1990 Indianapolis 500

74th Indianapolis 500

Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Indianapolis 500
Sanctioning body	USAC
Season	1990 CART season 1989–90 Gold Crown
Date	May 27, 1990
Winner	Arie Luyendyk
Winning team	Doug Shierson Racing
Average speed	185.981 mph
Pole position	Emerson Fittipaldi
Pole speed	225.301 mph
Fastest qualifier	Emerson Fittipaldi
Rookie of the Year	Eddie Cheever
Most laps led	Emerson Fittipaldi (128)
Pre-race ceremonies
National anthem	Sandi Patti
"Back Home Again in Indiana"	Jim Nabors
Starting command	Mary F. Hulman
Pace car	Chevrolet Beretta
Pace car driver	Jim Perkins
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 1989 1991

The 74th Indianapolis 500 was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana on Sunday, May 27, 1990. Dutchman Arie Luyendyk took the lead with 32 laps to go, and earned his first-ever victory in championship-level competition. It was the second consecutive year the Indy 500 was won by a foreign-born competitor, the first time that had occurred since 1965–1966. Luyendyk completed the 500 miles at an average speed of 185.981 mph (299.307 km/h), a record that stood for 23 years until 2013.^[3] In reference to the long-standing speed record, for many years the 1990 race was often referred to as "The Fastest 500".

Defending champion Emerson Fittipaldi started on the pole position and dominated the first half of the race. Setting a new track record in qualifying, Fittipaldi became the first driver to break the 225 mph barrier in time trials. Fittipaldi took the lead at the start, and led the first 92 laps, a new race record. He was looking to become the first back-to-back winner in nineteen years. In the second half of the race, however, he fell victim to blistering tires, fell a lap down, and wound up finishing third. Bobby Rahal, the 1986 winner, was in position to win his second Indy 500, but he too suffered handling problems, which dropped him to second at the finish. Luyendyk, driving for Doug Shierson Racing (the race would be Shierson's final 500), did not experience the handling issues that befell the other competitors, and won the race by a margin of 11.878 seconds.

A. J. Foyt, making his 33rd consecutive Indy start, finished in sixth place. Rookie Jeff Andretti attempted to become the unprecedented fourth member of the Andretti family to qualify for the same race, but was bumped on the final day of time trials. Jim Crawford survived a spectacular airborne crash during practice, and for the second year in a row, three-time winner Johnny Rutherford struggled to get his car up to speed, and failed to qualify.

Rain hampered much of the month, washing out nearly the entire first weekend of time trials as well as two practice days. The 1990 race was also the first Indy 500 presided over by Tony George, who was named president of the Speedway in January. The race was sanctioned by USAC, and was included as part of the 1990 CART PPG Indy Car World Series.