The Greatest Spectacle of Racing: 10 Fun Facts

Being from Indianapolis, there is nothing like the month of May and the celebration that takes place for the Greatest Spectacle of Racing!  We thought that we would have some fun on the blog this week and look at some fun facts about the Indy 500. As we gear up for the 100^th running this Sunday, we take a look at some fun facts about the race that you may or may not know.

Fun Fact 1: The Indianapolis Motor Speedway is the world’s largest spectator sporting facility with more than 250,000 permanent seats (It’s been said that the Rose Bowl, Churchill Downs, Yankee Stadium, the Colosseum in Rome and the Vatican City can all fit inside the 253 acre Indy oval).

Fun Fact 2: The sterling-silver Borg-Warner Trophy cost only $10,000 to produce in 1935.  The trophy is now valued at over $1 million.

Fun Fact 3: The average speed of the first winner of the Indy 500 (originally called the “International Sweepstakes) was 74.6 mph, while the average seed for 2016 qualification was 227 mph.

Fun Fact 4: In 1911 Speedway leader Carl Fisher and his partners envisioned a race that would last approximately seven hours.  A distance of 500 miles was settled upon.  Ray Harroun was the first winner of the Indianapolis 500 – which lasted over six hours.

Fun Fact 5: Three-time Indianapolis 500 winner Louis Meyer always chugged a glass of buttermilk in Victory Lane as a matter of habit after winning the 1936 race. A Milk Foundation executive was excited to see the moment captured in a photograph and vowed to make it happen in coming years.  There was a small period between 1947-55 when milk was apparently not offered, however the practice was revived in 1956 and has been a tradition ever since.

Fun Fact 6: Although the pre-race tradition of singing “Back Home Again in Indiana began in 1946, Jim Nabors belted the classic 32 times – only missing one year from 1972-2014. Last year it was performed by Straight No Chaser in 2015, and Josh Kaufman (season 6 winner of the Voice) will take center stage this Sunday to perform the classic.

Fun Fact 7: The closest margin of victory was in 1992 when Al Unser Jr. edged Scott Goodyear by .043 of a second.

Fun Fact 8: Two drivers have lost the lead on the 199^th lap – Marco Andretti in 2006 and Robby Gordon in 1999.

Fun Fact 9: Eight different rookies have won the Indianapolis 500

1911 – Ray Harroun (inaugural race)

1913 – Jules Goux

1914 – Rene Thomas

1926 – Frank Lockhart

1966 – Graham Hill

2000 – Juan Pablo Montoya

2001 – Helio Castroneves

Fun Fact 10: If you were to lay out all of the hot dogs and bratwursts sold on race day in Indianapolis, they would circle the oval more than three times.

We hope that you enjoyed some great history and fun facts surrounding our favorite race of the year.  Even if you are not a true racing fan, you can appreciate the history.  Ladies and gentleman, start your engines!!!