1995 Indianapolis 500 it allowed him to complete the full 500 miles, becoming the second and final driver to complete 500 miles in a Buick/Menard powered car. Luyendyk's 7th-place finish was the second-highest for the Buick/Menard V6, surpassed only by the third-place finish of Al Unser, Sr. in 1992. Jacques Villeneuve went on to win the 1995 CART championship, and subsequently signed with Williams in the offseason. With a growing cloud of controversy and uncertainty over a potential and looming open wheel "split," the 1995 Indianapolis 500 marked a turning point in the sport. Within months, and by the 1996 race, the landscape
1979 Indianapolis 500 car at the start of the race. Stewart reported live while driving the Ford Mustang pace car. The broadcast has re-aired on ESPN Classic since May 2011. 1979 Indianapolis 500 The 63rd 500 Mile International Sweepstakes was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana, on Sunday May 27, 1979. Second-year driver Rick Mears took the lead for the final time with 18 laps to go, and won his first of four Indianapolis 500 races. It was also Mears' first of a record six Indy 500 pole positions. Brothers Al and Bobby Unser combined to lead 174 of the