With the speeds of the cars in those days, it took approximately seven hours 
for that first Indianapolis 500-Mile Race. There were a total of 46 entries and
80,000 spectators in attendance.

 
The finish line

 
Ray Harroun, 1911 Indianapolis 500 winner

Mario Gabriele Andretti 

Anddretti is a retired Italian American world champion race car driver, one of 
the most successful in the history of the sport. He is one of only two drivers to 
win in Formula One, IndyCar, NASCAR and World Sportscar Championship 
(the other being Dan Gurney). Andretti won the 1978 Formula One World 
Championship, four IndyCar titles (three under USAC–sanctioning, one under 
one under CART), and IROC VI. To date, he remains the only driver ever to
win the Indianapolis 500 (1969), Daytona 500 (1967) and the Formula One
World Championship, and, along with Juan Pablo Montoya, the only driver
to have won a race in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, Formula One, and
and Indianapolis 500. He has a total of 109 career wins on major circuits.

 
  Ralph Dale Earnhardt, Sr. (April 29, 1951 – February 18, 2001)

One of the best NASCAR drivers of all time, with a total of 76 races
over the course of his career, he earned 7 NASCAR Winston Cup
Championships. He died of head injuries when his car crashed 
into the outside retaining wall during the final lap of the 2001 
Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona
Beach, Florida.

      Paul Leonard Newman (January 26, 1925 – September 26, 2008)

Newman appeared in 67 films, including Butch Cassidy and the Sundance
Kid, (1969) and Hud (1963). He made his acting debut at age seven in a
school production of Robin Hood. After a single appearance on Broadway,
he was offered a movie contract with Warner Brothers. He won numerous
awards, including an Academy Award for best actor for his performance
in the 1986 Martin Scorsese film The Color of Money and eight other
nominations.

Newman was also a professional race car driver/team owner, winning
several national championships. He also co-founded Newman’s Own,
a food company from which he donated all post-tax profits and royalties
to charity.

Robert Arthur "Bobby" Allison was inducted into the NASCAR Hall of
Fame on May 23, 2011.    

Bobby is a former NASCAR Winston Cup driver who was named one of
NASCAR’s 50 greatest drivers. His two sons, Clifford and Davey Allison,
followed him into racing, and both died within a year of each other. The
stock car legend won the Daytona 500 three times. He entered his first
race as a senior in high school.