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
Experience the decade that ushered in a new era of racing at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
1990s
Experience the decade that sparked Indy 500 traditions race fans love today.
1930s
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
1980s
Experience the decade that introduced close racing and thrilling finishes to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Arie Luyendyk establishes the one-lap Indianapolis 500 qualifying record of 237.498 mph and the four-lap record of 236.986.
1996
23-year-old Jeff Gordon wins the inaugural Brickyard 400. The event holds the record as the largest-attended NASCAR race in history with a sellout crowd estimated at 250,000.
aug. 6, 1994
Rick Mears becomes the third driver to win the Indianapolis 500 four times, with his previous wins coming in 1979, 1984 and 1988.
MAY 26, 1991
UNSER FAMILY CREATED UNMATCHED LEGACY OF SPEED
The Origins of Kissing the Bricks
IMS HISTORIAN DONALD DAVIDSON
DIGITAL DONALD
The indy 500 year-by-year
Arie Luyendyk establishes the one-lap Indianapolis 500 qualifying record of 237.498 mph and the four-lap record of 236.986.
1996
23-year-old Jeff Gordon wins the inaugural Brickyard 400. The event holds the record as the largest-attended NASCAR race in history with a sellout crowd estimated at 250,000.
AUG. 6, 1994
Rick Mears becomes the third driver to win the Indianapolis 500 four times, with his previous wins coming in 1979, 1984 and 1988.
may 26, 1991
THE INDY 500 YEAR-BY-YEAR
UNSER FAMILY CREATED
UNMATCHED LEGACY OF SPEED
The Origins of Kissing the Bricks
DIGITAL DONALD
IMS HISTORIAN DONALD DAVIDSON
Arie Luyendyk establishes the one-lap Indianapolis 500 qualifying record of 237.498 mph and the four-lap record of 236.986.
1996
23-year-old Jeff Gordon wins the inaugural Brickyard 400. The event holds the record as the largest-attended NASCAR race in history with a sellout crowd estimated at 250,000.
Rick Mears becomes the third driver to win the Indianapolis 500 four times, with his previous wins coming in 1979, 1984 and 1988.
MAY 26,
1991
1994
AUG. 6,
READ MORE
“Kissing the Bricks” is a much more recent Indianapolis Motor Speedway tradition, and it is well-documented. It debuted at the third running of NASCAR’s Brickyard 400 event in 1996...
05/19/2020
The Origins of Kissing the Bricks
ARTICLE
IMS HISTORIAN DONALD DAVIDSON
DIGITAL DONALD
READ MORE
1990: Almost a full quarter of an hour was sliced from Bobby Rahal’s four-year-old record as Arie Luyendyk ripped through the 500 miles...
06/08/2020
The Indy 500 Year-by-Year
ARTICLE
Call it, if you will, The Unser Dynasty. Between 1968 and 1994, a driver by the name of Unser won the Indianapolis 500 nine times. In fact, nearly one out of 11 of every Indianapolis 500...
ARTICLE
04/20/2020
UNSER FAMILY CREATED
UNMATCHED LEGACY OF SPEED
READ MORE
“I do get asked, of all the races, what was the one that meant the most? And of course, it’s winning the Indy 500,” Al Unser Jr said...
06/03/2020
READ MORE
A DRAG RACE TO THE FINISH: THE 1992 INDY 500
ARTICLE
READ MORE
04/02/2020
Rick Mears’ fourth Indianapolis 500 victory in 1991 is well known as one of the most spectacular of the modern era...
RICK MEARS’ SPECTACULAR FOURTH INDY 500 WIN
ARTICLE
For a seven-day period in September 1993, Nigel Mansell was the only man in history to concurrently hold both the Formula One...
06/05/2020
READ MORE
NIGEL MANSELL’S
INDY 500 DEBUT
ARTICLE
He seemed too young to have achieved such a milestone, too inexperienced to have reached such a summit...
04/20/2020
READ MORE
Inaugural Brickyard Win Elevated Gordon
ARTICLE
1990s ALMANAC
READ MORE
06/06/2020
1994: Jeff Gordon’s victory in the inaugural Brickyard 400 on Aug. 6, 1994 was his second career NASCAR Cup Series win...
Brickyard 400
Year-by-Year
ARTICLE
02/18/2009
Arie Luyendyk Centennial Era Moment
VIDEO
02/19/2009
NASCAR Comes to Indy Centennial Era Moment
VIDEO
03/11/2011
Closest Indy 500 Finish in 1992
VIDEO
02/18/2009
Willy T. Ribbs in 1991 Centennial Era Moment
VIDEO
02/18/2009
1991 Centennial Era Moment
VIDEO
LOOK BOOK
03/18/2009
NASCAR Comes to Indy Centennial Era
VIDEO
04/15/2011
Arie Luyendyk Centennial Moment
VIDEO
06/07/2018
Closest Indy 500 Finish in 1992
VIDEO
02/19/2009
Willy T. Ribbs in 1991 Centennial Era Moment
VIDEO
01/28/2011
1991 Centennial Era Moment
VIDEO
READ MORE
06/05/2020
Every driver who wins the Indianapolis 500 earns a spot in the rich lore of motorsports and a piece of immortality...
NIGEL MANSELL’S
INDY 500 DEBUT
ARTICLE
“Yellow,” the No. 5 Miller American crew radioed to its driver Danny Sullivan on the 120th lap...
06/03/2020
READ MORE
A DRAG RACE TO THE FINISH: THE 1992 INDY 500
ARTICLE
READ MORE
06/02/2020
Forty years ago, Tom Sneva was the most famous bridesmaid in Indianapolis 500 history...
RICK MEARS’ SPECTACULAR FOURTH INDY 500 WIN
ARTICLE
LOOK BOOK
1990s ALMANAC
“Yellow,” the No. 5 Miller American crew radioed to its driver Danny Sullivan on the 120th lap...
06/06/2020
READ MORE
BRICKYARD 400
Year-by-Year
ARTICLE
When race fans think of dominant drivers of the Indianapolis 500, they likely think of A.J. Foyt in the 1960s...
06/02/2020
Shaw Writes History with Amazing
Indy 500 Success
READ MORE
ARTICLE
He seemed too young to have achieved such a milestone, too inexperienced to have reached such a summit...
04/20/2020
Inaugural Brickyard Win Elevated Gordon
READ MORE
ARTICLE
LOOK BOOK
1990s ALMANAC
When race fans think of dominant drivers of the Indianapolis 500, they likely think of A.J. Foyt in the 1960s...
06/05/2020
Shaw Writes History with Amazing
Indy 500 Success
READ MORE
ARTICLE
“I do get asked, of all the races, what was the one that meant the most? And of course, it’s winning the Indy 500,” Al Unser Jr. said...
06/03/2020
A DRAG RACE TO THE FINISH: THE 1992 INDY 500
READ MORE
ARTICLE
When race fans think of dominant drivers of the Indianapolis 500, they likely think of A.J. Foyt in the 1960s...
06/06/2020
Shaw Writes History with Amazing
Indy 500 Success
READ MORE
ARTICLE
IMS DIGITAL ARCHIVE
1909
1909
1909
1910s
1910s
1920s
1930s
1930s
1940s
1940s
1950s
1950s
1960s
1960s
1970s
1980s
1990s
2000s
2010s
2020
10/10
Legendary NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt Sr. salutes the crowd, which waited through a four-hour rain delay, after winning the second annual Brickyard 400 in 1995.
9/10
Pole sitter Rick Mast (right) and Dale Earnhardt Sr. (left) lead the field into Turn 1 on the first official lap of NASCAR competition at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in the 1994 Brickyard 400.
8/10
The starting field for the inaugural Brickyard 400 in 1994 poses for a photo at the Yard of Bricks with Indianapolis Motor Speedway and NASCAR leadership to commemorate the historic event.
7/10
Al Unser Jr. celebrates in Victory Circle after scoring his second Indianapolis 500 victory in three years, this time for Team Penske. Unser won in the iconic ’94 Penske/Mercedes-Benz.
6/10
Mario Andretti during the 1994 Month of May at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. His season-long retirement tour, called “Arrivederci, Mario,” resulted in a 32nd place finish in his final Indianapolis 500 due to a failed fuel system after completing just 23 laps.
5/10
Just before Indianapolis 500 qualifying in 1993, Indy 500 legend A.J. Foyt, with a tear streaming down his left cheek, tells IMS public address announcer Tom Carnegie of his sudden decision to retire from open-wheel racing.
4/10
Nine NASCAR drivers pose on the main straightaway before conducting a tire test at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the first official NASCAR test in the track’s history, June 22-23, 1992. The participants: Rusty Wallace, Dale Earnhardt, Ricky Rudd, Mark Martin, Bill Elliott, Darrell Waltrip, Ernie Irvan, Davey Allison and Kyle Petty. The top speed was 168.767 mph by Elliott on June 23.
Al Unser Jr. leads Scott Goodyear as the two battle for the lead on the apron in the 1992 Indianapolis 500. This was the final year of the apron. In 1993, the track was slightly reconfigured with the installation of a separated “warm-up” lane.
3/10
Rick Mears takes a historic drink of milk after winning his fourth Indianapolis 500 in 1991 when he joined A.J. Foyt and Al Unser Sr. as four-time “500” winners. Mears would retire from racing the following year.
2/10
1/10
Willy T. Ribbs poses with his crew after becoming the first African-American driver to qualify for the Indianapolis 500 in 1991, earning the 29th spot on the starting grid.
10/10
Legendary NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt Sr. salutes the crowd, which waited through a four-hour rain delay, after winning the second annual Brickyard 400 in 1995.
9/10
Pole sitter Rick Mast (right) and Dale Earnhardt Sr. (left) lead the field into Turn 1 on the first official lap of NASCAR competition at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in the 1994 Brickyard 400.
8/10
The starting field for the inaugural Brickyard 400 in 1994 poses for a photo at the Yard of Bricks with Indianapolis Motor Speedway and NASCAR leadership to commemorate the historic event.
7/10
Al Unser Jr. celebrates in Victory Circle after scoring his second Indianapolis 500 victory in three years, this time for Team Penske. Unser won in the iconic ’94 Penske/Mercedes-Benz.
6/10
Mario Andretti during the 1994 Month of May at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. His season-long retirement tour, called “Arrivederci, Mario,” resulted in a 32nd place finish in his final Indianapolis 500 due to a failed fuel system after completing just 23 laps.
5/10
Just before Indianapolis 500 qualifying in 1993, Indy 500 legend A.J. Foyt, with a tear streaming down his left cheek, tells IMS public address announcer Tom Carnegie of his sudden decision to retire from open-wheel racing.
4/10
Nine NASCAR drivers pose on the main straightaway before conducting a tire test at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the first official NASCAR test in the track’s history, June 22-23, 1992. The participants: Rusty Wallace, Dale Earnhardt, Ricky Rudd, Mark Martin, Bill Elliott, Darrell Waltrip, Ernie Irvan, Davey Allison and Kyle Petty. The top speed was 168.767 mph by Elliott on June 23.
Al Unser Jr. leads Scott Goodyear as the two battle for the lead on the apron in the 1992 Indianapolis 500. This was the final year of the apron. In 1993, the track was slightly reconfigured with the installation of a separated “warm-up” lane.
3/10
Rick Mears takes a historic drink of milk after winning his fourth Indianapolis 500 in 1991 when he joined A.J. Foyt and Al Unser Sr. as four-time “500” winners. Mears would retire from racing the following year.
2/10
1/10
Willy T. Ribbs poses with his crew after becoming the first African-American driver to qualify for the Indianapolis 500 in 1991, earning the 29th spot on the starting grid.
10/10
Legendary NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt Sr. salutes the crowd, which waited through a four-hour rain delay, after winning the second annual Brickyard 400 in 1995.
9/10
Pole sitter Rick Mast (right) and Dale Earnhardt Sr. (left) lead the field into Turn 1 on the first official lap of NASCAR competition at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in the 1994 Brickyard 400.
8/10
The starting field for the inaugural Brickyard 400 in 1994 poses for a photo at the Yard of Bricks with Indianapolis Motor Speedway and NASCAR leadership to commemorate the historic event.
7/10
Al Unser Jr. celebrates in Victory Circle after scoring his second Indianapolis 500 victory in three years, this time for Team Penske. Unser won in the iconic ’94 Penske/Mercedes-Benz.
6/10
Mario Andretti during the 1994 Month of May at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. His season-long retirement tour, called “Arrivederci, Mario,” resulted in a 32nd place finish in his final Indianapolis 500 due to a failed fuel system after completing just 23 laps.
5/10
Just before Indianapolis 500 qualifying in 1993, Indy 500 legend A.J. Foyt, with a tear streaming down his left cheek, tells IMS public address announcer Tom Carnegie of his sudden decision to retire from open-wheel racing.
4/10
Nine NASCAR drivers pose on the main straightaway before conducting a tire test at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the first official NASCAR test in the track’s history, June 22-23, 1992. The participants: Rusty Wallace, Dale Earnhardt, Ricky Rudd, Mark Martin, Bill Elliott, Darrell Waltrip, Ernie Irvan, Davey Allison and Kyle Petty. The top speed was 168.767 mph by Elliott on June 23.
Al Unser Jr. leads Scott Goodyear as the two battle for the lead on the apron in the 1992 Indianapolis 500. This was the final year of the apron. In 1993, the track was slightly reconfigured with the installation of a separated “warm-up” lane.
3/10
Rick Mears takes a historic drink of milk after winning his fourth Indianapolis 500 in 1991 when he joined A.J. Foyt and Al Unser Sr. as four-time “500” winners. Mears would retire from racing the following year.
2/10
1/10
Willy T. Ribbs poses with his crew after becoming the first African-American driver to qualify for the Indianapolis 500 in 1991, earning the 29th spot on the starting grid.
1990
Lola Dominos Hot One -
ARIE Luyendyk
NOW OPEN!
AT THE MUSEUM
1995
Reynard Players Ltd -
Jacques Villeneuve
1998
Dallara Rachel's Potato Chips -
EDDIE Cheever
AT THE MUSEUM
OPEN NOW!
READ MORE
05/27/2020
Rick Mears’ fourth Indianapolis 500 victory in 1991 is well known as one of the most spectacular of the modern era...
Inaugural Brickyard Win Elevated Gordon
ARTICLE