On the final lap, Hornish passed Marco Andretti about 450 feet from the finish line to take the win.

It was the first time a driver successfully made a pass for the lead on the final lap for victory in the 90-year history of the event.

Hornish had earned the pole in qualifying with a four-lap average of 228.985 mph (368.516 km/h), and second place Marco Andretti was unanimously voted the Rookie of the Year.

However, a small tire puncture forced him to make his final pit stop earlier than planned, which coupled with an untimely caution period, saw him slip to fourth place at the finish.

Three races preceded the Indy 500, and Hélio Castroneves, with two wins and one second place, held a large points lead going into the month of May.

Defending Indy 500 winner and 2005 IndyCar champion Dan Wheldon switched from Andretti Green Racing to Ganassi.

In December, team owner Michael Andretti announced he would come out of retirement to race at Indy, alongside his son.

Paul Dana was signed as the third car for RLR, but was replaced by Jeff Simmons after his tragic fatal crash.

Unser would race alongside teammate Buddy Lazier, who signed on for a partial season ride at DRR.

Hemelgarn Racing signed P. J. Chesson with financial backing from NBA basketball player Carmelo Anthony.

[1] An aggressive marketing campaign nicknamed the entry "Car Melo", and also acquired the services of Jeff Bucknum for a two-car effort.

The day opened with the Andretti family celebrating three generations (Mario, Michael, and Marco) taking a ceremonial lap around the track together.

With 23 minutes left in the day, Marty Roth spun during a practice run, and crashed into the outside wall in turn 1.

The day ended with Medeiros the only car to complete an attempt for the afternoon with Briscoe deciding against making a run.

Penske Racing with driver Hélio Castroneves won the 30th Annual Checker's/Rally's Indy 500 Pit Stop Challenge.

Due to the state of Indiana observing Daylight Saving Time, the start of the race was scheduled for 1:11 p.m. EDT.

Sugar Ray Leonard waved the green flag to start the race, and polesitter Sam Hornish Jr. took the lead into turn one.

Down the back stretch, Hélio Castroneves passed Hornish for the lead, and Dan Wheldon moved into second.

During this period, Dan Wheldon dominated the race, briefly losing then regaining the lead during a round of green-flag pit stops around laps 36-39.

Team owner Roger Penske accepted responsibility for the error, having told Hornish to go before the fueling was complete.

Still under caution on lap 155, the field was preparing to go back to green when Jeff Simmons wrecked in the north chute.

All of the lead lap cars would need to make one final pit stop for fuel, except for Sam Hornish Jr. and Michael Andretti.

Eighth place Hornish was less than 10 seconds ahead of Wheldon and Kanaan, barely clinging to the lead lap.

Marco Andretti (legally) slipped by the pace car exiting the pits, and avoided losing a lap in the shuffle.

It was also the first time in Indy history that a driver made a pass for the lead to win the race on the final lap.

"[4][8][10] Third-place finisher Michael Andretti had high praise for his son: "I felt so bad for Marco, but I'm so proud.

On the final lap, while most of the attention was focused on Andretti and Hornish, Wheldon slipped by Tony Kanaan for position going into turn three, and came home fourth.

For the second year in a row, pit reporter Kevin Olson conducted a pre-race interview with David Letterman.

After a critically unpopular season as chief announcer for the IndyCar series on ABC/ESPN, Todd Harris was removed from the broadcast booth.

Joining them in the booth was 1989 NASCAR Winston Cup Champion Rusty Wallace, who served as co-analyst with Goodyear.