The race was sanctioned by USAC, and was included as part of the 1985 CART PPG Indy Car World Series.

Andretti veered to the inside and slipped by unscathed, while Sullivan's car somehow avoided contact with the concrete wall.

Pancho Carter and Scott Brayton swept the top two spots on the starting grid with the pushrod Buick, setting new track record speeds in time trials.

However, both cars still had questionable reliability for the full 500 miles, and both dropped out early with mechanical problems on race day.

Defending Indy winner Rick Mears suffered serious leg injuries in a crash at Sanair Super Speedway in August 1984.

Willy T. Ribbs entered the Rookie Orientation Program in April, hoping to become the first African American driver to qualify for the Indy 500.

At 1:13 p.m., Bobby Rahal, the last driver with a legitimate shot, turned in a run of 211.818 mph, securing the outside of the front row.

Late in the day, George Snider continued the trend of stock block engines, putting a Foyt V-6 in the field.

John Paul Jr. squeezed in a qualifying run between his IMSA commitments, and bumped Derek Daly from the field.

Tony Bettenhausen Jr. bumped out Chet Fillip, who earlier in the day, had wrecked his back-up car, leaving him on the sidelines for the rest of the month.

The final day of time trials opened with Steve Chassey on the bubble, and about nine cars looking to make the field.

The top four race qualifiers and their respective pit crews were automatically eligible: Pancho Carter, Scott Brayton, Bobby Rahal, and Mario Andretti.

Geoff Brabham, Roberto Guerrero, Arie Luyendyk, Howdy Holmes qualified for the contest during preliminaries held May 14–16.

Michael Andretti, the 1984 Pit Stop Contest winner, was unable to participate due to car damage.

[10][11] Going into the race, the top two qualifiers, Pancho Carter and Scott Brayton were considered underdogs, due to reliability issues with the Buick engine.

The Buicks' day came to an end on lap 19 when Scott Brayton stopped on the track with a blown engine from a cracked cylinder wall.

An angry Foyt stormed around the car, bumped into the fueler, fuel spilled, and fire started in the pit area.

Andretti held his ground, forcing Sullivan to make the pass down below the yellow line in the somewhat rough and flat apron.

Out of control, Sullivan's car began a counterclockwise 360° spin directly in front of Andretti in the south short chute.

[3] Andretti's split-second decision to veer to the inside (the more difficult move, pinching his own car down) was a result of his experience from a very similar incident two years earlier.

In the 1983 race, Andretti was faced with a nearly identical situation when Johnny Parsons spun in front of him coming out of turn one.

Andretti avoided the wreck, but Sneva locked his brakes and spun wide in front of Sullivan, who slipped by unscathed.

After being a factor nearly all afternoon, Emerson Fittipaldi dropped out of the race with low oil pressure and a broken fuel line with only 12 laps to go.

[3] In post-race interviews, the experienced Andretti claimed he baited the younger Sullivan during the pass, and deliberately pinched him down to the apron.

[7] Sam Posey reflected the win as a "changing of the guard" on the Indy car circuit,[7] as the young 'hot-shot' Sullivan beat the established and long-experienced Andretti.

Likewise, Indy legend A. J. Foyt was not a factor, and Johnny Rutherford, despite a strong finish, struggled to qualify.

Gordon Johncock, who abruptly retired from driving during the month, joined Rodger Ward and the broadcast featured two driver experts.

Carrell's final race reporting from turn one included his call of Danny Sullivan's famous spin on lap 120.

In addition, the turn one vantage point was moved from the deck of the Southwest Vista to a platform suspended from the E Stand Penthouse.

Less than three months later on August 19, 1985, ABC Sports signed an initial three-year deal, long-awaited by auto racing fans, to cover the Indianapolis 500 live flag-to-flag starting in 1986.