Indianapolis 500 by year

This article discusses the year-by-year history of the Indianapolis 500 race.

The first auto races held the Indianapolis Motor Speedway occur on August 19–21, 1909. After a series of races held in the summer of 1910, it was decided that one large event per year be held. The track founders settled on a Memorial Day event scheduled for a then-fantastic distance of 500 miles (800 km).

1911: An accident disrupts the official timing and scoring stand midway through the race. Ray Harroun receives the checkered flag first but a few believe Ralph Mulford, classified second, actually won the race. Harroun received the accolades and goes down in history as the winner of the first "International 500-Mile Sweepstakes." Harroun, the defending AAA champion, retires after winning the race in the six-cylinder Marmon Wasp, a car he personally designed. Mulford's claim to victory fizzled and despite some occasional rehashing, is not regarded by knowledgeable historians as a valid claim.

1912: Ralph DePalma's Mercedes breaks its connecting rod after leading 196 laps. Joe Dawson, in a National, wins after leading the only 2 laps of his Indy career. No driver has ever matched DePalma's 196 fruitless laps in the lead, (only not being in the lead for the first two and the last two laps) and only Billy Arnold's 198 lap domination of the 1930 race tops DePalma's time at the front; Dawson's 2 laps led by a winner would be the fewest recorded by a winner until 2011 when Dan Wheldon was officially recorded as having led only the final lap to win the race (when in reality, Wheldon led only the final 1,000 feet (300 m) of the event rather than a "complete" lap).

1913: A five-story, wooden pagoda-style timing and scoring tower on the inside of the main straightaway gives the Speedway an enduring landmark; the style reflects Speedway President Carl Fisher's apparent interest in Oriental architecture. French born Jules Goux drinks six bottles of champagne on his way to a record 13-minute, 8-second victory over second place Spencer Wishart. He averages approximately 10 miles per gallon of fuel – and an unknown quantity of champagne per stop. Goux's victory is the first race, excluding the first, won by a rookie driver.

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