25 Greatest Indianapolis 500 Moments

Memorial Day weekend is upon us which means it is time for the greatest spectacle in racing: The Indianapolis 500.

While the race might not have the prestige it did back in the day, it is still an important event and adored by its fans with the traditions of the singing of “Back Home Again in Indiana” before the race begins and the winner drinking milk in victory lane after the race.

With that in mind, I have compiled a list of what I believe are the 25 greatest moments in the history of the Indianapolis 500.

Granted, most of these moments are tilted toward the age of television but I tried to incorporate a few moments from the early years.

With that out of the way, here now are the 25 Greatest Moments in Indy 500 history.

25. 1969

In his fifth attempt, Mario Andretti wins the Indy 500 as he leads 116 of the 200 laps, including the final 95.

However, it is the only time Andretti would come in first at Indianapolis as he suffers numerous heartbreaks at the speedway leading to the famous “Andretti Curse”.

Car owner Andy Granatelli gives Mario Andretti a kiss after winning the 1969 Indy 500.

24. 1937

With about 20 laps to go and holding a one-lap lead over second place Ralph Hepburn, leader Wilbur Shaw’s car began to leak oil out of the crankcase.

To make matters worse, the right rear tire was worn down, so Shaw decided to slow down in hopes he could nurse the car to the finish and the win.

But Hepburn was able to unlap himself and began to close on Shaw, and was right behind as the two entered the fourth turn on the final lap.

That is when Shaw put his foot on the accelerator and pull away from Hepburn to win the 500 by 2.16 seconds which would stand as the closest finish in Indy 500 history for 45 years.

23. 2021

20 years after his first Indy 500 win and 12 years after his last, Helio Castroneves becomes the fourth driver to win four Indianapolis 500s as he passes Alex Palou with two laps to go to win in the fastest Indy 500 ever as the race's final average speed is 190.690 miles per hour as the race is slowed by only two cautions.

At 46 years old, Helio Castroneves became the second oldest driver to win the Indy 500.

22. 1995

While this race is best remembered for the being the last Indy 500 before the open-wheel split into two separate series, it also featured one of the most bizarre finishes in the history of the race.

With 11 laps to go, Scott Goodyear is leading the race as the pace car comes into the pits as the race is about to be restarted.

As Goodyear accelerates to get a good restart, he passes the pace car before taking the green flag, thus resulting in a penalty that Goodyear fails to acknowledge because he believes he did not pass the pace car before the race went back to green.

With five laps to go, officials stop scoring Goodyear, thus giving the lead to Jacques Villeneuve, who had overcome a two-lap penalty for passing the pace car during a caution period from laps 37-44, as the Canadian goes on to win the race.

Goodyear’s team threatened to protest but when they saw video that showed Goodyear passing the pace car before the green flag came out, they accepted the penalty as Goodyear was credited with a 14th place finish.

21. 2016

Rookie Alexander Rossi stuns everybody by winning the 100th running of the Indy 500 by stretching his fuel mileage and running the last 36 laps on one tank of fuel, while the rest of the field pits for a splash of fuel in the final laps.

Rossi's final lap averages only 180 miles per hour, 40 miles slower than 2nd place Carlos Munoz, but its enough for Rossi to win the race as he wins by 4 seconds even though he runs out of fuel coming out of Turn 4 on the final lap.

Alexander Rossi salutes the crowd after his car runs out of fuel on the cooldown lap following his win in the 2016 Indy 500.

20. 2012

The 2012 edition of the 500 saw the debut of the DW12 chasis, a new car named in honor of the late Dan Wheldon, and a return to turbochanger engines.

The results produced an extremely competitive race that saw broke the record for most lead changes(34) breaking the record of 29 set in 1960.

The race came down to the last lap as Takima Soto attempted a pass on leader Dario Franchitti in turn 1, but as the two cars get side-by-side, Soto lost control of his car, causing him to crash, while Franchitti went on win his third 500 in six years.

Takuma Sato spins out while trying to pass Dario Franchitti on the last lap of the 2012 Indy 500.

19. 1999

During the race’s final caution from laps 169-171, Robby Gordon takes the lead when he does not come in to the pits for a final pit stop, having already stopped for fuel on lap 164.

Gordon’s gamble to run the last 36 laps on a tank of fuel and win the race does not work as he runs out of fuel when he exits turn 4 on the next-to-last lap, giving the lead to Kenny Brack, who goes on to win the race for car owner A.J. Foyt, while Gordon finishes the race in 4th place.

Kenny Brack(left) passes Robby Gordon for the lead on the next-to-last lap as Gordon runs out of fuel.

18. 1967

Parnelli Jones seemed to have this race in the bag as he had led 171 laps and had a nearly full lap lead over A.J. Foyt with four laps to go.

That is when a transmission bearing worth $6 broke, causing his car to stop and giving the lead to Foyt.

However, Foyt has to avoid the wreckage of a four-car accident coming off turn 4 on the final lap to earn his third career win in the 500.

17.  1991

On a restart with 14 laps to go, Michael Andretti takes the lead when he makes a daring pass on the outside of leader Rick Mears as the two drivers go into turn 1.

Not to be outdone, Mears pulls off the exact same move in the same location one lap later and proceeds pull away to a 3-second victory to grab his 4th Indy 500, becoming the third driver to accomplish that feat.

16. 1986

Having to wait a week for the race because of postponement due to rain on Sunday and Monday, Indy 500 fans’ patience were rewarded with an exciting finish and an emotional victory.

Bobby Rahal passed Kevin Cogan coming out of Turn 4 as the two drivers come toward the green flag with three laps to go.

Rahal pulled away to win the race by 1.4 seconds, giving his car owner Jim Trueman, who was stricken with cancer, a Indy 500 victory.

Eleven days later, Trueman died at the age of 51.

15. 2013

In his 12th attempt, Tony Kanaan finally won the greatest spectacle in racing in the one of the fastest and most competitive Indy 500s ever.

The race finished with an averaged speed of 187.433 mph, breaking the old record set Arie Luyendyk in 1990 who won the race with an average speed of 185.981 mph, and shattered the record for most lead changes in a Indy 500 set the year before as the lead swapped hands 68 times among 14 drivers, the last change coming on a restart with three laps to go when Kaanan passed Ryan Hunter-Reay in turn 1.

Tony Kanaan finally got to drink the milk after winning the Indy 500 in his 12th try.

14. 2014

Ryan Hunter-Reay and Helio Castroneves wage an epic battle in the final seven laps following a restart as they swap the lead four times, with Hunter-Reay passing Castroneves on the outside as the two came to the white flag, and then held off the 3-time winner by 0.0600 seconds, the second closest finish in Indy 500 history as Hunter-Reay becomes the first American driver to win the race in eight years.

Ryan Hunter-Reay pumps his fist after he takes the checkered flag to win the 2014 Indy 500, just 0.6 seconds ahead of Helio Castroneves.

13. 2002

Not since the “Great Dispute” in 1981 had an Indy 500 ended in such controversy.

With two laps to go in the race, Paul Tracy attempts a pass on the outside of Helio Castroneves as they approach turn 3 when a crash between Laurent Redon and Buddy Lazier brings out the caution flag.

Tracy completes the pass on Castroneves but is ruled by officials that he did not complete the pass before the caution came out, giving the lead to Castroneves who would go on to win the race under caution.

Tracy and his team, Team Green, protest the results stating that Tracy did pass Castroneves before the caution came out, but five weeks after the race, Indy Racing League officials uphold Castroneves’ victory.

12. 1912

In the second ever 500, Ralph De Palma takes the lead on lap 3 and holds it for the next 194 laps as he builds up a five-and-half lap lead over second place Joe Dawson.

But at the beginning of lap 197, De Palma’ s car begins to slow and with two laps to go, the car comes to a complete halt as it cracks a piston, giving the lead to Dawson, who goes on to lead the final two laps and win the race.

Even though the car is out of power, DePalma and his riding mechanic, Rupert Jeffkins, push the car down the main straightaway toward the start-finish line. DePalma ends up finishing 11th, and three years later would win the Indy 500.

Ralph DePalma(left) and his riding mechanic, Rupert Jeffkins, push their car to the start-finish-line after it broke while leading with two laps to go.

11. 1977

The 1977 race is a historic one for three reasons.

First, Tom Sneva became the first driver to ever post a lap over 200 miles per hour during qualifying as he sat on the pole.

Second, Janet Guthrie became the first female driver to ever qualify for the 500 as she qualified 26th. However, she only runs 27 laps in the race because of a gearbox failure

But the biggest moment came when A.J. Foyt took the checkered flag to capture his 4th Indy 500 becoming the first driver to win the race 4 times as he leads the final 16 laps of the race after leader Gordon Johncock, who led 129 laps, broke a crankshaft.

A.J. Foyt holds up four fingers, signifying his fourth career Indy 500 victory.

10. 2005
“Danicamania” hits the Brickyard in 2005 as Danica Patrick not only became the fourth female driver to race in the Indy 500, but became the first female driver to lead laps in the race.

Patrick grabbed the lead on lap 56 during a cycle of green-flag pit stops, but then took the lead again with 29 laps to go when she stayed out instead of coming into the pits in hopes of winning the race without having to make another pit stop for fuel.

She led the next 14 laps before being passed by Dan Wheldon, then retook the lead four laps later on a restart, only to have Wheldon grab the lead again and lead the final seven laps as he went on to win the race while Patrick faded back to 4th place, the best finish for a female driver in a Indy 500.

Patrick would win the 500 six more times with his best finish coming in 2009 when she finished in 3rd place, topping her 4th in 2005.

9. 1981

The greatest controversy in Indy 500 history occurs on lap 149 of this race when Bobby Unser comes out of the pits during a caution flag and instead of blending in with traffic, passes 14 cars and ends up right behind the pace car.

In 1981, passing cars under the yellow is illegal and thus brings about a penalty but race officials do not call a penalty and Unser goes on to win the race.

However, 2nd-place finisher Mario Andretti and his team, Patrick Racing, launch a protest against the results, saying that Unser should have been penalized.

The next day, Indy 500 officials rule that Unser did commit a violation and dock him a 1-lap penalty, thus giving the victory to Andretti.

But Unser and his car owner, Roger Penske, appeal the decision and on October 9, Unser is reinstated as the winner of the race.

The controversy of the race has become known to Indy 500 fans as “The Great Dispute”.

8. 1989

Emerson Fittipaldi controlled most of the race as he led 144 of the first 180 laps and lapped the field with the exception of Al Unser Jr.

On lap 181, a caution came out, giving Unser Jr. a chance to catch up to Fittipaldi as “Little Al” chose to stay out while “Emmo” came into the pits for a pit stop.

When the race restarted with 14 laps to go, Unser Jr. was three seconds behind but he eventually caught Fittipaldi and passed him for the lead in turn three on lap 196.

However, Fittipaldi stayed close to Unser Jr. and was able to get side-by-side with “Little Al” going into turn three on lap 199 when the two cars touched wheels causing Unser Jr. to spin out and crash while Fittipaldi was able to continue on and capture the first of his two career Indy 500s.

As Fittipaldi came by Unser Jr on the final lap, “Little Al” gave “Emmo” a thumbs up to congratulate the former 2-time Formula One champion.

7.1985

Shortly after the halfway point of the race, Danny Sullivan misunderstands a radio call from his crew and thinks they are only a handful of laps to go, so he charges up his turbobooster and chases down leader Mario Andretti.

On lap 120, Sullivan catches Andretti and passes him in turn 1 on the apron, but as he comes back onto the track, the back end of the car snaps loose, causing Sullivan to spin out right in front of Andretti.

Sullivan does a 360 degree spin without the wall or Andretti, with the only damage being flat spotted tires, which he came into the pits to replace.

Twenty laps after the spin, Sullivan retakes the lead from Andretti and leads the rest of the way to capture his only Indy 500 in a race that becomes known in Indianapolis lore as the “Spin and Win”.

6. 1960

It is perhaps the most memorable duel in Indianapolis 500 history as Jim Rathmann denies Rodger Ward a second straight Indy 500 as the two drivers change the lead 14 times during the last 78 laps with the last one coming with four laps to go as the cord on Ward’s tires began to show, allowing for Rathmann to win the race by 12 seconds over Ward.

Jim Rathmann(4) and Rodger Ward engaged in a legendary duel in the 1960 Indy 500.

5. 1987

When the month of May began, three-time Indy 500 winner Al Unser Sr. did not have a ride for the first time in years.

However, he got a ride with Roger Penske when one of his regular drivers, Danny Ongais, suffered a concussion in practice crash and was out for the rest of the month.

Starting in 20th place in a 1986 chassis, “Big Al” works his way up to third place when leader Mario Andretti, who led 170 of the race’s first 177 laps, broke a valve spring in his car, causing his car to slow on the frontstretch as the “Andretti Curse” struck again.

This gave the lead to Roberto Guerrero, who come into the pits for his final pit stop on lap 183, when his engine stalled allowing for Unser Sr. to take the lead with 18 laps to go, a lead which he would hold on to as he joined A.J. Foyt as a four-time winner of the Indy 500 in one of the greatest upsets in the history of the race.

4. 2011

Rookie JR Hildebrand was just one corner from winning the Indy 500 when trying to avoid the slower car of Charlie Kimball, his car slid high and hit the Turn 4 wall.

Hildebrand tried to nurse his wrecked race car, which had three wheels on it after the contact, but he was passed in the final 1,000 feet by Dan Wheldon, who went to capture his second career Indy 500, while Hildebrand managed to finish a heartbreaking 2nd place.

3. 1992

Most of the 1992 race was a demolition derby as the race was slowed by 13 cautions, seven of them for accidents, and included a stretch from lap 62-122 that had only nine laps of green flag racing with eight cautions occurring during that period, five of them for accidents as the race was run at 48 degrees with winds of up to 23 mph, making it difficult to warm up the tires, thus leading to the rash of accidents.

As far as the race is concerned, Michael Andretti dominated as he led 160 of the race’s first 189 laps and had a 30-second lead when the fuel pump failed causing him to drop out of the race as the “Andretti Curse” that had plagued his father, Mario, at Indianapolis had now struck Michael.

With Andretti out of the race, the lead went to Al Unser Jr., who had Scott Goodyear just behind him in second place, as the two drove nose-to-tail for the final seven laps with Goodyear able to get his nose underneath “Little Al” on the frontstretch as the two came to the checkered flag.

But Goodyear wasn’t able to complete the pass in time as Unser Jr. won by .043 seconds in what is still the closest finish in Indy 500 history.

Al Unser Jr(Valvoline) holds off Scott Goodyear by .043 seconds in the closest finish in Indy 500 history.

2. 2006

The Andrettis try to change their luck at the end of the 2006 race when Michael, who had come out of retirement to run in the race, decides to stay on the track and not pit during a caution to take the lead with seven laps to go with Michael’s son, Marco, in second place.

The race restarts with four laps to go and Michael is able to hold onto the lead until Marco passes him on the outside of Turn 1 on lap 198 to take the lead.

Then, Sam Hornish Jr, who at one point was 30 seconds behind the leader because of a drive-through penalty, overtook Michael for second and sets his sights on Marco with 2 ½ laps to go.

Hornish tried to make his move in turn 3 on lap 199, but Marco pinched him down, causing Hornish to lose momentum and for Andretti to have a 1-second lead as the white flag came out.

However, Hornish began to reel in Marco and by the time the two drivers were coming out of turn 4, Hornish was at Andretti’s back bumper.

That is when Hornish pulls out and slingshots past Marco in the last 400 feet to win the 500, in the third closest finish in Indy 500 history and the first time a 500 had been decided on a last-lap pass.

1. 1982

The 1982 500 got off to an auspicious start when Kevin Cogan, starting from the middle of the front row, lost control of his car and began a four-car accident that took out Mario Andretti and two other drivers before the field had taken the green flag.

The bizarre accident seemed destined to be the headline of the day until Gordon Johncock and Rick Mears stage an incredible duel in the last 100 miles.

Johncock took the lead from Mears on lap 160 and the two drivers stayed close together until they had to make their final pit stops.

Mears hit the back of another car while driving on pit road and take a full load of fuel while Johncock’s crew only gave him enough fuel to the finish, giving Gordon a seemingly insurmountable 12-second lead with 13 laps to go.

But Johncock’s car started to develop a severe push, meaning it weren’t turn in the corners, allowing for Mears to reel in Johncock and catch by the time of the white flag when Mears pulled alongside Johncock.

The two drivers were still side-by-side going into turn 1 but Johncock was able to hold off Mears and keep the lead, then held off Mears’ last ditch effort at the frontstretch as the two come toward the checkered flag.

Johncock won the race by .16 seconds, or more than a car length, at the time the closest finish in the history of the Indy 500.