Beyond the Flag
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Indy 500: Top 10 Indianapolis 500 drivers of all-time

By Asher Fair

INDIANAPOLIS - MAY 27: Helio Castroneves, driver of the #3 Team Penske Dallara Honda, leads a pack of cars at the start of the IRL IndyCar Series 91st running of the Indianapolis 500 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on May 27, 2007 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Robert Laberge/Getty Images)
INDIANAPOLIS - MAY 27: Helio Castroneves, driver of the #3 Team Penske Dallara Honda, leads a pack of cars at the start of the IRL IndyCar Series 91st running of the Indianapolis 500 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on May 27, 2007 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Robert Laberge/Getty Images) /
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DAYTONA BEACH, FL – JANUARY 26: A.J. Foyt, the legendary driver (Photo by Chris Trotman/Getty Images)
DAYTONA BEACH, FL – JANUARY 26: A.J. Foyt, the legendary driver (Photo by Chris Trotman/Getty Images) /

#10 – A.J. Foyt

A.J. Foyt is one of only three four-time winners of the Indianapolis 500. Of those three drivers, Foyt, drove in the race the highest number of times and it took him the highest number of races to win the race for the fourth time.

In 4,909 career laps in the Indy 500, a total that is the highest of all-time, Foyt led 555 (11.31%) of them, a total that ranks 4th on the all-time Indy 500 laps led list.

Foyt drove in the Indy 500 a total of 35 times over the course of his career. He did so for the first time in 1958. He qualified for that race in 12th place before ultimately ending up finishing in 16th.

Foyt’s first victory in the race came in 1961 in his fourth attempt. He started the race in 7th place, which was his highest career start in the race at the time, before going on to win it. He won the race for the second time in 1964 after starting in 5th.

In 1965, Foyt started on pole for the Indy 500 for the first of four his four career pole position starts in the race, but he ended up finishing in 15th place. In fact, he never won the race in any of his four starts from the pole position. He finished in 8th in 1969 after starting from pole, 15th in 1974 after starting from pole and 3rd in 1975 after starting from pole as well.

Foyt won his third Indy 500 in 1967 before winning it for the fourth and final time in his 20th career start in the race in 1977. He failed to win it in each of his final 15 attempts before retiring. He started the race for the final time in 1992, and he finished in 9th place after starting in 23rd. He ended up not qualifying for the race the following year.