1988 Indianapolis 500

72nd Indianapolis 500

Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Indianapolis 500
Sanctioning body	USAC
Season	1988 CART season 1987–88 Gold Crown
Date	May 29, 1988
Winner	Rick Mears
Winning team	Penske Racing
Average speed	144.809 mph
Pole position	Rick Mears
Pole speed	219.198 mph
Fastest qualifier	Rick Mears
Rookie of the Year	Billy Vukovich III
Most laps led	Danny Sullivan (91)
Pre-race ceremonies
National anthem	Sandi Patty
"Back Home Again in Indiana"	Jim Nabors
Starting command	Mary F. Hulman
Pace car	Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme
Pace car driver	Chuck Yeager
Starter	Duane Sweeney[1]
Estimated attendance	400,000[2]
TV in the United States
Network	ABC
Announcers	Host/Lap-by-lap: Paul Page Color Analyst: Sam Posey Color Analyst: Bobby Unser
Chronology
Previous Next 1987 1989

The 72nd Indianapolis 500 was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana, on Sunday May 29, 1988. Team Penske dominated the month, sweeping the top three starting positions with Rick Mears winning the pole position, Danny Sullivan at the center of the front row, and Al Unser, Sr. on the outside. Mears set a new track record, becoming the first driver to break the 220 mph barrier in time trials. On race day, the three Penske teammates proceeded to lead 192 of the 200 laps, with Rick Mears taking the checkered flag, his third-career Indy 500 victory. The race represented the milestone 50th victory in Championship car racing for owner Roger Penske and Penske Racing.^[3]

The victory was the first of six consecutive Indy 500 wins by the Ilmor Chevy Indy V-8 engine, and the first of seven consecutive overall by Ilmor-constructed powerplants. Chevrolet-powered cars swept the first five starting positions, and the top three finishing positions. The victory also marked a triumphant return of success for the Penske chassis (in this case the PC-17), after dismal results in 1987 (PC-16), and sparse use during the previous four seasons.

One year after suffering severe leg injuries, Jim Crawford returned to the cockpit, and led 8 laps during the race (the only laps not led by the Penske team). Crawford finished 6th, the best finish at the time for the Buick V-6 engine. Three-time winner and Indy legend Johnny Rutherford, driving as a teammate to Crawford, turned his final lap of competition at Indy during the 1988 race. Rutherford crashed out on lap 107. He failed to qualify in 1989–1990, and again in 1992, and he formally retired in 1994.

The race was the third round of the 1988 CART PPG Indy Car World Series, and was sanctioned by USAC. Also notable for 1988 was that veteran announcer Paul Page, formerly the radio "Voice of the 500", called the race on television for the first time. It was the first of 14 years that Page anchored the telecast on ABC.