The 37th International 500-Mile Sweepstakes was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Saturday, May 30, 1953. The event was part of the 1953 AAA National Championship, and was race 2 of 9 in the 1953 World Championship of Drivers. Bill Vukovich, after falling just short a year before, dominated the race, leading 195 of the 200 laps. Vukovich won the first of two consecutive "500" victories, finishing more than three minutes ahead of second place Art Cross.

The 1953 Formula One season was the seventh season of the FIA's Formula One racing. It consisted only of several non-championship motor races. As in 1952, all races counting towards the World Championship of Drivers, apart from the Indianapolis 500, were held for cars complying with Formula Two regulations rather than with Formula One, with the Indianapolis 500 held to AAA regulations.