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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INDIANAPOLIS, IN – MAY 29: Dan Wheldon of England, driver of the #98 William Rast-Curb/Big Machine Dallara Honda (Photo by Todd Warshaw/Getty Images)
INDIANAPOLIS, IN – MAY 29: Dan Wheldon of England, driver of the #98 William Rast-Curb/Big Machine Dallara Honda (Photo by Todd Warshaw/Getty Images) /

#8 – Dan Wheldon

Dan Wheldon won the Indianapolis 500 twice before he was tragically killed in a wreck at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in 2011 at the age of 33. He is one of the 19 drivers who have won the “Greatest Spectacle in Racing” more than once.

In 1,129 career laps in the Indy 500, Wheldon led 235 (20.73%) of them, a total that ranks 25th on the all-time Indy 500 laps led list.

Wheldon first drove in the Indy 500 in 2003. He wont it for the first time in 2005 after starting 16th place, which was his worst career start in the race at the time. In his ninth and final start in the race in 2011 prior to his death, he won after starting in sixth.

Wheldon’s Indy 500 win in 2011 came after he led just one lap the entire race — the last lap. Here is a video of how he won the race in what is arguably the most memorable finish in the history of the race.

Two wins in nine Indy 500 races is extremely impressive. But in the majority of the seven Indy 500 races that Wheldon did not win, he was also extremely impressive. He finished in 2nd place twice, 3rd once and 4th once. In the seven Indy races he finished, he finished outside of the top 4.

As you can see and hear in the video above, Bryan Herta, Wheldon’s team owner when he won the 2011 Indy 500, stated that “Dan Wheldon is the best race car driver at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway probably ever.” While that may be somewhat of a stretch, saying he is one of the greatest Indy 500 drivers in the history or the race certainly is not.