30 Days in May: No. 13, Danica Patrick, 2018 Go Daddy Dallara/Chevrolet

Welcome to our monthlong countdown celebrating notable drivers and cars from the history of the Indianapolis 500!

Photo credit: John Cote/Indianapolis Motor Speedway

Danica Patrick finished in the top 10 six times in eight starts in the Indianapolis 500.
Her best finish was third in 2009.

30 Days in May: No. 13, Danica Patrick, 2018 Go Daddy Dallara/Chevrolet. With a green paint job and the number 13, Patrick had herself a real hoodoo wagon for her last go-round at the Brickyard – all she needed was a bag of peanuts and she would’ve scored the trifecta of racing superstitions.

Patrick had an amazing debut in 2005, earning an incredibly loud roar from the crowd when she took the lead in the late stages of the race, which was won by Dan Wheldon. Patrick’s final 500 ended with a crash and 30^th place, one of only two finishes outside the top 10 in eight starts.

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30 Days in May: No. 12, Bobby Allison, 1973 Sunoco DX McLaren/Offy

Welcome to our monthlong countdown celebrating notable drivers and cars from the history of the Indianapolis 500!

Bobby Allison was part of Roger Penske's three-car effort for the 1973 Indianapolis 500,
joining Gary Bettenhausen and defending champion Mark Donohue.

30 Days in May: No. 12, Bobby Allison, 1973 Sunoco DX McLaren/Offy. It’s always great when a star driver from another discipline takes on the challenge of the Indianapolis 500. Unfortunately, mechanical problems sidelined Bobby Allison from the get-go and he finished 32^nd after just 1 lap. The NASCAR ace returned in 1975, but the results weren’t much better as Allison finished 25^th in that race. On the other hand, Bobby’s brother Donnie did quite well in his two Indianapolis 500 appearances. Donnie Allison finished fourth in 1970 and sixth in 1971, completing 399 out of a possible 400 laps.

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30 Days in May: No. 11, Mario Andretti, 1973 Viceroy Parnelli/Offy

Welcome to our monthlong countdown celebrating notable drivers and cars from the history of the Indianapolis 500!

Photo credit: Indianapolis Motor Speedway

Mario Andretti qualified a very respectable sixth for the 1973 Indianapolis 500.
Unfortunately, a bad piston eliminated him after just four laps and he finished 30th.

30 Days in May: No. 11, Mario Andretti, 1973 Viceroy Parnelli/Offy. When Mario Andretti joined Al Unser and Joe Leonard at Vel’s Parnelli Jones for the 1972 season, it was expected this “Super Team” would dominate the Indianapolis 500 and the IndyCar circuit.  As it turned out, these years were not a lot of fun for Andretti. In 1973 he started a strong sixth but was out after four laps with a broken piston to finish 30th. 

#Indy500 @IMS @IMSMuseum @IndyCar @marioandretti

30 Days in May: No. 10, Michael Andretti, 1991 Kmart-Havoline Lola/Chevrolet

Welcome to our monthlong countdown celebrating notable drivers and cars from the history of the Indianapolis 500!

Photo credit: Indianapolis Motor Speedway

Michael Andretti made an incredible move to pass Rick Mears on the outside
going into Turn 1 to lead Lap 187 of the 1991 Indianapolis 500. Mears
did the same thing on the next lap and went on to win.

30 Days in May: No. 10, Michael Andretti, 1991 Kmart-Havoline Lola/Chevrolet. What’s May without an “Andretti almost”? 1991 was the closest Michael came to winning the Indianapolis 500, finishing second to Rick Mears after a breathtaking duel in the late stages. In his Indianapolis 500 career, Michael Andretti led 431 laps, 0 wins. Rick Mears led 429 laps at Indy, 4 wins.  Michael has had great success as a car owner in the Indianapolis 500, though, with five victories with five different drivers: Dan Wheldon (2005), Dario Franchitti (2007), Ryan Hunter-Reay (2014), Alexander Rossi (2016) and Takuma Sato (2017).

#Indy500 @IMS @IMSMuseum @IndyCar @FollowAndretti @michaelandretti @AndrettiAutosport

30 Days in May: No. 9, Scott Dixon, 2008 Target Chip Ganassi Racing Dallara/Honda

Welcome to our monthlong countdown celebrating notable drivers and cars from the history of the Indianapolis 500!

Photo credit: Dan Helrigel/Indianapolis Motor Speedway

Scott Dixon has had an amazing career, but has won the Indianapolis 500 just once: in 2008.

30 Days in May: No. 9, Scott Dixon, 2008 Target Chip Ganassi Racing Dallara/Honda. Scott Dixon has compiled an amazing IndyCar career that continues to be largely underappreciated outside of hardcore fans. He’s now third all-time in victories, behind only A.J. Foyt and Mario Andretti, and added a sixth championship in 2020, one behind Foyt.

Given all that success, it’s surprising Dixon has only one Indianapolis 500 victory, which came in 2008. He started on the pole and led the most laps on his way to that victory. He’s more than overdue for a second 500 win, and it very well could come this year after falling just short to Takuma Sato in 2020.

Dixon dominated last year’s race, leading 111 laps. That boosted him to third on the all-time laps led list (563) behind Al Unser (644) and Ralph DePalma (612).

Here are some other notable stats from Dixon’s Indianapolis 500 career:

• 18 starts
• 13 races led
• 12 top 10 finishes
• 8 top 5 finishes

#Indy500 @IMS @IMSMuseum @IndyCar @scottdixon9 @CGRTeams

 

30 Days in May Bonus: No. 48, Mike Mosley, 1981 Pepsi Challenger Eagle/Chevrolet

 

Welcome to our monthlong countdown celebrating notable drivers and cars from the history of the Indianapolis 500!

Photo credit: Indianapolis Motor Speedway

Mike Mosley started in the middle of the front row for the 1981 Indianapolis 500.

30 Days in May Bonus: No. 48, Mike Mosley, 1981 Pepsi Challenger Eagle/Chevrolet. Stunning, fast and loud, 1981 was the only appearance of the Pepsi Challenger at Indianapolis. Always an innovator, Dan Gurney was trying to bring stock-block engines to Indy racing as a lower-cost alternative to the Cosworth engines, which were used by (almost) everyone else. In terms of speed, this car proved his point as Mosley put it in the middle of the front row.

The sound of this screaming Eagle is almost impossible to describe. It had a distinctive roar – in some ways, perhaps, it was the Novi of its generation. In other words, if you heard it, you never forgot it. The distinctive shape and color of the Eagle made it look like a dart hurtling down the straightaway.

Consistent with the lousy fortune Mosley endured at Indianapolis, he went out after 16 laps with a radiator issue, placing 33^rd. At Milwaukee a couple of weeks later, Mosley won, going from last to first in an incredible driving display. It was the last of his five wins in Indy cars and the last for Gurney in Indy-car competition as well. 

#Indy500 @IMS @IMSMuseum @IndyCar

30 Days in May: No. 8, Bobby Unser, 1973 Olsonite Eagle/Offy

Welcome to our monthlong countdown celebrating notable drivers and cars from the history of the Indianapolis 500!

Photo credit: Indianapolis Motor Speedway

Bobby Unser just missed winning the pole back to back in 1973.

30 Days in May: No. 8, Bobby Unser, 1973 Olsonite Eagle/Offy. Based on his incredible qualifying performance in 1972, when he increased the pole speed by more than 17 mph to an average of 195.940 mph, Bobby Unser entered 1973 as the favorite to be the first break the magic 200 mph barrier at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Unser fell just a little short, setting for a four-lap average of 198.183 mph, slightly behind pole-sitter Johnny Rutherford. Unser led the first 39 laps, fell behind after a slow pit stop and dropped out after 100 laps with mechanical trouble.

Better days were just ahead as Unser won the national championship in 1974 and added his second Indianapolis 500 win in 1975, all while still driving for Dan Gurney’s All American Racers.

#Indy500 @IMS @IMSMuseum @IndyCar