Field of 33 Best Indy 500 Teams / Owners

In this year’s “Month of May” series, on each day leading up to the Indianapolis 500 on May 26, a different topic about the race or about Indianapolis will be discussed. Each of these topics will be ranked to create special “fields of 33” regarding the Indy 500. I hope you enjoy, and I hope you learn something about Indianapolis and the Indy 500, the Greatest Spectacle in Racing.

Today, we look beyond the driver to something bigger: the team. Many big names have surrounded the Indianapolis 500, some for decades. It’s a runaway for the pole position, but the rest of the field is quite packed together in the Field of 33 Best Indy 500 Teams/Owners.

 

Row 11

33. Eddie Cheever won the 1998 Indy 500 as a driver-owner.

32. Kenny Pitillo won the 1935 Indy 500 as a driver-owner.

31. Hemelgarn Racing won the 1996 Indy 500 with Buddy Lazier at the wheel. They were top five finishers many times during the CART/IRL split years.

Row 10

30. Sam Schmidt Motorsports has yet to win the Indy 500, but are dominating the Indy Lights series and will soon get that elusive Borg-Warner Trophy.

29. Louis Chevrolet funded many races in the early years of the Indy 500, including Gaston Chevrolet’s entries. Tommy Milton won in a Chevrolet machine in 1921.

28. Marmon won the inaugural Indy 500 with Ray Harroun driving the “Wasp” to Victory Lane.

Row 9

27. Newman-Haas has been around the Brickyard for years but never made it to Victory Lane. They’re currently looking for sponsorship to return to IndyCar.

26. Rahal-Letterman brought Danica Patrick to IndyCar in 2005, but won the pole and the race with Buddy Rice the year before. They nearly brought home a second Indy 500 win in 2012 with Takuma Sato crashing while passing for the lead on the last lap.

25. Ansted-Thompson Racing won two races as partners with A.J. Foyt in 1964 and 1067.

Row 8

24. Harry Hartz was the owner for Billy Arnold’s 1930 victory and Fred Frame’s 1932 win.

23. Peugeot Auto Racing served as owner for the 1913 winner Jules Goux and also Dario Resta’s 1916 trip to Victory Lane. Peugeot used their own chassis and engine builds during the early years of the 500.

22. STP Corporation funded the entry for Mario Andretti’s 1969 victory, and has sponsored many a team over the years of the Indy 500.

Row 7

21. Team Menard never won a race, but were always fast in the 1990’s with drivers such as Scott Brayton and Tony Stewart driving for them.

20. Chaparral Cars under owner Jim Hall took some big drivers to Victory Lane during their Brickyard days. Al Unser (1978) and Johnny Rutherford (1980) won the Indy 500 with Chaparral Racing.

19. J.C. Agajanian gave Tony Ruttman a trip to Victory Lane in 1952 and Parnelli Jones his chance at glory in 1963.

Row 6

18. George Salih won back-to-back Indy 500s with his own chassis in 1957 and 1958. Sam Hanks  and Jimmy Bryan drove the Salih machines to victory in the respective years.

17. John Zink won the two Indy 500s prior to Salih’s victories. Bob Sweikert (1955) and Pat Flaherty (1956) won these two races. What’s interesting here is that the 1955 race was under AAA sanction, while the 1956 race was under USAC sanction.

16. Panther Racing has been known for the Pennzoil colors and more recently the National Guard sponsorship. From 2009 to 2011, Panther Racing drivers have finished runner-up at the Indy 500. They never have won the Greatest Spectacle in Racing, however.  

Row 5

15. Team Lotus was always strong in F1 and came over to the Indy 500 with much success. Jim Clark’s 1963 victory is the only one in Lotus history, but they should have had more if they did not have bad luck and timely reliability issues.

14. Vel’s Parnelli Jones Racing gave Al Unser back-to-back wins with “Johnnie Lightning” in 1970 and 1971.

13. Louis Meyer was twice the winner as a driver-owner (1933, 1936).

Row 4 – Back-to-Back Winning Owners

12. Boyle Racing Headquarters gave Wilbur Shaw his back-to-back victories in 1939 and 1940 with the Maserati machine.

11. Howard B. Keck gave Bill Vukovich his back-to-back (and should have been more) victories in 1953 and 1954.

10. Duesenberg Automobile & Motors Company is another back-to-back winning team. Lora Corum and Joe Boyer split winners’ honors in 1924, and Peter DePaolo won the race the following year.

Row 3

9. McLaren Motor Racing gave Johnny Rutherford his first two victories in 1974 and 1976. It’s surprising they did not do more in Indy racing during those years.

8. Andretti Autosport has won two Indy 500s in combination with Team Green (Dan Wheldon in 2005 and Dario Franchitti 2007). They’ve come close many other times too in this millennium.

7. Team Green won the 2005 and 2007 races, but also was victory in the “Indy 505” with Jacques Villeneuve surviving a two-lap penalty to win in 1995.

Row 2

6. Leader Cards Racing and owner Bob Wilkie went to Victory Lane twice with Rodger Ward (1959, 1962) and later with Bobby Unser’s first win (1968)

5. Patrick Racing under owner Pat Patrick showed relevance for nearly a quarter of a century. Patrick entered the winning car in Gordon Johncock’s 1973 and 1982 victories. Patrick Racing also took Emerson Fittipaldi to his first Indy 500 win in 1989.

4. Lou Moore dominated the WWII era of the Indy 500. Floyd Roberts won in a Lou Moore machine in 1938, and the controversial Floyd Davis/Mauri Rose entry  that won the 1941 race was also under the ownership of Moore. Post-WWII, Mauri Rose won back-to-back Indy 500s under Lou Moore in 1947 and 1948. Moore made it a three-peat as an owner and five overall when Bill Holland won in 1949.

Row 1

3. A.J. Foyt Enterprises started with Foyt as a driver-owner for three (1964, 1967, 1977) of his Indy 500 victories. Foyt also went to Victory Lane as a full-time owner for Kenny Brack’s 1999 win.

2. Chip Ganassi Racing and Target has been synonymous with Indianapolis since their return from CART in 2000. In that time, Target Chip Ganassi Racing has won four Indy 500s (Juan Montoya in 2000, Scott Dixon in 2008, and Dario Franchitti in 2010 and 2012).

1. Team Penske is the best of the best with 15 career wins as an owner at Indianapolis. Mark Donohue gave Penske his first win in 1972. Other drivers winning for Penske include some big names: Rick Mears (’79, ’84, ’88, ’91), Bobby Unser (’81), Danny Sullivan (’85), Al Unser (’87), Emerson Fittipaldi (’93), Al Unser, Jr. (’94), Helio Castroneves (’01, ’02, ’09), Gil de Ferran (’03), and Sam Hornish (’06).

The Field of 33 – Best Teams/Owners

Row 1	1. Penske Racing	2. Chip Ganassi Racing	3. A.J. Foyt Enterprises
Row 2	4. Lou Moore	5. Patrick Racing	6. Leader Cards Racing
Row 3	7. Team Green	8. Andretti Autosport	9. McLaren
Row 4	10. Duesenberg	11. Boyle Racing	12. Howard B. Keck
Row 5	13. Louis Meyer	14. Vel’s Parnelli Jones Racing	15. Team Lotus
Row 6	16. Panther Racing	17. John Zink	18. George Salih
Row 7	19. J.C. Agajanian	20. Chaparral Cars	21. Team Menard
Row 8	22. STP Corporation	23. Peugeot Auto Racing	24. Harry Hartz
Row 9	25. Ansted-Thompson Racing	26. Rahal-Letterman Racing	27. Newman-Haas
Row 10	28. Marmon	29. Louis Chevrolet	30. Sam Schmidt Motorsports
Row 11	31. Hemelgarn Racing	32. Kenny Pitillo	33. Eddie Cheever