We know every driver that started the race and almost every relief driver that participated in the race. In many cases, we know exactly how long a driver drove in relief. We know pretty much every riding mechanic that once competed as well. We know qualifying times from nine decades ago. We know the manufacturers and the engine size, the tire shod on the vehicles, dates of birth and hometowns.
Many sporting events date back over 100 years, the Kentucky Derby, Wimbledon, the Open Championship and the modern Olympics to list just a few. They all have their own intricate histories, and of them all, the Indianapolis 500 has one of the most thorough catalogs of information I can think of.
Is it perfect? No. Some answers are always going to be lost to history, but when it comes to the Indianapolis 500 there are many questions that can be answered.
I like numbers. I don't know why. Numbers are fun. History is fun. Trivia is fun. When it comes to the Indianapolis 500, an answer to a question might be available, but it might take some time to find. When I was a kid, I went through every Indianapolis 500 and listed every driver by nationality, an imperfect exercise as a few drivers were dual nationals and ended up representing multiple countries over their Indianapolis 500 careers. Where to list a driver became mental gymnastics before settling on what country they drove through first. I went through every number and listed the years those numbers were in the race with the driver that started the car.
I want to know the minutia. I want to know the odd quirks of history and the little things that could otherwise be overlooked.
What exactly sparked this question isn't clear to me, but it was some time back in March, I asked myself, "What is the best number in Indianapolis 500 history?"
You may think it has an easy answer, it is whatever number has won the most times. That is one way to look at it, but it is more than that. It is average finish and number of top five finishes and top ten finishes. Not every number is used as often as others, and I was also wondering, "What is the most used number in Indianapolis 500 history?"
Only 33 cars have been in most Indianapolis 500s. From 0 to 99, only about a third make the race each year. Some have gone decades without being used. Some have only been used a handful of times in the century-plus history of the race.
For this May, I went through every single number that has participated in the Indianapolis 500, I went over every Indianapolis 500 and the finishing position for those numbers, counting the number of times each number was used in the Indianapolis 500, its number of victories, top five finishes, top ten finishes and average finish. I thought it would be good to create a go-to resource, broken up in parts that had this information readily available instead of leaving it undocumented.
Why do all this work? Why not? It isn't saving lives. It isn't feeding the hungry. But it is fun. It is for the sake of knowledge and giving the people something else to chew on.
This will be a four-part series. Part I looks over #1-#25. Part II takes on #26-#50. Part III covers #51-#75. Part IV will track #76 to #99 and the other numbers that have competed in the Indianapolis 500.
Along with the information noted, included will be the winning percentage, top five finish percentage and top ten finishing percentage for each number, and I will include other additional notes for each number.
With that said, let's get started...
#1
Total Uses: 81
First Use: 1911
Most Recent: 2022
Wins: 7 (8.642%)
Top Fives: 34 (41.975%)
Top Tens: 42 (51.851%)
Average Finish: 12.16049
Every one wants to be #1, and the #1 has a good record at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, however, it has been a long time since #1 came out on top. More specifically, it has been 52 years, and with the #1 not in used for this year's race as defending champion Will Power decided to keep his #12, Al Unser will remain the most recent winner in car #1 into 2024.
Tony Kanaan was third last year, the third time in the last decade car #1 has finished in the top three in the Indianapolis 500. Ryan Hunter-Reay was third in 2013 and Will Power was second in 2015. Josef Newgarden was fifth in 2020 using car #1 as well. Of the car numbers that have been used in at least ten Indianapolis 500s, car #1 has the best top five percentage at 41.975%. It is second in top ten finish stage, one of only three qualified numbers to finish in the to leas ten in at half of its Indianapolis 500 appearances.
Mostly reserved for defending champions, car #1 has had a few peculiar drivers. George Snider used it in 1983 because he was the USAC Gold Crown champion the previous year. This was during the UASC/CART split, USAC sanctioned the "500," so car #1 went to the USAC champion, not the CART championship, which was Rick Mears that year.
That split also allowed Arie Luyendyk to use it in 1991 because the 1990 Indianapolis 500 was the only USAC Gold Crown at that time. Paul Durant drove #1 in the 1997 Indianapolis 500 because A.J. Foyt Racing had won a share of the inaugural Indy Racing League championship the year before with Scott Sharp.
Since car #1 goes to the championship winning team, not necessarily the driver, Michael Andretti was able to use the #1 in his 2006 start because Dan Wheldon had won the championship with Andretti Green Racing the year before, but Wheldon left for Chip Ganassi Racing that offseason. Of course, last year, Kanaan was able to use the #1 because Álex Palou had won the 2021 championship with Ganassi.
#2
Total Uses: 88
First Use: 1911
Most Recent: 2022
Wins: 9 (10.227%)
Top Fives: 35 (39.772%)
Top Tens: 43 (48.863%)
Average Finish: 13.113
Most top five finishes ever, second most victories, second most top ten finishes, the #2 is arguably the second best number in Indianapolis 500 history. However, while it has 43 top ten finishes in 88 appearances, it has never finished eighth, nor has it ever finished tenth. Odd.
#3
Total Uses: 93
First Use: 1911
Most Recent: 2022
Wins: 11 (11.828%)
Top Fives: 34 (36.559%)
Top Tens: 46 (49.462%)
Average Finish: 12.043
When Mauri Rose, Rodger Ward, Bobby Unser, Johnny Rutherford, Bobby Rahal, Rick Mears, Al Unser, Jr. and Hélio Castroneves have all used a number in the Indianapolis 500, it is going to have some victories. All eight of those drivers won driving car #3 in the Indianapolis 500. Howdy Wilcox was the first driver to win in car #3 back in 1919.
It has the most victories and the best winning percentage among qualified numbers. It has the most top ten finishes, and with most victories, comes the best average finish. It is one of six numbers to be used at least 90 times.
#4
Total Uses: 94
First Use: 1911
Most Recent: 2022
Wins: 5 (5.319%)
Top Fives: 27 (28.723%)
Top Tens: 37 (39.361%)
Average Finish: 13.936
Car #4 won in 1920, 1930, 1960 and 1980... and then Emerson Fittipaldi won in 1993, breaking the trend. It was runner-up in four consecutive seasons with Panther Racing from 2008 to 2011. It is tied with car #14 for the second most appearances.
#5
Total Uses: 97
First Use: 1911
Most Recent: 2022
Wins: 6 (6.185%)
Top Fives: 19 (19.587%)
Top Tens: 33 (34.02%)
Average Finish: 15.896
It is easier to list the races car #5 has not appeared in the Indianapolis 500 than the 97 races it has been in: 1939, 1947, 1966, 1968, 1969, 1975, 1978, 1979 and 2018.
That's it. That is the list. While appearing the most, car #5 has not won since Arie Luyendyk in 1997. Three of car #5's victories occurred between 1983 and 1988.
#6
Total Uses: 80
First Use: 1911
Most Recent: 2022
Wins: 5 (6.25%)
Top Fives: 17 (21.25%)
Top Tens: 33 (41.25%)
Average Finish: 15.4625
Car #6 was the first number Bobby Unser used in the Indianapolis 500 and it was Mario Andretti's last. In its 12 uses since Sam Hornish, Jr.'s victory in 2006, car #6 has finished outside the top twenty in six of those appearances, but it has finished no worse than 11th in its last four uses.
#7
Total Uses: 90
First Use: 1911
Most Recent: 2022
Wins: 2 (2.222%)
Top Fives: 17 (18.889%)
Top Tens: 35 (38.889%)
Average Finish: 15.722
Car #7 has not won since Bill Holland in 1949. Felix Rosenqvist's fourth-place finish last year was its first top five finish since Danica Patrick was third in 2009. One other famous appearance for car #7 was the 1986 Indianapolis 500, where it finished second with Kevin Cogan.
#8
Total Uses: 90
First Use: 1911
Most Recent: 2022
Wins: 4 (4.444%)
Top Fives: 13 (14.444%)
Top Tens: 30 (33.333%)
Average Finish: 16.6778
The most recent winner, car #8 had gone 66 years between victories when Marcus Ericsson did what no driver had done since Pat Flaherty. Car #8 has never finished third in the Indianapolis 500, and it has only finished eighth once (John Andretti 1992).
#9
Total Uses: 88
First Use: 1911
Most Recent: 2022
Wins: 4 (4.545%)
Top Fives: 26 (29.545%)
Top Tens: 43 (48.863%)
Average Finish: 13.511
Scott Dixon has used two numbers in his Indianapolis 500 career, #9 and #1 once. Dixon is two starts in car #9 away from tying A.J. Foyt for most times using one number in the Indianapolis 500. Foyt drove car #14 in 21 Indianapolis 500s.
#10
Total Uses: 81
First Use: 1911
Most Recent: 2022
Wins: 1 (1.234%)
Top Fives: 16 (19.7531%)
Top Tens: 26 (32.098%)
Average Finish: 16.667
Considering Chip Ganassi Racing's history, it is a little surprising car #10 has only won the Indianapolis 500 once. That was with Dario Franchitti in 2010. Car #10 does have the dubious distinction of being runner-up to the last two four-time winners. Michael Andretti drove it to second in 1991 behind Rick Mears. Álex Palou was second to Hélio Castroneves 30 years later.
#11
Total Uses: 45
First Use: 1911
Most Recent: 2022
Wins: 1 (2.222%)
Top Fives: 10 (22.222%)
Top Tens: 24 (53.333%)
Average Finish: 12.8667
Car #11 was used in the first Indianapolis 500 and then not used against until 1966. However, it has been making up for lost time. It has the best top ten finish percentage among entries with at least ten starts. It also has the third best average finish.
#12
Total Uses: 84
First Use: 1911
Most Recent: 2022
Wins: 2 (2.381%)
Top Fives: 17 (34.523%)
Top Tens: 29 (34.523%)
Average Finish: 15.2976
Every number in the Indianapolis 500 has history, but car #12 has some fun nuggets. Peter DePaolo drove it to victory in 1925. Alberto Ascari used it in the 1952 Indianapolis 500, Ferrari's only appearance in the famed race. It was Eddie Sachs' number when he was forced to make a late pit stop for tire wear in 1961, giving A.J. Foyt his first of eventually four Indianapolis 500s. Successive Indianapolis 500 Rookies of the Year used it, Randy Lanier in 1986 and Fabrizio Barbazza in 1987.
(Side note: Do a deep dive on Indianapolis 500 Rookies of the Year in the future. Maybe not for 2023, but that could be the 2024 project).
#13
Total Uses: 5
First Use: 1914
Most Recent: 2018
Wins: 0
Top Fives: 0
Top Tens: 1 (20%)
Average Finish: 22.4
Triskaidekaphobia is real. In 106 Indianapolis 500s, car #13 has been used five times. The first was in 1914 with George Mason, but not that George Mason. It would not be used for another 89 years. Greg Ray used it in 2003 and 2004, finishing eighth in 2003. E.J. Viso used it in 2009 and Danica Patrick used it in 2018. It has finished outside the top twenty in four of those races.
#14
Total Uses: 94
First Use: 1912
Most Recent: 2022
Wins: 6 (6.383%)
Top Fives: 16 (17.0213%)
Top Tens: 33 (35.106%)
Average Finish: 15.425
This is the number most associated with A.J. Foyt, but Louis Meyer won his first Indianapolis 500 in car #14 in 1928 and both of Bill Vukovich's historic Indianapolis 500 victories were in this number.
Car #14 has only missed two Indianapolis 500s since 1970. Beside 1993, the year Foyt retired, it was not in the 1971 race, the last time car #1 won the Indianapolis 500. It is only a coincidence, nothing more.
#15
Total Uses: 78
First Use: 1911
Most Recent: 2022
Wins: 3 (3.846%)
Top Fives: 14 (17.948%)
Top Tens: 27 (34.615%)
Average Finish: 16.179
Nothing major with car #15, other than it was the first of two numbers with official co-winners (L.L. Corum and Joe Boyer in 1924), it has a rookie winner (Frank Lockhart in 1926) and it has another winner whose Indianapolis 500 victory was also his first career IndyCar victory (Buddy Rice in 2004).
#16
Total Uses: 77
First Use: 1911
Most Recent: 2021
Wins: 4 (5.19%)
Top Fives: 13 (16.88%)
Top Tens: 30 (38.961%)
Average Finish: 15.4026
The other number with official co-winners (Floyd Davis and Mauri Rose in 1941), car #16 was the first with an international winner, and it is actually responsible for the first two international winners (Jules Goux and René Thomas in 1913 and 1914 respectively).
#17
Total Uses: 61
First Use: 1911
Most Recent: 2022
Wins: 1 (1.639%)
Top Fives: 5 (8.196%)
Top Tens: 13 (21.311%)
Average Finish: 18.1475
Car #17 has won the Indianapolis 500, but it is the only Indianapolis 500 not scheduled for 500 miles. It won the 1916 International 300 Miles Sweepstakes, the race shortened to 200 miles as track management hoped it would be more appearling to fans. The race start was also pushed back to 1:30 p.m. local time, three and a half hours later than the previous five runnings. It was also the smallest grid in Indianapolis 500 history with 21 grids in the race. Dario Resta won the race, the first British national to win the event.
#18
Total Uses: 76
First Use: 1911
Most Recent: 2022
Wins: 0
Top Fives: 10 (13.157%)
Top Tens: 18 (17.1052%)
Average Finish: 17.105
The most used number without a victory is car #18. The closest it came to victory was runner-up in 1990 with Bobby Rahal while Maurício Gugelmin led the most laps in the 1995 race (59 laps) in car #18, but finishing sixth not leading once in the final 62 laps.
#19
Total Uses: 66
First Use: 1911
Most Recent: 2019
Wins: 0
Top Fives: 7 (10.606%)
Top Tens: 19 (28.787%)
Average Finish: 17.333
Of these seven top five finishes for car #19, four of them were at the hands of British-related drivers. Jim Clark was second in 1966. Ed Jones, Emirati-born to British parents, was third as a rookie in 2017. Alex Lloyd coasted to a fourth place finish in 2010. Justin Wilson was fifth in 2013. Those last three top five results all came with Dale Coyne Racing.
#20
Total Uses: 45
First Use: 1911
Most Recent: 2022
Wins: 3 (6.667%)
Top Fives: 11 (24.444%)
Top Tens: 21 (46.667%)
Average Finish: 13.355
Car numbers like #20, #30, #40, #50 and so on were not allowed for most of the first half of the Indianapolis 500 to avoid scoring confusion when it was done by hand and required clear verbal communication between official scorers. After Charlie Merz drove to a seventh place finish in the 1911 Indianapolis 500 driving a National, the number returned in 1968 when Art Pollard drove the Lotus 56, the turbine-powered wedge car.
Gordon Johncock is most associated with this number, but Ed Carpenter has used it the most, 16 times. It has the seventh best top five finish percentage and top ten finish percentage while having the fifth best average finish.
#21
Total Uses: 75
First Use: 1911
Most Recent: 2022
Wins: 0
Top Fives: 11 (14.667%)
Top Tens: 25 (33.333%)
Average Finish: 17.2
Car #18 has appeared in the most races without a victory, but car #21 has the most top five finishes and the most top ten finishes without a victory. The only runner-up finish for car #21 was Jeff Ward in 1999 after Robby Gordon ran out of fuel coming to the white flag, allowing Kenny Bräck to take the victory.
#22
Total Uses: 71
First Use: 1912
Most Recent: 2021
Wins: 1 (14.085%)
Top Fives: 9 (12.676%)
Top Tens: 30 (42.2535%)
Average Finish: 14.3
Since 2010, car #22 has seven top ten finishes in its ten appearances during that time. Three of those are top five results, including Simon Pagenaud's victory in 2019.
#23
Total Uses: 53
First Use: 1911
Most Recent: 2022
Wins: 2 (3.773%)
Top Fives: 6 (11.32%)
Top Tens: 9 (16.981%)
Average Finish: 19.283
One of my favorite factoids in all of IndyCar history, let alone Indianapolis 500 history, is car #23 has won two IndyCar races. Both were Indianapolis 500s (Louis Schneider in 1931 and Floyd Roberts in 1938).
Roberts' victory is the most recent time car #23 has finished in the top five in the "500." Last year, Santino Ferrucci was tenth, the first top ten finish for the number since 1965 when Eddie Johnson was tenth. It has been used 22 times between top ten results. It has been used 32 times since Roberts' victory.
#24
Total Uses: 60
First Use: 1911
Most Recent: 2022
Wins: 1 (1.667%)
Top Fives: 2 (3.333%)
Top Tens: 10 (16.667%)
Average Finish: 19.316
Its only victory was Graham Hill in 1966. That is car #24's most recent top five finish in this event. In 2021, Sage Karam became the first driver to finish in the top ten in car #24 since Tom Bigelow was sixth in 1977. Coincidentally, the last two times car #24 has finished in the top ten, there has been a four-time Indianapolis 500 winner.
#25
Total Uses: 61
First Use: 1911
Most Recent: 2022
Wins: 1 (1.639%)
Top Fives: 6 (9.836%)
Top Tens: 18 (29.508%)
Average Finish: 17.7704
Its only victory was Al Unser's fourth in 1987. Prior to that, the only time car #25 had finished in the top five was second in 1920 with René Thomas. Fourteen different drivers have finished in the top ten driving car #25 in the Indianapolis 500. The one you may never guess correctly? Hiro Matsushita, who was tenth in the 1995 race. It is one of seven top ten results for Matsushita in his 117 IndyCar starts.
Part II will be shared tomorrow.
