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Who is the unluckiest driver in Indianapolis 500 history?

By YPB Team

Leading laps at Indianapolis is not the same as winning it, and this list is made entirely of the difference.

  1. Michael Andretti — ranked #11
    Michael Andretti
    Led more laps at Indianapolis than any driver who never won it, across 16 starts.
    1000pts
  2. Lloyd Ruby — ranked #22
    Lloyd Ruby
    Eighteen starts, five races led, and a torn fuel tank in 1969 while running down the leader.
    809pts
  3. Ted Horn — ranked #33
    Ted Horn
    Finished fourth or better nine straight times at Indianapolis and never won.
    607pts
  4. Robby Gordon — ranked #44
    Robby Gordon
    Ran out of fuel while leading with nine laps left in 1999.
    607pts
  5. Mario Andretti — ranked #55
    Mario Andretti
    Won in 1969 on his fifth attempt, then went 0-for-24, including a 1981 victory handed back four months later.
    550pts
  6. Roberto Guerrero — ranked #66
    Roberto Guerrero
    Rookie runner-up in 1984, then spun on the warm-up lap from pole in 1992.
    550pts
  7. Ed Carpenter — ranked #77
    Ed Carpenter
    Three Indianapolis poles as an owner-driver and never better than second.
    485pts
  8. Paul Tracy — ranked #88
    Paul Tracy
    Believed he had won the 2002 race, and lost it to a caution-flag ruling.
    411pts
  9. J.R. Hildebrand — ranked #99
    J.R. Hildebrand
    Crashed in the final corner of the final lap in 2011 while leading.
    324pts
  10. Scott Goodyear — ranked #1010
    Scott Goodyear
    Beaten by 0.043 seconds in 1992 and penalised out of the lead in 1995.
    221pts
  11. Rex Mays — ranked #1111
    Rex Mays
    Four poles and two runner-up finishes in fifteen starts without a victory.
    221pts
  12. Marco Andretti — ranked #1212
    Marco Andretti
    Lost the 2006 race to Sam Hornish Jr. by 0.0635 seconds as a rookie teenager.
    221pts
  13. Tony Bettenhausen — ranked #1313
    Tony Bettenhausen
    Fourteen starts, no win, and died testing a friend's car at the Speedway in 1961.
    221pts
  14. Danny Ongais — ranked #1414
    Danny Ongais
    Led comfortably in 1981 before a crash that nearly cost him his life.
    221pts
  15. Duke Nalon — ranked #1515
    Duke Nalon
    Started from pole twice and survived a fiery crash in the 1949 race.
    221pts

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