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
IMS DIGITAL ARCHIVE
A new Master Control Tower (replacing the 1926 Pagoda), Tower Terrace and Pit Area were completed before May—along with a new tunnel under the backstretch.
1957
The main offices of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway were relocated from downtown Indianapolis to the main entrance to the grounds (outside Turn 1). This building also included the first Museum, which opened with six cars in the collection and free admission.
1956
Tony Hulman became president of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway after the tragic death of Wilbur Shaw in a plane crash on Oct. 30, 1954, near Decatur, Indiana.
1955
Experience the decade that introduced modern-day legends to
race fans around the world.
1950s
READ MORE
A.J. Watson, four-time Indianapolis 500-winning chief mechanic, prolific car builder and one of the most beloved characters...
05/02/2020
A.J. Watson: Truly One Of A Kind
The victory by Sam Hanks in the 1957 Indianapolis 500 was conceivably the single most popular in the entire history of the event...
05/02/2020
SAM HANKS' 1957 INDY 500 VICTORY PROVED MOST POPULAR
READ MORE
IMS HISTORIAN DONALD DAVIDSON
DIGITAL DONALD
05/23/2018
History of Roadster Era Moment
VIDEO
02/19/2019
Troy Ruttman Centennial Era Moment
VIDEO
04/18/2018
Memory Lane – Pat Flaherty wins 1956
VIDEO
LOOK BOOK
READ MORE
05/12/2020
"I still wake up in the middle of the night, thinking about what might've been," laments Jim Travers. Travers was the chief mechanic...
Bill Vukovich –
The Greatest Ever?
ARTICLE
The German Mercedes-Benz and Auto Union teams dominated international racing in the pre-World War II era. The “Silver Arrows”...
04/15/2020
READ MORE
Streamliners Usher in New Era at Indy 500
ARTICLE
1950s ALMANAC
02/19/2009
Tom Carnegie Centennial Era Moment
VIDEO
04/13/2018
Memory Lane – Pat Flaherty Wins 1956
VIDEO
05/23/2018
History of Roadster Era
VIDEO
LOOK BOOK
Generations ago, not every Indianapolis 500 driver was a full-time wheelman. Whereas today’s contestants...
04/15/2020
MAURI ROSE SHINED AS MOONLIGHTER
READ MORE
ARTICLE
1950s ALMANAC
‘The Greatest Spectacle in Racing’ Has Unique Origins
IMS RADIO NETWORK HAS BROUGHT INDY 500 ACTION FOR DECADES
A.J. WATSON: TRULY ONE OF A KIND
SAM HANKS' 1957 INDY 500 VICTORY PROVED MOST POPULAR
IMS HISTORIAN DONALD DAVIDSON
DIGITAL DONALD
A new Master Control Tower (replacing the 1926 Pagoda), Tower Terrace and Pit Area were completed before May—along with a new tunnel under the backstretch.
1957
The main offices of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway were relocated from downtown Indianapolis to the main entrance to the grounds (outside Turn 1). This building also included the first Museum, which opened with six cars in the collection and free admission.
1956
Tony Hulman became president of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway after the tragic death of Wilbur Shaw in a plane crash on Oct. 30, 1954, near Decatur, Indiana.
1955
1940s
Experience the decade that changed the course of history at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
IMS DIGITAL ARCHIVE
1909
1909
1909
1910s
1910s
1920s
1930s
1930s
1940s
1940s
1950s
1950s
1960s
1960s
1970s
1970s
1980s
1990s
2000s
2010s
2020
10/10
A young A.J. Foyt on pit lane in May 1958. This year marked Foyt’s very first Indianapolis 500 start and was just the beginning of a legendary career that included 35 consecutive Indy 500 starts with a record four wins.
9/10
The start of the 1956 Indianapolis 500, which was the first race to be run on the freshly paved racetrack that left more than 600 yards of bricks still exposed on the main straightaway.
8/10
One of the last known photographs of Bill Vukovich in the No. 4 car, racing Jack McGrath in the No. 3, in 1955. Vukovich lost his life after being caught up in a wreck on Lap 57 while in the lead.
7/10
Winner Bill Vukovich, sitting next to Jack McGrath, shakes the hand of a young Miss Mari Hulman at the 1954 Indianapolis 500 Victory Banquet, where Vukovich’s second straight “500” victory was honored.
6/10
A pit stop is performed on the No. 14 roadster of Bill Vukovich
in 1953. Vukovich would easily go on to win his first
Indianapolis 500 that year by leading 195 of 200 laps.
5/10
Legendary public address announcer Tom Carnegie interviews Augie Duesenberg on race morning of the 1953
Indianapolis 500.
4/10
Troy Ruttman in Victory Circle after winning the 1952 Indianapolis 500 and becoming the youngest winner ever at 22 years, one month and 19 days. While he was 22 when he won, it was revealed that in the years leading up to his win, Ruttman had lied about his age so that he could compete at Indianapolis, which had an age limit of 21.
Bill Vukovich in the first of the Kurtis-Kraft “roadsters” in 1952.
The new style car that Vukovich drove would go on to revolutionize racing in the Indianapolis 500.
3/10
Freddie Agabashian with his No. 28 Cummins Diesel Special parked in front of the Pagoda in 1952. The car featured a Cummins-built 401-cubic inch diesel truck engine laid on its side and boosted by the track’s first-ever turbocharger. Agabashian won the pole but finished 27th.
2/10
1/10
Hollywood legend Clark Gable poses with Pat Flaherty and the No. 59 Granatelli-entered Kurtis/Offy team in their post-qualification photo in 1950.
02/19/2009
Troy Ruttman Centennial Era Moments
VIDEO
02/19/2009
Tom Carnegie Centennial Era Moments
VIDEO
Generations ago, not every Indianapolis 500 driver was a full-time wheelman. Whereas today’s contestants...
05/12/2020
MAURI ROSE SHINED AS MOONLIGHTER
READ MORE
ARTICLE
Radio broadcasts emanating from the Indianapolis 500 date all the way back to the early 1920s, when the handful...
04/30/2020
READ MORE
IMS Radio Network Has Brought
Indy 500 Action For Decades
ARTICLE
The term “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing” is derived from the standard station “out cue” which has been used...
05/01/2020
READ MORE
THE PHRASE 'THE GREATEST SPECTACLE IN RACING' HAS UNIQUE ORIGINs
ARTICLE
Rain put a premature end to the 1950 race, the checkered flag being waved at 345 miles when a storm moved through...
05/01/2020
READ MORE
The Indy 500 Year-by-Year
ARTICLE
1920s
05/23/2018
History of Roadster Era
VIDEO
02/19/2009
Troy Ruttman Centennial Era Moments
VIDEO
04/13/2018
Memory Lane – Pat Flaherty Wins 1956
VIDEO
Lorem ipsum dolor.
AUDIO
The German Mercedes-Benz and Auto Union teams dominated international racing in the pre-World War II era...
04/15/2020
Streamliners Usher in New Era at Indy 500
READ MORE
ARTICLE
LOOK BOOK
1950s ALMANAC
‘The Greatest Spectacle in Racing’ Has Unique Origins
IMS RADIO NETWORK HAS BROUGHT INDY 500 ACTION FOR DECADES
A.J. WATSON: TRULY ONE OF A KIND
SAM HANKS' 1957 INDY 500
VICTORY PROVED MOST POPULAR
DIGITAL DONALD
IMS HISTORIAN DONALD DAVIDSON
A new Master Control Tower (replacing the 1926 Pagoda), Tower Terrace and Pit Area were completed before May—along with a new tunnel under the backstretch.
1957
The main offices of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway were relocated from downtown Indianapolis to the main entrance to the grounds (outside Turn 1). This building also included the first Museum, which opened with six cars in the collection and free admission.
1956
Tony Hulman became president of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway after the tragic death of Wilbur Shaw in a plane crash on Oct. 30, 1954, near Decatur, Indiana.
1955
Experience the decade that changed
the course of history at the
Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
1940s
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 young A.J. Foyt on pit lane in May 1958. This year marked Foyt’s very first Indianapolis 500 start and was just the beginning of a legendary career that included 35 consecutive Indy 500 starts with a record four wins.
9/10
The start of the 1956 Indianapolis 500, which was the first race to be run on the freshly paved racetrack that left more than 600 yards of bricks still exposed on the main straightaway.
8/10
One of the last known photographs of Bill Vukovich in the No. 4 car, racing Jack McGrath in the No. 3, in 1955. Vukovich lost his life after being caught up in a wreck on Lap 57 while in the lead.
7/10
Winner Bill Vukovich, sitting next to Jack McGrath, shakes the hand of a young Miss Mari Hulman at the 1954 Indianapolis 500 Victory Banquet, where Vukovich’s second straight “500” victory was honored.
6/10
A pit stop is performed on the No. 14 roadster of Bill Vukovich
in 1953. Vukovich would easily go on to win his first
Indianapolis 500 that year by leading 195 of 200 laps.
5/10
Legendary public address announcer Tom Carnegie interviews Augie Duesenberg on race morning of the 1953
Indianapolis 500.
4/10
Troy Ruttman in Victory Circle after winning the 1952 Indianapolis 500 and becoming the youngest winner ever at 22 years, one month and 19 days. While he was 22 when he won, it was revealed that in the years leading up to his win, Ruttman had lied about his age so that he could compete at Indianapolis, which had an age limit of 21.
Bill Vukovich in the first of the Kurtis-Kraft “roadsters” in 1952.
The new style car that Vukovich drove would go on to revolutionize racing in the Indianapolis 500.
3/10
Freddie Agabashian with his No. 28 Cummins Diesel Special parked in front of the Pagoda in 1952. The car featured a Cummins-built 401-cubic inch diesel truck engine laid on its side and boosted by the track’s first-ever turbocharger. Agabashian won the pole but finished 27th.
2/10
1/10
Hollywood legend Clark Gable poses with Pat Flaherty and the No. 59 Granatelli-entered Kurtis/Offy team in their post-qualification photo in 1950.
ARTICLE
ARTICLE
"I still wake up in the middle of the night, thinking about what might've been," laments Jim Travers. Travers was the chief mechanic...
05/12/2020
Bill Vukovich – The Greatest Ever?
READ MORE
ARTICLE
10/10
A young A.J. Foyt on pit lane in May 1958. This year marked Foyt’s very first Indianapolis 500 start and was just the beginning of a legendary career that included 35 consecutive Indy 500 starts with a record four wins.
9/10
The start of the 1956 Indianapolis 500, which was the first race to be run on the freshly paved racetrack that left more than 600 yards of bricks still exposed on the main straightaway.
8/10
One of the last known photographs of Bill Vukovich in the No. 4 car, racing Jack McGrath in the No. 3, in 1955. Vukovich lost his life after being caught up in a wreck on Lap 57 while in the lead.
7/10
Winner Bill Vukovich, sitting next to Jack McGrath, shakes the hand of a young Miss Mari Hulman at the 1954 Indianapolis 500 Victory Banquet, where Vukovich’s second straight “500” victory was honored.
6/10
A pit stop is performed on the No. 14 roadster of Bill Vukovich in 1953. Vukovich would easily go on to win his first Indianapolis 500 that year by leading 195 of 200 laps.
5/10
Legendary public address announcer Tom Carnegie interviews Augie Duesenberg on race morning of the 1953 Indianapolis 500.
4/10
Troy Ruttman in Victory Circle after winning the 1952 Indianapolis 500 and becoming the youngest winner ever at 22 years, one month and 19 days. While he was 22 when he won, it was revealed that in the years leading up to his win, Ruttman had lied about his age so that he could compete at Indianapolis, which had an age limit of 21.
Bill Vukovich in the first of the Kurtis-Kraft “roadsters” in 1952. The new style car that Vukovich drove would go on to revolutionize racing in the Indianapolis 500.
3/10
Freddie Agabashian with his No. 28 Cummins Diesel Special parked in front of the Pagoda in 1952. The car featured a Cummins-built 401-cubic inch diesel truck engine laid on its side and boosted by the track’s first-ever turbocharger. Agabashian won the pole but finished 27th.
2/10
1/10
Hollywood legend Clark Gable poses with Pat Flaherty and the No. 59 Granatelli-entered Kurtis/Offy team in their
post-qualification photo in 1950.
05/23/2018
Tom Carnegie Centennial Era Moment
VIDEO
THE INDY 500 YEAR-BY-YEAR
The indy 500 year-by-year