The 1955 Indianapolis 500 (officially the 39th Indianapolis International Motor Sweepstakes) was the 39th running of the Indianapolis 500 and was the third race of the 1955 FIA Formula One World Championship, held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on May 30, 1955. The race was won by Bob Sweikert for the first and only time in his career. The race was marred by the death of Bill Vukovich, who crashed while leading the race.
Background[]
Practice[]
Qualifying[]
Qualifying Results[]
The full qualifying results for the 1955 Indianapolis 500 are outlined below:
Grid[]
The full grid for the 1955 Indianapolis 500 is shown below:
| Pos | Pos | Pos |
|---|---|---|
| Driver | Driver | Driver |
| ______________ | ||
| 1 | ______________ | |
| Jerry Hoyt | 2 | ______________ |
| Tony Bettenhausen | 3 | |
| Jack McGrath | ||
| ______________ | ||
| 4 | ______________ | |
| Fred Agabashian | 5 | ______________ |
| Bill Vukovich | 6 | |
| Sam Hanks | ||
| ______________ | ||
| 7 | ______________ | |
| Walt Faulkner | 8 | ______________ |
| Andy Linden | 9 | |
| Cal Niday | ||
| ______________ | ||
| 10 | ______________ | |
| Jimmy Davies | 11 | ______________ |
| Jimmy Bryan | 12 | |
| Pat Flaherty | ||
| ______________ | ||
| 13 | ______________ | |
| Eddie Russo | 14 | ______________ |
| Bob Sweikert | 15 | |
| Jimmy Reece | ||
| ______________ | ||
| 16 | ______________ | |
| Al Herman | 17 | ______________ |
| Jimmy Daywalt | 18 | |
| Duane Carter | ||
| ______________ | ||
| 19 | ______________ | |
| Pat O'Connor | 20 | ______________ |
| Jim Rathmann | 21 | |
| Don Freeland | ||
| ______________ | ||
| 22 | ______________ | |
| Al Keller | 23 | ______________ |
| Ray Crawford | 24 | |
| Art Cross | ||
| ______________ | ||
| 25 | ______________ | |
| Chuck Weyant | 26 | ______________ |
| Johnny Boyd | 27 | |
| Johnnie Parsons | ||
| ______________ | ||
| 28 | ______________ | |
| Keith Andrews | 29 | ______________ |
| Ed Elisian | 30 | |
| Rodger Ward | ||
| ______________ | ||
| 31 | ______________ | |
| Shorty Templeman | 32 | ______________ |
| Eddie Johnson | 33 | |
| Johnny Thomson |
Non-Qualifiers[]
The full list of non-qualifiers for the 1955 Indianapolis 500 is outlined below:
| No. | Driver | Constructor |
|---|---|---|
| 7 |  Bob Christie (R)
|
Kuzma-Dodge
|
| 9 | Johnnie Parsons (W)
|
Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser
|
| Spider Webb
| ||
| 16 | Johnnie Tolan
|
Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser
|
| 18 | Troy Ruttman
|
Kurtis Kraft-Novi
|
| 21 | Paul Russo
|
Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser
|
| 24 | Len Duncan
|
Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser
|
| 25 | Ed Elisian
|
Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser
|
| 28 | Gene Hartley
|
Ewing-Offenhauser
|
| 31 | Duke Nalon
|
Schroeder-Offenhauser
|
| 32 | Jiggs Peters (R)
|
Scopa-Offenhauser
|
| 36 | Tony Bonadies (R)
|
Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser
|
| 61 | Russ Klar (R)
|
Schroeder-Offenhauser
|
| 64 | Leroy Warriner (R)
|
Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser
|
| 69 | Ernie McCoy (R)
|
Templeton-Offenhauser
|
| 72 | Bill Homeier
|
Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser
|
| 73 | Len Duncan
|
Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser
|
| 74 | Elmer George (R)
|
Schroeder-Offenhauser
|
| 76 | Johnny Kay (R)
|
Silnes-Offenhauser
|
| 78 | George Tichenor (R)
|
Lesovsky-Offenhauser
|
| 81 | Earl Motter (R)
|
Trevis-Offenhauser
|
| 88 | Manny Ayulo (R)
|
Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser
|
| 93 | Danny Kladis
|
Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser
|
| Roy Newman (R)
|
Race[]
Classification[]
(W) = Previous winner of the race
(R) = Race rookie
Milestones[]
Standings[]
| 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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