102 Stats in 102 Days Until 102nd Indy 500 – Day 20, Drivers Who Have Finished First and Last (March 5, 2018)

The 102nd Indianapolis 500 is 83 days away! This is the 20th 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 drivers who have won the Indianapolis 500, as well as finished last. A total of 13 drivers have reached victory lane as well as been the first driver out of the race (not all of them have finished 33rd, however).

Drivers Who Have Finished First and Last in Indianapolis 500

- Howdy Wilcox (won in 1919; finished last in 1921 and 1922)

- Louis Schneider (won in 1931; finished last in 1933)

- Bill Cummings (won in 1934; finished last in 1936)

- Sam Hanks (won in 1957; finished last in 1941)

- Jimmy Bryan (won in 1958; finished last in 1959)

- Bobby Unser (won in 1968, 1975 and 1981, finished last in 1963)

- Mario Andretti (won in 1969; finished last in 1968)

- Johnny Rutherford (won in 1974, 1976 and 1980; finished last in 1977)

- Tom Sneva (won in 1983; finished last in 1986)

- Danny Sullivan (won in 1985; finished last in 1993)

- Buddy Lazier (won in 1996; finished last in 1991)

- Juan Pablo Montoya (won in 2000 and 2015; finished last in 2016)

- Takuma Sato (won in 2017; finished last in 2011)

Notes of Interest

- Jimmy Bryan, Johnny Rutherford and Juan Pablo Montoya are the only drivers to win the race one year and finish last in the following year.

- Rutherford, Montoya and Bobby Unser are also the only drivers who have won the race multiple times and finished last once.

- Mario Andretti is the only driver to finish last one year then win the race the following year.

- Howdy Wilcox is the only race winner to finish last twice – in 1921 and 1922. He is also one of three drivers overall to finish last in the race in consecutive races (Andy Linden in 1952 and 1953 and Salt Walther in 1972 and 1973).

- Bobby Unser and Buddy Lazier are the only drivers on this list to finish last as a rookie. Each won the Indianapolis 500 for the first time in their careers in their sixth career start.

- Louis Meyer finished 33rd in the 1932 Indianapolis 500, when there were 40 cars that competed. Meyer has the worst finishing spot of a driver that also won the race, when he finished 34th in the 1931 race, which also had 40 cars that competed.