1913 Indianapolis 500

The race

The 1913 Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, or International 500-Mile Sweepstakes Race, the third such race in history, was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Friday, May 30, 1913.

Race Summary

After the entries in the first two years of the Indianapolis 500 had been almost exclusively American, 1913 saw six drivers travel to the United States from Europe to enter, likely attracted by the $20,000 first prize. 27 cars would meet the 75 mile per hour qualifying speed, led by Jack Tower at 88.230 mph.^[1] The starting grid was determined by a random draw of names, and Caleb Bragg would be given the pole.

Tower's car turned over on the southwest turn on lap 51, causing him to sustain a broken leg and his riding mechanic, Lee Dunning, to break three ribs.^[2] Bob Burman started the race as the favorite, and led 41 laps early, before his car caught fire on lap 55. Burman was able to repair his car and continue, however continuing problems led to several more stops and a replacement driver, who brought the car home in eleventh (unfortunately only the top ten finishers received prize money).^[3]

French-born Jules Goux, driving a car owned and manufactured by Peugeot (where his father was the factory Supervisor) would lead the race on four occasions. Bob Evans dueled with Goux, leading laps 125-135,^[4] but would be forced out of the race on lap 158 due to a mechanical problem. Goux would dominate the remainder of the race, leading 138 laps en route to a victory of a more than 13 minute margin, making him the first non-American winner of the 500. The car contained a four-cylinder dual overhead camshaft engine, which would serve as a model for many future entries.^[5] Urban legends claim that Goux consumed "six bottles of champagne" en route to victory. However, that claim is believed to be exaggerated. Instead, during Goux's six pit stops, only four bottles (each 4/5 pint) were shared between himself and his riding mechanic Emil Begin, with each taking some sips, but likely not enough to become intoxicated. Other swigs were spit out using the champagne as a mouthwash.^[6] Goux would state after the race that his manager forced him stay below the car's top speed, feeling the lead was safe.^[2] Spencer Wishart was the top finishing American in second, while two of the other European cars would finish fourth and fifth.

Rules at the time required the top ten drivers to finish the full 500 miles to receive prize money. This led to an interesting site for spectators who remained after Goux's finish. Charlie Merz, in contention for second place, would have his car catch fire towards the end of lap 199. Merz, not wishing to surrender the prize money, drove the final lap on fire, while Harry Martin, his riding mechanic, crawled out on top of the hood of the still moving car to beat at the flames and release the straps the held the engine cover to allow the fire to be extinguished faster. Merz finished third. Martin would unfortunately be killed while helping test a car on the speedway less than two months later.^[7]

Official results

Qualification results

Entries required to complete one lap in excess of 75 mph (120.7 km/h) to qualify, but starting grid determined by blind draw from a hat the night preceding the race.

Driver			Far Inside			Inside Center			Outside Center			Far Outside
Time	(mph)	(km/h)
Row 1			Caleb Bragg			Albert Guyot (R)			Billy Liesaw			Robert Evans (R)
			0:01:43.05	87.34	140.56	0:01:51.46	80.75	129.95	0:01:55.36	78.02	125.56	0:01:49.74	82.01	131.98
Row 2			Don Herr (R)			Harry Grant			Jules Goux (R)			Teddy Tetzlaff
			0:01:48.64	82.84	133.32	0:01:58.48	75.96	122.25	0:01:44.62	86.03	138.45	0:01:52.14	80.26	129.17
Row 3			Bill Endicott			Harry Endicott			Billy Knipper			† Ralph DePalma
			0:01:45.02	85.70	137.92	0:01:57.88	76.35	122.87	0:01:52.14	80.26	129.17	0:01:57.96	76.30	122.79
Row 4			Theodore Pilette (R)			Gil Andersen			Willie Haupt (R)			Charlie Merz
			0:01:59.17	75.52	121.54	0:01:48.92	82.63	132.98	0:01:51.49	80.72	129.91	0:01:46.56	84.46	135.93
Row 5			Johnny Jenkins			Vincenzo Trucco (R)			Spencer Wishart			Howdy Wilcox
			0:01:48.643	82.84	133.32	0:01:49.84	81.94	131.87	0:01:49.77	81.99	131.95	0:01:50.48	81.46	131.10
Row 6			Bob Burman			Ralph Mulford			Louis Disbrow			Joe Nikrent (R)
			0:01:46.93	84.17	135.46	0:01:51.40	80.79	130.02	0:01:48.75	82.76	133.19	0:01:54.08	78.89	126.96
Row 7			Jack Tower			Paul Zuccarelli (R)			George Clark (R)
			0:01:41.93	88.23	141.99	0:01:44.86	85.83	138.13	0:01:58.56	75.91	122.17

Race results

Race finishing times recorded down to one-twentieth-second intervals.

All entries still running at conclusion scored ahead of non-finishing entries, regardless of race completion percentage.

Position colors reflect the American formula motorsports standard for finishing positions.

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Entrant	Chassis	Engine	Cyl	Displ (in³) (L)	Color	Qual Speed (mph) (km/h)	Rank	Start Pos	Laps Led	Laps Run	Time	Speed (mph) (km/h)	Status	Prize Money ($)
1	16	Jules Goux (R)	Peugeot	Peugeot	Peugeot	Peugeot	4	448 7.34	blue / white	86.03 138.45	3	7	138	200	6:35:05.00	75.933 122.202	finished	21,165
2	22	Spencer Wishart	Mercer	Mercer Automobile Company	Mercer	Mercer	4	300 4.92	yellow	81.99 131.95	13	19	0	200	6:48:13.40 +0:13:08.40	73.489 118.269	finished	10,165
3	2	Charlie Merz	Stutz	Ideal Motor Car Company	Stutz	Wisconsin	4	400 6.55	white / red	84.46 135.93	6	16	0	200	6:48:49.25 +0:13:44.25	73.382 118.097	finished	5,165
4	9	Albert Guyot (R)	Sunbeam	Sunbeam Motor Car Company	Sunbeam	Sunbeam	6	368 6.03	gray	80.75 129.95	18	2	0	200	7:02:58.95 +0:27:53.95	70.925 114.143	finished	3,500
5	23	Theodore Pilette (R)	Mercedes-Knight	E.C. Patterson	Mercedes	Knight	4	251 4.11	gray / white	75.52 129.66	27	13	0	200	7:20:13.00 +0:45:08.00	68.148 109.674	finished	3,000
6	12	Howdy Wilcox	Gray Fox	Frank Fox	Pope-Hartford	Pope-Hartford	4	390 6.39	gray	81.46 131.10	15	20	0	200	7:23:26.55 +0:48:21.55	67.653 108.877	finished	2,200
7	29	Ralph Mulford	Mercedes	E. J. Schroeder	Mercedes	Mercedes	4	449 7.36	gray	80.79 130.02	17	22	0	200	7:28:05.50 +0:53:00.50	66.951 107.747	finished	1,800
8	31	Louis Disbrow	Case	J. I. Case T. M. Company	Case	Case	4	449 7.36	gray / red	82.76 133.19	10	23	0	200	7:29:09.00 +0:54:04.00	66.793 107.493	finished	1,600
9	35	Willie Haupt (R)	Mason	Mason Motor Company	Duesenberg	Duesenberg	4	350 5.74	dark tan	80.72 129.91	19	15	0	200	7:52:35.10 +1:17:30.10	63.481 102.163	finished	1,500
10	25	George Clark (R)	Tulsa	Tulsa Auto Manufacturing Company	Tulsa	Wisconsin	4	340 5.57	red / black	75.91 122.17	26	27	0	200	7:56:14.25 +1:21:09.25	62.994 101.299	finished	1,400
11	4	Bob Burman	Keeton	Keeton Motor Company	Keeton	Wisconsin	4	449 7.36	green / white	84.17 135.46	7	21	41	flagged	flagged		flagged, still running	0
12	3	Gil Andersen	Stutz	Ideal Motor Car Company	Stutz	Wisconsin	4	400 6.55	white / red	82.63 132.98	11	14	18	187	did not finish		camshaft gears	0
13	5	Robert Evans (R)	Mason	Mason Motor Company	Duesenberg	Duesenberg	4	350 5.74	dark tan	82.01 131.98	12	4	2	158	did not finish		clutch	0
14	17	Billy Liesaw	Anel	Will Tompson	Buick	Buick	4	318 5.21	orange / black	78.02 125.56	22	3	0	148	did not finish		loose rods	0
15	19	Caleb Bragg	Mercer	Mercer Automobile Company	Mercer	Mercer	4	424 6.95	yellow	87.34 140.56	2	1	1	128	did not finish		pump shaft	0
16	10	Billy Knipper	Henderson	Henderson Motor Car Company	Knipper	Duesenberg	4	350 5.74	azure blue	80.26 129.17	20	11	0	125	did not finish		clutch	0
17	27	Teddy Tetzlaff	Isotta	Isotta	Isotta	Isotta	4	444 7.28	red / green	81.30 130.84	16	8	0	118	did not finish		drive train	0
18	32	Joe Nikrent (R)	Case	J. I. Case T. M. Company	Case	Case	4	449 7.36	gray / red	78.89 126.96	21	24	0	67	did not finish		burned bearing	0
19	6	Jack Tower	Mason	Mason Motor Company	Duesenberg	Duesenberg	4	350 5.74	dark tan	88.23 141.99	1	25	0	51	did not finish		accident, first turn	0
20	28	Vincenzo Trucco (R)	Isotta	Isotta	Isotta	Isotta	4	444 4.28	red / green	81.94 131.87	14	18	0	39	did not finish		loose gas tank	0
21	1	Harry Endicott	Nyberg	Nyberg Auto Company	Nyberg	Nyberg	6	377 6.18	red	76.35 122.87	23	10	0	23	did not finish		transmission	0
22	45*	Paul Zuccarelli (R)	Peugeot	Peugeot	Peugeot	Peugeot	4	448 7.34	blue / white	85.83 138.13	4	26	0	18	did not finish		main bearing	0
23	21	† Ralph DePalma	Mercer	Mercer Automobile Company	Mercer	Mercer	4	340 5.57	yellow	76.30 122.79	24	12	0	15	did not finish		burned bearing	0
24	26	Harry Grant	Isotta	Isotta	Isotta	Isotta	4	444 4.28	red / green	75.96 122.25	25	6	0	14	did not finish		gas tank	0
25	18	Johnny Jenkins	Schacht	Schacht Motor Car Company	Schacht	Schacht	4	299 4.90	red / white	82.84 133.32	9	17	0	13	did not finish		crankshaft	0
26	8	Don Herr (R)	Stutz	Ideal Motor Car Company	Stutz	Wisconsin	4	400 6.55	white / red	82.84 133.32	8	5	0	7	did not finish		clutch shaft	0
27	33	Bill Endicott	Case	J. I. Case T. M. Co.	Case	Case	6	448 7.34	gray / red	85.70 137.92	5	9	0	1	did not finish		drive shaft	0

* Several sources claim Zuccarelli's entry to have carried the numerical designation #15. Photographs taken of entries qualified for the 1913 race, however, exhibit #45 prominently displayed on the Peugeot's front-facing engine grill.

† De Palma is usually shown as American, but his application for a US passport (available at ) reveals that he did not become a US citizen until 1920

Race details

For 1913, riding mechanics were required.^[8]

Notes

Works cited

• Indianapolis 500 Chronicle, 1999, Rick Pope
• 2006 Indianapolis 500 Official Program

References