Every Indianapolis 500 Winner in History: The Youngest, Oldest and Other Superlatives

Patrick Andres | May 31, 2024

Drivers make their way through turn one Monday, May 20, 2024, at Indianapolis Motor Speedway during practice in preparation for the 108th running of the Indianapolis 500. / Mykal McEldowney/IndyStar / USA TODAY

With the possible exception of Daytona Beach, Fla., no city in the United States is more synonymous with auto racing than Indianapolis.

Since 1911, the capital of Indiana has been home to the self-described "greatest spectacle in racing." The Indianapolis 500 has persevered through wars, pandemics, economic downturns and a slew of American open-wheel racing reorganizations to remain a stalwart of the sports calendar.

With this year's race scheduled for Sunday, let's take a look at some of the competition's most durable superlatives—followed by a table of every winner since the earliest days of the sport. Grab a bottle of milk.

Who is the Indianapolis 500's oldest winner?

That would be Al Unser in 1987, five days shy of his 48th birthday. His brother Bobby in 1981 is second, also at the age of 47.

Who is the Indianapolis 500's youngest winner?

22-year-old Troy Ruttman in 1952.

Who was the Indianapolis 500's first winner?

Ray Harroun in 1911.

Who is the Indianapolis 500's most recent winner?

Josef Newgarden won the race in 2023.

Who is the Indianapolis 500's most frequent winner?

A.J. Foyt (1961, 1964, 1967 and 1977), Al Unser (1970, 1971, 1978 and 1987), Rick Mears (1979, 1984, 1988 and 1991) and Hélio Castroneves (2001, 2002, 2009 and 2021) all won the race four times.

Who are all the winners of the Indianapolis 500?

And now, the big table: Enjoy all the winners of Indianapolis's day in the sun from 1911 to the present. Note that the race was not held from 1917 to '18 due to World War I and 1942 to '45 due to World War II. Note also two instances (1924 and 1941) of a relief driver taking over during the race, thus ensuring two drivers would be credited as winners.

YEAR	WINNER	COUNTRY
1911	Ray Harroun	United States
1912	Joe Dawson	United States
1913	Jules Goux	France
1914	René Thomas	France
1915	Ralph DePalma	United States
1916	Dario Resta	Great Britain
1919	Howdy Wilcox	United States
1920	Gaston Chevrolet	United States
1921	Tommy Milton	United States
1922	Jimmy Murphy	United States
1923	Tommy Milton	United States
1924	Lora L. Corum and Joe Boyer	United States
1925	Pete DePaolo	United States
1926	Frank Lockhart	United States
1927	George Souders	United States
1928	Louis Meyer	United States
1929	Ray Keech	United States
1930	Billy Arnold	United States
1931	Louis Schneider	United States
1932	Fred Frame	United States
1933	Louis Meyer	United States
1934	Bill Cummings	United States
1935	Kelly Petillo	United States
1936	Louis Meyer	United States
1937	Wilbur Shaw	United States
1938	Floyd Roberts	United States
1939	Wilbur Shaw	United States
1940	Wilbur Shaw	United States
1941	Floyd Davis and Mauri Rose	United States
1946	George Robson	United States
1947	Mauri Rose	United States
1948	Mauri Rose	United States
1949	Bill Holland	United States
1950	Johnnie Parsons	United States
1951	Lee Wallard	United States
1952	Troy Ruttman	United States
1953	Bill Vukovich	United States
1954	Bill Vukovich	United States
1955	Bob Sweikert	United States
1956	Pat Flaherty	United States
1957	Sam Hanks	United States
1958	Jimmy Bryan	United States
1959	Rodger Ward	United States
1960	Jim Rathmann	United States
1961	A.J. Foyt	United States
1962	Rodger Ward	United States
1963	Parnelli Jones	United States
1964	A.J. Foyt	United States
1965	Jim Clark	Great Britain
1966	Graham Hill	Great Britain
1967	A.J. Foyt	United States
1968	Bobby Unser	United States
1969	Mario Andretti	United States
1970	Al Unser	United States
1971	Al Unser	United States
1972	Mark Donohue	United States
1973	Gordon Johncock	United States
1974	Johnny Rutherford	United States
1975	Bobby Unser	United States
1976	Johnny Rutherford	United States
1977	A.J. Foyt	United States
1978	Al Unser	United States
1979	Rick Mears	United States
1980	Johnny Rutherford	United States
1981	Bobby Unser	United States
1982	Gordon Johncock	United States
1983	Tom Sneva	United States
1984	Rick Mears	United States
1985	Danny Sullivan	United States
1986	Bobby Rahal	United States
1987	Al Unser	United States
1988	Rick Mears	United States
1989	Emerson Fittipaldi	Brazil
1990	Arie Luyendyk	Netherlands
1991	Rick Mears	United States
1992	Al Unser Jr.	United States
1993	Emerson Fittipaldi	Brazil
1994	Al Unser Jr.	United States
1995	Jacques Villenueve	Canada
1996	Buddy Lazier	United States
1997	Arie Luyendyk	Netherlands
1998	Eddie Cheever	United States
1999	Kenny Bräck	Sweden
2000	Juan Pablo Montoya	Colombia
2001	Hélio Castroneves	Brazil
2002	Hélio Castroneves	Brazil
2003	Gil de Ferran	Brazil
2004	Buddy Rice	United States
2005	Dan Wheldon	Great Britain
2006	Sam Hornish Jr.	United States
2007	Dario Franchitti	Great Britain
2008	Scott Dixon	New Zealand
2009	Hélio Castroneves	Brazil
2010	Dario Franchitti	Great Britain
2011	Dan Wheldon	Great Britain
2012	Dario Franchitti	Great Britain
2013	Tony Kanaan	Brazil
2014	Ryan Hunter-Reay	United States
2015	Juan Pablo Montoya	Colombia
2016	Alexander Rossi	United States
2017	Takuma Sato	Japan
2018	Will Power	Australia
2019	Simon Pagenaud	France
2020	Takuma Sato	Japan
2021	Hélio Castroneves	Brazil
2022	Marcus Ericsson	Sweden
2023	Josef Newgarden	United States