Who are the youngest and oldest Indy 500 winners ever?

The Indy 500 is one of the oldest and the most popular form of open-wheel racing in the United States. The event has seen a lot of winners throughout its rich history.

The prestigious 109th running of the Indianapolis 500 will take place on Sunday, May 25. The green flag will be waved at 12:24 pm ET. The race will be telecast on FOX.

The 'Greatest Spectacle of Racing' recently experienced one of its most historic moments as Prema Racing rookie Robert Shwartzman took the pole position at the Brickyard, becoming the first rookie in forty years to do so. The Indy 500 has been won by multiple drivers over the years, both young and old. Here are the oldest and the youngest winners of the Indianapolis 500.

1. Al Unser- 1987 (the oldest Indy 500 winner)

Al Unser descended from the Unser Racing dynasty. He began racing at the age of 18. He made his Indy 500 debut in 1965, where he finished in 9th place. He won his first Indianapolis 500 in 1970, just two years after his brother Bobby Unser.

Unser won his fourth Indianapolis 500 title in 1987 with Team Penske. During the event, Unser was chasing the race leader, Mario Andretti, who had dominated all the sessions so far. However, due to Andretti's bad luck, he suffered a mechanical failure with just 23 laps to go and was soon passed by Al Unser, who assumed the lead to win the race.

Unser was 47 years old when he won the 1987 'Greatest Spectacle of Racing' just two days shy of turning 48. This record remains untouched till date.

2. Troy Ruttman-1952 ( the youngest Indy 500 winner)

Troy Ruttman, an American racing driver, began his racing career at the age of 15 when he entered his family car into the Roadster race in California, and went on to win it. Ruttman won his Indy 500 title in 1952, which marked his second attempt at the Indianapolis 500.

During the 1952 event, which marked the 36th year running of the race, the youngster entered the competition with J.C. Agajanian. Ruttman had started this race in 7th place and made his way up after a few mechanical failures that pushed his rivals to the back of the grid.

Bill Vukovich, who led 150 laps of the race, was forced to retire with 9 laps to go after a steering arm failure. Ruttman swooped in to take the lead of the race. He drove the Agajanian car to victory. It was also the last dirty track car to claim victory at the Indy 500.

Troy Ruttman was 22 years and 19 years old when he won the Indianapolis 500 and became the youngest to do so.