The 45th International 500-Mile Sweepstakes was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana on Tuesday, May 30, 1961. For the first time since 1949, the Indianapolis 500 was not recognized on the World Championship calendar. The race celebrated the 50th anniversary of the first Indy 500 in 1911.
1961 Indianapolis 500
The Cooper T54 with which Jack Brabham placed ninth
1961 winning car
Replica of Jack Brabham's 1961 Cooper-Climax T54
Indianapolis Motor Speedway
The Indianapolis Motor Speedway is a motor racing circuit located in Speedway, Indiana, an enclave suburb of Indianapolis, Indiana. It is the home of the Indianapolis 500 and the Brickyard 400 and formerly the home of the United States Grand Prix and Indianapolis motorcycle Grand Prix. It is located six miles (9.7 km) west of Downtown Indianapolis.
Indianapolis Motor Speedway aerial in 2016
The Indianapolis Motor Speedway under construction
Carl Graham Fisher (1874–1938) of Greensburg, Indiana, an American vehicle parts and highway entrepreneur and the co-founder and first president of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, May 1909
Artist's rendition of the original speedway plan (not a photograph)