List of Indianapolis 500 winners
Year Won Driver Reason For Not Starting
1911 Ray Harroun Retired for second and final time in victory lane
1912 Joe Dawson Unknown ; returned , 1914
1914 René Thomas World War I service in France ; returned , 1919
1915 Ralph DePalma Inadmissible ( late ) entry application , 1916 , after facility management 's rejection of appearance-fee requirement ; returned , 1919
1916 Dario Resta Business interests ; returned , 1923
1920 Gaston Chevrolet Fatal motorsports accident , Beverly Hills Speedway , 25 November 1920
1924 Lora L. Corum Unknown ; returned , 1926
1924 Joe Boyer Fatal motorsports accident , Altoona Speedway , 2 September 1924
1929 Ray Keech Fatal motorsports accident , Altoona Speedway , 15 June 1929
1935 Kelly Petillo Unknown ; returned , 1937
1941 Floyd Davis Unknown
1946 George Robson Fatal motorsports accident , Lakewood Speedway , 2 September 1946
1951 Lee Wallard Career-ending motorsports accident , shortly after victory
1952 Troy Ruttman Sprint car crash injury , August 1952 ; returned , 1954
1956 Pat Flaherty Severe injury , motorsports accident , Illinois State Fairgrounds , 18 August 1956 ; returned , 1959
1957 Sam Hanks Retired in victory lane
1981 Bobby Unser Semi-retired ; served as team manager for Josele Garza ; retired permanently in 1983
1994 Al Unser Jr Did not qualify ; returned , 2000 ( CART-IRL split )
1995 Jacques Villeneuve Drove in Formula One ; returned , 2014
1999 Kenny Bräck Drove in CART ; returned , 2002
Driver statistics -- Winning drivers who did not start next race
The Indianapolis 500 is an automobile race, held annually on the last weekend in May to coincide with Memorial Day. The race is held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, located in Speedway, Indiana. The Indianapolis 500 is an open-wheel car race and is currently sanctioned by Indy Racing League LLC, and has been run as an IndyCar Series event since 1996. The Indianapolis 500 is considered one of the most traditional and historical races in the world, and is also considered one of the three most significant motorsport races in the world. The first Indianapolis 500 was held in 1911, where Ray Harroun was declared the first winner, driving the Marmon Wasp. The race has been run annually since 1911 (with exceptions during World War I and World War II) and 73 drivers have been crowned champions of the 500-mile race over the course of 103 races. The most race victories held by a single driver is four, which has been accomplished only by A. J. Foyt, Al Unser and Rick Mears. The Indianapolis 500 has also drawn many international drivers to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway over the years, with 26 of the winners coming from outside of the United States, representing nine separate countries. The most recent champion of the Indianapolis 500 is Simon Pagenaud, winner of the 2019 race. The winner of the Indianapolis 500 receives many prizes, many based on past tradition. One of the most iconic traditions is for the winner of the Indianapolis 500 to drink a bottle of milk, a tradition started by Louis Meyer when he won the race in 1936. The winner is also presented with a wreath in victory lane, and has the opportunity to kiss the yard of brick (the start/finish line), an Indianapolis Motor Speedway tradition started by NASCAR driver Dale Jarrett in 1996 at the Brickyard 400 and adopted by 500 winners since 2003.