1986 Indianapolis 500

The 70th Indianapolis 500 was held at Indianapolis on Saturday, May 31, 1986. After being rained out on May 25–26, the race was rescheduled for the following weekend. Bobby Rahal was the winner, becoming the first driver in Indy history to complete the 500 miles in less than three hours.

The race was sanctioned by USAC, and was included as part of the 1986 Indy Car World Series.

Starting grid

 * † - Mario Andretti qualified 5th on pole day. A few days later, he crashed his already-qualified car, and it was damaged beyond repair. The car was replaced with a back-up car, and was moved the rear of the field.
 * †† - George Snider and Roberto Moreno were both involved in the multi-car crash on Carburetion Day. Both primary cars were damaged beyond repair. Their cars were replaced with back-up cars, and moved to the rear of the field.
 * ‡ - After Dennis Firestone withdrew his wrecked car, Dick Simon was added to field in the 33rd position as the first alternate

Qualified cars withdrawn:
 * Dennis Firestone; wrecked on Carburetion Day and withdrawn.

Failed to Qualify:
 * Steve Bren (#25)
 * Steve Chassey (#56/#65)
 * Derek Daly (#28)
 * Spike Gehlhausen (#10)
 * Herm Johnson (#28)
 * Rupert Keegan (#56/#65)
 * Jan Lammers (#98)
 * Rick Miaskiewicz (#19)
 * Mike Nish (#44/#45)*
 * John Paul, Jr. (#31) Paul withdrew after a few days of practice after being sentenced to prison for his involvement in drug trafficking with his father, John Paul, Sr.