The 10 Biggest Upsets and Surprises in Indianapolis 500 History
For over a century, the Brickyard has chewed up sure things and spit them out, turned long shots into legends, and sent the most dominant cars of their era home empty-handed.
Underdogs and outsiders can pull off stunning victories against racing giants.
Mechanical failures and driver errors can snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.
The Indy 500 is a race where anything can happen until the checkered flag falls.
Source: Tony Triolo / Getty
The 10 Biggest Upsets and Surprises in Indianapolis 500 History
Every May, the world’s greatest drivers, the biggest teams, and the most powerful machines on the planet descend on Indianapolis for one reason which is to win the greatest race in motorsports.
For over a century, the Brickyard has chewed up sure things and spit them out, turned long shots into legends, and sent the most dominant cars of their era home empty-handed.
It’s a 500-mile race where a $6 part can end a season, where a rookie running on fumes can outsmart the entire field, and where a driver without a ride at the start of the month can be drinking milk in Victory Lane by the end of it.
1. A.J. Foyt Upsets the Dominant Parnelli Jones — 1964
Widely considered the gold standard of Indy 500 upsets. After a rain delay pushed the race back a day, Parnelli Jones entered as the overwhelming favorite. He had won the race the year before and his car was clearly the class of the field. Jones led the race in dominant fashion, building a massive advantage over the field. Then — with just three laps remaining — his oil tank failed and he was forced to stop. A.J. Foyt, who had been patiently running in second, inherited the lead and won his second Indianapolis 500. The win cemented Foyt as one of the all-time greats of the race and stands as the ultimate example of why no lead is safe at Indianapolis until the checkered flag falls over the Yard of Bricks.
2. Helio Castroneves Wins from a Part-Time Ride — 2021
After three career wins at Indianapolis with Team Penske, Helio Castroneves had gone over a decade without adding to his total. Most assumed his best Indy days were behind him. In 2021, driving for the small Meyer Shank Racing team on a part-time schedule, Castroneves passed Alex Palou with two laps to go and won his historic fourth Indianapolis 500 — becoming only the fourth driver ever to accomplish the feat. The win shocked the racing world and sent the beloved Brazilian climbing the fence in celebration for the fourth time. Few had given him a real shot, and he turned it into one of the most emotional victories in modern Indy history.
3. The Pace Car Crashes Into the Crowd — 1971
Before the race even started. In 1971, a local car dealer was given the honor of driving the pace car — a Dodge Challenger — around the track. As he pulled into the pit area at the start of the race, he misjudged his speed and plowed directly into a photo stand packed with photographers and dignitaries, injuring 29 people. Eldon Palmer, the dealer behind the wheel, had no racing experience whatsoever. The race continued and the winner was A.J. Foyt — but the image of the pace car in the stands was one of the strangest and most shocking moments in Indy 500 history.
4. Scott Goodyear Gets Black-Flagged While Leading — 1995
Poor Scott Goodyear. If the 1992 near-miss wasn’t enough heartbreak, the 1995 race was even more cruel. Goodyear had led 42 laps and appeared to have the fastest car in the race. On a late restart with 10 laps remaining, he jumped ahead of the pace car before it returned to the pit lane — a clear violation of the rules. Officials black-flagged him. Goodyear refused to pit and kept racing anyway, but was ultimately penalized and credited with a 14th-place finish, five laps down. Jacques Villeneuve inherited the win. It remains one of the most controversial and stunning reversals of fortune in Indy 500 history — a near-certain victory thrown away in one desperate moment.
5. The Closest Finish in Indy 500 History — 1992
Al Unser Jr. and Scott Goodyear put on one of the most breathtaking finishes in race history, with Unser holding off Goodyear by just 0.043 seconds — the closest margin ever in the Indy 500. What made it an upset was Goodyear’s remarkable late charge. Goodyear had been written off as a contender but drove all the way through the field to nearly steal the win on the final lap. Viewers at home who watched on ABC initially missed the finish when a track official blocked the camera — and an overhead shot revealed just how impossibly close it was. Unser Jr. reportedly said he was trying to make his car as wide as possible to keep Goodyear back. It worked — barely.
6. Dan Wheldon Wins from the Back — 2011
Yes, Dan Wheldon appears on this list twice — as the beneficiary in the Hildebrand crash story above — but his 2011 win was an upset in its own right. Wheldon had actually been out of full-time IndyCar competition and entered the race as a late addition with a small team. He started deep in the field and was never among the leaders during the race. His only shot at winning was if everything fell apart in front of him. It did. Wheldon swept past Hildebrand’s crashed car to win the race having led only the final few feet. It was a last-to-first fairy tale that no one could have scripted — made bittersweet by Wheldon’s tragic death at Las Vegas just five months later.
7. A.J. Foyt Beats the Turbine Car — 1967
In 1967, STP entered a revolutionary turbine-powered car driven by Parnelli Jones that was so dominant, it looked like it would make traditional piston-engine race cars obsolete. Jones led an astonishing 171 of 200 laps and appeared to be cruising to an easy victory. Then, with just three laps remaining, a tiny $6 ball bearing in the gearbox failed — and the turbine car coasted to a stop. A.J. Foyt, who had been running patiently behind the scenes in a conventional car, inherited the lead and won. It was a stunning reversal that saved the piston engine era of Indy racing — at least for a while. The “STP Turbine Upset” is still one of the most talked-about what-ifs in motorsports history.
8. Alexander Rossi Wins on Fumes as a 66-1 Rookie — 2016
The 100th running of the Indianapolis 500 deserved a legendary story, and it got one. Alexander Rossi was a 24-year-old rookie who had spent most of his career chasing a Formula One ride in Europe. He entered the race as a 66-to-1 long shot, starting 11th, with almost no oval racing experience. Midway through the race, his team rolled the dice on a radical fuel-conservation strategy — stretching his final tank an almost impossible 36 laps (about 90 miles) without pitting, while faster cars around him had to stop for fuel. On the final lap, his Honda was sputtering and barely running. Team co-owner Bryan Herta screamed over the radio: “Pull the clutch and coast.” Rossi crossed the Yard of Bricks running on essentially nothing — then ran out of gas completely and had to be towed to Victory Lane. He called it an “unbelievable” win. Racing insiders called it one of the most shocking upsets they’d ever seen.
9. Al Unser Wins from a Hotel Lobby Car — 1987
This one sounds like something out of a movie. Al Unser Sr. entered May 1987 with no ride and no sponsor money, sitting on the sidelines watching the month of practice begin without him. When veteran Danny Ongais suffered a concussion in a crash, Roger Penske needed a replacement driver fast. He called Unser — and found him a car that had literally been on display in the lobby of a Pennsylvania hotel near the Penske shop. Mario Andretti dominated the entire month and led with only 23 laps to go before a mechanical failure knocked him out. Unser inherited the lead and won his record-tying fourth Indianapolis 500 at 47 years old — the oldest winner in race history. A backup car from a hotel lobby. You can’t make this up.
10. J.R. Hildebrand Crashes on the Final Turn — 2011
Imagine leading the Indianapolis 500 with just one corner left. That was the reality for rookie J.R. Hildebrand in 2011 — and then it became a nightmare. With the checkered flag virtually in his hands, Hildebrand tried to pass a slower car on the high side of Turn 4 on the final lap. He got into the marbles (loose rubber debris off the racing line), lost control, and slammed hard into the outside wall. His mangled car slid across the Yard of Bricks in second place. Dan Wheldon — who had been trailing and running a completely different strategy — cruised past to win. It remains one of the most stunning collapses in race history, and a reminder that at Indy, the race isn’t over until you’re drinking the milk.
