This weekend sees the running of two legs of what is dubbed motorsport’s Triple Crown: The Monaco Grand Prix, and the Indianapolis 500.
The third leg, Le 24 Heures Du Mans (24 Hours of Le Mans), is to be run in June.
Many people remember the stories of some the drivers who have made their name at the most prestigious events of Formula 1, Indy Car racing and sports car racing.
Only one man holds the distinction of winning the Triple Crown: Graham Hill, who won the 1966 Indianapolis 500, the 1972 Le Mans 24 Hours and is a five-time winner of the Monaco Grand Prix.
Alongside Hill, six drivers have won two legs of the Triple Crown.
Over this weekend, I’ll be looking back at some of the history of these events, and now it’s time to take a look at the Indianapolis 500.
The Indianapolis 500
The Greatest Spectacle in Racing, as it is dubbed by the U.S. media, began in 1911, when the Indianapolis Motor Speedway noticed a decline in crowd numbers throughout their 1910 season.
Upon crunching the numbers, realising the Memorial Day race meet saw the largest turnout, the decision was made to run just one race at Indianapolis in 1911, and thus the tradition of the Indianapolis 500 being held on Memorial Day weekend began.
There were 46 entrants into the first Indianapolis 500, and organisers decided to hold a practice day for all runners, to prove their worth in running the race.
Any car that wasn’t able to complete a quarter mile in under 12 seconds (clocking an average speed of 75mph) within three attempts, would not be able to enter the race, again forming a long-standing tradition that sees cars given three attempts to qualify for the race.
This saw the field whittled down to 40, with Australia’s Rupert Jeffkins failing to qualify. However, the grid wasn’t set by a qualifying time, or in the 24 Hours of Le Mans’ case, by engine capacity.
The grid was set by who had their entry forms in first, meaning Lewis Strang started from pole for the first race. However, race grids were determined by single-lap qualifying from 1912.
The first Indianapolis 500 was won by Ray Harroun in the Marmon Wasp, with a time of 6:42:08, which is still the longest time taken by a victor to complete the 200 laps.
Winners are awarded the Borg-Warner Trophy, or rather a small replica of it, as the trophy is five feet, four inches tall, and weighs around 45 kilograms.
The Borg-Warner Trophy features likenesses of past winners encircling it, with each victor added following their victory, and bases being added on when more room is needed, much like the NHL’s Stanley Cup.
Three drivers have been etched on Borg four times; A.J. Foyt (1961, 1964, 1967, 1977), Al Unser (1970, 1971, 1978, 1987) and Rick Mears (1979, 1984, 1988, 1991), and only five drivers have been able to string together consecutive victories.
Another long standing tradition of the Indianapolis 500, is the presentation of a bottle of milk to the winner, which began by Lewis Meyer sipping milk in the victory lane in 1936, because his mother had always told him to drink milk on hot days.
By 1956, this became the norm, as milk companies, namely the American Dairy Association, began sponsoring the event, and drivers are now offered a choice of either whole, 2 per cent or skim milk if they win the race.
The race has been run annually, only with breaks for the two World Wars, with this year being the 98th running of the event, and the cornerstone of the IndyCar Series.
However, from 1950-1960, the Indianapolis 500 was a round in the Formula One World Championship, although only Alberto Ascari competed in the race from the standard Formula One entries during this period.
There have been many great races at the Brickyard, aptly named for the speedway’s original surface, but the most recent example would probably have to be the 2011 race, the last race won by Dan Wheldon.
He won the race on the final lap, after rookie J.R. Hildebrand put his car into the wall on the final corner, allowing Wheldon to drive past and take the chequered flag.
The irony was though, that Hildebrand took over Wheldon’s seat that season, which left Wheldon without a regular drive for 2011.
Another talking point around the Indianapolis 500, is the ‘Andretti Curse’.
Mario Andretti is a stalwart in U.S. open-wheel racing, and even won a Formula 1 World Championship.
However, he has only won the Indianapolis 500 once, in 1969, with the curse seemingly extending to his sons Michael and Jeff, nephew John, and grandson Marco.
Between them, they have started 68 times in the Indianapolis 500, and misfortune of bad luck always seems to find them at the Brickyard, most recently with Marco being pipped just 200 yards from the finish by Sam Hornish, Jr, and the gap just 0.0635 seconds. It was the second closest finish in Indianapolis 500 history, 0.043 seconds in 1992 being the closest.
No Australian has ever won the Indianapolis 500, although New Zealander Scott Dixon won the race in 2008, and Ryan Briscoe was able to plant his car on pole for the 2012 edition.
The Indianapolis 500 remained the final challenge for four of the six drivers who have won two legs of the Triple Crown – Tazio Nuvolari, Maurice Trintignant, Bruce McLaren and Jochen Rindt. Rindt was the only driver of these four to compete at the Brickyard (1967 and 1968), but he could do no better than 24th.
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