102 Stats in 102 Days Until 102nd Indy 500 – Day 15, Victories By Birth Month (February 28, 2018)

The 102nd Indianapolis 500 is 88 days away! This is the 15th day of the 102 Stats in 102 Days Until the 102nd Indy 500.

Each day from now until the Saturday before the Indianapolis 500, we’ll post a list of stats related to the race. Some of well-known statistics, while others are a little more in-depth. You can view the current list of 102-stat blogs by clicking here.

Today’s list looks at the winning drivers by birth month. Every month has been represented by at least two drivers. Two months have reached double digit winners, both in the last five years.

Indianapolis 500 Winners by Birth Month

- January: 10 (first: Ray Harroun; most recent: Takuma Sato)

- December: 10 (first: Ralph DePalma; most recent: Ryan Hunter-Reay)

- March: 8 (first: Rene Thomas; most recent: Kenny Brack)

- May: 7 (first: Joe Boyer; most recent: Dario Franchitti)

- July: 7 first: Joe Dawson; most recent: Scott Dixon)

- September: 6 (first: Jimmy Murphy; most recent: Alexander Rossi)

- February: 5 (first: Floyd Roberts; most recent: Bobby Unser)

- April: 5 (first: Jules Goux; most recent: Jacques Villeneuve)

- June: 4 (first Howdy Wilcox; most recent: Dan Wheldon)

- November: 4 (first: Gaston Chevrolet; most recent: Gil de Ferran)

- August: 3 (first: Dario Resta; most recent: Gordon Johncock)

- October: 2 (first: Wilbur Shaw; most recent: Buddy Lazier)

Notes of Interest

- Of the seven drivers born in May, four of them have won the Indianapolis 500 three or more times (Mauri Rose, Al Unser, Helio Castroneves and Dario Franchitti).

- Joe Boyer is the only driver to win the Indianapolis 500 on his birthday (May 30), when he won the 1924 Indianapolis 500 co-driving with L.L. Corum. He was celebrating his 34th birthday.

- Rodger Ward, Bobby Rahal and Eddie Cheever were all born on January 10. Out of more than 750 drivers to compete in the Indianapolis 500, they are the only three drivers born on January 10 to start the race.

- The only two drivers in October to win, Wilbur Shaw and Buddy Lazier, also share the birth date. They were both born on October 31.

- The longest streak of races in which a birth month has not been represented is February. Bobby Unser was the last driver born in February to win the Indianapolis 500, when he won in 1981 (current streak of 36 races; August’s streak is 35, having last been represented in 1982, with Gordon Johncock).

  - Had his victory not stood due to several protests, appeals and rulings after Unser had passed cars under caution (he was penalized then reinstated as the winner, February would have been represented anyway, with second-place Mario Andretti also having born in February. Unser’s car owner, Roger Penske, was also born in February.

- Ryan Hunter-Reay’s victory in 2014 put December at 10 different winners. Takuma Sato gave January a total of 10 winners with his victory in 2017. Both drivers competed for Andretti Autosport.

- Every month has at least one driver that has more than one victory.

- A total of 15 victories each are represented by drivers born in May and December, and 14 wins represented by drivers born in January. The fewest are August and October (four victories each).