1989 Indianapolis 500

Speedway management resurfaced the entire track with asphalt in the summer of 1988, which would result in higher overall speeds for 1989. The last time the track had been paved was in 1976. The apron at the bottom of the track, which was previously known to be bumpy, relatively flat, and usually avoided by drivers, was also repaved. The smooth and re-profiled apron was now tempting drivers to dip below the white line in practice and during the race. Drivers were starting to treat the apron as an extension of the track width. USAC announced penalties would be assessed for driving with four wheels below the white line excessively, other than to make routine passes in heavy traffic.

The rough and bumpy concrete pit lane was also paved over in asphalt and a guardrail was installed to protect the crew members in the sign board area. The newly paved pit area made egress and ingress to the pits smoother and safer, but also sharply increased entrance and exit speeds, potentially putting crew members at risk. Within a few years, after a series of incidents on the Indy car circuit, as well as in NASCAR, pit road speed limits would be implemented to curtail speeding through the pit lane. In addition the pneumatic jacks on the cars were embedding themselves into the soft asphalt of the pit lane. This necessitated crews to affix steel plates on the pit lane to accommodate the jacks (a practice that was also later deemed unsafe). In 1994, this would be finally be solved when the individual pit boxes were resurfaced in concrete.

Goodyear arrived at the track providing both a hard and soft compound tire. The exclusive tire provider spent the off-season developing new tires that were better-suited to the newly repaved track. Teams were permitted to run either compound at any time, however, they were required to start the race on the same tires that they used during time trials. All teams qualified on the soft compounds, thus all were required to start the race on soft compounds. Teams electing to switch to hard compound tires for the race could do so on their first pit stop.[4][5][6][7]

Cosworth DFS "short stroke" engine

Team and driver changes were highlighted by Bobby Rahal's departure from Truesports. For 1989, Rahal switched to the Maurice Kranes Kraco Racing Team (A year later, the team would merge with Galles). Rahal, along with Arie Luyendyk at Dick Simon Racing, fielded the new updated Cosworth DFS "short stroke" version of the mainstay DFV.[8] However Bobby Rahal blew up his Cosworth DFS during Carb Day and for race day he was forced to change to a previous generation DFX (source: interview during the radio broadcast).

Rookie Scott Pruett moved to the Indy car ranks, and took over the vacated seat at Truesports. The team would continue to field the Judd powerplant. After a noteworthy performance in the 1988 race, Jim Crawford was back at King Racing.

Patrick Racing was once again a one-car effort for 1989, after periodically running two cars in previous seasons. Pat Patrick had announced that he was planning to retire after the 1989 season, and Chip Ganassi joined the team as co-owner. After the season, Ganassi would take over the team and it would become Chip Ganassi Racing. As part of the arrangement, the Marlboro-sponsored Patrick Racing would run Penske chassis (PC-18), while Penske Racing would receive sponsorship money from Marlboro to run a third car for Al Unser Sr.[9]

Newman Haas Racing also made headlines, expanding to a two-car team for 1989. Mario Andretti was joined by his son Michael to form a two-car Andretti effort. It was also Michael's first opportunity to field the Chevrolet engine. Michael had previously driven for the Kraco team.

Alfa Romeo joined the CART series in 1989, however, they were not yet ready to compete at Indianapolis. Their debut would actually come a couple weeks later at Detroit. As a result, Roberto Guerrero, driving for the Alex Morales Alfa Romeo team, would miss the Indy 500 for the first time since he arrived as a rookie in 1984.

Absent from the race as a driver was Dick Simon, who retired at the end of the 1988 season. Simon had been a participant at Indy since 1970, but was still entered as owner of Dick Simon Racing.

Opening day was Saturday May 6. Only eleven cars took to the track on a cold 45 °F day, which saw snow flurries in the morning and the afternoon. Arie Luyendyk (213.657 mph) led the speed chart for the day.

Practice picked up on Sunday May 7, with 44 cars taking to the track. Emerson Fittipaldi (221.347 mph) set the fastest lap of practice thus far. Michael Andretti was also over 220 mph.

Rick Mears set an-time unofficial track record at 225.733 mph, the first ever practice lap over 225 mph at the Speedway. His teammate Al Unser, Sr. was close behind at 224.831 mph.

Rain washed out practice.

Rookie Steve Butler crashed in turn 4, suffering a broken collarbone, sidelining him for the month. The speeds were slightly down from Monday, with Al Unser, Sr. topping the chart at 223.380 mph.

At 4:11 p.m. on Thursday May 11, Danny Sullivan's car lost the engine cover, causing him to break into a 180° spin in turn three. The car hit the wall hard with the right side. Sullivan suffered a mild concussion and a fractured right arm. Sullivan would be forced to sit out the first weekend of time trials. High winds kept the speeds down, with Jim Crawford in a Buick V-6 (221.021 mph) the best lap of the day.

Rick Mears blistered the track on the final day of practice before time trials. His lap of 226.231 mph was the fastest practice lap ever run at the Speedway. Jim Crawford and Al Unser, Sr. also topped 225 mph. Mears finished the week as the favorite for the pole position.

Pole day was scheduled for Saturday May 13. Rain, however, washed out the entire day. All time trial activities were postponed until Sunday.

On Sunday May 14, pole day time trials were held. Per USAC rules at the time, the cars would be allowed one trip through the qualifying draw order, and the pole round would be concluded. Al Unser Sr. drew first in line, and was the first driver to make an attempt. Unser set a track record on all four laps, and put himself on the provisional pole position with a track record run of 223.471 mph.

A busy hour of qualifying saw several cars complete runs. Scott Brayton, Scott Pruett, Bernard Jourdain, Teo Fabi, and Michael Andretti were among those who completed runs. Bobby Rahal and A. J. Foyt followed, and the field was already filled to eleven cars by 1:30 p.m.

At 2 p.m., Mario Andretti (220.486 mph) tentatively put himself third. The next car out, however, was pole favorite Rick Mears. Mears set a one-lap track record of 224.254 mph, and a four-lap record of 223.885 mph to secure the pole position. Minutes later, it was announced that Michael Andretti's car failed post-qualifying inspection. His run was disallowed as the car found to be 4.5 pounds underweight.

With Mears and Unser Sr. firmly holding the top two spots, the rest of the session focused on which driver would round out the front row in third starting position. Jim Crawford, in the Buick V-6, set a stock block track record of 221.450 mph to sit in third at 2:40 p.m. Twenty minutes later, though, Emerson Fittipaldi took to the track, the final car eligible for the pole round. His run of 222.329 mph put him on the outside of the front row, and bumped Crawford back to the inside of row two.

After the pole position round was settled, the "Second Day" of time trials commenced at 3:15 p.m. Second day qualifiers would line up behind the first day qualifiers. Michael Andretti re-qualified at 218.774 mph (the 8th fastest car in the field), but was forced to start 22nd as a second-day qualifier. Andretti complained he could not get to the proper level of turbocharger boost due a possibly malfunctioning pop-off valve, but USAC took no action. Tom Sneva had an impressive first lap of 223.176 mph, but blew his engine before the run was completed. At the end of the day, the field was filled to 26 cars.

On the third day of time trials, Danny Sullivan qualified comfortably at 216.027 mph. Sullivan was the fastest car of the day, followed by Kevin Cogan and Rocky Moran. Two crashes occurred during the day, involving Buddy Lazier and Steve Saleen. Neither would manage to qualify. At the end of the third day, the field was filled to 31 cars.

On Bump Day, much of the attention was focused on three-time Indy winner Johnny Rutherford, the biggest name who had not yet qualified. As the day opened, Billy Vukovich III (216.698 mph) put his car in the field with an impressive run, ranked 16th-fastest overall. The second car to qualify was Johnny Rutherford, who completed his run at 213.097 mph. The field was now filled to 33 cars. Davy Jones (211.475 mph) was the slowest car in the field, and now on the bubble.

John Paul, Jr. bumped Davy Jones out of the field at 12:45 p.m., However, John Paul himself was now on the bubble at 211.969 mph. The track action went quiet during the heat of the afternoon. At 3 p.m., Davy Jones returned to the track and bumped his way back into the field with a run at 214.279 mph. That move put Phil Krueger (212.458 mph) on the bubble. At 4:45 p.m., Pancho Carter bumped out Krueger. At that point, Johnny Rutherford (213.097 mph) had now slipped down to the bubble spot.

Rutherford survived three attempts, and clung to the bubble spot nervously over the next hour. During that time, he put together a last-minute deal to step into a Foyt back-up car if necessary. He shook down the car with some practice laps, and appeared to be finding some speed. It was the second time in recent years that Rutherford was teaming up with Foyt on bump day. In 1984 Rutherford successfully bumped his way into the field with a Foyt backup car in the closing moments of time trials.

With fifteen minutes left in the day, Rich Vogler (213.239 mph) bumped Johnny Rutherford from the field. Rutherford scrambled to get in line, and made it to the front with less than two minutes to spare. At 5:58 p.m., Rutherford pulled out onto the track for one final attempt. His warm-up lap was fast enough to qualify, but just after he took the green flag, his engine blew in turn one. Rutherford failed to make the field for only the second time in his career.

• First alternate: Johnny Rutherford  W  (#98/#14T) – Bumped
• Second alternate: Phil Krueger (#77) – Bumped

• John Paul, Jr. (#39/#79/#97) – Bumped
• Michael Greenfield  R  (#17/#63) – failed to qualify; wave off
• Tony Bettenhausen, Jr. (#17/#24) – failed to qualify; wave off
• Steve Butler  R  (#61) – crashed in practice
• Buddy Lazier (#35) – crashed in practice
• Steve Saleen  R  (#59) – crashed in practice
• Johnny Parsons (#59/#69) – crashed in practice
• Scott Harrington (#44) – practiced, did not attempt to qualify
• Tom Bigelow (#66) – practiced, did not attempt to qualify
• Stan Fox (#84) – practiced, did not attempt to qualify
• Steve Chassey (#79, #97) – practiced, did not attempt to qualify
• Dale Coyne  R  (#39) – practiced, did not attempt to qualify
• Dick Ferguson (#47) – did not take practice
• Bobby Olivero – unknown

During one of the parade laps, veteran Gary Bettenhausen suffered a broken valve, and coasted to a stop on the mainstretch. He would be wheeled to the garage area without completing a single lap, and finished 33rd.

At the start, Emerson Fittipaldi jumped to the lead from the outside of the front row. He pulled out to a sizable lead over the first few laps. On the third lap, Kevin Cogan had a spectacular crash at the pit-entrance section of the front straightaway. His car made slight contact with the outside wall as he exited turn four, spun to the inside and made heavy contact with the inside pit wall. The car rebounded into the attenuating barrier at the pit entrance (also breaking the ABC Sports robo camera at the pit road entry), broke in two pieces, and slid on its side through the pits. The engine completely separated from the remains of the car and came to a stop in the pit area. Amazingly, Cogan climbed out unhurt.

The race was dominated by Emerson Fittipaldi for the first 400 miles. During that stretch, several contenders retired due to mechanical failures, including all three Penske machines. Top-five contenders Bobby Rahal, Jim Crawford, and Arie Luyendyk also dropped out of the race. Mario Andretti experienced electrical problems, which caused him to lose significant ground to the leader. Michael Andretti, who had started in the seventh row, had been chasing Fittipaldi the entire race and by the 150-lap mark, he was within sights of the leader. Meanwhile, Al Unser Jr. remained on the lead lap in third place, despite being lapped earlier in the race. By this point, the three leaders had significant distance on the fourth place car of Raul Boesel. With less than 100 miles to go, Michael Andretti passed Fittipaldi for the lead, but his engine expired a few laps later. Fittipaldi regained the lead, with Al Unser Jr. second. The remainder of the field ran at least six laps behind.

A caution came out on lap 181 when Tero Palmroth lost a wheel in turn four. Leader Fittipaldi pitted for much-needed fuel, but he nearly stalled his engine as he pulled away. He lost several seconds on the stop, and was also blocked momentarily by a safety truck as he exited the pit area. Al Unser Jr. was running a distant second place, but the caution came to his advantage. The team decided to gamble on track position, so Unser stayed out and did not to pit for fuel. Unser emerged just one car behind Fittipaldi. Team owner Rick Galles made the call not to pit – their fuel calculations were close, they thought they might be able to make it to the finish. Their reasoning was that if Unser ran out of fuel on the final lap, they would still finish no worse than second since third place Raul Boesel was six laps behind.

When the race restarted on lap 186, Fittipaldi quickly built a 3-second lead while Unser struggled to get around the lapped car of Raul Boesel (3rd place). Boesel's car was spewing fluid, and appeared ready to blow. After clearing Boesel, Unser began closing dramatically. By lap 193 he was directly behind Fittipaldi, and a lap later he nearly touched wheels with Fittipldi as the two drivers worked traffic and battled for the lead. On lap 196 Unser passed Fittipaldi for the lead in turn three and began to pull away. Unser was much faster on the straights, with the light fuel load. But there was still considerable fear he might run out of fuel short of the finish line.

With two laps to go, Unser approached a line of slower cars consisting of Rocky Moran, Ludwig Heimrath Jr., Bernard Jourdain and John Jones. The two leaders were able to get around Moran easily, but Unser was held up behind Heimrath. Fittipaldi closed in rapidly entering turn two. On the backstretch, Fittipaldi pulled inside Unser, who then cut to the inside to pass Heimrath. Running side-by-side into turn three, both cars both passed Jourdain on the inside, Fittipaldi's car drifted slightly up the track, and the cars touched wheels. Unser spun and crashed hard into the turn three wall. The yellow flag came out for the last lap with Fittpaldi leading, cruising around on his way to certain victory.

Unser emerged from his crashed car unhurt and stepped to the edge of the track to gesture at Fittipaldi as he drove by. According to Unser, at the last second he reconsidered and gave Fittipaldi a sporting thumbs-up instead,[10] but some viewers interpreted his gesture as a mocking one.[11][12] The pace car escorted the field around the final corner, and for the second year in a row, the race finished under caution. Emerson Fittipaldi took the checkered flag, his first of two Indy 500 victories. Despite the crash Unser was still credited with second place, having completed four more laps than Boesel in third. Boesel managed to nurse his failing motor to the checkered flag. The third place was his best Indy finish, and best finish to-date for Shierson Racing.

The race was carried live on the IMS Radio Network. Lou Palmer served as the chief announcer for the second and final time. It would be Palmer's 32nd and final 500 as part of the radio crew. Bob Forbes reported from victory lane.

One of the more significant changes involved Howdy Bell, now becoming the "elder statesman" of the crew. After many years in turn two, then one year as a pit reporter, Bell revived the backstretch reporting location. Bell was utilized sparingly, mostly for observations and brief commentary. The on-air "Statistician" duty was eliminated for 1989. This would be Bob Lamey's last year in turn two, and Bob Jenkins' final year as the radio reporter in turn four.

The biggest departure for 1989 was that of pit reporter Luke Walton, who had joined the crew in the mid-1950s. From 1983 to 1988, Walton reprised his traditional role of introducing the starting command during the pre-race ceremonies, but did not have an active role during the race itself. Pit reporter Gary Gerould took over the duty of introducing the starting command, but it would be the final time that was done on the radio broadcast. Starting in 1990, the radio would instead simulcast the public address system during the pre-race ceremonies. This was Gerould's last year on the radio broadcast. He would work the TV broadcast starting in 1990. In addition, Chuck Marlowe switched from pit reporter to the garage area duties.

Three-time Indy winner Johnny Rutherford failed to qualify for the race, and joined the crew as "driver expert." Since Rutherford never again qualified for the race (and subsequently retired in 1994), he went on to become a long-time fixture on the broadcast. The 1989 race began what would be a 14-year run for Rutherford as the resident "driver expert."

After the race, during the off-season, the Speedway and Lou Palmer parted ways.[13][14] A new Voice of the 500 would debut in 1990,[15] along with many other changes.

The race was carried live flag-to-flag coverage in the United States on ABC Sports. The 1989 race celebrated the 25th year of the Indy 500 on ABC. Paul Page served as host and play-by-play announcer, accompanied by Bobby Unser and Sam Posey. At the start of the race, Unser drove the pace car, and reported live from the car during the pace laps.

Pit reporters Jack Arute and Brian Hammons were joined by Dr. Jerry Punch, who appeared at Indy for the first time.

The telecast would go on to win the Sports Emmy award for "Outstanding Live Sports Special."

• 1989 Indianapolis 500 Day-By-Day Trackside Report For the Media
• Indianapolis 500 History: Race & All-Time Stats – Official Site
• 1989 Indianapolis 500 Radio Broadcast, Indianapolis Motor Speedway Radio Network

• Gallery of photos from the event, official website of the Indianapolis 500
• Part 6: 1989 – Winning major prizes on the road to losing everything