102 Stats in 102 Days Until 102nd Indy 500 – Day 37, Most Laps Led by a Rookie (March 22, 2018)

The 102nd Indianapolis 500 is 66 days away! This is the 37th 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 are well-known statistics, while others are a little more in-depth.

Here is a look at the top 20 drivers who have led the most laps in their rookie starts. Juan Pablo Montoya led 167 laps in 2000 in the most dominating victory for a first-year Indianapolis 500 starter, and one of the most dominating in the race’s history.

Most Laps Led by a Rookie (Top 20)

- Juan Pablo Montoya: 167 (2000)

- Bill Holland: 143 (1947)

- Jules Goux: 138 (1913)

- Rene Thomas: 102 (1914)

- Frank Lockhart: 95 (1926)

- Ray Harroun: 88 (1911)

- Tomas Scheckter: 85 (2002)

- David Bruce-Brown: 81 (1911)

- Arthur Duray: 77 (1914)

- Helio Castroneves: 52 (2001)

- George Souders: 51 (1927)

- Jeff Ward: 49 (1997)

- Tony Stewart: 44 (1996)

- Jimmy Gleason: 43 (1928)

- Harry Hartz: 42 (1922)

- Jackie Stewart: 40 (1966)

- Dario Resta: 37 (1915)

- Bob Carey: 36 (1932)

- Bob Swanson: 34 (1937)

- Nigel Mansell: 34 (1993)

Notes of Interest

- Five of the top six drivers on this list went on to win the race. The rookie that led the most laps that did not win the race was Bill Holland, who finished second in 1947. He was passed by eventual winner Mauri Rose on Lap 193 after believing Rose, his teammate, was unlapping himself, not passing for position.

- Rookie winners Graham Hill and Alexander Rossi are the only rookie winners not on the above list. Hill led only 10 laps in 1966 and Rossi led 16 laps in 2016. Interestingly, those were the 50th and 100th runnings of the race, respectively.

- The 1911 and 1914 races each had two rookies on this list. Ray Harroun and David Bruce-Brown each led more than 80 laps of the inaugural race in 1911, while Rene Thomas led 102 laps en route to victory in 1914, and fellow French rookie Arthur Duray led 77 laps en route to second.

- Of the 20 drivers on the list, 16 of the drivers finished in the top 10 (many in the top five). Tomas Scheckter crashed en route to finishing 26th in 2002; Tony Stewart had engine failure en route to 24th in 1996; Jimmy Gleason finished 15th in 1928, retiring five laps from the end with magneto problems; and Bob Swanson finished 28th in 1937, the victim of a failed carburetor. However, Swanson’s 34 laps led actually came when he substituted for Ralph Hepburn for several laps in Hepburn’s No. 8 Stevens/Offy; Hepburn finished second.