Indianapolis, IN
Every Indianapolis 500 Winner in History: The Youngest, Oldest and Other Superlatives
With the possible exception of Daytona Beach, Fla., no city in the United States is more synonymous with auto racing than Indianapolis.
Since 1911, the capital of Indiana has been home to the self-described “greatest spectacle in racing.” The Indianapolis 500 has persevered through wars, pandemics, economic downturns and a slew of American open-wheel racing reorganizations to remain a stalwart of the sports calendar.
With this year’s race scheduled for Sunday, let’s take a look at some of the competition’s most durable superlatives—followed by a table of every winner since the earliest days of the sport. Grab a bottle of milk.
That would be Al Unser in 1987, five days shy of his 48th birthday. His brother Bobby in 1981 is second, also at the age of 47.
22-year-old Troy Ruttman in 1952.
Ray Harroun in 1911.
Josef Newgarden won the race in 2023.
A.J. Foyt (1961, 1964, 1967 and 1977), Al Unser (1970, 1971, 1978 and 1987), Rick Mears (1979, 1984, 1988 and 1991) and Hélio Castroneves (2001, 2002, 2009 and 2021) all won the race four times.
And now, the big table: Enjoy all the winners of Indianapolis’s day in the sun from 1911 to the present. Note that the race was not held from 1917 to ’18 due to World War I and 1942 to ’45 due to World War II. Note also two instances (1924 and 1941) of a relief driver taking over during the race, thus ensuring two drivers would be credited as winners.
|
YEAR |
WINNER |
COUNTRY |
|---|---|---|
|
1911 |
Ray Harroun |
United States |
|
1912 |
Joe Dawson |
United States |
|
1913 |
Jules Goux |
France |
|
1914 |
René Thomas |
France |
|
1915 |
Ralph DePalma |
United States |
|
1916 |
Dario Resta |
Great Britain |
|
1919 |
Howdy Wilcox |
United States |
|
1920 |
Gaston Chevrolet |
United States |
|
1921 |
Tommy Milton |
United States |
|
1922 |
Jimmy Murphy |
United States |
|
1923 |
Tommy Milton |
United States |
|
1924 |
Lora L. Corum and Joe Boyer |
United States |
|
1925 |
Pete DePaolo |
United States |
|
1926 |
Frank Lockhart |
United States |
|
1927 |
George Souders |
United States |
|
1928 |
Louis Meyer |
United States |
|
1929 |
Ray Keech |
United States |
|
1930 |
Billy Arnold |
United States |
|
1931 |
Louis Schneider |
United States |
|
1932 |
Fred Frame |
United States |
|
1933 |
Louis Meyer |
United States |
|
1934 |
Bill Cummings |
United States |
|
1935 |
Kelly Petillo |
United States |
|
1936 |
Louis Meyer |
United States |
|
1937 |
Wilbur Shaw |
United States |
|
1938 |
Floyd Roberts |
United States |
|
1939 |
Wilbur Shaw |
United States |
|
1940 |
Wilbur Shaw |
United States |
|
1941 |
Floyd Davis and Mauri Rose |
United States |
|
1946 |
George Robson |
United States |
|
1947 |
Mauri Rose |
United States |
|
1948 |
Mauri Rose |
United States |
|
1949 |
Bill Holland |
United States |
|
1950 |
Johnnie Parsons |
United States |
|
1951 |
Lee Wallard |
United States |
|
1952 |
Troy Ruttman |
United States |
|
1953 |
Bill Vukovich |
United States |
|
1954 |
Bill Vukovich |
United States |
|
1955 |
Bob Sweikert |
United States |
|
1956 |
Pat Flaherty |
United States |
|
1957 |
Sam Hanks |
United States |
|
1958 |
Jimmy Bryan |
United States |
|
1959 |
Rodger Ward |
United States |
|
1960 |
Jim Rathmann |
United States |
|
1961 |
A.J. Foyt |
United States |
|
1962 |
Rodger Ward |
United States |
|
1963 |
Parnelli Jones |
United States |
|
1964 |
A.J. Foyt |
United States |
|
1965 |
Jim Clark |
Great Britain |
|
1966 |
Graham Hill |
Great Britain |
|
1967 |
A.J. Foyt |
United States |
|
1968 |
Bobby Unser |
United States |
|
1969 |
Mario Andretti |
United States |
|
1970 |
Al Unser |
United States |
|
1971 |
Al Unser |
United States |
|
1972 |
Mark Donohue |
United States |
|
1973 |
Gordon Johncock |
United States |
|
1974 |
Johnny Rutherford |
United States |
|
1975 |
Bobby Unser |
United States |
|
1976 |
Johnny Rutherford |
United States |
|
1977 |
A.J. Foyt |
United States |
|
1978 |
Al Unser |
United States |
|
1979 |
Rick Mears |
United States |
|
1980 |
Johnny Rutherford |
United States |
|
1981 |
Bobby Unser |
United States |
|
1982 |
Gordon Johncock |
United States |
|
1983 |
Tom Sneva |
United States |
|
1984 |
Rick Mears |
United States |
|
1985 |
Danny Sullivan |
United States |
|
1986 |
Bobby Rahal |
United States |
|
1987 |
Al Unser |
United States |
|
1988 |
Rick Mears |
United States |
|
1989 |
Emerson Fittipaldi |
Brazil |
|
1990 |
Arie Luyendyk |
Netherlands |
|
1991 |
Rick Mears |
United States |
|
1992 |
Al Unser Jr. |
United States |
|
1993 |
Emerson Fittipaldi |
Brazil |
|
1994 |
Al Unser Jr. |
United States |
|
1995 |
Jacques Villenueve |
Canada |
|
1996 |
Buddy Lazier |
United States |
|
1997 |
Arie Luyendyk |
Netherlands |
|
1998 |
Eddie Cheever |
United States |
|
1999 |
Kenny Bräck |
Sweden |
|
2000 |
Juan Pablo Montoya |
Colombia |
|
2001 |
Hélio Castroneves |
Brazil |
|
2002 |
Hélio Castroneves |
Brazil |
|
2003 |
Gil de Ferran |
Brazil |
|
2004 |
Buddy Rice |
United States |
|
2005 |
Dan Wheldon |
Great Britain |
|
2006 |
Sam Hornish Jr. |
United States |
|
2007 |
Dario Franchitti |
Great Britain |
|
2008 |
Scott Dixon |
New Zealand |
|
2009 |
Hélio Castroneves |
Brazil |
|
2010 |
Dario Franchitti |
Great Britain |
|
2011 |
Dan Wheldon |
Great Britain |
|
2012 |
Dario Franchitti |
Great Britain |
|
2013 |
Tony Kanaan |
Brazil |
|
2014 |
Ryan Hunter-Reay |
United States |
|
2015 |
Juan Pablo Montoya |
Colombia |
|
2016 |
Alexander Rossi |
United States |
|
2017 |
Takuma Sato |
Japan |
|
2018 |
Will Power |
Australia |
|
2019 |
Simon Pagenaud |
France |
|
2020 |
Takuma Sato |
Japan |
|
2021 |
Hélio Castroneves |
Brazil |
|
2022 |
Marcus Ericsson |
Sweden |
|
2023 |
Josef Newgarden |
United States |