The U.S. 500 was an automobile race sanctioned by CART between 1996 and 1999 at the Michigan International Speedway as an alternative to the Indianapolis 500. Michigan International Speedway is a two-mile (3. ... Indianapolis 500, 1994 The Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, frequently shortened to Indianapolis 500 or Indy 500, is an American automobile race held annually over the Memorial Day weekend at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana. ...

Tony George, owner of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, formed the Indy Racing League when the CART board of directors refused to grant George control of the organization. While the Indianapolis 500 had continued to be sanctioned by USAC since the formation of CART in 1979, CART teams and drivers represented the vast majority of the Indy field, and USAC had taken steps to ensure that the technical specifications for Indy did not preclude CART teams from participating. In 1996, however, following his creation of the Indy Racing League as an alternative to CART, George stipulated that 25 of the 33 starting positions at Indy would be reserved for teams which ran events in his series, which created potential scheduling conflicts with CART sanctioned events. Indianapolis Motor Speedway Wing and Wheel Indianapolis Motor Speedway, located in Speedway, Indiana (a separate city completely surrounded by Indianapolis) in the United States, is the second-oldest surviving automobile racing track in the world (after the Milwaukee Mile), having existed since 1909, and the original Speedway, the first racing... Indy Racing League Logo The Indy Racing League, better known as IRL, is the sanctioning body of a predominantly oval based open-wheel racing series in the United States and, more recently, Japan. ...

Interpreting this policy as a lockout of CART teams, the CART board agreed to stage the U.S. 500 as an alternative venue on Memorial Day weekend, the traditional date for the Indianapolis 500. George, on the other hand, viewed the refusal of CART teams to compete for the remaining 8 positions on the Indy grid as a boycott, despite the restrictions on participation created by George.

Jimmy Vasser won the first race in 1996, which was notable for its disastrous start. With the cars lined up in rows of three (the traditional starting formation of the Indy 500), Vasser, on pole, was about to take the green flag at the start, when he was struck by Adrian Fernandez. Fernandez then tagged Bryan Herta, and the resulting accident took out a number of cars. The start of the race was delayed as teams brought out backups, and made repairs to heavily-damaged cars. Jimmy Vasser (born November 20, 1965 in Canoga Park, California ) is a an American racing driver. ... Adrian Fernandez from Mexico City (Mexico) was born April 20, 1963. ... Bryan Herta (born on May 23, 1970 in Warren, Michigan) is an American race car driver in the Indy Racing Leagues IndyCar Series. ...

After George's 25/8 restriction for the Indianapolis 500 was dropped for the 1997 season, the Memorial Day U.S. 500 was cancelled thus removing it from direct competition with the Indianapolis 500. From 1997-1999, CART's traditional late July 500 mile race at Michigan carried the U.S. 500 moniker.

In 2000, the U.S. 500 name was dropped, as was the $1 million dollar payout associated with the event, although CART continued to race at MIS.

While the Indianapolis 500 has a history of one-off participants (teams and drivers who participate in only the single race and not in other series events), the fields for the U.S. 500 were comprised almost exclusively of teams and drivers who participated in the full CART season.

Race winners