A look at some races to remember, listed in chronological order:1911: Speedway founder Carl Fisher and his partners envisioned an event that would appeal to the public by lasting between mid-morning and late afternoon and came up with the idea of a 500-mile race. Ray Harroun beat Ralph Mulford to win $14,250 of a $27,550 purse. Harroun's average speed was just under 75 mph, and it took him 6 hours, 42 minutes and 8 seconds to finish. In all, 40 cars started the race, mostly two-seater cars with riding mechanics.

1936: Louis Meyer became the first three-time winner and started the tradition of drinking milk in Victory Circle. After the tradition briefly was stopped, it was restarted for good in 1956.

1960: Jim Rathmann and Rodger Ward wage an epic battle, swapping the lead 14 times in the last half of the race. Ward led before his right front tire wore out in lap 197. Rathmann won by 12.67 seconds.

1967: This race was highly anticipated because Parnelli Jones was driving STP president Andy Granatelli's red STP turbine engine car. Jones rocketed out to an early lead, but the race was halted on lap 18 because of rain and completed on Wednesday. Jones averted a crash on lap 52, spun and continued. He lived up to the hype for most of the race and was a lap ahead when a $6 ball bearing in the gearbox failed and cost him the race. A.J. Foyt took the lead, then weaved his way through a massive four-car crash in turn four on the last lap.

1982: Rick Mears relentlessly chopped down Gordon Johncock's large lead late as Johncock struggled with handling. Mears looked ready to take the lead early in the final lap, but Johncock expertly cut him off. Mears finally moved to Johncock's side in the final straightaway and made a desperate push, but he fell short by .16 seconds.

1985: This is known in racing lore as the "Spin and Win," for Danny Sullivan's dramatic save in lap 120 while he was battling for the lead with Mario Andretti. Andretti and Sullivan were side by side before Sullivan took the lead with an inside pass. Just as Sullivan completed the move, he swerved and spun 360 degrees. He somehow regained and went on to beat Andretti by 2.477 seconds.

1989: Brazil's Emerson Fittipaldi became the first foreign winner. Al Unser Jr. led Fittipaldi in the late laps and appeared to have enough juice to close the deal, but he couldn't pull away because of traffic. Fittipaldi seized the opportunity as the field tightened and made an inside move with two laps to go. The two drove side-by-side for the lead when their cars touched wheels. The contact sent Unser into the wall while Fittipaldi remained in control and won under caution, with Unser finishing second.

1992: Closest finish ever at Indy as Al Unser Jr. edged a hard-charging Scott Goodyear by .043 seconds in a drag race to the yard of bricks. Michael Andretti led 160 laps and had a 30-second lead before a fuel pump failure in lap 189 ended his day.

1995: Scott Goodyear led late, but he was black flagged on a restart after passing the pace car in lap 190. He refused to acknowledge the penalty and remained on the track. Jacques Villeneuve, who had been assessed a two-lap penalty for passing the pace car earlier in the race, led the rest of the way and beat Christian Fittipaldi by 2.481 seconds. Goodyear finished 14th.

2006: Sam Hornish Jr. chased down 19-year-old Marco Andretti on the final straightaway to win by .0635 seconds, the second-closest Indy 500 in history. Late in the race, Hornish left his pit with the fuel hose still connected, and the ensuing penalty put him down a lap. Still, he trailed only Marco Andretti, Michael Andretti and Scott Dixon when the green flew with four laps to go. Marco brought the crowd to its feet by passing his father, Michael, for the lead with three laps to go, but Hornish caught him at the bricks. Michael Andretti, who came out of retirement at age 43 to race with his son, finished third.

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