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| Indianapolis Motor Speedway | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Indianapolis 500 | |||||
| Sanctioning body | IndyCar | ||||
| Season | 2020 IndyCar season | ||||
| Date | August 23, 2020 | ||||
| Winner |  Takuma Sato | ||||
| Winning team | Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing | ||||
| Average speed | 157.824 mph (253.993 km/h) | ||||
| Pole position |  Marco Andretti | ||||
| Pole speed | 231.068 mph (371.868 km/h) | ||||
| Fastest qualifier | Marco Andretti | ||||
| Rookie of the Year |  Patricio O'Ward | ||||
| Most laps led |  Scott Dixon (111) | ||||
| Pre-race ceremonies | |||||
| National anthem | Dr. Elvis Francois & Dr. William Robinson[1] | ||||
| "Back Home Again in Indiana" | Jim Cornelison | ||||
| Starting command | Roger Penske | ||||
| Pace car | Chevrolet Corvette (C8) Stingray | ||||
| Pace car driver | Mark Reuss | ||||
| Starter | Bryan Howard, Tom Hansing, Aaron Likens | ||||
| Honorary starter | Dan Towriss[2] | ||||
| TV in the United States | |||||
| Network | NBC (including WTHR, blackout lifted due to COVID-19 banning all attendance) | ||||
| Announcers | Lap-by-lap: Leigh Diffey Driver analyst: Townsend Bell Driver analyst: Paul Tracy | ||||
| Nielsen ratings | 2.26 (3.669 million viewers)[3] | ||||
| Chronology | |||||
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The 2020 Indianapolis 500 (branded as the 104th Running of the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge for sponsorship reasons) was a 500-mile (800 km, 200-lap) automobile race held on Sunday, August 23, 2020, at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana. It was the premier event of the 2020 IndyCar Series.[4] Takuma Sato won the race for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, his second Indianapolis 500 win, having previously won the 2017 race. It was also the second Indy 500 victory for car owners Bobby Rahal and David Letterman (2004, 2020). Rahal also won himself as a driver in 1986. It was also Honda's first Indy 500 win in the Reiwa era.
Five-time IndyCar Series champion, and 2008 race winner Scott Dixon started in the middle of the front row, and dominated much of the race. Dixon led 111 laps, and led by as many as 7 seconds at one point during the first half. After the final round of pit stops, however, Takuma Sato chased down and passed Dixon for position on lap 172, which proved to be the winning move. After all other cars had cycled through their final pit stops, Sato elevated to the lead on lap 186. He was leading the race on lap 196 when a caution came out for a heavy crash by Spencer Pigot at the pit lane attenuator. With insufficient time to red flag the race for the cleanup, the final four laps were run under caution with Sato taking the checkered flag.
Originally scheduled for May 24, the race was postponed to August 23 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[5] The 2020 running was the first time the race was not held on or around Memorial Day in late May.[6] On August 4, it was announced that the race would be held without spectators.[7]
Practice was held on August 12–14 and time trials was held on August 15–16. Carb Day, the traditional final day of practice, was scheduled for August 21. A somewhat truncated schedule was utilized, with numerous ancillary events (Freedom 100, Pit Stop Challenge, concerts, and various festivities) cancelled. Marco Andretti, son of Michael Andretti and grandson of 1969 Indianapolis 500 winner Mario Andretti, won the pole position for Andretti Autosport. The achievement came 33 years after Mario won his third pole in 1987, and was the first Indy pole for the Andretti Autosport team since 2005.[8] Andretti ended up finishing 13th, while the previous year's winner Simon Pagenaud of Team Penske finished 22nd.
- ^ "Singing Surgeons pair with fan favorite Cornelison for emotional Indy 500 race day performances". Indianapolis Motor Speedway. August 19, 2020. Archived from the original on August 25, 2020. Retrieved August 19, 2020.
- ^ Cavin, Curt (September 10, 2020). "Waving green flag to start Indy 500 provides massive thrill for Gainbridge CEO". Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Retrieved September 14, 2020.
- ^ "Indianapolis 500 ratings". ShowBuzzDaily. Mitch Metcalf. Archived from the original on 28 August 2020. Retrieved 25 August 2020.
- ^ "2020 Indianapolis 500 Event Schedule". www.indianapolismotorspeedway.com. Archived from the original on June 11, 2019. Retrieved June 14, 2019.
- ^ "MONTH OF MAY SCHEDULE UPDATE". INDYCAR and Indianapolis Motor Speedway. March 26, 2020. Archived from the original on March 26, 2020. Retrieved March 26, 2020.
- ^ "IMS historian calls race postponement unprecedented". wishtv.com. March 26, 2020. Archived from the original on March 27, 2020. Retrieved March 27, 2020.
- ^ "Update from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway". Indianapolis Motor Speedway. August 4, 2020. Archived from the original on August 25, 2020. Retrieved August 4, 2020.
- ^ Sribhen, Arni (August 16, 2020). "Hinchcliffe leads strong opening day for Andretti Autosport at Indy". Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Archived from the original on August 25, 2020. Retrieved August 16, 2020.
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