2003 Indianapolis 500
Finish Start No Name Qual Rank C E Laps Led Status Entrant
1 10 6 Gil de Ferran 228.633 10 P T 200 31 Running Team Penske
2 1 3 Hélio Castroneves ( W ) 231.725 1 D T 200 58 Running Team Penske
3 2 11 Tony Kanaan 231.006 2 D H 200 2 Running Andretti Green Racing
4 12 10 Tomas Scheckter 227.768 12 P T 200 63 Running Chip Ganassi Racing
5 7 12 Tora Takagi ( R ) 229.358 7 P T 200 2 Running Mo Nunn Racing
6 25 20 Alex Barron 227.274 15 P T 200 0 Running Mo Nunn Racing
7 8 32 Tony Renna ( R ) 228.765 8 D T 200 0 Running Kelley Racing
8 14 13 Greg Ray 227.288 14 P H 200 0 Running Access Motorsports
9 17 31 Al Unser , Jr. ( W ) 226.285 20 D T 200 0 Running Kelley Racing
10 11 55 Roger Yasukawa ( R ) 228.577 11 D H 199 0 Running Super Aguri Fernandez Racing
11 19 52 Buddy Rice ( R ) 226.213 22 D C 199 0 Running Team Cheever
12 26 22 Vitor Meira ( R ) 227.158 18 D C 199 0 Running Team Menard
13 32 18 Jimmy Kite 224.195 30 D C 197 0 Running PDM Racing
14 15 54 Shinji Nakano ( R ) 227.222 16 D H 196 0 Running Beck Motorsports
15 18 4 Sam Hornish , Jr 226.225 21 D C 195 0 Engine Panther Racing
16 6 15 Kenny Bräck ( W ) 229.509 6 D H 195 0 Running Team Rahal
17 4 9 Scott Dixon ( R ) 230.099 4 P T 191 15 Accident Chip Ganassi Racing
18 23 14 A.J . Foyt IV ( R ) 224.177 31 D T 189 0 Running A.J . Foyt Enterprises
19 5 26 Dan Wheldon ( R ) 229.958 5 D H 186 0 Accident Andretti Green Racing
20 9 8 Scott Sharp 228.756 9 D T 181 0 Accident Kelley Racing
Box score
The 87th Indianapolis 500 was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana on Sunday, May 25, 2003. Two-time defending champion Hélio Castroneves won the pole position and was trying to become the first driver in Indy history to win three in a row. With 31 laps to go, however, Castroneves was passed by his Penske teammate Gil de Ferran, and the duo finished 1-2, with de Ferran winning his first Indy 500. The race was sanctioned by the Indy Racing League and was part of the 2003 IndyCar Series season. For the 2003 season, the series adopted a new chassis package and saw the introduction of Toyota and Honda to the field. Due to cost issues, and a shortage of engines and drivers, there was considerable concern going into the event that the field might fall short of the traditional 33 starters. On the final day of qualifying, the field was filled, avoiding a PR black eye. Former presidents George H. W. Bush and Bill Clinton were in attendance, the first time in Indy history that two former presidents were at the race. It was the elder Bush's second visit to the Speedway; he previously presided over the opening ceremonies of the 1987 Pan American Games, which was held at the track. Rookie A. J. Foyt IV, racing on his 19th birthday, became the youngest driver ever to compete in the race. For the first time since the 1970s, the race was not announced as a sell out. Since 1985, the race was usually sold out by July of the previous year.