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[ReWind]

During the month of May Rick Shaffer celebrated the beginning of the second century of “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing” with 101 different facts and figures on the race and Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Link
Because I do not know how long they will be available on the National SpeedSport News website I show them here.

 

1.

Although it is pretty well known that the founders of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway were Carl Fisher, James Allison, Arthur Newby and Frank Wheeler, there originally were five partners in the group.

The aforementioned quartet were all involved in the automobile industry, so it seemed fitting that the fifth gentleman would be a banker. His name was Stoughton Fletcher and he came from a prominent banking family in Indianapolis. Unfortunately, members of his family did not like the idea of his participation “with the automobile types” and he was forced to sell his investment back to the partners.

 

2.

Ironically, the Fletcher family’s firm, American Fletcher National Bank, ultimately became involved in the Indianapolis 500 as the second company to sponsor the prestigious Rookie of the Year Award.

 

3.

After considering a couple of sites, Fisher was shown property on the intersection of an unnamed street that later became 16th St. and what are now Georgetown and Crawfordsville roads. There were 320 acres of flat farmland available, but what might have put the sale over the top was when realtor Lem Trotter showed Carl Fisher the railroad track that headed southeast to downtown Indianapolis.

Ever the visionary, Fisher could see how mass transportation could haul thousands of fans to and from the track. In fact, there was rail service to the track through 1963.

 

4.

Although the partners originally wanted a three- or five-mile “speed circle,” the shape of the property – one mile long by one-half mile wide – made it impossible to accommodate such a layout. The configuration of the property heavily influenced the design engineer’s decision to make the track rectangular in shape. And by the way, the plan was to call the new facility the “Indiana Motor Parkway.”

 

5.

Without any warning while the track was being constructed, the partners’ letterhead bore the name of Indianapolis Motor Speedway Co.. There was no press release announcing the name change from the rather mundane “Indiana Motor Parkway” and no one seems to know whose idea it was to change it or who came up with the new name.

 

6.

During the construction of the track, a color postcard was produced featuring an artist’s rendering of the new Speedway. It showed large grandstands filled with fans, cars on the 2.5-mile rectangular track as well as cars on the 2.5-mile infield road course. The latter was not be built for 90 years as Fisher wanted to keep the infield open to allow airplanes to take off and land.

 

7.

It was a sign of the times. To advertise it spacious infield in 1909, IMS offered that there were parking spaces for 10,000 automobiles and 3,000 hitching posts for horses.

 

8.

When the first automobile races were run in August of 1909, there were a number of serious accidents due to the gravel-and-tar surface that broke up and formed ruts. Canadian driver Wilfred “William” Borque and his riding mechanic Harry Holcomb became the track’s first fatalities when their car flipped in turn four.

Borque, who had postponed his wedding so he could race at the new Indianapolis track, became the first of thus far 40 drivers to lose their lives at IMS. Holcomb became the first of 13 riding mechanics killed at the track.

 

9.

Two days after the Borque-Holcomb accident, an accident in turn one resulted in the deaths of riding mechanic Claude Kellum and spectators James West and Homer Jollif. With five fatalities in three days, the local newspapers now referred to IMS as “the death track.”

The media called for a ban on auto racing and urged the track owners to permanently close the facility.

 

10.

Fortunately, cooler heads prevailed and the founders announced they would make the track safer by repaving with a material less prone to break up. Asphalt was briefly considered, as was concrete, but brick was chosen when it was shown to be easier to maintain.

Today, it is estimated that 85 percent of the 3.2 million bricks used (2,720,000 bricks) are still where they were originally placed by the construction crews —under layers of asphalt.

 

11.

Concrete had been a strong candidate in 1909 because there was already an established auto racing facility that used concrete for its surface.

The Brooklands in England was the first purpose-built auto-racing track in the world and Indianapolis was second. Races were held until 1939 when England entered World War II. During the war, part of the Brooklands track was damaged in a bombing raid and it was never repaired.

 

12.

For 1910, races were planned for the weekends of Memorial Day, July 4 and Labor Day. Although the Memorial Day crowds were large, the other two holiday weekends saw such a drop that the founders decided to have only one big race the following year – the Indianapolis 500.

 

13.

The famous Marmon Wasp got its nickname from a newspaper headline writer. Previously, the car had been referred to as the Marmon Yellow Jacket or the Marmon Bumblebee. When neither of those nicknames would fit in the headline of one of the local newspapers, the word “Wasp” was chosen because it would fit. It quickly caught on.

 

14. By the way, the famous “world’s first automotive rear-view mirror” that Ray Harroun affixed to the Marmon Wasp to quell a protest over his lack of a riding mechanic did not work very well.

In later years, Harroun admitted the roughness of the brick surface made the mirror vibrate so much he could not see out it.

 

15.

Although the box score lists them as rookies, of the 40 starters in the inaugural Indianapolis 500, at least 15 had won races staged at the track in 1909 and 1910.

 

16.

While Ray Harroun gets credit for leading the most important lap of the 1911 race (the 200th), Johnny Aitken led the very first lap of the first Indianapolis 500.

 

17.

And then there was Art Greiner. He has the unfortunately distinction of finishing last in the first 500. Sadly, he was eliminated by an accident on lap 12 in which his riding mechanic, Sam Dickson, was killed. Dickson became the first fatality in the Indianapolis 500.

 

18.

In 1912, Ralph DePalma dominated the proceedings, leading 196 of 200 laps and heading second-place driver Joe Dawson by more than five laps when his engine expired on lap 199.

For his efforts, DePalma received nothing as IMS only paid the first 10 finishers. And because the speedway did not offer prize money for laps led until 1920, DePalma’s lofty 196-lap effort went without any financial reward.

 

19.

Jules Goux found much to like about racing at Indianapolis. In addition to winning the 1913 race by a record margin of 13 minutes and eight seconds over American driver Spencer Wishart, he later met the woman of his dreams. In 1922, he married Ruth Davis of Indianapolis.

 

20.

It took four races, but in 1914, the Indianapolis 500 finally had a defending winner in the starting field. Jules Goux, the 1913 winner, finished fourth in 1914. Ray Harroun had retired after the 1911 race and Joe Dawson missed the 1913 event due to an injury.

 

21.

Of the 30 starters in the 1914 Indianapolis 50, there was one the larger classes of rookie drivers with 15. * Three of those rookies will perish in World War I that will start in the fall of that year.

Frenchman Georges Boillot, who finished 14th, will be killed in aerial combat over France in 1916. The last-place finisher, S.F. Brock, will be lost at sea after his submarine sunk in 1918. Another 1914 rookie, George Mason, was killed in action in France as an American Red Cross ambulance driver less than two months before the end of the war.

(* I can’t help it; that is the way NSSN published it.)

 

22.

George Mason had another distinction. In 1914, he was the first driver to race in the 500 to carry the No. 13. That distinction will last until 2003 when Greg Ray also used that number. Ray also used No. 13 in his final 500 start in 2004.

 

23.

One member of the rookie class of 1914 might actually have been the most famous racing driver in the United States at the time. But because it was his first start in the 500, Barney Oldfield was numbered among the rookies. One could say he finished first in class as he wound up fifth behind four European drivers and also had the highest-placed American car, a Stutz. Had there been a Rookie of the Year Award at the time, however, it might have been difficult to vote for Oldfield.

Rookies Rene Thomas and Arthur Duray finished first and second. Oldfield will also compete in the 1916 race and once again finished fifth.

[ReWind]

24.

Although it is usually said (and written) that the 1916 race was cut to 300 miles “out of deference to the hostilities in Europe” (World War I that was now in its third year), IMS Historian Donald Davidson discovered the war had nothing to do with the race length.

According to Davidson, the idea to cut the race was that of Carl Fisher who believed the fans might appreciate the shorter distance. Apparently, he determined that the fans did not like the idea of a shorter race and soon announced the 1917 race would be 500 miles again.

 

25.

Jules Goux wasn’t the only foreign winner of the 500 who found his wife in America. Dario Resta, the Italian-born British aristocrat who will win in 1916, married Mary Wishart, sister of 1913 runner-up Spencer Wishart.

 

26.

The first nine laps of the 1916 race will be led by Eddie Rickenbacker, one of America’s top racing drivers at the time. It will be the only time Rickenbacker led during his four starts in the race. Rickenbacker joined the U.S. Army the following year when America enters World War I and then learn how to fly an airplane.

 

27.

Runner-up to Resta in 1916 was a driver named Wilbur D’Alene, who was billed as the “Canadian Lumber Merchant.” There were two problems with that title. He was not a lumber merchant, nor was he Canadian. He was born in Evansville, Indiana, and his name was Edwin Wilbur Aleon. He was not the last driver at Indianapolis to race under a pseudonym.

 

28.

This might underscore the fact that the idea to shorten the 1916 race to 300 miles was from Carl Fisher and had nothing to do with World War I. On Sept. 9 of that year, the speedway held the Harvest Classic Day races with three events. After 25- and 50-mile races, a 100-miler was held that would be listed as a AAA-sanctioned championship event. Johnny Aitken won all three races.

 

29.

With World War I over, racing returned to IMS in 1919, but for the only time in its history, the race was not called the Indianapolis 500. In honor of the victorious American Expeditionary Force, the race was proclaimed the “Liberty Sweepstakes 500.”

 

30.

Howdy Wilcox, a native of Crawfordsville, won the 1919 race in a Peugeot, becoming the first American driver to win the race in a foreign car.

 

31.

When Howdy Wilcox became the first to win the 500 in a foreign car (Peugeot), the winning entrant was the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

With concern over shallow fields due to World War I, IMS purchased a pair of Peugeots and had three copies constructed by Premier, an Indianapolis automobile manufacturer.

For 1919, the IMS team entered four cars — Wilcox’s winning Peugeot and three of the Premier Peugeot copies. Jules Goux drove one of those Premier copies to a third-place finish. The 1-3 finish will be a successful swan song for the IMS team, which also entered cars in the 1916 race.

 

32.

The 1919 race was the first with 33 starters. However, 33 cars did not start the race again until 1927.

 

33.

In 1919, one of the rookies was Gaston Chevrolet, whose older brothers Arthur and Louis had raced in previous 500s. In fact, Gaston was replacing Arthur, who had retired and raced with Louis in the 1919 race.

This gave the Chevrolet family an interesting distinction. They became the first of only three families to have three siblings make starts in the 500. The other families will be the Unsers and the Whittingtons.

 

34.

The 1919 race actually turned out reasonably successful for the Chevrolet brothers as both finished in the top 10. Louis finished seventh, while Gaston finished 10th. This is the first time brothers finished in the top 10.

It has only happened four more times since Al Unser will finish second and Bobby Unser ninth in 1967; Al Unser will finish seventh and Bobby Unser 10^th in 1976; Tom Sneva will finish second and Jerry Sneva 10^th in 1977; and Al Unser will finish first with Bobby Unser sixth in 1978.

 

35.

Thanks to their dispute with William Durant, the Chevrolet brothers never raced Chevrolet automobiles at IMS (or anywhere else for that matter). However, Chevrolet did appear as a car name in the 1919 race, although the car was actually a Stutz. The Chevrolet name was used as a sponsor for a rookie named Cliff Durant, who happened to be William Durant’s son.

 

36.

The 1919 race was also steeped in tragedy. On lap 44, rookie driver Arthur Thurman crashed in turn three and was killed. He became the first driver to lose his life during the Indianapolis 500. Fifty-two laps later, another rookie, Louis LeCocq perished in a fiery crash in between turns one and two. Robert Bandini, LeCocq’s riding mechanic, also died in the accident. Of the 40 drivers who lost their lives at the track, 14 died as the result of injuries suffered in the 500.

 

37.

Barney Oldfield will make some history in 1920 by becoming the first former Indy 500 driver to drive the Indianapolis 500 pace car. For the record, that year’s pace car was a Marmon 6, also known as the Marmon Model 34.

 

38.

After Gaston Chevrolet was killed in a racing accident in 1920, Tommy Milton was signed to replace him on the Frontenac team and rewarded the Chevrolet brothers by winning the 1921 race. Milton’s victory will mark the last time the Chevrolet name is in victory lane until 1988 when Rick Mears drove a Chevy-powered Penske to victory.

 

39.

Howdy Wilcox, the 1919 winner, had a rather unhappy distinction in the 1920 race. He became the first former winner of the 500 to finish in last place. And if that wasn’t enough, Wilcox finished last in 1921.

 

40.

If you were to ask a racing fan, which family was first to have a second-generation race in the 500, have members of two generations race in the same 500 and first family to have two generations win the 500, most would probably answer the Unsers with Al Unser Jr. racing with his father in 1983 and winning the 1992 and 1994 races to join his father and uncle. And they would be wrong.

In 1922, Pete DePaolo made his first start in the 500. Pete was the nephew of 1915 winner Ralph DePalma, who was also in the 1922 race. In fact, Pete had been DePalma’s riding mechanic in 1920 and 1921. In 1925, he will join his uncle as an Indianapolis 500 winner. Pete’s mother was sister to DePalma.

 

41.

He was better known as a motorcycle racer, daredevil and the man who established a number of records for driving domestic cars coast to coast. But in 1922, Erwin “Cannonball” Baker became an Indy 500 driver. Baker had participated in the 1909 motorcycle event at IMS.

In his only outing in a racing car at the speedway, he started 16^th and finished 11^th. And, of course, because he finished outside of the top 10, he did not receive any prize money.

 

42.

In 1923, Howdy Wilcox became the first of three drivers who led the race in two different cars. Wilcox initially led in his own car before it retired with differential problems.

He then relieved teammate Tommy Milton, who needed first-aid attention for his blistered hands and led 41 laps in Milton’s car. Wilcox turned the car over to Milton still in the lead and Milton led the final 50 laps to become the first two-time winner of the 500.

 

43.

Royal racers? Two of the 24 starters in the 1923 500 certainly were. Both were rookies making what would be their only start in the Indianapolis 500. Prince Bertrand de Cystria of France finished ninth, while Polish Count Louis Zborowski finished 20^th. Count Zborowski, by the way, was famous for his “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang” cars.

 

44.

For the first time in race history, 1924 marked the first year every starter was paid prize money. There were only 22 starters in 1924 and that is the second smallest field in the history of the race. On lap two, a rookie named Ernie Ansterburg crashed as the steering broke on his Duesenberg. Ansterburg was not injured, but probably could not believe his eyes upon receiving his prize for finishing last in the 500.

IMS paid the rookie a paltry $ 5! What’s interesting is that the driver who finished 21^st (or second to last) received $ 577. And every driver on up received more. Who said life is fair?

 

45.

The 1924 race stands out because of the first time there were co-winners with Joe Boyer and Lora Corum. By the way, Boyer became the second driver in as many years to lead the race in two different cars – his original car and Corum’s car that he drove to victory. Corum became one of only two 500 winners, who never led a lap at Indianapolis.

 

46.

The 1927 Indianapolis 500 became the first race that had an all-American starting field. Every 500 prior to 1927 had foreign drivers.

 

47.

In 1928, Joe Dawson became the first former winner of the 500 to drive the pace car. Dawson drove a Marmon “8,” which seems appropriate since he finished fifth in a Marmon in the first Indianapolis 500.

 

48.

Louis Chiron, a grand prix driver from Monaco, raced here in 1929 in a Delage and finished a respectable seventh after qualifying 14^th. What makes Chiron’s race noteworthy is the fact he became the first driver to compete in the 500 wearing a helmet.

 

49.

It might have made a difference, but you never know. In 1935, a rookie driver named Johnny Hannon went out to make his first practice run and never completed a full lap, perishing in a crash in turn three. As a result, future rookies would be subjected to testing before being cleared to compete.

[ReWind]

50.

In 1935, Kelly Petillo became the first winner of the 500 to wear a helmet. Of course, every one of the 33 starters in the 1935 race and their riding mechanics were wearing helmets. A new rule mandated their use.

 

51.

In 1937, Wilbur Shaw became the last Indy 500 winner to have a riding mechanic. John W. “Jigger” Johnson accompanied Shaw to victory lane. Johnson had also been the winning riding mechanic in 1931 with Louis Schneider.

 

52.

Bill Cummings, the 1934 winner, had the dubious distinction of being the only winner of the 500 to perish in a domestic automobile accident. Cummings’ accident occurred on the southeast side of Indianapolis in the winter of 1939 near the intersection of Raymond Street and Southeastern Avenue.

 

53.

George Bailey was killed in a practice accident in 1940. Although he was far from being the first driver to lose his life at IMS, he did have the distinction of being the first driver to be killed in a rear-engine car.

A year earlier, he had qualified one of the radical Miller-Gulf cars to become the first starter in the 500 to have the engine behind the driver.

 

54.

The shared victory of Mauri Rose and Floyd Davis in 1941 had some interesting aspects in addition to the rare shared win. Rose became the third and most recent driver to lead the race in two different cars. Davis, like Lora Corum, became the only other winner of the 500 who never led a lap at Indianapolis. And Rose became the first – and only – driver to win the pole position in one car and win the race in another.

 

55.

Cliff Bergere, who was also teammate to Rose and Floyd, had a most interesting day in 1941. He went into the race hoping to be first to drive a gasoline-powered car the entire 500 miles without a pit stop. In 1931, Cummins Diesel had entered a car with its newest truck engine placed in a Duesenberg chassis. Dave Evans went the 500 miles without a stop to finish 13th.

In the 1941 race, Bergere stayed with the leaders and with pre-race favorite Wilbur Shaw crashing while leading on lap 151, found himself leading laps 152 through 161. But Bergere had to maintain a certain pace to finish the race and was passed by Rose, who led the rest of the way. Bergere kept his deliberate pace and wound up fifth.

 

56.

With the United States entering World War II at the end of 1941, the speedway was once again offered to the U.S. Military. During World War I, the track had served as a refueling depot between the bases of Rantoul, Illinois, and Dayton, Ohio.

In something of an irony, Eddie Rickenbacker had rendered the track unusable for aviation purposes after becoming owner of IMS. His first major improvement of the property had been to install an 18-hole golf course with nine holes in the infield of the track thereby making it impossible for 1940s aircraft to land and take off.

 

57.

Perhaps not irony, but this is certainly amazing. With the United States being involved in World War II twice as long as it had been involved in World War I, somehow, none of the Indy 500 drivers lost their lives in the war effort.

In fact, the one who came closest to perishing was Eddie Rickenbacker, whose plane crashed in the Pacific late in the war. Rickenbacker and his cohorts were lost at sea for 24 days, but survived.

 

58.

Although George Robson will finally give eccentric millionaire owner Joel Thorne his only Indy 500 victory, the 1940s really belonged to former driver Lou Moore. Moore had been a fine driver in his own right, finishing second as a rookie to Louis Meyer in 1928 and finishing third in 1933 and ’34 before retiring at the end of ’36 to concentrate on running a team. As good a driver as Moore was, he proved to be even better as an owner, winning on his second try in his new role with Floyd Roberts in 1938, and following up with the Rose-Davis shared victory of 1941.

For 1947, Moore had two new cars, front-wheel-drive chassis built by Emil Deidt and powered by the reliable Offenhauser. Moore’s drivers, Mauri Rose and Bill Holland, finished first and second. It marked the first of nine times a team finished in the first two positions. A year later, Rose and Holland again finished 1-2. They are the only team to have back-to-back 1-2 finishes.

The decade closed with Bill Holland scoring his first and only victory at Indianapolis. Only one other owner has had three in a row — Roger Penske of course. But even Penske hasn’t broken all of Moore’s records.

 

59.

Troy Ruttman became the youngest winner of the 500 when he won in 1952 at the age of 22. Interestingly, it was Ruttman’s fourth straight start in the 500 which means he had not been of legal age in his first two 500 starts.

Nineteen-year-old Marco Andretti almost broke Ruttman’s record (drivers in current times can race at younger ages), but came short by a fraction of second to race winner Sam Hornish Jr. in 2006. Sixty-five years later, Ruttman’s mark still stands.

 

60.

The 1952 race became the first where no driver needed relief.

 

61.

When Bill Vukovich won the 1954 Indianapolis 500 to win for a second straight year, he became the third of five back-to-back winners. In the 1954, he also led 90 laps, the most of any driver in that year’s race.

By virtue of leading the most laps in 1954, Vukovich became the first and only driver to lead the most laps in three straight races. He led 150 laps in 1952 and 195 in ’53 before leading the most in 1954.

 

62.

They nicknamed Vukovich the “mad Russian” and the “sullen Ukraine” but Bill Vukovich was not a Russian or a Ukrainian. Born in California to Croatian Yugoslav parents, his name at birth was Vaso Vukovich.

The parents later anglicized their last name and then gave each of their children an American first name. Vaso became Bill.

 

63.

In 1956, Pat Flaherty opted to wear cooler clothing for the race. Instead of wearing the traditional racing coverall, he wore a white cotton t-shirt and lightweight slacks. He won the race and will be the last winner of the 500 to be seen in victory lane wearing a t-shirt.

 

64.

Sam Hanks, the 1957 winner, was the first driver to win the 500 wearing one of the new jet pilot-inspired plastic shell helmets. Headgear for the racers was finally getting more sophisticated. At the time, most favored the pressed-cardboard Cromwell helmets made in England.

 

65.

Two cars entered by Mickey Thompson in 1963 became the first Chevrolet-powered cars to qualify for the 500.

Duane Carter’s car, the so-called “roller skate” car that was first to feature wide tires, did not finish but his rookie teammate Al Miller wound up ninth in a more conventional, rear-engine Thompson-Chevy.

 

66.

They were loud. They were fast. They also always seemed to have bad luck. And so, with little fanfare, the 1965 race will be the final one to have Novis in the starting field. Typically, the cars of Bobby Unser and Jim Hurtubise failed to finish. One Novi will be entered the following year, but will not make the race. The ’65 500 was the swansong for the fan favorite.

 

67.

Three-time 500 winner Helio Castroneves is known for climbing fences and celebrating with the fans after winning Indy car races. But the Brazilian is the not the first driver/fence climber at the speedway.

In 1966, after being involving in the starting line pileup that eventually eliminated 13 cars, A.J. Foyt believed he would be safer on the other side of the fence and so he climbed the fence near the end of the main straightaway to get to safety. In doing, he suffered a cut finger. Miraculously, it was the only injury in the massive accident.

 

68.

In 1969, Quin Epperly built the last front-engine design car for the 500 — the Maxon. Driven by rookie George Benson, the car never made a qualifying attempt. The 1969 race was also the first in which every car was a rear-engine design. The transition had taken a little longer than most people anticipated.

 

69.

When Bobby Unser finished third in the 1969 500, it marked the best finish at IMS for a four-wheel-drive design. At the end of the 1969 season, four-wheel-drive was outlawed.

 

70.

Al Unser finished ninth in 1965 and second in 1967, but when he won the 1970 Indianapolis 500, it marked the first time he had completed 200 laps and 500 miles. The 1970 race was also the first led by Unser, who would go on to be the all-time 500 lap leader.

 

71. 

In 1972, Gary Bettenhausen led 138 laps – the only laps he led in 21 starts at IMS. Bettenhausen became the first son of a former driver to lead at Indianapolis.

 

72.

While we’re on the subject of sons of former drivers leading the 500, Bill Vukovich Jr. joined that elite group by leading one lap in the 1977 race. It was the only lap he led in the 500.

 

73.

He did not qualify for the race, but when Belgium’s Teddy Pilette practiced for the 1977 500, he became the first third-generation driver to try to race at Indianapolis.

Pilette’s grandfather Theodore Pilette raced in the 1913 500 and finished fifth. By the way, Pilette’s father Andre concentrated on road racing and had a fairly successful career. But he is more famous in racing circles for having one of the better go-kart schools in Europe. Two of his prized pupils will be Michael and John Andretti.

 

74.

In 1978, Al Unser led 121 laps to win the 500 for a third time. It also marked the third time Unser led 100 laps or more. By coincidence, the other two occasions were 500 victories No. 1 and 2. Unser led 190 laps in 1970 and 108 in ’71. He is one of six drivers to have led 100 laps or more on three occasions, but the only driver to lead 100 laps or more and win each time.

 

75.

When Bobby Unser beat Mario Andretti to the finish line by 5.18 seconds to win the 1981 race, it was the second-closest finish at the time. Until Gordon Johncock edged Rick Mears by .16 seconds a year later, the closest finish had been 1937 when Wilbur Shaw beat Ralph Hepburn by 2.16 seconds.

[ReWind]

76.

Eventual four-time winner Rick Mears won his second 500 in 1984, leading 119 laps along the way. The 119-lap figure represents the only time Mears led 100 laps or more in his illustrious career. However, at the time, Mears established a record by having led the 500 for the sixth consecutive year. Mears’ mark stood until 2008 when Tony Kanaan led the race for a record seventh consecutive year.

 

77.

When Al Unser won the 1987 race, it marked the sixth time Roger Penske won the 500 as an owner. That victory broke the record set by Lou Moore in 1949. Interestingly, it took Moore nine tries to win five races. It took Penske 17 races to tie Moore’s record and 19 races to break it. And, of course, Penske continues to set a new record for wins by an owner each year one of his cars is victorious.

 

78.

In 1988, Billy Vukovich III not only became the first third-generation driver to race in the 500, he also became the first third-generation driver to win the Rookie of the Year Award. His father was the top rookie in 1968.

 

79.

Mario and Michael Andretti became the second father-and-son to race together in a 500 (one year after Al Unser and Al Unser Jr. started together in the 1983 race), but in 1989, they became the first father-and-son act to race as teammates with Michael joining Newman-Haas Racing.

 

80.

In 1989, Mario and Michael Andretti also became the first father and son to lead in the same Indianapolis 500. Mario led only one lap while Michael led four different times for 35 laps.

 

81.

In 1991, the Andretti family became the first to have four members with Mario, his sons Michael and Jeff and his nephew John in the starting field. Mario became the first and thus far only father to race against two sons in the same race while Michael and Jeff simultaneously became the first drivers to run in the same 500 against their father and their brother.

 

82.

With Al Unser Jr. winning his first Indianapolis 500 in 1992 and his father finishing third, it marked the best cumulative effort for family members in a 500.

 

83.

In 1993, Al Unser ran his final Indianapolis 500. He and his son each led on that day – 17 laps for Al Jr. and 15 laps for Al Sr. In doing so, they became the only father and son besides the Andrettis to lead in the same race.

 

84.

Robby Unser, youngest son of Bobby Unser, made his Indy 500 debut in 1998 and finished a respectable fifth. He became the sixth member of the Unser family to race in the 500, a record, but also had the distinction of having the best rookie result of any of the Unser.

 

85.

He came closer to winning three 500s in a row than any other driver in race history. Helio Castroneves became the first and so far only driver to win the race on his first two tries in 2001 and ’02. In 2003, he finished second to teammate Gil de Ferran by the slimmest of margins – .2990 seconds. So far, there have only been five back-to-back winners and Castroneves is the most recent.

 

86.

Once upon a time, relief drivers were prevalent in the Indianapolis 500, but once the transition to rear-engine cars came along, relief efforts were few and far between. In 2004, Indianapolis saw the most recent relief situation.

Robby Gordon had planned to “do the double” – run the 500 and then fly to Charlotte, N.C., where he would compete in NASCAR’s Coca-Cola 600.

Rain hampered Gordon’s plans, however, when the 500 was first stopped on lap 27. Erring on the side of caution, he decided to abandon the Indy effort and flew to Charlotte. His ride at IMS was taken over by Jaques Lazier, who retired the car with engine problems on lap 88. The 29^th-place result is considered a shared result for Gordon and Lazier.

 

87.

Not only did he finish second to Sam Hornish Jr. in 2006, but Marco Andretti became the fourth member of his family to capture the Rookie of the Year Award. His grandfather, father and uncle all preceded him in winning the award.

 

88.

In 2006, Michael Andretti came out of retirement so he could race against his son. In doing so, he became the first Indy 500 driver to race against his father, his brother and his son. Michael and Marco both led laps that day and became the third father and son combination to lead in the same 500.

And, with Marco finishing second and Michael third, it represented the second best cumulative effort for a family in an Indy 500.

 

89.

The 2006 500 marked the first time since 1960 that every engine was the same. Honda powered all 33 starters in 2006; Offenhauser provided the power in 1960. Offenhauser also powered all of the starters in 1954, ’55 and ’59, while Honda powered everyone through 2011.

 

90.

In 2007, Buddy and Jaques Lazier became the last brother act to race together in an Indy 500.

 

91.

In 2008, every chassis and engine was the same for the first time in race history. All 33 starters drove Dallara-Hondas. That will stay the same until rule changes for 2012 brought in Chevrolet and Lotus as manufacturers.

 

92.

In 2010, the starting field for the Indy 500 included four female drivers – Danica Patrick, Simona de Silvestro, Ana Beatriz and Sarah Fisher. That represents the most females in a 500 field, and it was the first of three times four ladies started the Greatest Spectacle in Racing. It also happened in 2011 and ’13.

 

93.

No driver has finished second four times, but one team – Team Penske – not surprisingly has the most second-place finishes with nine. However, one team achieved four consecutive runner-up results. From 2008 to ’11, Panther Racing drivers placed second. They were Vitor Meira, Dan Wheldon (twice) and J.R. Hildebrand.

 

94.

When Dario Franchitti won the 2012 Indianapolis 500, it not only marked his third victory, but also marked the third time he took the checkered flag and caution flag simultaneously.

Franchitti’s first 500 win in 2007 ended under the yellow flag due to rain. His win in 2010 ended under yellow due to an accident involving Mike Conway and Ryan Hunter-Reay. And the 2012 win also ended under yellow due to the accident of Takuma Sato, who had attempted to pass Franchitti on the final lap.

 

95. 

The 2013 race was so competitive and matched so evenly, Ed Carpenter had the distinction of leading the most laps with 37. That is by far the fewest laps led for the driver with most laps led in a 500. The next closest is 1996 when Roberto Guerrero led 47 laps and 1976 when Johnny Rutherford led 48 of 102 laps in the rain-shortened event.

 

96. 

When 1995 winner Jacques Villeneuve made a surprise return in 2014, it marked his first 500 in 19 years. That is the longest gap between starts of any driver.

 

97.

By returning to Indy-car racing in 2014 and running in the Indianapolis 500 as well, Juan Pablo Montoya no longer shared the distinction with Ray Harroun of being the only drivers to win the 500 on their only attempt.

Montoya finished fifth and came back a year later to record his second victory in the 500. But as he had for 88 years, Harroun once again was by himself in that category.

 

98.

When Alexander Rossi won the 100^th Indianapolis 500 as a rookie, it obviously was the first 500 he led. But there are nine other 500 winners, who only led the race the years that they won: Ray Harroun, Joe Dawson, Gaston Chevrolet, Ray Keech, Louis Schneider, Floyd Roberts, George Robson, Bob Sweikert and Graham Hill.

 

99.

Rossi also joined the list of drivers whose first Indy car victory came in the 500. Jules Goux, Rene Thomas, L.L. Corum, Frank Lockhart, George Souders, Louis Meyer, Billy Arnold, Louis Schneider, Fred Frame, Floyd Roberts, Floyd Davis, George Robson, Troy Ruttman, Graham Hill, Arie Luyendyk, Buddy Lazier and Buddy Rice preceded Rossi.

 

100.

When Rossi won the 2016 Indianapolis, his victory margin of 4.4975 seconds was the second largest margin of victory in the 21st Century. That almost seems humorous considering Rossi’s surprise win was something of an economy run. Only Juan Pablo Montoya’s 7.184-second victory margin in 2000 was larger.

 

101.

In the first 100 Indianapolis 500s, 763 men and women competed in the race. Currently, there are 28 former winners still living, including defending race winner Alexander Rossi.

Seventy drivers have their images on the Borg-Warner trophy, including co-winners Lora Corum and Floyd Davis. Of the 70 winners, 15 were killed in racing accidents and five other perished under violent circumstances (two were killed in plane crashes, one was killed in a domestic car accident and two took their own lives). Twenty-two of the 70 winners died of natural causes, which might be the most amazing statistic in this item given the lack of safety features in nearly 50 years of Indy 500s.

[E1pix]

Wow, great effort!

[DogEarred]

102.

 

Rick Shaffer made the best fact list of 2017.

[Michael Ferner]

18.
In 1912, Ralph DePalma dominated the proceedings, leading 196 of 200 laps and heading second-place driver Joe Dawson by more than five laps when his engine expired on lap 199.
For his efforts, DePalma received nothing as IMS only paid the first 10 finishers. And because the speedway did not offer prize money for laps led until 1920, DePalma’s lofty 196-lap effort went without any financial reward.

A popular story, but not quite true: in 1912, there were (for the first and only time) twelve cash prizes to be won, but only ten finishers. Under AAA rules, the money posted for 11th and 12th place ($1,100 and $1,000, respectively) was returned to the race promoter, i.e. the IMS, but the event was such a good business enterprise that the Speedway decided to not keep the money. At first, it was suggested to pay the money to de Palma and Burman, who are listed as 11th and 12th place finishers in most statistics these days, but weren't in 1912 - they were non-finishers, pure and simple, like all the other dozen starters. The reason they were considered, instead, was that they both had run in a "money position" consistently for five or six hours, and played a significant part "in making the race a spectacular affair up to the very finish".

However, after some deliberation it was decided, four weeks after the race, to pay all non-finishers according to the number of laps each one had completed. By pushing his car over the line for lap 199, de Palma made thus sure of earning an extra $1.92 for a total of $382.34, while Burman got $301.54 for his 157 laps. Billy Knight and Len Ormsby, however, had to make do with a paltry $13.46 each. Read all about it in The Indianapolis News of Thursday, June 27 in 1912.

[Jim Thurman]

 

98.

When Alexander Rossi won the 100^th Indianapolis 500 as a rookie, it obviously was the first 500 he led. But there are nine other 500 winners, who only led the race the years that they won: Ray Harroun, Joe Dawson, Gaston Chevrolet, Ray Keech, Louis Schneider, Floyd Roberts, George Robson, Bob Sweikert and Graham Hill.

 

Sadly, three of those drivers never got the chance to lead another lap of a '500' and two more only managed to race in the following year's race    Though, it brings me to...

 

 

101.

In the first 100 Indianapolis 500s, 763 men and women competed in the race. Currently, there are 28 former winners still living, including defending race winner Alexander Rossi.

Seventy drivers have their images on the Borg-Warner trophy, including co-winners Lora Corum and Floyd Davis. Of the 70 winners, 15 were killed in racing accidents and five other perished under violent circumstances (two were killed in plane crashes, one was killed in a domestic car accident and two took their own lives). Twenty-two of the 70 winners died of natural causes, which might be the most amazing statistic in this item given the lack of safety features in nearly 50 years of Indy 500s.

 

...the fact that of the 763, I know it would astonish many to realize the vast majority of those that have passed on have died from "natural causes" (heart attack or cancer, just like most folks). This would come as a shock to the anti-oval troop here ("madness", "insanity"), who always insist the toll as far greater than it was/is, as well as a subset at another forum, some of whom seem greatly disappointed to discover their heroes are mere mortals, didn't die racing and most have died in the same manner as they will. 

[Collombin]

He seems to have lumped Frank Lockhart under racing accidents, which I would dispute - especially when he has taken the trouble to list all the other deaths that were due to "violent circumstances".

[Michael Ferner]

31.
When Howdy Wilcox became the first to win the 500 in a foreign car (Peugeot), the winning entrant was the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
With concern over shallow fields due to World War I, IMS purchased a pair of Peugeots and had three copies constructed by Premier, an Indianapolis automobile manufacturer.
For 1919, the IMS team entered four cars — Wilcox’s winning Peugeot and three of the Premier Peugeot copies. Jules Goux drove one of those Premier copies to a third-place finish. The 1-3 finish will be a successful swan song for the IMS team, which also entered cars in the 1916 race.

For 1919, the IMS team entered two Peugeots and two Premiers (technically, the third Premier had never belonged to the IMS team: it was entered by one J. L. Yarian in 1916), as Wilcox and Goux drove identical 1914 Grand Prix Peugeots. Most statistics these days show Goux's car to have been a Peugeot with a Premier engine, but even that is a misunderstanding: three days before the race, Goux broke a piston and/or connecting rod in practice and damaged one of the four cylinders of his Peugeot engine, which was then repaired "with parts lent by the owners of the Premier", which seems to suggest further that the IMS was only a name on the masthead of the entries. So, the chassis was pure Peugeot, and the engine at least three quarter Peugeot with a negligible Premier input. Read all about it in The Indianapolis News of Friday, May 30 in 1919.

[Michael Ferner]

35.
Thanks to their dispute with William Durant, the Chevrolet brothers never raced Chevrolet automobiles at IMS (or anywhere else for that matter). However, Chevrolet did appear as a car name in the 1919 race, although the car was actually a Stutz. The Chevrolet name was used as a sponsor for a rookie named Cliff Durant, who happened to be William Durant’s son.

Louis Chevrolet raced a Chevrolet in the 1914 Los Angeles-to-Phoenix road race, in fact he raced even two: after retiring his original entry somewhere between Needles and Kingman, he was picked up by team mate Cliff Durant who was driving in his very first race, and thus let the experienced Frenchman drive most of the rest of the roughly 370 miles to the finish. Most statistics these days don't show this race at all because it was somehow forgotten when Arthur Means created his fake championships ninety years ago. Chevrolet then raced that same Chevrolet in the dirt track races at the Arizona State Fair. Read all about it in various issues of The Arizona Republican of November 1914.

Edited by Michael Ferner, 29 May 2017 - 21:06.

[Jim Thurman]

I was going to note that there were, in fact, several errors, but figured Michael would spot them and give a full and proper report 

 

While it's available, telling people to "read all about it" at fee based newspaper archives isn't going to be of much use, especially when many do not subscribe to those fee based services. It works even less so as a chiding, particularly for some at another forum we know 

 

Though, I would think it would be easy enough for someone working at the Indianapolis Star to access newspaper archives, but then again, in these cost cutting days of austerity at newspapers, perhaps not.

[Michael Ferner]

I would have provided a link if not for the pay wall! But it's good proper form to mention sources, and in the days before the internet people were happy enough to have just that information. Why is everybody becoming so lazy??? Oh, I know, it's the wikipedia generation, used to be fed half-baked info for free. My grand father used to say, "if things cost less, they will be less useful"*, and you know what, I think he was right.


* Actually, he said "Wat nix kost, dat is nix!" - Try google that!

Edited by Michael Ferner, 29 May 2017 - 21:52.

[Rob G]

100.

When Rossi won the 2016 Indianapolis, his victory margin of 4.4975 seconds was the second largest margin of victory in the 21st Century. That almost seems humorous considering Rossi’s surprise win was something of an economy run. Only Juan Pablo Montoya’s 7.184-second victory margin in 2000 was larger.

 

This is incorrect, since the 21st century began on January 1, 2001.

[Bob Riebe]

BRAVO!

[john aston]

102 There was cheering at Maison Aston when I heard Takuma Sato had won . I have been a fan for many years , since I first saw him driving the wheels off a F3 Dallara -I have  never seen a busier driver than Taku on a charge. Mistakes? He's made more than a few  , never more so than last time he was in with a shout at Indy. That's why the success is all the sweeter - and he is genuinely a lovely man .   

[DogEarred]

Yes, one could never doubt his commitment & speed. He just seemed one of those drivers who are destined never to achieve the pinnacle, due to his 'over enthusiasm'.

As for the last time he was in with a shout at Indy, I remember turning to my colleague as he drew along side Franchitti & said "He's going to stuff it". So predicable.

 

A win at Indy doesn't necessarily mean your the greatest driver but you've stayed on the track, kept out of trouble, played the strategy better than the other runners & finished ahead of everybody.

He did the job on the day & like all the other drivers who have won it, deserve respect.

[Vitesse2]

Well, as a Dario fan with a sneaking admiration for Sato-San since I saw him tail-slide the BAR off the start line at the FoS in 2001 to a standing ovation I was torn in that 2012 finish. You could see that banzai move coming from about half-way down the home straight! As already noted he's a genuinely nice bloke and he has a lovely dry sense of humour. Here's his post-race press conference - look out for the superb comic timing when answering a long rambling question which starts at about 12 minutes in:

 

[E1pix]

Historically, "over-enthusiasm" is of course right. We all do like to see drivers trying -- even if failing -- though with that comes a price of term.

Yesterday, that all turned around. One wonders if overcoming past flaws is a bigger achievement for Takuma than for those oft-steadier drivers it comes so much easier to.

No matter, I guess. It is a great victory and I'm just really happy he won it after all his time spent.

Some point out Alonso's recent plagues, understandably. But what a fitting win for a fine Japanese company that stuck with their Golden Son all the way through. Indeed, an entire nation did.

This is a great moment in racing. Hats off to the Rising Sun.

[Vitesse2]

Some insider race day photos, courtesy of BB poster SR388. Start here and then scroll down for lots more:

 

http://forums.autosp...64#entry7969106

[Tim Murray]

Louis Chevrolet ... the experienced Frenchman ...

Was he not officially Swiss before taking US nationality?

[Allan Lupton]

I am always suspicious when someone refers to "facts and figures" as that implies the figures are not facts, whereas they are often the most easily verified facts.

Anyway is there any way of conveying the corrections posted here to Mr Shaffer who presumably had to come up with 101 items in too much of a hurry to properly research any of them?

Edited by Allan Lupton, 30 May 2017 - 10:51.

[Henk Vasmel]

This is incorrect, since the 21st century began on January 1, 2001.

Indeed. This is the difference between measuring and counting (reals and integers). When measuring, you start at zero, while when counting you start at 1.

twenty centuries, is 20*100 years = 2000 years elapsed, so up until 31-12-2000. 21st century then starts at 1-1-2001.

When asked to count to 10, (almost) everybody will say 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10. The last one is the one ending with a zero. the first one of the next series (11) is the one that ends with 1.

 

Sorry. I finally found somewhere to get this off my chest. The common idea (that 2000 is the first year of the 21st century) comes from too many people with big mouths and no sense of mathematics (and too many followers)

[Tim Murray]

Yes indeed. This anomaly arose because the birth of Christ is adjudged to have been at the start of the year 1 AD, as the year 0 AD is not included in the calendar. Hence the first decade AD ended at the end of 10 AD, the first century at the end of 100 AD, the first millennium at the end of 1000 AD, etc etc. Thus it is correct to say that the third millennium AD began on 1st January 2001.

For the rest of us, our first decade of life began at birth, at the start of our year zero, and ended when we stopped being nine years old, thus covering our years 0 – 9. Thus our second decade began on our tenth birthday. If Dionysius Exiguus et al had done the correct thing and started their numbering at the start of 0 AD instead of 1 AD, this anomaly would not have arisen.

[Michael Ferner]

Was he not officially Swiss before taking US nationality?

No, French. He was born in Switzerland, but grew up in France as a Frenchman. At least one of his brothers was even born in France.

[Tim Murray]

OK thanks.

[Jim Thurman]

I would have provided a link if not for the pay wall! But it's good proper form to mention sources, and in the days before the internet people were happy enough to have just that information. Why is everybody becoming so lazy??? Oh, I know, it's the wikipedia generation, used to be fed half-baked info for free. My grand father used to say, "if things cost less, they will be less useful"*, and you know what, I think he was right.


* Actually, he said "Wat nix kost, dat is nix!" - Try google that!

 

Oh, I realize that Michael. It's always good to mention sources   The only useful purpose of the Racing Reference.com "comments" are that one can post links, thereby hopefully preventing Wikipedia type overwriting of correct and properly researched data.

[Vitesse2]

I've just found three 1906 travel records for Louis Chevrolet on Ancestry. Le Havre to New York in August, New York to Southampton in September and Le Havre to New York again in November 1906. All three show his nationality as Swiss.

[Michael Ferner]

That's surprising, and at odds with the known family history. Maybe he didn't like being French. After all, the cross on the Chevrolet cars is said to have derived from the cross on the Swiss flag, so he must've been proud of his ancestry.

[robert dick]

Additional, secondary fact:

The Hispano-Stutz match race, 1928
https://www.motorspo...za-versus-stutz

A few photos of the 8-litre Hispano taken in March 1928 in Paris, before the shipment to Indiianapolis
(Bibliothèque Nationale/Paris):
https://gallica.bnf....527j?rk=42918;4
https://gallica.bnf....191?rk=107296;4
https://gallica.bnf....5174?rk=64378;0
https://gallica.bnf....541p?rk=21459;2

 

 

 

[bradbury west]

Robert, many thanks for posting a link to such pertinent, and crystal clear photographs. That is a wonderful archive facility.
Roger Lund