Nothing puts the spotlight on the IndyCar Series quite like the Indy 500. "The Greatest Spectacle in Racing" is the circuit's biggest race of the year by a wide margin and is part of the biggest weekend in racing every year.
Winning at Indianapolis Motor Speedway isn't easy. Drivers have to be fast and precise in the crowded field, and even one small mistake can be the difference between finishing the race as a winner or crashing out of it entirely.
Despite this, numerous IndyCar drivers have won the race multiple times. The cream-of-the-crop drivers have found repeatable winning strategies they have used to emerge as contenders year after year.
Here's a look at the history of past Indy 500 winners, including the record holders for most wins all-time.
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Who has won the most Indy 500 races?
Four drivers have won the Indy 500 four times: Helio Castroneves, A.J. Foyt, Rick Mears, and Al Unser. Castroneves was the most recent driver to achieve the feat, earning his fourth victory at the 2021 Indy 500.
In total, 21 drivers have won the Indy 500 multiple times. Below is a list of the drivers with the most wins and when they achieved each victory:
| Driver | Wins | Years |
| A. J. Foyt | 4 | 1961, 1964, 1967, 1977 |
| Al Unser | 4 | 1970, 1971, 1978, 1987 |
| Rick Mears | 4 | 1979, 1984, 1988, 1991 |
| Helio Castroneves | 4 | 2001, 2002, 2009, 2021 |
| Louis Meyer | 3 | 1928, 1933, 1936 |
| Wilbur Shaw | 3 | 1937, 1939, 1940 |
| Mauri Rose | 3 | 1941, 1947, 1948 |
| Johnny Rutherford | 3 | 1974, 1976, 1980 |
| Bobby Unser | 3 | 1968, 1975, 1981 |
| Dario Franchitti | 3 | 2007, 2010, 2012 |
| Tommy Milton | 2 | 1921, 1923 |
| Bill Vukovich | 2 | 1953, 1954 |
| Rodger Ward | 2 | 1959, 1962 |
| Gordon Johncock | 2 | 1973, 1982 |
| Emerson Fittipaldi | 2 | 1989, 1993 |
| Al Unser Jr. | 2 | 1992, 1994 |
| Arie Luyendyk | 2 | 1990, 1997 |
| Dan Wheldon | 2 | 2005, 2011 |
| Juan Pablo Montoya | 2 | 2000, 2015 |
| Takuma Sato | 2 | 2017, 2020 |
| Josef Newgarden | 2 | 2023, 2024 |
MORE: Why is Indianapolis Motor Speedway called the Brickyard?
Who is the oldest Indy 500 winner?
Al Unser is the oldest driver to win the Indy 500. He earned his final victory at the Brickyard in 1987, just five days before his 48th birthday. Officially, he was 47 years and 360 days old at the time of his fourth and final victory at the Indianapolis 500.
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Who is the youngest Indy 500 winner?
Troy Ruttman is the youngest-ever winner of the Indy 500. He was 22 years and 80 days old when he bested Jim Rathmann to earn his first-ever Indy 500 title. That marked the first of his two career IndyCar Series wins.
MORE: What are the closest finishes in Indianapolis 500 history?
List of Indy 500 past winners
Below is a full list of the Indy 500's winners dating back to Ray Harroun's win in 1911.
| Year | Indy 500 winner |
|---|---|
| 2024 | Josef Newgarden |
| 2023 | Josef Newgarden |
| 2022 | Marcus Ericsson |
| 2021 | Helio Castroneves |
| 2020 | Takuma Sato |
| 2019 | Simon Pagenaud |
| 2018 | Will Power |
| 2017 | Takuma Sato |
| 2016 | Alexander Rossi |
| 2015 | Juan Pablo Montoya |
| 2014 | Ryan Hunter-Reay |
| 2013 | Tony Kanaan |
| 2012 | Dario Franchitti |
| 2011 | Dan Wheldon |
| 2010 | Dario Franchitti |
| 2009 | Helio Castroneves |
| 2008 | Scott Dixon |
| 2007 | Dario Franchitti |
| 2006 | Sam Hornish Jr. |
| 2005 | Dan Wheldon |
| 2004 | Buddy Rice |
| 2003 | Gil de Ferran |
| 2002 | Helio Castroneves |
| 2001 | Helio Castroneves |
| 2000 | Juan Pablo Montoya |
| 1999 | Kenny Brack |
| 1998 | Eddie Cheever Jr. |
| 1997 | Arie Luyendyk |
| 1996 | Buddy Lazier |
| 1995 | Jacques Villeneuve |
| 1994 | Al Unser Jr. |
| 1993 | Emerson Fittipaldi |
| 1992 | Al Unser Jr. |
| 1991 | Rick Mears |
| 1990 | Arie Luyendyk |
| 1989 | Emerson Fittipaldi |
| 1988 | Rick Mears |
| 1987 | Al Unser |
| 1986 | Bobby Rahal |
| 1985 | Danny Sullivan |
| 1984 | Rick Mears |
| 1983 | Tom Sneva |
| 1982 | Gordon Johncock |
| 1981 | Bobby Unser |
| 1980 | Johnny Rutherford |
| 1979 | Rick Mears |
| 1978 | Al Unser |
| 1977 | A.J. Foyt Jr. |
| 1976 | Johnny Rutherford |
| 1975 | Bobby Unser |
| 1974 | Johnny Rutherford |
| 1973 | Gordon Johncock |
| 1972 | Mark Donohue |
| 1971 | Al Unser |
| 1970 | Al Unser |
| 1969 | Mario Andretti |
| 1968 | Bobby Unser |
| 1967 | A.J. Foyt |
| 1966 | Graham Hill |
| 1965 | Jim Clark |
| 1964 | A.J. Foyt Jr. |
| 1963 | Parnelli Jones |
| 1962 | Rodger Ward |
| 1961 | A.J. Foyt |
| 1960 | Jim Rathman |
| 1959 | Rodger Ward |
| 1958 | Jimmy Bryan |
| 1957 | Sam Hanks |
| 1956 | Pat Flaherty |
| 1955 | Bob Sweikert |
| 1954 | Bill Vukovich |
| 1953 | Bill Vukovich |
| 1952 | Troy Ruttman |
| 1951 | Lee Wallard |
| 1950 | Johnnie Parsons |
| 1949 | Bill Holland |
| 1948 | Mauri Rose |
| 1947 | Mauri Rose |
| 1946 | George Robson |
| 1945 | No race (WWII) |
| 1944 | No race (WWII) |
| 1943 | No race (WWII) |
| 1942 | No race (WWII) |
| 1941 | Floyd Davis/Mauri Rose |
| 1940 | Wilbur Shaw |
| 1939 | Wilbur Shaw |
| 1938 | Floyd Roberts |
| 1937 | Wilbur Shaw |
| 1936 | Louis Meyer |
| 1935 | Kelly Petillo |
| 1934 | Bill Cummings |
| 1933 | Louis Meyer |
| 1932 | Fred Frame |
| 1931 | Louis Schneider |
| 1930 | Billy Arnold |
| 1929 | Ray Keech |
| 1928 | Louis Meyer |
| 1927 | George Souders |
| 1926 | Frank Lockhart |
| 1925 | Peter DePaolo |
| 1924 | Joe Boyer/L.L. Corum |
| 1923 | Tommy Milton |
| 1922 | Jimmy Murphy |
| 1921 | Tommy Milton |
| 1920 | Gaston Chevrolet |
| 1919 | Howdy Wilcox |
| 1918 | No race (WWI) |
| 1917 | No race (WWI) |
| 1916 | Dario Resta |
| 1915 | Ralph DePalma |
| 1914 | Rene Thomas |
| 1913 | Jules Goux |
| 1912 | Joe Dawson |
| 1911 | Ray Harroun |
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