Indy 500: Top 10 Indianapolis 500 drivers of all-time

The 102nd running of the Indy 500 is right around corner. Who are the best 10 drivers to have ever driven in the “Greatest Spectacle in Racing”?

The 102nd running of the Indianapolis 500 is set to take place on Sunday, May 27th. The 200-lap race around the 2.5-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval in Speedway, Indiana is the most anticipated IndyCar event of the year, the most anticipated racing event of the year, and arguably the most anticipated sporting event of the year.

Last year’s Indy 500 was won by Takuma Sato, who became the first Japanese driver to win the race after becoming the second Japanese driver to lead the race in 2012 in the race during which he crashed on the final lap in an attempt to take the lead from now three-time Indy 500 champion Dario Franchitti.

As the 102nd running of the “Greatest Spectacle in Racing” inches closer, let’s have a look at who the greatest drivers are in the 101-year history of the Indy 500 so far.

The key factors used in determining which drivers qualified to be discussed in this article include but were not limited to career Indy 500 victories, career Indy 500 laps led, career Indy 500 win percentage and career percentage of Indy 500 laps led.

Here are the top 10 Indianapolis 500 drivers of all-time, starting with two honorable mentions. Make note of the fact that the drivers who are discussed as honorable mentions on the next slide are not necessarily the drivers who would be 11th and 12th on an article discussing the top 12 or more Indy drivers of all-time.

Ray Harroun

Ray Harroun only drove in one Indianapolis 500 race, but he is a legend in many ways as a result of his result in that one race. He drove in the inaugural Indy 500 way back in 1911, and he ended up winning it by roughly 103 seconds after it lasted for over six hours and 42 minutes.

Harroun led 88 of the 200 laps in that race, which would end up being the only 200 laps that he ended up driving in the Indy 500, giving him a 44% percentage of Indy 500 led, a percentage that ranks second among one-time Indy 500 champions.

Harroun is the only driver who has ever driven in just one Indy 500 and won it. In fact, he is the only driver who has driven in any number of Indy 500 races and won 100% of them, and he did it in the first ever edition of what has become known as the “Greatest Spectacle in Racing”.

Harroun’s starting position of 28th place in that race is still tied for the lowest starting position of an Indy 500 winner in race history.

Frank Lockhart

Frank Lockhart only drove in two Indy 500 races. He won his first Indy 500 race in 1926 after starting in 20th place, and he finished in 18th in the 1927 race after starting from the pole position and having a rod issue that prevented him from finishing the race.

Lockhart is an honorable mention in this article as a result of the fact that his percentage of Indy 500 laps led is the highest of all-time. He led well over half of the laps in both of his career Indy 500 races.

In 1926, Lockhart led 95 of the race’s 160 laps, and in 1927, he led 110 of the 120 laps he completed before being prevented from continuing thanks to the aforementioned rod issue his car experienced.

In 280 career laps in the Indy 500, Lockhart led 205 (73.21%) of them, a total that ranks 30th on the all-time Indy 500 laps led list, which is impressive given the fact that he only drove in the race twice and finished it once. That percentage of 73.21% ranks first on the all-time percentages of Indy 500 laps led list.

#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.

#9 – Al Unser

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

In 4,356 career laps in the Indy 500, Unser led 644 (14.78%) of them, a total that ranks first on the all-time Indy 500 laps led list.

Unser drove in the Indy 500 a total of 27 times over the course of his career. He did so for the first time in 1965. He qualified for that race in 32nd place and made it all the way into the top 10 by the end of it for a 9th place finish.

After driving in the race four times, Unser missed the event in 1969 due to a motorcycle accident. However, he returned to the race the following year in 1970. He qualified on the pole for that race , which would end up being his lone career Indy 500 pole position, and he went on to win it for the first time.

In 1971 after starting the Indy 500 in 5th place, Unser would go on to win it again, becoming the fourth driver to ever win the race two years in a row. He would not win the race again until 1978, when he started also started in 5th.

Unser won his fourth and final Indy 500 in 1987 in his 22nd career entry in the race after starting all the way back in 20th place. He ended up competing in the race five more times before retiring. In 1991, an entry failed to materialize for him, so he was unable to qualify, and in 1994, he also failed to qualify for the race.

#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.

#7 – Juan Pablo Montoya

Juan Pablo Montoya is one of the 19 drivers who have won the Indianapolis 500 more than once, and he managed to break into that elite company in just three starts. To this day, he has only driven in the “Greatest Spectacle in Racing” five times.

In 863 career laps in the Indy 500, Montoya led 193 (22.36%) of them, a total that ranks 31st on the all-time Indy 500 laps led list despite the fact that he has only drive in the race five times.

Montoya first drove in the Indy 500 in 2000, and he started in 2nd place before going on to win the race after leading 167 of its 200 laps. He set a record, which is still a record to this day, for the most laps led in the race by a rookie.

But after one Indy 500, Montoya moved on and did not drive in the race for more than a decade. He very well could have retired from his Indy 500 career and been in elite company with Ray Harroun as the only two drivers in race history to drive in the race just one time and win it that one time.

However, after several years of driving full-time in Formula 1 and the NASCAR Cup Series, he opted to return to IndyCar in the 2014 season, and he drove in the Indy 500 once again for the first time in 14 years. He finished in 5th place after starting in 10th.

In 2015, Montoya won the Indy 500 for the second time in only three attempts. He won it after starting back in 15th place and after completing one of the biggest comebacks in Indy 500 history. He bounced back after he was forced to go to the back of the field after being run into and having the back of his car damaged under an early caution flag period.

By winning the race in 2015 for the second time after winning it for the first time in 2000, he set another record for most years between Indy 500 victories with 15. He crashed and finished in 33rd place in the race in 2016 and he finished in 6th in it in 2017.

Montoya is still technically an active driver, although he will not drive in this year’s Indy 500. If his Indy 500 career is over, which it still very well may not be, what a great career it was, especially since it only consisted of five races.

#6 – Wilbur Shaw

Wilbur Shaw managed to win the Indianapolis 500 three times in 13 attempts, and he is one of only 10 drivers who have won the race more than twice as a result of this.

In 2,019 career laps in the Indy 500, Shaw led 508 (25.16%) of them, a total that ranks 5th on the all-time Indy 500 laps led list. His percentage of Indy 500 laps led is higher than three of the four drivers he trails in the all-time Indy 500 laps led list.

Shaw made his Indy 500 debut in 1927. He started the race in 19th place before finishing in 4th without leading a single lap. He returned in 1928 and 1930 but failed to finish both of those races. He also did not lead any laps in either of those two races. He did not race in the Indy 500 in 1929 or 1931.

From 1932 to 1936, Shaw drove in all five Indy 500 races without winning, but he managed to lead laps in three of them. From 1937 to 1940, he drove in all four Indy 500 races, and he also led laps in three of them. Of those three races he led laps in in 1937, 1939 and 1940, he won all of them.

Shaw became the second driver to win the Indy 500 three times as a result of these three victories, and he became the first driver to win the race in back-to-back years with his second and third career victories in the race. In his final attempt in the race in 1941, he finished in 18th place after crashing following a 3rd place start.

#5 – Louis Meyer

Louis Meyer won three Indianapolis 500 races in only 12 attempts, making him one of only 10 drivers who have won the race three or more times.

In 1,916 career laps in the Indy 500, Meyer led 332 (17.33%) of them, a total that ranks 15th on the all-time Indy 500 laps led list.

As referenced above, Meyer only drove in the Indy 500 a total of 12 times, yet he still managed to win the race three times. In fact, all three of his wins in the race came in a nine-year span. Of the 10 drivers who have won the race at least three times, Meyer’s win percentage of 25% (three out of 12) is the third highest.

Meyer first drove in the Indy 500 in 1928, and he won the race that year after starting back in 13th place. He won the race for the second time in his career in 1933 after starting in sixth, and he won it for the third and final time of his career in 1936 after starting way back in 28th, which is tied for the lowest starting position among Indy 500 winners in race history.

Meyer’s 12th and final Indy 500 start came in 1939 when he started the race in a career-high 2nd place before going on to finish in 12th.

#4 – Dario Franchitti

Dario Franchitti won three Indianapolis 500 races in only 10 attempts, making him one of only 10 drivers who have won the race three or more times.

In 1,940 career laps in the Indy 500, Franchitti led 329 (16.96%) of them, a total that ranks 16th on the all-time Indy 500 laps led list.

As referenced above, Franchitti only drove in the Indy 500 a total of 10 times, yet he still managed to win the race three times. In fact, all three of his wins in the race came in a six-year (five-race) span. He did not race in 2008 as a result of making the switch to become a full-time NASCAR Cup Series driver.

Of the 10 drivers who have won the race at least three times, Franchitti’s win percentage of 30% (three out of 10) is the highest.

Franchitti first drove in the Indy 500 in 2002, and his first victory in the race came in 2007 in his fifth attempt. He missed the 2003 race as a result of injury. He started the 2007 race in 3rd place, which was tied for his highest career starting position in the race at the time and ended up still being tied for his highest career starting position in the race, before going on to win it.

He won the Indy 500 for the second time in 2010 after starting in 3rd for his third consecutive Indy 500 race and for the fourth time overall in the race.

In the 2012 Indy 500, Franchitti started the race  in 16th place and quickly fell to the back of the pack after being spun out in the pits. However, he rebounded to win the race for the third and final time of his career in what is considered one of the greatest comeback wins in Indy 500 history.

This win was his final career IndyCar win before he retired in the 2013 season. The 2013 Indy 500 was the only Indy 500 that Franchitti attempted but failed to finish.

#3 – Helio Castroneves

Helio Castroneves is a three-time winner of the Indianapolis 500, and he is set to attempt to win his fourth career Indy 500 for the ninth time this season just like he has in the race every year since he won it for the third time back in 2009.

In 3,254 career laps in the Indy 500, Castroneves has led 305 (9.37%) of them, a total that ranks 18th on the all-time Indy 500 laps led list.

With three career Indy 500 victories, Castroneves, who is the only active driver with a ride in this year’s Indianapolis 500 who is discussed in this article, trails only three drivers on the all-time Indy 500 wins list, and those three drivers have just one more Indy 500 victory to their name than Castroneves does.

Castroneves, who has driven in the race 17 times, opened up his Indy 500 career in 2001 by winning the race after starting in 11th place as a rookie. He went on to win it again in his second attempt in 2002 after starting in 13th, although this win was controversial and is still discussed to this day since 2nd place finisher Paul Tracy appeared to be ahead of him when the final caution flag of the race came out.

As mentioned above, Castroneves’ third win in the race came in 2009.

However, Castroneves also has three 2nd place in the Indy 500, and he is only a fraction of a second from being a six-time champion of the race, which would put him on a whole other level than every other driver in the history of the race.

In the 2003 Indy 500, Castroneves finished in 2nd place behind race winner Gil de Ferran by just 0.2990 seconds. In the 2014 Indy 500, Castroneves finished in 2nd behind race winner Ryan Hunter-Reay by just 0.0600 seconds. Finally, in the 2017 Indy 500, Castroneves finished in 2nd behind race winner Takuma Sato by just 0.2011 seconds.

If not for those 0.5601seconds, Castroneves could be a six-time winner of the Indy 500.

#2 – Bill Vukovich

Bill Vukovich only raced in the Indianapolis 500 four times before he was killed in a crash during his fifth attempt in the race in 1955. However, he is still one of only 19 drivers who have won the race more than once, and he is one of only five drivers who have won it in back-to-back years.

In just 676 career laps in the Indy 500, Vukovich led 485 (71.75%) of them, a total that ranks 8th on the all-time Indy 500 laps led list. That percentage of 71.75% ranks second on the all-time percentage of Indy 500 laps led list, and it ranks first on that list among drivers with multiple Indy 500 victories.

Vukovich failed to qualify for the Indy 500 in his first attempt at doing so in 1950. However, he ended up qualifying for the race for the first time in 1951. He started the race in 29th place and ended up finishing in 29th after completing just 29 laps thanks to an oil tank issue.

In 1952, Vukovich returned to the Indy 500 for the second time. He started the race in 8th place but ended up getting to the lead very quickly. He dominated the race and led 150 of the first 191 laps before a steering issue prevented him from finishing the race yet again.

Vukovich ended up finished in 17th place in that race after leading 75% of the race’s laps, a percentage that is sixth highest of all-time among drivers who did not go on to win the race.

In 1953 and 1954, Vukovich would not be denied Indy 500 victories after starting from the pole position and 19th place, respectively. In the 1953 race, he led 195 of the race’s 200 laps en route to his first career victory in the race.

Only one Indy 500 race has been won by a driver who led more laps than Vukovich did in the 1953 race. In the 1954 race, he led 90 of the race’s 200 laps en route to his second and final victory in the race. He became the third driver to win the rack in back-to-back years.

In the 1955 Indy 500, Vukovich dominated the race yet again. He led the first 50 of 56 laps and had built up a 17-second lead over second place despite the fact that he started the race in 5th place. However, he was killed instantly in a chain-reaction crash on lap 57 of that race at age 36.

#1 – Rick Mears

Rick Mears is one of only three four-time winners of the Indianapolis 500. Of those three drivers, Mears won his four Indy 500 in the fewest attempts, as he drove in the race 15 times and won it for the fourth time in his 14th attempt. Both of those statistics show that he was able to do more in a shorter amount of time than the other two four-time winners of the race.

Mears holds the all-time Indy 500 poles record with six. In 2,342 career laps in the Indy 500, he led 429 (18.32%) of them, a total that ranks 12th on the all-time list.

As referenced above, Mears only drove in the Indy 500 a total of 15 times, yet he managed to win it four times. Of the 10 drivers who have won the race at least three times, Mears’ win percentage of 26.67% (four out of 15) is the second highest.

Mears also finished in 2nd place in the 1981 Indy 500, and he finished just 0.160 seconds behind race winner Gordon Johncock. If not for that 0.160-second span, Mears could be the lone five-time Indy 500 champion.

Mears made his unofficial Indy 500 debut in 1977, as he failed to qualify for the race. He made his official debut in the race in 1978 when he qualified in 3rd place, but an engine failure caused him to finish back in 23rd.

Next year in 1979, however, Mears started the Indy 500 from the pole position and went on to win it for the first time. He started the race from the pole position again in 1982, but he finished in 2nd place, as referenced above. He failed to win it again until 1984 after starting in 3rd place.

Mears started the Indy 500 from the pole position again in the 1986 race, but he was unable to win, as he finished in 3rd place. He won the Indy 500 for the third time in 1988 after starting from the pole position for the fourth time.

Mears started from the pole position in the 1989 Indy 500, but an engine failure caused him to finish back in 23rd place, much like it did in the 1978 race after he started in 3rd. He started from the pole position for the sixth and final time in the 1991 Indy 500 before winning the race for the fourth and final time.

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There have been hundreds of drivers who have driven in the Indianapolis 500 since it began back in 1911, yet only 10 made this list as the top 10 drivers in the history of the “Greatest Spectacle in Racing”.

However, while only 10 drivers and the two honorable mentions were discussed in this article, there were several others who very well could have made the top 10 on this list.

Here is a list of several of the other drivers who did not get on this list despite the fact that they were among the top contenders to do so.

Three-time Indianapolis 500 winners

• Bobby Unser
• Johnny Rutherford
• Mauri Rose

Two-time Indianapolis 500 winners

• Emerson Fittipaldi
• Gordon Johncock
• Rodger Ward
• Tommy Milton
• Arie Luyendyk
• Al Unser Jr.

One-time Indianapolis 500 winners with 300+ Indianapolis 500 laps led

• Ralph DePalma
• Mario Andretti
• Parnelli Jones
• Scott Dixon
• Billy Arnold
• Tony Kanaan

Other notables

• Michael Andretti
• Jim Clark
• Bill Holland

Formulated Top 10 Indianapolis 500 drivers of all-time

These rankings of the top 10 Indy 500 drivers of all-time were determined by a formula. All drivers’ Indy 500 wins count as 10 points, while each of their career laps led in Indy 500 races count as .01 point and 1% of their career Indy 500 laps led count as .1 points.

Next: Top 10 most unbreakable records across Formula One, NASCAR and IndyCar

Do you agree with the 10 Indianapolis 500 drivers on this list? If so, do you agree with the order? Which active drivers have the best chance to move up or move into this list? Be sure not to miss the 102nd running of the Indianapolis 500 from Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana. It is set to be broadcast live on ABC starting at 11:00 am ET on Sunday, May 27th.