Home » Indy 500 Winners and SpeedsNASCAR fans might throw the Daytona 500 at me, but I will easily argue
that there is no bigger accomplishment in racing than winning the
Indianapolis 500-mile Race. This year's edition marks the 92nd running of
the storied race which was first run back in 1911. Two different stints
during the world wars caused the race to halt briefly, but other than that,
it has been the focal point of sporting events during the Memorial Day
weekend. Below is a list of all of the Indy 500 winners throughout
history and their average speeds. I have also detailed the careers of
several famous Indy 500 champions below. Notice how drastically the speeds
have changed throughout history.
Ray Harroun - We have to commemorate the very first winner of the Indy 500 who used an invention which he came up with to win that very first race. We know that gizmo as the rear view mirror today. The first Indy 500 was not without its controversy however. Many think that a scorer's error cheated Ralph Mulford out of the win. Wilbur Shaw – Mr. Shaw won the Indy 500 three times in four years from 1937-1940. It was an even more special feat for him as he was a home state kid from Shelbyville, Indiana. The great Shaw is tragically remembered to have crashed to death, in an airplane not a race car, in 1954 at the young age of 51. A.J. Foyt Jr. - 1961 marked the first of A.J. Foyt's four Indy 500 wins. Al Unser Sr. and Rick Mears join Foyt as the only drivers to win four times. Foyt won the race three times in the 1960's and then again in 1977. Foyt is also famous for winner the Dayton 500. Rick Mears – Mears was the last man to win the Indy 500 four times, three of those wins came in different decades. Bobby Unser – He, his brother, and his nephew have all won Indy 500's. In fact, they have all won more than one Indy 500. Bobby won three of them. His first came in 1968 and his last in 1981 just to show the competition that the old man still had it. Al Unser Sr. - Al Unser is famous for having won the Indy 500 four times and for also becoming one of five to win the race in consecutive years. He is the brother of fellow Indy 500 winner Bobby Unser and the father of fellow Indy 500 winner Al Unser Jr. There isn't a better Indy racing family in history, not even the Andretti's. Al Unser Jr. – I'm sorry if I'm wearing out the Unser's, but these guys are the Manning family of Indy racing. Junior won two Indy 500's to carry on the legacy of his family's dominance. Helio Castroneves - Helio is the modern superman at Indy. He became the fifth driver to win back-to-back Indy 500 championships. It is even more impressive that his first two wins at Indy were in his first two tries on the track. Indy 500 Winners and Speeds: 1911 - Ray Harroun, 74.602 mph 1912 - Joe Dawson, 78.719 1913 - Jules Goux, 75.933 1914 - Rene Thomas, 82.474 1915 - Ralph DePalma, 89.84 1916 - Dario Resta, 84.001 1919 - Howdy Wilcox, 88.050 1920 - Gaston Chevrolet, 88.618 1921 - Tommy Milton, 89.621 1922 - Jimmy Murphy, 94.484 1923 - Tommy Milton, 90.954 1924 - Lora Corum, Joe Boyer, 98.234 1925 - Peter DaPaolo, 101.127 1926 - Frank Lockhart, 95.904 1927 - George Souders, 97.545 1928 - Lou Meyer, 99.482 1929 - Ray Keech, 97.585 1930 - Billy Arnold, 100.448 1931 - Louis Schneider, 96.629 1932 - Fred Frame, 104.144 1933 - Lou Meyer, 104.162 1934 - Bill Cummings, 104.863 1935 - Kelly Petillo, 106.240 1936 - Lou Meyer, 109.069 1937 - Wilbur Shaw, 113.580 1938 - Floyd Roberts, 117.20 1939 - Wilbur Shaw, 115.035 1940 - Wilbur Shaw, 114.277 1941 - Floyd Davis, Mauri Rose, 115.117 1946 - George Robson, 114.820 1947 - Mauri Rose, 116.338 1948 - Mauri Rose, 119.814 1949 - Bill Holland, 121.327 1950 - Johnnie Parson, 124.002 1951 - Lee Wallard, 126.244 1952 - Troy Ruttman, 128.922 1953 - Bill Vukovich, 128.740 1954 - Bill Vukovich, 130.840 1955 - Bob Sweikert, 128.213 1956 - Pat Flaherty, 128.490 1957 - Sam Hanks, 135.601 1958 - Jimmy Bryan, 133.791 1959 - Rodger Ward, 135.857 1960 - Jim Rathmann, 138.767 1961 - A.J. Foyt Jr., 139.130 1962 - Rodger Ward, 140.293 1963 - Parnelli Jones, 143.137 1964 - A.J. Foyt Jr., 147.350 1965 - Jim Clark, 150.686 1966 - Graham Hill, 144.317 1967 - A.J. Foyt Jr., 151.207 1968 - Bobby Unser, 152.882 1969 - Mario Andretti, 156.867 1970 - Al Unser, 155.749 1971 - Al Unser, 157.735 1972 - Mark Donohue, 162.962 1973 - Gordon Johncock, 159.036 1974 - Johnny Rutherford, 158.589 1975 - Bobby Unser, 148.725 1976 - Johnny Rutherford, 148.725 1977 - A.J. Foyt Jr., 161.331 1978 - Al Unser, 161.363 1979 - Rick Mears, 158.899 1980 - Johnny Rutherford, 142.682 1981 - Bobby Unser, 139.084 1982 - Gordon Johncock, 162.029 1983 - Tom Sneva, 162.117 1984 - Rick Mears, 163.612 1985 - Danny Sullivan, 152.982 1986 - Bobby Rahal, 170.722 1987 - Al Unser, 162.175 1988 - Rick Mears, 144.809 1989 - Emerson Fittipaldi, 167.581 1990 - Arie Luyendyk, 185.981 1991 - Rick Mears, 176.457 1992 - Al Unser Jr., 134.477 1993 - Emerson Fittipaldi, 157.207 1994 - Al Unser Jr., 160.872 1995 - Jacques Villeneuve, 153.616 1996 - Buddy Lazier, 147.956 1997 - Arie Luyendyk, 145.827 1998 - Eddie Cheever Jr., 145.155 1999 - Kenny Brack, 153.176 2000 - Juan Montoya, 167.496 2001 - Helio Castroneves, 153.601- 2002 - Helio Castroneves, 166.499 2003 - Gil de Ferran, 156.291 2004 - Buddy Rice, 138.518 2005 - Dan Wheldon, 157.603 2006 - Sam Hornish Jr., 157.085 2007 - Dario Franchitti, 151.774 May 20th, 2008 |
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