As the venerable, legendary Indianapolis Motor Speedway reached 100 years old this year, the track created a process where experts and media could select the best drivers to ever compete in its most famous race. The task? Select the 33 best drivers ever in the Indianapolis 500, out of a possible 732 drivers who made at least one start.
You can check out what the track decided here. Below, you'll find my list of the 33 best at Indy and why they are deserving. Comment away about your list, and come back in 2111 when we decide the best of Indy's 200th anniversary.
ROW 11
33. Tony Kanaan [0 wins / 9 starts / 4 Top-10s / 214 laps led]
Kanaan is one of four drivers to make the list without an Indianapolis 500 win and gets there based on his multiple near-wins. Kanaan led 218 laps at the Brickyard and has seen rain and crashes ruin his chances.
32. Rex Mays [0 wins / 12 starts / 4 poles / 266 laps led]
Mays raced in the 1930s and 40s at Indianapolis, and had four of his most prime years taken away by the 500 being suspended for World War II. Mays has two runner-up finishes to his name.
31. Juan Pablo Montoya [1 win / 1 start / 167 laps led]
Montoya's IndyCar career at IMS was brief, but dominant when led over 83% of the laps in his 2000 start en route to a dominating win.
ROW 10
30. Ted Horn [0 wins / 10 starts / 1 pole / 9 Top-5s / 94 laps led]
Easily the best driver to never win the Indianapolis 500 in terms of finishing position, Horn boasted nine-straight finishes of 4th or better from 1936 to 1948 even with the gap for WWII. In Oct. 1948, Horn died following an accident in DuQuoin, Ill., at the age of 38.
29. Jim Rathman [1 win / 14 starts / 5 Top-5s / 153 laps led]
The California-born Rathman won the 1960 500 in his 11th start, holding off Rodger Ward in a race that still boasts the most lead changes (29) in the event's history. The year before, Rathman had finished 2nd for the third time.
28. Scott Dixon [1 win /�8 starts / 1 pole / 220 laps led]
Dixon's first start at Indy was less than impressive, if not memorable, when he crashed late in the race under yellow. He's since made up for it with a win in 2008 and leading in five of his seven starts.
ROW 9
27. Ray Harroun [1 win / 1 start / 88 laps led]
Harroun makes this list courtesy of being the first winner of the 500 in 1911. That day, Harroun started 28th and led 88 laps to win with an average speed of 74.602 mph.
26. Dan Wheldon [1 win / 8 starts / 5 Top-5s / 234 laps led]
Wheldon's first year at Indianapolis ended spectacularly, as the Englishman struck the Turn 3 wall and flipped. Two years later, Wheldon found himself drinking the milk. In 2009 & 2010, Wheldon finished 2nd.
25. Tom Sneva [1 win / 18 starts�/ 3 poles / 208 laps led]
Sneva was the first driver to turn an average lap around Indianapolis above 200 miles per hour and earned three pole awards. Sneva finished second at Indy three times before his 1983 win.
ROW 8
24. Michael Andretti [0 wins / 16 starts / 5 Top-5s /�431 laps led]
Holding the distinction of leading the most laps at Indianapolis without a win has to be a grinding thought for Michael Andretti, especially considering he's led more laps than four-time winner Rick Mears,�but his runs at the Brickyard are more than enough to put him in the top-33.
23. Bill Holland [1 win / 5 starts / 3 runner-ups / 297 laps led]
Holland scored his 1949 win in this third try at Indy, besting his two previous runner-up finishes. It should have been his second Indy victory, as Holland mistakenly let Mauri Rose pass him eight laps from the finish of the 1947 race after believing Rose was a lap down.
22. Jim Clark [1 win / 5 starts / 3 Top-5s / 298 laps led]
A legendary F1 driver, Clark finished second in his first trip to Indy, won the pole the next season and finally broke through to a win in 1965. Clark also finished second a year later, and was killed in a European racing crash in 1968.
ROW 7
21. Billy Arnold [1 win / 5 starts / 3 Top-10s / 410 laps led]
Arnold turned in the most dominating Indy 500 victory to date, scoring the 1930 win after leading 198 of the 200 laps from the pole. He retired from racing after a crash in 1932 injured him and killed his riding mechanic.
20. Parnelli Jones [1 win / 7 starts / 4 Top-10s / 492 laps led]
The first driver to qualify faster than 150 mph for the 500, Jones won the pole in 1962 and led 120 laps only to wind up seventh. 1963 was even better, as Jones again won the pole and the race. A transmission problem dropped him the race lead with eight laps to go in 1967 after leading 171 laps.
19. Dario Franchitti [2 wins /�7 starts / 5 Top-10s / 255 laps led]
Twice a winner of the 500 in 2007 and 2010 with separate teams, Franchitti's full reputation at Indy has yet to be completely defined. It's certainly off to a great start as the Scot boasts five top-10 finishes at the Brickyard.
ROW 6
18. Ralph DePalma [1 win / 10 starts / 6 Top-10s / 612 laps led]
DePalma may be the most impressive Indy driver you've never heard about. The Italian-American got his Indy win in 1915, but it followed a 1912 effort that saw his car break a rod two laps from the finish after leading 196 laps. DePalma also won the pole in 1920 and 1921.
17. Mario Andretti [1 win / 29 starts / 6 Top-5s / 556 laps led]
Credited with the third-most laps led in 500 history, Andretti's 1969 win at IMS came in his fifth attempt. In 29 attempts, however, Andretti finished all 500 miles just five times. For four months after the 1981 race, the legendary driver was deemed the�winner until Bobby Unser successfully overturned a penalty.
16. Tommy Milton [2 wins / 8 starts / 4 Top-5s / 218 laps led]
Milton's two wins (1921 and 1923) slide him in to IMS lore and his win from the pole in '23 doesn't hurt either. Of note, however, is that Milton didn't lead a lap in a 500 he didn't win.
ROW 5
15. Al Unser Jr. [2 wins / 19 starts / 1 pole / 110 laps led]
Of two-time winners, Unser Jr. led the fewest laps at Indy ? fitting, seeing as his 1992 win over Scott Goodyear (0.043 seconds) is the closest in race history. Unser Jr. again won in 1994 for Penske Racing after his teammate Emerson Fittipaldi wrecked with 16 to go with a lead of one full lap.
14. Arie Luyendyk [2 wins / 17 starts / 3 poles / 188 laps led]
Luyendyk made his first-career IndyCar win a memorable win by taking the checkers in the 1990 race after battling Bobby Rahal. Luyendyk also won in 1997, holding the distinction of being the only driver to win it before and after the open wheel split. Luyendyk holds two 500 speed records, including fastest race average (185.981 mph) and fastest qualifying lap (237.498 mph).
13. Rodger Ward [2 wins / 15 starts / 6 Top-5s]
Ward's two wins in 1959 and 1962 came within quite the stretch for the Kansas driver. Between 1959 and 1964, Ward would finish no worse than fourth after starting no worse than sixth. In all, Ward led 261 laps at Indy.
ROW 4
12. Gordon Johncock [2 wins / 24 starts / 8 Top-5s / 339 laps led]
Johncock's first win at Indianapolis in 1973 was hardly celebratory after the rain-delayed event later saw his teammate Swede Savage severely injured in a crash and a pit crew member struck and killed by a fire truck. Savage later died from his injuries. Johncock later won the 1982 race in thrilling fashion, holding off Rick Mears�with a daring last-lap move.
11. Emerson Fittipaldi [2 wins / 11 starts / 5 Top-10s / 505 laps led]
Fittipaldi's two wins in the 500 (1989 & 1993) came late in the driver's career, as the Brazilian was 42 years old at the time of his first victory. Fittipaldi, who owned citrus groves, famously drank orange juice in victory lane after the 1993 win to the chagrin of many fans. Fittipaldi nearly made it to three wins in 1994 before crashing with 16 laps to go with a one-lap lead.
10. Bill Vukovich [2 wins / 5 starts / 1 pole / 485 laps led]
Vukovich's run at Indy was intense, bright and brilliant, as the California driver led a whopping 71.75% of all the laps he ever completed at the 2.5-mile speedway. In 1952, he led 150 laps before a steering failure doomed his chances with 8 laps left. "Vuky" would win the next two races at Indy before tragically being killed in a massive, fiery wreck in the 1955 race while, once again, leading on the 56th lap.
ROW 3
9. Helio Castroneves [10 starts / 3 wins / 4 poles / 231 laps led]
Of the current crop of IndyCar drivers, Castroneves has been the most impressive at Indianapolis. Helio won his first two races at IMS in 2001 and 2002 and has finished outside the top-10 only once. A 2009 win cemented his name in the upper echelons of IMS lore, and his incredible knack of winning the pole only furthers his recognition of IMS greats.
8. Louis Meyer [3 wins / 12 starts / 6 Top-5s / 332 laps led]
The first three-time winner of the Indianapolis 500, Meyer also earns the distinction of being the first to take the ceremonial swig of milk in victory lane. On the track, Meyer won at Indy in his first start in 1928 before his wins in 1933 and 1936. Meyer also led the most laps in his final 500 in 1939 before crashing on Lap 197.
7. Bobby Unser [3 wins / 19 starts / 6 Top-5s / 440 laps led]
Unser, as mentioned earlier with Mario Andretti, took one of the most controversial wins in 500 history after he disputed 1981 race. But before that, he won in 1968 and 1975 to make him one of nine three-time winners of the race. Unser paced 16.85% of the laps he completed at IMS.
ROW 2
6. Mauri Rose [3 wins / 15 starts / 1 pole / 256 laps led]
Rose's first win at Indianapolis proved his most interesting, as he was one half of the second set of co-winners the race had ever seen. Rose replaced Floyd Davis in the driver's seat after Rose's original car dropped out in 1941. Rose won twice more in 1947 and 1948, becoming the only driver to win before and after the race's suspension for WWII.
5. Johnny Rutherford [3 wins / 24 starts / 3 poles / 296 laps led]
Rutherford first came to IMS in 1963, but didn't see recognizable success until his 11th start in 1974. After earning the pole in 1973, Rutherford started 25th in '74 en route to winning. He'd win twice more at Indy in 1976 and 1980, both from the pole. Rutherford finished 2nd to Bobby Unser in the 1975 rain-shortened race.
4. Wilbur Shaw [3 wins / 13 starts / 7 Top-5s / 508 laps led]
Shaw, later the track president of IMS after his racing career ended, finished second twice at Indianapolis before his 1937 win. Shaw then won in 1939 and 1940, a span that is a still a record for tallying three victories in the 500. Shaw just missed four victories in-a-row, finishing second in the 1938 race.
ROW 1
3. Al Unser [4 wins / 27 starts / 13 Top-5s / 644 laps led]
Unser surely holds the distinction of the most laps led at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and he was also the second driver to ever win four races races at the track. Unser's first win at Indy came in 1970 after he started on the pole, and No. 2 followed it a year later. Unser then won 1978 and 1987 to join A.J. Foyt in the exclusive category.
2. Rick Mears [4 wins / 15 starts / 6 poles / 429 laps led]
Mears failed to qualify in his first attempt at Indianapolis, but soon became one of the most productive qualifiers in track history. Mears won his first 500 from the pole in 1979, one of six races in which he would lead the field to the green flag. After finishes of 2nd and 3rd in 1982 and 1983, Mears again found victory lane in 1984. He'd win from the pole in 1988 and 1991, making him the fastest driver in track history to reach four wins.
1. A.J. Foyt [4 wins / 35 starts / 4 poles / 555 laps led]
No one has completed more laps, started more races or led more races at Indianapolis than A.J. Foyt, and no one in the race's history had won it four times before him. He also lays claim to being the only driver to win with both front and rear engine cars at the Brickyard. All of that makes Foyt (a 500 winner in 1961, 1964, 1967 and 1977) one of the best to ever navigate Indianapolis' 500 miles.
Kelly Carlson Sara Foster Natassia Malthe Victoria Silvstedt Hilary Swank
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