1911

The partners in the Indianapolis Motor Speedway ownership were: Carl Fisher, James Allison, Arthur Newby and Frank Wheeler.

Drivers had to be able to average 75 mph or better from a flying start over a distance of a quarter mile in order to be included in the starting field. On Friday, four days before the race, time trials were run. Thirty-eight cars were successful. Two others cars were successful on the day before the race.

Qualifiers were lined up by the dates on which the entries were received. There were forty-six entrants total with the first entrant on the pole.

Lewis Strang was on the pole.

Cars were lined up in rows of five. There were forty starters. The pace car and four cars constituted row 1. The ninth row consisted of a single car; all other rows had five cars.

Carl Fisher, the leading partner in the track ownership, drove the Stoddard-Dayton pace car.

A large crowd of approximately 80,000 attended the first "500."

Johnny Aitken led the first lap of the inaugural Indianapolis 500, or the "International 500-Mile Sweepstakes," as it was referred to through 1980.

Prize money was awarded to only the top ten finishers, with $10,000 to the winner (plus accessory prizes, for a total of $14,250), and $500 for tenth place. The total purse was $30,150.

David Bruce-Brown led for most of the first half of the race and at one point opened up a lead of three laps over the second place car. He led a total of eighty-one laps.

Ray Harroun ran a consistently paced race in his six-cylinder Marmon Wasp at approximately 75 mph to minimize tire wear. His testing showed that by reducing his speed from 80 mph to 75 mph he doubled the life of his tires.

Cyrus Patschke relieved Harroun near mid-race and drove for about 35 laps. Patschke would also drive relief for fifth-place finisher Joe Dawson in another Marmon. Ray Harroun led 88 laps total, including laps 182-200, for the victory. All of Harroun's laps led occurred after the 102nd lap. He made four stops and changed three right rear tires.

Harroun drove the only single-seater in the race, with the aid of what is believed to be the first rearview mirror on an automobile. All other cars had riding mechanics. The rearview mirror was the result of Harroun observing a horse-drawn taxi utilizing one back in 1904.

Ralph Mulford, driving a Lozier, ran a charging race, resulting in a greater number of tire changes, fourteen versus four for Harroun. He finished second. David Bruce-Brown finished third in a Fiat.

The race took six hours and forty-two minutes to complete, a 74.6 mph average for Harroun.

There was one fatality in the race, as Art Greiner's (#44) right-rear-wheel came loose and the car overturned on the back stretch on his thirteenth lap, his riding mechanic, Sam Dickson losing his life.

The race was not completed without technological mishaps, as the scoring wire broke on two occasions during the race before being repaired.

Arthur Newby, a partner in the track ownership, was president of the National Motor Vehicle Company and had three cars compete in the race.

Eddie Rickenbacker drove relief for Lee Frayer, who finished thirteenth. Rickenbacker would eventually race in four "500's" with a best finish of 10th in 1914, all before he ever flew a plane.

Harry and Bill Endicott became the first brothers to compete in the "500". Harry finished 16th, while Bill was 26th.

1912

Riding mechanics became mandatory and would remain so through 1922.

There were twenty-nine entries, and twenty-four cars qualified for the race. Qualifying required greater than a 75 mph average for a full lap. Cars once again started by entry order received. Gil Anderson started on the pole in a Stutz.

This was the first 500 for future track owner Eddie Rickenbacker as a primary driver. He started thirteenth and finished twenty-first.

Teddy Tetzlaff, in a Fiat, led the first two laps, then Ralph DePalma led from lap three to lap 198 in his "Grey Ghost" Mercedes, when a connecting rod broke. He and his riding mechanic, Australian Rupert Jeffkins, unsuccessfully attempted to push the 2500-pound car to the finish.

Joe Dawson and riding mechanic Harry Martin — whose pit manager was fellow driver Johnny Aitken — made up a deficit of over five laps and went on to win in his National in six hours and twenty-one minutes for an average speed of 78.7 mph. Don Herr relieved him for laps 108- 144. Teddy Tetzlaff finished second and Hugh Hughes, in a Mercer, finished third. The Mercer was the "smallest" car in the race in relation to piston displacement at only 301 cubic-inches.

As Dawson and the National crew celebrated the victory, DePalma displayed great sportsmanship by approaching and extending a congratulatory handshake to the winner.

The 196 laps led by DePalma are the most by a non-winning driver.

Dawson's car housed a 491 cubic-inch National, which would be the largest on a winning car in history.

The total purse was increased to $50,000, with $20,000 going to the winner.

Joseph Crook Dawson, from Odon, Indiana, was 22 years, 323 days old, and would remain the youngest 500 winner in history until 1952, when Troy Ruttman won at 22 years, 86 days old.

Ralph Mulford finished tenth in 8 hours and 53 minutes in a Knox, after several lengthy stops, including a snack break. Tenth was the last position for which prize money was awarded. Mulford won $1,200. His time was 2 hours and thirty-two minutes longer than the victor.

Bill Endicott finished fifth. He was relieved by his brother Harry. This was the only time a brother relieved a brother in the race.

1913

A new five-story open-sided Japanese style pagoda had been built trackside for officiating and scoring.

From the outset, the Speedway management had intended for the race to be an international event. A few teams accepted the invitation in 1913, including the Peugeot team from France.

The starting order was determined by a blind draw, with twenty-seven starters. A starting field consisting of four cars in each row, instead of five, was implemented for the first time.

Even though the piston displacement had been cut from 600 cubic-inches to 450, the speeds in the qualification trials were higher than the previous year.

Caleb Bragg started on the pole in a Mercer.

Johnny Aitken was pit manager and race strategist for first-year driver Jules Goux in a Peugeot.

On a day with temperatures at 90 degrees Goux led a total of 138 laps, including from lap 136 to the checker. He won by thirteen minutes and eight seconds — a record that still stands as the greatest margin of victory. His speed average was 75.9 mph.

Goux became the first winner to drive the full race without a relief driver, and also became the first foreign-born victor.

Spencer Wishart, in a Mercer, finished second and Charlie Merz finished third in a Stutz, though his car was on fire as he crossed the finish line.

Ten cars received the checkered flag, completing the full 200 laps, while only one other car was still running. Surprisingly, there was only one accident in the race. Seventh-place finisher, Ralph Mulford in a Mercedes, drove the entire 500 miles without a tire change.

After the race Goux was quoted "but for the wine, I would have been unable to drive this race". Goux supposedly refreshed himself with a little champagne during several...