The Historic Indianapolis 500: From Inception to Tradition
Discover the rich history of the Indianapolis 500, which began in 1911 with 40 cars lining up for the first race. Uncover the origins of the tradition of drinking milk in Victory Lane by the race winner and learn how the Indianapolis Motor Speedway came to be a prominent venue for motorsports. Explore the evolution of the race name over the years and interesting fun facts associated with this iconic event.
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Presentation Transcript
How did the Indy 500 start? On May 30, 1911, 40 cars lined up at the starting line for the first Indy 500. A multi-car accident occurred 13 laps into the race, and the ensuing chaos temporarily disrupted scoring, throwing the finish into dispute when the eventual runner-up, Ralph Mulford, argued that he was the rightful winner.
Why do they dump milk at the Indy 500? The winner of the Indianapolis 500 drinks milk in Victory Lane. It's a tradition. In 1936, Louis Meyer drank some in Victory Lane because his mother said it would refresh him on a hot day, according to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. ... Hinchcliffe added: "(Buttermilk) is what Louis Meyer drank.
Building Motor Speedway The Indianapolis Motor Speedway complex was built in 1909 as a gravel-and-tar track and hosted a smattering of small events, including ones for motorcycles. The first long-distance event, in "fearful conditions," was the 100- lap Prest-O-Lite Trophy in 1909, won by Bob Burman in a Buick. The breakup of the track surface led to two fatal accidents in the first two long-distance events (a 250 mi (400 km) and 300 mi (480 km), which was shortened to 235 mi (378 km) after two severe wrecks).
Race name The race was originally advertised as the "International 500-Mile Sweepstakes Race from 1911 to 1916. However, from its inception, the race has been widely known as the Indianapolis 500 or, more simply as "the 500". In 1919, the race was referred to as the "Liberty Sweepstakes" following WWI. From 1920 to 1980, the race officially reverted to the "International Sweepstakes" moniker, as printed on the tickets and other paraphernalia, with slight variations over the years. Following WWII, the race was commonly recognized as "The 500", "The 500-Mile Race", "Indianapolis 500-Mile Race", "Indianapolis 500", or the simple form "Indy 500". Usually the ordinal (e.g. "50th") preceded it. Often the race was also advertised on the radio as the "Annual Memorial Day race," or similar variations.
Fun Facts to share Distance: 500 miles (805 km) Laps: 200 Most wins (driver): A.J. Foyt (4), Al Unser (4), Rick Mears (4) Most wins (team): Penske (18) Drivers die: 23 The distance of one lap around the oval is 2.5 miles. It s been said that Yankee Stadium, the Rose Bowl, Churchill Downs, the Colosseum in Rome and Vatican City all can fit inside the Indy oval (253 acres).
Fun Facts to share cont. 10 women have started the Indy 500, but Janet Guthrie (1977) was the first, qualifying 26th and finishing 29th. If all of the Indy hot dogs and bratwurst sold on race day were laid end-to-end, they would circle the oval more than three times. The closest margin of victory was in 1992 when Al Unser Jr. edged Scott Goodyear by .043 of a second.
Refences https://www.history.com/this-day-in- history/first-indianapolis-500-held https://www.indystar.com/story/sports/motor/in dy-500/2019/05/23/indy-500-why-winner- drinks-milk-and-why-cant-buttermilk-despite- tradition/1209717001/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indianapolis_50 https://www.newsday.com/sports/motor- racing/20-fun-facts-about-the-indy-500- 1.2910256 This presentation has been designed using resources from PoweredTemplate.com
