With just four days to go until the 2018 Indianapolis 500, let’s take a look back at the 2014 Indy 500, which took place four years ago.
Ryan Hunter-Reay started the 98th running of the Indianapolis 500 in 2014 in 19th place, meaning he would have to become the first driver to win IndyCar‘s most famous race after starting in 18th or worse since Al Unser Sr. did so after starting in 20th in the 71st running of the race in 1987.
Hunter-Reay did just that, and he did it after leading a field-high 56 of the race’s 200 laps around the four-turn, 2.5-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval in Speedway, Indiana.
The 2014 Indy 500 was the first Indy 500 since the 2010 Indy 500 that did not finish under caution, and it ended up resulting in the second closest finish in Indy 500 history, with Hunter-Reay crossing the finish line just 0.0600 seconds ahead of three-time Indy 500 champion Helio Castroneves in second place.
Here is a video of that exciting finish.
Aside of Hunter-Reay, a total of 10 other drivers led at least one lap of the race. Those 10 drivers were Helio Castroneves, Marco Andretti, Juan Pablo Montoya, Will Power, Alex Tagliani, Mikhail Aleshin, Tony Kanaan, race polesitter Ed Carpenter, James Hinchcliffe and Scott Dixon.
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The race featured a total of 34 lead changes among these 11 drivers, which tied for second on the Indy 500 lead changes list at the time with the lead change total of the 2012 Indy 500 behind only the lead change total of the 2013 Indy 500.
The race also featured a total of five caution flag periods for 21 laps. Of the 33 drivers who started the race, 25 finished it. Of the 25 drivers who finished the race, 20 finished it on the lead lap.
Sage Karam advanced a field-high 22 positions throughout his first Indy 500. He started the race on the inside of the 11th and final row on the starting grid in 31st before advancing through the field to finish ninth.
Here is the full broadcast of the 2014 Indianapolis 500.
Next: Top 10 IndyCar drivers of all-time
Tune in to Beyond the Flag tomorrow at 10:00 am ET for a recap of the 2015 Indianapolis 500 from three years ago since there will only be three days to go until this year’s running of the “Greatest Spectacle in Racing” at that time. The 2018 Indy 500 is set to take place on on Sunday, May 27, and the live broadcast of the race is set to begin on ABC at 11:00 am ET on that date.