105th Indianapolis 500 Historical Notes

By INDYCAR | Published: May 30, 2021

Indianapolis 500 start
  • This is the fourth Indianapolis 500 victory for Helio Castroneves. He earned his first three victories in 2001, 2002 and 2009, all with Team Penske.
  • Helio Castroneves joins A.J. Foyt (1961, 1964, 1967, 1977), Al Unser (1970, 1971, 1978, 1987) and Rick Mears (1979, 1984, 1988, 1991) as the only four-time winners of the Indianapolis 500.
  • This is the first Indianapolis 500 victory for Meyer Shank Racing. It also is the first NTT INDYCAR SERIES victory for Meyer Shank Racing.
  • Helio Castroneves is 46 years, 20 days old today. He is the fourth-oldest winner in Indianapolis 500 history, behind Al Unser (47 years, 360 days; 1987), Bobby Unser (47 years, 93 days; 1981) and Emerson Fittipaldi (46 years, 169 days; 1993).
  • Helio Castroneves became the first driver to win an Indianapolis 500 for Team Penske and win again with another team. He drove to victory for Meyer Shank Racing today.
  • This is the seventh Indianapolis 500 victory for a Brazilian driver. Helio Castroneves has four wins (2001, 2002, 2009, 2021), Emerson Fittipaldi has two (1989, 1993), and Tony Kanaan has one (2013).
  • This was the fastest Indianapolis 500 in history, with an average speed of 190.690 mph, breaking the record of 187.433 set in 2013.
  • There were two caution periods for 18 laps today, both race records. The previous record for fewest caution periods was four, in 1990 and 2019. The previous record for fewest caution laps was 21 in 1976, 2013 and 2014.
  • This is the first time car No. 06 has won the Indianapolis 500. It’s also the first time a car number starting with zero has won the race.
  • There was a 12-year gap between Helio Castroneves’ fourth win today and his third win in 2009. That’s the second-longest gap between victories in Indianapolis 500 history, behind only Juan Pablo Montoya’s 15-year gap between victories in 2000 and 2015.
  • This is the third time the Indianapolis 500 winner has started eighth. The last winner who started eighth was Kenny Brack in 1999. Danny Sullivan won from eighth in 1985.
  • This is the 14th Indianapolis 500 victory for a Honda-powered car, second all time. Offenhauser engines powered 27 winners.
  • Scott McLaughlin finished 20th, the top rookie finisher in this year’s race.
  • There were 35 lead changes among 13 drivers today. That’s the most lead changes in the Indianapolis 500 since 2017, when there also were 35 lead changes. The race record is 68 lead changes, set in 2013.
  • Scott Dixon led twice today, extending his Indianapolis 500 record for times led to 58.
  • Scott Dixon has led at least one lap in 14 of his 19 Indianapolis 500 starts, tying Tony Kanaan for the all-time record.
  • Will Power did not lead a lap today, ending his race-record streak of eight consecutive Indianapolis 500s (2013-20) leading at least one lap.
  • Conor Daly, Alex Palou, Pato O’Ward and Rinus VeeKay led laps today for the first time in their Indianapolis 500 careers. Daly made his eighth start, and Palou, O’Ward and VeeKay each made their second respective starts. A total of 236 drivers have led laps in the Indianapolis 500.