Ranking 5 oldest Indy 500 race winners feat. Helio Castroneves

The Indy 500 is regarded as the greatest spectacle in motor racing and is the oldest Motorsports event, with the first race held in 1911. Drivers racing at speeds of over 220 mph for 200 laps around the Indianapolis Motor Speedway make the Indy 500 the biggest Motorsports event of the year.

The 2025 Indy 500 is going to be the 109th running of the greatest spectacle in motor racing. A. J. Foyt, Al Unser, Rick Mears and Hélio Castroneves are the most successful drivers at the Indy 500, winning four races each. Many drivers come to participate in the Indy 500, like Fernando Alonso in late 2010, and Kyle Larson who debuted at the 2024 Indy 500.

Let's have a look at the five oldest Indy 500 winners who won the prestigious Motorsports event.

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#5 Gordon Johncock

Gordon Johncock is a former Racing driver who primarily raced in the IndyCar series but also tried his luck in stock car racing. The highlights of his racing career were his two Indy 500 wins (1973, 1982) and his championship-winning IndyCar season (1976).

Gordon Johncock was 45 when he won the 1982 Indy 500 driving the Wildcat 8B powered by Cosworth DFX for Patrick Racing. The 1976 champion started the race in the middle of the second row and fended off Rick Mears in the final laps of the race to take victory.

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#4 Emerson Fittipaldi

F1 Grand Prix of Spain - Source: Getty

Two-time F1 World champion Emerson Fittipaldi moved to try his luck in IndyCar racing after his F1 career. The Brazilian won the 1989 Indy 500 and the IndyCar championship. However, towards the end of his racing career, Fittipaldi arguably put up one of his greatest performances to win the 1993 Indy 500 at the age of 46.

Emerson Fittipaldi started on the outside of the third row and in the final 20 laps, was involved in the fight for the race win. Fittipaldi, then Indy 500 debutant and former F1 driver Nigel Mansell, fought it out in the last laps for the win. In the end, the then 46-year-old won by over two seconds.

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#3 Helio Castroneves

Helio Castroneves is one of the most successful drivers when it comes to winning at the Indy 500. The Brazilian has won four Indy 500 races, which includes a win at his Indy 500 debut in 2001 as well as a win the very next year, in 2002.

His third win came in 2009, Castroneves had to wait for over a decade before winning again and equaling the record for Indy 500 wins, in 2021.

NTT IndyCar Series PPG 375 - Practice - Source: Getty

Helio Castroneves won the 2021 Indy 500 at the age of 46 while driving for Meyer Shank Racing. The Brazilian participated in 2021 as a part-time driver for MSR, yet reproduced his magic at the greatest spectacle in racing, as he won by almost five-tenths of a second despite starting from the middle of the third row.

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#2 Bobby Unser

The 1981 Indy 500 was Bobby Unser’s last race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The American retired from the world of open-wheel racing after the 1981 season. However, he left a mark while making his exit by winning the greatest spectacle in racing at the age of 47.

Bobby Unser started the 1981 Indy 500 on pole, dominated the entire race and took the win by over five seconds.

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#1 Al Unser

Bobby Unser set the record for the oldest Indy 500 winner in 1981, but it was soon broken by his brother Al Unser Sr. in the same decade, in 1987. Al Unser Sr. equaled the record for most Indy 500 wins after winning the 1987 event at the age of 47 and was just four days away from turning 48 on May 29.

Mario Andretti dominated the practice, qualifying and most of the race, but after a mechanical issue for the former F1 champion, Al Unser took over the lead with 18 laps to go and won the race.