Who won the first Indianapolis 500 in 1911?

Ray Harroun won the first Indianapolis 500 in 1911. Driving the yellow Marmon Wasp, he completed the inaugural 500-mile race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on May 30, 1911.

Harroun was an engineer as well as a racing driver, and his car featured a rear-view mirror. That detail was especially important because early racing rules and practice commonly placed a riding mechanic beside the driver to watch for approaching cars. Harroun drove much of the race alone, using the mirror instead.

The race covered 200 laps of the 2.5-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval. Harroun led 88 laps and finished ahead of Ralph Mulford by roughly 1 minute and 42 seconds. Cyrus Patschke provided relief for approximately 35 laps, but Harroun remained the driver officially credited with the victory.

A frequent mix-up is treating Ralph DePalma as the winner because he was an early American racing star; he finished sixth in the 1911 event. Louis Chevrolet and Barney Oldfield also did not win that inaugural race.