Over the years, the "Greatest Spectacle in Racing" has generally lived up to its hype. There have been spectacular finishes, spectacular crashes, and controversies over everything from fuel regulations to who really won the race. Through it all, the Indianapolis 500 has persevered -- through good times and bad.
This interactive history offers year-by-year summaries of the 86 Indy 500 races, along with little-known anecdotes about the characters who have competed on the famed 2 1/2-mile oval. You'll learn that Al Unser Jr. beat Scott Goodyear in 1992 by .043 of a second in the closest finish ever; a driver named Spider Webb competed in several races in the '40s and '50s; Tommy Milton was the first multiple winner, and the command "Gentlemen, start your engines" was first used in 1957.
So, get up to speed and take the old brickyard for a spin. Just click on links in the Year column for race summaries and the Winner column for the driver's finishes in all 500 competitions.
| Year | Winner | Started | Laps Led |
Time | Speed | ||||||
| |||||||||||
| 1911 | Ray Harroun | 28th | 88 | 6:42:08 | 74.602 mph | ||||||
| 1912 | Joe Dawson | 7th | 2 | 6:21:06 | 78.719 mph | ||||||
| 1913 | Jules Goux | 7th | 138 | 6:35:05 | 75.933 mph | ||||||
| 1914 | Rene Thomas | 15th | 102 | 6:03:45 | 82.474 mph | ||||||
| 1915 | Ralph DePalma | 2nd | 132 | 5:33:55.510 | 89.840 mph | ||||||
| 1916 | Dario Resta | 4th | 103 | 3:34:17 | 84.001 mph | ||||||
| 1919 | Howdy Wilcox | 2nd | 98 | 5:40:42.870 | 88.050 mph | ||||||
| 1920 | Gaston Chevrolet | 6th | 14 | 5:38:32 | 88.618 mph | ||||||
| 1921 | Tommy Milton | 20th | 90 | 5:34:44.650 | 89.621 mph | ||||||
| 1922 | Jimmy Murphy | 1st | 153 | 5:17:30.790 | 94.484 mph | ||||||
| 1923 | Tommy Milton | 1st | 128 | 5:29:50.170 | 90.954 mph | ||||||
| 1924 | L.L. Corum-Joe Boyer | 21st | 25 | 5:05:23.510 | 98.234 mph | ||||||
| 1925 | Pete DePaolo | 2nd | 115 | 4:56:39.460 | 101.127 mph | ||||||
| 1926 | Frank Lockhart | 20th | 95 | 4:10:14.950 | 95.904 mph | ||||||
| 1927 | George Souders | 22nd | 51 | 5:07:33.080 | 97.545 mph | ||||||
| 1928 | Louis Meyer | 13th | 111 | 5:01:33.750 | 99.482 mph | ||||||
| 1929 | Ray Keech | 6th | 46 | 5:07:25.420 | 97.585 mph | ||||||
| 1930 | Billy Arnold | 1st | 198 | 4:58:39.720 | 100.448 mph | ||||||
| 1931 | Louis Schneider | 13th | 39 | 5:10:27.930 | 96.629 mph | ||||||
| 1932 | Fred Frame | 27th | 58 | 4:48:03.790 | 104.144 mph | ||||||
| 1933 | Louis Meyer | 6th | 71 | 4:48:00.750 | 104.162 mph | ||||||
| 1934 | Bill Cummings | 10th | 57 | 4:46:05.200 | 104.863 mph | ||||||
| 1935 | Kelly Petillo | 22nd | 102 | 4:42:22.710 | 106.240 mph | ||||||
| 1936 | Louis Meyer | 28th | 96 | 4:35:03.390 | 109.069 mph | ||||||
| 1937 | Wilbur Shaw | 2nd | 131 | 4:24:07.800 | 113.580 mph | ||||||
| 1938 | Floyd Roberts | 1st | 92 | 4:15:58.400 | 117.200 mph | ||||||
| 1939 | Wilbur Shaw | 3rd | 51 | 4:20:47.390 | 115.035 mph | ||||||
| 1940 | Wilbur Shaw | 2nd | 136 | 4:22:31.170 | 114.277 mph | ||||||
| 1941 | Floyd Davis-Mauri Rose | 17th | 39 | 4:20:36.240 | 115.117 mph | ||||||
| 1946 | George Robson | 15th | 138 | 4:21:16.700 | 114.820 mph | ||||||
| 1947 | Mauri Rose | 3rd | 34 | 4:17:52.170 | 116.338 mph | ||||||
| 1948 | Mauri Rose | 3rd | 81 | 4:10:23.330 | 119.814 mph | ||||||
| 1949 | Bill Holland | 4th | 146 | 4:07:15.970 | 121.327 mph | ||||||
| 1950 | Johnnie Parsons | 5th | 115 | 2:46:55.970 | 124.002 mph | ||||||
| 1951 | Lee Wallard | 2nd | 159 | 3:57:38.050 | 126.244 mph | ||||||
| 1952 | Troy Ruttman | 7th | 44 | 3:52:41.880 | 128.922 mph | ||||||
| 1953 | Bill Vukovich | 1st | 195 | 3:53:01.690 | 128.740 mph | ||||||
| 1954 | Bill Vukovich | 19th | 90 | 3:49:17.270 | 130.840 mph | ||||||
| 1955 | Bob Sweikert | 14th | 86 | 3:53:59.130 | 128.213 mph | ||||||
| 1956 | Pat Flaherty | 1st | 127 | 3:53:28.840 | 128.490 mph | ||||||
| 1957 | Sam Hanks | 13th | 136 | 3:41:14.250 | 135.601 mph | ||||||
| 1958 | Jimmy Bryan | 7th | 139 | 3:44:13.800 | 133.791 mph | ||||||
| 1959 | Rodger Ward | 6th | 130 | 3:40:49.200 | 135.857 mph | ||||||
| 1960 | Jim Rathmann | 2nd | 100 | 3:36:11.360 | 138.767 mph | ||||||
| 1961 | A.J. Foyt Jr. | 7th | 71 | 3:53:37.490 | 139.130 mph | ||||||
| 1962 | Rodger Ward | 2nd | 66 | 3:33:50.330 | 140.293 mph | ||||||
| 1963 | Parnelli Jones | 1st | 167 | 3:29:35.400 | 143.137 mph | ||||||
| 1964 | A.J. Foyt Jr. | 5th | 146 | 3:23:35.830 | 147.350 mph | ||||||
| 1965 | Jimmy Clark | 2nd | 190 | 3:53:59.130 | 128.213 mph | ||||||
| 1966 | Graham Hill | 15th | 10 | 3:27:52.530 | 144.317 mph | ||||||
| 1967 | A.J. Foyt Jr. | 4th | 27 | 3:53:59.130 | 128.213 mph | ||||||
| 1968 | Bobby Unser | 3rd | 127 | 3:16:13.760 | 152.882 mph | ||||||
| 1969 | Mario Andretti | 2nd | 116 | 3:11:14.710 | 156.867 mph | ||||||
| 1970 | Al Unser | 1st | 190 | 3:12:37.040 | 155.749 mph | ||||||
| 1971 | Al Unser | 5th | 103 | 3:10:11.560 | 157.735 mph | ||||||
| 1972 | Mark Donohue | 3rd | 13 | 3:04:05.540 | 162.962 mph | ||||||
| 1973 | Gordon Johncock | 11th | 64 | 2:05:26.590 | 159.036 mph | ||||||
| 1974 | Johnny Rutherford | 25th | 122 | 3:09:10.060 | 158.589 mph | ||||||
| 1975 | Bobby Unser | 3rd | 11 | 2:54:55.080 | 149.213 mph | ||||||
| 1976 | Johnny Rutherford | 1st | 48 | 1:42:52.000 | 148.725 mph | ||||||
| 1977 | A.J. Foyt Jr. | 4th | 46 | 3:05:57.160 | 161.331 mph | ||||||
| 1978 | Al Unser | 5th | 121 | 3:05:54.990 | 161.363 mph | ||||||
| 1979 | Rick Mears | 1st | 25 | 3:08:47.970 | 158.899 mph | ||||||
| 1980 | Johnny Rutherford | 1st | 118 | 3:29:59.580 | 142.862 mph | ||||||
| 1981 | Bobby Unser | 1st | 89 | 3:35:41.780 | 139.084 mph | ||||||
| 1982 | Gordon Johncock | 5th | 57 | 3:05:09.140 | 162.029 mph | ||||||
| 1983 | Tom Sneva | 4th | 98 | 3:05:03.066 | 162.117 mph | ||||||
| 1984 | Rick Mears | 3rd | 119 | 3:03:21.660 | 163.612 mph | ||||||
| 1985 | Danny Sullivan | 8th | 67 | 3:16:06.069 | 152.982 mph | ||||||
| 1986 | Bobby Rahal | 4th | 58 | 2:55:43.480 | 170.722 mph | ||||||
| 1987 | Al Unser | 20th | 18 | 3:04:59.147 | 162.175 mph | ||||||
| 1988 | Rick Mears | 1st | 89 | 3:27:10.204 | 144.809 mph | ||||||
| 1989 | Emerson Fittipaldi | 3rd | 158 | 2:59:01.049 | 167.581 mph | ||||||
| 1990 | Arie Luyendyk | 3rd | 37 | 2:41:18.404 | 185.981 mph | ||||||
| 1991 | Rick Mears | 1st | 30 | 2:50:00.791 | 176.457 mph | ||||||
| 1992 | Al Unser Jr. | 12th | 25 | 3:43:05.148 | 134.477 mph | ||||||
| 1993 | Emerson Fittipaldi | 9th | 16 | 3:27:10.204 | 144.809 mph | ||||||
| 1994 | Al Unser Jr. | 1st | 48 | 3:06:29.006 | 160.872 mph | ||||||
| 1995 | Jacques Villeneuve | 5th | 15 | 3:15:17.561 | 153.616 mph | ||||||
| 1996 | Buddy Lazier | 5th | 43 | 3:22:45.753 | 147.956 mph | ||||||
| 1997 | Arie Luyendyk | 1st | 61 | 3:25:43.388 | 145.827 mph | ||||||
| 1998 | Eddie Cheever Jr. | 17th | 76 | 3:26:40.524 | 145.155 mph | ||||||
| 1999 | Kenny Brack | 8th | 66 | 3:15:51.182 | 153.176 mph | ||||||
| 2000 | Juan Montoya | 2nd | 167 | 2:58:59.431 | 167.607 mph | ||||||
| 2001 | Helio Castroneves | 11th | 52 | 3:31:54.180 | 141.574 mph | ||||||
| 2002 | Helio Castroneves | 13th | 24 | 3:00:108.714 | 166.499 mph | ||||||
| 2003 | Gil de Ferran | 10th | 31 | 3:11:56.9891 | 156.291 mph | ||||||
| 2004 | Buddy Rice | 1 | 91 | 3:14:55 | 138.518 mph | ||||||
| 2005 | Dan Wheldon | 16 | 30 | 3:10:21.0769 | 157.603 mph | ||||||
Race summaries are reproduced, in part, from "The 500: 1911-1990", published by the Indianapolis Star. Contributing writers for that publication were George Moore, William Eggert, Jep Cadou Jr. and Curt Cavin. For races after 1990, information was compiled by Online Services Content Editor Tom Leyden from The Star's library archives. Statistical information is from The Star's archives and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
