Indianapolis 500 1955

 Indianapolis 500 1955

Racing data
3rd of 7 races of the 1955 World Automobile Championship
Surname:	39th International 500-Mile Sweepstakes
Date:	May 30, 1955
Place:	Indianapolis , USA
Course:	Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Length:	805 km in 200 laps of 4.025 km
Weather:	sunny, dry
Spectator:	~ 107,000
Pole position
Driver:	Jerry Hoyt	Stevens-Offenhauser
Time:	1: 04.29 min
Fastest lap
Driver:	Bill Vukovich	Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser
Time:	1: 03.67 min
Podium
First:	Bob Sweikert	Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser
Second:	Tony Bettenhausen	Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser
Third:	Jimmy Davies	Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser

The Indianapolis 500 1955 took place on May 30, 1955 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway near Indianapolis and was the third race of the 1955 World Automobile Championship and the first race of the 1955 AAA season .

Reports

background

The Indianapolis 500 was part of the Formula 1 World Championship in 1955, but the European teams did not take part and saw the race as a strike result. The field of drivers consisted of US drivers and teams who did not participate in any other Formula 1 races of the 1955 season. With Bill Vukovich , the winner of the Indianapolis 500 took part in 1953 and 1954. Its designer Kurtis Kraft provided a large part of the cars in the race and dominated the weekend. The field of drivers was limited to 33 cars, 35 Americans took part in the race.

training

The pole position was determined in four time trial competitions, with the first time trial deciding on the pole position. The first time trial on May 14th was characterized by a lot of rain and strong winds, which caused the drivers and teams to stay in the pits. It was decided to determine the pole in the second time trial a day later, but Jerry Hoyt did not stick to the agreement and unexpectedly drove out onto the track and secured first place on the grid. It was the only pole position of his career and the only one for his designer Stevens . Even Tony Bettenhausen went to the track and qualified in second position. No other drivers took part. On May 15, all other drivers took the remaining positions on the grid under dry conditions. The time trial was overshadowed by a serious accident involving Manny Ayulo , in which he lost control of the car and crashed into a boundary wall without a seat belt. One day later he succumbed to his serious injuries and was the first driver to be killed in an accident at the 1955 World Cup .

run

At the flying start to the Indianapolis 500 race in 1955, Jack McGrath took the lead and extended his lead to a few seconds. Bill Vukovich was fourth behind Johnnie Parsons and Jerry Hoyt on lap one . Vukovich overtook Hoyt and Parsons on the second lap and was behind the leader McGrath, whose car had smoke rising from the engine. After another lap it became clear that McGrath had technical difficulties, Vukovich came closer and attacked the leader. On lap three Vukovich overtook McGrath, but gave up the lead a few laps later. This was followed by an exciting battle for the lead, which Vukovich won because McGrath fell behind due to electrical problems. After 50 laps, a quarter of the race distance, McGrath pitted to repair his own car. However, this did not succeed and McGrath was eliminated from the race.

Vukovich extended his lead over the competition in the following laps and dominated the race. As he began to lap the first cars, a crash occurred in front of him with Rodger Ward , Johnny Boyd and Al Keller . The drivers involved tried to make the following vehicles aware of the accident, but Vukovich could no longer evade and collided with Boyd's car. Both cars overturned, Boyd was trapped under his car, Vukovich was catapulted over the barrier. The leader of the race died at the scene of the accident and the audience was informed of Vukovich's death by announcement. Boyd was freed from his car by other drivers and track personnel and survived the serious accident unharmed. After the race was reopened, Jimmy Bryan led Bob Sweikert . Byran's car began to smoke similarly to McGrath's. A few laps later he lost the lead to Sweikert and had to give up the race.

Another serious accident occurred on lap 170 in which Cal Niday lost control of his kurtis power and crashed violently into a concrete wall and rolled over several times. Niday sustained minor injuries from this accident.

In the final laps of the race, Sweikert was in front of Jimmy Davies and Paul Russo , who took over the car from Bettenhausen on lap 123. Sweikert had little gasoline left in his car and had to drive the last few laps to save fuel. His lead over Davies and Russo narrowed with each lap, but the two battled each other so Sweikert was able to save a small lead over the finish line and win the race. Russo passed Davies and secured second place. With Davies in third place, the podium was filled with Kurtis power cars, while Johnny Thomson crossed the finish line in fourth place in the Kuzma .

The victory, the podium and the points were the only ones for Sweikert in his Formula 1 career. In the AAA, this was the start of a successful season for him, which he finished as champion. In the AAA he took over the leadership of the drivers' championship, in Formula 1 he was in 3rd position with victory. For his designer Kurtis Kraft it was the fifth and last Formula 1 victory.

Registration list

team	No.	driver	chassis	engine	tires
AE Dean	01	Jimmy Bryan	Kuzma	Offenhauser 4.5 L4	F.
Jack B Hinkle	03	Jack McGrath	Kurtis Kraft 500C	Offenhauser 4.5 L4	F.
Lindsey Hopkins	04th	Bill Vukovich	Kurtis Kraft 500C	Offenhauser 4.5 L4	F.
Emmett J Malloy	05	Jimmy Reece	Pan scratch	Offenhauser 4.5 L4	F.
John Zink	06th	Bob Sweikert	Kurtis Kraft 500C	Offenhauser 4.5 L4	F.
Cars Inc	08th	Sam Hanks	Kurtis Kraft 500C	Offenhauser 4.5 L4	F.
HA Chapman	10	Tony Bettenhausen	Kurtis Kraft 500C	Offenhauser 4.5 L4	F.
		Paul Russo
Bob Estes	12	Don Freeland	Phillips	Offenhauser 4.5 L4	F.
Federal Autos Associates	14th	Fred Agabashian	Kurtis Kraft 500C	Offenhauser 4.5 L4	F.
	41	Chuck Weyant	Kurtis Kraft KK 3000
Pat Clancy	15th	Jimmy Davies	Kurtis Kraft 500B	Offenhauser 4.5 L4	F.
Carl L Anderson	16	Johnnie Parsons	Kurtis Kraft 500C	Offenhauser 4.5 L4	F.
Joseph Massaglia Jr.	19th	Andy Linden	Kurtis Kraft KK 4000	Offenhauser 4.5 L4	F.
Racing Associates	22nd	Cal Niday	Kurtis Kraft 500B	Offenhauser 4.5 L4	F.
Jim Robbins	23	Jerry Hoyt	Stevens	Offenhauser 4.5 L4	F.
ER Casale	27	Rodger Ward	Kuzma	Offenhauser 4.5 L4	F.
Rotari Engineering Corp.	29	Pat O'Connor	Kurtis Kraft 500D	Offenhauser 4.5 L4	F.
John L McDaniel	31	Keith Andrews	Schroeder	Offenhauser 4.5 L4	F.
South California Muffler Co	33	Jim Rathmann	Epperly	Offenhauser 4.5 L4	F.
RN Sabourin	37	Eddie Russo	Pawl	Offenhauser 4.5 L4	F.
Chapman S. Root	39	Johnny Boyd	Kurtis Kraft 500D	Offenhauser 4.5 L4	F.
	48	Jimmy Daywalt	Kurti's power
Samual W Traylor III	42	Al basement	Kurtis Kraft KK 2000	Offenhauser 4.5 L4	F.
Peter Schmidt	44	Johnny Thomson	Kuzma	Offenhauser 4.5 L4	F.
Ray Crawford	49	Raymond Crawford	Kurtis Kraft 500B	Offenhauser 4.5 L4	F.
M Pete Wales	68	Ed Elisian	Kurtis Kraft KK 4000	Offenhauser 4.5 L4	F.
TW & WT Martin	71	Al Herman	Kurti's power	Offenhauser 4.5 L4	F.
Merz Engineering Inc.	77	Walt Faulkner	Kurtis Kraft 500C	Offenhauser 4.5 L4	F.
		Bill Homeier
Pete Salemi	81	Shorty Templeman	Trevis	Offenhauser 4.5 L4	F.
Kalamazoo Sports Inc.	83	Eddie Johnson	Trevis	Offenhauser 4.5 L4	F.
Harry Dunn	89	Pat Flaherty	Kurtis Kraft 500B	Offenhauser 4.5 L4	F.
JC Agajanian	98	Duane Carter	Kuzma	Offenhauser 4.5 L4	F.
Murrell Belanger	99	Art Cross	Kurtis Kraft 500C	Offenhauser 4.5 L4	F.

Remarks

1. ↑ Tony Bettenhausen drove the car 123 laps, Paul Russo 77 laps.
2. ↑ Walt Faulkner drove the car 176 laps, Bill Homeier 24 laps.

Classifications

Starting grid

Item	driver	constructor	time	Ø speed	begin
01	Jerry Hoyt	Stevens	1: 04.27	225.46 km / h	01
02	Tony Bettenhausen	Kurti's power	1: 04.29	225.38 km / h	02
03	Jack McGrath	Kurti's power	1: 03.12	229.56 km / h	03
04th	Fred Agabashian	Kurti's power	1: 03.41	228.51 km / h	04th
05	Bill Vukovich	Kurti's power	1: 03.80	227.12 km / h	05
06th	Sam Hanks	Kurti's power	1: 04.20	225.70 km / h	06th
07th	Walt Faulkner	Kurti's power	1: 04.40	225.00 km / h	07th
08th	Andy Linden	Kurti's power	1: 04.70	223.96 km / h	08th
09	Cal Niday	Kurti's power	1: 04.15	225.88 km / h	09
10	Jimmy Davies	Kurti's power	1: 04.16	225.84 km / h	10
11	Jimmy Bryan	Kuzma	1: 04.32	225.28 km / h	11
12	Pat Flaherty	Kurti's power	1: 04.22	225.63 km / h	12
13	Eddie Russo	Pawl	1: 04.23	225.60 km / h	13
14th	Bob Sweikert	Kurti's power	1: 04.29	225.38 km / h	14th
15th	Jimmy Reece	Pan scratch	1: 04.29	225.38 km / h	15th
16	Al Herman	Kurti's power	1: 04.37	225.10 km / h	16
17th	Jimmy Daywalt	Kurti's power	1: 04.56	224.44 km / h	17th
18th	Duane Carter	Kuzma	1: 04.60	224.30 km / h	18th
19th	Pat O'Conner	Kurti's power	1: 04.66	224.10 km / h	19th
20th	Jim Rathmann	Epperly	1: 04.89	223.30 km / h	20th
21st	Don Freeland	Phillips	1: 04.35	225.17 km / h	21st
22nd	Al basement	Kurti's power	1: 04.49	224.69 km / h	22nd
23	Raymond Crawford	Kurti's power	1: 04.65	224.13 km / h	23
24	Art Cross	Kurti's power	1: 04.87	223.37 km / h	24
25th	Chuck Weyant	Kurti's power	1: 05.19	222.27 km / h	25th
26th	Johnny Boyd	Kurti's power	1: 05.70	220.55 km / h	26th
27	Johnnie Parsons	Kurti's power	1: 05.79	220.25 km / h	27
28	Keith Andrews	Schroeder	1: 06.15	219.05 km / h	28
29	Ed Elisian	Kurti's power	1: 06.50	217.89 km / h	29
30th	Rodger Ward	Kuzma	1: 06.64	217.44 km / h	30th
31	Shorty Templeman	Trevis	1: 06.66	217.37 km / h	31
32	Eddie Johnson	Trevis	1: 06.94	216.46 km / h	32
33	Johnny Thomson	Kuzma	1: 07.11	215.91 km / h	33

run

Item	driver	constructor	Round	Stops	time	begin	Fastest lap	Failure reason
01	Bob Sweikert	Kurti's power	200		3: 53: 59.53	14th
02	Tony Bettenhausen Paul Russo	Kurti's power	200		+ 2: 43.56	02
03	Jimmy Davies	Kurti's power	200		+ 3: 32.36	10
04th	Johnny Thomson	Kuzma	200		+ 3: 38.91	33
05	Walt Faulkner Bill Homeier	Kurti's power	200		+ 5: 17.17	07th
06th	Andy Linden	Kurti's power	200		+ 5: 57.94	08th
07th	Al Herman	Kurti's power	200		+ 6: 24.24	16
08th	Pat O'Conner	Kurti's power	200		+ 6: 41.60	19th
09	Jimmy Daywalt	Kurti's power	200		+ 7: 09.81	17th
10	Pat Flaherty	Kurti's power	200		+ 7: 46.54	12
11	Duane Carter	Kuzma	197		+ 3 rounds	18th
12	Chuck Weyant	Kurti's power	196		+ 4 rounds	25th
13	Eddie Johnson	Trevis	196		+ 4 rounds	32
14th	Jim Rathmann	Epperly	191		+ 9 rounds	20th
-	Don Freeland	Phillips	178		DNF	21st		Power transmission
-	Cal Niday	Kurti's power	170		DNF	09		accident
-	Art Cross	Kurti's power	168		DNF	24		Engine failure
-	Shorty Templeman	Trevis	142		DNF	31		stalled
-	Sam Hanks	Kurti's power	134		DNF	06th		Power transmission
-	Keith Andrews	Schroeder	120		DNF	28		ignition
-	Johnnie Parsons	Kurti's power	119		DNF	27		Magneto
-	Eddie Russo	Pawl	112		DNF	13		ignition
-	Raymond Crawford	Kurti's power	111		DNF	23		Valve
-	Jimmy Bryan	Kuzma	90		DNF	11		Fuel pump
-	Bill Vukovich	Kurti's power	56		DNF	05		deadly accident
-	Al basement	Kurti's power	54		DNF	22nd		accident
-	Jack McGrath	Kurti's power	54		DNF	03		Magneto
-	Ed Elisian	Kurti's power	53		DNF	29		stopped
-	Johnny Boyd	Kurti's power	53		DNF	26th		accident
-	Rodger Ward	Kuzma	53		DNF	30th		accident
-	Jerry Hoyt	Kurti's power	40		DNF	01		Oil leak
-	Fred Agabashian	Kurti's power	39		DNF	04th		Lathe operator
-	Jimmy Reece	Pan scratch	10		DNF	15th		Engine damage / spin

World Cup stand after the race

In 1955, 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 seven 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.	Maurice Trintignant	Ferrari	3.3	8th						11.3
2.	Juan Manuel Fangio	Mercedes	9 *	1*						10
3.	Bob Sweikert	Kurtis power			8th					8th
4th	Giuseppe Farina	Ferrari	3.3	3						6.3
5.	Eugenio Castellotti	Lancia		6th						6th
6th	Jimmy Davies	Kurtis power			4th					4th
7th	Johnny Thomson	Kuzma			3					3
	Tony Bettenhausen	Kurtis power			3					3
	Paul Russo	Kurtis power			3					3
10.	Roberto Mieres	Maserati	2							2
	José Froilán González	Ferrari	2							2
	Jean Behra	Maserati		2						2
	Cesare Perdisa	Maserati		2						2
	Luigi Villoresi	Ferrari Lancia		2						2
15th	Umberto Maglioli	Ferrari	1.3							1.3
16.	Stirling Moss	Mercedes	1							1
	Karl Kling	Mercedes	1							1
	Hans Herrmann	Mercedes	1							1
	Walt Faulkner	Kurtis power			1					1
	Bill Homeier	Kurtis power			1					1
	Bill Vukovich	Kurtis power			1*					1

Web links

Commons : Indianapolis 500 1955  - Collection of Images, Videos, and Audio Files

• Results at motorsportarchiv.de
• Photos at f1-facts.com
• Report "1955 Indianapolis" The Unforgettable 500 "on youtube.com

Individual evidence

1. ↑ "GP Stories - The Races of 1955" (www.motorsport-magazin.com on July 30, 2013)