 14 United Kingdom Mike Conway A. J. Foyt Enterprises Honda 222.319 3
30 6 United Kingdom Katherine Legge R Dragon Racing Chevrolet 221.624 3
31 39 United States Bryan Clauson R Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing Honda 214.455 3
32 78 Switzerland Simona de Silvestro HVM Racing Lotus 214.393 3
33 64 France Jean Alesi R Fan Force United Lotus 210.094 3
OFFICIAL REPORT

Final practice — Friday, May 25

[edit]

Top Practice Speeds

Pos No. Driver Team Engine Speed
1 50 United Kingdom Dario Franchitti Chip Ganassi Racing Honda 222.360
2 9 New Zealand Scott Dixon Chip Ganassi Racing Honda 222.274
3 26 United States Marco Andretti Andretti Autosport Chevrolet 221.702
OFFICIAL REPORT

The 35th annual Pit Stop Challenge was held on Friday May 27. The competition featured twelve participants in a single-elimination bracket-style match-up. Four teams received byes, while eight teams competed in the first round. A total purse of 100,000wasatstake,with100,000 was at stake, with 100,000wasatstake,with50,000 going to the winning team. The format has two cars competing in a layout that resembles a drag race. The cars race from a standing start and drive into the pit box, change four tires, simulate a refueling, and race to a finish line a few hundred feet down the pit lane.

Chip Ganassi Racing won the pit stop competition for the first time, with driver Scott Dixon.

| First Round | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Finals | | | | | | | | | ----------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ---------- | ------ | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 9 | Scott Dixon(Chip Ganassi Racing) | 13.941 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 38 | Graham Rahal_(Chip Ganassi Racing)_ | 17.166 | | | | | | | | | | 27 | James Hinchcliffe_(Andretti Autosport)_ | | | | | | | | | | | 38 | Graham Rahal(Chip Ganassi Racing) | | | | | | | | | | | 9 | Scott Dixon(Chip Ganassi Racing) | 13.385 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 12 | Will Power_(Team Penske)_ | 13.695 | | | | | | | | | | 2 | Ryan Briscoe_(Team Penske)_ | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 12 | Will Power(Team Penske) | | | | | | | | | | | 4 | J. R. Hildebrand_(Panther Racing)_ | | | | | | | | | | | 12 | Will Power(Team Penske) | | | | | | | | | | | 9 | Scott Dixon(Chip Ganassi Racing) | 13.769 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 22 | Oriol Servia_(Dreyer & Reinbold)_ | 17.194 | | | | | | | | | | 3 | Helio Castroneves_(Team Penske)_ | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 22 | Oriol Servia(Dreyer & Reinbold) | | | | | | | | | | | 14 | Mike Conway_(A. J. Foyt Racing)_ | | | | | | | | | | | 22 | Oriol Servia(Dreyer & Reinbold) | | | | | | | | | | | 50 | Dario Franchitti_(Chip Ganassi Racing)_ | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 22 | Oriol Servia(Dreyer & Reinbold) | | | | | | | | | | | 50 | Dario Franchitti(Chip Ganassi Racing) | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 28 | Ryan Hunter-Reay_(Andretti Autosport)_ | | | | | | | | | | | 26 | Marco Andretti_(Andretti Autosport)_ | | | | | | | | | | | 28 | Ryan Hunter-Reay(Andretti Autosport) | | | | | | | | | |

Source: Daily Trackside Report[_permanent dead link_]

Row Inside Middle Outside
1 2 Australia Ryan Briscoe 27 Canada James Hinchcliffe 28 United States Ryan Hunter-Reay
2 26 United States Marco Andretti 12 Australia Will Power 3 Brazil Hélio Castroneves W
3 67 United States Josef Newgarden R 11 Brazil Tony Kanaan 5 Venezuela E. J. Viso
4 8 Brazil Rubens Barrichello R 98 Canada Alex Tagliani 38 United States Graham Rahal
5 25 Brazil Ana Beatriz 83 United States Charlie Kimball 9 New Zealand Scott Dixon W
6 50 United Kingdom Dario Franchitti W 19 United Kingdom James Jakes R 4 United States J. R. Hildebrand
7 15 Japan Takuma Sato 99 United States Townsend Bell 18 United Kingdom Justin Wilson
8 30 Mexico Michel Jourdain Jr. 77 France Simon Pagenaud R 17 Colombia Sebastián Saavedra
9 7 France Sébastien Bourdais 41 New Zealand Wade Cunningham R 22 Spain Oriol Servià
10 20 United States Ed Carpenter 14 United Kingdom Mike Conway 6 United Kingdom Katherine Legge R
11 39 United States Bryan Clauson R 78 Switzerland Simona de Silvestro 64 France Jean Alesi R

W = Former Indianapolis 500 winner

R = Indianapolis 500 rookie

Ryan Briscoe led from the start, was drafted and overtaken by James Hinchcliffe, who led at the end of the first lap. The pair swapped the lead again by the end of lap two. There were no accidents at the start and the green flag was given at the first attempt to start the race.[36]

Ryan Hunter-Reay overtook Marco Andretti before Bryan Clauson spun exiting turn one, akin to Danny Sullivan's spin in 1985, and brought out a caution period.[36] Under caution many drivers chose to enter pit lane. Josef Newgarden stalled in the pits, was restarted and rejoined the race. 2007 and 2010 winner Dario Franchitti spun at his pit box, due to being hit from behind by E. J. Viso, but like Newgarden lost less time as the safety car was deployed.[36] Jean Alesi and Simona de Silvestro were black flagged for failing to run within 105% of the front pace and duly retired. Upon the restart, which was intended to be single file, cars were seen on the pit straight before entering turn one as many as five abreast. At 32 laps Marco Andretti led from James Hinchcliffe and Ryan Briscoe.[36] On lap 33 the stewards declared that Viso would not be penalised for the pit lane incident. No driver was able to pull away a substantial lead over the driver behind and cars behind appeared to face an aerodynamic advantage over those ahead. Takuma Sato then started to set fastest laps by lap 37 and Marco Andretti had led most laps with 15.[36]

At the end of lap 46 the pitstops occurred for fuel and tires with Hinchcliffe and Castroneves pitting.[36] Castroneves' pitstop was delayed due to a tire fitting problem. Scott Dixon and Dario Franchitti stopped a lap later. Josef Newgarden stalled again at his second stop, unable to put the car in gear. The Ganassis of Dixon and Franchitti had been setting the fastest pace. By lap 50, one quarter distance, and after the first full pits, Marco Andretti led. There had been six leaders and twelve changes of lead.[36]

At the end of lap 75 James Hinchcliffe pitted, then all three Penske cars pitted simultaneously, and Castroneves almost stalled, making it his second flawed pitstop.[36] Pit stops left Dixon leading with Franchitti second some 11 second behind.[36] On lap 79 Mike Conway was given a drive through penalty for hitting a crew member in the pits and breaking his front wing.[36] Conway collided with Will Power and caused a caution, the second of the race, on lap 81.[36] Conway was driving slower than Power, having just left the pits, and slid. The rear of the car lost grip and Conway slid backwards into the wall, and Power hit Conway's spinning car with nowhere left to go as he caught Conway's car on the exit of the turn. The safety car remained out until the end of lap 88.[36] Ana Beatriz spun on the exit of turn one and hit the wall, bringing out another full course caution with her car stopping in the middle of the track. Cars pitted under caution including Hinchcliffe. Dixon and Franchitti led.[36]

At the half distance point the leaderboard was Dixon, Franchitti, Hunter-Reay, Rahal, Wilson, Sato, Kimball, Hildebrand, Bell.[36]On lap 110 Briscoe had a gearbox issue and ran more slowly for a lap and put the car into an emergency gearbox setting whilst running seventeenth.[36]Hunter-Reay stopped for fuel and tires on lap 113. This left all of the top six runners being Honda powered, in contrast to pre-race predictions on relative engine performance and economy. On lap 115 Hildebrand pitted from sixteenth. Rahal pitted afterwards.[36]On lap 119 Franchitti pit stopped from second place with no adjustments made to the car and the following lap Dixon pitted from the lead having led for a total of 37 laps by that stage. This left Sato leading, the eighteenth leader of the day. Andretti ran second.[36]Sato pitted from the lead on lap 124.[36] On lap 125 Hinchcliffe pitted and Barrichello who had led for one lap pitted.[36]On lap 126 Sato lead, with Franchitti behind.[36]On lap 128 Ryan Hunter-Reay retired with a failure of an upright on the car's suspension. On lap 134 the leaderboard stood as Sato, Franchitti, Andretti, Dixon, Rahal. On lap 145 Andretti pitted having complained about a vibration on the car and replaced the tires. Rahal also pitted just before.[36]The caution was issued on lap 146 when Saavedra stopped on the exit of the pitlane.[36]Starting lap 147 under caution the majority of the lead drivers stopped including Sato, Franchitti, Dixon, Rahal, Hinchcliffe and more. Following such pitstops, by lap 150 Sato led followed by Franchitti, Dixon, Hinchcliffe, Wilson, Kimball, Briscoe, Kanaan and Castroneves. On lap 153 the restart occurred and Franchiti passed Sato on the backstraight of the circuit and at the start of lap 154 Dixon passed Sato for second into turn one.[36]On lap 160 Dixon started to pressure Franchitti and had come under pressure from Sato behind. Dixon passed for the lead but starting lap 161 Dario Franchitti retook the lead at turn one. On lap 163 Josef Newgarden stopped due to engine problems, pulling over to the left hand area of grass on the inside of the track on the backstraight between turns two and three, bringing out the safety car and another full course caution. Sato, Franchitti and Dixon pitted under caution, along with Hinchcliffe and others. Hinchcliffe stopped for a longer period than the others and appeared to run over some pit equipment upon exiting. Prior to the restart Dixon led from Franchiti and Sato. On lap 171 the race restarted. Wilson passed Sato upon the restart. Franchitti repassed Dixon.[36]Starting lap 173 Wilson was repassed by Sato and soon was passed by Carpenter, Kanaan and Kimball having run high on the exit of the turn when passed by Sato and lost speed. By lap 176, 28 lead changes had taken place, one fewer than the 1960 record of 29 changes in one Indianapolis 500 race. Starting lap 178 when Franchitti overtook Dixon this broke the record.[36]The leading Ganassi pair of Franchitti and Dixon appeared to express concern over fuel consumption and speed. On lap 180 Carpenter spun but did not hit the wall, spinning across the track and coming to a halt, then gesticulating at marshals to help turn the car around. This caused a full course caution and seemingly eliminated the need for the leaders to need to refuel. Carpenter then continued.[36]On lap 187 Andretti overcalculated and drove into the wall, sliding across the track and coming to a halt.[36]

Tony Kanaan led the race during the caution, but when the green flag waved he soon fell to fourth behind Franchitti, Dixon and Sato.[36] Teammates Franchitti and Dixon traded the lead several times until the start of lap 199, when Franchitti took the lead from Dixon and Sato followed him through into second place. On the final lap, Sato attempted a pass on Franchitti in turn one but spun and hit the turn 1 wall. Franchitti won the race, with Dixon second and Kanaan third. Under the final caution flag of the day, the three friends lined up to cross the finish line side by side.[36]

In Victory Lane, Franchitti dedicated his win to the memory of 2005 and 2011 champion Dan Wheldon. When asked about the final-lap incident, he said that he had moved up the track to give Sato room on the inside. Sato had a different view, claiming that Franchitti had forced him nearly into the grass and caused him to lose control. Race officials ruled it a racing incident and confirmed Franchitti as the winner.[36]

Owing to the newly introduced engine formula, Dario Franchitti earned the distinction of the first driver to win in both a normally aspirated and turbocharged engine since Arie Luyendyk (1990 and 1997). Franchitti's victories in 2007 and 2010 came while the series was utilizing normally aspirated engines. Franchitti also became the first driver to win the race with a V-6 engine since George Robson in 1946.

Pos No. Driver Team Chassis Engine Laps Status Grid Points
1 50 United Kingdom Dario Franchitti W Chip Ganassi Racing Dallara DW12 Honda 200 2:58:51.2532 16 54
2 9 New Zealand Scott Dixon W Chip Ganassi Racing Dallara DW12 Honda 200 +0.0295 15 44
3 11 Brazil Tony Kanaan KV Racing Technology Dallara DW12 Chevrolet 200 +0.0677 8 42
4 22 Spain Oriol Servià Panther/Dreyer & Reinbold Racing Dallara DW12 Chevrolet 200 +2.9166 27 38
5 2 Australia Ryan Briscoe Team Penske Dallara DW12 Chevrolet 200 +3.6721 1 45
6 27 Canada James Hinchcliffe Andretti Autosport Dallara DW12 Chevrolet 200 +4.0962 2 41
7 18 United Kingdom Justin Wilson Dale Coyne Racing Dallara DW12 Honda 200 +4.2430 21 30
8 83 United States Charlie Kimball Chip Ganassi Racing Dallara DW12 Honda 200 +4.6056 14 28
9 99 United States Townsend Bell Schmidt–Hamilton Motorsports Dallara DW12 Honda 200 +5.6168 20 26
10 3 Brazil Hélio Castroneves W Team Penske Dallara DW12 Chevrolet 200 +7.6352 6 29
11 8 Brazil Rubens Barrichello R KV Racing Technology Dallara DW12 Chevrolet 200 +7.9240 10 23
12 98 Canada Alex Tagliani Team Barracuda – BHA Dallara DW12 Honda 200 +8.2543 11 22
13 38 United States Graham Rahal Chip Ganassi Racing Dallara DW12 Honda 200 +8.7539 12 21
14 4 United States J. R. Hildebrand Panther Racing Dallara DW12 Chevrolet 200 +11.3423 18 20
15 19 United Kingdom James Jakes R Dale Coyne Racing Dallara DW12 Honda 200 +13.4494 17 19
16 77 France Simon Pagenaud R Schmidt–Hamilton Motorsports Dallara DW12 Honda 200 +14.1382 23 18
17 15 Japan Takuma Sato Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Dallara DW12 Honda 199 Crash T1 19 17
18 5 Venezuela E. J. Viso KV Racing Technology Dallara DW12 Chevrolet 199 -1 lap 9 18
19 30 Mexico Michel Jourdain Jr. Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Dallara DW12 Honda 199 -1 lap 22 16
20 7 France Sébastien Bourdais Dragon Racing Dallara DW12 Chevrolet 199 -1 lap 25 15
21 20 United States Ed Carpenter Ed Carpenter Racing Dallara DW12 Chevrolet 199 -1 lap 28 15
22 6 United Kingdom Katherine Legge R Dragon Racing Dallara DW12 Chevrolet 199 -1 lap 30 15
23 25 Brazil Ana Beatriz Andretti Autosport/Conquest Racing Dallara DW12 Chevrolet 190 -10 laps 13 16
24 26 United States Marco Andretti Andretti Autosport Dallara DW12 Chevrolet 187 Contact 4 23
25 67 United States Josef Newgarden R Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing Dallara DW12 Honda 161 Mechanical 7 18
26 17 Colombia Sebastián Saavedra Andretti Autosport/AFS Racing Dallara DW12 Chevrolet 143 Electrical 24 14
27 28 United States Ryan Hunter-Reay Andretti Autosport Dallara DW12 Chevrolet 123 Suspension 3 22
28 12 Australia Will Power Team Penske Dallara DW12 Chevrolet 79 Contact 5 20
29 14 United Kingdom Mike Conway A. J. Foyt Enterprises Dallara DW12 Honda 78 Contact 29 13
30 39 United States Bryan Clauson R Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing Dallara DW12 Honda 46 Mechanical 31 13
31 41 New Zealand Wade Cunningham R A. J. Foyt Enterprises Dallara DW12 Honda 42 Electrical 26 13
32 78 Switzerland Simona de Silvestro HVM Racing Dallara DW12 Lotus 10 Black Flagged 32 13
33 64 France Jean Alesi R Fan Force United Dallara DW12 Lotus 9 Black Flagged 33 13

W Former Indianapolis 500 winner

R Indianapolis 500 Rookie

All entrants utilized Firestone tires.

Jean Alesi was penalized 2 laps for ignoring the black flag, which dropped him to last as he had been in front of Simona de Silvestro when they were both black flagged under the 105% rule.

Time trials and Carb Day were covered live in the United States on NBC Sports Network.[37] The on-air crew consisted of Bob Jenkins, Jon Beekhuis, and Wally Dallenbach Jr. Pit reporters included Marty Snider, Kevin Lee, Derek Daly, and Townsend Bell (who also qualified for the race). Robin Miller served as a reporter and "insider". During the Carb Day broadcast Bob Jenkins announced that he would retire from race broadcasting following the season finale in Fontana on September 15 to spend more time with his at the time ailing wife Pam who was diagnosed with brain cancer. Pam died on October 25.

The 2012 Indianapolis 500 (race day) was broadcast live in high definition in the United States on ABC.[37] ESPN3 simulcast the race with an alternate feed of twelve in-car cameras. The overnight television rating for the race was 4.1, and 1.9 for the pre-race. The Fast National rating of 4.34[6] and 6.9 million viewers marked the highest ratings since 2008.

ABC Television

Booth Announcers Pit/garage reporters
Host: Brent Musburger Announcer: Marty Reid Color: Scott Goodyear Color: Eddie Cheever Jerry PunchVince WelchJamie LittleRick DeBruhl

The IMS Radio Network broadcast the race live on approximately 400 affiliates, as well as AFN, the LeSEA broadcasting network, and World Harvest Radio. The broadcast was carried on XM channel 94 and Sirius channel 212. Mike King served as chief announcer for the 14th year (18th year overall with the crew). Davey Hamilton, who did not secure a ride for the race (the first time since 2006), returned to the booth and served as "driver expert".

For 2012, the commercial out-cues used were both renditions by the former "Voices of the 500" and those recited by drivers in the starting field.

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

Indianapolis Motor Speedway Radio Network

Booth Announcers Turn Reporters Pit/garage reporters
Chief Announcer: Mike King Driver expert: Davey Hamilton Color: Paul Page Historian: Donald Davidson Analyst: Jerry Baker Turn 1: not used Turn 2: Jake Query Turn 3: Mark Jaynes Turn 4: Chris Denari Kevin Lee (north/center pits)Michael Young (center pits)Nick Yeoman (south pits)Dave Wilson (garages)
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