1995 Indianapolis 500 it allowed him to complete the full 500 miles, becoming the second and final driver to complete 500 miles in a Buick/Menard powered car. Luyendyk's 7th-place finish was the second-highest for the Buick/Menard V6, surpassed only by the third-place finish of Al Unser, Sr. in 1992. Jacques Villeneuve went on to win the 1995 CART championship, and subsequently signed with Williams in the offseason. With a growing cloud of controversy and uncertainty over a potential and looming open wheel "split," the 1995 Indianapolis 500 marked a turning point in the sport. Within months, and by the 1996 race, the landscape
Indianapolis 500 drivers commonly being associated with the CART era, it should be noted that four of the first six Indianapolis 500 winners were non-American drivers. The race was originally advertised as the "International 500-Mile Sweepstakes Race" from 1911 to 1916. However, from its inception, the race has been widely known as the Indianapolis 500 or, more simply as "the 500". In 1919, the race was referred to as the "Liberty Sweepstakes" following WWI. From 1920 to 1980, the race officially reverted to the "International Sweepstakes" moniker, as printed on the tickets and other paraphernalia, with slight variations over the years. Following