The 87th annual Indianapolis 500
May 25, 2003
Distance	500 miles -- 200 laps around the asphalt-on-brick Indianapolis Motor Speedway track, a 2 1/2-mile rectangular oval.
Sanctioning Body	Indy Racing League; also open to CART, USAC, NASCAR, SCCA, Formula One and other drivers through international FIA listing.
Race Cars	Open-cockpit, open-wheel and single-seat, with 3.5-liter, 670-horsepower normally-aspirated V8 engines.
Pace Car	Chevrolet SSR, driven by Herb Fishel, executive director of GM Racing.
Start	Noon EDT from a flying start, following warmup, parade and pace laps.
Finish	Standings are unofficial until posted by the IRL.
No. of Starters	33.
Pole Position	Helio Castroneves, Dallara-Toyota, 231.725 mph. Will start first, the inside of the front row.
Slowest Qualifier	Airton Dare, G Force-Toyota, 223.609 mph. Will start 33rd, the outside of the 11th row.
Fastest Rookie	Scott Dixon, G Force-Toyota, 230.099 mph. Will start fourth, the inside of the second row.
Slowest Rookie	A.J. Foyt IV, Dallara-Toyota, 224.177. Will start 23rd, the middle of the eighth row.
Defending Champion	Castroneves, who averaged 166.499 mph to win his second consecutive race at Indianapolis. No one has ever won three in a row.
Former Winners in Race	4 -- Al Unser Jr. (1992, 1994), Buddy Lazier (1996), Kenny Brack (1999), Castroneves (2001, 2002).
Rookie in Race	9 -- Dixon, Foyt, Dan Wheldon, Tora Takagi, Tony Renna, Roger Yasukawa, Shinji Nakano, Buddy Rice, Vitor Meira.
Youngest in Race	Foyt, turns 19 on race day (Born May 25, 1984).
Oldest in Race	Al Unser Jr., 41 (Born April 19, 1962).
Field Avg. in Qualifying	227.125 mph (Record 228.648 mph, 2002)
Qualifying Record	236.986 mph, Arie Luyendyk, 1996.
Race Record	185.981 mph, Arie Luyendyk, 1990.
Purse	Depends on attendance and accessory awards; 2002 payoff was a record $10,028,580, of which winner Helio Castroneves received a record $1,606,215 for Team Penske. The former records were a $9,615,325 purse in 2001 and $1,568,150 to winner Arie Luyendyk in 1997.
Crowd	Estimated at about 400,000. Speedway never discloses attendance but admits to at least 275,000 reserved seats in permanent stands and room for 100,000 or more in the infield.
Television	Televised live by ABC, with Bob Jenkins, host; Paul Page, anchor announcer and play by play; former driver Scott Goodyear, analyst; Jack Arute, Gary Gerould, Jerry Punch and Vince Welch, pit reporters.
Radio	Speedway network live to 1,200 stations in the United States and Canada, plus worldwide coverage on American Forces Radio and special Spanish language broadcast, with Mike King, anchor and play-by-play; Chris Economaki, analyst; Davey Hamilton, driver analyst; Dave Wilson, color commentator; Donald Davidson, historian; Jerry Baker, Kevin Lee, Mark Jaynes and Chris Denari, turns; Adam Alexander, Kim Morris, Jim Murphy, pits; Howdy Bell, medical center; Chuck Marlow, garages.
Mortality	There have been 66 deaths at the Speedway, including pre-500 races of 1909-10. Last death was on May 17, 1996, when pole-winner Scott Brayton was killed in a crash during practice.
The Trophy	Sterling silver Borg-Warner Trophy, which carries a bas-relief bust of each winner; 92 pounds; 4 feet, 4 inches tall; insured for $1 million. Winner takes home a smaller replica.