CHAPTER 1

1911

The partners in the Indianapolis Motor Speedway ownership were: Carl Fisher, James Allison, Arthur Newby and Frank Wheeler.

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. On Friday, four days before the race, time trials were run. Thirty-eight cars were successful. Two others cars were successful on the day before the race.

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, the leading 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 and at one point opened up a lead of three laps over the second place car. He led a total of eighty-one laps.

Ray Harroun ran a consistently paced race in his six-cylinder Marmon Wasp at approximately 75 mph to minimize tire wear. His testing showed that by reducing his speed from 80 mph to 75 mph he doubled the life of his tires.

Cyrus Patschke relieved Harroun near mid-race and drove for about 35 laps. Patschke would also drive relief for fifth-place finisher Joe Dawson in another Marmon. Ray Harroun led 88 laps total, including laps 182-200, for the victory. All of Harroun's laps led occurred after the 102nd lap. 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. The rearview mirror was the result of Harroun observing a horse-drawn taxi utilizing one back in 1904.

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. David Bruce-Brown finished third in a Fiat.

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

There was one fatality in the race, as Art Greiner's (#44) right-rear-wheel came loose and the car overturned on the back stretch on his thirteenth lap, his riding mechanic, Sam Dickson losing his life.

The race was not completed without technological mishaps, as the scoring wire broke on two occasions during the race before being repaired.

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. Rickenbacker would eventually race in four "500's" with a best finish of 10th in 1914, all before he ever flew a plane.

Harry and Bill Endicott became the first brothers to compete in the "500". Harry finished 16th, while Bill was 26th.

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, in a Fiat, led the first two laps, then Ralph DePalma led from lap three to lap 198 in his "Grey Ghost" Mercedes, when a connecting rod broke. He and his riding mechanic, Australian Rupert Jeffkins, unsuccessfully attempted to push the 2500-pound car to the finish.

Joe Dawson and riding mechanic Harry Martin — whose pit manager was fellow driver Johnny Aitken — made up a deficit of over five laps and went on to win in his National in six hours and twenty-one minutes for an average speed of 78.7 mph. Don Herr relieved him for laps 108- 144. Teddy Tetzlaff finished second and Hugh Hughes, in a Mercer, finished third. The Mercer was the "smallest" car in the race in relation to piston displacement at only 301 cubic-inches.

As Dawson and the National crew celebrated the victory, DePalma displayed great sportsmanship by approaching and extending a congratulatory handshake to the winner.

The 196 laps led by DePalma are the most by a non-winning driver.

Dawson's car housed a 491 cubic-inch National, which would be the largest on a winning car in history.

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

Joseph Crook Dawson, from Odon, Indiana, 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 in a Knox, after several lengthy stops, including a snack break. Tenth was the last position for which prize money was awarded. Mulford won $1,200. His time was 2 hours and thirty-two minutes longer than the victor.

Bill Endicott finished fifth. He was relieved by his brother Harry. This was the only time a brother relieved a brother in the race.

1913

A new five-story open-sided Japanese style pagoda had been built trackside for officiating and scoring.

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.

Even though the piston displacement had been cut from 600 cubic-inches to 450, the speeds in the qualification trials were higher than the previous year.

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.

On a day with temperatures at 90 degrees 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.

Goux became the first winner to drive the full race without a relief driver, and also became the first foreign-born victor.

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

Ten cars received the checkered flag, completing the full 200 laps, while only one other car was still running. Surprisingly, there was only one accident in the race. Seventh-place finisher, Ralph Mulford in a Mercedes, drove the entire 500 miles without a tire change.

After the race Goux was quoted "but for the wine, I would have been unable to drive this race". Goux supposedly refreshed himself with a little champagne during several pit stops.

An estimated crowd of 96,000 attended the race.

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 car 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 and won by a margin of more than six minutes. He wore a tie in the race.

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. Billy Carlson finished ninth in a Maxwell with inaugural winner Ray Harroun as team manager. Maxwell had developed a car that ran on kerosene. Ninth-place finisher, Billy Carlson, used only thirty gallons of kerosene to run the full distance. Kerosene was being sold for six cents a gallon, therefore the fuel bill to run the entire 500 miles was only $1.80. Eddie Rickenbacker finished tenth in a Duesenberg.

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

An estimated crowd of 110,000 watched the race, as thirteen cars covered the full 500 miles.

A thirteen-year-old boy from Terre Haute, Indiana attended his first Indianapolis 500 in 1914. His name was Anton Hulman, Jr.

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. Cars were assigned colors as well as numbers. American cars were red and white; Belgian, yellow; English, green; French, blue; German, white and Italian, red. The color scheme by country was dropped after its' inaugural year.

There were only twenty-four starters for the race.

Howdy Wilcox won the pole at 98.9 mph, with Ralph DePalma 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.

For the fifth and final time Speedway President Carl Fisher drove the pace car to start the race.

Ralph DePalma led for 132 laps total, but with three laps remaining, his connecting rod broke and punched two holes in the crankcase. This time he was able to nurse his cream, red and black Mercedes for the final three laps, the victory avenging the bitter defeat of 1912. His average speed was a record 89.8 mph, more than 7 mph faster than the previous year's record. The new record would stand until 1922.

At one point in the race, Dario Resta led by more than a lap over DePalma. Resta skidded and experienced a blown tire and steering problems later in the race but soldiered his French Peugot to a second-place finish after a fierce duel with DePalma. DePalma's brother John finished 21st in a Delage.

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

Attendance was slightly more than half the 110,000 of the previous year. The major reason for the decline in attendance was soft ground from the heavy rains prohibited automobile parking.

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

1916

The maximum engine displacement was reduced from 450 cubic-inches to 300.

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 DePalma 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.

Eddie Rickenbacker started from the front row and led the first nine laps. He was about to gain international recognition as a fighter ace in WWI.

Dario Resta led from lap eighteen to the finish (120 laps) in his Peugeot and collected $12,000 for the win. The Italian born Resta averaged

84.0 mph. Wilbur D'Alene finished second in a Duesenberg and Ralph Mulford finished third in a Peugeot.

A crowd estimated at 83,000 attended the race.

Dario Resta would go on to win the 1916 AAA National Championship.

A second event was run on September 9, 1916. The Harvest Day Classic included races of 25 miles, 50 miles and 100 miles. Each race was won by Johnny Aitken. An estimated crowd of 10,000-12,000 attended.

1917

No race scheduled — United States in World War I.

1918

No race scheduled — United States in World War I.

1919

The winner from 1914, René Thomas, and his riding mechanic Robert Laly, returned for the first time in five years. Thomas won the pole at a record 104.7 mph and finished eleventh. Crawfordsville, Indiana native Howdy Wilcox started second and was actually the first driver to qualify at over 100 mph (100.01).

Arthur Thurman, an attorney from Washington, DC, became the first driver to lose his life in a "500." Three individuals were fatally injured in the race and two were critically injured.

Thirty-three cars started the race.

Other than the 1911 race, the 1919 field had the largest number of newcomers (19).

Ralph DePalma led 93 of the first 102 laps, but eventually finished sixth in his Packard. Howdy Wilcox, from Crawfordsville, Indiana, led from lap 103-200. Wilcox averaged 88.0 mph to win the race in his Speedway-owned Peugeot.

Howdy Wilcox was the first American to win since 1912. The Peugeot win gave the French automaker it's third win in the last five races.

Wilcox won $20,000 of the $55,275 purse.

Eddie Hearne finished second in a Durant Special, and Jules Goux finished third in a Speedway-owned Peugeot.

Louis Chevrolet's car threw a wheel toward the end of the race. It hit a scoring cable that snapped around and cut the neck of driver Elmer Shannon. Shannon was relieved by his riding mechanic, E.E. Rawlings, who went on to finish thirteenth.

Gaston Chevrolet became the third Chevrolet brother to compete in the "500". He started 16th and finished 10th in his first Indy 500.

Accidents took the lives of drivers Arthur Thurman and Louis LeCocq and riding mechanic Robert Bandini

Howdy Wilcox would become the only driver to compete in each of the first eleven Indianapolis 500's. He finished in the top ten four times plus his 1919 victory. He was killed in a racing accident on the boards at Altoona, Pennsylvania in September of 1923.

Estimated attendance varied from 75,000 to 125,000.

The Speedway adopted the European formula for the 1920 race, cylinder displacement would be reduced from 300 cubic-inches to 183 to slow the cars.

1920

Four-lap qualification runs were required for the first time. More than one car was permitted to qualify at the same time.

The pole was won by Ralph DePalma at 99.15 mph.

Twenty-three cars started the race.

Former driver Barney Oldfield drove the Marmon pace car.

Joe Boyer led most of the first half of the race.

DePalma led from lap 113 to 186, and was ahead of Gaston Chevrolet by over two laps when his French Ballot slowed and stopped on the north end of the track. He thought he was out of fuel, but instead was experiencing magneto problems. He was able to repair his car and salvaged fifth place. Peter DePaolo, his riding mechanic, was the son of DePalma's sister. DePalma led a total of 79 laps.

Gaston Chevrolet, in a Monroe Special, unlapped himself and went on to victory at an average of 88.6 mph. He went the distance with only two pit stops and no tire changes. This was the first American-built car to win since 1912. The Monroe Special was actually a Frontenac and was designed and built by older brothers Louis and Arthur Chevrolet. The win by Chevrolet represented the last win for a four-cylinder engine until 1934.

René Thomas finished second in a Ballot and Tommy Milton third in a Duesenberg, with rookie Jimmy Murphy posting a fourth place finish also in a Duesenberg.