History of Indy 500 follows or leads trend for the cars we drive on the street

Cars have come a long way since 1911 and the first Indianapolis 500 when Ray Harroun won the race in his yellow No. 32 Marmon Wasp. In that race, Harroun averaged 74.602 mph. That may seem ridiculously slow until you consider that Ralph Mulford won the race the next year with an average speed of 56.29 mph.

In 2021, Brazilian Hélio Castroneves won the race with an average speed of 190.690 mph. That’s 116.088-mph faster than Harroun and 134.4-mph faster than Mulford. Keep in mind that, in 1911 and 1912, Harroun and Mulford were considered daredevils for daring to drive at such ‘excessive’ speeds.

Up until 1989, Americans dominated the winners circle for the 500. From 1911 through 1988, Americans won the race all but seven years. But, in 1989, Emerson Fittipaldi won driving a Penske Chevrolet. He won again in 1993. 

In fact, since 1989, American drivers have only won the 500 nine times. Alexander Rossi was the last to do so, in 2016, while driving a Honda for Andretti Herta Autosport.

The year after Rossi’s victory, Japanese driver Takuma Sato won, Australian Will Power won, Frenchman Simon Pagenaud, won, Sato won again and then Castroneves won. That was Castroneves’ fourth win, stretching back to 2001.

In fact, Brazilians have done very well behind the wheel of Formula 1 racers in the Indy 500. Along with Fittipaldi’s two wins, and Castroneves’ four wins, Gil de Ferran won in 2003 and Tony Kanaan won in 2013.

Whoever the winner, however, what is consistent is the blinding speed in which they circle the 2.5-mile track. In 1996, Arie Luyendyk set the all-time track high-speed record hitting 237.498 mph.

Beyond the speed, the size of then engines in the racers has also changed dramatically. In 1911, Harroun’s car had a 477 cubic inch engine. But, over the years, the race committee that creates rules for the race, has created limitations to engine size. 

Current engine sizes are limited to 2.2 liters. That’s just more than 134 cubic inches. But those limited cubic inches can produce in the area of 700 horsepower. Harroun’s 477 cubic inches was rated for 110 horses.

A similar reduction in engine size has occurred with the cars we drive on the street. From the ’60s and ‘70s when cars had bigger and bigger engines, mostly V8s, we now drive V6s and four-cylinder engines. Also, similar to Indy cars, the cars we drive on the street get more horsepower per cubic inch. But this puts additional strain on those smaller engines.

Those smaller engines are more dependent on cooling and lubrication systems to keep them in good condition.