The 34th International 500-Mile Sweepstakes was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Tuesday, May 30, 1950. The event was sanctioned by the AAA and served as the premier event on the calendar of the 1950 AAA National Championship Trail. For the first time, the race was included as a points-paying event towards the FIA-sanctioned World Drivers' Championship. The race was originally scheduled for 200 laps (500 miles), but was stopped after 138 laps (345 miles) due to rain.
A rumor circulated in racing circles during and after this race that Johnnie Parsons's team discovered an irreparable crack in the engine block on race morning. The discovery supposedly precipitated Parsons to charge for the lap leader prizes."Great Moments From the Indy 500" (VanCamp's Pork and Beans Presents/Freetwood Sounds), 1975 Presumably, he set his sights on leading as many laps as possible before the engine inevitably was to fail. 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,"The Talk of Gasoline Alley" – WFNI, May 20, 2012 and it was said to be a very minor but acceptable level of porosity, which did not significantly affect the performance.
Parsons's win saw him score 9 points and move to a temporary first-place tie (after 3 races on the Formula One season calendar) in the first ever World Drivers' Championship, alongside Nino Farina and Juan Manuel Fangio, and also saw him become the first American to win a World Championship race. Parsons is one of only three drivers to have won his first World Championship race, the other two being Farina, who won the first World Championship race (the 1950 British Grand Prix, 17 days earlier) and Giancarlo Baghetti, who won the 1961 French Grand Prix. Despite the 500 being his only race in the World Championship, it would be enough to see him finish the championship 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. During 1951 a young Mario Andretti saw the film in his native Italy - where it was titled Indianapolis - an event which exposed the future Indianapolis 500 winner and four-time National Champion to the race for the first time.
Time trials
Time trials was scheduled for six days.
Saturday May 13: Walt Faulkner won the pole position with a record run of 134.343 mph. Sunday May 14 Saturday May 20: The third day of time trials saw six cars complete runs. Bayliss Levrett (131.181 mph) was the fastest of the afternoon. Charles Van Acker was ruled physically disqualified, after a crash he suffered at the Speedway from 1949.Vet Van Acker Is Ruled Out (May 22, 1950) Sunday May 21 Saturday May 27: The day began with 11 spots open in the grid.Speedway Qualifications End Tomorrow; 11 Vacancies Sunday May 28: Only one driver managed to bump his way into the field. Johnny McDowell bumped Cliff Griffith, while 15 other cars failed to make the field. The two Novi entries failed to qualify – Chet Miller had engine trouble in one of the cars, while the other snapped a supercharger shaft. Rain and two crashes cut the track time to less than three hours. Cy Marshall was among the few left in line when time trials closed at 6 p.m.One Change In Lineup For Big Race (May 29, 1950)
Starting grid RowInsideMiddleOutside 198 Walt Faulkner 28 Fred Agabashian31 Mauri Rose 25 George Connor1 Johnnie Parsons49 Jack McGrath 369 Duke Dinsmore14 Tony Bettenhausen17 Joie Chitwood 43 Bill Holland 59 Pat Flaherty 54 Cecil Green 518 Duane Carter21 Spider Webb81 Jerry Hoyt 62 Myron Fohr24 Bayliss Levrett45 Dick Rathmann 77 Paul Russo4 Walt Brown12 Henry Banks 867 Bill Schindler 8 Lee Wallard55 Troy Ruttman 923 Sam Hanks15 Mack Hellings22 Jimmy Davies 1076 Jim Rathmann27 Walt Ader 77 Jackie Holmes 1175 Gene Hartley 61 Jimmy Jackson62 Johnny McDowell
Box score FinishGridNo.DriverConstructorQualifyingLapsTime/RetiredPointsSpeedRank 1 5 1 Johnnie Parsons Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser 132.04 8 138 124.002 mph 690 9 2 10 3 Bill Holland Diedt-Offenhauser 130.48 21 137 -1 Lap 552 6 3 3 31 Mauri Rose Diedt-Offenhauser 132.31 6 137 -1 Lap 483 4 4 12 54 Cecil Green Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser 132.91 2 137 -1 Lap 414 3 5 9 17 Joie Chitwood(Tony Bettenhausen Laps 86–136) Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser 130.75 19 136 -2 Laps 217½127½ 1 1 6 23 8 Lee Wallard Moore-Offenhauser 132.43 5 136 -2 Laps 276 7 1 98 Walt Faulkner Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser 134.34 1 135 -3 Laps 207 8 4 5 George Connor Lesovsky-Offenhauser 132.16 7 135 -3 Laps 172½ 9 19 7 Paul Russo Nichels-Offenhauser 130.79 18 135 -3 Laps 138 10 11 59 Pat Flaherty Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser 129.60 30 135 -3 Laps 103½ 11 16 2 Myron Fohr Marchese-Offenhauser 131.71 11 133 -5 Laps 69 12 13 18 Duane Carter Stevens-Offenhauser 131.66 12 133 -5 Laps 34½ 13 26 15 Mack Hellings Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser 130.68 20 132 -6 Laps 14 6 49 Jack McGrath Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser 131.86 10 131 Spun Off 15 24 55 Troy Ruttman Lesovsky-Offenhauser 131.91 9 130 - 8 Laps 16 31 75 Gene Hartley Langley-Offenhauser 129.21 32 128 - 10 Laps 17 27 22 Jimmy Davies Ewing-Offenhauser 130.40 23 128 - 10 Laps 18 33 62 Johnny McDowell Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser 129.69 27 128 - 10 Laps 19 20 4 Walt Brown Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser 130.45 22 127 - 11 Laps 20 14 21 Spider Webb Maserati-Offenhauser 129.74 26 126 - 12 Laps 21 15 81 Jerry Hoyt Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser 129.52 31 125 - 13 Laps 22 29 27 Walt Ader Rae-Offenhauser 129.94 25 123 - 15 Laps 23 30 77 Jackie Holmes Olson-Offenhauser 129.69 28 123 Spun Off 24 28 76 Jim Rathmann Wetteroth-Offenhauser 129.95 24 122 - 16 Laps 25 21 12 Henry Banks(Fred Agabashian Laps 72–112) Maserati-Offenhauser 129.64 29 112 Oil Line 26 22 67 Bill Schindler Snowberger-Offenhauser 132.69 4 111 Transmission 27 17 24 Bayliss Levrett(Bill Cantrell Laps 106–108) Adams-Offenhauser 131.18 14 108 Oil Pressure 28 2 28 Fred Agabashian Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser 132.79 3 64 Oil Leak 29 32 61 Jimmy Jackson Kurtis Kraft-Cummins 129.20 33 52 Compressor 30 25 23 Sam Hanks Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser 131.59 13 42 Oil Pressure 31 8 14 Tony Bettenhausen Diedt-Offenhauser 130.94 16 30 Wheel Bearing 32 18 45 Dick Rathmann Watson-Offenhauser 130.92 17 25 Stalled 33 7 69 Duke Dinsmore Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser 131.06 15 10 Oil Leak
Note: Relief drivers in parentheses
Former Indianapolis 500 winner
Indianapolis 500 Rookie
All entrants utilized Firestone tires.
– Includes 1 point for fastest lead lap.
Race statistics
Lap Leaders Laps Leader1–9 Mauri Rose10–32 Johnnie Parsons33 Mauri Rose34–104 Johnnie Parsons105–109 Mauri Rose110–117 Bill Holland118–138 Johnnie Parsons
Total laps led Driver LapsJohnnie Parsons 115Mauri Rose 15Bill Holland 8
Yellow Lights: 7 minutes, 30 seconds Laps* Reason95–97 Bill Schindler spin in turn 3Jackie Holmes spin in turn 3 (2:40)135–138 Rain; race ended (4:50)* – Approximate lap counts
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 Pos No Driver Constructor Lap Gap 1 98 Walt Faulkner Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser 4:27.97 – 2 28 Fred Agabashian Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser 4:31.10 + 3.13 3 31 Mauri Rose Diedt-Offenhauser 4:32.07 + 4.10 4 5 George Connor Lesovsky-Offenhauser 4:32.39 + 4.42 5 1 Johnnie Parsons Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser 4:32.43 + 4.46 6 49 Jack McGrath Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser 4:33.00 + 5.03 7 69 Duke Dinsmore Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser 4:34.67 + 6.70 8 14 Tony Bettenhausen Diedt-Offenhauser 4:34.92 + 6.95 9 17 Joie Chitwood Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser 4:35.32 + 7.35 10 3 Bill Holland Diedt-Offenhauser 4:35.90 + 7.93 11 59 Pat Flaherty Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser 4:37.76 + 9.79 12 54 Cecil Green Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser 4:30.86 + 2.89 13 18 Duane Carter Stevens-Offenhauser 4:33.42 + 5.45 14 21 Spider Webb Maserati-Offenhauser 4:37.46 + 9.49 15 81 Jerry Hoyt Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser 4:37.95 + 9.98 16 2 Myron Fohr Marchese-Offenhauser 4:33.32 + 5.35 17 24 Bayliss Levrett Adams-Offenhauser 4:34.43 + 6.46 18 45 Dick Rathmann Watson-Offenhauser 4:34.96 + 6.99 19 7 Paul Russo Nichels-Offenhauser 4:35.25 + 7.28 20 4 Walt Brown Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser 4:35.96 + 7.99 21 12 Henry Banks Maserati-Offenhauser 4:37.68 + 9.71 22 67 Bill Schindler Snowberger-Offenhauser 4:31.31 + 3.34 23 8 Lee Wallard Moore-Offenhauser 4:31.83 + 3.86 24 55 Troy Ruttman Lesovsky-Offenhauser 4:32.91 + 4.94 25 23 Sam Hanks Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser 4:33.57 + 5.60 26 15 Mack Hellings Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser 4:35.32 + 7.35 27 22 Jimmy Davies Ewing-Offenhauser 4:36.07 + 8.10 28 76 Jim Rathmann Wetteroth-Offenhauser 4:37.01 + 9.04 29 27 Walt Ader Rae-Offenhauser 4:37.05 + 9.08 30 77 Jackie Holmes Olson-Offenhauser 4:37.57 + 9.60 31 75 Gene Hartley Langley-Offenhauser 4:38.61 + 10.64 32 61 Jimmy Jackson Kurtis Kraft-Cummins 4:38.62 + 10.65 33 62 Johnny McDowell Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser 4:37.58 + 9.61
First alternate No Driver Constructor 66 Cliff Griffith The Talk of Gasoline Alley – 1070-AM WIBC, May 14, 2004 Miller-Offenhauser
Non-qualifiers No Driver Constructor 9 Andy Linden Bromme-Offenhauser 9 Bud Rose Bromme-Offenhauser 10 Bill Vukovich Maserati-Maserati 10 Hal Cole Kurtis-Kraft-Offenhauser 16 Ted Duncan Kurtis-Kraft-Offenhauser 19 Ralph Pratt Bardazon-Offenhauser 19 Kenny Eaton Bardazon-Offenhauser 25 Johnny Mauro Alfa Romeo-Alfa Romeo 26 George Fonder Diedt-Sparks 29 Charles Van Acker Stevens-Offenhauser 33 Joel Thorne Kurtis-Kraft-Sparks 34 Johnny Fedricks Kupiec-Offenhauser 36 George Lynch Snowberger-Offenhauser 38 Duke Nalon Kurtis-Kraft-Novi 39 Danny Kladis Maserati-Maserati 41 Milt Fankhouser Stevens-Offenhauser 43 Chet Miller Kurtis-Kraft-Novi 44 Bill Cantrell Kurtis-Kraft-Offenhauser 47 Ralph Pratt Gdula-Offenhauser 51 Mark Light Stevens-Offenhauser 52 Mark Light Meyer-Offenhauser 52 Dick Frazier Meyer-Offenhauser 58 Billy Devore Scopa-Offenhauser 63 Joe James Kurtis-Kraft-Offenhauser 63 Bob Gregg Kurtis-Kraft-Offenhauser 64 Bob Sweikert Wetteroth-Offenhauser 65 Marvin Burke Kurtis-Kraft-Duray 65 Norm Houser Kurtis-Kraft-Duray 74 Carl Forberg Miller-Offenhauser 78 Cy Marshall Miller-Miller 79 Chuck Leighton Cantarano-Wayne 82 Joe James Weidel-Mercury 83 Al Miller Miller-Miller 84 Mike Burch Miller-Offenhauser 85 Manuel Ayulo Maserati-Offenhauser 85 Jim Rigsby Maserati-Offenhauser 87 Bill Vukovich Rounds Rocket-Offenhauser 99 Kenny Eaton Kurtis-Kraft-Offenhauser 99 Emil Andres Kurtis-Kraft-Offenhauser
World Drivers' Championship
Background The Indianapolis 500 was included in the FIA World Championship of Drivers from 1950 through 1960. The race was sanctioned by AAA through 1955, and then by USAC beginning in 1956. At the time the new world championship was announced and first organized by the CSI, the United States did not yet have a Grand Prix. Indianapolis Motor Speedway vice president and general manager Theodore E. "Pop" Meyers lobbied that the Indianapolis 500 be selected as the race to represent the country and to pay points towards the world championship.