Indy 500: What is the Baby Borg?

It sounds like something from a Star Trek movie, but it’s actually an important part of the Indianapolis 500.

The Borg-Warner Trophy, awarded annually to the winner of the Indy 500, is one of the more distinctive trophies in all of sports. Part of that is due to the fact that it features the likenesses of each winner sculpted into its rings.

The other part is that it’s enormous, standing more than five feet tall and weighing more than 150 pounds. Obviously, it doesn’t go on the winner’s mantle.

But the winning driver needs something to commemorate a victory in the most prestigious open wheel race in the U.S., so since 1998, the winner has received an 18-inch replica of the Borg-Warner Trophy affectionately known as the Baby Borg. For the last 20 years, the owner or co-owners of the winning car have also received their own Baby Borg.

Along with its smaller size, the Baby Borg also doesn’t have the cool yet creepy faces of previous winners on it due to size considerations. However the winning driver’s sculpted face is included on the base of the smaller trophy.

Interestingly, the Indy 500 winner also has to wait a while to get the Baby Borg. Traditionally, the driver isn’t officially presented with the trophy until the January after their victory, either at Indianapolis Motor Speedway or at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit.

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Since the Borg-Warner Trophy is so massive, the Baby Borg is a nice compromise to ensure every Indy 500 champ still has something to call his or her own. Remember it when you’re watching the race this year and wondering how the victor gets the Borg-Warner Trophy home — they don’t!