Night before the 500
| Venue | Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis |
|---|---|
| Location |
Brownsburg, Indiana 39°48′46″N 86°20′27″W / 39.81278°N 86.34083°WCoordinates: 39°48′46″N 86°20′27″W / 39.81278°N 86.34083°W |
| First race | 1946 |
| Most wins (driver) |
 Eddie Haddad (4) |
| Circuit information | |
| Surface | Asphalt |
| Length | 0.686 mi (1.104 km) |
| Turns | 4 |
| Lap record | 0:19.581 (Mark Smith, Ralt RT5, 1989, Formula Super Vee) |
The Carb Night CLassic (also called the Day before the 500) is an annual autosport event in the state of Indiana. It occurs the Friday (starting in 2016) or Saturday (in previous years) of Indianapolis 500 race weekend. It is one of the Indianapolis 500 traditions.
History
The first Night before the 500 event was held at the 16th Street Speedway. The headline event was a double feature with USAC midget cars. The feature races were won by Leroy Warriner and Benny Emerick. In the following decades the event switched between local short courses in the state of Indiana. After leaving 16th Street Speedway, Kokomo Speedway, Indianapolis Speedrome, Indianapolis Raceway Park and the Indiana State Fairgrounds were used. As of 1980 the Indianapolis Raceway Park is the location for this prestigious event.
Various racing series supported the midget race. Formula Super Vee ran at the oval for five races. Mark Smith won the race in 1989. His fastest lap of 0:19.581 is still the current track record. In 1983, Jeff Andretti won a Formula Ford race.[1] Froum 2010 to 2016, the Road to Indy USF2000 and Star Mazda formula racing series supported the event.
Following USAC ceasing sanctioning of paved midget cars, the event in 2015, which was held on Saturday afternoon, was reassigned for the USAC Silver Crown cars, which are the only USAC series to race on paved tracks.
Race winners
| Year | USAC Midget race | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1946 | Leroy Warriner | ||
| Benny Emerick | |||
| 1947 | Sam Hanks | ||
| Ted Duncan | |||
| 1948 | Eddie Haddad | ||
| Eddie Haddad | |||
| Johnnie Parsons | |||
| 1949 | Eddie Haddad | ||
| Eddie Haddad | |||
| Mike O'Halloran | |||
| 1950 | Mike Nazaruk | ||
| Leroy Warriner | |||
| Manuel Ayulo | |||
| 1951 | not run | ||
| 1952 | Potsy Goacher | ||
| 1953 | Johnnie Tolan | ||
| 1954 | Potsy Goacher | ||
| Johnny Kay | |||
| Tony Bonadies | |||
| 1955 | Eddie Sachs | ||
| Forrest Parker | |||
| 1956 | Shorty Templeman | ||
| Shorty Templeman | |||
| Shorty Templeman | |||
| 1957 | Chuck Rodee | ||
| Len Sutton | |||
| 1958 | Mauri Wilson | ||
| Gene Force | |||
| Tony Bonadies | |||
| 1959 | Gene Force | ||
| 1960 | Jimmy Davies | ||
| 1961 | Jimmy Davies | ||
| 1962 | Jimmy Davies | ||
| 1963 | Mel Kenyon | ||
| 1964 | Chuck Rodee | ||
| 1965 | Mel Kenyon | ||
| 1966 | Chuck Arnold | ||
| 1967 | Mike McGreevy | ||
| 1968 | rained out | ||
| 1969 | Bob Wente | ||
| Henry Pens | |||
| 1970 | Lee Kunzman | ||
| 1971 | Jimmy Caruthers | ||
| 1972 | Tom Bigelow | ||
| Pancho Carter | |||
| 1973 | rained out | ||
| 1974 | Tommy Astone | ||
| 1975 | Bill Engelhart | ||
| 1976 | Bob Wente | ||
| 1977 | Mel Kenyon | ||
| 1978 | Rich Vogler | ||
| 1979 | Sleepy Tripp | ||
| Jeff Nuckles | |||
| 1980 | Mel Kenyon | ||
| 1981 | Mack McClellan | ||
| 1982 | rained out | ||
| 1983 | Ken Schrader | ||
| 1984 | Steve Lotshaw | ||
| 1985 | Nick Fornoro, Jr. | ||
| Formula Super Vee | |||
| Mike Hooper | |||
| 1986 | Sam Isenhower | .svg.png){kind=small} Didier Theys | |
| 1987 | Nick Fornoro, Jr. | E.J. Lenzi | |
| 1988 | Jack Calabrase | Mike Smith | |
| 1989 | Jeff Gordon | Mark Smith | |
| 1990 | Jeff Gordon | ||
| 1991 | Mike Fedorcak | ||
| 1992 | Doug Kalitta | ||
| USF2000 | |||
 Greg Tracy | |||
| 1993 | Mike Bliss | Clay Collier | |
| 1994 | Ted Hines | Anthony Lazzaro | |
| 1995 | Andy Michner | Memo Gidley | |
| 1996 | Kenneth Nichols | Allen May | |
| 1997 | Ryan Newman | not run | |
| 1998 | Dave Steele | not run | |
| Pro Mazda | |||
| Tony Buffomante | |||
| 1999 | Ryan Newman | not run | not run |
| 2000 | Kasey Kahne | Aaron Justus | not run |
| 2001 | Kasey Kahne |  Piero Rodarte | not run |
| 2002 | Jason Leffler | Tom Dyer | not run |
| 2003 | Aaron Fike | not run | not run |
| 2004 | Ron Gregory | not run | not run |
| 2005 | Michael Lewis | not run | not run |
| 2006 | Bobby Santos III | not run | not run |
| 2007 | Kevin Swindell | not run | not run |
| 2008 | Bobby East | not run | not run |
| 2009 | Chuck Gurney, Jr. | not run | not run |
| 2010 | Tanner Swanson |  Patrick McKenna | Conor Daly |
| 2011 | Darren Hagen |  Petri Suvanto | Connor De Phillippi |
| 2012 | Tracy Hines | Spencer Pigot | Connor De Phillippi |
| 2013 | Darren Hagen | Neil Alberico |  Matthew Brabham |
| 2014 | Tracy Hines | Aaron Telitz | Garett Grist |
| 2015 | Tanner Swanson | Jake Eidson |  Weiron Tan |
References
- ↑ "Jeff Andretti wins IRP Pro-Ford event". The Indianapolis Star. May 29, 1983. p. 57. Retrieved May 9, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ "Midget Racing All-time records 1933-2013". Midget National Driver of the Year. Retrieved 11 February 2016.
- ↑ "Driver Career Stats". USF2000. Retrieved 11 February 2016.
- ↑ "American Formula Super Vee Championship (1971-1990)". Motorsport Winners. Retrieved 11 February 2016.