1909
1909
1909
1910s
1910s
1920s
1920s
1930s
1930s
1940s
1940s
1950s
1950s
1960s
1960s
1970s
1970s
1980s
1980s
1990s
1990s
2000s
2000s
2010s
2010s
2020
2020
1909
1909
1909
1910s
1910s
1920s
1930s
1930s
1940s
1940s
1950s
1950s
1960s
1960s
1970s
1970s
1980s
1990s
2000s
2010s
2020
02/21/2020
8th Running of the Indy 500
VIDEO
LOOK BOOK
Larger than life characters during the 1920's, sport's Golden Era, captured imag-inations with inspiring tales
of heroic accomplishment...
03/19/2020
READ MORE
Tommy Milton: Indy’s
First Two-Time Winner
ARTICLE
READ MORE
02/21/2020
In the early days of the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge, then known as the International 500-Mile Sweepstakes...
Firestone Tires Went
the Distance
ARTICLE
A full century ago, one of the most iconic names in American automotive history pulled into Victory Circle at the Indianapolis...
04/10/2020
READ MORE
a Century of Success for Chevrolet
ARTICLE
1920s ALMANAC
While the Indianapolis Motor Speedway is well over 100 years old, the golf course located on its fabled grounds is approaching its...
ARTICLE
03/11/2020
Rickenbacker Installs New
Golf Course
READ MORE
READ MORE
1920: Although 1915 winner Ralph de Palma is perhaps best remembered
for his shattering defeat of 1912 (he led all but the first two laps...
03/19/2020
The Indy 500 Year-by-Year
ARTICLE
IMS HISTORIAN DONALD DAVIDSON
DIGITAL DONALD
The “Roaring Twenties” brought increased speeds
and many “firsts” to IMS.
1920s
10/10
A group gathers around Louis Meyer’s No. 14 Miller machine after the finish of the 1928 Indianapolis 500. Meyer led just 19 laps in his first of three Indianapolis 500 win, which was also his first official start in the “500.”
9/10
A view of the 1928 Indianapolis 500 from the pits, with the crowd watching the 500-mile spectacle behind them. The pits in the early days of the Indy 500 are notably different than today, with not even a wall separating the track from the pits.
8/10
Eddie Rickenbacker (second from left) poses for a photo on Indianapolis 500 race day in 1928, his first race day as the owner of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
7/10
Major excitement on Lap 24 of the 1927 Indianapolis 500 when fuel leaking from a split tank on Norman Batten’s car ignited into flames. Instead of pulling into the fuel-laden pits, Batten stood up in the cockpit and drove the car safely past the pits to avoid further fires.
6/10
George Sounders and team pose with the No. 32 Duesenberg as the winners of the 1927, Indianapolis 500. This would be the last race under the ownership of the Carl Fisher/James Allison group, who would sell the Speedway to
Eddie Rickenbacker in August of that year.
5/10
A soaking-wet Frank Lockhart in Victory Circle after winning the Indianapolis 500 in 1926. Lockhart was two laps ahead of second place finisher Harry Hartz when rain ended the race after 400 miles.
4/10
Peter DePaolo, the 1925 winner of the Indianapolis 500, after the finish. With the win, DePaolo became the first driver to finish with an average speed of more than 100 mph. DePaolo averaged 101.13 mph and led 115 laps.
Tommy Milton poses in the infield of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway with is No. 1 H.C.S. Miller machine. With the win in 1923, Milton became the first two-time winner of the “500.”
3/10
Jimmy Murphy takes the checkered flag first and wins the Indianapolis 500 in 1922. Murphy became the first driver to win the race from the pole position, and he won with a then-record average speed of 94.484 mph.
2/10
1/10
Tommy Milton takes the checkered flag, which is being waved from high atop the frontstretch at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, in 1921. Milton won driving a Frontenac, giving the Chevrolet brothers two straight Indianapolis 500 wins.
IMS DIGITAL ARCHIVE
Former Indianapolis 500 driver and World War I “Flying Ace” Captain Eddie Rickenbacker and associates purchased the Speedway for $750,000.
The original Pagoda was razed with fire after the 1925 Indianapolis 500 and replaced with a similar yet slightly larger version for the 1926 race.
1926
1923
Tommy Milton became the first driver to win the Indianapolis 500 two times (his first in 1921). Except for one car, this was also the first time the entire field used single-seat cars during the “500.”
1927
02/21/2020
8th Running of the Indy 500
VIDEO
Lorem ipsum dolor.
AUDIO
One of the great iconic images of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s earliest days depicts a man crouching over a model...
03/19/2020
Indy’s first pole sitter
READ MORE
ARTICLE
Perhaps the best example of how the founding fathers of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway saw their facility as something more...
02/21/2020
The Indianapolis Air Show
READ MORE
ARTICLE
A full century ago, one of the most iconic names in American automotive history pulled into Victory Circle at the Indianapolis...
04/10/2020
a Century of Success for Chevrolet
READ MORE
ARTICLE
LOOK BOOK
1920s ALMANAC
Rickenbacker Installs
New Golf Course
THE INDY 500 YEAR-BY-YEAR
DIGITAL DONALD
IMS HISTORIAN DONALD DAVIDSON
Former Indianapolis 500 driver and World War I “Flying Ace” Captain Eddie Rickenbacker and associates purchased the Speedway for $750,000.
1927
The original Pagoda was razed with fire after the 1925 Indianapolis 500 and replaced with a similar yet slightly larger version for the 1926 race.
1926
Tommy Milton became the first driver to win the Indianapolis 500 two times (his first in 1921). Except for one car, this was also the first time the entire field used single-seat cars during the “500.”
1923
Experience the first decade in
Indianapolis Motor Speedway history
1910s
IMS DIGITAL ARCHIVE
1909
1909
1909
1910s
1910s
1920s
1920s
1930s
1930s
1940s
1940s
1950s
1950s
1960s
1960s
1970s
1970s
1980s
1990s
2000s
2010s
2020
10/10
A group gathers around Louis Meyer’s No. 14 Miller machine after the finish of the 1928 Indianapolis 500. Meyer led just 19 laps in his first of three Indianapolis 500 win, which was also his first official start in the “500.”
9/10
A view of the 1928 Indianapolis 500 from the pits, with the crowd watching the 500-mile spectacle behind them. The pits in the early days of the Indy 500 are notably different than today, with not even a wall separating the track from the pits.
8/10
Eddie Rickenbacker (second from left) poses for a photo on Indianapolis 500 race day in 1928, his first race day as the owner of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
7/10
Major excitement on Lap 24 of the 1927 Indianapolis 500 when fuel leaking from a split tank on Norman Batten’s car ignited into flames. Instead of pulling into the fuel-laden pits, Batten stood up in the cockpit and drove the car safely past the pits to avoid further fires.
6/10
George Sounders and team pose with the No. 32 Duesenberg as the winners of the 1927, Indianapolis 500. This would be the last race under the ownership of the Carl Fisher/James Allison group, who would sell the Speedway to Eddie Rickenbacker in August of that year.
5/10
A soaking-wet Frank Lockhart in Victory Circle after winning the Indianapolis 500 in 1926. Lockhart was two laps ahead of second place finisher Harry Hartz when rain ended the race after 400 miles.
4/10
Peter DePaolo, the 1925 winner of the Indianapolis 500, after the finish. With the win, DePaolo became the first driver to finish with an average speed of more than 100 mph. DePaolo averaged 101.13 mph and led 115 laps.
Tommy Milton poses in the infield of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway with is No. 1 H.C.S. Miller machine. With the win in 1923, Milton became the first two-time winner of the “500.”
3/10
Jimmy Murphy takes the checkered flag first and wins the Indianapolis 500 in 1922. Murphy became the first driver to win the race from the pole position, and he won with a then-record average speed of 94.484 mph.
2/10
1/10
Tommy Milton takes the checkered flag, which is being waved from high atop the frontstretch at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, in 1921. Milton won driving a Frontenac, giving the Chevrolet brothers two straight Indianapolis 500 wins.
02/21/2020
8th Running of the Indy 500
VIDEO
One of the great iconic images of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s earliest days depicts a man crouching over a model...
03/19/2020
Indy’s first pole sitter
READ MORE
ARTICLE
Perhaps the best example of how the founding fathers of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway saw their facility as something more...
02/21/2020
The Indianapolis Air Show
READ MORE
ARTICLE
A full century ago, one of the most iconic names in American automotive history pulled into Victory Circle at the Indianapolis...
04/10/2020
a Century of Success for Chevrolet
READ MORE
ARTICLE
LOOK BOOK
1920s ALMANAC
Rickenbacker Installs New Golf Course
The indy 500 year-by-year
Donalds Speaks on the 1909 year.
IMS HISTORIAN DONALD DAVIDSON
DIGITAL DONALD
Former Indianapolis 500 driver and World War I “Flying Ace” Captain Eddie Rickenbacker and associates purchased the Speedway for $750,000.
1927
The original Pagoda was razed with fire after the 1925 Indianapolis 500 and replaced with a similar yet slightly larger version for the 1926 race.
1926
Tommy Milton became the first driver to win the Indianapolis 500 two times (his first in 1921). Except for one car, this was also the first time the entire field used single-seat cars during the “500.”
1923
RECENT POSTS
1910s
Experience the first decade in Indianapolis Motor Speedway history
10/10
A group gathers around Louis Meyer’s No. 14 Miller machine after the finish of the 1928 Indianapolis 500. Meyer led just 19 laps in his first of three Indianapolis 500 win, which was also his first official start in the “500.”
9/10
A view of the 1928 Indianapolis 500 from the pits, with the crowd watching the 500-mile spectacle behind them. The pits in the early days of the Indy 500 are notably different than today, with not even a wall separating the track from the pits.
8/10
Eddie Rickenbacker (second from left) poses for a photo on Indianapolis 500 race day in 1928, his first race day as the owner of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
7/10
Major excitement on Lap 24 of the 1927 Indianapolis 500 when fuel leaking from a split tank on Norman Batten’s car ignited into flames. Instead of pulling into the fuel-laden pits, Batten stood up in the cockpit and drove the car safely past the pits to avoid further fires.
6/10
George Sounders and team pose with the No. 32 Duesenberg as the winners of the 1927, Indianapolis 500. This would be the last race under the ownership of the Carl Fisher/James Allison group, who would sell the Speedway to Eddie Rickenbacker in August of that year.
5/10
A soaking-wet Frank Lockhart in Victory Circle after winning the Indianapolis 500 in 1926. Lockhart was two laps ahead of second place finisher Harry Hartz when rain ended the race after 400 miles.
Peter DePaolo, the 1925 winner of the Indianapolis 500, after the finish. With the win, DePaolo became the first driver to finish with an average speed of more than 100 mph. DePaolo averaged 101.13 mph and led 115 laps.
Tommy Milton poses in the infield of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway with is No. 1 H.C.S. Miller machine. With the win in 1923, Milton became the first two-time winner of the “500.”
3/10
Jimmy Murphy takes the checkered flag first and wins the Indianapolis 500 in 1922. Murphy became the first driver to win the race from the pole position, and he won with a then-record average speed of 94.484 mph.
2/10
1/10
Tommy Milton takes the checkered flag, which is being waved from high atop the frontstretch at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, in 1921. Milton won driving a Frontenac, giving the Chevrolet brothers two straight Indianapolis 500 wins.
4/10
IMS DIGITAL ARCHIVE
