102 Stats in 102 Days Until 102nd Indy 500 – Day 57, Most Starts By Car Number (April 11, 2018)

The 102nd Indianapolis 500 is 46 days away! This is the 57th day of the 102 Stats in 102 Days Until the 102nd Indy 500 blog.

Each day from now until the Saturday before the Indianapolis 500, we’ll post a list of stats related to the race. Some are well-known statistics, while others are a little more in-depth.

Here are the car numbers that have competed in the Indianapolis 500 the most. Every car number from 1 to 99 has competed in the race at least once, as well as cars 00, 02, 06 and 07. Car No. 5 has competed in the most races, with 93. Here’s the list of every car that has competed in the race at least 70 times.

Most Starts By Car Number (First/Last/Most Recent Missed Race)

- Car No. 5: 93 races (First: 1911/Last: 2017/Most Recent Missed: 2016)

- Car No. 14: 89 races (First: 1912/Last: 2017/Most Recent Missed: 1993)

- Car No. 4: 89 races (First: 1911/Last: 2017/Most Recent Missed: 2014)

- Car No. 3: 88 races (First: 1911/Last: 2017/Most Recent Missed: 1980)

- Car No. 8: 87 races (First: 1911/Last: 2017/Most Recent Missed: 2011)

- Car No. 7: 85 races (First: 1911/Last: 2017/Most Recent Missed: 2001)

- Car No. 2: 85 races (First: 1911/Last: 2017/Most Recent Missed: 2000)

- Car No. 9: 83 races (First: 1911/Last: 2017/Most Recent Missed: 2004)

- Car No. 12: 79 races (First: 1911/Last: 2017/Most Recent Missed: 2015)

- Car No. 6: 78 races (First: 1911/Last: 2016/Most Recent Missed: 2017)

- Car No. 1: 77 races (First: 1911/Last: 2017/ Most Recent Missed: 2016)

- Car No. 10: 76 races (First: 1911/Last: 2017/Most Recent Missed: 2010)

- Car No. 16: 76 races (First: 1911/Last: 2017/Most Recent Missed: 2015)

- Car No. 15: 73 races (First: 1911/Last: 2017/Most Recent Missed: 2011)

- Car No. 18: 71 races (First: 1911/Last: 2017/Most Recent Missed: 2011)

- Car No. 21: 70 races (First: 1911/Last: 2017/Most Recent Missed: 2012)

Notes of Interest

- Car No. 5 competed in every races between 1911 and 1938, missing the race for the first time in 1939. The other times car No. 5 has missed the race is 1947, 1966, 1968, 1969, 1975, 1978 and 1979 (which interestingly enough had an increased number of cars, 35). The car’s current streak is 37 consecutive races. Noteworthy, three of the races car No. 5 missed were races won by an Unser (Bobby Unser in 1968 and 1975; Al Unser in 1978).

- Car No. 14 has missed the Indianapolis 500 once since 1972, when A.J. Foyt retired on pole day for the 1993 race. No one replaced in the car for the race. Bryan Herta drove No. 14 in the 1994 race. 

- Car No. 18 has competed in the most races without a victory, with 71 races, followed by car No. 21, with 70 races.

- Scott Dixon has competed in the No. 9 in each of the last 13 races. He had the option to compete in the No. 9 in 2004, but opted to compete in Car No. 1 after winning the 2003 IndyCar Series championship. The previous time the No. 9 missed the race was 1987.

- Likewise, Will Power has been a regular in the No. 12, but competed in the No. 1 for the 2015 season, after winning the 2014 IndyCar Series title.

- The most starts by cars in the 30s is No. 33 (50 races); 40s is No. 41 (42 races); 50s is No. 55 (29 races); 60s is No. 66 (18 races); 70s is No. 77 (32 races); 80s are Nos. 83 and 88 (20 races); and 90s is No. 98 (47 races).