The Indianapolis 500 has been a Memorial Day tradition since its first running in 1911, and today attracts some 200,000 spectators and a national television audience.

Though those numbers have declined since the infamous IRL-CART split in 1996, the race is still a premier event on the national sports calendar.

It was not always like that. In that inaugural race in 1911, there was no television, little media coverage, and a fraction of the fans that come to Indianapolis today. In qualification, entries had to average a robust 75 miles per hour on a quarter-mile stretch of track.

Since the cars were prone to breakdowns, mechanics rode shotgun with the drivers, and often performed maintenance right on the track.

Riding mechanics were used in the first 12 editions of the Indianapolis 500, through 1922. There were none in the 1924 event. Riding mechanics returned in 1930 and lasted through 1937.

Few of the 40 drivers who started that inaugural event in 1911 are remembered today, save for the winner, Ray Harroun, an accomplished racer who won in a car that he designed, the Marmon Wasp. Harroun averaged 74.6 miles per hour and completed the race in six hours and 42 minutes.

Despite being considered the most successful racer in the nation in 1910, Harroun had actually retired after that season and returned solely for the Indianapolis race after persuasion by the Marmon owners. He promptly went back into retirement.

The Indianapolis Motor Speedway itself was only 2 years old, having opened on June 5, 1909. Its first event was a balloon race. Later that year, the track was repaved with 3.2 million bricks, giving the facility its famous name of “the Brickyard.”

The date of the race was Tuesday, May 30, or the traditional Decoration Day. Unlike today’s event, which is annually run on the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend, the Indianapolis 500 was held on May 30 every year until the early 1970s. If that day fell on a Sunday, the race was then held on Monday.

The grid of 40 cars in 1911 was larger than the traditional 33-car fields that the Indianapolis Motor Speedway has used, with the exception of two years, since 1934.

An estimated crowd of 80,000 was in attendance for that first race, which, not surprisingly, was a loud, dusty affair. Only the top 10 finishers divided the total purse of $30,150. Harroun, the winner, received $14,250.

Several entrants were replaced during the race by relief drivers, either for a few laps or the rest of the race. Relief drivers were commonplace at Indy through the 1950s. Harroun himself was relieved for 35 laps.

• Tom Emery is a freelance writer and historical researcher from Carlinville, Illinois. He may be reached at 217-710-8392 or ilcivilwar@yahoo.com.