2005 Indianapolis 500

The 89th Indianapolis 500 was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana on Sunday, May 29, 2005. It was the premier event of the 2005 IndyCar Series season and the tenth Indy 500 sanctioned by the Indy Racing League. Dan Wheldon won the race, his first of two Indy victories (2005 and 2011). Wheldon became the first British-born winner since Graham Hill in 1966. It was the second consecutive Indy victory for Honda, and the first victory for the Dallara chassis since 2002. It was also the long-awaited first Indianapolis 500 victory for car owner Michael Andretti of Andretti-Green Racing. After many years of failing to win the race as a driver ("Andretti Curse"), Andretti finally achieved victory at Indianapolis as an owner. As of 2022, it is the first of his five Indy victories as an owner.

Rookie Danica Patrick, who qualified and finished 4th, became the first female driver in Indy history to lead laps during the race. Patrick led three times for a total of 19 laps and won the Rookie of the Year award. Considerable media hype and attention was focused on the race and on Patrick in particular during the month, giving birth to the term "Danica Mania". Her 4th place starting position broke the record set by Lyn St. James (6th in 1994) and her 4th place finishing position broke the record set by Janet Guthrie (9th in 1978).

The increased attention going into the race helped register a 6.5 Nielsen rating, the highest since 1996. Also making headlines during the month of May was the return of 1999 winner Kenny Bräck. After suffering a horrendous crash at Texas in October 2003, Bräck sat out the 2004 season, recovering from serious injuries. Bräck, in what would be his final IndyCar race, drove in substitution for Buddy Rice. Rice, the 2004 winner suffered a concussion in a practice crash on May 11, and was forced to sit out the event. Bräck was the overall fastest qualifier during time trials but dropped out of the race near the halfway point due to mechanical problems.