On March 20, 1909, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Corporation was founded by four men, Carl G Fisher, James Allison, Arthur C. Newby, and Frank H. Wheeler, to build an automotive testing ground. The Indianapolis Motor Speedway, The ‘Racing Capital of The World,’ has become the home of the Indianapolis 500, The Greatest Spectacle In Racing.
Little did the four men realize the history that would be made at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The race track officially opened on August 12, 1909, with the first race at the facility, a balloon race, on August 19, 1909.
The first Indianapolis 500-mile race took place on May 30, 1911, and was won by Ray Harroun in his Marmon Wasp, a recently erected monument in Carmel, Indiana.
When Ray Hourren won in 1911, he received $14,250; fast forward 111 years to Sunday, May 29, 2022, Chip Ganassi Racing’s Marcus Ericsson in the No.8 Huski Chocolate Honda took home a check for $3,100,000.
The Indianapolis Motor Speedway has come a long way since this day in 1909; the race didn’t happen from 1917-18 and 1942-45 due to World War I and World War II. The race occurred behind closed doors in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. One of the greatest traditions at the race began in 1933 when Louis Meyer asked for a glass of cold buttermilk, which has become known worldwide as it lives on to this day.
Winners Drink Milk has become a slogan of the Indianapolis 500, thanks to their partnership with the American Dairy Association of Indiana who provide milk to the winner of ‘The Greatest Spectacle In Racing’.