1921 Indianapolis 500 1921 Indianapolis 500 The 9th International 500-Mile Sweepstakes Race was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Monday, May 30, 1921. Ralph DePalma dominated yet another early running of the 500, but again fails to win. He led 109 laps, and had a two-lap lead at the halfway point. A connecting rod broke, and he dropped out on lap 112. DePalma retires with one win, and 612 laps led in the "500." His laps led record would not be matched for 67 years until Al Unser, Sr. tied it in 1987. Tommy Milton won the first of two 500 victories.
Indianapolis 500 and engines were European, with the only American-based chassis to win during the CART era being the Wildcat and Galmer (which was actually built in Bicester, England) in 1982 and 1992, respectively. Ford and Chevrolet engines were built in the UK by Cosworth and Ilmor, respectively. Fernando Alonso was the most recent active Formula One driver to race at the Indy 500-mile race, in 2017. Prior to that, no active F1 driver had competed in the Indy 500 since 1984. After foreign cars became the norm, foreign drivers began competing in the Indianapolis 500 on a regular basis, choosing the