Here are the 8 (IMHO).......
1}The revival of the 500.......Less than six months after the end of World War II, Terre Haute, IN businessman Anton "Tony" Hulman purchases the Indianapolis Motor Speedway from a group of individuals, including Eddie Rickenbacher, and proceeds to renovate and refurbish the track to its' old glories. By Memorial Day weekend 1946, the track is open for business and the Indy 500 returns to the NA motorsports calendar.
2}The greatest two-driver duel ever......In 1960, the Brickyard saw what is considered by many to be the best two-driver duel in the 500's history(apologies to 1982 and 2005) when Jim Rathmann and then-defending winner Rodger Ward trade the lead over and over again for most of the race. Eventually, the tires of Ward's roadster wear to the literal cords, and he nurses the car to second, while Rathmann goes on to win the 500.
3}Mario wins! In 1969, Mario Andretti won the first(and so far, the only Indy 500 anyone in the Andretti clan has ever won. It almost didn't happen, as the car he was going to qualify, a rear-engine Lotus-Ford designed by renowned engineer Colin Chapman, is nearly destroyed during first-day qualifying; the car he does qualify is an old, early-60's era roadster. While Mario wins the race, he is constantly worried whether the engine in the roadster would make it, for the water temps kept rising....and rising.....and rising. When he pulls into Victory Lane, his crew wonders what happened to the engine; when they break the engine/transmission down, they find that the oil's burned up! All that's left are dark, brown flakes instead of oil.
4}Congrats, Janet! By finishing ninth in the 1978 Indianapolis 500, Janet Guthrie becomes the first woman to finish the race, a record that would not fall until 2005.
5}Spin and win! During the 1985 running of the 500, Danny Sullivan makes a pass around Mario Andretti in turn 1, only to have the car spin out afterwards; he does a 540-deg. turn and doesn't hit anything! Several laps later, he tries again.....and succeeds, going on to win the Indy 500.
6}An emotional win for Bobby. Late in the 1986 running of the 500, Kevin Cogan takes the lead from Bobby Rahal only to have a caution come out and bunch-up the field. In the meantime, Rick Mears draws behind them for the restart......only to see Rahal get the jump on both of them and holding them off to win. It's an emotional win for Ohio's favorite son; his team owner, Jim Trueman, had been ill for quite some time, and is unable to attend any of the post-race celebrations. Following Trueman's passing 11 days later, CART officials dedicate the series rookie of the year award in his honor(the award today is known as the Jim Trueman/Roshfrans Rookie of the Year Award).
7}Spiderman wins! When Helio Castroneves won the 2001 Indianapolis 500, he breaks with tradition; instead of proceeding to Victory Lane, he stops at the start/finish line and proceeds to climb the fence, joined after a few moments by his entire pit crew, teammate Gil de Ferran and even team owner Roger Penske.
8}Danica leads! On lap 190, the over 300,000 people at the Brickyard go wild when leader Dan Wheldon is passed on the restart by then-23 year old rookie driver Danica Patrick. Earlier in the race, on lap 56, she had already set one record by becoming the first woman to lead a lap during the 500, and she would lead until lap 194, when she is forced to slow down as the fuel-gamble her team tried goes slowly away. Even so, her fourth place finish is the highest finish for a woman at the 500, and the ovations the crowd gives Patrick at race's end are as loud as the ones for Wheldon, who would win the 89th running of the Indianapolis 500.
