A.J. Foyt’s 1977 winning car on display at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum in 2011 (Johnson Collection)

Indianapolis 500 – All-Time Mileage Leaders

The list of drivers who have completed the most laps/miles in Indianapolis 500 race competition. The list includes only laps completed during the 500-mile race, and not any laps turned at the Speedway during practice, testing, time trials, or in other Speedway oval races (e.g., Brickyard 400, Freedom 100, IROC at Indy, etc.) Laps completed totals reflect official box scores, as well as laps credited while the driver was serving as a relief driver.

Four-time winner A.J. Foyt, who also holds the record for most career starts (35) holds the record for most lap/miles completed in Indy 500 competition. Foyt has held that distinction since 1975. He eclipsed Cliff Bergere’s mark of 2,458 laps completed on the 72nd lap of the 1975 race. Subsequently, Foyt became the first driver to pass the 10,000-mile mark in Indy 500 competition. Upon completing the 4th lap of the 1986 race, Foyt reached that significant milestone. Al Unser Sr. and Hélio Castroneves are the only other drivers to also pass that mark.

As of 2023, four-time winner Hélio Castroneves, has the most laps/miles completed among active drivers. The top fifty in all-time laps completed/mileage leaders of the Indianapolis 500 are as follows:

Race winners denoted in bold, and drivers active as of 2023 are denoted with .

Rank Driver (# of race wins) Total
Starts
Total
Laps
Completed
Total
Miles
1 A.J. Foyt (4) 35 4909* 12,272.5
2 Hélio Castroneves (4) 23 4398 10,995.0
3 Al Unser Sr. (4) 27 4356 10,890.0
4 Tony Kanaan (1) 22 3751 9,877.5
5 Scott Dixon (1) 21 3869 9,672.5
6 Ed Carpenter 20 3591 8,977.5
7 Marco Andretti 18 3400 8,500.0
8 Al Unser Jr. (2) 19 3173 7,932.5
9 Gordon Johncock (2) 24 3158 7,895.0
10 Will Power (1) 16 3053 7,145.0
11 Mario Andretti (1) 29 3040 7,600.0
12 Buddy Lazier (1) 20 3015 7,537.5
13 Arie Luyendyk (2) 17 2957 7,392.5
14 Johnny Rutherford (3) 24 2792 6,980.0
15 Ryan Hunter-Reay (1) 14 2671 6,677.5
16 Michael Andretti 16 2653 6,632.5
17 Graham Rahal 16 2617 6,542.5
18 Bobby Unser (3) 19 2611 6,527.5
19 Cliff Bergere 16 2451* 6,127.5
20 Takuma Sato (2) 14 2425 6,062.5
21 Mauri Rose (3) 16 2416* 6,040.0
22 Simon Pagenaud (1) 12 2389 5,972.5
23 Gary Bettenhausen 21 2372 5,930.0
24 Lloyd Ruby 18 2357 5,895.5
25 Rick Mears (4) 15 2342 5,855.0
26 Jim Rathmann (1) 14 2320 5,800.0
27 Joseph Newgarden 12 2294 5,735.0
28 Raul Boesel 13 2213 5,532.5
29 J.R. Hildebrand 12 2202 5,505.0
30 Tom Sneva (1) 18 2180 5,450.0
31 Scott Sharp 14 2180 5,450.0
32 Rodger Ward (2) 15 2160 5,400.0
33 Roger McCluskey 18 2155 5,387.5
34 Pancho Carter 17 2141 5,352.5
35 Eddie Cheever (1) 14 2122 5,305.0
36 Chet Miller 16 2062 5,155.0
37 Wilbur Shaw (3) 13 2019 5,047.5
38 Bobby Rahal (1) 13 2007 5,017.5
39 Oriol Servia 11 1992 4,980.0
40 Tony Gulotta 13 1989 4,972.5
41 Tony Bettenhausen Sr. 14 1975 4,937.5
42 Dick Simon 17 1954 4,885.0
43 Ted Horn 10 1944 4,860.0
44 Dario Franchitti (3) 10 1940 4,850.0
45 Eddie Johnson 13 1930 4,825.0
46 Charlie Kimball 10 1910 4,775.0
47 Scott Brayton 14 1905 4,762.5
48 Townsend Bell 10 1898 4,745.0
49 John Andretti 12 1852 4,630.0
50 Jim McElreath 15 1848 4,620.0
  • A.J. Foyt’s total include laps driven as a relief driver in 1962 (21) and 1973 (43)
  • Cliff Bergere’s total include laps driven as a starting driver and serving as a relief driver. According to box scores, Bergere is credited with completing 2,424 laps (6,060 miles), However, in seven of his starts, Bergere was relieved during the race. A total of 282 laps across those seven races are deducted from his laps completed total. In four races, Bergere served as a relief driver for other drivers, logging a total of 309 career laps in relief. Factoring in all the laps, a total of 2,451 laps (6127.5 miles) has been established. However, some articles have listed 2,457 laps (6142.5 miles)
  • Mauri Rose’s total includes 2,194 laps driven as a starting driver and 226 laps driven as a relief driver. Rose tallied laps in relief in 1934 (85), 1937 (12), and 1941 (129). In the 1941 race, Rose drove in relief of Floyd Davis, taking over for laps 72-200 and drove the car to victory. David and Rose were credited as co-winners.

Additional References and Works Cited