The 1950 Indianapolis 500 was the third race of the inaugural Formula One World Championship in 1950. The race was held on May 30, 1950 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Originally scheduled for 200 laps (500 mi), it was shortened to 138 laps (345 mi) due to rain. The race, which featured an all-American field, was won by Johnnie Parsons, his first and only Formula One World Championship race win.
Contents
Background[edit | edit source]
Entry List[edit | edit source]
Qualifying[edit | edit source]
Qualifying for the 1950 Indianapolis 500 was held over four laps (10 miles) and over four days. Drivers achieved their grid positions based on the day on which the time was posted, then by order of fastest time. If a driver did not go out on the first day, their first run on their first day was considered. As a result, positions 1-11 were decided on the first run, 12-15 on the second, 16-21 on the third and 22-32 on the fourth. The final, 33rd position was decided by a "bumping" procedure: Once a 33rd driver has qualified, non-qualifiers could aim to "bump" the slowest driver in the field by beating their time. At the end of the final day, the driver in 33rd would qualify for the race, but would start at the back despite the possibility that they may have a better time than drivers ahead of them.
Result[edit | edit source]
| Pos | No. | Driver | Constructor | Time | Gap | % | Avg Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 98 | Walt Faulkner | Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser | 4:27.97 | 100% | 134.34 | |
| 2 | 28 | Fred Agabashian | Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser | 4:31.10 | +3.13 | 101.2% | 132.79 |
| 3 | 31 | Mauri Rose | Deidt-Offenhauser | 4:32.07 | +4.10 | 101.5% | 132.32 |
| 4 | 5 | George Connor | Lesovsky-Offenhauser | 4:32.39 | +4.42 | 101.6% | 132.16 |
| 5 | 1 | Johnnie Parsons | Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser | 4:32.43 | +4.46 | 101.7% | 132.14 |
| 6 | 49 | Jack McGrath | Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser | 4:33.00 | +5.03 | 101.9% | 131.87 |
| 7 | 69 | Duke Dinsmore | Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser | 4:34.67 | +6.70 | 102.5% | 131.07 |
| 8 | 14 | Tony Bettenhausen | Deidt-Offenhauser | 4:34.92 | +6.95 | 102.6% | 130.95 |
| 9 | 17 | Joie Chitwood | Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser | 4:35.32 | +7.35 | 102.7% | 130.76 |
| 10 | 3 | Bill Holland | Deidt-Offenhauser | 4:35.90 | +7.93 | 103% | 130.48 |
| 11 | 59 | Pat Flaherty | Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser | 4:37.76 | +9.79 | 103.7% | 129.61 |
| 12 | 54 | Cecil Green | Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser | 4:30.86 | +2.89 | 101.1% | 132.91 |
| 13 | 18 | Duane Carter | Stevens-Offenhauser | 4:33.42 | +5.45 | 102% | 131.65 |
| 14 | 21 | Spider Webb | Maserati-Offenhauser | 4:37.46 | +9.49 | 103.5% | 129.74 |
| 15 | 81 | Jerry Hoyt | Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser | 4:37.95 | +9.98 | 103.7% | 129.51 |
| 16 | 2 | Myron Fohr | Marchese-Offenhauser | 4:33.32 | +5.35 | 102% | 131.70 |
| 17 | 24 | Bayliss Levrett | Adams-Offenhauser | 4:34.43 | +6.46 | 102.4% | 131.17 |
| 18 | 45 | Dick Rathmann | Watson-Offenhauser | 4:34.96 | +6.99 | 102.6% | 130.92 |
| 19 | 7 | Paul Russo | Nichels-Offenhauser | 4:35.25 | +7.28 | 102.7% | 130.78 |
| 20 | 4 | Walt Brown | Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser | 4:35.96 | +7.99 | 103% | 130.44 |
| 21 | 12 | Henry Banks | Maserati-Offenhauser | 4:37.68 | +9.71 | 103.6% | 129.63 |
| 22 | 67 | Bill Schindler | Snowberger-Offenhauser | 4:31.31 | +3.34 | 101.2% | 132.68 |
| 23 | 8 | Lee Wallard | Moore-Offenhauser | 4:31.83 | +3.86 | 101.4% | 132.42 |
| 24 | 55 | Troy Ruttman | Lesovsky-Offenhauser | 4:32.91 | +4.94 | 101.8% | 131.90 |
| 25 | 23 | Sam Hanks | Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser | 4:33.57 | +5.60 | 102.1% | 131.58 |
| 26 | 15 | Mack Hellings | Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser | 4:35.32 | +7.35 | 102.7% | 130.75 |
| 27 | 22 | Jimmy Davies | Ewing-Offenhauser | 4:36.07 | +8.10 | 103% | 130.39 |
| 28 | 76 | Jim Rathmann | Wetteroth-Offenhauser | 4:37.01 | +9.04 | 103.4% | 129.95 |
| 29 | 27 | Walt Ader | Rae-Offenhauser | 4:37.05 | +9.08 | 103.4% | 129.93 |
| 30 | 77 | Jackie Holmes | Olson-Offenhauser | 4:37.57 | +9.60 | 103.6% | 129.69 |
| 31 | 75 | Gene Hartley | Langley-Offenhauser | 4:38.61 | +10.64 | 104% | 129.20 |
| 32 | 61 | Jimmy Jackson | Kurtis Kraft-Cummins | 4:38.62 | +10.65 | 104% | 129.20 |
| 33 | 62 | Johnny McDowell | Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser | 4:37.58 | +9.61 | 103.6% | 129.68 |
Grid[edit | edit source]
| Pos | Pos | Pos |
|---|---|---|
| Driver | Driver | Driver |
| ______________ | ||
| 1 | ______________ | |
| Walt Faulkner | 2 | ______________ |
| Fred Agabashian | 3 | |
| Mauri Rose | ||
| ______________ | ||
| 4 | ______________ | |
| George Connor | 5 | ______________ |
| Johnnie Parsons | 6 | |
| Jack McGrath | ||
| ______________ | ||
| 7 | ______________ | |
| Duke Dinsmore | 8 | ______________ |
| Tony Bettenhausen | 9 | |
| Joie Chitwood | ||
| ______________ | ||
| 10 | ______________ | |
| Bill Holland | 11 | ______________ |
| Pat Flaherty | 12 | |
| Cecil Green | ||
| ______________ | ||
| 13 | ______________ | |
| Duane Carter | 14 | ______________ |
| Spider Webb | 15 | |
| Jerry Hoyt | ||
| ______________ | ||
| 16 | ______________ | |
| Myron Fohr | 17 | ______________ |
| Bayliss Levrett | 18 | |
| Dick Rathmann | ||
| ______________ | ||
| 19 | ______________ | |
| Paul Russo | 20 | ______________ |
| Walt Brown | 21 | |
| Henry Banks | ||
| ______________ | ||
| 22 | ______________ | |
| Bill Schindler | 23 | ______________ |
| Lee Wallard | 24 | |
| Troy Ruttman | ||
| ______________ | ||
| 25 | ______________ | |
| Sam Hanks | 26 | ______________ |
| Mack Hellings | 27 | |
| Jimmy Davies | ||
| ______________ | ||
| 28 | ______________ | |
| Jim Rathmann | 29 | ______________ |
| Walt Ader | 30 | |
| Jackie Holmes | ||
| ______________ | ||
| 31 | ______________ | |
| Gene Hartley | 32 | ______________ |
| Jimmy Jackson | 33 | |
| Johnny McDowell |
Race Results[edit | edit source]
- Note:
American unless stated.
Results[edit | edit source]
Did not qualify: 9 Andy Linden, 9 Bud Rose, 10/87 Bill Vukovich, 10 Hal Cole (accident), 16 Ted Duncan, 19/47 Ralph Pratt, 19/99 Kenny Eaton, 25 Johnny Mauro, 26 George Fonder, 29 
Charles Van Acker, 33 Joel Thorne, 34 Johnny Fedricks, 36 George Lynch, 38 Duke Nalon, 39 Danny Kladis, 41 Milt Fankhouser, 43 Chet Miller, 44 Bill Cantrell, 51/52 Mark Light, 52 Dick Frazier, 58 Billy Devore, 63/82 Joe James, 63 Bob Gregg, 63 Potsy Goacher, 64 Bob Sweikert, 65 Marvin Burke, 65 Norm Houser, 66 Cliff Griffith, 74 Carl Forberg, 78 Cy Marshall, 79 Chuck Leighton, 83 Al Miller, 84 Mike Burch, 84 Billy Earl (did not drive), 85 Manny Ayulo, 85 Jim Rigsby, 98 Johnny Mantz (practiced only), 99 Emil Andres, Carl Scarborough (passed rookie test).
Entry declined: 76 Ben Zukor (failed physical).
Did not appear: 46 
Giuseppe Farina, 46 Piero Taruffi, 48 Franco Rol, Joe Adas.
Shared drive contributions:
- Number 12: Henry Banks 71, Fred Agabashian 47.
- Number 17: Joie Chitwood 85, Tony Bettenhausen 51.
- Number 24: Bayliss Levrett 105, Bill Cantrell 3.
Notes:
- Tony Bettenhausen retired on lap 30, and also took part in a shared drive with Joie Chitwood.
- Fred Agabashian retired on lap 64, and also took part in a shared drive with Henry Banks, which led to another retirement.
Milestones[edit | edit source]
- First World Championship win for Johnnie Parsons, Kurtis Kraft, Offenhauser and Firestone tires, although the latter three had all won at Indianapolis before.
- First World Championship race for all drivers involved in the race.
Standings[edit | edit source]
| Pos. | Driver | Pts |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Juan Manuel Fangio
|
9 |
| Giuseppe Farina
|
9 | |
 Johnnie Parsons
|
9 | |
| 4 | Luigi Fagioli
|
6 |
| Alberto Ascari
|
6 | |
| Bill Holland
|
6 | |
| 7 |  Louis Chiron
|
4 |
 Reg Parnell
|
4 | |
| Mauri Rose
|
4 | |
| 10 |  Yves Giraud-Cabantous
|
3 |
| Raymond Sommer
|
3 | |
| Cecil Green
|
3 | |
| 13 |  Prince Bira
|
2 |
| Louis Rosier
|
2 | |
| 15 | Tony Bettenhausen
|
1 |
| Joie Chitwood
|
1 |
Video[edit | edit source]
Very little video footage exists from the 1950 Indianapolis 500, however the following is one example of this.
Notes[edit | edit source]
- ↑ scheduled for 200 laps
| V T E |  Indianapolis 500
|
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|---|---|---|
| Circuit | Indianapolis Motor Speedway |  |
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