The 96th Indianapolis 500 was run on Sunday, May 27, 2012 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, with the main race starting at noon EDT.^{[dated info]} It was the premier event of the 2012 IZOD IndyCar Series season.

For the first time since 1996 all entries featured turbocharged engines, and all entries were brand new model-year chassis, as part of the ICONIC Project. This was be the first time since 2003, and only the fourth time since 1985, that all cars were a new model-year chassis.

The track opened for practice on Saturday May 12. Time trials were held May 19–20. Ryan Briscoe of Penske Racing qualified for the pole position. The final practice, traditionally dubbed "Carb Day," was held Friday May 25.

Dario Franchitti, who previously won the race in 2007 and 2010, won the event, becoming a three-time Indy 500 champion. On the final lap, second place Takuma Sato challenged Franchitti for the lead in turn one, but pinched the car down too low, and lost control. As the two cars were side by side, Sato spun and crashed into the outside wall. Franchitti slipped by unscathed to take the victory. Franchitti's teammate Scott Dixon finished second, sweeping a 1-2 finish for Chip Ganassi Racing. The race set an all-time record with 34 lead changes.

The Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, also known as the Indianapolis 500, the 500 Miles at Indianapolis, the Indy 500 or The 500, is held annually, typically on the last weekend in May (specifically over the Memorial Day weekend) at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana. The event lends its name to the IndyCar class, or formula, of open-wheel race cars that have competed in it.

The event, billed as The Greatest Spectacle in Racing, is considered one of the three most significant motorsports events in the world. The official attendance is not disclosed by Speedway management, but the permanent seating capacity is more than 257,000 people, and infield seating raises capacity to an approximate 400,000.

The Indianapolis 500 is held annually at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, a 2.5 mile oval circuit. The race consists of 200 laps, run counterclockwise around the circuit, for a distance of 500 miles.

Traditionally, the field consists of 33 starters, aligned in a starting grid of eleven rows of three cars apiece. The event is contested by "Indy cars", a formula of professional-level, single-seat, open cockpit, open-wheel, purpose-built race cars. As of 2012, all entrants utilize 2.2 L V6 turbocharged engines, tuned to produce a range of 550–700 horsepower (410–520 kW).

Indianapolis  /ˌɪndiəˈnæpɵlɨs/ (abbreviated Indy /ˈɪndi/) is the capital of the US state of Indiana, and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population is 829,718. It is Indiana's largest city and, as of the 2010 U.S. Census, is the 12th largest city in the U.S., the second largest city in the Midwest (behind Chicago), the second most populous state capital (after Phoenix, Arizona), and the most populous state capital east of the Mississippi River. Indianapolis is also one of the fastest growing regions in the United States.

For much of its history, Indianapolis has oriented itself around government and industry, particularly manufacturing. Today, Indianapolis has a much more diversified economy, contributing to the fields of education, health care, and finance. Tourism is also a vital part of the economy of Indianapolis, and the city plays host to numerous conventions and sporting events. Of these, perhaps the most well known is the annual Indianapolis 500 and the NHRA U.S. Nationals. Other major sporting events include the Brickyard 400 and the Men's and Women's NCAA Basketball Tournaments. 2012 marked the first time Indianapolis hosted the Super Bowl. Super Bowl XLVI was played at Lucas Oil Stadium, on February 5, 2012 in Downtown Indianapolis. Also held in Lucas Oil Stadium is the Drum Corps International World Championships, and the Music for All Bands of America Grand National Championships.

George Dario Marino Franchitti (born 19 May 1973) is a Scottish racing driver. He formerly competed in the CART series before switching to the IndyCar Series where he was 2007 champion, and won the rain-shortened 2007 Indianapolis 500. Franchitti is also a former NASCAR driver for Chip Ganassi Racing, competing until mid-2008 when his team shut down. Franchitti returned to the IndyCar Series for the 2009 season, driving the #10 Target Honda/Dallara for Target Chip Ganassi Racing. He is the current, four-time IndyCar Series champion after claiming a third title in 2010 and fourth title in 2011 in addition to his 2007 and 2009 titles. On 30 May 2010, he won his second Indianapolis 500 race. He is the second driver in IndyCar Series history to take four titles in four consecutive series of racing, after Sébastien Bourdais, after accounting for his 2008 absence from the series. On 27 May 2012, he won his third Indianapolis 500 race.

He also competed in the American Le Mans Series for Andretti Green Racing with his brother Marino and former IndyCar Series teammate Bryan Herta. He won the 2007 BBC Scotland Sports Personality of the Year award. Franchitti was born in Bathgate, West Lothian, Scotland.

Mike Conway, born 19 August 1983, is a British racing driver. He lives in Sevenoaks, Kent and is currently competing in the IZOD IndyCar Series.

Conway who was born in Bromley, Kent, England attended Sevenoaks Prep School from 1986 to 1996.

Like many racing drivers, he started karting at the age of eight at Rye House in Hertfordshire. After that, he went on to be the Formula A British Karting Champion, race in Formula Ford with Van Diemen, become the Formula Renault UK Champion in 2004 and then into the British F3 International Series in 2005, with the same Fortec Motorsport team that he had been with in FRenault UK.

In British F3, he was the highest placed rookie and finished 3rd behind Alvaro Parente and Charlie Kimball, as well as managing 13th in the BP Ultimate Masters at Zandvoort, having started 16th, while at the Macau Grand Prix, Conway ended up fourth in both the qualifying and the qualifying race around the Circuito da Guia, before a problematic Grand Prix saw him finish 14th.

Following that success he was signed by 2MB Sports Management run by former Grand Prix drivers Martin Brundle and Mark Blundell, and signed for the Räikkönen Robertson Racing team, owned by then McLaren driver Kimi Räikkönen and his race-manager Steve Robertson. In the 2006 season, Mike dominated the British F3 International Series, and clinched the title with three races remaining, as well as winning Race Two of the prestigious Pau Grand Prix, in France, a round of the British F3 International Series for 2006. While at the Macau Grand Prix, after qualifying 11th, he finished 7th in the qualifying race, before becoming the first British driver to win the Grand Prix since Darren Manning in 1999.