102 Stats in 102 Days Until 102nd Indy 500 – Day 22, Finishing Last by Starting Position (March 7, 2018)

The 102nd Indianapolis 500 is 81 days away! This is the 22nd 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.

Today’s list looks at the starting positions of the drivers that have finished last in the race. No driver is looking for a short day, and no driver wants to be the first driver out of the race. However, if you’re starting 20th, statistically speaking, your odds of finishing last are higher than any other starting position. The 20th starting position has ended up as the last-place finisher a record eight times (on the flip side, 20th starting position has produced three winners). Meanwhile, drivers starting third or sixth have yet to finish last.

Here’s the entire list.

Starting Positions That Have Finished Last in Indianapolis 500

- 20th: 8

- 21st: 6

- 31st: 6

- 1st: 5

- 7th: 5

- 16th: 5

- 2nd: 4

- 9th: 4

- 10th: 4

- 19th: 4

- 23rd: 4

- 4th: 3

- 8th: 3

- 14th: 3

- 17th: 3

- 18th: 3

- 26th: 3

- 27th: 3

- 33rd: 3

- 5th: 2

- 12th: 2

- 13th: 2

- 22nd: 2

- 24th: 2

- 28th: 2

- 30th: 2

- 32nd: 2

- 11th: 1

- 15th: 1

- 25th: 1

- 29th: 1

- 37th: 1

- 38th: 1

Notes of Interest

- Drivers starting third or sixth have nothing to worry about. No driver starting in either of those positions has ever finished last in the Indianapolis 500.

- The starting field has been lined up different over the 101 races, and not always started in rows of three. However, with the configuration of 11 rows of three, drivers in the seventh row are statistically more likely than any row to finish last. Combined, the 19th, 20th and 21st starting positions have finished last 18 times, with 20th or 21st finishing last a total of 12 times.

- While being in the current seventh row leads more drivers statistically to finish last, the best place to start is in the second, and surprisingly, 10th row. Only five times has a driver finished last after starting 4th/5th/6th, or finished last after starting 28th/29th/30th. Starting in the fifth row isn’t bad either, as 13th/14th/15th has finished last six times.

- The 20th starting position has finished last the most times in race history: Len Ormsby (1912); Shorty Cantlon (1938); Jimmy Bryan (1959); Jim Hurtubise (1965); Roberto Guerrero (1994); P.J. Chesson (2006); Graham Rahal (2014); and Jay Howard (2017).

- Drivers starting 23rd have finished last four times – kind of. In the 1941 race, two of the 33 qualifiers – George Barringer and Sam Hanks – did not compete in the race. Barringer’s car was in a garage fire and Hanks was in a practice accident, forcing both drivers from the field on race day. Hanks was officially credited with 33rd position, but was not credited with a starting position. Therefore, Joel Thorne – the 31st finisher on race day – is credited with last (specifically in this instance). Thorne started 23rd.

- Carlos Guerrero is the only driver to finish last after starting 29th, in 1995. The 29th starting position was the most recent starting position to finish last for the first time.

- There have been multiple instances in which the starting field had more than 33 cars; the largest field was 42 cars. Therefore, drivers who have started 34th-36th or 39th or worse have also never finished last in the race.