30 Days in May: No. 5, Danny Sullivan, 1985 Miller American March/Cosworth

Welcome to our monthlong countdown celebrating notable drivers and cars from the Indianapolis 500!

 

Majeske Collection

In 1985, Danny Sullivan became the first to win from the eighth starting position.

30 Days in May: No. 5, Danny Sullivan, 1985 Miller American March/Cosworth. As someone who grew up in the 1980s, the fact that 2025 marks 40 years since Danny Sullivan’s Indianapolis 500 victory is a bit distressing and means I might be getting old. No matter. Sullivan’s win is one of the more famous in the 100-plus years of the race because of his spin in front of Mario Andretti in Turn 1 on Lap 120 after passing him for the lead. The fact that neither one of them hit the wall nor each other is incredible. After gathering up the car (and, likely, other things), Sullivan pitted for new tires, charged back up through the field, passed Andretti again Lap 140, and led the rest of the way. Andretti actually led the most laps (107 to Sullivan’s 67), but had to settle for second place, 2.477 seconds back.

The “Spin and Win” vaulted Sullivan into the mainstream. He even was a guest star on an episode of “Miami Vice,” one of the most popular TV shows, in early 1986. Sullivan played a racing driver (naturally) who is accused of murder in “Florence Italy.” The Fat Boys also run afoul of Crockett and Tubbs in this one, which we watch each May.

In addition to his victory, Sullivan had three other top 10s in the 500: ninth in 1986, fifth in 1992 and ninth in his last race in 1995.

#Indy500 @IMS @IMSMuseum @IndyCar @SpinToWin85 @TeamPenske