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May 26, 2019
The Borg-Warner Trophy pays tribute to many of the most revered drivers in auto racing history year-round, but during the month of May it becomes the focal point for the drivers attempting to qualify for the Indianapolis 500 Mile Race. It is a reminder of the glory and tradition associated with winning the fabled event.
With victory at the Indianapolis 500 comes the honor of having one’s face sculpted onto the 79-year-old trophy. Separate squares are affixed to its sterling-silver body, on which each winner’s face, name and winning year are permanently etched. A silversmith is commissioned each year to create the new champion’s portrait/sculpture in bas-relief for placement on the trophy.
2015 Indianapolis 500 winner Juan Pablo Montoya will see his second likeness revealed on the Borg-Warner Trophy at 5 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 9, at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame Museum.
Thank you for your submission. You will receive an email following the unveil containing the behind-the-scenes video of the Borg-Warner Trophy.
In 1935, the Borg-Warner Automotive Company (now called BorgWarner) commissioned designer Robert J. Hill and Spaulding-Gorham, Inc., of Chicago, to create the trophy at a cost of $10,000. Unveiled at a 1936 dinner hosted by then-Speedway owner Eddie Rickenbacker, the Borg-Warner Trophy was officially declared the annual prize for Indianapolis 500 victors. It was first presented that same year to champion Louis Meyer, who remarked, “Winning the Borg-Warner Trophy is like winning an Olympic medal.”
The trophy was refurbished in 1992 and is valued at more than $1 million. Today, 101 faces grace the trophy’s squares. The faces date back to Ray Harroun, winner of the first Indianapolis 500 in 1911, and include two sets of dual victors (one driver started the race and the other finished it) for 1924 and 1941. Four-time champions A.J. Foyt (1961, ‘64, ‘67, ‘77), Al Unser (1970, ‘71, ‘78, ‘87) and Rick Mears (1979, ‘84, ‘88, ‘91) are the only drivers to have their faces appear more than three times on the trophy. Mears is the only one of those three to have a new likeness rendered for each of his four victories. Tom Sneva (1983) is the only champion who appears on the trophy wearing his eyeglasses, by his request.