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For more than a century, the Indianapolis 500 has been one of the greatest spectacles in all of sports.
33 cars roar ahead at speeds unimaginable to the first bricklayers.
It started as a proving ground and has become a Memorial Day tradition held at the world’s largest racetrack.
Learn more about the Indianapolis 500 in this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily.
To understand the Indianapolis 500, you must first understand the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
During the first decade of the 20th century, Indianapolis was a major center for automobile manufacturing. Local entrepreneur Carl Fisher believed the industry needed a dedicated proving ground where cars could be tested at a sustained pace.
In 1909, Fisher and partners James Allison, Arthur Newby and Frank Wheeler formed the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Company and built a 2.5-mile oval on farmland outside Indianapolis in what is now the town of Speedway, Indiana.
The first race held at the speedway in 1909 was not the polished spectacle people know today. The original surface was made of crushed stone and tar, which quickly proved to be dangerous.
Five deaths occurred during the second race weekend, prompting Fisher to fund a project to pave the track with 3.2 million bricks, which gave Indianapolis Motor Speedway the nickname “Brickyard.”
After two years of hosting several racing events, Speedway management decided to hold a major racing event once a year starting in 1911 over 500 miles, then a fantastic marathon distance.
The first Indianapolis 500 took place on May 30, 1911. The event attracted 40 vehicles and approximately 80,000 spectators. Ray Harroun won the race driving the Marmon Wasp, a streamlined, non-mechanical, single-seater that was popular at the time. His winning time was 6 hours and 42 minutes. This is the slowest time ever recorded.
His victory was more than just winning a race. He also added two features that have stuck with the car ever since. Because his car had no passengers, it was the first to be equipped with a rear-view mirror. The distinctive tail that gave his car the nickname “Marmon Wasp” was also one of the first attempts to introduce aerodynamic principles into a car.
Racing quickly became international. It attracted not only American car manufacturers but also European brands such as Fiat, Mercedes, and Peugeot, as well as European drivers. This was highlighted early on when French drivers Jules Goux and René Thomas won in 1913 and 1914.
In its early days, the Indy 500 was as much an engineering competition as it was a race. The automobile was still a developing technology, and Indianapolis became a public laboratory for engine, tire, aerodynamic, fuel, brake and durability design. Earning 500 proves that your car, engine, tires or parts aren’t just fast, they’re also durable.
By the start of World War I, the event had already established itself as America’s premier automobile race.
As the speed increased, the brick surface proved unsuitable. Beginning in the 1930s, the corners began to be covered with asphalt, and prior to the 1937 Indianapolis 500, all four corners were paved. The remaining front stretch bricks lasted much longer. In October 1961, the last section of brick was covered with asphalt, leaving only a three-foot strip at the start-finish line, now known as the Yard of Bricks.
The Borg-Warner Trophy is a permanent trophy awarded to the winner of the Indianapolis 500. This trophy was designed by Robert J. Hill and manufactured by Gorham Corporation for the Borg-Warner Automobile Company in 1935. The trophy was unveiled in 1936 when Louis Mayer became the first recipient after winning his third Indy 500.
The trophy is unique in that it is a living monument to the entire history of the race, with the faces of all the winning drivers carved in relief. Made of sterling silver, it stands nearly 5 feet tall, and new bases were added over time as the number of winners grew. The original trophy is housed at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum. Since 1988, winners have received a small replica nicknamed “Baby Borg.”
The same year the trophy was unveiled, another tradition began. After his 1936 win, Louis Meyer was photographed drinking buttermilk in Victory Lane, inadvertently starting the now-iconic tradition of winning drivers drinking milk.
The tradition disappeared for a time, especially after World War II, but returned in 1956 when dairy groups began presenting milk to the winners as part of the official Victory Road ceremony. Today, before the race, each driver is asked what type of milk they prefer in Victory Lane (usually 2% milk or skim milk), although some drivers have chosen chocolate milk or strawberry milk.
In 1941, a major fire destroyed half of the garage area, ‘Gasoline Alley’, causing the cancellation of the 1942 Indianapolis 500 race. This race was also not held during World War I, and was again suspended from 1943 to 1945 during World War II.
By the end of World War II, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway was in poor condition. To save the tracks from being converted into housing development, three-time winner Wilbur Shaw sought a buyer to restore the tracks. Indiana businessman Tony Hulman purchased it in 1945 and revived both the facility and racing.
The post-war rescue is one of the most important turning points in Indy 500 history. Hulman modernized the site, restored the event’s reputation and helped turn the 500 into a Memorial Day weekend ritual.
The 1950s were dominated by front-engine “roadsters” and powerful Offenhauser engines. Offenhauser engines have won 27 times at Indianapolis, the most by any engine manufacturer in the history of the race. Kurtis Kraft chassis won five consecutive races from 1950 to 1955, and drivers like Bill Vukovich became household names.
The 1960s marked a revolutionary turning point with the ‘British Invasion’, as exemplified by Jim Clark’s Lotus-Ford. The transition from front-engine roadsters to sleek rear-engine designs mimicked Formula 1 cars, featuring low profiles, wider tires and sophisticated suspension systems.
Moving the engine from front to rear fundamentally changed the car’s physical characteristics, allowing for a lower profile, superior balance and, therefore, a whole field of aerodynamics.
This era also brought Formula One legends to Indianapolis. European F1 stars such as Jim Clark, Jackie Stewart and Graham Hill have all taken part in the race.
The 1970s and 80s were a golden age of racing, featuring some of the most famous American drivers in the sport. The race was broadcast to a huge audience, and the stadium was filled with American and international celebrities.
AJ Foyt becomes the first four-time winner. Al Unser matched that feat, and his 1987 victory came just five days before his 48th birthday, making him the oldest winner in the race’s history.
Rick Mears emerged as an iconic driver of the 1980s, breaking the speed record in 1984 with an average speed of 163.612 mph. Mears went on to win a total of four.
The closest finish in the race’s history was in 1992, when Al Unser Jr. beat Scott Goodyear by less than a tenth of a second.
The 1990s saw a decline in racing due to civil strife within the American open-wheel racing community.
Prior to the split, the highest level of Indy car racing was run by CART, short for Championship Auto Racing Teams. CART was founded in 1979 by team owners seeking more control over the sport. Through the 1980s and early 1990s, CART was going strong. There were famous drivers, major sponsors, international racing, powerful turbocharged cars and many of the best teams in the world.
The problem is that the biggest race on the CART calendar, the Indianapolis 500, is still separately owned by the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Speedway owner Tony George believed CART had moved too far from its roots. He thought the series was too expensive, too dominated by wealthy team owners, too international, and too focused on road and street courses. He wanted more oval racing, lower costs and more opportunities for American drivers and smaller teams.
In 1994, George announced the creation of a new series called the Indy Racing League (IRL). It will be centered around oval tracks and, most importantly, the Indianapolis 500. Since 1996, George has reserved 25 of the 33 Indy 500 starting spots for IRL regulars.
The CART team saw this as an attempt to force George into the new series. Most major CART teams boycotted the 1996 Indianapolis 500 and held their own race, the US 500, at Michigan International Speedway the same day. That was the moment the split became permanent.
The result was disastrous for both sides. The Indy 500 still has its name and tradition, but many of its biggest stars and teams are gone. CART still had many of the top drivers and sponsors, but it no longer had the Indianapolis 500, the only race that gave the sport national visibility.
Fans had to choose sides, sponsors were confused, television audiences dwindled, and NASCAR took advantage of the confusion to become the dominant form of American motorsports.
Over time, CART weakened financially and eventually went bankrupt. IRL survived because it controlled the Indianapolis 500, but it also had trouble gaining the popularity that CART enjoyed before the split. The two sides finally reunited under the IndyCar banner in 2008.
Another big change occurred in the 90s. From 1916 to 1988, only two drivers won outside the United States. British drivers Jim Clark in 1965 and Graham Hill in 1966.
In 1989, Brazil’s Emerson Fittipaldi won, marking the beginning of a reversal of previous decades. Over the past 37 years, international drivers have won the race 26 times. Brazil’s Helio Castroneves won his fourth Indianapolis 500 in 2021, joining AJ Foyt, Al Unser and Rick Mears as the only four-time winners.
No force has shaped the modern era more than team owner Roger Penske, who won an incredible 20 championships between 1972 and 2024.
But he went beyond becoming a team owner in 2020. The Hulman-George family, which had controlled the Speedway since Tony Hulman purchased it in 1945, sold Indianapolis Motor Speedway and IndyCar to Penske Entertainment.
Penske’s ownership brought new investments in the facility, including improvements to the fan area, infrastructure and presentation.
Although the Indianapolis 500 is not as culturally relevant as it was in the 1970s and 80s, it is still incredibly popular. The Indianapolis Motor Speedway is the world’s largest sports stadium with a seating capacity of 257,325.
However, on game days, attendance can far exceed stadium capacity. The Indianapolis Motor Speedway regularly attracts approximately 350,000 people on race day, including grandstands, suites, and the infield, making it larger than almost any one-day sporting event on the planet. Some estimates put attendance as high as 400,000 in its most popular years.
That means more than 1 in 1,000 people in the U.S. attend.
Its popularity is also growing on TV. The 2025 Indianapolis 500 attracted approximately 7.1 million viewers, an increase of approximately 41% compared to 2024, making it the most-watched Indy 500 in 17 years.
Although Indy car racing is not as popular as Formula One or NASCAR, the Indianapolis 500 as a single event is arguably more popular than a single race in a more popular racing series.
They have a history and tradition that no other race can replicate. It remains one of the few sporting events where history is not simply remembered, but repeated every year at a rate of 230 miles per hour.
