At the start, Rick Mears got the jump and swept across the track to take the lead in turn one. Pole sitter Tom Sneva settled into second, and rookie Michael Andretti went from the inside of row 2 to take third. Mears led the first lap at a speed of 199.557 mph, an Indy record. His second lap was the first official race lap in the 68 year history of the Indianapolis 500 that registered over 200 mph. Geoff Brabham ducked into the pits after one lap, dropping out with a bad fuel line.