''Indianapolis 500 Evolution'' is a

racing game Racing games are a video game genre in which the player participates in a racing competition. They may be based on anything from real-world racing leagues to fantastical settings. They are distributed along a spectrum between more realistic ra ...

, developed by British studio Brain in a Jar Ltd, based on the

Indianapolis 500 The Indianapolis 500, formally known as the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, and commonly called the Indy 500, is an annual automobile race held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of India ...

and

American Championship car racing American open-wheel car racing, also known as Indy car racing, is a category of professional automobile racing in the United States. As of 2022, the top-level American open-wheel racing championship is sanctioned by IndyCar. Competitive events ...

from 1961 to 1971. It is similar to

Destineer Destineer, Inc. was an American umbrella company covering a holding company, a video game publisher, and a video game developer that was based in Minnetonka, Minnesota. The company was founded by Peter Tamte, former executive vice-presiden ...

's 2007 game '' Indianapolis 500 Legends''. In the game, players take on the roles of various famous racers from that time period with 21 missions, photos, and movies, as well as competing on courses such as the

Indianapolis Motor Speedway The Indianapolis Motor Speedway is an automobile racing circuit located in Speedway, Indiana, an enclave suburb of Indianapolis, Indiana. It is the home of the Indianapolis 500 and the Verizon 200, and and formerly the home of the United St ...

, as well as the

Milwaukee Mile The Milwaukee Mile is a oval race track in the central United States, located on the grounds of the Wisconsin State Fair Park in West Allis, Wisconsin, a suburb west of Milwaukee. Its grandstand and bleachers seats approximately 37,000 spectator ...

, Trenton, Riverside, Hanford and

Langhorne Speedway Langhorne Speedway was an automobile racetrack in Middletown Township, Bucks County, near the borough of Langhorne, Pennsylvania, a northern suburb of Philadelphia. According to the book ''Langhorne! No Man's Land'' by L. Spencer Riggs: "With a ...

. Honey Creek, the name for inner road course of the Milwaukee Mile, is also included, and is still used for various club racing events in the present day.

Career

The Career lasts between 1961 and 1971 and also features the " rear-engine revolution" and the final roadster to race at the Indy 500 in 1968. The game also includes 21 missions that reward the player credits for use in career mode, photos and movies of the Indy 500 between 1961 and 1971.

Indy 500 events from 1961 to 1971

1961 Events January * January 3 ** United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower announces that the United States has severed diplomatic and consular relations with Cuba (Cuba–United States relations are restored in 2015). ** Aero Flight 311 ...

- New Pennock Grandstands and

Jack Brabham Sir John Arthur Brabham (2 April 1926 – 19 May 2014) was an Australian racing driver who was Formula One World Champion in , , and . He was a founder of the Brabham racing team and race car constructor that bore his name. Brabham was a R ...

's Cooper-Climax that finished 9th in the 1961 Indy 500. New rookies such as

Roger McCluskey Roger McCluskey (August 24, 1930 – August 29, 1993) was an American IndyCar driver. He was from Tucson, Arizona. He won championship titles in three divisions of the United States Auto Club: Sprints, Stocks, and Champ Cars. He won the USAC Spr ...

Bobby Marshman George Robert Marshman (September 24, 1936 – December 3, 1964), was an American racecar driver. Born the son of auto race promoters George and Evelyn Marshman in Pottstown, Pennsylvania, Marshman died in San Antonio, Texas of injuries sustain ...

, and

Parnelli Jones Rufus Parnell Jones (born August 12, 1933) is an American former professional racing driver and racing team owner. He is notable for his accomplishments while competing in the Indianapolis 500 and the Baja 1000 desert race. In 1962, he became t ...

are introduced.

1962 Events January * January 1 – Western Samoa becomes independent from New Zealand. * January 3 – Pope John XXIII excommunicates Fidel Castro for preaching communism. * January 8 – Harmelen train disaster: 93 die in the wo ...

- The final strip of bricks left on the start-finish line, qualification speed, and

Mickey Thompson Michael Lee "Mickey" Thompson (December 7, 1928March 16, 1988) was an American auto racing builder and promoter. A hot rodder since his youth, Thompson increasingly pursued land speed records in his late 20s and early 30s.

's rear-engined

Buick Buick () is a division of the American automobile manufacturer General Motors (GM). Started by automotive pioneer David Dunbar Buick in 1899, it was among the first American marques of automobiles, and was the company that established General ...

racer driven by rookie

Dan Gurney Daniel Sexton Gurney (April 13, 1931 – January 14, 2018) was an American racing driver, race car constructor, and team owner who reached racing's highest levels starting in 1958. Gurney won races in the Formula One, Indy Car, NASCAR, Can-Am, ...

1963 Events January * January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Co ...

- Introduction of the "rear-engine revolution" and

Team Lotus Team Lotus was the motorsport sister company of English sports car manufacturer Lotus Cars. The team ran cars in many motorsport categories including Formula One, Formula Two, Formula Ford, Formula Junior, IndyCar, and sports car racing. Mo ...

Jim Hurtubise James Hurtubise (December 5, 1932 – January 6, 1989) was an American race car driver who raced in USAC Champ Cars (including the Indianapolis 500), as well as sprint cars and stock cars (USAC and NASCAR). He was from the Buffalo suburb of N ...

driving a Novi-powered car, and

Jim Clark James Clark Jr. OBE (4 March 1936 – 7 April 1968) was a British Formula One racing driver from Scotland, who won two World Championships, in 1963 and 1965. A versatile driver, he competed in sports cars, touring cars and in the Indianapol ...

's and Dan Gurney's

Lotus Lotus may refer to: Plants *Lotus (plant), various botanical taxa commonly known as lotus, particularly: ** ''Lotus'' (genus), a genus of terrestrial plants in the family Fabaceae **Lotus flower, a symbolically important aquatic Asian plant also ...

cars.

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 - In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patriarc ...

- Decline of the front-engine roadsters begin as the Halibrand, Huffaker, and

Brabham Brabham () is the common name for Motor Racing Developments Ltd., a British racing car manufacturer and Formula One racing team. Founded in 1960 by Australian driver Jack Brabham and British-Australian designer Ron Tauranac, the team won fo ...

cars are introduced to replace the aging roadsters that dominated Indy since 1911.

1965 Events January–February * January 14 – The Prime Minister of Northern Ireland and the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland meet for the first time in 43 years. * January 20 ** Lyndon B. Johnson is Second inauguration of Lyndo ...

- The tragic deaths of

Eddie Sachs Edward Julius Sachs Jr, (May 28, 1927 – May 30, 1964) was a United States Auto Club driver who was known as the "Clown Prince of Auto Racing". He coined the phrase "If you can't win, be spectacular". Early life Sachs was born May 28, 1927 in ...

and Dave McDonald after the 1964 Indy 500 forced the fuel to be changed from

gasoline Gasoline (; ) or petrol (; ) (see ) is a transparent, petroleum-derived flammable liquid that is used primarily as a fuel in most spark-ignited internal combustion engines (also known as petrol engines). It consists mostly of organic ...

to methanol. The fuel was in fire protective tanks off to the sides of the car with two mandatory pit stops to avoid such a tragic crash. The tanks were smaller in size compared to years previous. Only a handful of front-engine roadsters remains as the rear-engine cars keep dominating the circuit. The fuel change would not happen again in Indy history until 2005 when the fuel was changed to

ethanol Ethanol (abbr. EtOH; also called ethyl alcohol, grain alcohol, drinking alcohol, or simply alcohol) is an organic compound. It is an alcohol with the chemical formula . Its formula can be also written as or (an ethyl group linked to a h ...

, which is what the Indy cars run on today.

1966 Events January * January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko. * January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo is ...

- With

Bobby Grim Robert "Bobby" Grim (September 4, 1924 – June 14, 1995) was an American racecar driver. Born in Coal City, Indiana, Grim died of cancer in Indianapolis, Indiana. He drove in the USAC Championship Car series, racing in the 1958-1969 seasons wi ...

remaining as one of the final front-engine roadster drivers, the rear-engine cars also gain a few drivers from Europe such as Jim Clark, Sir

Jackie Stewart Sir John Young Stewart (born 11 June 1939), known as Jackie Stewart, is a British former Formula One racing driver from Scotland. Nicknamed the "Flying Scot", he competed in Formula One between 1965 and 1973, winning three World Drivers' Cham ...

and

Graham Hill Norman Graham Hill (15 February 1929 – 29 November 1975) was a British racing driver and team owner, who was the Formula One World Champion twice, winning in and as well as being runner up on three occasions (1963, 1964 and 1965). Despite ...

from the

Formula One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship ...

series. This also marks the 50th Indy 500 event.

1967 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Canadian Confederation, Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 5 ** Spain and Romania sign an agreement in Paris, establ ...

Andy Granatelli Anthony "Andy" Granatelli (March 18, 1923 – December 29, 2013) was an American businessman, most prominent as the CEO of STP as well as a major figure in automobile racing events. Granatelli was born in Dallas, Texas. Along with his brot ...

introduces the

STP-Paxton Turbocar The STP-Paxton Turbocar was an American racing car, designed by Ken Wallis as the STP entry in the Indianapolis 500. Rufus Parnell, who raced under the name "Parnelli Jones," drove it in the 1967 event. After leading for much of the race, a transm ...

, while most of the field remains in rear-engined cars. Even though the turbine-powered car lacked handling, it almost won the 1967 Indy 500 until it broke down with eight miles to go. The problem was caused by a transmission bearing. In 1968, the Turbocar crashed into the wall during qualifying at Indy. Today it is now a museum gem of Indy's two brief years of turbine power. This also marks the first Indy race to not feature a front-engine roadster.

1968 The year was highlighted by Protests of 1968, protests and other unrests that occurred worldwide. Events January–February * January 5 – "Prague Spring": Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Czechos ...

- Lotus introduces its turbine-powered

Lotus 56 The Lotus 56 was a gas turbine-powered four-wheel-driven racing car, designed by Maurice Philippe as Team Lotus's STP-backed entry in the 1968 Indianapolis 500. All three cars entered retired from the race, Joe Leonard's car expiring while lea ...

, while the

turbocharged In an internal combustion engine, a turbocharger (often called a turbo) is a forced induction device that is powered by the flow of exhaust gases. It uses this energy to compress the intake gas, forcing more air into the engine in order to pro ...

Offenhauser The Offenhauser Racing Engine, or Offy, is a racing engine design that dominated American open wheel racing for more than 50 years and is still popular among vintage sprint and midget car racers. History The Offenhauser engine, familiarly ...

engine is still being used in many Indy rear-engined cars. Jim Hurtubise qualifies a front-engine roadster for the roadster's last time in Indy history.

1969 This year is notable for Apollo 11's first landing on the moon. Events January * January 4 – The Government of Spain hands over Ifni to Morocco. * January 5 ** Ariana Afghan Airlines Flight 701 crashes into a house on its approach to ...

- With the turbine-powered cars and front-engined roadsters completely gone, the Indy cars have two choices for engines, both turbocharged: Offenhauser and

Ford Ford commonly refers to: * Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford * Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river Ford may also refer to: Ford Motor Company * Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company * Ford F ...

. However, the Ford engine suffered from high temperatures during racing, qualifying, and practice so most drivers stuck with the turbocharged Offenhauser. Also, the Indy cars now gain aerodynamic enhancements to improve grip and speed.

1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity of X (''Extreme''). Between 10,000 and 1 ...

- Offenhauser and Ford engines dominate the field while the aerodynamics between the 1961 front-engine roadsters and the 1970 rear-engine cars are also mentioned. qualification speeds also play a big role in the entire Indy 500 field.

1971 * The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses (Solar eclipse of February 25, 1971, February 25, Solar eclipse of July 22, 1971, July 22 and Solar eclipse of August 20, 1971, August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 1971 lunar eclip ...

- With all the aerodynamic enhancements to the car, the

Coyote The coyote (''Canis latrans'') is a species of canine native to North America. It is smaller than its close relative, the wolf, and slightly smaller than the closely related eastern wolf and red wolf. It fills much of the same ecological ni ...

is introduced as the first Indy car to handle the four turns at over and straight-line speed at over .

References

{{Indy Racing League games 2009 video games Xbox 360 games Racing video games Video games set in Indianapolis IndyCar Series video games Racing video games set in the United States Video games developed in the United Kingdom Xbox 360-only games