Counting down the 25 most memorable moments in Indy 500 history

With the first Indianapolis 500 taking place in 1911 and with 108 years of history (the race wasn’t conducted during wartimes), the Indy 500 has provided countless memorable moments.

We ranked the 25 most memorable moments, from 25-to-1, and we’ll count them down daily all the way up until May 25th, when the 109th Indianapolis 500 goes green (10 a.m. ET on FOX).

These moments are certain to evoke memories — some that will make you smile, some that might make you laugh, even some that might make you cringe. But all memorable. Let’s dive in!

No. 25: Jim Clark’s 1965 victory

The 1965 Indianapolis 500 will go down in history for a couple of reasons. Jim Clark’s victory in a Ford-powered Lotus marked the first time that a rear-engine car won the race. That wasn’t a surprise in the sense that 27 of the 33 cars in the event were rear-engine cars as teams and drivers were able to match the power and balance of the cars to make them faster than front-engine roadsters.

Clark, thanks to Ford, also had the Wood Brothers of NASCAR fame pitting his car. They never had to change tires but they had to fuel it twice, and their fueling methods were much faster than their competitors.

No. 24: Newgarden passes Ericsson for 2023 victory

The 2023 Indianapolis 500 will go down as one of the most controversial finishes. Instead of letting the race end under caution when a late-race crash typically would have resulted in the race never getting restarted, series officials opted to red flag the race — the third red flag in the final 15 laps.

Marcus Ericsson was leading at the time but was viewed as a sitting duck for the one-lap dash to the finish. And he was as Josef Newgarden made the pass on the backstretch of the final lap for his first of what would be back-to-back Indy 500 victories.

No. 23: Milk tradition is born in 1936

Louis Meyer won his third Indianapolis 500 in 1936, and it was the start of a couple of traditions. The first was somewhat unintentional. Someone gave him a bottle of buttermilk to drink following the race. That started the famed tradition of drinking milk in victory circle.

The other was that it was the first race for the Borg-Warner Trophy, which remains the trophy given to the Indianapolis 500 winner.

No. 22: Al Unser becomes oldest winner 

Al Unser didn’t have a ride for the 1987 Indianapolis 500. But when Danny Ongais suffered a concussion in a wreck, Roger Penske needed a driver. So he called Unser. He also needed a car. Penske found one — a year-old car the team had on display at a Pennsylvania hotel near their shop.

Unser was no stranger to winning at Indianapolis as he had three career victories. He made it a historic fourth win in 1987, and at age 47 years, 360 days — he remains the oldest driver to win the Indy 500.

Check back daily for the next most memorable moment on our list.

Bob Pockrass covers NASCAR and IndyCar for FOX Sports. He has spent decades covering motorsports, including over 30 Daytona 500s, with stints at ESPN, Sporting News, NASCAR Scene magazine and The (Daytona Beach) News-Journal. Follow him on Twitter @bobpockrass.

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