Counting down the 25 most memorable moments in Indy 500 historical past

Bob Pockrass

FOX Motorsports Insider

With the primary Indianapolis 500 going down in 1911 and with 108 years of historical past (the race wasn’t performed throughout wartimes), the Indy 500 has offered numerous memorable moments.

We ranked the 25 most memorable moments, from 25-to-1, and we’ll depend them down every day all the best way up till Might twenty fifth, when the 109th Indianapolis 500 goes inexperienced (10 a.m. ET on FOX).

These moments are sure to evoke reminiscences — some that may make you smile, some which may make you giggle, even some which may make you cringe. However all memorable. Let’s dive in!

No. 25: Jim Clark’s 1965 victory

The 1965 Indianapolis 500 will go down in historical past for a few causes. Jim Clark’s victory in a Ford-powered Lotus marked the primary time {that a} rear-engine automotive received the race. That wasn’t a shock within the sense that 27 of the 33 automobiles within the occasion had been rear-engine automobiles as groups and drivers had been capable of match the facility and stability of the automobiles to make them sooner than front-engine roadsters.

Clark, because of Ford, additionally had the Wooden Brothers of NASCAR fame pitting his automotive. They by no means needed to change tires however they needed to gasoline it twice, and their fueling strategies had been a lot sooner than their rivals.

No. 24: Newgarden passes Ericsson for 2023 victory

The 2023 Indianapolis 500 will go down as some of the controversial finishes. As an alternative of letting the race finish beneath warning when a late-race crash sometimes would have resulted within the race by no means getting restarted, collection officers opted to pink flag the race — the third pink flag within the last 15 laps.

Marcus Ericsson was main on the time however was seen as a sitting duck for the one-lap sprint to the end. And he was as Josef Newgarden made the move on the backstretch of the ultimate lap for his first of what could be back-to-back Indy 500 victories.

No. 23: Milk custom is born in 1936

Louis Meyer received his third Indianapolis 500 in 1936, and it was the beginning of a few traditions. The primary was considerably unintentional. Somebody gave him a bottle of buttermilk to drink following the race. That began the famed custom of ingesting milk in victory circle.

The opposite was that it was the primary race for the Borg-Warner Trophy, which stays the trophy given to the Indianapolis 500 winner.

No. 22: Al Unser turns into oldest winner

Al Unser didn’t have a experience for the 1987 Indianapolis 500. However when Danny Ongais suffered a concussion in a wreck, Roger Penske wanted a driver. So he known as Unser. He additionally wanted a automotive. Penske discovered one — a year-old automotive the crew had on show at a Pennsylvania resort close to their store.

Unser was no stranger to successful at Indianapolis as he had three profession victories. He made it a historic fourth win in 1987, and at age 47 years, 360 days — he stays the oldest driver to win the Indy 500.

Examine again every day for the following most memorable second on our checklist.

Bob Pockrass covers NASCAR and IndyCar for FOX Sports activities. He has spent many years protecting motorsports, together with over 30 Daytona 500s, with stints at ESPN, Sporting Information, NASCAR Scene journal and The (Daytona Seaside) Information-Journal. Comply with him on Twitter @bobpockrass.

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