1953 Indianapolis 500

1953 Indianapolis 500
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Round	2 of 1953
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The Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Race Details
Date	May 30, 1953
Official Name	37th International 500 Mile Sweepstakes
Location	Indianapolis Motor Speedway Speedway, Indiana, USA
Course	Permanent racing facility 4.023 km (2.500 mi)
Distance	200 laps, 804.6 km (499.955 mi)
Pole Position
Driver	Bill Vukovich Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser
Time	4:20.13 (four lap total)
Fastest Lap
Driver	Bill Vukovich Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser
Time	1:06.24
Podium
First	Bill Vukovich
Second	Art Cross
Third	Sam Hanks Duane Carter
Lap Leaders

The 37th International 500 Mile Sweepstakes was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Saturday, May 30, 1953. The event was part of the 1953 AAA National Championship Trail, and was included in the 1953 World Drivers Championship.

Bill Vukovich, after falling just short a year before, earned the first of two consecutive Indy 500 victories. He had led 150 laps in 1952, but a steering failure put him into the wall with nine laps remaining. This year, he led 195 of the 200 laps, and had a four-lap lead at the end. But under Indianapolis rules at the time, drivers still on the track were not flagged off until more than 10 minutes after the winner crossed the line.

With the ambient temperature in the high 90s°F (>35°C), and the track temperature exceeding 130°F (54°C), this race is often known as the "Hottest 500." Due to the extreme heat conditions, several drivers in the field required relief drivers, and some relief drivers even required additional relief. However Vukovich, as well as second-place finisher Art Cross and the fifth, sixth and eighth place finishers ran the full 500 miles solo. But driver Carl Scarborough dropped out the race, and later died at the infield hospital due to heat stroke. Scarborough was only the second fatality at a World Championship event.

Entry list

The full entry list for the 1953 Indianapolis 500 is outlined below:
(All drivers and cars from the United States of America unless stated otherwise)

No.	Driver	Entrant	Constructor	Chassis	Engine	Model	Tyre
2	Jim Rathmann		Kurtis Kraft	KK500A	Offy	4.2 I4	F
3	Sam Hanks		Kurtis Kraft	KK500A	Offy	4.2 I4	F
4	Duane Carter		Lesovsky		Offy	4.2 I4	F
5	Jack McGrath		Kurtis Kraft	KK500A	Offy	4.2 I4	F
7	Paul Russo		Kurtis Kraft	KK500A	Offy	4.2 I4	F
8	Jimmy Bryan		Schroeder		Offy	4.2 I4	F
9	Duke Nalon		Kurtis Kraft	KK500A	Novi	2.75 V8s	F
12	Ernie McCoy		Stevens		Offy	4.2 I4	F
14	Bill Vukovich		Kurtis Kraft	KK500A	Offy	4.2 I4	F
16	Art Cross		Kurtis Kraft	KK500A	Offy	4.2 I4	F
21	Johnnie Parsons		Kurtis Kraft	KK500A	Offy	4.2 I4	F
22	Marshall Teague		Kurtis Kraft	KK500A	Offy	4.2 I4	F
23	Walt Faulkner		Kurtis Kraft	KK500A	Offy	4.2 I4	F
29	Bob Scott		Bromme		Offy	4.2 I4	F
32	Andy Linden		Stevens		Offy	4.2 I4	F
38	Don Freeland		Watson		Offy	4.2 I4	F
41	Gene Hartley		Kurtis Kraft	KK500A	Offy	4.2 I4	F
48	Jimmy Daywalt		Kurtis Kraft	KK500A	Offy	4.2 I4	F
49	Bill Holland		Kurtis Kraft	KK500A	Offy	4.2 I4	F
51	Bob Sweikert		Kuzma		Offy	4.2 I4	F
53	Jimmy Davies		Kurtis Kraft	KK500A	Offy	4.2 I4	F
55	Jerry Hoyt		Kurtis Kraft	KK500A	Offy	4.2 I4	F
56	Johnny Thomson		Del Roy		Offy	4.2 I4	F
59	Fred Agabashian		Kurtis Kraft	KK500A	Offy	4.2 I4	F
62	Spider Webb		Kurtis Kraft	KK500A	Offy	4.2 I4	F
73	Carl Scarborough		Kurtis Kraft	KK500A	Offy	4.2 I4	F
77	Pat Flaherty		Kuzma		Offy	4.2 I4	F
83	Mike Nazaruk		Turner		Offy	4.2 I4	F
88	Manny Ayulo		Kuzma		Offy	4.2 I4	F
92	Rodger Ward		Kurtis Kraft	KK500A	Offy	4.2 I4	F
97	Chuck Stevenson		Kuzma		Offy	4.2 I4	F
98	Tony Bettenhausen		Kuzma		Offy	4.2 I4	F
99	Cal Niday		Kurtis Kraft	KK500A	Offy	4.2 I4	F

• - "s" designates supercharged engine

Practice Overview

Practice officially opened on Monday, May 11. On Friday May 15, driver Chet Miller, the fastest qualifier of the 1952 race, lost control of his Kurtis Kraft-Novi in turn one. The back end of the car swung around, and then went backwards into the wall. Miller died of a basal skull fracture, and became the first person ever killed at a World Championship event.

Qualifying

Day One

Day one, Saturday May 16, was completely washed out by rain.

Day Two

Sunday May 17 also saw a day influenced by weather, as only seven cars qualified. Fastest was Bill Vukovich, who put together a four lap average of 138.39 mph. This speed would hold up as the fastest recorded in qualifying. The other six drivers to qualify were locked into the top seven spots for the race, due to the rules of the event at the time. But based on time alone, they would have qualified 4th, 13th, 15th, 19th, 20th and 24th.

Day Three

Saturday, May 23 was the busiest day of qualifying, when 17 drivers found their way into the field, including the third and the fifth through tenth fastest.

Day Four

Sunday, May 24 was "bump day". Nine drivers qualified to fill out the field. Then bumping started, where the slowest driver in the field could be dropped from the grid by a faster qualifier, but that faster qualifier would be slotted behind the remnants of the 'first 33' qualifiers. Six of the first 33 were ultimately bumped, and one of those 'bumpers', Bill Holland, would set the second fastest time of qualifying at 137.87 mph. But by the rules he started the race 28th.

Results

Pos	No.	Driver	Constructor	Time	Gap	Avg Speed
1	14	Bill Vukovich	Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser	4:20.13	—	138.39
2	59	Fred Agabashian	Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser	4:21.73	+1.60	137.55
3	5	Jack McGrath	Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser	4:23.54	+3.41	136.60
4	88	Manny Ayulo	Kuzma-Offenhauser	4:23.96	+3.83	136.38
5	32	Andy Linden	Stevens-Offenhauser	4:24.59	+4.46	136.06
6	98	Tony Bettenhausen	Kuzma-Offenhauser	4:24.66	+4.53	136.02
7	55	Jerry Hoyt	Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser	4:25.23	+5.10	135.73
8	21	Johnnie Parsons	Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser	4:21.50	+1.37	137.67
9	3	Sam Hanks	Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser	4:21.76	+1.63	137.53
10	92	Rodger Ward	Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser	4:21.88	+1.75	137.47
11	28	Bob Scott	Bromme-Offenhauser	4:21.95	+1.82	137.43
12	16	Art Cross	Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser	4:22.18	+2.05	137.31
13	41	Gene Hartley	Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser	4:22.27	+2.14	137.26
14	23	Walt Faulkner	Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser	4:22.55	+2.42	137.12
15	38	Don Freeland	Watson-Offenhauser	4:23.03	+2.90	136.87
16	97	Chuck Stevenson	Kuzma-Offenhauser	4:23.62	+3.49	136.56
17	7	Paul Russo	Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser	4:24.28	+4.15	136.22
18	62	Spider Webb	Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser	4:24.38	+4.25	136.17
19	73	Carl Scarborough	Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser	4:24.83	+4.70	135.94
20	12	Ernie McCoy	Stevens-Offenhauser	4:24.85	+4.72	135.93
21	48	Jimmy Daywalt	Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser	4:25.20	+5.07	135.75
22	22	Marshall Teague	Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser	4:25.25	+5.12	135.72
23	83	Mike Nazaruk	Turner-Offenhauser	4:25.28	+5.15	135.71
24	77	Pat Flaherty	Kuzma-Offenhauser	4:25.35	+5.22	135.67
25	2	Jim Rathmann	Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser	4:25.36	+5.23	135.67
26	9	Duke Nalon	Kurtis Kraft-Novi	4:25.76	+5.63	135.67
27	4	Duane Carter	Lesovsky-Offenhauser	4:26.14	+6.01	135.67
28	49	Bill Holland	Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser	4:21.12	+0.99	137.87
29	51	Bob Sweikert	Kuzma-Offenhauser	4:23.02	+2.89	136.87
30	99	Cal Niday	Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser	4:24.52	+4.39	136.10
31	8	Jimmy Bryan	Schroeder-Offenhauser	4:25.67	+5.54	135.61
32	53	Jimmy Davies	Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser	4:26.07	+5.94	135.30
33	56	Johnny Thomson	Del Roy-Offenhauser	4:26.15	+6.02	135.26

Grid

Pos	Pos	Pos
Driver	Driver	Driver
______________
1	______________
Bill Vukovich	2	______________
	Fred Agabashian	3
		Jack McGrath
______________
4	______________
Manny Ayulo	5	______________
	Andy Linden	6
		Tony Bettenhausen
______________
7	______________
Jerry Hoyt	8	______________
	Johnnie Parsons	9
		Sam Hanks
______________
10	______________
Rodger Ward	11	______________
	Bob Scott	12
		Art Cross
______________
13	______________
Gene Hartley	14	______________
	Walt Faulkner	15
		Don Freeland
______________
16	______________
Chuck Stevenson	17	______________
	Paul Russo	18
		Spider Webb
______________
19	______________
Carl Scarborough	20	______________
	Ernie McCoy	21
		Jimmy Daywalt
______________
22	______________
Marshall Teague	23	______________
	Mike Nazaruk	24
		Pat Flaherty
______________
25	______________
Jim Rathmann	26	______________
	Duke Nalon	27
		Duane Carter
______________
28	______________
Bill Holland	29	______________
	Bob Sweikert	30
		Cal Niday
______________
31	______________
Jimmy Bryan	32	______________
	Jimmy Davies	33
		Johnny Thomson

Race

Results

Drivers in italics were relief drivers.

Pos.	No.	Driver	Constructor	Laps	Time/Retired	Grid	Pts
1	14	Bill Vukovich	Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser	200	3:53:01.69	1	9
2	16	Art Cross	Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser	200	+3:30.87	12	6
3	3	Sam Hanks Duane Carter	Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser	200	+4:11.50	9	2 2
4	59	Fred Agabashian Paul Russo	Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser	200	+4:39.24	2	1.5 1.5
5	5	Jack McGrath	Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser	200	+7:49.64	3	2
6	48	Jimmy Daywalt	Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser	200	+8:10.21	21
7	2	Jim Rathmann Paul Russo	Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser	200	+8:46.02	25
8	12	Ernie McCoy	Stevens-Offenhauser	200	+10:04.55	20
9	98	Tony Bettenhausen Chuck Stevenson Gene Hartley	Kuzma-Offenhauser	196	Accident	6
10	53	Jimmy Davies	Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser	193	+7 Laps	32
11	9	Duke Nalon	Kurtis Kraft-Novi	191	Accident	26
12	73	Carl Scarborough Bob Scott	Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser	190	+10 Laps	19
13	88	Manny Ayulo	Kuzma-Offenhauser	184	Engine	4
14	8	Jimmy Bryan	Schroeder-Offenhauser	183	+17 Laps	31
15	49	Bill Holland Jim Rathmann	Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser	177	Magneto	28
16	92	Rodger Ward Andy Linden Duke Dinsmore	Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser	177	Axle	10
17	23	Walt Faulkner Johnny Mantz	Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser	176	+24 Laps	14
18	22	Marshall Teague	Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser	169	Oil Leak	22
19	62	Spider Webb Johnny Thomson Jackie Holmes	Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser	166	Oil Leak	18
20	51	Bob Sweikert	Kuzma-Offenhauser	151	Suspension	29
21	83	Mike Nazaruk	Turner-Offenhauser	146	Transmission	23
22	77	Pat Flaherty	Kuzma-Offenhauser	115	Accident	24
23	55	Jerry Hoyt Chuck Stevenson Andy Linden	Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser	107	Overheating	7
24	4	Duane Carter	Lesovsky-Offenhauser	94	Ignition	27
25	7	Paul Russo	Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser	89	Magneto	17
26	21	Johnnie Parsons	Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser	86	Engine	8
27	38	Don Freeland	Watson-Offenhauser	76	Accident	15
28	41	Gene Hartley	Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser	53	Accident	13
29	97	Chuck Stevenson	Kuzma-Offenhauser	42	Fuel leak	16
30	99	Cal Niday	Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser	30	Magneto	30
31	29	Bob Scott	Bromme-Offenhauser	14	Oil leak	11
32	56	Johnny Thomson	Del Roy-Offenhauser	6	Ignition	33
33	32	Andy Linden	Stevens-Offenhauser	3	Accident	5

Standings after race

v·d·e

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