Speed Read: Indy 500 By the Numbers
Known as the planet’s largest single-day sporting event, the 98th running of the Indianapolis 500 takes place today at 12:12 p.m. The 200-lap race, obviously one of the oldest and most prestigious events in all of motorsports. A lot happens over the course of the event’s roughly three hours, and here is your speed read about the drivers in the field and Race Day trivia:
33 Drivers
1 Female driver: Pippa Mann
11 American drivers, along with 3 Canadian, 4 Australian, 2 Brazilian, 2 French, 4 Colombian, 4 English, 1 Russian, 1 Spanish, and 1 Japanese
749 Racers who have contested the 500 over time
19 Age of the youngest driver, Sage Karam
46 Age of the oldest driver in the field, Buddy Lazier, who will be perched in the back row with Karam at the start
31.12 Average age of the drivers in the field
20 Drivers have won an IndyCar or Champ Car race to date
6 Drivers on the grid are former Indy 500 winners
7 In the field have won the IndyCar Series championship in a given year
8 Rookies are in the field (and you can meet them here)
12:12 p.m. Start time
82 degrees The day’s forecasted top temperature
22 years, 80 days Age of the youngest winner ever, Troy Ruttman (1952)
47 years, 360 days Age of the oldest winner ever, Al Unser Sr. (1987)
29.89 Winners’ average age
Two full laps Of the 2.5-mile oval: Enough “IndyDogs” (hot dogs) are consumed at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Race Day to stretch that far, end to end
4,000 Gallons of beer consumed by official vendor sales, not including what is brought in by patrons
29 Bars are dedicated to selling margaritas and Bloody Marys
No. 3 The race’s most victorious car number in 97 runnings to date, most recently in Helio Castroneves’s ride in 2001, 2002, and 2009
$3,048,005 Largest amoung of winner’s cash haul to date (Helio Castroneves, 2009)
$1,450 Price of the most expensive item available for purchase at the track, a Tag Heuer watch
$0.33 Price of the least expensive item available for purchase at the track, a postcard
23 Arrests at IMS on Race Day in 2013, mostly due to public intoxication
Photos by Kate Shoup
