Indianapolis 500 Firsts

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Contents

[edit] Wins, Leaders and Race Competition

Year First Achiever(s) Notes
1911 Winning driver Flag of the United States Ray Harroun Retired from racing competition upon victory
Winning owner Flag of the United States Nordyke & Marmon Company Withdrew from racing competition upon victory
1913 Rookie winner (excluding first race) Flag of France Jules Goux First to win in first career start, excluding first race
Non-American winner  
European winner  
French winner  
1916 Multiple-winning owner(s) Flag of France Peugeot Winning owners, 1913, 1916
1922 Winner from pole position Flag of the United States Jimmy Murphy  
Owner/Driver winner  
Race and Grand Prix winning car Flag of the United States Duesenberg 1921 GP Won 1921 French Grand Prix
1923 Two-time winner Flag of the United States Tommy Milton Winner, 1921, 1923
1924 Co-winners Flag of the United States Lora L. Corum
Flag of the United States Joe Boyer
Corum starting, Boyer finishing
1924 Repeat-winning owner(s) Flag of the United States Duesenberg  
1925  
1926 Rain-shortened race winner Flag of the United States Frank Lockhart Race concluded by rain at 160 laps, 400 miles
1936 Three-time winner Flag of the United States Louis Meyer Winner, 1928, 1933, 1936
1939 Repeat-winning driver
Repeat-winning car
Flag of the United States Wilbur Shaw
Flag of Italy Maserati 8CTF
 
1940
1947 First-and-second place finish by teammates Flag of the United States Mauri Rose Rose victorious
Flag of the United States Bill Holland Holland second
Three consecutive-winning owner Flag of the United States Lou Moore  
1948  
1949  
1952 Rookie of the Year award winner Flag of the United States Art Cross First awarded in 36th running of the race
1965 Race and World Championship winner, and in same year Flag of the United Kingdom Jim Clark  
British winner  
Rear-engined winning car Flag of the United Kingdom Lotus 38 Flag of the United Kingdom Team Lotus, entrant
1966 Race and Monaco Grand Prix winner Flag of the United Kingdom Graham Hill Winner, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1968, and 1969 Monaco Grand Prix
1967 Race and 24 Hours of Le Mans winner, and in same year Flag of the United States A.J. Foyt Flag of the United States Dan Gurney, Le Mans teammate, co-driver
1969 Race and Daytona 500 winner Flag of the United States Mario Andretti Winner, 1967 Daytona 500
Race and 12 Hours of Sebring winner Flag of the United States Mario Andretti Winner, 1967, 1970, and 1972 12 Hours of Sebring
1972 Race and 24 Hours of Daytona winner Flag of the United States Mario Andretti Winner, 1969;
First year competed after winning 1972 24 Hours of Daytona
Wing-mounted winning car Flag of the United Kingdom McLaren M16 Entered by Flag of the United States Roger Penske, driven by Flag of the United States Mark Donohue
1977 Four-time winner Flag of the United States A.J. Foyt Winner, 1961, 1964, 1967, 1977
Female competitor Flag of the United States Janet Guthrie Qualified 26th
1989 South American winner Flag of Brazil Emerson Fittipaldi  
Brazilian winner  
1990 Dutch winner Flag of the Netherlands Arie Luyendyk  
1992 Female Rookie of the Year Flag of the United States Lyn St. James Finished 13th
1995 Canadian winner Flag of Canada Jacques Villeneuve  
1999 Swedish winner Flag of Sweden Kenny Bräck  
2000 Colombian winner Flag of Colombia Juan Pablo Montoya  
2001 Rookie and sophomore winner Flag of Brazil Hélio Castroneves First to win in first two career starts
2002
2005 Female leader Flag of the United States Danica Patrick Led 19 laps; Lap 192, latest
2008 New Zealander winner Flag of New Zealand Scott Dixon

[edit] Race Average Finishing Speeds

Year Speed
Over
Race Winner Average Speed
(mph / km/h)
Notes
1911 70 mph Flag of the United States Ray Harroun 74.602 / 129.060 First race
1914 80 mph Flag of France René Thomas 82.47 / 132.72  
1922 90 mph Flag of the United States Jimmy Murphy 94.48 / 152.05 Victory in 1921 French Grand Prix winning car
1925 100 mph Flag of the United States Peter DePaolo 101.127 / 162.748 First race completed in under 5 hours
1937 110 mph Flag of the United States Wilbur Shaw 113.580 / 182.789 Last two-seat winning car
1949 120 mph Flag of the United States Bill Holland 121.327 / 195.257  
1954 130 mph Flag of the United States Bill Vukovich 130.840 / 210.567  
1962 140 mph Flag of the United States Rodger Ward 140.293 / 225.780  
1965 150 mph Flag of the United Kingdom Jim Clark 150.686 / 242.506  
1972 160 mph Flag of the United States Mark Donohue 162.962 / 262.262  
1986 170 mph Flag of the United States Bobby Rahal 170.722 / 274.750 First race completed in under 3 hours
1990 180 mph Flag of the Netherlands Arie Luyendyk 185.981 / 299.307 Current race record average speed

[edit] Qualifications

[edit] Pole Position

Year Speed
Over
Driver Speed
(mph / km/h)
Notes
1911 N/A Flag of the United States Lewis Strang N/A First race; grid determined by entry date
1915 90 mph Flag of the United States Howdy Wilcox 98.90 / 159.16 First year, grid position determined by qualification speed
1919 100 mph Flag of France René Thomas 104.780 / 168.627  
1925 110 mph Flag of the United States Leon Duray 113.196 / 182.171  
1927 120 mph Flag of the United States Frank Lockhart 120.100 / 193.282  
1939 130 mph Flag of the United States Jimmy Snyder 130.138 / 209.437  
1954 140 mph Flag of the United States Jack McGrath 141.033 / 226.971 Engine augmented with nitroglycerin additive, then legal
1962 150 mph Flag of the United States Parnelli Jones 150.370 / 241.997  
1965 160 mph Flag of the United States A.J. Foyt 161.233 / 259.479  
1968 170 mph Flag of the United States Joe Leonard 171.559 / 276.097 Turbine-engined car
1972 180 mph Flag of the United States Bobby Unser 195.940 / 315.335 17 mph increase in pole record speed, largest margin to date
190 mph
1978 200 mph Flag of the United States Tom Sneva 202.156 / 325.339  
1984 210 mph 210.029 / 338.009  
1989 220 mph Flag of the United States Rick Mears 223.885 / 360.308  
1992 230 mph Flag of Colombia Roberto Guerrero 232.482 / 374.144  

†- During time trials, Bill Vukovich II turned his first lap at 185.797 mph, to set the one-lap track record, and was the first driver to officially break the 180 mph barrier. He, however, crashed on his second lap, and did not complete the four-lap qualifying run. Later in the afternoon, Joe Leonard qualified a four-lap average of 185.223 mph to break the four-lap 180 mph barrier. Later in the day, however, Bobby Unser qualified even faster, over 190 mph, and became the first pole position winner to break 180 mph and 190 mph for his four-lap average.

[edit] Miscellenia

  • 1911: Winner Ray Harroun develops first known use of rear-view mirror on his # 32 Marmon "Wasp".
  • 1913: Jules Goux is the first winner to go the full race distance without a relief driver, and is both the first French and European victor. Goux's Peugeot entry is the first to win using wire wheels instead of wooden-spoke wheels.
  • 1921: Howdy Wilcox is the first driver to finish in first and last place (1919 & 1921).
  • 1922: Jimmy Murphy is the first driver to win from pole and lead the first and last lap of the same race in 1922.
  • 1923: Jimmy Murphy is the first defending winner to lead the first lap.
  • 1929: Cliff Woodbury is the first pole winner to finish last (crash on lap 3).
  • 1936: Louis Meyer becomes the first driver to drink milk in victory lane. He also becomes the first driver to receive the pace car for his winning effort. The Borg-Warner Trophy makes its first appearance.
  • 1948: The Speedway institutes its own 'Safety Patrol' to replace the Indiana National Guard as policing force for the event, which had served in such capacity since the inaugural race.
  • 1949: Local station WTTV provides television coverage of the race during competition for the first time.
  • 1966: Rookie Graham Hill, the first English-born victor, wins the race but not the Rookie of the Year award (instead awarded to teammate Jackie Stewart), the only time this has occurred to date. Jim Clark is the first driver to spin and recover twice in the same race.
  • 1974: The Speedway rescinds its "never on a Sunday" policy, altering a tradition dating to 1911; the race is scheduled to be run, for the first time, on the Sunday before the national observance of Memorial Day, the last Monday of May.
  • 1983: Al Unser and son Al Unser, Jr. are the first father and son to compete together in the same race.
  • 1986: ABC Sports televises flag-to-flag coverage of the race for the first time.
  • 1988: Bill Vukovich III becomes the first third-generation driver to qualify and drive in the race, following his two-time winning grandfather and once second-place finishing father.
  • 1992: Al Unser, Jr. becomes the first second-generation winner of the race, following his four-time winning father.
  • 2002: Hélio Castroneves becomes the first rookie winner to become a multiple-race winner.
  • 2005: Danica Patrick becomes the first female driver to lead the race, for a total of 19 laps.
  • 2006: Marco Andretti becomes the first third-generation winner of the Rookie of the Year award (Mario Andretti, 1965; Michael Andretti, co-1984).
  • 2007: First Indy-500 race with three women competing in the field (Duno, Fisher, Patrick); also the first race where two women were running at the completion of the event (Fisher, Patrick).

[edit] References

Indianapolis 500 Chronicle, John Pope, copyright 1999
2005 Indianapolis 500-Mile Race Program
2006 Indianapolis 500-Mile Race Program