Like all historic sporting events, the Indianapolis 500 has an almost unlimited supply of statistics.
Here’s a list of facts and figures for the 100th anniversary and the 95th Indy 500-mile race Sunday at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway:
DISTANCE — 500 miles or 200 laps around the asphalt-on-brick Indianapolis Motor Speedway track, a 2.5-mile rectangular oval.
RACE CARS — Open-cockpit, open-wheel and single-seat, with 3.5-liter, 635-horsepower normally aspirated Honda Indy V-8 engines.
PACE CAR — 2011 Chevrolet Camaro SS, driven by four-time race winner A.J. Foyt.
FINISH — Standings are unofficial until posted by the IndyCar Series.
NUMBER OF STARTERS — 33 cars; three abreast in each of 11 rows.
POLE POSITION — Alex Tagliani, the first Canadian to win the Indy pole after averaging 227.472 mph in 4-lap qualifications. He will start first, the inside of the front row, for the first time in three Indy starts.
SLOWEST QUALIFIER — Ana Beatriz, who averaged 223.879 mph. Will start 32nd, the middle of the 11th row.
FASTEST ROOKIE — JR Hildebrand, 225.579 mph. Will start 12th, the outside of the fourth row.
2010 WINNER — Dario Franchitti, who averaged 161.623 mph for his second win at Indianapolis last year.
FORMER WINNERS IN RACE (5) — Helio Castroneves (2001, 2002, 2009), Dario Franchitti (2007 and 2010), Buddy Rice (2004), Dan Wheldon (2005), Scott Dixon (2008).
ROOKIES IN RACE (5) — JR Hildebrand, James Hinchcliffe, Jay Howard, Charlie Kimball and Pippa Mann.
YOUNGEST IN RACE — Graham Rahal, 22 (Born Jan. 4, 1989)
OLDEST IN RACE — Davey Hamilton, 48 (Born June 13, 1962)
MOST PREVIOUS RACES — John Andretti (11).
FOREIGN BORN (22) — Alex Tagliani, Canada; Scott Dixon, New Zealand; Oriol Servia, Spain; Will Power, Australia; Dan Wheldon, England; Dario Franchitti, Scotland; Takuma Sato, Japan; Vitor Meira, Brazil; James Hinchcliffe, Canada; Bertrand Baguette, Belgium; Helio Castroneves, Brazil; E.J. Viso, Venezuela; Justin Wilson, England; Jay Howard, England; Tomas Scheckter, South Africa; Tony Kanaan, Brazil; Simona De Silvestro, Switzerland; Paul Tracy, Canada; Ryan Briscoe, Australia; Alex Lloyd, England; Pippa Mann, England; Ana Beatriz, Brazil.
FIELD AVERAGE IN QUALIFICATIONS — 225.273 mph (Record 228.648 mph, 2002)
QUALIFICATION RECORD — 236.986 mph, Arie Luyendyk, 1996.
RACE RECORD — 185.981 mph, Arie Luyendyk, 1990.
CLOSEST FINISHES — 0.043 seconds, Al Unser Jr. over Scott Goodyear, 1992; 0.0635 seconds, Sam Hornish Jr. over Marco Andretti, 2006.
TELEVISION — Live HD by ESPN on ABC starting at 11 a.m. EDT, one hour before the race.
RADIO — More than 340 affiliate IMS Radio Network stations throughout the United States and Canada, plus XM 94, Sirius 212, American Forces Radio Network, shortwave radio worldwide and the Internet.
DEATHS — There have been 68 deaths at the Speedway, including pre-500 races of 1909-10. Last death was Aug. 30, 2010 when motorcycle rider Peter Lenz of Vancouver, Wash., was killed in a preliminary race to the Indianapolis MotoGP.
