1991 Indianapolis 500

Rick Mears won from the pole position, becoming the third four-time winner of the Indy 500, joining A. J. Foyt and Al Unser.

Mears kept the injury mostly secret, and later admitted that the pain he experienced during the race was so bad, he had to cross his legs in the car and push the accelerator pedal down with his left foot.

During time trials, a sudden rain shower halted pole qualifying, unexpectedly shutting out several contenders from a chance at the front row.

Gary Bettenhausen in a Buick-powered machine was the surprise fastest qualifier, albeit he was ineligible for the pole position.

The car's former sponsor Domino's Pizza left the sport, and the livery was changed to the classic day-glow orange utilized by Granatelli entries over the years.

In late February, the Stealth was downgraded to be the "festival" (driven by the event's dignitaries for promotional purposes) and backup pace car.

The speed of the stock block Buicks continued to impress as Kevin Cogan turned a lap of 226.677 mph on Thursday May 9.

On "Fast Friday," the final day of practice before time trials, Rick Mears shocked the establishment, suffering his first-ever crash at Indy since arriving as a rookie in 1977.

The car hit the inside wall with the back of the engine/transmission near the entrance to the pits, punching a 6-foot hole in the concrete barrier, and erupting a brief fireflash.

Lightning from the gathering storm clouds actually struck near turn 3 while the main straightaway remained awash in sunshine.

Only twelve cars qualified, and several drivers were left out, including Emerson Fittipaldi, Arie Luyendyk, and Gary Bettenhausen.

Roger Penske was later presented with the dubious Jigger Award for having waved off Fittipaldi's run, and effectively giving up second starting position.

Gary Bettenhausen took to the track and completed his run at 224.468 mph, faster than Mears' pole speed, making him the fastest qualifier in the field.

Arie Luyendyk's qualifying run of 223.881 mph made him the third fastest car in the field, but his second-day status lined him up 14th.

The rest of the day saw light action with only one major incident, an accident from Dominic Dobson in turn four which fractured his left leg, wiping out the Burns team 89 Lola, but the injury was not enough to sideline him.

Rookie Willy T. Ribbs passed his drivers test on Monday, but suffered through multiple engine failures during the week.

Initially Unser was expected to drive a back-up car to Arie Luyendyk at UNO/Granatelli Racing, but engine lease issues, and the lack of adequate preparation time prevented the deal from coming to fruition.

Rookie Hiro Matsushita led the speed chart for the non-qualified drivers most of the week, with a top lap of 216.570 mph.

On his cool-down lap, an ecstatic Ribbs hoisted himself partially out of his seat, waving and cheering with both hands out of the cockpit as he pulled into the pits.

Rain delayed the start of the two-hour practice session from 11 a.m. to 12:24 p.m. Officials announced that the field would be guaranteed at least 30 minutes of green flag track time.

The top three race qualifiers and their respective pit crews were automatically eligible: Rick Mears, A. J. Foyt, and Mario Andretti.

Rahal, led by Jim Prescott, finished runner-up in the event for the fourth time in his career, and for the second year in a row with Galles-KRACO.

Danny Sullivan's Alfa Romeo car suffered a fuel pump problem, and was he pushed back to the pits.

On lap 25, Kevin Cogan and Roberto Guerrero clipped wheels in turn one, and the two cars crashed hard into the outside wall.

Jim Crawford, John Paul Jr., Mike Groff, Tero Palmroth, and Gary Bettenhausen were all out of the race before the halfway point.

On lap 183, Danny Sullivan blew his engine down the frontstretch, spewing a huge cloud of smoke, and bringing out the caution flag.

As the leaders came down for the restart to complete lap 186, Andretti diced back and forth down the frontstretch, and passed Mears on the outside of turn one to take the lead in dramatic fashion.

At the end of the main stretch, not to be upstaged, Mears pulled the same move, passing Andretti on the outside of turn one to re-take the lead.

Johnny Rutherford returned as "driver expert" and Bob Forbes conducted the winner's interview in victory lane.

Longtime network veteran Ralph "Luke" Walton, who served on the crew for the final time in 1988, died on June 18, 1990, at the age of 83.

1991 Dodge Viper RT/10 Indy 500 Pace Car, on display at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway's "From the Vault" exhibit, December 2019
Gordon Johncock during practice.
Willy T. Ribbs at the 1991 Indianapolis 500
Front row during the pace laps. Outside ( Mario Andretti ), middle ( A. J. Foyt ), inside ( Rick Mears )