Indianapolis 500 1954

 Indianapolis 500 1954

Racing data
2nd of 9 races in the 1954 World Automobile Championship
Surname:	XXXVIIIth Indianapolis Motor Sweepstakes
Date:	May 31, 1954
Place:	Indianapolis
Course:	Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Length:	804.6 km in 200 laps of 4.023 km
Weather:	very hot
Pole position
Driver:	Jack McGrath	Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser
Time:	min
Fastest lap
Driver:	Jack McGrath	Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser
Time:	1: 04.04 min (lap 29)
Podium
First:	Bill Vukovich	Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser
Second:	Jimmy Bryan	Kuzma-Offenhauser
Third:	Jack McGrath	Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser

The 38th Indianapolis 500 took place on May 31, 1954 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway . It was the second of nine races in the 1954 World Cup .

background

Kurtis Kraft KK500; Bill Vukovich's winning car

The 500 miles from Indianapolis were included in the Formula 1 drivers' championship between 1950 and 1960. However, the race was never linked to the European racing series and was held in a completely different mode. It was probably never intended to bring about such an integration, because overlapping training and race dates made it practically impossible for a driver to start in all races for the drivers' world championship and in Indianapolis.

training

The best starting places in Indianapolis are awarded according to an unusual mode. The fastest driver on the first day is on pole position , regardless of whether drivers achieve faster lap times on further training days. Since there are very good overtaking opportunities in Indianapolis, the disadvantage of a rear starting position is not that serious. In training in 1954, the fastest driver on the first day was also the fastest overall and so Jack McGrath took pole position. In the four qualifying laps he was over two seconds faster than the next fastest, Cal Niday , who was only allowed to start in the fifth row. Next to McGrath in the front row were Jimmy Daywalt (3rd time) and Jimmy Bryan (4th time).

run

It was very hot on race day. As a result, numerous drivers were relieved. The best start was McGrath, who used his pole position to take the lead, followed by Bryan and Thomson and Carter . Vukovich was in sixth place. As a result, McGrath managed to extend his lead, which he held until his first pit stop after 43 laps. In the following 17 laps, Daywalt and Cross fought for the lead. In the first yellow phase, triggered by a spin from Ruttman , both drove into the pit and let Bryan take the lead until he stopped on lap 87. Up to this point, only two drivers had retired, Parsons and Homeier . After that, last year's winner Bill Vukovich was ahead and extended his lead to almost one lap. The first serious incident occurred on lap 111 when Daywalt drove into the boundary wall at turn 3. Pat Flaherty , who was driving Rathmann's car, also got off the track while trying to avoid him and had to give up. Both remained unharmed. Leading Vukovich pitted for the last time on lap 128. In order to save time and probably because another vehicle was already parked in his box, he only had the right (outer) wheels changed. Still, he had to wait until Bryan's last stop on lap 140 to take the lead again. Vukovich, who now had to be very careful with his tires, lost some of his lead, but still took his second Indianapolis victory in a row.

Registration list

team	No.	driver	chassis	engine	tires
Ed Walsh	1	Sam Hanks	Kurtis Kraft KK 4000	Offenhauser 4.5 L4	F.
		Richard Rathmann
		Jim Davies
	38	Pat Flaherty	Kurtis Kraft KK 500C
		Bill Holland
		Richard Rathmann
	45	Art Cross	Kurtis Kraft KK 4000
		Johnnie Parsons
		Andy Linden
		Jim Davies
		Sam Hanks
Jack Hinkle	2	Jack McGrath	Kurtis Kraft KK 500C	Offenhauser 4.5 L4	F.
Hart Fullerton	3	Marshall Teague	Kurtis Kraft KK 4000	Offenhauser 4.5 L4	F.
William Ansted	5	Paul Russo	Kurtis Kraft KK 500A	Offenhauser 4.5 L4	F.
		Jerry Hoyt
Bessie Paoli	6th	Art Cross	Kurtis Kraft KK 4000	Offenhauser 4.5 L4	F.
Bob Estes	7th	Don Freeland	Watson CC-53	Offenhauser 4.5 L4	F.
Lewis Welch	8th	Duke Nalon	Kurtis Force No. 4th	Novi	F.
Dean Van Lines Racing	9	Jimmy Bryan	Kuzma	Offenhauser 4.5 L4	F.
Mel Wiggers	10	Tony Bettenhausen	Kurtis Kraft KK 500C	Offenhauser 4.5 L4	F.
Dr. RN Sabourin	12	Rodger Ward	Pawl	Offenhauser 4.5 L4	F.
		Eddie Johnson
Howard Keck	14th	Bill Vukovich	Kurtis Kraft KK 500	Offenhauser 4.5 L4	F.
Sandy Belond	15th	Johnnie Parsons	Kurtis Kraft KK 500B	Offenhauser 4.5 L4	F.
Eugene Cassaroll	16	Duane Carter	Kurtis Kraft KK 4000	Offenhauser 4.5 L4	F.
		Jimmy Jackson
		Tony Bettenhausen
		Marshall Teague
	34	Troy Ruttman	Kurtis Kraft KK 500A	Offenhauser 4.5 L4	F.
		Duane Carter
Francis Bardazon	17th	Bob Sweikert	Kurtis Kraft KK 4000	Offenhauser 4.5 L4	F.
Ray T. Brady	18th	Bob Scott	Kurtis Kraft KK 4000	Offenhauser 4.5 L4	F.
	33	George Fonder	Schroeder
		Len Duncan
Chapman S. Root	19th	Jimmy Daywalt	Kurtis Kraft KK 500C	Offenhauser 4.5 L4	F.
	23	Jerry Hoyt	Kurtis Kraft KK 3000
Ernie Ruiz	21st	Bob Scott	Kurtis Kraft KK 500B	Offenhauser 4.5 L4	F.
Tom Sarafoff	22nd	Cliff Griffith	Kurtis Kraft KK 2000	Offenhauser 4.5 L4	F.
		George Tichenor
Jim Robbins	24	Cal Niday	Ansted special	Offenhauser 4.5 L4	F.
Emmett Malloy	25th	Jimmy Reece	Pan scratch	Offenhauser 4.5 L4	F.
Lindsey Hopkins	26th	Henry Banks	Lesovsky	Offenhauser 4.5 L4	F.
	35	Pat O'Connor	Kurtis Kraft KK 500C
HA Chapman	27	Ed Elisian	Chapman special	Offenhauser 4.5 L4	F.
		Bob Scott
	43	Johnny Thomson	Nichels
		Jimmy Daywalt
		Andy Linden
Federal Auto Associates	28	Larry Crockett	Kurtis Kraft KK 3000	Offenhauser 4.5 L4	F.
	37	Eddie Russo	Kurtis Kraft KK 4000
John Zink	31	Gene Hartley	Kurtis Kraft KK 4000	Offenhauser 4.5 L4	F.
		Marshall Teague
Ray Crawford	32	Ernie McCoy	Kurtis Kraft KK 500B	Offenhauser 4.5 L4	F.
Ed Stone	36	George Fonder	Kurtis Kraft KK 3000	Offenhauser 4.5 L4	F.
		Al Herman
Shouse Motors	39	Pat Flaherty	Kurtis Kraft KK 500A	Chrysler	F.
McDowell	41	Frank Mundy	Schroeder	Offenhauser 4.5 L4	F.
Peter Schmidt	44	Walt Faulkner	Kuzma	Offenhauser 4.5 L4	F.
	88	Manuel Ayulo
Marian A. Chinetti	47	Danny Oakes	Ferrari 375	Ferrari 2.5 L4	F.
John C. Balch	49	Danny Oakes	Kurtis Kraft KK 4000	Offenhauser 4.5 L4	F.
Cars Inc.	51	Bill Homeier	Kurtis Kraft KK 500C	Offenhauser 4.5 L4	F.
Offenhauser parks	52	Chuck Weyant	Silnes	Offenhauser 4.5 L4	F.
Pat Clancy	53	Jim Davies	Kurtis Kraft KK 500B	Offenhauser 4.5 L4	F.
Milt Marton	54	Eddie Sachs	Kurtis Kraft KK 2000	Offenhauser 4.5 L4	F.
Andy Granatelli	59	Richard Rathmann	Kurtis Kraft KK 500B	Offenhauser 4.5 L4	F.
Commercial Motor Freight	62	Duke Dinsmore	Ewing	Offenhauser 4.5 L4	F.
Advance Muffler	65	Travis Webb	Bromme	Offenhauser 4.5 L4	F.
		Danny Kladis
Christie	66	Bob Christie	Lesovsky	Offenhauser 4.5 L4	F.
DA Lubricants Racing	67	Duke Dinsmore	Moors	Offenhauser 4.5 L4	F.
		Paul Goacher
Pete Wales	68	Ed Elisian	Kurtis Kraft KK 4000	Offenhauser 4.5 L4	F.
Hoosier Racing Team	69	Johnnie Tolan	Kurtis Kraft KK 500A	Offenhauser 4.5 L4	F.
W. Thayer Martin	71	Frank Armi	Silnes	Offenhauser 4.5 L4	F.
		George Fonder
Lee Elkins	73	Mike Nazaruk	Kurtis Kraft KK 500C	Offenhauser 4.5 L4	F.
	83	Eddie Johnson	Gymnast
Verlin Brown	74	Bob Scott	Schroeder	Offenhauser 4.5 L4	F.
		Andy Linden
Miklos sparrow	77	Fred Agabashian	Kurtis Kraft KK 500C	Offenhauser 4.5 L4	F.
Harry Dunn	89	Pat Flaherty	Kurtis Kraft KK 500B	Offenhauser 4.5 L4	F.
Roy McKay	93	Billy DeVore	Kurtis Kraft KK 3000	Offenhauser 4.5 L4	F.
Belanger Motors	97	Walt Faulkner	Lesovsky	Offenhauser 4.5 L4	F.
JC Agajanian	98	Chuck Stevenson	Kuzma	Offenhauser 4.5 L4	F.
		Walt Faulkner
Murrell Belanger	99	Jerry Hoyt	Kurtis Force No. 327	Offenhauser 4.5 L4	F.
		Lee Wallard

Starting grid

Item	Start no.	driver	constructor	Time (4 rounds)	km / h	Starting row
1	2	Jack McGrath	Kurti's power	4: 15.260	226.97	1L
2	19th	Jimmy Daywalt	Kurti's power	4: 17.530	224.97	1M
3	9	Jimmy Bryan	Kuzma	4: 17.760	224.77	1R
4th	43	Johnny Thomson	Nichels	4: 19.390	223.36	2L
5	98	Chuck Stevenson	Kuzma	4: 19.410	223.34	2M
6th	7th	Don Freeland	Watson	4: 20.230	222.64	2R
7th	25th	Jimmy Reece	Pan scratch	4: 20.280	222.59	3L
8th	16	Duane Carter	Kurti's power	4: 20.420	222.48	3M
9	17th	Bob Sweikert	Kurti's power	4: 20.480	222.42	3R
10	1	Sam Hanks	Kurti's power	4: 20.880	222.08	4L
11	34	Troy Ruttman	Kurti's power	4: 21.370	221.67	4M
12	35	Pat O'Connor	Kurti's power	4: 20.710	222.23	4R
13	24	Cal Niday	Ansted	4: 17.460	225.03	5L
14th	73	Mike Nazaruk	Kurti's power	4: 17,900	224.65	5 M
15th	15th	Johnnie Parsons	Kurti's power	4: 17.920	224.63	5R
16	12	Rodger Ward	Pawl	4: 18.440	224.18	6L
17th	31	Gene Hartley	Kurti's power	4: 18.880	223.80	6M
18th	51	Bill Homeier	Kurti's power	4: 19.090	223.62	6R
19th	14th	Bill Vukovich	Kurti's power	4: 19.970	222.86	7L
20th	32	Ernie McCoy	Kurti's power	4: 20.080	222.77	7M
21st	10	Tony Bettenhausen	Kurti's power	4: 20.350	222.53	7R
22nd	88	Manuel Ayulo	Kuzma	4: 20.560	222.36	8L
23	74	Andy Linden	Schroeder	4: 21.210	221.80	8M
24	77	Fred Agabashian	Kurti's power	4: 21.350	221.68	8R
25th	28	Larry Crockett	Kurti's power	4: 17.960	224.60	9L
26th	33	Len Duncan	Schroeder	4: 18.590	224.05	9M
27	45	Art Cross	Kurti's power	4: 19.600	223.18	9R
28	38	Richard Rathmann	Kurti's power	4: 20.440	222.46	10L
29	65	Travis Webb	Bromme	4: 20.910	222.06	10M
30th	99	Jerry Hoyt	Kurti's power	4: 21,200	221.81	10R
31	27	Ed Elisian	Chapman	4: 21.260	221.76	11L
32	5	Paul Russo	Kurti's power	4: 21.480	221.57	11M
33	71	Frank Armi	Silnes	4: 21.490	221.56	11R
DNQ	3	Marshall Teague	Kurti's power
DNQ	6th	Art Cross	Kurti's power
DNQ	8th	Duke Nalon	Kurti's power
DNQ	18th	Bob Scott	Kurti's power
DNQ	21st	Bob Scott	Kurti's power
DNQ	22nd	Cliff Griffith	Kurti's power
DNQ	22nd	George Tichenor	Kurti's power
DNQ	23	Jerry Hoyt	Kurti's power
DNQ	26th	Henry Banks	Lesovsky
DNQ	36	George Fonder	Kurti's power
DNQ	36	Al Herman	Kurti's power
DNQ	37	Eddie Russo	Kurti's power
DNQ	39	Pat Flaherty	Kurti's power
DNQ	41	Frank Mundy	Schroeder
DNQ	44	Walt Faulkner	Kuzma
DNQ	47	Danny Oakes	Ferrari
DNQ	49	Danny Oakes	Kurti's power
DNQ	52	Chuck Weyant	Silnes
DNQ	53	Jim Davies	Kurti's power
DNQ	54	Eddie Sachs	Kurti's power
DNQ	59	Richard Rathmann	Kurti's power
DNQ	62	Duke Dinsmore	Ewing
DNQ	66	Bob Christie	Lesovsky
DNQ	67	Duke Dinsmore	Moors
DNQ	67	Paul Goacher	Moors
DNQ	68	Ed Elisian	Kurti's power
DNQ	69	Johnnie Tolan	Kurti's power
DNQ	83	Eddie Johnson	Gymnast
DNQ	89	Pat Flaherty	Kurti's power
DNQ	93	Billy DeVore	Kurti's power
DNQ	97	Walt Faulkner	Lesovsky

run

Item	driver	constructor	Round	time	km / h	Residue	failure	Fastest lap
1.	Bill Vukovich	Kurti's power	200	3: 49: 17.270	210.57
2.	Jimmy Bryan	Kuzma	200	3: 50: 27.220	209.50	+1: 09.95 min
3.	Jack McGrath	Kurti's power	200	3: 50: 37,000	209.36	+1: 19.73 min		1: 04.040
4th	Troy Ruttman	Kurti's power	131	3: 52: 09.950	207.96	+2: 52.68 min	Handover to Carter for Rd. 101–170
	Duane Carter		69				drove Ruttman's car; Rd. 101-170
5.	Mike Nazaruk	Kurti's power	200	3: 52: 41.820	207.48	+3: 24.55 min
6th	Fred Agabashian	Kurti's power	200	3: 53: 04.820	207.14	+3: 47.55 min
7th	Don Freeland	Watson	200	3: 53: 30.620	206.76	+4: 13.35 min
8th.	Paul Russo	Kurti's power	150	3: 54: 18.440	206.05	+5: 01.17 min	Handover to Hoyt
	Jerry Hoyt		50				drove Russo's car; Rd. 151-200
9.	Larry Crockett	Kurti's power	200	3: 56: 24.510	204.23	+6: 07.24 min
10.	Cal Niday	Ansted	200	3: 56: 24.960	204.22	+6: 07.24 min
11.	Art Cross	Kurti's power	120	3: 57: 39.460	203.15	+7: 22.19 min	Handover to Parsons
	Johnnie Parsons		22nd				drove Cross' car; Rd. 121–142
	Sam Hanks		11				drove Cross' car; Rd. 143–153
	Andy Linden		17th				drove Cross' car; Rd. 154-170
	Jim Davies		30th				drove Cross' car; Rd. 171–200
12.	Chuck Stevenson	Kuzma	83				Handover to Faulkner; Rd. 1-55; 95-122
	Walt Faulkner		116				drove Stevenson's car; Rd. 56-94; 123-199
13.	Manuel Ayulo	Kuzma	197
14th	Bob Sweikert	Kurti's power	197
15th	Duane Carter	Kurti's power	76				Handover to Teague
	Marshall Teague		29				drove Carter's car; Rd. 77-105
	Jimmy Jackson		57				drove Carter's car; Rd. 106-120; 155-196
	Tony Bettenhausen		34				drove Carter's car; Rd. 121–154
16.	Ernie McCoy	Kurti's power	194
17th	Jimmy Reece	Pan scratch	194
18th	Ed Elisian	Chapman	148				Delivery to Scott
	Bob Scott		45				drove Elisian's car; Rd. 149–193
19th	Frank Armi	Silnes	169				Handover to Fonder
	George Fonder		24				drove Armi's car; Rd. 141-164
20th	Sam Hanks	Kurti's power	112				Delivery to Davies
	Jim Davies		36				drove Hanks car; Rd. 113–148
	Richard Rathmann		43				drove Hanks car; Rd. 149-191; accident
21st	Pat O'Connor	Kurti's power	181				accident
22nd	Rodger Ward	Pawl	105				Handed over to Johnson; Rd. 94-160; engine
	Eddie Johnson		67				drove Ward's car; Rd. 94-160
23.	Gene Hartley	Kurti's power	151				Handover to Teague
	Marshall Teague		17th				drove Hartley's car; Rd. 152-168; engine
24.	Johnny Thomson	Nichels	113				Handover to Linden
	Andy Linden		27				drove Thomson's car; Rd. 114-140
	Bill Homeier		25th				drove Thomson's car; Rd. 141-165; steering
25th	Andy Linden	Schroeder	86				Delivery to Scott; Rd. 87-138; suspension
	Bob Scott		52				drove Linden's car; Rd. 87-138
26th	Jerry Hoyt	Kurti's power	130				engine
27.	Jimmy Daywalt	Kurti's power	111				accident
28.	Richard Rathmann	Kurti's power	95				Handover to Flaherty
	Pat Flaherty		15th				drove Rathmann's car; Rd. 96-110; accident
29	Tony Bettenhausen	Kurti's power	105				Wheel bearings
30th	Travis Webb	Bromme	54				Handover to Kladis
	Danny Kladis		50				drove Webb's car; Rd. 55-104; Oil leak
31.	Len Duncan	Schroeder	43				Handover to Fonder
	George Fonder		58				drove Duncan's car; Rd. 44-101; engine
32.	Johnnie Parsons	Kurti's power	79				engine
33.	Bill Homeier	Kurti's power	74				accident

World Cup stand after the race

In 1954, 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 five 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.	Juan Manuel Fangio	Maserati	8th									8th
	Bill Vukovich	Kurti's power		8th								8th
3.	Giuseppe Farina	Ferrari	6th									6th
	Jimmy Bryan	Kuzma		6th								6th
5.	José Froilán González	Ferrari	5 *									5
	Jack McGrath	Kurti's power		5 *								5
7th	Maurice Trintignant	Ferrari	3									3
8th.	Elie Bayol	Gordini	2									2
	Mike Nazaruk	Kurti's power		2								2
10.	Troy Ruttman	Kurti's power		1.5								1.5
	Duane Carter	Kurti's power		1.5								1.5

Web links

Commons : Indianapolis 500 1954  - Collection of Images, Videos, and Audio Files

• Parts of the race as video

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. 70 f. (English).