The 1911 Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, or the International 500-Mile Sweepstakes Race was the first Indianapolis 500 to be held. Part of the 1911 AAA Championship season, the first Indy 500 is also considered to be a Grand Prix race. The race took place on May 30, 1911, and was won by Ray Harroun, who came out of retirement to compete.
Background
Entry list
Practice sessions
Qualifying
Qualifying Process
The cars were to be ordered on the grid by entry date; thus, by entering first, Lewis Strang secured pole position.
However, to ensure a field of competitive cars, each car was required to complete a 0.25 mile (0.40 km) section of the main straight with a minimum speed of 75 mph (121 km/h), or under 12 seconds. Any car failing this was given two additional attempts before being rejected. These sessions were held on May 27 and 28, and the times were not published.
Overall, forty cars were able to qualify, with Louis Edmunds and Rupert Jeffkins failing.
Grid
| Pos | Pos | Pos | Pos | Pos | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Driver | Driver | Driver | Driver | Driver | |
| Row 1 | Pace car | ||||
| 1 | |||||
| Lewis Strang | 2 | ||||
| Ralph DePalma | 3 | ||||
| Harry Endicott | 4 | ||||
| Row 2 | 5 | Johnny Aitken | |||
| Louis Disbrow | 6 | ||||
| Frank Fox | 7 | ||||
| Harry Knight | 8 | ||||
| Joe Jagerberger | 9 | ||||
| Row 3 | 10 | Will Jones | |||
| Gil Andersen | 11 | ||||
| Spencer Wishart | 12 | ||||
| W. H. Turner | 13 | ||||
| Fred Belcher | 14 | ||||
| Row 4 | 15 | Arthur Chevrolet | |||
| Charles Basle | 16 | ||||
| Eddie Hearne | 17 | ||||
| Harry Grant | 18 | ||||
| Charlie Merz | 19 | ||||
| Row 5 | 20 | Howdy Wilcox | |||
| Bert Adams | 21 | ||||
| Fred Ellis | 22 | ||||
| Harry Cobe | 23 | ||||
| Jack Tower | 24 | ||||
| Row 6 | 25 | Ernest Delaney | |||
| David Bruce-Brown | 26 | ||||
| Lee Frayer | 27 | ||||
| Joe Dawson | 28 | ||||
| Ray Harroun | 29 | ||||
| Row 7 | 30 | Ralph Mulford | |||
| Teddy Telzlaff | 31 | ||||
| Herbert Lytle | 32 | ||||
| Hughie Hughes | 33 | ||||
| Charles Bigalow | 34 | ||||
| Row 8 | 35 | Raph Beardsley | |||
| Caleb Bragg | 36 | ||||
| Howard Hall | 37 | ||||
| Bill Endicott | 38 | ||||
| Arthur Greiner | 39 | ||||
| Row 9 | 40 | Bob Burman | |||
| Billy Knipper | |||||
Race
Results
The final results for the 1911 Indianapolis 500 are shown below:
| Pos. | No. | Driver | Constructor | Laps | Time/Retired | Grid |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 32 |  Ray Harroun
|
Marmon-Wasp | 200 | 6:42:08 | 28 |
| 2 | 33 | Ralph Mulford
|
Lozier | 200 | +1:43 | 29 |
| 3 | 28 | David Bruce-Brown
|
Fiat | 200 | +10:21 | 25 |
| 4 | 11 | Spencer Wishart
|
Mercedes | 200 | +10:49 | 11 |
| 5 | 31 | Joe Dawson
|
Marmon | 200 | +12:26 | 27 |
| 6 | 2 |  Ralph DePalma
|
Simplex | 200 | +19:54 | 2 |
| 7 | 20 | Charlie Merz
|
National | 200 | +24:12 | 18 |
| 8 | 12 | W. H. Turner
|
Amplex | 200 | +33:48 | 12 |
Milestones
- First Indianapolis 500
- Final race for Ray Harroun
Notes
- ↑ Grid decided by entry date
External links
| V T E | Indianapolis 500
|
|
|---|---|---|
| Circuit | Indianapolis Motor Speedway |  |
| Races | 1911 • 1912 • 1913 • 1914 • 1915 • 1916 • 1919 • 1920 • 1921 • 1922 • 1923 • 1924 • 1925 • 1926 • 1927 • 1928 • 1929 • 1930 • 1931–1949 • 1950 • 1951 • 1952 • 1953 • 1954 • 1955 • 1956 • 1957 • 1958 • 1959 • 1960 • 1961–2019 | |
| See also | United States Grand Prix • United States Grand Prix West • Indianapolis 500 • Detroit Grand Prix • Caesars Palace Grand Prix • Dallas Grand Prix • Questor Grand Prix • Miami Grand Prix |
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