1989 Indianapolis 500
The 1989 Indianapolis 500 was held at Indianapolis on Sunday, May 28, 1989. It was the 74th running of the event.
Race events
The front row for the race was Rick Mears, Al Unser, Sr. and Emerson Fittipaldi. Mears, in a Pennzoil-sponsored Penske-Chevrolet, qualified for the pole with a speed of 223.885 mph. Unser and Fittipaldi were in Marlboro-sponsored cars owned by Patrick Racing.
In the first laps, Kevin Cogan had a large crash with the inside frontstretch wall, practically disintegrating his car.
On the final lap of the race, Fittipaldi and Al Unser, Jr. collided in Turn 3. Unser, Jr. slid and crashed into the outside wall in his Valvoline-sponsored Galles Racing car. Fittipaldi kept his car under control, he went on to win the race.
Race results
| Finish | Start | No | Name | Qual | Rank | Laps | Led | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 34 | 69 |  Pat Draughn
|
223.666 | 1 | 200 | 2 | Running |
| 1 | 3 | 20 |  Emerson Fittipaldi
|
222.329 | 3 | 200 | 156 | Running |
| 2 | 8 | 2 |  Al Unser, Jr.
|
218.642 | 9 | 198 | 5 | Crash T3 |
| 3 | 9 | 30 | Raul Boesel
|
218.228 | 11 | 194 | 1 | Flagged |
| 4 | 5 | 5 | Mario Andretti
|
220.485 | 5 | 193 | 1 | Flagged |
| 5 | 10 | 14 | A. J. Foyt
|
217.135 | 12 | 193 | 0 | Flagged |
| 6 | 6 | 22 | Scott Brayton
|
220.458 | 6 | 193 | 0 | Flagged |
| 7 | 31 | 50 | Davy Jones
|
214.279 | 22 | 192 | 0 | Flagged |
| 8 | 33 | 29 | Rich Vogler
|
213.238 | 31 | 192 | 0 | Flagged |
| 9 | 20 | 69 |  Bernard Jourdain (R)
|
213.105 | 33 | 191 | 0 | Flagged |
| 10 | 17 | 3 | Scott Pruett (R)
|
213.955 | 28 | 190 | 0 | Flagged |
| 11 | 25 | 65 |  John Jones
|
214.028 | 27 | 189 | 0 | Flagged |
| 12 | 30 | 81 | Billy Vukovich III
|
216.698 | 13 | 186 | 0 | Flagged |
| 13 | 18 | 71 | Ludwig Heimrath
|
213.878 | 29 | 185 | 0 | Flagged |
| 14 | 28 | 33 | Rocky Moran
|
214.212 | 24 | 181 | 0 | Flagged |
| 15 | 24 | 10 |  Derek Daly
|
214.237 | 23 | 167 | 0 | Flagged |
| 16 | 16 | 56 |  Tero Palmroth
|
214.203 | 25 | 165 | 0 | Spindle |
| 17 | 21 | 6 | Michael Andretti
|
218.774 | 8 | 163 | 35 | Engine |
| 18 | 29 | 86 | Dominic Dobson
|
213.590 | 30 | 161 | 0 | Engine |
| 19 | 4 | 15 |  Jim Crawford
|
221.450 | 4 | 135 | 0 | Drive Train |
| 20 | 19 | 12 |  Didier Theys (R)
|
213.120 | 32 | 131 | 0 | Engine |
| 21 | 15 | 9 |  Arie Luyendyk
|
214.883 | 20 | 123 | 0 | Engine |
| 22 | 32 | 24 | Pancho Carter
|
214.067 | 26 | 121 | 0 | Electrical |
| 23 | 1 | 4 | Rick Mears
|
223.885 | 1 | 113 | 0 | Engine |
| 24 | 2 | 25 | Al Unser
|
223.471 | 2 | 68 | 0 | Clutch |
| 25 | 12 | 70 | John Andretti
|
215.611 | 16 | 61 | 0 | Engine |
| 26 | 7 | 18 | Bobby Rahal
|
219.530 | 7 | 58 | 0 | Valve |
| 27 | 22 | 7 | Tom Sneva
|
218.396 | 10 | 55 | 0 | Pit Fire |
| 28 | 26 | 1 | Danny Sullivan
|
216.027 | 15 | 41 | 0 | Rear Axle |
| 29 | 11 | 28 | Randy Lewis
|
216.494 | 14 | 24 | 0 | Wheel Bearing |
| 30 | 13 | 8 |  Teo Fabi
|
215.563 | 17 | 23 | 0 | Ignition |
| 31 | 23 | 91 | Gordon Johncock
|
215.072 | 19 | 19 | 0 | Engine |
| 32 | 27 | 11 | Kevin Cogan
|
214.569 | 21 | 4 | 0 | Crash FS |
| 33 | 14 | 99 | Gary Bettenhausen
|
215.230 | 18 | 0 | 0 | Valve |
Failed to Qualify: Phil Krueger (#77), Michael Greenfield (#63), Steve Saleen (#59), John Paul, Jr. (#97), Johnny Rutherford (#98/#14T)
Quotes
"They're side-by-side, Emmo on the inside, Al covered traffic goes high, they touched wheels, Al Jr. hit into the wall hard, Emerson Fittipaldi keeps on going, they touched wheels, Al Jr. into the wall and Emerson Fittipaldi will lead them back to the yellow flag" - Mark Jaynes described the crash involving Al Unser Jr. and Emerson Fittipaldi on Lap 198 for the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Radio Network.
Trivia
- The field for this race is loosely replicated in the video game format in the 1989 release Indianapolis 500: The Simulation.
- The 1989 race was the best Indy 500 result for drivers Davy Jones (7th place) and Rich Vogler (8th place), both of whom started in the last row of 33 cars. It also was the best finish for Raul Boesel (3rd place) among his many Indy 500 starts.
External links
Gallery of photos from the event, official website of the Indianapolis 500