A six-day weather postponement, record pace and a three-car finish that ended with Bobby Rahal crossing the line in under three hours.
Bobby Rahal won the 1986 Indianapolis 500 on Saturday 31 May 1986 after rain postponed the race by six days. He became the first driver to finish 500 miles in under three hours, averaging 274.750 km/h (170.722 mph) over the distance.
The 1986 Indianapolis 500 was the 70th running of the race, held on Saturday 31 May 1986 after rain forced a postponement of six days. Bobby Rahal won, becoming the first driver to finish the distance inside the three-hour mark, at 274.750 km/h (170.722 mph) on average. It was also the first year ABC Sports carried the race live from start to finish.
Who won the 1986 Indianapolis 500?
Bobby Rahal won the 70th running of the race and became the first driver to cover the 500 miles in under three hours. Its average speed of 274.750 km/h (170.722 mph) was the quickest 500-mile Indy car race run to that date. It was the first of three Indianapolis victories for Rahal, with two more coming as a team owner in 2004 and 2020.
The race was a three-way fight for most of the afternoon between polesitter Rick Mears, Rahal and Kevin Cogan. Cogan took the lead with under 13 laps to go and looked set for victory, but a spin by Arie Luyendyk on lap 194 brought out a caution. On the restart Rahal moved ahead and held on, while car owner Jim Trueman, stricken with colon cancer, watched from the pits.
Cogan finished second and Mears third, the closest three-car finish at Indianapolis up to that point. Rahal's crew had nearly made a costly error during a mid-race stop, missing a left-front tyre change and dropping him from first to fourth. He recovered to take the win.
Rain pushed the race back six days, and Bobby Rahal still delivered the fastest 500 mile race the sport had seen.
Why was the 1986 race postponed?
Rain washed out the scheduled race on Sunday 25 May, and steady showers on Monday 26 May ended any chance of a start that week. Organisers rescheduled the race for Saturday 31 May, a delay of six days that remains the longest weather postponement in the history of the event.
On the Sunday, track drying efforts began twice, but rain returned both times. At 3:35 p.m. officials moved the race to Monday, and the infield was still a sea of mud the next day. Officials had memories of the tragic 1973 race and did not want to rush a start, and they weighed whether to run a shortened 101-lap event or insist on a full 200 laps before sunset.
Monday brought rain all day and only about 5,800 spectators. An announcement at 3:20 p.m. confirmed the postponement, and a deal for Saturday was struck around 6 p.m. Crews spent the following week cleaning the infield, and a 30-minute practice on Friday 30 May was held at a limit of 120 mph (190 km/h), mostly as a leak check.
New garages, a new victory lane and a new trophy base
The Indianapolis facilities had been rebuilt over the winter. The old Gasoline Alley, a set of garages that dated back to the 1940s, was demolished within days of the 1985 race. The new concrete garages numbered 96, up from 88, and each stall gave roughly 30% more working room. The layout ran north-south, and a refuelling complex with two underground tanks, one for methanol and one for gasoline, sat in the south-east corner.
A new victory lane replaced the checkered ramps that winners had driven up from 1971 to 1985. A hydraulic platform in the pit area now raised the winning car, and the new area was used until 1993. The Borg-Warner Trophy also marked its 50th anniversary in May 1986 with a new three-row base. The base raised the trophy to 55 inches and about 95 pounds, with room for winners through 2003.
ABC Sports had signed a three-year deal in August 1985 to show the race live from start to finish. Jim McKay moved into the host role, with Jim Lampley and Sam Posey on play-by-play, and the network planned 32 cameras and three RaceCams. The first live telecast, set for Sunday 25 May, was rained out.
Who took pole position in 1986?
Rick Mears took pole on Saturday 10 May 1986 with a four-lap total of 2:46.030, and he set a one-lap time of 41.364 seconds along the way. Danny Sullivan briefly held the provisional pole at 346.624 km/h (215.382 mph) before Mears's lap took it back. It was Mears's third Indianapolis pole, and the Penske pair lined up one and two.
Michael Andretti squeezed onto the front row at 345.240 km/h (214.522 mph), faster than his father's first qualifying run of 341.664 km/h (212.300 mph). It was the only front-row start of his Indianapolis career. Earlier that morning, Mears had set an unofficial track record of 350.110 km/h (217.548 mph), and his four-lap mark would stand for two years.
Several drivers came close to the front. Emerson Fittipaldi's flat tyre dropped his average just over 340 km/h (210 mph), while Bobby Rahal qualified 4th after one lap above 344 km/h (214 mph). A. J. Foyt failed technical inspection on pole day, and Raul Boesel and Dick Simon had their times thrown out over a faulty pop-off valve fitting, although Boesel later requalified.
How did bump day shape the back of the grid?
Bump day was the Sunday, 18 May. George Snider went out in a backup car owned by Foyt and took the field to 33 cars. Gary Bettenhausen then bumped his way in with ease, and Geoff Brabham held on as the slowest qualifier. Dick Simon was the only car bumped, and he became the first alternate.
Qualifying finished with rain on the track. Derek Daly began a run that was halted by a shower, and the day ended with the field complete. Foyt, who had missed his pole-day attempt, qualified 5th fastest among the late runners and lined up deep in the field for his 29th Indianapolis 500.
What happened during the Carburetion Day crash?
On Carburetion Day, Thursday 22 May, Dennis Firestone's brake disc blew apart and took the left-rear tyre with it. The car went into the inside wall, split in half against the pit-entrance barrier, and was formally withdrawn the next day. Snider and Roberto Moreno started from the back of the grid in backup cars.
Moreno tried to avoid the crash, spun into the inside wall, then ran through the pits and hit the back of Snider's car. None of the drivers was seriously hurt, but two pit crew members and one spectator were treated for minor injuries. Rick Mears still led the speed chart that afternoon with a hand-timed lap of 342.3 km/h (212.7 mph).
| Measure | Figure |
|---|---|
| Winner's average speed | 274.750 km/h (170.722 mph) |
| Winning time | 2 hours, 55 minutes, 43.470 seconds |
| Margin at the line | 1.4 seconds |
| Fastest race lap | 336.598 km/h (209.152 mph) |
| Pole four-lap total | 2:46.030 |
| Postponement | Six days, from 25 May to 31 May |
The aborted start and the first half
The first attempt at the start was a mess. Tom Sneva drifted off line at the exit of turn two on the final pace lap, and spectators set off a smoke bomb on the backstretch. The start was waved off, and the cars had used four laps of fuel for nothing, so each of the 32 remaining cars received 3 gallons of methanol. The red flag delayed the race by more than half an hour before Tony George gave the restart command at 11:34 a.m.
Michael Andretti jumped from the outside of the front row and set an opening-lap record of 326.600 km/h (202.940 mph), the first time the opening lap had been run over 320 km/h (200 mph). He led the first 42 laps. Mario Andretti stalled with an ignition problem on lap 15 and finished 32nd. Rick Mears led by lap 49, and Rahal took the lead on lap 83 and led for 19 laps, including the halfway point.
How did Rahal take the win on the final laps?
Rahal took the lead for good with two laps to go, after Kevin Cogan's lead was erased by a caution on lap 194. Cogan had opened up a three-second advantage, but the yellow flag bunched the field behind the pace car. On the restart, Rahal moved past Cogan exiting turn four and held the lead to the line.
Luyendyk's spin came on lap 194, and the field was held under the pace car while crews cleared the wall. Cogan headed the leaders, with Rahal and Mears tucked in close behind. Michael Andretti had pitted for a splash of fuel with seven laps to go.
Rahal's final lap was the fastest in Indianapolis 500 history to that point, at 336.598 km/h (209.152 mph). He pulled out a 1.4-second advantage over the closing laps. His average speed broke the 1984 record set by Mears, and his winning time of 2 hours, 55 minutes and 43.470 seconds was the first finish under three hours by any driver.
Rahal later said a fuel warning light had flashed on the final lap, and a check after the race found just 2 gallons of methanol left.
What happened to Truesports after the race?
The celebration in victory lane was emotional for Truesports. Owner Jim Trueman, visibly frail, came to the winners' area, and he took a swig of the traditional milk. The victory banquet was cancelled because of the rain delay, so a makeshift luncheon was held on Sunday 1 June. The city of Columbus held a parade and celebration on 5 June, with 300 Red Roof Inn employees taking part.
Trueman died on 11 June 1986, aged 51. Rahal and the team went on to win five more CART races that season and the 1986 CART championship, then repeated the title in 1987.
Did Kevin Cogan's second place redeem him?
His late charge was framed as a redemption story. Cogan had been at the centre of a 1982 accident involving Mario Andretti and A. J. Foyt, and he was asked about it repeatedly during May 1986. Rahal said the 1982 incident had been held against Cogan unfairly, and that drivers had treated him badly.
Cogan had won the season opener at Phoenix but faded as a contender afterwards. He reportedly left a press conference early when asked about 1982 that month. Rahal said Cogan had been through some rough times, and that facing jeering crowds would be hard to picture.
