IMS puts century of cars back on the track

Indianapolis Motor Speedway continued its Centennial Celebration on Tuesday with a car show of winning proportions.
By: Curt Cavin
Officials selected 33 of the best Indianapolis 500-winning cars and lined them up on the starting grid.

Race historian Donald Davidson said it was the largest gathering of such cars he had seen in his five decades in Indianapolis. "It was awesome, and I rarely use that word," he said.

The 500's first winner, the Marmon Wasp driven by Ray Harroun in 1911, was the designated pole sitter, with Dario Franchitti's car of this year alongside. The rest of the field represented each decade and all the top drivers.

The only car that wasn't an original was the one representing Mario Andretti's 1969 win. The actual car is in the Smithsonian Institution in Washington.

IMS owns 27 of the 33 cars. The 1979 winner, driven by Rick Mears, arrived from Penske Racing's shop with its tires wrapped in plastic. Per the owner's wishes, Bill Vukovich's 1953 and '54 winner is not allowed to be started. The rest are.