Sunday 25th May 2003

Gil de Ferran won the 87th Indianapolis 500-Mile Race by 0.2990 of a second over his Marlboro Team Penske teammate, Helio Castroneves. With Tony Kanaan finishing third only 1.2475 seconds behind de Ferran, the race featured the closest 1-2-3 finish in “500” history. de Ferran ended up retiring at season’s end, becoming the fourth Indy 500 winner to retire as a reigning “500” champion.

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.[6] Since 1985, the race was usually sold out by July of the previous year.