No less impressive than the men who have won the Brickyard 500 are the cars they drove to victory. Here's a look at 15 of the most significant, innovative or just plain awesomest cars to lap the Brickyard.

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The car that won the first Indy 500, Ray Harroun's six-cylinder Marmon Wasp sported a host of interesting details. First off, it offered a cowled cockpit and a streamlined tail, something most racers of the era did without. Second, it featured a dashing black-and-yellow (insert inane pop-culture reference here) paint scheme. And third, it boasted a dazzling driver-awareness innovation: a rear-view mirror.

Duly equipped, Harroun was one of the first drivers to race without a riding mechanic watching for cars from behind. When he won the 1911 500, he was 29 years old. It took him six hours, 42 minutes, 8 seconds — average speed 74.6 mph — or about as long as it takes us to get out of bed on a Sunday. My, how times have changed.