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The Indianapolis 500 is an American race for open-wheel automobiles held annually over the Memorial Day weekend at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana. Run for the first time in 1911, "The Greatest Spectacle in Racing" is one of the oldest and richest motorsport events in existence. This event lends its name to the "Indy Car" class of race cars.
The Indianapolis Motor Speedway complex was built in 1909, and hosted a smattering of small events before promoters decided to focus on one major event. The creation of a 500-mile race allowed the track to rapidly acquire a privileged status for automobile races. The first "500" was held at the Speedway on May 30, 1911, with Ray Harroun piloting a Marmon Wasp -- outfitted with his invention, the rearview mirror -- to victory.
Although the first race was won by an American driver at the wheel of an American car, European makers such as Fiat or Peugeot soon developed their own vehicles to try and win the event, which they did from 1913 to 1919. However, after World War I, the native drivers and manufacturers regained their dominance of the race, with the engineer Harry A. Miller setting himself up as the most competitive of the post-war builders. His technical developments allowed him to be indirectly connected to a history of success that would last until the mid-70s.
In the early 20s, Miller built his own 3.0 litre (183 cu.in) engine, installing it in the back of Jimmy Murphy 's Duesenberg and allowing him to win the 1922 edition of the Indy 500. Miller then created his own automobiles, which were powered by supercharged versions of his 2.0 liter and 1.5 litre (122 and 91 cu.in, also the cars' designations), winning four more races until 1929. Miller's cars and engines won other seven events until 1938, then run first with stock-type motors and then with the international 3.0 liter formula.
However, in 1935, Miller's former employees, Fred Offenhauser and Leo Goosen , had already achieved their first win with the soon-to-become famous 4-cylinder Offy . This motor was forever connected with the Brickyard's history with a total of 27 wins, both in aspirated and supercharged form, and winning a record-holding 18 years in row between 1947 and 1964.
In the meantime, European manufacturers, gone from the Indianapolis 500 for nearly two decades, made a brief return just before World War II, with the competitive Maserati 8CM allowing Wilbur Shaw to become the first driver to win consecutively at Indianapolis in 1941. With the Indianapolis 500 having been a part of the World Drivers Championship between 1950 and 1960, Ferrari made a discrete appearance at the 1952 event with Alberto Ascari, but European entries were few and far between during those days.
In fact, it wouldn't be until the Indy 500 was removed from the calendar that Europeans made their return, with Jack Brabham driving his slightly modified F1 CooperJohn Cooper ( July 17, 1923 December 24, 2000) was a co-founder, with his father Charles Cooper, of the Cooper Car Company. Born in Kingston, Surrey, England, he became an auto racing legend with his rear-engined chassis design that would eventually chang in the 1961 race. In 1963, technical innovator Colin ChapmanAnthony Colin Bruce Chapman ( 9 May 1928 16 December 1982) was born in London and studied mechanical engineering. He founded the famous sports car company Lotus in 1952. His initials are shown in the trademark of Lotus. He died of a heart attack. Chapman brought his Team Lotus to Indianapolis for the first time, attracted by the large monetary prizes, far bigger than the usual at a European event. Racing a mid-engined car, British driver Jim ClarkThere are several famous people called Jim Clark . Please follow one of these links: Jim Clark (racing driver), Scottish Formula 1 racing driver active in the 1960s Jim Clark (film editor), Oscar-winning editor of The Killing Fields and many other films J was second in his first attempt at the oval track, completely dominating the race in 1965, also interrupting the Offy's success, and offering the 4.2 litre FordThis article is about the Ford Motor Company . For other uses of this word, see Ford (disambiguation). The Ford Motor Company (sometimes nicknamed Ford's or FoMoCo is an automobile maker founded by Henry Ford in Highland Park, Michigan, and incorporated o V8 its first success at the race.
Offenhauser too would join forces with a European maker, McLarenMcLaren founded in 1963 by Bruce McLaren ( 1937- 1970), is a racing team based in Woking, England, which is best known as a Formula One constructor but has also competed in the Indianapolis 500, Canadian-American Challenge Cup, and 24 Hours of Le Mans., obtaining three wins for the Penske team between 1972 and 1976, with drivers Mark Donohue and Gordon Johncock . This was also the last time the Offy would win a race, its competitiveness decreasing until its final appearance in 1983. American drivers kept on filling the majority of entries at the Brickyard for the following years, but European technology took over. Starting from 1978, most chassis and engines were European, with the only American wins under CART rule being the Wildcat and Galmer chassis in 1982 and 1992. Ford and ChevyChevrolet or Chevy is a brand of automobile that is now part of the General Motors group. Its founder, Louis Chevrolet, was a racing driver born on December 25, 1878 in La Chaux de Fonds, Switzerland. On November 3, 1911, Chevrolet officially entered the engines were built in the UK by Cosworth and Ilmor , respectively.