Who are the 10 best Indy 500 drivers of all time?

The 2025 INDYCAR season has already delivered some stellar moments. That said, the season’s biggest race happens Sunday with the highly anticipated Indianapolis 500. 

No race is bigger, and as a treat, Indiana fans are going to have an opportunity to partake in multiple huge events with the NBA’s Indiana Pacers playing the third game of the Eastern Conference Finals at home later that day. 

The main event takes place at the storied Indianapolis Motor Speedway (coverage begins at 10 a.m. ET on FOX and streaming on the FOX Sports app). Ahead of all the action, we’ve rounded up the best drivers to grace the course.

Here are the 10 best Indianapolis 500 drivers of all time.

10 best Indy 500 drivers of all time

10. Dario Franchitti

One of the shorter Indy 500 careers on this list, Franchitti managed to compile some impressive results. He earned three victories at the track between 2007-2012. Moreover, he added three other top 10 finishes to his name despite just 10 races in which he participated. His most impressive stretch was when he claimed six top seven finishes in seven attempts from 2005 and 2012.

9. Arie Luyendyk

Luyendyk saw some definite success in Indy, winning there twice, but it was a mixed bag overall. He raced in the event every year from 1985 to 2002 and withdrew in 2023 but finished outside the top 10 in 10 different races. Still, few can match the success he found, finishing in the top 10 seven different times at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. 

8. Louis Meyer

The first three-time winner in the race’s history, Meyer is one of the top racers who isn’t talked about nearly enough. He had a truly remarkable race in 1936, becoming just the second racer in history — and last — to win the race from a starting position of 28th or lower. Meyer grabbed first and second, respectively, in his first two tries in Indianapolis.

7. Bobby Unser 

It’s not how you start, it’s how you finish. Never has that been more true than with Unser, who had just one top 10 finish in his first four tries at Indy. However, in his last four starts, he had three top six finishes, including winning the event on his last time at the track in 1981. Unser would eventually win the Indy 500 three times (1968, 1975 and 1981).

6. Johnny Rutherford

Another racer with three victories, Rutherford claimed three wins between 1974 and 1980. Rutherford had a bit of a slow start to this race, finishing 18th or lower in each of his first nine times at the track. He then turned in four top 10 finishes, including winning in 1974 and 1976 and grabbing second in 1975. 

5. Wilbur Shaw

As good as Rutherford’s three-year stretch was, Shaw one-ups him with a bonkers four-year run. From 1937 to 1940, he placed first, second, first and first. A run like that automatically vaults you into the top five in the history of this race. Outside that four-year stretch, it was very much a mixed bag for Shaw, but you cannot overlook just how dominant he was early on, earning three first-place finishes.

The first of three drivers tied for the most wins (four) at the Indy 500, Castroneves earned his most recent victory in 2021, while his previous three victories came between 2001 and 2009. He’s also one of just five drivers to claim back-to-back Indy 500 victories, doing so in 2001 and 2002. Perhaps the most remarkable part of his driving career at IMS is the fact that he owns the record for the longest span between his first and last win — 20 years.

3. Al Unser Sr.

One of the most interesting racers on the list, Unser earned two wins at the Indy 500 within three years, winning in 1992 and 1994. Most impressive, though, he placed eighth in between. A truly fantastic stretch. Before 1992, he had finished fourth in back-to-back years in 1990 and 1991. Stretch it out more and Unser claimed seven top five finishes in nine years.

2. A.J. Foyt

The second driver to have four Indy 500 victories, Foyt is undoubtedly deserving of one of the top spots in the course’s history. Moreover, Foyt’s history is etched in stone as the first four-time winner in the race’s history. Most impressive about his career in Indy, though, is that Foyt has the most starts there of any driver (35), including racing in every single one from 1958 to 1992.

1. Rick Mears

The third driver tied for the most wins at IMS, Mears has dominated in Indy. He has earned a record six pole positions at the event, starting 11 times on the front row, with six of those times coming consecutively — both of the latter two a record at the track. He is also one of just 12 racers to earn back-to-back pole positions. 

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