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Year Driver Speed ----------------------------------- 1968 Bobby Unser 170.778 mph 1969 A.J. Foyt 172.315 1970 Al Unser 171.233 1971 Mark Donohue 180.977 1972 Bobby Unser 194.721 1973 Swede Savage 197.802 1974 A.J. Foyt 196.249 1975 Gordon Johncock 195.228 1976 A.J. Foyt 190.880 1977 Johnny Rutherford 200.624 1978 A.J. Foyt 203.666 1979 A.J. Foyt 194.890 1980 Tim Richmond 193.507 1981 Bobby Unser 201.387 1982 Rick Mears 208.700 1983 Mike Mosley 206.896 1984 Mario Andretti 212.414 1985 Don Whittington 214.643 1986 Danny Sullivan 217.601 1987 Mario Andretti 218.234 1988 Rick Mears 222.827 1989 Rick Mears 226.231 1990 Al Unser Jr. 228.502 (set during "Fast Friday" practice) 1991 Emerson Fittipaldi 226.705 1992 Jim Crawford 233.433 1993 Mario Andretti 227.118 1994 Emerson Fittipaldi 230.438 1995 Arie Luyendyk 234.913 1996 Arie Luyendyk 239.260 (all-time unofficial track record) 1997 Arie Luyendyk 220.297 1998 Tony Stewart 223.797 1999 Greg Ray 227.187 2000 Greg Ray 223.988 2001 Scott Sharp 226.423 2002 Helio Castroneves 232.087 (set during "Fast Friday" practice) 2003 Scott Dixon 233.236 2004 Tony Kanaan 223.224 2005 Danica Patrick 229.880 (set the morning of Pole Day Time Trials) 2006 Sam Hornish, Jr. 229.996 (set the morning of Pole Day Time Trials) 2007 Scott Dixon 227.167 (set during "Fast Friday" practice) 2008 Marco Andretti 228.318 (set the morning of Pole Day Time Trials) 2009 Ryan Briscoe 225.981 (set during "Fast Friday" practice) 2010 Will Power 227.646 (set the morning of Pole Day Time Trials) 2011 Helio Castroneves 228.611 (set during "Fast Friday" practice) -----------------------------------
2011
2010
2009
2008
2007
2006
2005
2004
2003
2002
2001
2000
| Year | Driver | Team/Car | # | SP | FP | Notes |
| 2011 | Helio Castroneves | Team Penske | #3 | 16th | ? | |
| 2010 | Helio Castroneves | Team Penske | #3 | 1st | 9th | |
| 2009 | Robert Doornbos Scott Dixon | Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing Target Chip Ganassi Racing | #06 #9 | 23rd 5th | 28th 6th | Rookie Orientation (Tue. 5/5) Veteran Practice (Thu. 5/7) |
| 2008 | Will Power TBA | KV Racing TBA | #8 # | 23rd - | 13th - | Rookie Orientation (Sun. 5/4) Veteran Practice (Tue. 5/6) |
| 2007 | Jaques Lazier Marty Roth | Playa Del Racing Roth Racing | #21 #25 | 28th 30th | 27th 28th | Rookie Orientation (Sun. 5/6) Veteran Practice (Tue. 5/8) |
| 2006 | Marco Andretti Kosuke Matsuura | Andretti-Green Racing Super Aguri Fernandez Racing | #26 #55 | 9th 7th | 2nd 15th | Rookie Orientation (Sun. 5/7) Veteran Practice (Tue. 5/9) |
| 2005 | Danica Patrick Helio Castroneves | Rahal-Letterman Racing Marlboro Penske Racing | #15 #3 | 4th 5th | 4th 9th | Rookie Orientation (Sun. 5/8) Veteran Practice (Tue. 5/10) |
| 2004 | Sarah Fisher | Kelley Racing- Bryant | #39 | 19th | 21st | |
| 2003 | Felipe Giaffone | Mo Nunn Racing | #21 | 16th | 33rd | |
| 2002 | Billy Boat | Curb Agajanian | #98 | 23rd | 18th | |
| 2001 | Stephan Gregoire | Dick Simon- Mexmil | #7 | 29th | 28th | |
| 2000 | Stephan Gregoire | Dick Simon- Mexmil | #7 | 20th | 8th | |
| 1999 | Stephan Gregoire | Dick Simon- Mexmil | #7 | DNQ | DNQ | |
| 1998 | Mike Groff | Jonathan Byrd- Bryant Heating | #10 | 32nd | 15th | |
| 1997 | Dr. Jack Miller | Arizona Motorsports - Crest | #40 | 17th | 20th | |
| 1996 | Michele Alboreto | Andy Evans- Scandia/Simon | #33 | 12th | 30th | |
| 1995 | Eliseo Salazar | Dick Simon- Cristal | #7 | 24th | 4th | |
| 1994 | Raul Boesel | Dick Simon- Duracell | #5 | 2nd | 21st | |
| 1993 | Jimmy Vasser | Dick Simon- Kodalux | #18 | 19th | 13th | |
| 1992 | Scott Brayton | Dick Simon- Amway | #22 | 7th | 22nd | |
| 1991 | Scott Brayton | Dick Simon- Amway | #22 | 19th | 17th | |
| 1990 | Tero Palmroth | Dick Simon- Hoescht Celanese | #23 | 16th | 12th | |
| 1989 | Arie Luyendyk | Dick Simon- Provimi Veal | #9 | 15th | 21st | |
| 1988 | Raul Boesel | Doug Shierson- Dominos Pizza | #30 | 20th | 7th | |
| 1987 | Ludwig Heimrath, Jr. | Dick Simon- Bronson/Neste | #23 | 10th | 30th | |
| 1986 | Chip Ganassi | Machinist Union- Bryant Heating | #59 | 25th | 21st | |
| 1985 | Dick Simon | Dick Simon- Break Free | #22T | 14th | 26th | |
| 1984 | Dick Simon | Dick Simon- Break Free | #22T | 20th | 23rd | |
| 1983 | Bill Tempero | Bill Tempero- Zena Jeans | #15 | DNQ | DNQ | |
| 1982 | Gary Bettenhausen | Lindsey Hopkins - Kraco | #8 | 30th | 12th | |
| 1981 | Larry "Boom Boom" Cannon | Lindsey Hopkins - Kraco | #96 | DNQ | DNQ | |
| 1980 | Bill Tempero | Bill Tempero- Wood Power Systems | #65 | DNQ | DNQ | |
| 1979 | Larry "Boom Boom" Cannon | Larry Cannon | #95 | DNQ | DNQ | |
| 1978 | Larry Dickson | Russ Polak- Stay on Car Glaze | #80 | 9th | 22nd | |
| 1977 | Bobby Olivero | Alex Morales-Tamale Wagon | #78 | 14th | 25th | |
| 1976 | Larry "Boom Boom" Cannon | Herb Porter - American Financial | #69 | 10th | 17th | |
| 1975 | Billy Scott | Mervin Webster | #76 | DNQ | DNQ | |
| 1974 | Tom Bigelow | Rolla Volsted- Bryant Heating | #27 | 23rd | 12th | Injury on pit road to 71 year old Walt Meyers as Hiss and Bigelow raced for first on track honors. Hiss was out first, but track was red flagged for 30 minutes. Subsequent races to be first-on-track essentially ended after this incident |
| 1973 | Gary Bettenhausen | Roger Penske- Sunoco | #5 | 5th | 5th | |
| 1972 | Denny Zimmerman | Rolla Volsted- Bryant Heating | #17 | 28th | 19th | |
| 1971 | Mark Donohue | Roger Penske- Sunoco | #66 | 2nd | 25th | |
| 1970 | Rick Muther | Two Jacks- City of Memphis | #54 | DNQ | DNQ | Jigger Sirois assumed the ride later in the month, failed to qualify; Muther changed teams, qualified 15th, finished 8th in car #38 |
| 1969 | Jim Malloy | Rolla Volsted- Bryant Heating | #21 | 31st | Phil Hedbeck (President of Bryant Heating) assigned the car to Jim Malloy in order to get the honors for his team since Larry Dickson was unavailable. | |
| 1968 | Arnie Knepper | Rolla Volsted- Bryant Heating | #17 | 32nd | 25th | |
| 1967 | Joe Leonard | Sheraton-Thompson | #4 | 6th | 3rd | Cale Yarborough and George Snider collide exiting pits racing to be first on track, track red flagged for 15 minutes |
| 1966 | Roger McCluskey | Lindsey Hopkins- G.C. Murphy | #28 | 21st | 13th | Number changed to #8 later in the month |
| 1965 | Len Sutton | Jim Robbins/Rolla Volsted- Bryant Heating | #16 | 12th | 12th | |
| 1964 | Len Sutton | Rolla Volsted- Bryant Heating | #66 | 8th | 15th | |
| 1963 | Eddie Sachs | Al Dean- Bryant Heating | #9 | 10th | 17th | |
| 1962 | Shorty Templeman | Bill Forbes | #4 | 6th | 11th | |
| 1961 | Shorty Templeman | Bill Forbes | #7 | 18th | 4th | |
| 1960 | Jimmy Daywalt | J.S. "Duke" Donaldson- Bryant Heating | #23 | 33rd | 33rd | Dempsy Wilson took over car for the race |
| 1959 | Joe Scopa | J.S. "Duke" Donaldson- Bryant Heating | #19 | 25th | 8th | Mechanic Joe Scopa drove the car to claim first on track honors. Eddie Johnson took over car for the month. The first official driver on the track was Rodger Ward, who would go on to win the race |
| 1958 | Eddie Sachs | William Ansted- Ansted Rotary | #28 | DNQ | DNQ | Car was to be driven by Elmer George; car withdrawn May 23rd |
First On the Track
When the Indianapolis Motor Speedway opens for practice, it is a signal that the year-long wait is over. The next quest for victory has begun. Although Indy-style cars race at other venues during the remainder of the year, there is still nothing more important than the month of May at Indy.
In the early years, the track would open for practice on May 1, regardless of the day of the week. In some years, the track opened the Saturday prior to May 1, which was as early as April 28. In most cases, the traditional ceremonies for Opening Day would take place on the first Saturday of May. Practice was, as expected, rather leisurely those first few days, and typically officials implemented a speed limit for those first sessions. Many of the top teams would commonly skip those first few days of practice to save equipment and prepare for the days without speed limits. The more inexperienced and underfunded teams, however, usually took full advantage of the needed free track time.
The race to be known as the first car on the track for the month evolved sometime shortly after WWII, in the Hulman Era. Some of the lesser-known, but fan-favorite, teams would use this "contest" as a way of boosting confidence for the month, and to garner headlines for a day that they might not normally receive. Eventually, it became a traditional for certian participants, such as Harry Stephens, the Bryant Heating & Cooling Team, and Dick Simon's teams, to always be first out onto the track. These teams took their early preparations very seriously, and were always ready the moment the track opened.
Eventually, the race to be first out on the track became quite competitive, and inevitably, led to its first accident. On Opening Day Saturday, April 29, 1967, the race to be first on track was marred by what was lightheartedly called, a "gate crashing" involving Cale Yarborough, George Snider, and A.J. Foyt. At 12:45 PM, the three cars headed down the pit road in a mad rush, amdist much confusion, and ultimately tangled with one another. Yarborough's car losts its nose when he contacted George Snider's car at the exit of the pits. Meanwhile, Foyt and Yarborough manged to make it out on the track, which was still under yellow by Chief Steward Harland Fengler. Foyt and Yarborough were both fined $25 for running their cars under yellow. The red flag was then displayed. About 13 minutes later, the track was re-opened, this time without incident.
In 1974, the first day of practice had been moved firmly to the Saturday three weekends before the race. The novelty of first-on-the-track, however, wore off a bit when an accident occured racing to be first out in 1974. On Saturday May 6, Mike Hiss and Tom Bigelow were involved in a drag race to be first out of the pits. Walt Meyers, a 71-year old stewart, who had been active at Indy since 1934, hurried to try to get out of the way of the racing cars, but tripped and broke his wrist and hip. He had to be taken to the hospital, where we was treated. Chief Stewart Tom Binford ruled they had "jumped the gun" on the 11 AM starting time, and fined both entries $100 apiece. From that point on, participants took the first-on-track honors a bit less seriously.
Starting in 1981, Speedway officials began the Rookie Orientation Program for first-time starters. These new participants would take to the track a week or so before the rest of the veteran drivers, in order to perfect their skills in a controlled, closed racing environment. Without the burden of faster cars, the rookies could get up to speed and be ready to join the veterans when the official opening day came around. Since the Rookie Orientation program was a seperate, close testing session, there was no race to be first on the track, and the honor would not count if they were. The true first on the track was still "given" to the driver who went out first on the official opening day, when all participants were present. The only exception during that time was 1996, when there was a high number of rookie due to the inception of the IRL. Rookie Orientation was scheduled, and recognized as Opening Day. Rain, however, allowed only a few minutes of practice.
For a few years starting in 2005, Opening Day was adjusted to become the first day of Rookie Orientation. Opening Day would be held on Sunday, and the first day of veterans' practice would be Tuesday. A first-on-the-track would be determined for both sessions. Slight adjustments to the schedule came in the following years. At the fans request, as well as the competitors, Rookie Orientation was moved to a lesser time of the day for 2010, and the track opened with veteran practice first. In 2011, Rookie Orientation was moved to Thursday, while Opening Day regained its exclusive status on Saturday for all drivers.
In recent years, opening ceremonies have expanded to include parade laps of former winners, pace cars, and historic racing machines.
Originally compiled by Roger Bailey (Chandler, Arizona)