Rick Ravon Mears is a retired American race car driver. He is one of four men to win the Indianapolis 500 four times and is the current record-holder for pole positions in the race with six. Mears is also a three-time Indycar series/World Series champion.
Mears in 2021
Mears' winning car from the 1979 Indianapolis 500
Mears' winning car from the 1984 Indianapolis 500
Mears in a Penske PC-16 chassis during practice for the 1987 Indianapolis 500
The Indianapolis 500, formally known as the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, and commonly called the Indy 500, is an annual automobile race held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of Indianapolis. The event is traditionally held over Memorial Day weekend, usually the last weekend of May. It is contested as part of the IndyCar Series, the top level of American open-wheel car racing, a formula colloquially known as "Indy car racing". The track itself is nicknamed the "Brickyard", as the racing surface was paved in brick in the fall of 1909. One yard of brick remains exposed at the start/finish line. The event, billed as The Greatest Spectacle in Racing, is considered part of the Triple Crown of Motorsport along with the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the Monaco Grand Prix, with which it typically shares a date.
Joe Dawson winning the 1912 Indianapolis 500
The Mercedes-Benz W154 entered by Don Lee at the 1947 Indianapolis 500 with Duke Nalon as driver
Emerson Fittipaldi driving the Penske PC-23 at the 1994 event
The Chrysler 300 pace setter used in 1963 in the 47th running of the Indianapolis 500