102 Stats in 102 Days Until 102nd Indy 500 – Day 21, Drivers Who Have Finished Last (March 6, 2018)

The 102nd Indianapolis 500 is 82 days away! This is the 21st 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 finished last in the Indianapolis 500. A total of 91 drivers have finished last in the race, with nine drivers having finished last more than once (one driver three times). Here is the full list.

Drivers Who Have Last in Indianapolis 500 (By Number of Times)

- Salt Walther: 3 (1972, 1973, 1975)

- Howdy Wilcox: 2 (1921, 1922)

- Harry McQuinn: 2 (1935, 1948)

- Andy Linden: 2 (1952, 1953)

- Paul Russo: 2 (1946, 1956)

- George Snider: 2 (1971, 1987)

- Robert Guerrero: 2 (1992, 1994)

- Greg Ray: 2 (2000, 2002)

- Graham Rahal: 2 (2008, 2014)

- Art Greiner: 1 (1911)

- Len Ormsby: 1 (1912)

- Bill Endicott: 1 (1913)

- S.F. Brock: 1 (1914)

- C.C. Cox: 1 (1915)

- Aldo Franchi: 1 (1916)

- Roscoe Sarles: 1 (1919)

- Andre Boillot: 1 (1920)

- Martin de Alzaga: 1 (1923)

- Ernie Ansterburg: 1 (1924)

- Jules Ellingboe: 1 (1925)

- Albert Guyot: 1 (1926)

- Dave Lewis: 1 (1927)

- Russ Snowberger: 1 (1928)

- Cliff Woodbury: 1 (1929)

- Chet Gardner: 1 (1930)

- Francis Quinn: 1 (1931)

- Al Gordon: 1 (1932)

- Louis Schneider: 1 (1933)

- Chet Miller: 1 (1934)

- Bill Cummings: 1 (1936)

- Rex Mays: 1 (1937)

- Shorty Cantlon: 1 (1938)

- Deacon Litz: 1 (1939)

- Raoul Riganti: 1 (1940)

- Sam Hanks: 1 (1941)

- Milt Fankhouser: 1 (1947)

- Spider Webb: 1 (1949)

- Duke Dinsmore: 1 (1950)

- Joe James: 1 (1951)

- Bill Homeier: 1 (1954)

- Jimmy Reece: 1 (1955)

- Elmer George: 1 (1957)

- Art Bisch: 1 (1958)

- Jimmy Bryan: 1 (1959)

- Dempsey Wilson: 1 (1960)

- Don Branson: 1 (1961)

- Bob Veith: 1 (1962)

- Bobby Unser: 1 (1963)

- Norm Hall: 1 (1964)

- Jim Hurtubise: 1 (1965)

- Ronnie Duman: 1 (1966)

- Lloyd Ruby: 1 (1967)

- Mario Andretti: 1 (1968)

- Bruce Walkup: 1 (1969)

- Jim Malloy: 1 (1970)

- Dick Simon: 1 (1974)

- Spike Gehlhausen: 1 (1976)

- Johnny Rutherford: 1 (1977)

- Cliff Hucul: 1 (1978)

- Jim McElreath: 1 (1979)

- Larry Cannon: 1 (1980)

- Mike Mosley: 1 (1981)

- Dale Whittington: 1 (1982)

- Chet Fillip: 1 (1983)

- Geoff Brabham: 1 (1984)

- Pancho Carter: 1 (1985)

- Tom Sneva: 1 (1986)

- Tony Bettenhausen: 1 (1988)

- Gary Bettenhausen: 1 (1989)

- Stan Fox: 1 (1990)

- Buddy Lazier: 1 (1991)

- Danny Sullivan: 1 (1993)

- Carlos Guerrero: 1 (1995)

- Johnny Unser: 1 (1996)

- Alessandro Zampedri: 1 (1997)

- Tony Stewart: 1 (1998)

- Eliseo Salazar: 1 (1999)

- Scott Sharp: 1 (2001)

- Felipe Giaffone: 1 (2003)

- A.J. Foyt IV: 1 (2004)

- Larry Foyt: 1 (2005)

- P.J. Chesson: 1 (2006)

- Roberto Moreno: 1 (2007)

- Mario Moraes: 1 (2009)

- Davey Hamilton: 1 (2010)

- Takuma Sato: 1 (2011)

- Jean Alesi: 1 (2012)

- JR Hildebrand: 1 (2013)

- Conor Daly: 1 (2015)

- Juan Pablo Montoya: 1 (2016)

- Jay Howard: 1 (2017)

Notes of Interest

- Howdy Wilcox (1921-1922), Andy Linden (1952-1953) and Salt Walther (1972-1973) are the only three drivers to finish last in back-to-back races.

- Walther’s 1972 and 1973 last-place finishes came in his first two races at the track. He completed zero laps in both.

- A total of 13 drivers have finished last as well as won the race (read the blog from March 5 for that list).

- George Snider finished last in the 1971 and 1987 races, both of which were won by Al Unser Sr. Likewise, Roberto Guerrero finished second in 1992 and 1994, the same years Al Unser Jr. won his two races.

- Five polesitters have finished last: Cliff Woodbury (1929), Pancho Carter (1985), Roberto Guerrero (1992), Greg Ray (2000) and Scott Sharp (2001).

- Three drivers have started and finished last in the same race: Dempsey Wilson (1960), Ronnie Duman (1966) and Jean Alesi (2012).

- Of the 91 drivers to finish last, 28 did so as rookies.

- Thirteen drivers finished last in their only Indianapolis 500 appearance: Art Greiner (1911); Len Ormsby (1912); S.F. Brock (1914); C.C. Cox (1915); Aldo Franchi (1916); Martin de Alzaga (1923); Ernie Ansterburg (1924); Milt Fankhouser (1947); Art Bisch (1958); Dale Whittington (1982); Carlos Guerrero (1995); P.J. Chesson (2006); and Jean Alesi (2012).

- Louis Schneider, the 1931 race winner, had the worst finish in the history of the Indianapolis 500, when he finished 42nd in the 1933 race. Aldo Franchi had the best last-place finish, of 21st in the 1916 race (only 21 cars; race was shortened to 300 miles).