Pull up a stool. It’s time for one of the great bench-racing debates: naming the greatest Indy cars of all time. Here’s our top 10. -Indianapolis Motor Speedway photo
It’s May, MCG’s favorite month of the year. At the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the annual festivities are already well under way, with the 98th running of the annual 500-mile International Sweepstakes scheduled to take place on Sunday, May 25.
In the 103 years since the first Indianapolis 500 in 1911, countless great cars have graced the Speedway’s four turns and 5/8-mile straights. How to pick the top Indy cars of all time? The best place to start sorting, one could decide, is with the winners. That means no Novis, no STP Turbine, no Pat Clancy Special on this list. They didn’t win, so they don’t make the first cut. Other factors considered include historical significance and technical innovation and excellence. Here they are: in our estimation, the 10 greatest cars in Indy 500 history.
The winner of the first Indianapolis 500 in 1911, the Marmon Wasp is one of the most recognizable race cars on the planet. Based on a standard Marmon Model 32 production car (hence the number 32) but with its T-head engine extended from four to six cylinders, the Wasp took 6 hours and 42 minutes to complete 500 miles with driver Ray Harroun and relief pilot Cyrus Patschke. Today the Indianapolis-built Marmon is the proud possession of the Speedway’s Hall of Fame Museum.
Seems strange nowadays, but front-wheel drive was a popular configuration at Indy for decades, in part because it eliminated the rear propeller shaft, permitting a lower profile. Lou Moore’s Blue Crown Special combined front drive, the proven four-cylinder Offy, and aviation gasoline to rule the Speedway in the late 1940s. Mauri Rose won the 500 in both 1947 and 1948 in this Blue Crown Special, while Bill Holland won in 1949 with its sister car.
The 1994 Indy 500 is remembered mainly for the unique engine in Al Unser, Jr.’s winning car, the rulebook-busting Ilmor-Mercedes 500I pushrod V8. However, the chassis that carried it, the Nigel Bennett-designed Penske PC23, was an impressive piece of kit as well. The PC23 owned the series in 1994, winning 12 of the 16 races, including the 500, and sweeping the podium 1-2-3 on multiple occasions.
Built for George Salih and Quinn Epperly, the Belond Exhaust Special is recognized as the first laydown Offy roadster, with its engine leaned over 72 degrees on its side to reduce frontal area to a minimum. The low, sleek Belond won the Indy 500 two years in a row: in 1957 with driver Sam Hanks, and again in 1958 with the popular Jimmy Bryan, shown here.
Umbrella Mike Boyle’s Maserati 8CTF was one of the most dominating cars in the history of the Speedway, a track it was never designed for. Powered by a magnificent Roots-blown straight eight, the blood-red Grand Prix racer crushed the field in 1939 and 1940 with Wilbur Shaw at the controls, and was poised to win a third consecutive Indy 500 when a rear wheel gave up. You can read more about the Boyle Maserati here at Mac’s Motor City Garage.
When Danny Ongais crashed out in practice for the 1987 Indy 500, team owner Roger Penkse called upon two well-seasoned veterans to fill the slot: three-time winner Al Unser, Sr. and a year-old March-Cosworth 86C on display in a hotel lobby. Unser stalked the field all day with the trusty March, pouncing when Roberto Guerrero and Mario Andretti faltered. He led the final 18 laps to take his fourth Indy 500 victory.
Car owner Howard Keck assembled a team of superstars to conquer the Indy 500: driver Bill Vukovich, mechanics Jim Travers and Frank Coon, and this battleship gray Kurtis-Kraft 500, the first true Offy roadster. Hugely influential, the Fuel Injection Special dominated the 1952 race before it was sidelined by a steering box failure, then won the 500 going away in 1953 and 1954.
The monocoque-chassis Lotus 38 was not the first mid-engine, European-style formula car to race at Indy, but it was the first to win the May classic, on constructor Colin Chapman’s third try in 1965. Powered by a DOHC Ford V8 and driven by the beloved Jimmy Clark, the Lotus represents a golden age in motorsports that will never be duplicated. In 1977, Ford donated the trendsetting car to the Henry Ford Museum.
An incredibly gifted driver and technician, Frank Lockhart was only 23 when he won the 500 in 1926. His Miller Special, the creation of genius and visionary Harry Miller, was the absolute state of the automotive art with its jewel-like 91.5 CID straight eight and centrifugal supercharger. Tragically, Lockhart was killed two years later attempting the land speed record on the sand at Daytona Beach.
One of the most memorable, popular, and heads-up Indy 500 wins in recent years was collected by the late Dan Wheldon in 2011, driving a race car with more miles on it than the village bicycle. Built by Dallara way back in 2003, chassis no. IR3007 was first delivered to Panther Racing where it was driven by Sam Hornish Jr. and Tomas Scheckter.
The Dallara was then sold off to Adrian Fernandez, then Marty Roth Racing, then ended up with Alex Tagliani’s Fazzt operation, which was absorbed in 2010 by Sam Schmidt Motorsports. For the 2011 race, Bryan Herta Autosport leased the hand-me-down chassis from Schmidt and plugged Wheldon in the seat. He led the last few hundred yards of the final lap to score his second Indy 500 win. On the current model DW12 Dallara introduced in 2012, the letters DW stand for Dan Wheldon.
-Photos by MCG and courtesy Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Where is the turbine?
I think you left out six cars that make my top ten over all of the above except the Clark Lotus and the Rose Maserati. The Novi’s, the Ken Paul Special , the STP turbines, the Jim Hall Chaparral , the Smokey Yunick Capsule Car , and Mickey Thompson’s Harvey Aluminum Special may not have all been winners but were certainly some of the the most innovative and fascinating Indy cars of all time.
The article is titled “THE 10 GREATEST CARS IN INDY 500 HISTORY”, not “THE 10 MOST INNOVATIVE AND FASCINATING CARS IN INDY 500 HISTORY” . The Novis weren’t great. They accomplished very little. The turbines broke and were subsequently strangled by USAC, and Yunick’s car failed to qualify in its only attempt. Mickey Thompson’s efforts were disjointed and the cars design suspect.
Why is the Ken-Paul car great? It won Indy, just like the forty-odd winners before it. Hall’s Chaparral is the only car you mentioned that could be considered among the greats because of its revolutionary design which influenced all subsequent open wheel racing.
yes the `67 Turbine did fail to take Parnelli to victory lane but it forced the Speedway to change their rules… The most glaring omissions on the list are the Duesenbergs and the Watson Roadsters that both dominated during their eras.
I like the winners only proviso, creates a new perspective. I see that multiple winners also received priority.
The Lotus 38 was my first knowledge of Indy cars. Sure, I had seen pics in books, but a Hot Wheels or something like that version put it into my hands. I just thought it was the coolest thing ever powered by a Ford. I’ve never been a big fan of open wheel racing, but Indy is something special.
Maybe for the naysayers, you could do a version with cars that had some of the greatest impact, but never won a Indy race, like the Novi’sand turbine cars…..
Jim Clark and Colin Chapman made the rear engine car a staple but the design was introduced by Jack Brabham and Dan Gurney. Seems to me they were “great too, and how could AJ Watson’s roadsters not be here? They won a BUNCH of races and dominated for more than ten years.
My memory is starting to get a little hazy, so forgive me if I’m wrong.
I believe the Jim Clark Lotus was pit crewed by the Wood Brothers of NASCAR fame. They revolutionized the way pit stops were performed from that race on. They should get a mention with the car as they were just as important in getting the win and changing pit stops forever.
Dean
The Marmon wins. It is so comic book looking,, but a winner. All of the above cars are worthy of a mention,, as are most others mentioned by the other contributors.
Actually the Wheldon car hilights the downturn of Indy cars in the last 30 years. An 8 y/o car that can still be on the pace? Even with I guess extensive updates.