Indianapolis 500 1953

 Indianapolis 500 1953

Racing data
2nd of 9 races of the 1953 World Automobile Championship
Surname:	XXXVIIth Indianapolis Motor Sweepstakes
Date:	May 30, 1953
Place:	Indianapolis
Course:	Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Length:	804.6 km in 200 laps of 4.023 km
Weather:	very hot
Pole position
Driver:	Bill Vukovich	Kurtis Kraft - Offenhauser
Time:	min
Fastest lap
Driver:	Bill Vukovich	Kurtis Kraft - Offenhauser
Time:	1: 06.24 min (lap 27)
Podium
First:	Bill Vukovich	Kurtis Kraft - Offenhauser
Second:	Art Cross	Kurtis Kraft - Offenhauser
Third:	Sam Hanks / Duane Carter	Kurtis Kraft - Offenhauser

The 37th Indianapolis 500 took place on May 30, 1953 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway and was the second of nine races in the 1953 World Automobile Championship .

background

Kurtis Kraft KK500; Bill Vukovich's winning car

After Alberto Ascari, a European driver, competed in the 500-mile race for the first time in 1952 , in 1953 they tried in vain to win Ferrari for a new start.

training

During the pre- training session , Chet Miller , the fastest in training last year, had a fatal accident. The qualification rules, which were unusual for the European spectator, stated that the fastest driver on the first day of training got the pole position, should drivers be faster on other qualifying days, they would still have to start the race from the back of the grid. This had mostly been the case in the past few years. With Bill Vukovich , the driver who had the fastest practice time really had the best starting position this year.

run

The race was characterized above all by the enormous heat that forced many drivers to be relieved. Carl Scarborough even died that evening as a result of heat stroke suffered during the race . Numerous spectators also had to be treated because of the heat. The race itself was all about Bill Vukovich. He used his pole position and took the lead. Except for the five laps in which he refueled at the pits, he was always ahead. Behind this a race developed in which even the officials lost track of things due to the many driver and position changes. Up to about halfway through the race, Agabashian , Cross , Ayulo and Parsons formed the chasing group, but this broke up due to the driver change. Pat Flaherty went off the track as a result of a heat collapse and drove violently into the boundary wall. It took time to get him out of the car, but he wasn't badly injured. Art Cross, who had not been relieved, was in second place, followed by Russo , who drove Agabashian's car. After Cross stopped on lap 187, Russo was believed to be in second place, but retrospective scrutiny of all records revealed that Cross was second while Russo was only fourth.

Registration list

team	No.	driver	chassis	engine	tires
Ernest L. Ruiz	2	Richard Rathmann	Kurtis Kraft 500B	Offenhauser 4.5 L4	F.
Ed Walsh	3	Sam Hanks	Kurtis Kraft KK 4000	Offenhauser 4.5 L4	F.
	24	Cliff Griffith	Kurtis Kraft 500B
Murrell Belanger	4th	Duane Carter	Lesovsky	Offenhauser 4.5 L4	F.
Jack B. Hinkle	5	Jack McGrath	Kurtis Kraft KK 4000	Offenhauser 4.5 L4	F.
Wynn's Friction	6th	Richard Rathmann	Moors	Offenhauser	F.
Federal Auto Associates	7th	Paul Russo	Kurtis Kraft KK 3000	Offenhauser 4.5 L4	F.
	41	Gene Hartley	Kurtis Kraft KK 4000
John L. McDaniel	8th	Jimmy Bryan	Schroeder	Offenhauser 4.5 L4	F.
Lewis Welch	9	Duke Nalon	Kurtis Force No. 4th	Novi 3.0 L8C	F.
	15th	Chet Miller	Kurtis Force No. 3
Lindsey Hopkins	10	Henry Banks	Lesovsky	Offenhauser	F.
	63	Danny Oakes	Moors
HA Chapman	12	Ernie McCoy	Chapman special	Offenhauser 4.5 L4	F.
Howard Keck Co	14th	Bill Vukovich	Kurtis Force 500	Offenhauser 4.5 L4	F.
Bessie Lee Paoli	16	Art Cross	Kurtis Kraft KK 4000	Offenhauser 4.5 L4	F.
Murrell Belanger	17th	Joe Sostilio	Kurtis Force 500A	Chrysler	F.
	99	Cal Niday	Kurtis Force No. 327	Offenhauser 4.5 L4
JS Belond	21st	Johnnie Parsons	Kurtis Kraft 500B	Offenhauser 4.5 L4	F.
	29	Bob Scott	Bromme
Hart Fullerton	22nd	Marshall Teague	Kurtis Kraft KK 4000	Offenhauser 4.5 L4	F.
Eugene Cassaroll	23	Walt Faulkner	Kurtis Force 500A	Offenhauser 4.5 L4	F.
Rodger Wolcott	25th	George Connor	Kurtis Force 500A	Chrysler	F.
	66	Johnnie Tolan
William Lutes	26th	Eddie Johnson	Kurtis Kraft KK 4000	Offenhauser	F.
Otto & Adoph Stoye	28	Pat O'Connor	Deidt Tuffanelli Derrico	Offenhauser	F.
	61	Bill Holland	Kurtis Kraft KK 3000
Caccia Motors	31	Len Duncan	Schroeder	Offenhauser	F.
Rotary Engineering Corp.	32	Andy Linden	Ansted special	Offenhauser 4.5 L4	F.
Ray T. Brady	33	Art Cross	Kurtis Kraft KK 4000	Offenhauser	F.
Ludson & Morris	34	Eddie Sachs	Kurtis Kraft KK 2000	Offenhauser	F.
Offenhauser parks	35	Buzz Barton	Pawl	Offenhauser	F.
Sid Street Motors	36	Paul Goacher	Pan scratch	Offenhauser	F.
Bob Estes	38	Don Freeland	Watson CC-53	Offenhauser 4.5 L4	F.
Blue Crown Spark Plug	39	Bill Taylor	Lesovsky	Offenhauser	F.
Emmett Malloy	42	Bill Cantrell	Pan scratch	Offenhauser	F.
Maserati	43	Roy Newman	Maserati 8CL	Maserati	F.
Jim Robbins	44	Leroy Warriner	Kurtis Kraft KK 1000	Offenhauser	F.
Ed Gdula	46	John Fedricks	Kurtis Kraft 500B	Offenhauser	F.
Chapman S. Root	48	Jimmy Daywalt	Kurtis Kraft KK 3000	Offenhauser 4.5 L4	F.
Ray Crawford	49	Bill Holland	Kurtis Kraft 500B	Offenhauser 4.5 L4	F.
AE Dean	51	Bob Sweikert	Kuzma	Offenhauser 4.5 L4	F.
Tom Sarafoff	52	Duke Dinsmore	Kurtis Kraft KK 2000	Offenhauser	F.
Pat Clancy	53	Jim Davies	Kurtis Kraft 500B	Offenhauser 4.5 L4	F.
John Zink	55	Jerry Hoyt	Kurtis Kraft KK 4000	Offenhauser 4.5 L4	F.
RN Sabourin	56	Johnny Thomson	Del Roy	Offenhauser 4.5 L4	F.
People	57	Hal Robson	People	People	F.
Grancor Auto Specialists	59	Fred Agabashian	Kurtis Kraft 500B	Offenhauser 4.5 L4	F.
3-L Racing Team	62	Travis Webb	Kurtis Kraft KK 3000	Offenhauser 4.5 L4	F.
Jon Stanko	64	Pat O'Connor	Kurtis Kraft KK 4000	Offenhauser	F.
Karl Hall	65	Allen Heath	Ewing	Offenhauser	F.
Glessner	67	Johnny Kay	Clemons	Offenhauser	F.
Barzda	69	Joe Barzda	Maserati 8CTF	Maserati	F.
Franklin Merkler	71	Jackie Holmes	Kurtis Force No. 7th	Offenhauser	F.
Lee Elkins	73	Carl Scarborough	Kurtis Kraft KK 2000	Offenhauser 4.5 L4	F.
Verlin Brown	74	Pat O'Connor	Schroeder	Offenhauser	F.
Christy	75	Wayne Selser	Christy	Offenhauser	F.
George Leitenberger	76	George Fonder	Silnes	Offenhauser	F.
Peter Schmidt	77	Pat Flaherty	Kurtis Kraft KK 3000	Offenhauser 4.5 L4	F.
	88	Manuel Ayulo	Kuzma
Storey & Ricketts	78	Cal Niday	Kurtis Kraft KK 4000	Offenhauser	F.
Mel Wiggers	79	Frank Armi	Kurtis Kraft KK 4000	Offenhauser	F.
Central excavating	81	Len Duncan	Trevis	Offenhauser	F.
William Burns	82	United States	Kurtis Kraft KK 4000	Offenhauser	F.
Lee Elkins	83	Mike Nazaruk	Gymnast	Offenhauser 4.5 L4	F.
Coast Grain	84	Bill Homeier	Lesovsky	Offenhauser	F.
John McDaniel	85	Johnnie Tolan	Kurtis Kraft KK 4000	Offenhauser	F.
Milt Marton	86	Bill Boyd	Kurtis Kraft KK 2000	Offenhauser	F.
Calvin Connell	87	Bill Homeier	Kurtis Force 500A	Cadillac	F.
Fadely-Anderson	89	Travis Webb	Maserati 4CLT	Offenhauser	F.
Clyde Dillon	91	Red Hamilton	Kurtis Kraft KK 4000	Offenhauser	F.
MA Walker	92	Rodger Ward	Kurtis Kraft KK 4000	Offenhauser 4.5 L4	F.
Sam Traylor	93	Al Herman	Kurtis Kraft KK 2000	Offenhauser	F.
Wayne	95	Jorge Daponte	Johnson	Wayne	F.
Helin	96	Jud Larson	Snowberger	Offenhauser	F.
JC Agajanian	97	Chuck Stevenson	Kuzma	Offenhauser 4.5 L4	F.
	98	Tony Bettenhausen

classification

Starting grid

Item	driver	constructor	Time (4 laps)	km / h	Starting row
1.	Bill Vukovich	Kurti's power	4: 20,130	222.70	1 L
2.	Fred Agabashian	Kurti's power	4: 21.730	221.34	1 M.
3.	Jack McGrath	Kurti's power	4: 23.540	219.82	1 row
4th	Manuel Ayulo	Kuzma	4: 23.960	219.47	2 L
5.	Andy Linden	Ansted	4: 24.590	218.95	2 M.
6th	Tony Bettenhausen	Kuzma	4: 24.660	218.89	2 rows
7th	Jerry Hoyt	Kurti's power	4: 25.230	218.42	3 L
8th.	Johnnie Parsons	Kurti's power	4: 21,500	221.53	3 M.
9.	Sam Hanks	Kurti's power	4: 21.760	221.31	3 rows
10.	Rodger Ward	Kurti's power	4: 21.880	221.21	4 L
11.	Bob Scott	Bromme	4: 21.950	221.15	4 M.
12.	Art Cross	Kurti's power	4: 22.180	220.96	4 rows
13.	Gene Hartley	Kurti's power	4: 22.270	220.88	5 L
14th	Walt Faulkner	Kurti's power	4: 22.550	220.65	5 M
15th	Don Freeland	Watson	4: 23.030	220.25	5 R
16.	Chuck Stevenson	Kuzma	4: 23.620	219.75	6 L
17th	Paul Russo	Kurti's power	4: 24.280	219.20	6 M.
18th	Travis Webb	Kurti's power	4: 24.380	219.12	6 R
19th	Carl Scarborough	Kurti's power	4: 24.830	218.75	7 L
20th	Ernie McCoy	Chapman	4: 24.850	218.73	7 M.
21st	Jimmy Daywalt	Kurti's power	4: 25,200	218.44	7 R
22nd	Marshall Teague	Kurti's power	4: 25.250	218.40	8 L
23.	Mike Nazaruk	Gymnast	4: 25.280	218.38	8 M.
24.	Pat Flaherty	Kurti's power	4: 25.350	218.32	8 R
25th	Richard Rathmann	Kurti's power	4: 25.360	218.31	9 L
26th	Duke Nalon	Kurti's power	4: 25.760	217.98	9 M.
27.	Duane Carter	Lesovsky	4: 26,140	217.67	9 R
28.	Bill Holland	Kurti's power	4: 21.120	221.86	10 L
29	Bob Sweikert	Kuzma	4: 23.020	220.25	10 M.
30th	Cal Niday	Kurti's power	4: 24.520	219.00	10 R
31.	Jimmy Bryan	Schroeder	4: 25.670	218.06	11 L
32.	Jim Davies	Kurti's power	4: 26.070	217.73	11 M.
33.	Johnny Thomson	Del Roy	4: 26,150	217.66	11 R
DNQ	Henry Banks	Lesovsky
DNQ	Chet Miller	Kurti's power
DNQ	Joe Sostilio	Kurti's power
DNQ	Cliff Griffith	Kurti's power
DNQ	George Connor	Kurti's power
DNQ	Eddie Johnson	Kurti's power
DNQ	Pat O'Connor	Deidt
DNQ	Len Duncan	Schroeder
DNQ	Eddie Sachs	Kurti's power
DNQ	Buzz Barton	Pawl
DNQ	Paul Goacher	Pan scratch
DNQ	Bill Taylor	Lesovsky
DNQ	Bill Cantrell	Pan scratch
DNQ	Roy Newman	Maserati
DNQ	Leroy Warriner	Kurti's power
DNQ	John Fedricks	Kurti's power
DNQ	Duke Dinsmore	Kurti's power
DNQ	Joe Barzda	Maserati
DNQ	Hal Robson	People
DNQ	Danny Oakes	Moors
DNQ	Allen Heath	Ewing
DNQ	Johnnie Tolan	Kurti's power
DNQ	Johnny Kay	Clemons
DNQ	Jackie Holmes	Kurti's power
DNQ	Wayne Selser	Christy
DNQ	George Fonder	Silnes
DNQ	Frank Armi	Kurti's power
DNQ	Johnny Roberts	Kurti's power
DNQ	Bill Homeier	Lesovsky
DNQ	Bill Boyd	Kurti's power
DNQ	Red Hamilton	Kurti's power
DNQ	Al Herman	Kurti's power
DNQ	Jorge Daponte	Johnson
DNQ	Jud Larson	Snowberger

Race result

Item	Start number	driver	constructor	Round	time	km / h	s. Rd.	guide
1.	14th	Bill Vukovich	Kurti's power	200	3: 53: 01.690	207.19	1: 06.240	195
2.	16	Art Cross	Kurti's power	200	3: 56: 32.560	204.11
3.	3	Sam Hanks	Kurti's power	151	3: 57: 13.190	203.52		3
		Duane Carter		49
4th	59	Fred Agabashian	Kurti's power	104	3: 57: 40.930	203.11		1
		Paul Russo		96
5.	3	Jack McGrath	Kurti's power	200	4: 00: 51,330	200.46
6th	48	Jimmy Daywalt	Kurti's power	200	4: 01: 11,400	200.18
7th	2	Richard Rathmann	Kurti's power	112	4: 01: 47.710	199.66		1
		Eddie Johnson		88
8th.	12	Ernie McCoy	Chapman	200	4: 03: 06,240	198.60
9.	98	Tony Bettenhausen	Kuzma	115	handing over
		Chuck Stevenson		44	handing over
		Gene Hartley		37
10.	53	Jim Davies	Kurti's power	193
11.	26th	Duke Nalon	Kurti's power	191	accident
12.	73	Carl Scarborough	Kurti's power	69	handing over
		Bob Scott		121	handing over
13.	88	Manuel Ayulo	Kuzma	184	engine
14th	8th	Jimmy Bryan	Schroeder	183
15th	49	Bill Holland	Kurti's power	141	handing over
		Richard Rathmann		36
16.	92	Rodger Ward	Kurti's power	138	handing over
		Andy Linden		29	handing over
		Duke Dinsmore		10
17th	23	Walt Faulkner	Kurti's power	134	handing over
		Johnny Mantz		42
18th	22nd	Marshall Teague	Kurti's power	169	Oil pipe
19th	62	Travis Webb	Kurti's power	142	handing over
		Johnny Thomson		45	handing over
		Jackie Holmes		9	Oil pipe
20th	51	Bob Sweikert	Kuzma	151	Power transmission
21st	83	Mike Nazaruk	Gymnast	146	Power transmission
22nd	77	Pat Flaherty	Kurti's power	115	accident
23.	55	Jerry Hoyt	Kurti's power	96	handing over
		Andy Linden		12	Overheating
24.	4th	Duane Carter	Lesovsky	94	engine
25th	7th	Paul Russo	Kurti's power	89	ignition
26th	21st	Johnnie Parsons	Kurti's power	86	engine
27.	38	Don Freeland	Watson	76	accident
28.	41	Gene Hartley	Kurti's power	53	accident
29	97	Chuck Stevenson	Kuzma	42	Fuel system
30th	99	Cal Niday	Kurti's power	30th	ignition
31.	29	Bob Scott	Bromme	14th	Oil pipe
32.	56	Johnny Thomson	Del Roy	6th	engine
33.	32	Andy Linden	Ansted	3	accident

World Cup stand after the race

In 1953, points were awarded according to the following scheme:

1st place	place 2	place 3	4th place	5th place	Fastest lap
8th	6th	4th	3	2	1

• Only the four best results from nine races counted. Deleted results are shown in brackets.
• The numbers marked with * include the point for the fastest lap.
• Fields marked in the same color indicate shared vehicles.

Item	driver	constructor										Points
1.	Alberto Ascari	Ferrari	9 *									9
	Bill Vukovich	Kurti's power		9 *								9
3.	Luigi Villoresi	Ferrari	6th									6th
	Art Cross	Kurti's power		6th								6th
5.	José Froilán González	Maserati	4th									4th
6th	Mike Hawthorn	Ferrari	3									3
7th	Oscar Gálvez	Maserati	2									2
	Sam Hanks	Kurti's power		2								2
	Duane Carter	Kurti's power		2								2
	Jack McGrath	Kurti's power		2								2
11.	Fred Agabashian	Kurti's power		1.5								1.5
	Paul Russo	Kurti's power		1.5								1.5

Web links

Commons : Indianapolis 500 1953  - Collection of Images, Videos, and Audio Files

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Unless otherwise stated, based on: Mike Lang: Grand Prix! Volume 1: 1950-1965. Haynes Publishing Group, Sparkford Sommerset 1981, ISBN 0-85429-276-4 , pp. 55 f. (English).