1950 Indianapolis 500
Indianapolis Motor Speedway | |||||
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Indianapolis 500 | |||||
Sanctioning body | AAA / World Championship | ||||
Date | May 30, 1950 | ||||
Winner | Johnnie Parsons | ||||
Winning Entrant | Frank Kurtis | ||||
Average speed | 124.002 mph (199.562 km/h) | ||||
Pole position | Walt Faulkner | ||||
Pole speed | 134.343 mph (216.204 km/h) | ||||
Most laps led | Johnnie Parsons (115) | ||||
Pre-race | |||||
Pace car | Mercury | ||||
Pace car driver | Benson Ford | ||||
Chronology | |||||
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The 34th International 500-Mile Sweepstakes was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Tuesday, May 30, 1950. The event was part of the 1950 AAA National Championship Trail. The race was also included as the third round in the inaugural 1950 World Drivers Championship, and paid points towards the World Championship. The event, however, did not attract any European entries for 1950. Giuseppe Farina originally planned to enter, but his car never arrived. The Indianapolis 500 would be included on the World Championship calendar through 1960.
The race was originally scheduled for 200 laps, but was stopped at 138 laps because of rain.
A rumor circulated in racing circles during and after this race that Johnnie Parsons's team discovered they had an irreparable crack in the engine block, which precipitated Parsons charging for the lap leader prizes.[1] Furthermore, the race ending early due to rain supposedly saved Parsons's day allowing him to secure the victory before the engine let go. However, the engine block crack was proved to be an urban myth.[2]
Parsons' win saw him score 9 points move to equal first in the first ever World Drivers' Championship alongside Giuseppe Farina and Juan Manuel Fangio, and also saw him become the first American to win a World Championship race. Despite the 500 being his only race in the 1950 World Championship, it would be enough to see him finish 6th in points.
During the month, Clark Gable and Barbara Stanwyck were at the track to film scenes for the film To Please a Lady. Stanwyck was on hand in victory lane after the race for the traditional celebratory kiss to the winner.
Classification
Pos | Grid | No | Driver | Constructor | Qual | Rank | Laps | Led | Time/Retired | Points |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 5 | 1 | Johnnie Parsons | Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser | 132.040 | 8 | 138 | 115 | 2:46:55.97 | 9 |
2 | 10 | 3 | Bill Holland | Deidt-Offenhauser | 130.480 | 21 | 137 | 8 | + 1 Lap | 6 |
3 | 3 | 31 | Mauri Rose | Deidt-Offenhauser | 132.310 | 6 | 137 | 15 | + 1 Lap | 4 |
4 | 12 | 54 | Cecil Green | Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser | 132.910 | 2 | 137 | 0 | + 1 Lap | 3 |
5 | 9 | 17 | Joie Chitwood (Relieved by Tony Bettenhausen) |
Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser | 130.750 | 19 | 136 | 0 | + 2 Laps | 1 1 |
6 | 23 | 8 | Lee Wallard | Moore-Offenhauser | 132.430 | 5 | 136 | 0 | + 2 Laps | |
7 | 1 | 98 | Walt Faulkner | Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser | 134.340 | 1 | 135 | 0 | + 3 Laps | |
8 | 4 | 5 | George Connor | Lesovsky-Offenhauser | 132.160 | 7 | 135 | 0 | + 3 Laps | |
9 | 19 | 7 | Paul Russo | Nichels-Offenhauser | 130.790 | 18 | 135 | 0 | + 3 Laps | |
10 | 11 | 59 | Pat Flaherty | Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser | 129.600 | 30 | 135 | 0 | + 3 Laps | |
11 | 16 | 2 | Myron Fohr | Marchese-Offenhauser | 131.710 | 11 | 133 | 0 | + 5 Laps | |
12 | 13 | 18 | Duane Carter | Stevens-Offenhauser | 131.660 | 12 | 133 | 0 | + 5 Laps | |
13 | 26 | 15 | Mack Hellings | Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser | 130.680 | 20 | 132 | 0 | + 6 Laps | |
14 | 6 | 49 | Jack McGrath | Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser | 131.860 | 10 | 131 | 0 | Spun Off | |
15 | 24 | 55 | Troy Ruttman | Lesovsky-Offenhauser | 131.910 | 9 | 130 | 0 | + 8 Laps | |
16 | 31 | 75 | Gene Hartley | Langley-Offenhauser | 129.210 | 32 | 128 | 0 | + 10 Laps | |
17 | 27 | 22 | Jimmy Davies | Ewing-Offenhauser | 130.400 | 23 | 128 | 0 | + 10 Laps | |
18 | 33 | 62 | Johnny McDowell | Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser | 129.690 | 27 | 128 | 0 | + 10 Laps | |
19 | 20 | 4 | Walt Brown | Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser | 130.450 | 22 | 127 | 0 | + 11 Laps | |
20 | 14 | 21 | Spider Webb | Maserati-Offenhauser | 129.740 | 26 | 126 | 0 | + 12 Laps | |
21 | 15 | 81 | Jerry Hoyt | Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser | 129.520 | 31 | 125 | 0 | + 13 Laps | |
22 | 29 | 27 | Walt Ader | Rae-Offenhauser | 129.940 | 25 | 123 | 0 | + 15 Laps | |
23 | 30 | 77 | Jackie Holmes | Olson-Offenhauser | 129.690 | 28 | 123 | 0 | Spun Off | |
24 | 28 | 76 | Jim Rathmann | Wetteroth-Offenhauser | 129.950 | 24 | 122 | 0 | + 16 Laps | |
25 | 21 | 12 | Henry Banks (Relieved by Fred Agabashian) |
Maserati-Offenhauser | 129.640 | 29 | 112 | 0 | Oil Line | |
26 | 22 | 67 | Bill Schindler | Snowberger-Offenhauser | 132.690 | 4 | 111 | 0 | Transmission | |
27 | 17 | 24 | Bayliss Levrett (Relieved by Bill Cantrell) |
Adams-Offenhauser | 131.180 | 14 | 108 | 0 | Oil Pressure | |
28 | 2 | 28 | Fred Agabashian | Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser | 132.790 | 3 | 64 | 0 | Oil Leak | |
29 | 32 | 61 | Jimmy Jackson | Kurtis Kraft-Cummins | 129.200 | 33 | 52 | 0 | Compressor | |
30 | 25 | 23 | Sam Hanks | Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser | 131.590 | 13 | 42 | 0 | Oil Pressure | |
31 | 8 | 14 | Tony Bettenhausen | Deidt-Offenhauser | 130.940 | 16 | 30 | 0 | Wheel Bearing | |
32 | 18 | 45 | Dick Rathmann | Watson-Offenhauser | 130.920 | 17 | 25 | 0 | Stalled | |
33 | 7 | 69 | Duke Dinsmore | Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser | 131.060 | 15 | 10 | 0 | Oil Leak |
Notes
- Pole position: Walt Faulkner – 4:27.97
- Fastest Lead Lap: Johnnie Parsons – 1:09.77
- Shared drivers:
- Joie Chitwood (82 laps) and Tony Bettenhausen (54 laps), after Bettenhausen retired. Points for 5th position were shared between the drivers.
- Henry Banks (71 laps) and Fred Agabashian (41 laps)
- Bayliss Levrett (105 laps) and Bill Cantrell (3 laps)
- First win for Firestone in the World Championship.
Qualifying
First alternate
No | Driver | Constructor |
---|---|---|
66 | Cliff Griffith[3] | Miller-Offenhauser |
Non-qualifiers
Drivers' Championship standings after the race
Pos | Driver | Points | |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Nino Farina | 9 | |
2 | Juan Manuel Fangio | 9 | |
31 | 3 | Johnnie Parsons | 9 |
1 | 4 | Luigi Fagioli | 6 |
1 | 5 | Alberto Ascari | 6 |
- Note: Only the top five positions are listed. Only the best 4 results counted towards the Championship.
Broadcasting
Radio
The race was carried live on the Mutual Broadcasting System, the precursor to the IMS Radio Network. The broadcast was sponsored by Perfect Circle Piston Rings and Bill Slater served as the anchor. Sid Collins moved into the booth for the first time to serve as analyst, and conducted the victory lane interview at the conclusion of the race. The broadcast feature live coverage of the start, the finish, and live updates throughout the race.
Prior to the race, it was reported that Slater might miss the race, due to illness. WIBC personality Sid Collins was named as a replacement, however, Slater was able to arrive in time for race day. Collins, who had previously served as a turn reporter, was invited to be the co-anchor in the booth.[4] For the first time, Collins interviewed the winner in victory lane at the conclusion of the race. Collins claims he burned his trousers on Parsons's hot exhaust pipe during the interview, which took place in the rain.
Mutual Broadcasting System | ||
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Booth Announcers | Turn Reporters | Pit reporters |
South turns: E. Z. Gwynn |
Gordon Graham Sid Collins (victory lane) |
Television
The race was carried live for the second year in a row on local television on WFBM-TVchannel 6 of Indianapolis. Earl Townsend, Jr. was the announcer, along with Dick Pittenger and Paul Roberts. After the race, Speedway management disallowed WFBM from broadcasting the race live again, feeling that gate attendance had been negatively affected.
WFBM-TV | |
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Play-by-play | Pit reporters |
Paul Roberts |
Notes
References
Wikimedia Commons has media related to 1950 Indianapolis 500. |
- ↑ "Great Moments From the Indy 500" (VanCamp's Pork and Beans Presents/Freetwood Sounds), 1975
- ↑ "The Talk of Gasoline Alley" – WFNI, May 20, 2012
- ↑ The Talk of Gasoline Alley - 1070-AM WIBC, May 14, 2004
- ↑ Davidson, Donald (2012-05-24). "IMS Radio Network celebrates 60th anniversary". Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Retrieved 2012-08-13.
Works cited
- Indianapolis 500 History: Race & All-Time Stats – Official Site
- Unless otherwise indicated, all race results are taken from "The Official Formula 1 website". Archived from the original on 14 July 2007. Retrieved 2007-06-05.
- 1950 Indianapolis 500 Radio Broadcast, Mutual
- Van Camp's Pork & Beans Presents: Great Moments From the Indy 500 – Fleetwood Sounds, 1975
- 1950 Indianapolis 500 at RacingReference.info (Relief driver statistics)
Previous race: 1950 Monaco Grand Prix |
FIA Formula One World Championship 1950 season |
Next race: 1950 Swiss Grand Prix |
Previous race: 1949 Indianapolis 500 Bill Holland |
1950 Indianapolis 500 Johnnie Parsons |
Next race: 1951 Indianapolis 500 Lee Wallard |
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