Indianapolis Motor Speedway

ID: 1722 ~ Source: Image Courtesy of W.H. Bass Photo Company Collection, Indiana Historical Society. ~ Creator: W.H. Bass Photo Company ~ Date: 1929

This file appears in: Indianapolis Motor Speedway

View of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway with cars on the track. The stands are filled with fans and people are standing along the infield fence. Two men are standing on a platform where the finish line has been strung across the track.

This file appears in: Indianapolis Motor Speedway

Indianapolis Motor Speedway

By Elena Rippel, Kaelynn Hayes, Indiana Division of Historic Preservation and Archaeology

It took Ray Harroun 6 hours and 42 minutes to win the first Indianapolis 500 on May 30, 1911. Speeding past the checkered flag in his bright yellow Marmon “Wasp,” Harroun had driven the five hundred miles at an average speed of 74.6 mph. Today’s…