Indianapolis 500

Every year, on the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend, the Indianapolis 500, held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, consists of 200 laps around a two-and-a-half-mile track for a total of 500 miles.

The first Indianapolis 500 race was held in 1911. Today, the event hosts hundreds of thousands of spectators, and millions more watch on television.

YearChampionAvg Speed MPH1911Ray Harroun741912Joe Dawson781913Jules Goux751914Rene Thomas821915Ralph DePalma891916Dario Resta841917-1918: No races1919Howard Wilcox881920Gaston Chevrolet881921Tommy Milton891922Jimmy Murphy941923Tommy Milton901924L. L. Corum981925Peter DePaolo1011926Frank Lockhart951927George Souders971928Louis Meyer991929Ray Keech971930Billy Arnold1001931Louis Schneider961932Fred Frame1041933Louis Meyer1041934William Cummings1041935Kelly Petillo1061936Louis Meyer1091937Wilbur Shaw1131938Floyd Roberts1171939Wilbur Shaw1151940Wilbur Shaw1141941Floyd Davis1151942-1945: No races1946George Robson1141947Mauri Rose1161948Mauri Rose1191949Bill Holland1211950Johnnie Parsons1241951Lee Wallard1261952Troy Ruttman1291953Bill Vukovich1291954Bill Vukovich1311955Bob Sweikert1281956Pat Flaherty1281957Sam Hanks1361958Jim Bryan1341959Roger Ward1361960Jim Rathman1391961A. J. Foyt1391962Roger Ward1401963Parnelli Jones1431964A. J. Foyt1471965Jimmy Clark1501966Graham Hill1441967A. J. Foyt1511968Bobby Unser1531969Mario Andretti1571970Al Unser Sr.1561971Al Unser Sr.1581972Mark Donohue1631973Gordon Johncock1591974Johnny Rutherford1591975Bobby Unser1491976Johnny Rutherford1491977A. J. Foyt1611978Al Unser Sr.1611979Rick Mears1591980Johnny Rutherford1431981Bobby Unser1391982Gordon Johncock1621983Tom Sneva1621984Rick Mears1641985Danny Sullivan1531986Bobby Rahal1711987Al Unser Sr.1621988Rick Mears1451989Emerson Fittipaldi1681990Arie Luyendyk1861991Rick Mears1761992Al Unser Jr.1341993Emerson Fittipaldi1571994Al Unser Jr.1611995Jacques Villenueve1541996Buddy Lazier1481997Arie Luyendyk1461998Eddie Cheever1451999Kenny Brack1532000Juan Pablo Montoya1672001Hélio Castroneves1412002Hélio Castroneves1662003Gil de Ferran1562004Buddy Rice1382005Dan Wheldon1572006Sam Hornish Jr1572007Dario Franchitti1512008Scott Dixon1432009Hélio Castroneves1502010Dario Franchitti1612011Dan Wheldon1702012Dario Franchitti1672013Tony Kanaan1872014Ryan Hunter-Reay186

The centennial of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway was celebrated from 2009 to 2011, marking one hundred years since the opening of the racetrack in 1909 and the beginning of the Indianapolis 500 in 1911. There was a centennial gala and a balloon festival in 2009, and the centennial logo was used through 2011. The speedway is still the largest sporting facility in the world, with seating measuring ninety-nine and a half miles long. The Borg Warner Trophy, which every winner of the race receives, holds the likeness of the victors in bas relief. An enlarged version was created in 2004 because the original trophy was running out of space to add faces, and the new trophy should last until 2034. In 2013, the winner was also awarded more than $2.35 million.

However, since the “Indy civil war,” only about 250,000 spectators have come to view the race, still the most attended motor racing event in the world but significantly less than the crown do four hundred thousand that it drew in the early 1970s. Starting in 1974, the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) scheduled its World 600 race in Charlotte, North Carolina, on the same exact day, making attendance at both events nearly impossible. Both races have become internationally broadcast and attract race car drivers from around the world. Despite competition from NASCAR, especially in the United States, the Indianapolis 500 is still one of the three most important motor races in the world, called the Triple Crown of motor sport, along with the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the Monaco Grand Prix. It has not been possible to race in all three events in the same year because the Monaco Grand Prix preliminaries occur at the same time as those of the Indianapolis 500. Winners of the Triple Crown include those who have won two out of three races, including Juan Pablo Montoya, who won in Indianapolis in 2000 and 2015 and the Monaco in 2003. Fernando Alonso won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2018 and 2019.

Benbow, Dana Hunsinger. "It Wasn't Always Called the Indy 500. How the World's Best Known Race Got Its Name." Indianapolis Star, 20 Dec. 2023, www.indystar.com/story/sports/motor/indy-500/2023/05/23/it-wasnt-always-called-the-indy-500-how-the-race-at-ims-got-its-name/70201936007/. Accessed 29 Apr. 2024.

"Fryer, Jenna. "Column: Indy 500's Ending Creates Controversy and Conspiracies." Associated Press, 20 May 2023, apnews.com/article/indy-500-newgarden-penske-red-flag-e9471ffaeb756bf9c64139cbf6f10013. Accessed 29 Apr. 2024.

Hays, Holly V. "30 Numbers That Show the Indy 500's Place in History and Its Impact Across Central Indiana." Indianapolis Star, 19 May 2023, www.indystar.com/story/entertainment/indy-500/2023/05/19/indianapolis-indy-500-history-economic-impact-indiana/70125736007/. Accessed 29 Apr. 2024.