50 Fun Facts About Indy 500

Ray Harroun won the first Indianapolis 500 in 1911 driving which yellow-and-black car?

The Marmon Wasp was driven by Ray Harroun, Marmon's chief engineer, who had retired from racing until the company persuaded him to race one more time.

What device did Ray Harroun famously bolt onto his car for the first Indianapolis 500 in 1911?

A rear-view mirror was Ray Harroun's answer when rival drivers complained that, racing without a riding mechanic, he couldn't see cars coming up behind him.

Which Indianapolis Motor Speedway founder went on to help create the Lincoln Highway and develop Miami Beach?

Carl Fisher was worth an estimated $50 million or more by 1925, but the 1926 hurricane that battered Miami Beach and the Depression left him nearly penniless.

What was the very first event held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, in June 1909?

A gas-balloon race came first; the motorcycle races that followed later that summer were cut short because the track's surface was in such poor condition.

Before its famous bricks were laid in 1909, what was the Indianapolis Motor Speedway's surface made of?

Stone and tar made up the first surface, but after crashes killed five people at the first car races in 1909, the owners repaved the track with bricks.

How much of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway's original brick surface is still exposed at the start/finish line?

One yard of the 1909 bricks was left bare at the start/finish line when asphalt covered the rest of the old brick surface in 1961.

What is the race-control tower beside the Indianapolis Motor Speedway's start/finish line called?

The Pagoda's first version went up in 1913, but as speeds rose the owners decided it stood too close to the track and razed it after the 1925 race.

Which World War I flying ace bought the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 1927?

Eddie Rickenbacker still owned the Speedway during World War II, when it sat unused for four years and fell into ruin before he sold it in 1945.

Who bought the run-down Indianapolis Motor Speedway in November 1945 and revived the race after World War II?

Tony Hulman, a Terre Haute businessman, bought the Speedway after Wilbur Shaw, a three-time winner of the race, persuaded him to save it.

Which team owner bought the Speedway and the IndyCar Series in November 2019?

Roger Penske owned the Speedway when his own team was caught breaking the rules in 2025 Indy 500 qualifying, and he pushed out three of its top executives.

Which driver's post-race taste for buttermilk started the Indianapolis 500's Victory Lane milk tradition?

Louis Meyer was caught on camera drinking buttermilk after a win, and dairy promoters who saw the picture began supplying milk to later winners.

Why did the Indianapolis Motor Speedway switch to one big 500-mile race in 1911?

Its crowds were shrinking across many smaller races in 1910, so the owners planned one big event and weighed a 1,000-mile or 24-hour race before choosing 500 miles.

What did Emerson Fittipaldi controversially drink first in Victory Lane after winning the 1993 Indianapolis 500?

Orange juice came first because Emerson Fittipaldi was a Brazilian orange grower, and two days later he issued an apology through the American Dairy Association.

Which song is traditionally sung just before the engines are started at the Indianapolis 500?

Back Home Again in Indiana was first sung at the race in 1946 by opera singer James Melton, and it went over so well that he was invited back.

Which television star was the Indianapolis 500's usual pre-race singer from 1972 to 2014?

Jim Nabors did not know all the words when he was first asked to sing in 1972, so he wrote them on his hand.

Why is the final practice before the Indianapolis 500 called Carb Day?

Teams tuned their carburetors in race-day trim at that last practice, and the name stuck even though no qualified car has used a carburetor since 1963.

Who in 1977 became the first woman to qualify for the Indianapolis 500?

For Janet Guthrie, the Speedway reworded its starting command that year to 'In company with the first lady ever to qualify at Indianapolis, gentlemen, start your engines.'

Which driver's third place in 2009 is the best Indianapolis 500 finish by a woman?

Danica Patrick led late as a rookie in 2005 but had to save fuel, was passed and finished fourth.

Who became the first driver to win the Indianapolis 500 four times, with his 1977 victory?

A. J. Foyt won in 1977 only after race leader Gordon Johncock's car broke down late in the race.

How do drivers earn starting spots at the Indianapolis 500?

Timed laps set the grid: each driver runs four alone against the clock, and once the field is full, a faster run bumps the slowest car out.

Which driver came back from a 1984 crash that mangled his feet to win the Indianapolis 500 twice more?

Rick Mears won again in 1988 and 1991, then announced his retirement at his team's Christmas party after the 1992 season.

Al Unser's fourth Indianapolis 500 win in 1987 came in a car that had been pulled from where?

Al Unser began May without a ride, but after Danny Ongais was hurt in practice, he got a backup car that had been a hotel lobby display.

Who is the youngest winner of the Indianapolis 500, taking the 1952 race at 22?

Troy Ruttman took the win only after the race leader's steering broke late in the race.

Which four-time Indianapolis 500 winner is nicknamed Spider-Man for climbing the fence after victories?

Hélio Castroneves won his third Indianapolis 500 in 2009, just weeks after a Miami jury acquitted him of federal tax charges.

What is the Indianapolis 500's slogan?

The Greatest Spectacle in Racing was coined by WIBC copywriter Alice Greene as a cue telling radio engineers when to cut to a commercial.

Who lost the 1992 Indianapolis 500 to Al Unser Jr. by 0.043 seconds after starting from last on the grid?

Scott Goodyear lost by even less than it looked: USAC later estimated 0.0331 seconds, since the winner's timing transponder sat in his car's nose, but 0.043 stayed official.

Who won the 2026 Indianapolis 500 by 0.0233 seconds, the closest finish the race had ever seen?

Felix Rosenqvist took the lead from David Malukas on the very last lap, beating him to the line in his eighth Indianapolis 500 start.

Why did Rutherford's 1976 Indianapolis 500 win last only 102 laps?

Rain ended the race while Rutherford led, and when it returned just as officials prepared to restart, they called it after only 255 miles.

What was the Indianapolis 500's rowdy infield nicknamed?

The Snake Pit got so wild that for the 1981 race the Speedway put bleachers in the Turn 1 infield to curb the partying.

What figure stands on top of the Indianapolis 500's Borg-Warner Trophy?

A naked man waving a flag tops the trophy, and so many winners' faces were added below him that it needed new bases, the latest in 2004.

Which rookie won the 100th Indianapolis 500 in 2016 by coasting across the line on fumes?

Alexander Rossi stayed out while faster rivals stopped for fuel, then ran dry after the finish and had to be towed to Victory Lane.

Which series did the Indianapolis Motor Speedway's president start in 1996, with the Indianapolis 500 as its centerpiece?

The Indy Racing League all but guaranteed 25 of the 33 starting spots to its own teams, so rival CART's owners held a U.S. 500 in Michigan on the same day.

What powered the STP car that led most of the 1967 Indianapolis 500 until it broke down near the finish?

A turbine engine powered the car until a $6 bearing failed, and officials then cut the air intake allowed for turbines to rein them in.

Who in 1965 became the first driver to win the Indianapolis 500 in a rear-engined car?

Jim Clark had his fuel stops handled by the Wood Brothers, a NASCAR pit crew that Ford brought in to work on his Lotus.

Which surname has the Indianapolis 500's famous jinx kept out of its starting field?

Smith had yet to appear in the field through 2026; Mark Smith, the last to try, failed to qualify in 1993 and 1994.

Who led 196 laps of the 1912 Indianapolis 500, then pushed his broken Mercedes toward the finish?

Ralph DePalma was pushing his car home when Joe Dawson swept past for the win, but DePalma came back to win the Indianapolis 500 in 1915.

Who was briefly declared the 1981 Indianapolis 500 winner before Bobby Unser's victory was restored months later?

Mario Andretti was named the winner the morning after the race, and although Unser won his appeal months later, Andretti kept the winner's ring.

Which back-to-back Indianapolis 500 winner of 1953 and 1954 was killed while leading the 1955 race?

Bill Vukovich was lapping three slower cars when they tangled in front of him, and one was knocked into his path, sending his car over the wall.

Who became the first Asian driver to win the Indianapolis 500, in 2017?

Takuma Sato had spun into the wall on the last lap of the 2012 race while trying to pass for the lead, and five years later he won it.

Which Formula One champion skipped the 2017 Monaco Grand Prix to make his Indianapolis 500 debut?

Fernando Alonso was chasing a Triple Crown of wins at Monaco, Indianapolis and Le Mans, and he led 27 laps before his engine blew with 20 laps left.

How was the delayed 2020 Indianapolis 500 run?

Without fans: the Speedway had planned for half and then a quarter of capacity, but on August 4 it shut spectators out.

Which car has paced the Indianapolis 500 more often than any other model?

The Chevrolet Corvette caused a stir the first time it paced the race, in 1978: Chevrolet built a replica for every dealer, and collectors snapped them up for well over list price.

What did the 1971 Indianapolis 500 pace car, driven by a local car dealer, crash into as the race began?

A photographers' stand was hit by dealer Eldon Palmer's Dodge Challenger, and he was driving because no Detroit carmaker had offered a pace car that year.

Which driver began the Indianapolis Motor Speedway's tradition of kissing the bricks after winning NASCAR's 1996 race there?

Dale Jarrett knelt and kissed the bricks with crew chief Todd Parrott, and Indianapolis 500 winners later took up the gesture.

Since 1974 the race has been fixed to which day?

Speedway management refused to race on a Sunday at all until 1974, so before then a rain-out could push the race into the working week.

Why was the Indianapolis 500 set at 500 miles?

Finishing before supper was the aim: with a 10 a.m. start, the cars of 1911 could cover 500 miles by late afternoon, so spectators saw the whole race.

Which catchphrase did Tom Carnegie, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway's announcer for 60 years, make famous?

It's a new track record! became his signature call, yet when he started at the Speedway in 1946 he knew almost nothing about auto racing.

Who won the 2011 Indianapolis 500 after rookie J. R. Hildebrand hit the wall in the final turn of the final lap?

Dan Wheldon had no full-time ride that season, yet he won the race for a second time after leading only the final lap.

Which country got its first Indianapolis 500 winner when Álex Palou won the 2025 race?

Spain's Álex Palou had already won three IndyCar titles but had never won an oval race until he took the 2025 Indianapolis 500.

What did the Speedway's founders plan next door?

A horseless city was the plan: a town laid out in 1912 where residents would drive cars and work in nearby auto plants.