Indy 2009. The 2.5-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway has been the home to a race on Memorial Day nearly every year since 1911. Even during the first race there were controversies. Ralph Mulford was given the checkered flag first but took three extra laps just to make sure he’d completed 500 miles. When he finished, another driver, Ray Harroun, was being presented with the winner’s trophy, and Mulford’s protests were ignored.