All 22 Non-American Winners Of The Indianapolis 500

It only took three years before the Indy 500 had its first foreign winner. Frenchman Jules Goux proved the dominance of European racing machinery of the day. Goux, behind the wheel on a Peugeot, won the race by a still record margin of seven laps, all while allegedly downing six bottles of champagne.

A French car and driver won again the following year. Rene Thomas in a Delage took the victory, leading a top-four lockout for France, alternating between two Delages and two Peugeots. Don’t worry: The American Automobile Association banned the consumption of alcohol on track by drivers after Goux’s antics.

In some ways, Ralph DePalma was Mario Andretti before Mario Andretti. DePalma was born in Italy, and his family immigrated to the United States when he was 11. He spent the rest of his adolescence in Brooklyn. After finding his way into racing, DePalma became synonymous with motorsport in the United States but was seemingly cursed at Indianapolis.

DePalma heartbreakingly lost the 1912 Indy 500 while pushing his car to the finish line after a mechanical failure. However, he would finally win the iconic event in 1915. DePalma would become an American citizen in 1920. He is still third on the all-time laps lead list at the Indianapolis 500.

Despite the name, the 1916 Indianapolis 500 was only 300 miles long. The change was made to make the race more entertaining for fans. The event was held in the shadow of World War I. The United States had yet to enter the conflict but the war severely limited European participation. The unique edition of the event was won by Italian-born British driver Dario Resta.

The first Indianapolis 500 after World War I was won by Frenchman Gaston Chevrolet. Yes, that Chevrolet. His older brother Louis founded the car manufacturer bearing his family’s name in 1911. Chevrolet won the 1920 Indy 500 in a Frontenac, the automaker started by all three Chevrolet brothers, Gaston, Louis and Arthur. However, Gaston Chevrolet was killed in a crash during the 1920 season finale and posthumously won the national championship.

It would be 45 years until another foreign driver won the Indianapolis 500. Scotsman Jim Clark won the Indy 500 and the separate Formula 1 World Championship in 1965. Clark should have won the race as a rookie in 1963 after being screwed over by race officials who feared the prospect of a rear-engined car winning the 500.

Graham Hill became the next British driver to win the Indianapolis 500. Famously, this would be one of the victories toward Hill’s claim to racing’s triple crown, along with his six Monaco Grand Prix wins and 1972 24 Hours of Le Mans victory.

Two-time Formula 1 World Champion Emerson Fittipaldi won the Indianapolis 500 twice after retiring from F1 and moving to IndyCar. He became the first winner to take home more than $1 million in prize money in 1989. Fittipaldi was more infamously known for drinking orange juice instead of milk in victory lane in 1993.

Two-time Indianapolis 500 winner Arie Luyendyk became the first foreign driver to finish first in the event after the Split in 1996 when most of IndyCar’s international stars remained in CART on the other side of the civil war. The Dutch driver also set the record qualifying run in 1996 with an average speed of 237.498 mph.

Jacques Villeneuve, the son of Ferrari F1 driver Gilles Villeneuve, was basically untouched in the mid-1990s. The Canadian was IndyCar Rookie of the Year in 1994. Indy 500 and IndyCar champion in 1995, F1’s best rookie in 1996 and Formula 1 World Champion in 1997. Villeneuve won the 1995 Indianapolis 500 despite receiving a two-lap penalty for passing the pace car under caution.

Swedish driver Kenny Brack won the 1999 Indianapolis 500, so far four-time winner A.J. Foyt’s only Indy 500 victory solely as a team owner. Brack is better known for surviving a 214g crash at Texas Motor Speedway in 2003.

Juan Pablo Montoya bookended his professional racing career with Indianapolis 500 victories. The 2000 win with Chip Ganassi Racing was the first for a CART team returning to the Speedway during the Split. The Colombian’s 15-year gap is the longest between Indy 500 wins for a driver.

Helio Castroneves is statistically the greatest foreign driver in the history of the Indianapolis 500. The Brazilian is also the best driver at the Speedway in the 21st century so far. Castroneves’ four Indy 500 victories puts him in an exclusive club with only three other drivers, A.J. Foyt, Al Unser Sr. and Rick Mears.

The French-born Brazilian proved to be Castroneves’ foil at Team Penske in the early-2000s. De Ferran finally got the best of Helio at the Indy 500 in 2003 and announced his retirement from racing at the end of the season.

Two-time Indianapolis 500 winner Dan Wheldon will forever be remembered for the stunning conclusion of the 2011 race. On the final lap, rookie race leader J.R. Hildebrand crashed into the wall in Turn 4, allowing Wheldon to pass him for the win.

During the 2011 season finale at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Wheldon was killed in a horrific multi-car pileup. The British driver joined Gaston Chevrolet in the tragic club of Indianapolis 500 winners killed in the same season as their victory.

Dario Franchitti is the only other foreign driver with an Indy 500 career rivaling Helio Castroneves. The Scottish driver not only won the Indianapolis 500 three times but also the IndyCar Series championship four times.

When New Zealander Scott Dixon finally retires from racing, he’ll likely be remembered as one of the greatest IndyCar drivers of all time. He’s a six-time IndyCar champion with 32 pole positions and 52 wins. Though, he probably values his 2008 Indy 500 win the most.

Fan-favorite driver Tony Kanaan is racing in his final Indianapolis 500 this Sunday. The Brazilian driver won the Indy 500 in 2013 as essentially an adopted son of the city of Indianapolis, Indiana.

Takuma Sato came to fame during his time in Formula 1 but has established himself as an IndyCar veteran. Sato became the first driver for Japan and Asia to win the Indy 500 in 2017 and won the race again in 2020 at 44 years old.

Australian Will Power finally won the Indianapolis 500 in 2018, his 11th appearance in the race. The long wait for glory came out of the usually mild-mannered driver as Power screamed, “Show me respected, motherfucker!” over the radio.

Simon Pagenaud became the fourth French winner of the Indianapolis 500, 99 years after Gaston Chevrolet’s victory, behind the wheel of a Chevrolet-powered car.

Marcus Ericsson became the most recent foreign winner of the Indianapolis 500 last year. The event’s other Swedish winner Kenny Brack encouraged Ericsson to race IndyCar after the end of his F1 career.