Who has won the Indy 500 the most? Helio Castroneves, Josef Newgarden chase history

The Indianapolis 500 has been held almost every year since 1911. During that time, it's crowned numerous legends in the motor sports world. Despite its lengthy existence though, we've never seen anyone win more than four times.
That could change this year though. Helio Castroneves won his fourth Indy 500 in 2021, 12 years after his third victory at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. He also has two runner-up finishes, a third-place finish, and in 2024, he finished in 20th place. The legendary driver from Brazil has the track record to make history in 2025, but his competition certainly won't make it easy on him.
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Elsewhere, Josef Newgarden seeking his own place in history. The Team Penske driver is the back-to-back Indy 500 champion and seeks to become the first driver to win the iconic race three years in a row. But in the leadup to Sunday's race, the Newgarden is drawing attention for another reason: the controversy during qualifying and the fallout at the organization.
The IndyCar Series determined Team Penske made illegal modifications to some of their cars, including Newgarden's, during qualifying and penalized the drivers by forcing them to start at the rear of the field for Sunday's race, while also issuing fines. Roger Penske, who owns the race team along with Indianapolis Motor Speedway, fired the entire leadership of his IndyCar team in the wake scandal, making Newgarden's attempt at a three-peat even more difficult.
INDY 500 POWER RANKINGS: Every driver ranked by their odds to win 2025 race
Who has won the Indy 500 the most?
The record for most Indianapolis 500 wins is four, held by four people: A.J. Foyt, Al Unser, Rick Mears, and of course Helio Castroneves.
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Six drivers have won the Borg-Warner Trophy three times:
Louis Meyer
Wilbur Shaw
Mauri Rose
Bobby Unser
Johnny Rutherford
Dario Franchitti
Eleven others have won the race twice:
Tommy Milton
Bill Vukovich
Rodger Ward
Gordon Johncock
Emerson Fittipaldi
Arie Luyendyk
Juan Pablo Montoya
Dan Wheldon
Takuma Sato
Josef Newgarden
Indianapolis 500 winners by year
1911: Ray Harroun
1912: Joe Dawson
1913: Jules Goux
1914: Rene Thomas
1915: Ralph DePalma
1916: Dario Resta
1919: Howdy Wilcox
1920: Gastron Chevrolet
1921: Tommy Milton
1922: Jimmy Murphy
1923: Tommy Milton
1924: L.L. Corum-J. Boyer
1925: Peter DePaolo
1926: Frank Lockhart
1927: George Souders
1928: Louis Meyer
1929: Ray Keech
1930: Billy Arnold
1931: Louis Schneider
1932: Fred Frame
1933: Louis Meyer
1934: Bill Cummings
1935: Kelly Petillo
1936: Louis Meyer
1937: Wilbur Shaw
1938: Floyd Roberts
1939: Wilbur Shaw
1940: Wilbur Shaw
1941: F. Davis/M. Rose
1946: George Robson
1947: Mauri Rose
1948: Mauri Rose
1949: Bill Holland
1950: Johnnie Parsons
1951: Lee Wallard
1952: Troy Ruttman
1953: Bill Vukovich
1954: Bill Vukovich
1955: Bob Sweikert
1956: Pat Flaherty
1957: Sam Hanks
1958: Jimmy Bryan
1959: Rodger Ward
1960: Jim Rathmann
1961: A.J. Foyt
1962: Rodger Ward
1963: Parnelli Jones
1964: A.J. Foyt
1965: Jim Clark
1966: Graham Hill
1967: A.J. Foyt
1968: Bobby Unser
1969: Mario Andretti
1970: Al Unser
1971: Al Unser
1972: Mark Donohue
1973: Gordon Johncock
1974: Johnny Rutherford
1975: Bobby Unser
1976: Johnny Rutherford
1977: A.J. Foyt
1978: Al Unser
1979: Rick Mears
1980: Johnny Rutherford
1981: Bobby Unser
1982: Gordon Johncock
1983: Tom Sneva
1984: Rick Mears
1985: Danny Sullivan
1986: Bobby Rahal
1987: Al Unser
1988: Rick Mears
1989: Emerson Fittipaldi
1990: Arie Luyendyk
1991: Rick Mears
1992: Al Unser Jr.
1993: Emerson Fittipaldi
1994: Al Unser Jr.
1995: Jacques Villeneuve
1996: Buddy Lazier
1997: Arie Luyendyk
1998: Eddie Cheever Jr.
1999: Kenny Brack
2000: Juan Pablo Montoya
2001: Helio Castroneves
2002: Helio Castroneves
2003: Gil de Ferran
2004: Buddy Rice
2005: Dan Wheldon
2006: Sam Hornish Jr.
2007: Dario Franchitti
2008: Scott Dixon
2009: Helio Castroneves
2010: Dario Franchitti
2011: Dan Wheldon
2012: Dario Franchitti
2013: Tony Kanaan
2014: Ryan Hunter-Reay
2015: Juan Pablo Montoya
2016: Alexander Rossi
2017: Takuma Sato
2018: Will Power
2019: Simon Pagenaud
2020: Takuma Sato
2021: Helio Castroneves
2022: Marcus Ericsson
2023: Josef Newgarden
2024: Josef Newgarden
2025 Indianapolis 500 starting lineup grid
*Car number in parentheses, followed by driver, team, manufacturer; R=rookie; W=former winner
(83) Robert Shwartzman (R), Prema Racing, Chevrolet
(75) Takuma Sato (W), Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, Honda
(5) Pato O'Ward, Arrow McLaren, Chevrolet
(9) Scott Dixon (W), Chip Ganassi Racing, Honda
(60) Felix Rosenqvist, Meyer Shank Racing, Honda
(10) Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing, Honda
(4) David Malukas, A.J. Foyt Enterprises, Chevrolet
(7) Christian Lundgaard, Arrow McLaren, Chevrolet
(28) Marcus Ericsson (W), Andretti Global, Honda
(3) Scott McLaughlin, Team Penske, Chevrolet
(76) Conor Daly, Juncos Hollinger Racing, Chevrolet
(20) Alexander Rossi (W), Ed Carpenter Racing, Chevrolet
(8) Kyffin Simpson, Chip Ganassi Racing, Honda
(33) Ed Carpenter, Ed Carpenter Racing, Chevrolet
(14) Santino Ferrucci, A.J. Foyt Enterprises, Chevrolet
(30) Devlin DeFrancesco, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, Honda
(77) Sting Ray Robb, Juncos Hollinger Racing, Chevrolet
(21) Christian Rasmussen, Ed Carpenter Racing, Chevrolet
(17) Kyle Larson, Arrow McLaren, Chevrolet
(45) Louis Foster (R), Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, Honda
(90) Callum Ilott, Prema Racing, Chevrolet
(06) Helio Castroneves (W), Meyer Shank Racing, Honda
(27) Kyle Kirkwood, Andretti Global, Honda
(6) Nolan Siegel (R), Arrow McLaren, Chevrolet
(23) Ryan Hunter-Reay (W), Dreyer & Reinbold Racing/Cusick Motorsports, Chevrolet
(24) Jack Harvey, Dreyer & Reinbold Racing/Cusick Motorsports, Chevrolet
(26) Colton Herta, Andretti Global, Honda
(15) Graham Rahal, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, Honda
(98) Marco Andretti, Andretti Global, Honda
(66) Marcus Armstrong, Meyer Shank Racing, Honda
(18) Rinus Veekay, Dale Coyne Racing, Honda
(2) Josef Newgarden (W), Team Penske, Chevrolet
(12) Will Power (W), Team Penske, Chevrolet
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Who has won Indy 500 the most? Indianapolis drivers, winners by year

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