The 2011 race was promoted as the 100th Anniversary Indianapolis 500, celebrating a century since the inaugural race of 1911, though it was technically the 95th running due to suspensions during the World Wars. The month of May featured special ceremonies and events throughout, including the Greatest 33 list compiled from expert and fan voting to establish the best drivers in the event's first century. At least 21 of the 27 living Indy 500 winners attended race weekend.
Scott Dixon won the pole position for Chip Ganassi Racing with a four-lap average of 232.164 mph during the Fast Nine Shootout — the fastest pole speed since Arie Luyendyk's track record in 1996. Alex Tagliani of Sam Schmidt Motorsports had set the pace through much of qualifying before Dixon eclipsed him. Dario Franchitti ran out of fuel on his final qualifying lap and dropped to ninth. Several Andretti Autosport cars struggled during qualifying; Marco Andretti was bumped from the field with 55 seconds remaining before the 6 o'clock gun, then re-qualified in the final moments to bump Ryan Hunter-Reay.
Donald Trump was originally named driver of the pace car before withdrawing following public criticism. Four-time Indianapolis 500 winner A. J. Foyt replaced him.
The race began at noon EDT on a hot, muggy day. Scott Dixon jumped from pole to lead the opening laps before teammate Dario Franchitti took over. The Ganassi pair dominated the first half, combining to lead 124 laps. Will Power of Team Penske led early but effectively ended his race on lap 21 when he drove a lap without a left-rear tire following a pit stop miscue.
Pit strategy and fuel conservation came to define the second half. By the closing stages, Bertrand Baguette was leading while attempting to stretch his fuel to the finish. Graham Rahal led briefly. Scott Dixon and Dario Franchitti, the pre-race favorites, found themselves caught in a strategy cycle that left them unable to challenge for the win.
With three laps to go, Baguette finally pitted and Franchitti continued to conserve fuel, leaving rookie J. R. Hildebrand of Panther Racing in front. Hildebrand's car was critically low on fuel; his team calculated it would be just enough to reach the finish without stopping. As the white flag flew, Hildebrand went to the outside of Turn 4 to lap the slower car of Charlie Kimball. He drifted wide and hit the outside wall. His wrecked car, missing its right front wheel and nosecone, coasted down the main straight. Dan Wheldon, running second, had a clear path and crossed the finish line to win. Hildebrand slid across in second.
The win made Wheldon the 18th driver to win the Indianapolis 500 twice, and the 200th lap was the only lap he led in the race — breaking Joe Dawson's 99-year-old record for the fewest laps led by a winner at Indianapolis. Wheldon's average speed of 170.265 mph was the fourth-fastest in race history and the first time the race was completed in under three hours since Juan Pablo Montoya's win in 2000.
Oriol Servià was initially classified fifth, but officials determined he had passed Scott Dixon on the final lap while a caution light was illuminated. Dixon was reinstated to fifth and Servià dropped to sixth in the final standings.
Four months after his victory, on October 16, 2011, Dan Wheldon was fatally injured in a crash during the IZOD IndyCar World Championship at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. He was 33 years old. The Borg-Warner Trophy replicas for Wheldon and his owners were presented in January 2012 in Detroit, where Wheldon's widow Susie accepted on his behalf.
The 2011 Indianapolis 500 race-winning Dallara IR3007 chassis was subsequently restored to race condition as a Wheldon tribute. It had previously been raced by several teams and owners before FAZZT acquired it in 2010 and Sam Schmidt Motorsports used it in 2011.
J. R. Hildebrand's near-miss was especially poignant for Panther Racing, which had previously suffered three consecutive runner-up finishes at Indianapolis and had never won the race. The team's two IndyCar Series championships had not been accompanied by an Indy 500 victory. Hildebrand's crash ended what would have been the team's first win and capped a run of four second-place finishes without a victory at the Speedway.
The 2011 race was also the second Indianapolis 500 to end with a last-lap lead change, following the 2006 race, and remains the only time the race winner led only the final lap.