By Associated Press, Thursday, May 24
DISTANCE — 500 miles; 200 laps around the asphalt-on-brick Indianapolis Motor Speedway track, a 2.5-mile rectangular oval.
SANCTIONING BODY — IndyCar.
RACE CARS — Open-cockpit, open-wheel and single-seat, with 2.2-liter, 550-700 horsepower turbocharged V-6 engines.
ENGINE MANUFACTURERS — Chevrolet, Honda, Lotus.
CHASSIS — All cars use Dallaras.
PACE CAR — 2013 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 driven by Guy Fieri.
START — Noon EDT from a flying start, following warm-up, parade and pace laps.
FINISH — Standings are unofficial until posted by the IndyCar Series.
NUMBER OF STARTERS — 33 cars; three abreast in each of 11 rows.
POLE POSITION — Ryan Briscoe, the first Australian national to win Indy’s pole with a four-lap qualifying average of 226.484 mph in the closest pole battle in 500 history. He will start first, from the inside of the front row, for the first time in seven Indy starts.
SLOWEST QUALIFIER — Jean Alesi, who averaged 210.094 mph. Will start 33rd, the outside of the 11th row.
FASTEST ROOKIE — Josef Newgarden, 224.037 mph. Will start seventh, the inside of the third row.
2011 WINNER — The late Dan Wheldon, who averaged 170.265 mph for his second win at Indianapolis.
FORMER WINNERS IN RACE (3) — Helio Castroneves (2001, 2002, 2009), Dario Franchitti (2007 and 2010), Scott Dixon (2008).
ROOKIES IN RACE (8) — Jean Alesi, Rubens Barrichello, Bryan Clauson, Wade Cunningham, James Jakes, Katherine Legge, Josef Newgarden and Simon Pagenaud.
YOUNGEST IN RACE — Josef Newgarden, 21 (Born Dec. 22, 1990)
OLDEST IN RACE — Jean Alesi, 47 (Born June 11, 1964)
MOST PREVIOUS RACES — Helio Castroneves (11).
FOREIGN BORN (24) — Jean Alesi, France; Rubens Barrichello, Brazil; Ana Beatriz, Brazil; Sebastien Bourdais, France; Ryan Briscoe, Australia; Helio Castroneves, Brazil; Mike Conway, England; Wade Cunningham, New Zealand; Scott Dixon, New Zealand; Dario Franchitti, Scotland; James Hinchcliffe, Canada; James Jakes, England; Michel Jourdain Jr., Mexico; Tony Kanaan, Brazil; Katherine Legge, England; ; Simon Pagenaud, France; Will Power, Australia; Sebastian Saavedra, Colombia; Takuma Sato, Japan; Oriol Servia, Spain; Simona De Silvestro, Switzerland; Alex Tagliani, Canada; E.J. Viso, Venezuela; Justin Wilson, England.
FIELD AVERAGE IN QUALIFICATIONS — 222.835 mph (Record 228.648 mph, 2002)
QUALIFICATION RECORD — 236.986 mph, Arie Luyendyk, 1996.
RACE RECORD — 185.981 mph, Arie Luyendyk, 1990.
CLOSEST FINISHES — 0.043 seconds, Al Unser Jr. over Scott Goodyear, 1992; 0.0635 seconds, Sam Hornish Jr. over Marco Andretti, 2006.
PURSE — Depends on attendance and accessory awards; 2011 payoff was $13.51 million, of which winner Dan Wheldon received $2.57 million for Bryan Herta Autosport.
CROWD — Estimated at up to 400,000. Speedway never discloses attendance but admits to more than 250,000 reserved seats in permanent stands and room for 100,000 or more in the infield.
TELEVISION — Televised live and in high definition by ESPN on ABC starting at 11 a.m. EDT, one hour before the race, with host Brent Musburger, lead announcer Marty Reid, analysts Eddie Cheever and Scott Goodyear, and pit reporters Rick DeBruhl, Jamie Little, Jerry Punch and Vince Welch. ABC will use views from two onboard cameras from the same car at the same time, a first.
RADIO — More than 340 affiliate IMS Radio Network stations throughout the United States and Canada, plus XM 94, Sirius 212, American Forces Radio Network, shortwave radio worldwide and the Internet, with Indianapolis Motor Speedway Radio Network anchor Mike King, driver analyst Davey Hamilton, IMS historian Donald Davidson, Jerry Baker and Paul Page in the booth; Jake Query, Mark Jaynes and Chris Denari in the turns; Nick Yeoman, Michael Young and Kevin Lee and Nick Yeoman in the pits and Dave Wilson in the garage.
MORTALITY — There have been 68 deaths at the Speedway, including pre-500 races of 1909-10. Last death was Aug. 30, 2010 when motorcycle rider Peter Lenz of Vancouver, Wash., was killed in a preliminary race to the Indianapolis MotoGP.
THE TROPHY — Sterling silver Borg-Warner Trophy, 5-feet, 4 3/4-inches, 110-pounds, with bas-relief bust of each winner. Valued at more than $1 million, on permanent display at Speedway Hall of Fame Museum. Each winner receives an 18-inch sterling silver replica.
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.