Indianapolis Speedway Lore:
- Although the Indianapolis 500 was part of the F1 world championship between 1950 and 1960, the first genuine US Grand Prix was not held until 1959. The race, held at Sebring, was won by Bruce McLaren. Then 22, he became the youngest winner in F1 history - until Fernando Alonso stole that title at Hungary.
- The United States has held grands prix in more places than any other country with no fewer than eight circuits holding world championship races. Sebring, Riverside, Watkins Glen, Long Beach, Detroit, Dallas, Las Vegas Phoenix and, of course, Indy.
- The US became the only country ever to host three Grands Prix in a season in 1982 when races were held at Long Beach, Detroit and Las Vegas.
- The Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) opened in 1909. It was developed by a consortium of four local businessmen led by car dealer, Carl.G.Fisher. The group shared a dream of creating a ‘great outdoor laboratory’ for the then very young automotive industry.
- The Speedway has had three owners. The original consortium was taken over in 1927 by World War I flying ace Capt. Eddie Rickenbacker – and, since 1945, the great oval has resided firmly in the hands of the Hulman/George family.
- When the IMS was built in 1909, Indianapolis was at the center of the American car building industry. Manufacturers Duesenberg, Stutz, Marmon and National were all situated nearby.
- The Speedway's track surface consisted of crushed stone and tar but was replaced after a year by a paved surface of 3.2 million bricks, hence the nickname ‘Brickyard’. The circuit, except the start and finish straight, was covered in asphalt in 1937 with the straight remaining bare until 1961. A yard of bricks can still be seen on the start/finish line today.
- The first ever race at the IMS was actually for gas-filled balloons. Cars first circled the track in August 1909 and the first Indianapolis 500 Motor Sweepstakes took place in 1911.
- The circuit is built on a 559-acre site, including an infield of 224 acres onto which the road course link for the US Grand Prix was built. The oval circuit track width is 50 feet on the straights and 60 feet in the banked corners or ‘Turns’. Gradient of the banked turns is 9 degrees.
- The IMS complex is so vast that the infield of the oval contains a nine-hole golf course.
- There is a popular saying that there are only two types of driver at Indianapolis - those who have hit the wall and those who are going to hit the wall.
- The Unser family have no fewer than nine Indy 500 wins between them. Al Senior scored four wins, brother Bobby three, while Al Junior has won the famous race twice.
- A number of F1 stars have won the Indy 500, including Jim Clark, Graham Hill and Jacques Villeneuve. The only current driver to have done so is Juan Pablo Montoya, who won the oval race in 2000.
- The last turn on the circuit runs through Turn one on the oval track, which is the only banked corner on the F1 calendar. The track also features the longest flat-out section of all the F1 circuits, with drivers running full throttle for around 22 seconds from Turn 11 to Turn one at speeds in excess of 210mph.