All-Time Greatest Indianapolis 500 Field

by Julian Spivey
I had this idea to try to figure out the greatest Indianapolis 500 field of all time. I didn’t impose many parameters on it. I knew 21 drivers have won multiple Indianapolis 500s. Those drivers were all a lock to make the field. That left just 12 more spots for drivers who have won the race. I made the decision you had to have won the Indy 500 to make the field. Sorry, Michael Andretti. I know your 431 laps led in the race are the 11th most in history, but if you couldn’t get the job done, I couldn’t fit you into the all-time field.

I didn’t want to make the call over which drivers who have only won the Indy 500 once deserved to start higher in this field than those who have won multiple times. So, you might be saying, “I’d rather have Mario Andretti or Scott Dixon in my car at the Brickyard than Takuma Sato.” OK, I’d probably too. But Sato won more Indy 500s. This isn’t the greatest drivers to ever appear in this race; it’s the all-time field for this particular race.

When it came to ranking drivers who had the same number of wins in the Greatest Spectacle in Racing, there were statistical categories I used to differentiate between them, most of which involved Indianapolis Motor Speedway (top 10s, laps led and poles), but I also factored in championships won. Note: I only included championships for USAC, Champ Car and Indy Car. So, if you notice Mario Andretti, Emerson Fittipaldi and Jim Clark have fewer titles than you think they should have, that’s why.
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ROW 1

A.J. Foyt
Indy 500 Wins: 4
Indy 500 Top 10s: 17
Indy 500 Poles: 4
Indy 500 Laps Led: 555
Championships: 7

Al Unser Sr.
Indy 500 Wins: 4
Indy 500 Top 10s: 15
Indy 500 Poles: 1
Indy 500 Laps Led: 644
Championships: 3

Rick Mears
Indy 500 Wins: 4
Indy 500 Top 10s: 9
Indy 500 Poles: 6
Indy 500 Laps Led: 429
Championships: 3

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ROW 2

Helio Castroneves
Indy 500 Wins: 4
Indy 500 Top 10s: 16
Indy 500 Poles: 4
Indy 500 Laps Led: 326
Championships: 0

Bobby Unser
Indy 500 Wins: 3 
Indy 500 Top 10s: 10
Indy 500 Poles: 2
Indy 500 Laps Led: 440
Championships: 2

Dario Franchitti 
Indy 500 Wins: 3
Indy 500 Top 10s: 6
Indy 500 Poles: 0
​Indy 500 Laps Led: 329
Championships: 4

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ROW 3

Wilbur Shaw
Indy 500 Wins: 3
Indy 500 Top 10s: 8
Indy 500 Poles: 0
Indy 500 Laps Led: 508
Championships: 2

Louis Meyer
Indy 500 Wins: 3
Indy 500 Top 10s: 6
Indy 500 Poles: 0
Indy 500 Laps Led: 332
Championships: 3

Johnny Rutherford
Indy 500 Wins: 3
Indy 500 Top 10s: 8
Indy 500 Poles: 3
Indy 500 Laps Led: 296
Championships: 1

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ROW 4

Mauri Rose
Indy 500 Wins: 3
Indy 500 Top 10s: 8
Indy 500 Poles: 1
Indy 500 Laps Led: 256
Championships: 1

Gordon Johncock
Indy 500 Wins: 2
Indy 500 Top 10s: 11
Indy 500 Poles: 0
Indy 500 Laps Led: 339
Championships: 1

Al Unser Jr.
Indy 500 Wins: 2
Indy 500 Top 10s: 10
Indy 500 Poles: 1
Indy 500 Laps Led: 110
Championships: 2

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ROW 5

Josef Newgarden
Indy 500 Wins: 2
Indy 500 Top 10s: 7
Indy 500 Poles: 0
Indy 500 Laps Led: 69
Championships: 2

Bill Vukovich
Indy 500 Wins: 2
Indy 500 Top 10s: 2
Indy 500 Poles: 1
Indy 500 Laps Led: 485
Championships: 0

Rodger Ward
Indy 500 Wins: 2
Indy 500 Top 10s: 7
Indy 500 Poles: 0
Indy 500 Laps Led: 261
Championships: 2

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ROW 6

Emerson Fittipaldi
Indy 500 Wins: 2
Indy 500 Top 10s: 5
Indy 500 Poles: 1
Indy 500 Laps Led: 505
Championships: 1

Dan Wheldon
Indy 500 Wins: 2
Indy 500 Top 10s: 6
Indy 500 Poles: 0
Indy 500 Laps Led: 235
Championships: 1

Arie Luyendyk
Indy 500 Wins: 2
Indy 500 Top 10s: 7
Indy 500 Poles: 3
Indy 500 Laps Led: 186
Championships: 0

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ROW 7

Tommy Milton
Indy 500 Wins: 2
Indy 500 Top 10s: 5
Indy 500 Poles: 1
Indy 500 Laps Led: 218
Championships: 1

Juan Pablo Montoya
Indy 500 Wins: 2
Indy 500 Top 10s: 5
Indy 500 Poles: 0
Indy 500 Laps Led: 193
Championships: 0

Takuma Sato
Indy 500 Wins: 2
Indy 500 Top 10s: 4
Indy 500 Poles: 0
Indy 500 Laps Led: 87
Championships: 0

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ROW 8

Scott Dixon
Indy 500 Wins: 1
Indy 500 Top 10s: 14
Indy 500 Poles: 5
Indy 500 Laps Led: 677
Championships: 6

Mario Andretti
Indy 500 Wins: 1
Indy 500 Top 10s: 11
Indy 500 Poles: 3
Indy 500 Laps Led: 556
Championships: 4

Tony Kanaan
Indy 500 Wins: 1
Indy 500 Top 10s: 12
Indy 500 Poles: 1
Indy 500 Laps Led: 352
Championships: 1

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ROW 9

Jimmy Bryan
Indy 500 Wins: 1
Indy 500 Top 10s: 4
Indy 500 Poles: 0
Indy 500 Laps Led: 216
Championships: 3

Will Power
Indy 500 Wins: 1
Indy 500 Top 10s: 7
Indy 500 Poles: 0
Indy 500 Laps Led: 145
Championships: 2

Sam Hornish Jr.
Indy 500 Wins: 1
Indy 500 Top 10s: 2
Indy 500 Poles: 1
Indy 500 Laps Led: 107
Championships: 3

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ROW 10

Jimmy Murphy
Indy 500 Wins: 1
Indy 500 Top 10s: 4
Indy 500 Poles: 2
Indy 500 Laps Led: 220
Championships: 2

Pete DePaolo
Indy 500 Wins: 1
Indy 500 Top 10s: 3
Indy 500 Poles: 0
Indy 500 Laps Led: 148
Championships: 2

Ralph DePalma
Indy 500 Wins: 1
Indy 500 Top 10s: 6
Indy 500 Poles: 2
Indy 500 Laps Led: 612
Championships: 0

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Row 11

Parnelli Jones
Indy 500 Wins: 1
Indy 500 Top 10s: 4
Indy 500 Poles: 2
Indy 500 Laps Led: 492
Championships: 0

Billy Arnold
Indy 500 Wins: 1
Indy 500 Top 10s: 3
Indy 500 Poles: 1
Indy 500 Laps Led: 410
Championships: 1

Jim Clark
Indy 500 Wins: 1
Indy 500 Top 10s: 3
Indy 500 Poles: 1
Indy 500 Laps Led: 298
Championships: 0