What is 'Red Gloves Rule' in IndyCar? All you need to know about the tribute to the late Greg Moore 

On October 31, 1999, IndyCar lost a future legend to a horrific accident. 24-year-old Greg Moore, who wore his trademark red gloves in every race, died during the Marlboro 500, CART's 1999 season finale.

On lap 10 of the 500-mile race at the California Speedway, Moore lost control of his No. 99 Player’s Forsyth Mercedes-Benz, which flipped and flew into the concrete barrier cockpit first at over 220 mph. The car rebounded, flipped a few more times, and split into multiple pieces before coming to rest on the grass.

The 24-year-old Canadian was declared dead at 1:21 pm at the Loma Linda Medical Center, said Dr. Steve Olvey, CART director of medical affairs. His fellow drivers were devastated to hear the news. Race winner Adrian Fernandez broke down during the post-race interviews, saying (via ESPN):

"It's so hard. Greg was such a good friend of ours. We've been racing for a while and shared so many good moments on and off the track.This is a tragedy for all of us. the win doesn't matter anything. My heart goes out to his family," Fernandez said.

Despite his main sponsor's blue brand color, his trademark red gloves and his intense love for wearing them became synonymous with him. Even today, the three simple words—"red gloves rule"—induce a wave of emotions in IndyCar fans.

On October 31 every year, IndyCar fans remember him and honor his career. "Red gloves rule" is used in nearly every tribute post, either as a hashtag or part of the main caption. The official IndyCar social media account also dedicates a post to pay homage to him on that day.

"Red gloves rule ❤️ Today and every day, we remember Greg Moore." they wrote in their 2024 post.

IndyCar also paid special homage to Moore ahead of the 2024 Detroit Grand Prix, the 1997 edition of which he had won by holding off CART's winningest driver, Michael Andretti. It was Moore's second consecutive win that season, having won at Milwaukee the week before. The caption to the post read:

"Red Gloves Rule. Rewinding to 1997 when Greg Moore took home the win at the Detroit Grand Prix."

If Moore had gotten through that weekend, he would have been prepping to drive for IndyCar legend Roger Penske's Team Penske from 2000. He had already signed a three-year, $10 million deal with them.

Posthumously, CART retired his number 99 as a mark of respect. Moore won five races in his four-year CART career, which came on the heels of a dominant Indy Lights season in 1995, which he won by winning 10 out of 12 races.

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Ex-F1 and IndyCar driver Max Papis' tribute to Greg Moore: "I'll only wear red gloves for the rest of my life"

O'Reilly Auto Parts 250 - Qualifying - Source: Getty

Greg Moore meant more to the racing world than just his sublime performance on the track. 4-time IndyCar champion Dario Franchitti hailed the late driver for making a new norm in the series, that of racing hard on track but being good friends off of it.

"Greg is the reason you see drivers get on so well before the race and still race each other hard on the track. He’s the guy who taught all of us that you can race a guy on the track and still be friends at the end of the day," Franchitti said via Motorsports Tribune.

Max Papis, who was Moore's close friend and raced in CART till 2003, won the 2000 season opener in Miami with Team Rahal. Then, he decided to give a career-long tribute to his late friend by only wearing red gloves while racing.

"I won the race at Homestead in 2000 – the first race since Greg passed and since that happened, I had decided I was going to wear red gloves because Greg always told me that 'Superheroes always wear red gloves'. So to remember my friend, I decided that I’ll only wear red gloves for the rest of my life," he said via motorsport metro.

Greg Moore's untimely death led to Helio Castroneves replacing him at Team Penske from 2000 onwards. The Brazilian then went on to rewrite IndyCar history during his two-decade-long stint with the team.

Castroneves won a record-equaling four Indy 500s during his career, of which three came with the Roger Penske-led team. In a way, some fans deem his success to be a reflection of what Greg Moore could've achieved.