Memorial Day is coming up, and that means that 33 people in open-top cars will speed around the Indianapolis Motor Speedway as part of the Indy 500. Here are 13 facts you may or may not known about the famous race.
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- The Indy 500 is run on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, which was initially constructed from around 3.2 million brick pavers.
- From 1936, asphalt was gradually laid over the top, with the entire track covered by 1961.
- A 36-inch wide strip of bricks — the yard of bricks — was kept in its original condition at the start/finish line.
The race
- The race has been run annually since 1911, with only four years skipped (1942, 1943, 1944 and 1945) due to World War II.
- It’s been a part of the IndyCar series from 1996 onwards.
- Between 1950 and 1960, the Indy 500 was actually part of the Formula One world championship, although few European teams made the trip.
- As the name suggests, it’s a 500 mile (805km) race. The track is a 2.5 mile (4km) oval, so drivers need to complete 200 laps in counterclockwise fashion.
- Typically the race takes place around the Memorial Day holiday, which occurs on the last Monday of May. Since 1976, the race day happens on the Sunday before Memorial Day.
Winners and traditions
- Since 1956, a bottle of milk has been given to the winner, who sips, gulps or splashes it down during their victory lap. This tradition apparently started in 1936 after Louis Meyer asked for a glass of milk after winning.
- The winner of the race is ceremonially awarded the Borg-Warner trophy, to which the winner’s face, in the form of a Bas-Relief, is added.
- Since the original trophy was filled up in 1986, faces are now added to the trophy’s base.
- For much of its life, the Indy 500 has had a starting grid for 33 cars.
- The race has been won 27 times by foreign drivers, with the UK, Brazil and France home to most of them.
