IndyCar: 2021 Indy 500 shatters unique record

Just 40 weeks ago, the 104th running of the Indy 500 was run at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, marking the shortest ever span between any two editions of IndyCar’s top race.

When the green flag flies over the yard of bricks at Indianapolis Motor Speedway this afternoon, the Indy 500 will have broken a record that will hopefully never be topped.

As a result of the coronavirus pandemic, the 104th running of the “Greatest Spectacle in Racing” was pushed back by nearly three months from Sunday, May 24, 2020 to Sunday, August 23, 2020.

Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing’s Takuma Sato took the checkered flag under caution behind the wheel of his #30 Honda ahead of Chip Ganassi Racing’s Scott Dixon in second place, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing’s Graham Rahal in third, Dale Coyne Racing with Vasser-Sullivan’s Santino Ferrucci in fourth and Team Penske’s Josef Newgarden in fifth on that summer Sunday 40 weeks ago today.

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When the green flag flies 280 days later this afternoon to get the 105th running of the 200-lap race around the four-turn, 2.5-mile (4.023-kilometer) oval in Speedway, Indiana underway, it will mark the shortest time between two Indy 500 races in race history, following a whopping 65-week break between the 103rd and 104th editions.

All 103 of the Indy 500 races which had been contested prior to the pandemic had been held in May, dating all the way back to 1911. The race did not take place on six occasions due to the two World Wars. It was not contested in 1917 or 1918 as a result of World War I, and it was not contested from 1942 to 1945.

As a result, the time between the 103rd and 104th editions of the race was only the third highest in race history at 455 days. The record is 1,826 days between the 29th and 30th editions in 1941 and 1946, and second highest mark is 1,097 days between the sixth and seventh editions in 1916 and 1919.

Tune in NBC right now for the live broadcast of the 105th running of the Indy 500 from Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Chip Ganassi Racing’s Scott Dixon is set to start from the pole position behind the wheel of his #9 Honda, alongside Andretti Autosport’s Colton Herta in the middle of the front row behind the wheel of his #26 Honda and Ed Carpenter Racing’s Rinus VeeKay on the outside behind the wheel of his #21 Chevrolet.