INDY 500 RECAPS

AuthorHouse

Chapter One

Drivers had to be able to average 75 mph or better from a flying start over a distance of a quarter mile in order to be included in the starting field.

Qualifiers were lined up by the dates on which the entries were received. There were forty-six entrants total with the first entrant on the pole.

Lewis Strang was on the pole.

Cars were lined up in rows of five. There were forty starters. The pace car and four cars constituted row 1. The ninth row consisted of a single car; all other rows had five cars.

Carl Fisher, a partner in the track ownership, drove the Stoddard-Dayton pace car.

A large crowd of approximately 80,000 attended the first 500.

Johnny Aitken led the first lap of the inaugural Indianapolis 500, or the "International 500-Mile Sweepstakes," as it was referred to through 1980.

Prize money was awarded to only the top ten finishers, with $10,000 to the winner (plus accessory prizes, for a total of $14,250), and $500 for tenth place. The total purse was $30,150.

David Bruce-Brown led for most of the first half of the race. He led a total of eighty-one laps.

Ray Harroun ran a consistently paced race in his Marmon Wasp at approximately 75 mph to minimize tire wear. Cyrus Patschke relieved Harroun near mid-race and drove for about 35 laps. Ray Harroun led 88 laps total, including laps 182-200, for the victory. He made four stops and changed three right rear tires.

Harroun drove the only single-seater in the race, with the aid of what is believed to be the first rearview mirror on an automobile. All other cars had riding mechanics.

Ralph Mulford, driving a Lozier, ran a charging race, resulting in a greater number of tire changes, fourteen versus four for Harroun. He finished second.

The race took six hours and forty-two minutes to complete, a 74.6 mph average for Harroun.

Arthur Newby, a partner in the track ownership, was president of the National Motor Vehicle Company and had three cars compete in the race.

Eddie Rickenbacker drove relief for Lee Frayer, who finished thirteenth.

1912

Riding mechanics became mandatory and would remain so through 1922.

There were twenty-nine entries, and twenty-four cars qualified for the race. Qualifying required greater than a 75 mph average for a full lap. Cars once again started by entry order received. Gil Anderson started on the pole in a Stutz.

This was the first 500 for future track owner Eddie Rickenbacker as a primary driver. He started thirteenth and finished twenty-first. Teddy Tetzlaff led the first two laps, then Ralph De Palma led from lap three to lap 198, when a connecting rod broke on his Mercedes. He and his riding mechanic, Rupert Jeffkins, unsuccessfully attempted to push the car to the finish.

Joe Dawson—whose pit manager was fellow driver Johnny Aitken—made up a deficit of over five laps and went on to win in his National at an average speed of 78.7 mph. Don Herr relieved him for laps 108–144. Teddy Tetzlaff finished second.

The total purse was increased to $50,000, with $20,000 going to the winner.

Dawson was 22 years, 323 days old, and would remain the youngest 500 winner in history until 1952, when Troy Ruttman won at 22 years, 86 days old.

Ralph Mulford finished tenth in 8 hours and 53 minutes, after several lengthy stops, including a dinner break. Tenth was the last position for which prize money was awarded. Mulford won $1,200.

1913

From the outset, the Speedway management had intended for the race to be an international event. A few teams accepted the invitation in 1913, including the Peugeot team from France.

The starting order was determined by a blind draw, with twenty-seven starters. A starting field consisting of four cars in each row, instead of five, was implemented for the first time.

Caleb Bragg started on the pole in a Mercer.

Johnny Aitken was pit manager and race strategist for first-year driver Jules Goux in a Peugeot.

Goux led a total of 138 laps, including from lap 136 to the checker. He won by thirteen minutes and eight seconds—a record that still stands as the greatest margin of victory. His speed average was 75.9 mph.

Spencer Wishart finished second and Charlie Merz finished third, though his car was on fire as he crossed the finish line.

Goux supposedly refreshed himself with a little champagne during several pit stops. He was the first winner to go the distance without a relief driver.

1914

Thirty cars competed in the 500.

The starting field was determined by a blind draw that resulted in six lead changes between five drivers in the opening thirteen laps.

Arthur Duray led 77 of the first 115 laps in his Peugeot.

Jean Chassagne, in a Sunbeam, started on the pole and finished twenty-ninth, the second one out.

René Thomas led a total of 102 laps and led from lap 116 to the checker in his first 500, driving a French Delage. Thomas set a new race record of 82.5 mph.

The first four finishers were swept by French entries, with second and fourth going to Arthur Duray and Jules Goux in Peugeots and first and third going to Thomas and Albert Guyot in Delages.

Barney Oldfield finished fifth in a Stutz, the top-finishing American team.

Joe Dawson was involved in an accident on lap forty-five that resulted in his retirement from racing.

1915

A rule was adopted that allowed only three cars per make to compete. Several Peugeots and Sunbeams were eliminated because of there already being three of each.

A qualifying procedure of lining the cars up by speed was implemented, with the fastest starting on the pole.

There were only twenty-four starters for the race.

Howdy Wilcox won the pole at 98.9 mph, with Ralph De Palma starting second at 98.6 mph.

The field of cars started four abreast.

The race was postponed from Saturday, May 29 to Monday, May 31 because of rain.

Ralph De Palma led for 132 laps total, but with three laps remaining, his connecting rod broke. This time he was able to nurse his Mercedes for the final three laps, the victory avenging the bitter defeat of 1912. His average speed was a record 89.8 mph.

At one point in the race, Dario Resta led by more than a lap over De Palma. Resta experienced a blown tire and steering problems later in the race but soldiered his French Peugot to a second-place finish.

Johnny Aitken came out of retirement and drove relief for Gil Anderson, who finished in third place. Earl Cooper placed fourth.

Following the 1915 race T.E. "Pop" Myers was made general manager of the track.

1916

Single-lap qualifications were used and cars were lined up by speed. For the first time, cars were also lined up by day, with first day ahead of second day, second day ahead of third day, etc.

Twenty-one cars started, the lowest number in 500 history. Seven cars were owned by track management under the banner of the Indianapolis Speedway Team Company and the Prest-O-Lite Racing Team.

The race was scheduled for 300 miles, mainly because of wartime efforts of conservation. As a result of the shorter distance, the race was moved from the normal ten a.m. start time to one p.m.

Defending champion Ralph De Palma did not defend his title because he was not successful in getting the Speedway to pay him appearance money.

Johnny Aitken won the pole with a speed of 96.7 mph.

Dario Resta led from lap...