Indianapolis 500

The 500 miles of Indianapolis (also called Indianapolis 500 or Indy 500 ) are an American automobile race which is held each year since 1911 the weekend of the Memorial Day on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway with Speedway in the state of the Indiana.

History

The Indianapolis Motor Speedway was created in 1909 by four contractors of Indiana: Carl To card-index, James Allison, Arthur Newby and Frank Wheeler. After having organized some minor tests, they quickly decide to limit the exploitation of the IMS to only one test per annum (in order to give a character of exception to him), a race of 500 Miles which he hope to quickly see becoming one of the major events of the American automobile sport. The 500 Miles of Indianapolis are born in 1911, and as its creators hoped for it, quickly becomes the reference of the American races, its exceptional duration as well as the character of the circuit (a long quadrilateral of 2,5 miles covered with bricks) by making a pitiless test for the machines. Better, as of 1913, Indy 500 becomes a stage impossible to circumvent for the foreign manufacturers eager to affirm the supremacy of their machines there. Let us quote in particular Peugeot, Delage, FIAT, Mercedes.

With leaving the First World War, the ditch grows hollow between the European automobile sport and the American automobile sport, and Indy 500 becomes again a purely American competition, with respect to which the European pilots and manufacturers hardly express interest. Should be waited the years 1960 so that the race finds an international character, thanks to the British offensive carried out by Lotus (which revolutionizes the test by imposing for the first time a single-seater on back engine). In the wake of Lotus (and its pilot fetish Jim Clark), the majority of the tenors of Formula 1 of years 1960 will also try their chance, with more or less of success.

The internationalization of the test included of more beautiful in the years 1980, period during which the CART (of which Indy 500 was the major test) was a more and more snuffed refuge of the old drivers of Formula 1. Scission CART/IRL of 1996, partly moved by the will of Tony George (heir to the Hulman family, owner of the circuit since 1945) to give the priority to the pilots and to the local manufacturers, did not stop this phenomenon. This scission, very destabilizer for the whole of the races of the single-seat type in the United States, especially caused to weaken Indianapolis 500, whose audience is from now on less than certain tests of Nascar.

Championships

Test headlight of the American automobile sport, Indianapolis 500 on several occasions was in the middle of the fights of influence. From 1911 to 1955, Indy 500 was organized under the aegis of the Association of the American Cars (AAA). After 1955 (year marked by the catastrophe of the 24 hours of Mans), the AAA prefers to withdraw organization of the sporting events and yields the place to USAC (United States Auto Club). In 1979, the principal stables of championships USAC decide to make scission and to create their own competition, CART. The majority of the tests of the calendar join the CART except notable for Indianapolis 500, which maintains its fidelity with the USAC. Quickly disappearing championship USAC, Indianapolis then runs out-championship during several years, without effect on prestige of the test, since the teams of championship CART continue to take part in it. From 1983, although always placed under the aegis of the USAC, Indy 500 integrates finally the calendar of championship CART.

A new scission intervenes in 1996, with creation by Tony George, the owner of the IMS, the Indy Racing League, a new championship which aims at competing with the CART and whose Indy 500 becomes obviously the major event. Contrary to what had occurred at the time of scission CART/USAC, it becomes very complicated then for the teams and the pilots of the CART to take part in Indianapolis 500 because of the conflicts of date and the radically different technical regulation between the two championship.

It should be noted that of 1950 to 1960, Indianapolis 500 also counted for the championship of the world of Formule 1. But this presence of Indy 500 with the calendar of F1 was primarily symbolic system and intended to guarantee the world label championship of the incipient world. Disputed according to technical and sporting payments different from those into force the remainder of the season, the 500 Miles of Indianapolis only seldom did not attract accustomed a championship of the world. Paradoxically, it is starting from the beginning of the year 1960 (while at the same time Indy 500 had been retity of the calendar) that some pilot of F1 made of the 500 Miles Indianapolis a major goal of the season.

Traditions and course of the test

Contrary to a traditional test which lasts one weekend, the 500 Miles of Indianapolis are spread out traditionally over the whole of May (to be noted that since 2006, the organizers decided to shorten at 3 weeks the duration of the festivities).

  • the test starts at the beginning of May with the rookie test (officially called Rookie Orientation Program ) which makes it possible to the organizers to evaluate the capacity of the beginners to face the 2,5 miles of the speedway. This test, which is generally a simple formality, consists of exercises of regularity, with four different stages speed. Even the most prestigious pilots, when well even they would be haloed championships of the world of F1, must subject themselves to it.

  • After the rookie test, takes place the opening day , first meeting of free tests. During a certain time, the fact of being the first pilot to take the track at the time of the opening day was in charge of a certain prestige and ensured its pilot (and with its sponsors!) a word in the media the following day. The ignored pilots and the small teams found there a chance single to make speak about them. This tradition culminated in the years 1970, until giving place to true races of acceleration in the alley of the stands, as of the opening of the meeting of tests. Following accident serious (during which a police chief was seriously wounded), it was decided by security measure to reduce the publicity made around this " événement". Today, the race with the opening practically fell into the lapse of memory.
  • Two weeks before the race, takes place the first weekend of qualification. The day of Saturday, called pole day , allows as its name indicates it to determine the author of the pole position and the first places on the grid.
  • One week before the race, the long process of qualification ends in the bump day , meeting during which the qualified pilot who has the least good of the 33 stopwatches (this pilot is not inevitably the qualified 33e since in Indianapolis, the grid is made up according to the stopwatches but also of the day during which the stopwatch was established) short the risk to be dislodged of the grid by a pilot still not-qualified.
  • Thursday preceding the race, ultimate meeting of free tests, in configuration race. It is the carburation day .
  • Sunday of the race, after the traditional procession of the pilots and the American anthem, the 33 competitors ignite their engine by hearing the famous Gentlemen, start your engines , pronounced by a Hulman family member. To note that the presence of women at the beginning of the race led the organizers to amend this order, which becomes if need be Lady and gentlemen, start your engines or even Ladies and gentlemen, start your engines . The 33 pilots place themselves then behind pace-because and form 11 lines of 3 pilots while waiting for that the race is launched.
  • the winner of the race joined Victory Lane with its car. Victory Lane is the circle of the winners, where only the first and its team are authorized to reach. In the American races, and particularly in Indianapolis, the podium does not exist, and only the winner is honoured.
  • the winner receives Borg-Warner Trophy, great cut on whom are carved the faces of all the preceding winners of the race.
  • the winner also receives a milk bottle of which he drinks some mouthfuls. This lacteous tradition goes back at 1936 and the victory of Louis Meyer, which had required this drink to be refreshed after the race. Today, the firm which is under contract with the organizers to provide milk, asks each pilot before the test which type of milk it wishes to drink in the event of victory. In 1993, Emerson Fittipaldi had made scandal by replacing the milk bottle by an orange juice bottle in order to make the promotion of the citrus fruits plantation of which he is owner in Brazil.

Prize list

List winners

List polemen

In 1911 and 1912, the starting grid was established according to the order in which the inscriptions arrived at the organizer. In 1913 and 1914, it is a drawing lot which determined the starting order. It is only from 1915 that the qualifications appeared.

Nowadays, the qualifications of the 500 Miles Indianapolis are held over several days, each day being used to qualify part of the grid. The pole position is played saturdays of the first weekend of qualification, in one day called the " pole-day" and which is generally held two weeks before the race. The qualifications continue the following day, then take again the next weekend and are completed by the " bump-day" , ultimate meeting of qualification in which the the pilot qualified slower (what inevitably synonymous with last is not qualified taking into account the characteristic of the system of qualifications) can be seen eliminated by a new competitor.

Places on the grid being allotted according to the day of qualification during which the stopwatch was established, it should be noted that the fastest pilot of the qualifications can have to start far on the grid if it did not produce his stopwatch at the time of the " pole day". It was the case of Arie Luyendyk which carried out in 1996 at the time of the second day of qualifications the best average ever carried out on the oval in 4 turns (381,392 km/h) but sprang only in twentieth position.

The qualifications are done on four timed lathes. Each competitor only springs on the oval to produce its 4 turns of continuation (6 actually with the turn of exit and that of return to the stands), the figure selected is the mean velocity established on a series of four turns is the distance of 10 miles (16,093 km).


  • 1911 - Lewis Strang
  • 1912 - Gil Anderson
  • 1913 - Caleb Bragg
  • 1914 - Jean Chassagne
  • 1915 - Howdy Wilcox, 98,80 mph (159,00 km/h)
  • 1916 - Johnny Aitken, 96,69 mph (155,61 km/h)
  • 1917 and 1918 - cancelled Race
  • 1919 - Rene Thomas, 104,78 mph (168,63 km/h)
  • 1920 - Ralph DePalma, 99,15 mph (159,57 km/h)
  • 1921 - Ralph DePalma, 100,75 mph (162,14 km/h)
  • 1922 - Jimmy Murphy, 100,50 mph (161,74 km/h)
  • 1923 - Tommy Milton, 108,17 mph (174,08 km/h)
  • 1924 - Jimmy Murphy, 108,037 mph (173,869 km/h)
  • 1925 - Leon Duray, 113,196 mph (182,171 km/h)
  • 1926 - Earl Cooper, 111,735 mph (179,820 km/h)
  • 1927 - Frank Lockhart, 120,100 mph (193,282 km/h)
  • 1928 - Leon Duray, 122,391 mph (196,969 km/h)
  • 1929 - Cliff Woodbury, 120,599 mph (194,085 km/h)
  • 1930 - Bill Arnold, 113,268 mph (182,287 km/h)
  • 1931 - Russell Snowberger, 112,796 mph (181,528 km/h)
  • 1932 - Lou Moore, 117,363 mph (188,877 km/h)
  • 1933 - Bill Cummings, 118,530 mph (190,756 km/h)
  • 1934 - Kelly Petillo, 119,329 mph (192,041 km/h)
  • 1935 - Rex Mays, 120,736 mph (194,306 km/h)
  • 1936 - Rex Mays, 119,644 mph (192,548 km/h)
  • 1937 - Bill Cummings, 123,343 mph (198,501 km/h)
  • 1938 - Floyd Roberts, 125,681 mph (202,264 km/h)
  • 1939 - Jimmy Snyder, 130,138 mph (209,437 km/h)
  • 1940 - Rex Mays, 127,850 mph (205,755 km/h)
  • 1941 - Mauri Pink, 128,691 mph (207,108 km/h)
  • 1942 to 1945 - cancelled Race
  • 1946 - Cliff Shepherdess, 126,471 mph (203,535 km/h)
  • 1947 - Ted Horn, 126,564 mph (203,685 km/h)
  • 1948 - Rex Mays, 130,577 mph (210,143 km/h)
  • 1949 - Duke Nalon, 132,939 mph (213,945 km/h)
  • 1950 - Walt Faulkner, 134,343 mph (216,204 km/h)
  • 1951 - Duke Nalon, 136,498 mph (219,672 km/h)
  • 1952 - Freddie Agabashian, 138,010 mph (222,106 km/h)
  • 1953 - Bill Vukovich, 138,392 mph (222,720 km/h)
  • 1954 - Jack McGrath, 141,033 mph (226,791 km/h)
  • 1955 - Jerry Hoyt, 140,045 mph (225,381 km/h)
  • 1956 - Stalemate Flaherty, 145,596 mph (234,314 km/h)
  • 1957 - Stalemate O' Connor, 143,948 mph (231,662 km/h)
  • 1958 - Dick Rathmann, 145,974 mph (234,922 km/h)
  • 1959 - Johnny Thompson, 145,908 mph (234,816 km/h)
  • 1960 - Eddie Sachs, 146,592 mph (235,917 km/h)
  • 1961 - Eddie Sachs, 147,481 mph (237,348 km/h)
  • 1962 - Parnelli Jones, 150,370 mph (241,997 km/h)
  • 1963 - Parnelli Jones, 151,153 mph (243,257 km/h)
  • 1964 - Jim Clark, 158,828 mph (255,609 km/h)
  • 1965 - A.J. Foyt, 161,233 mph (259,479 km/h)
  • 1966 - Mario Andretti, 165,899 mph (266,989 km/h)
  • 1967 - Mario Andretti, 168,982 mph (271,950 km/h)
  • 1968 - Joe Leonard, 171,559 mph (276,097 km/h)
  • 1969 - A.J. Foyt, 170,568 mph (274,503 km/h)
  • 1970 - Al Unser, 170,221 mph (273,944 km/h)
  • 1971 - Peter Revson, 178,696 mph (287,583 km/h)
  • 1972 - Bobby Unser, 195,940 mph (315,335 km/h)
  • 1973 - Johnny Rutherford, 198,413 mph (319,315 km/h)
  • 1974 - A.J. Foyt, 191,632 mph (308,402 km/h)
  • 1975 - A.J. Foyt, 193,976 mph (312,174 km/h)
  • 1976 - Johnny Rutherford, 188,957 mph (304,097 km/h)
  • 1977 - Tom Sneva, 198,884 mph (320,073 km/h)
  • 1978 - Tom Sneva, 202,156 mph (325,339 km/h)
  • 1979 - Rick Mears, 193,736 mph (311,788 km/h)
  • 1980 - Johnny Rutherford, 192,256 mph (309,406 km/h)
  • 1981 - Bobby Unser, 200,546 mph (322,748 km/h)
  • 1982 - Rick Mears, 207,004 mph (333,141 km/h)
  • 1983 - Teo Fabi, 207,395 mph (333,770 km/h)
  • 1984 - Tom Sneva, 210,029 mph (338,009 km/h)
  • 1985 - Pancho Casing, 212,583 mph (342,119 km/h)
  • 1986 - Rick Mears, 216,828 mph (348,951 km/h)
  • 1987 - Mario Andretti, 215,390 mph (346,637 km/h)
  • 1988 - Rick Mears, 219,198 mph (352,765 km/h)
  • 1989 - Rick Mears, 223,885 mph (360,308 km/h)
  • 1990 - Emerson Fittipaldi, 225,301 mph (362,587 km/h)
  • 1991 - Rick Mears, 224,113 mph (360,675 km/h)
  • 1992 - Roberto Guerrero, 232,482 mph (374,144 km/h)
  • 1993 - Arie Luyendyk, 223,967 mph (360,440 km/h)
  • 1994 - Al Unser Jr, 228,011 mph (366,948 km/h)
  • 1995 - Scott Brayton, 231,604 mph (372,731 km/h)
  • 1996 - Scott Brayton, 233,100 mph (375,138 km/h)
  • 1997 - Arie Luyendyk, 218,263 mph (351,260 km/h)
  • 1998 - Billy Boat, 223,503 mph (359,693 km/h)
  • 1999 - Arie Luyendyk, 225,179 mph (362,390 km/h)
  • 2000 - Greg Ray, 223,471 mph (359,642 km/h)
  • 2001 - Scott Sharp, 226,037 mph (363,771 km/h)
  • 2002 - Bruno Junqueira, 231,342 mph (372,309 km/h)
  • 2003 - Photogravure Castroneves, 231,725 mph (372,925 km/h)
  • 2004 - Buddy Rice, 222,024 mph (357,313 km/h)
  • 2005 - Tony Kanaan, 227,566 mph (366,232 km/h)
  • 2006 - Sam Hornish Jr., 228,985 mph (368,516 km/h)
  • 2007 - Photogravure Castroneves, 225.817 mph (363,340 hm/h)

In 1996, the author of the pole-position, Scott Brayton, found death a few days later in a meeting of free tests. It is Tony Stewart which sprang at the head the day of the race.

List better beginners of the year

Since 1952, a college of specialists votes at the conclusion of the race to decree the trophy of best beginning from the year ( rookie off the year ). This reward is allocated to the pilot who made the most beautiful impression throughout the tests and of the race, and thus is not necessarily allotted to the pilot best placed at the arrival. The example most famous date of the edition 1966: victorious as of its first participation, Graham Hill had been seen preferred its compatriot Jackie Stewart who had dominated the race before giving up for the arrival.

External bonds

  • Official site (in English)
  • Official site of IndyCar (in English)
  • Statistical complete on Indy 500
  • Complements on the play Indianapolis 500 and lists French pilots having taken part in the race
  • on Wikimapia

Simple: Indy 500

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