Indianapolis 500 1951

 Indianapolis 500 1951

Racing data
2nd of 8 races in the 1951 World Automobile Championship
Surname:	XXXVth Indianapolis Motor Sweepstakes
Date:	May 30, 1951
Place:	Indianapolis
Course:	Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Length:	804.6 km in 200 laps of 4.023 km
Weather:	sunny, hot
Pole position
Driver:	Duke Nalon	Kurtis Kraft - Novi
Time:	4: 23.74 (4 rounds) min
Fastest lap
Driver:	Lee Wallard	Kurtis Kraft - Offenhauser
Time:	1: 07.26 min (lap 23)
Podium
First:	Lee Wallard	Kurtis Kraft - Offenhauser
Second:	Mike Nazaruk	Kurtis Kraft - Offenhauser
Third:	Jack McGrath / Manuel Ayulo	Kurtis Kraft - Offenhauser

The 35th Indianapolis 500 took place on May 30, 1951 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and was the second round of the 1951 Automobile World Championship .

background

Kurtis Kraft No. 327; Lee Wallard's winning car

In the first eleven years (1950–1960) of the automobile world championship, the 500 miles from Indianapolis were part of the driver’s championship. However, this had no significant influence on the racing events either on one side of the Atlantic. Hardly a European driver showed up in Indianapolis and vice versa. Even the dates of the races usually did not allow mutual starts. In 1951 the race took place three days after the Swiss Grand Prix.

training

The qualification mode of the Indianapolis 500 miles differs considerably from the usual procedures in Europe. A total of 59 drivers tried to qualify for the 33 starting positions. As in the previous year, Walt Faulkner set a new lap record (220.274 km / h), but this time it was only enough to start in the fifth row because he had set his time on the second day of qualification. On pole position was Duke Nalon , who completed his four-lap qualifying drive with an average of 219.672 km / h. Since he managed to do this on the first day of qualification, he was on the best starting position. In general, the speeds achieved during qualification were around 3–4 km / h higher than in the previous year, as Firestone used a new type of tire that was less prone to slipping.

run

In hot weather, Jack McGrath got the best start ahead of Lee Wallard . Both fought head-to-head in the first 10 laps, with one and the other in the lead. Then Cecil Green managed to catch up with the leading duo. Further back Faulkner, Nazaruk , Davies , Agabashian , Schindler and Parsons fought an equally exciting duel. In the 23rd round Green was able to conquer second place, while McGrath fell back a little. Behind it, the chasing group split up. Faulkner, Davies and Agabashian formed a trio, which was followed by Schindler, Nazaruk and Bettenhausen . Davies took the lead when the vehicles in front of him made their pit stops. When he stopped himself, Faulkner was briefly ahead, but was quickly overtaken by Green. On the 81st lap, Green's engine exploded and Wallard inherited the lead after overtaking Faulkner shortly before. On lap 100, McGrath stopped for the second time and complained of leg cramps. Therefore Manuel Ayulo took over his car exactly at half time . Faulkner had fallen back a little, came back to third place due to the failures of Agabashian (lap 109) and Davies (lap 110) when Mauri Rose , who was constantly pushing forward , relegated him to fourth place. The race was over for Faulkner on lap 123 when his crankshaft broke. Only three laps later, Rose was lucky enough to be uninjured when his car overturned due to a defective wheel. Not much happened in the last 50 laps, apart from the fact that Linden pushed past Ball and Banks . Wallard was unchallenged in the lead, but had problems with the brakes on the final laps, which didn't prevent him from winning the race. It was the first time that the winner had covered the 500 miles in less than four hours.

Registration list

team	No.	driver	chassis	engine	tires
Blue Crown Spark Plug	1	Henry Banks	Moors	Offenhauser	F.
	22nd	George Connor	Lesovsky
Grant Piston Ring	2	Walt Faulkner	Kuzma	Offenhauser	F.
Ed Walsh	3	Johnnie Parsons	Kurtis Kraft KK 3000	Offenhauser	F.
MA Walker	4th	Cecil Green	Kurtis Kraft KK 3000	Offenhauser	F.
William Ansted	5	Tony Bettenhausen	Deidt Tuffanelli Derrico	Offenhauser	F.
	27	Duane Carter
Verlin Brown	6th	Duke Dinsmore	Schroeder	Offenhauser	F.
Kennedy tank	7th	Paul Russo	Nichels	Offenhauser	F.
Bardahl	8th	Chuck Stevenson	Marchese Championship Racer	Offenhauser	F.
	78	Ray Knepper	Silnes
Jack Hinkle	9	Jack McGrath	Kurtis Kraft KK 3000	Offenhauser	F.
	9	Manuel Ayulo
HA Chapman	10	Bill Schindler	Kurtis Kraft KK 2000	Offenhauser	F.
W. + J.	12	Johnny McDowell	Maserati 8CTF	Offenhauser	F.
Pat Clancy	14th	Jerry Hoyt	Ewing	Offenhauser	F.
Howard Keck	16	Mauri Rose	Deidt Tuffanelli Derrico	Offenhauser	F.
Lewis Welch	18th	Duke Nalon	Kurtis Force No. 4th	Novi	F.
	32	Chet Miller	Kurtis Force No. 3
Tuffanelli-Derrico	19th	Mack Hellings	Deidt Tuffanelli Derrico	Offenhauser	F.
Ludson & Morris	23	Cliff Griffith	Kurtis Kraft KK 2000	Offenhauser	F.
Richard Palmer	24	Jackie Holmes	Adams	Offenhauser	F.
Peter Schmidt	25th	Sam Hanks	Kurtis Kraft KK 3000	Offenhauser	F.
Bob Estes	26th	Joe James	Watson CC50	Offenhauser	F.
Ray T. Brady	29	George Fonder	Deidt Tuffanelli Derrico	Sparks	F.
	63	George Fonder	Schroeder	Offenhauser
Coast Grain	31	Manuel Ayulo	Lesovsky	Offenhauser	F.
Iddings	33	Jimmy Daywalt	Meyer	Offenhauser	F.
Pete Wales	34	Johnnie Tolan	Kurtis Kraft KK 2000	Offenhauser	F.
Hancock Dome	35	Frank Armi	Bardazon	Offenhauser	F.
Rassey	36	George Lynch	Rassey	Offenhauser	F.
Milt Marton	37	Bob Sweikert	Kurtis Kraft KK 2000	Offenhauser	F.
Salay	41	Mike Salay	Szalai	Offenhauser	F.
Gdula	42	Bill Boyd	Gdula	Offenhauser	F.
Dan Levine	44	Walt Brown	Kurtis Kraft KK 3000	Offenhauser	F.
Cincinnati Racing Cars	45	Jackie Holmes	Adams	Offenhauser	F.
Safety Seal	46	Bayliss Levrett	Silnes	Offenhauser	F.
Deck manufacturing	48	Rodger Ward	Bromme	Offenhauser	F.
Barzda	49	Joe Barzda	Maserati 8CTF	Offenhauser	F.
	51	Bud Sennett		Maserati
Blakely	52	Bobby Ball	Schroeder	Offenhauser	F.
William Lutes	53	George Fonder	Schroeder	Offenhauser	F.
Shaheen	56	Myron Fohr	Hill	Offenhauser	F.
George Leitenberger	57	Andy Linden	Sherman	Offenhauser	F.
Scopa	58	Frank Armi	Scopa	Offenhauser	F.
Andy Granatelli	59	Fred Agabashian	Kurtis Kraft KK 3000	Offenhauser	F.
Sarafoff	61	Norm Houser	Miller FD2810	Offenhauser	F.
Motor trends	62	Bill Cantrell	Johnson	Wayne	F.
Ross Page	64	Frank Armi	Kurtis Force No. 2	Duray	F.
Glessner	66	Kenny Eaton	Stevens	Offenhauser	F.
Johnson	67	Gordon Reid	Silnes	Chevrolet	F.
Eugene Cassaroll	68	Carl Forberg	Kurtis Kraft KK 3000	Offenhauser	F.
Verlin Brown	69	Gene Force	Kurtis Kraft KK 2000	Offenhauser	F.
Karl Hall	71	Bill MacKey	Hall	Offenhauser	F.
Viking trailer	72	Jimmy Bryan	Lesovsky	Offenhauser	F.
Lee Elkins	73	Carl Scarborough	Kurtis Kraft KK 2000	Offenhauser	F.
George Heller	75	Leroy Warriner	Kurtis Force No. 6th	Offenhauser	F.
Offenhauser parks	76	Jim Davies	Pawl	Offenhauser	F.
Elgin Piston Pin	77	Doc Shanebrook	Stevens	Offenhauser	F.
Hart Fullerton	79	Bill Cantrell	Kurtis Kraft KK 4000	Offenhauser	F.
Central excavating	81	Bill Vukovich	Trevis	Offenhauser	F.
Jim Robbins	83	Mike Nazaruk	Kurtis Kraft KK 1000	Offenhauser	F.
Thorne Engineering	88	Joel Thorne	Adams	Sparks	F.
Trainor Chicago	89	Danny Kladis	Miller	Miller	F.
JC Agajanian	98	Troy Ruttman	Kurtis Kraft KK 2000	Offenhauser	F.
Murrell Belanger	99	Lee Wallard	Kurtis Force No. 327	Offenhauser	F.

classification

Starting grid

Item	driver	constructor	time	km / h	Starting row
1.	Duke Nalon	Kurti's power	4: 23.740	219.65	1L
2.	Lee Wallard	Kurti's power	4: 26.590	217.30	1M
3.	Jack McGrath	Kurti's power	4: 28.050	216.12	1R
4th	Duane Carter	Deidt	4: 29.160	215.23	2L
5.	Mauri Rose	Deidt	4: 29.820	214.70	2M
6th	Troy Ruttman	Kurti's power	4: 32.080	212.92	2R
7th	Mike Nazaruk	Kurti's power	4: 32.350	212.71	3L
8th.	Johnnie Parsons	Kurti's power	4: 32.410	212.66	3M
9.	Tony Bettenhausen	Deidt	4: 32.830	212.33	3R
10.	Cecil Green	Kurti's power	4: 32.950	212.24	4L
11.	Fred Agabashian	Kurti's power	4: 26.610	217.29	4M
12.	Sam Hanks	Kurti's power	4: 30.680	214.02	4R
13.	Walt Brown	Kurti's power	4: 32.920	212.26	5L
14th	Walt Faulkner	Kuzma	4: 23.020	220.25	5 M
15th	Carl Scarborough	Kurti's power	4: 25.460	218.23	5R
16.	Bill Schindler	Kurti's power	4: 28.590	215.69	6L
17th	Henry Banks	Moors	4: 28.860	215.47	6M
18th	Cliff Griffith	Kurti's power	4: 28.980	215.37	6R
19th	Chuck Stevenson	Marchese	4: 29.130	215.25	7L
20th	Bill Vukovich	Trevis	4: 29.210	215.19	7M
21st	George Connor	Lesovsky	4: 29.960	214.59	7R
22nd	Gene Force	Kurti's power	4: 30.470	214.19	8L
23.	Mack Hellings	Deidt	4: 30.830	213.90	8M
24.	Carl Forberg	Kurti's power	4: 30.900	213.85	8R
25th	Rodger Ward	Bromme	4: 26.930	217.03	9L
26th	Johnny McDowell	Maserati	4: 31.750	213.18	9M
27.	Jim Davies	Pawl	4: 29.630	214.85	9R
28.	Chet Miller	Kurti's power	4: 25,100	218.53	10L
29	Bobby Ball	Schroeder	4: 28.460	215.79	10M
30th	Joe James	Watson	4: 28.820	215.50	10R
31.	Andy Linden	Sherman	4: 32.260	212.78	11L
32.	Duke Dinsmore	Schroeder	4: 32.780	212.37	11M
33.	Bill MacKey	Hall	4: 33.820	211.57	11R
DNQ	Paul Russo	Nichels
DNQ	Ray Knepper	Silnes
DNQ	Jerry Hoyt	Ewing
DNQ	Jackie Holmes	Adams
DNQ	George Fonder	Deidt
DNQ	George Fonder	Schroeder
DNQ	Manuel Ayulo	Lesovsky
DNQ	Jimmy Daywalt	Meyer
DNQ	Johnnie Tolan	Kurti's power
DNQ	Frank Armi	Bardazon
DNQ	George Lynch	Rassey
DNQ	Bob Sweikert	Kurti's power
DNQ	Mike Salay	Szalai
DNQ	Bill Boyd	Gdula
DNQ	Jackie Holmes	Adams
DNQ	Bayliss Levrett	Silnes
DNQ	Joe Barzda	Maserati
DNQ	Bud Sennett	Maserati
DNQ	George Fonder	Schroeder
DNQ	Myron Fohr	Hill
DNQ	Frank Armi	Scopa
DNQ	Norm Houser	Miller
DNQ	Bill Cantrell	Johnson
DNQ	Frank Armi	Kurti's power
DNQ	Kenny Eaton	Stevens
DNQ	Gordon Reid	Silnes
DNQ	Jimmy Bryan	Lesovsky
DNQ	Leroy Warriner	Kurti's power
DNQ	Doc Shanebrook	Stevens
DNQ	Bill Cantrell	Kurti's power
DNQ	Joel Thorne	Adams
DNQ	Danny Kladis	Miller

Race result

Item	driver	constructor	Round	time	km / h	s. Rd.	guide
1.	Lee Wallard	Kurti's power	200	3: 57: 38.050	203.13	1: 07.260	159
2.	Mike Nazaruk	Kurti's power	200	3: 59: 25.290	201.61
3.	Jack McGrath	Kurti's power	100	4: 00: 29,440	200.71		11
	Manuel Ayulo
4th	Andy Linden	Sherman	200	4: 02: 18,170	199.21
5.	Bobby Ball	Schroeder	200	4: 02: 30.280	199.05
6th	Henry Banks	Moors	200	4: 03: 18.070	198.40
7th	Carl Forberg	Kurti's power	193
8th.	Duane Carter	Deidt	180
9.	Tony Bettenhausen	Deidt	178	accident
10.	Duke Nalon	Kurti's power	151
11.	Gene Force	Kurti's power	142	engine
12.	Sam Hanks	Kurti's power	135	engine
13.	Bill Schindler	Kurti's power	129	engine
14th	Mauri Rose	Deidt	126	accident
15th	Walt Faulkner	Kuzma	123	engine
16.	Jim Davies	Pawl	110	transmission			25th
17th	Fred Agabashian	Kurti's power	109	coupling
18th	Carl Scarborough	Kurti's power	100	suspension
19th	Bill MacKey	Hall	97	coupling
20th	Chuck Stevenson	Marchese	93	Fire
21st	Johnnie Parsons	Kurti's power	87	ignition
22nd	Cecil Green	Kurti's power	80	engine			5
23.	Troy Ruttman	Kurti's power	78	engine
24.	Duke Dinsmore	Schroeder	73	engine
25th	Chet Miller	Kurti's power	56	engine
26th	Walt Brown	Kurti's power	55	ignition
27.	Rodger Ward	Bromme	34	Oil pipe
28.	Cliff Griffith	Kurti's power	30th	Power transmission
29	Bill Vukovich	Trevis	29	Oil tank
30th	George Connor	Lesovsky	29	Power transmission
31.	Mack Hellings	Deidt	18th	engine
32.	Johnny McDowell	Maserati	15th	Fuel system
33.	Joe James	Watson	8th	Power transmission

World Cup stand after the race

The first five got 8, 6, 4, 3 and 2 points respectively; there was a point for the fastest lap. Only the four best results from eight races count. (*) includes the point for the fastest lap, fields marked in the same color indicate a vehicle pick-up (point sharing).

Item	driver	constructor									Points
1.	Juan Manuel Fangio	Alfa Romeo	9 *								9
	Lee Wallard	Kurti's power		9 *							9
3.	Piero Taruffi	Ferrari	6th								6th
	Mike Nazaruk	Kurti's power		6th							6th
5.	Giuseppe Farina	Alfa Romeo	4th								4th
6th	Consalvo Sanesi	Alfa Romeo	3								3
	Andy Linden	Sherman		3							3
8th.	Emmanuel de Graffenried	Alfa Romeo	2								2
	Bobby Ball	Schroeder		2							2
	Jack McGrath	Kurti's power		2							2
	Manuel Ayulo	Kurti's power		2							2

literature

• Mike Lang: Grand Prix! Volume 1: 1950-1965. Haynes Publishing Group, Sparkford Sommerset 1981, ISBN 0-85429-276-4 (English).

Web links

Commons : Indianapolis 500 1951  - Collection of Images, Videos, and Audio Files

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