The win also represented the record seventh Indy victory that chief mechanic George Bignotti was involved with.

Rookie Teo Fabi headlined time trials by winning the pole position, and on race day he led the first 23 laps.

Fabi would go on to win four races during the season and finished second to Al Unser Sr. for the CART points championship.

The field for the Indy 500 going forward would consist primarily of CART-based teams, along with numerous one-off ("Indy-only") entries.

Despite various squabbles and minor technical differences between the sanctioning bodies, this arrangement would remain in place, with relative harmony, through 1995.

The USAC technical committee issued rule changes for 1983, scaling back side skirts and declaring that "all bodywork or aerodynamic devices must be at least one inch above the bottom of the car's tub."

During time trials, a total of 15 cars in the qualifying line would fail pre-qualifying technical inspection, raising tempers and drawing the ire of competitors.

Some teams charged that USAC was inconsistent in their enforcement and their measuring, since they used a different (and possibly less-accurate) tool than the CART series officials utilized at other races.

[3] The evolving aerodynamic rules coincided with the emergence of the Robin Herd-designed March chassis becoming the vehicle of choice for the mid-1980s.

Penske, among other teams, elected to scale back, or even abandon their in-house chassis programs in favor of the English-built March for the next few seasons.

The "customer car" era also was popular with the smaller-budget teams, as it allowed them access to top equipment, leveling the playing field, and shrinking the differences between haves and the have-nots.

At 8 p.m., Tony Foyt Sr. lapsed into a coma, and died at 10 p.m.[4] The day opened with John Mahler (180.022 mph) on the bubble.

At 4:14 p.m., Dennis Firestone completed a run of 190.888 mph, with heavy rain beginning to fall on his last lap, bumping Mahler, and the track was soaked and closed for the day.

The 6 o'clock gun fired with several drivers, including Bettenhausen, Bill Alsup, and Dick Ferguson all left sitting in line.

[5] The eliminations rounds for the 7th annual Miller High Life Pit Stop Contest were held on Thursday May 26.

The top four race qualifiers and their respective pit crews were automatically eligible: Teo Fabi, Mike Mosley, Rick Mears, and Tom Sneva.

The pit spot contest qualifying heats were held as planned, with the results tentative until the automatic berths were known.

Rick Mears defeated Pancho Carter in the final round to win the event for the second year in a row.

A. J. Foyt, who earlier in the week had attended his father's funeral, dropped out early with a broken transmission u-joint linkage.

Mosley's notable "Indy jinx" continued, and it would be his final lap at the Speedway - he was killed in a traffic accident less than a year later.

While many feel Al Jr. did not actually make many onerous and intentional "blocking" moves, he did create a significant amount of "dirty air" for Sneva, and did not yield the preferred racing line.

With an open track ahead of him now, Tom Sneva picked up the pace and put considerable distance between himself and Unser.

In post-race interviews, Al Unser Jr. admitted to running interference for his father, claiming he was trying to create "dirty air" and turbulence for Tom Sneva.

However, after the race USAC examined the incident, and issued no penalties for blocking,[11] citing the fact that he did not actually break any written rules.

[11] Furthermore, Al Sr. noted that he made a miscalculation on his final pit stop, ordering his crew to not change tires.

[12] Aside from the blocking incident, Sneva accused Al Jr. of jumping the restart and illegally passing the two leaders before the green light came on.

Longtime radio veteran Luke Walton assumed his customary duty during the pre-race ceremonies of introducing the starting command.

For 1983, after a brief one-year change, the famous commercial out-cue was restored back to "Now stay tuned for the Greatest Spectacle in Racing."

Jim McKay returned as anchor, while Jackie Stewart reprised the host position in "ABC Race Central."

Sam Posey returned to the booth as driver expert, while Jim Lampley made his first appearance, covering primarily the garages and medical center.