The 74th Indianapolis 500 was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana on Sunday, May 27, 1990. Dutchman Arie Luyendyk took the lead with 32 laps to go, and earned his first-ever victory in championship-level competition. It was the second consecutive year the Indy 500 was won by a foreign-born competitor, the first time that had occurred since 1965–1966. Luyendyk completed the 500 miles at an average speed of 185.981 mph (299.307 km/h), a record that stood for 23 years until 2013. In reference to the long-standing speed record, the 1990 race had often been referred to as "The Fastest 500."

Defending champion and race pole-sitter Emerson Fittipaldi dominated the first half of the race, looking to become the first back-to-back winner in 20 years. In the second half of the race, however, he fell victim to blistering tires, lost a lap, and wound up finishing third. Bobby Rahal, the 1986 winner, was in position to win his second Indy 500, but he too suffered handling problems, which dropped him to second at the finish.

A. J. Foyt, making his 33rd consecutive Indy start, finished in sixth place. Rookie Jeff Andretti attempted to become the unprecedented fourth member of the Andretti family to qualify for the same race, but was bumped on the final day of time trials.

Rain hampered much of the month, washing out nearly the entire first weekend of time trials as well as two practice days. The 1990 race was also the first Indy 500 presided over by Tony George, who was named president of the Speedway in January.

The race was sanctioned by USAC, and was included as part of the 1990 CART PPG Indy Car World Series.

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