The 39th International 500-Mile Sweepstakes was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Monday, May 30, 1955. The event was race 1 of 11 of the 1955 AAA National Championship Trail and was race 3 of 7 in the 1955 World Championship of Drivers.
The race is notable to many as the race in which Bill Vukovich was killed in a crash while seemingly on his way to an unprecedented third consecutive Indy 500 win. Bob Sweikert ended up winning the race on the heels of a historic year, which saw him with the 1955 National Championship and the 1955 Midwest Sprint car championship – the only driver in history to sweep all three during a single racing season.
Time trials Time trials was scheduled for four days.
Saturday May 14 – Pole Day time trials
Gusty winds, as well as the threat of rain, was observed on pole day, therefore nearly all of the competitors stayed off the track. Around the garage area, the drivers and teams agreed amongst themselves to sit out time trials for the afternoon, and instead qualify together in better conditions on Sunday. However, in the final 20 minutes, Jerry Hoyt, who had not been informed about the agreement, suddenly put his car in line, and pulled away for an unexpected qualifying attempt. His speed of 140.045 mph was not spectacular, but as the fastest (and only) car thus far of the day, he sat on the pole position. Without hesitation, Tony Bettenhausen Sr. took to the track moments later. After two fast laps, he was slowed by a gust of wind, and qualified second. Sam Hanks and Pat O'Connor got their cars ready, but neither were able to complete attempts. The day closed with only two cars in the field, and Hoyt the surprising pole winner – to the dismay of several in the garage area.
Sunday May 15 – Second day time trials
Qualifying resumed in better conditions, and most of the drivers who stayed off the track Saturday took to the track on Sunday. Jack McGrath (142.580 mph) was the fastest qualifier, and lined up third. Hoyt's pole-winning speed from the day before ended up being only the 8th-fastest overall in the field – a record slowest ranked pole speed.
Near the end of the day, Manny Ayulo crashed due to a possible steering fault and died the following day.
Saturday May 21 – Third day time trials Paul Russo, attempting to qualify the #18 Novi for Troy Ruttman, suffers a broken gearbox. This was the last appearance of a front-drive car at Indy.
Sunday May 22 – Fourth day time trials
Starting grid = Indianapolis 500 rookie; = Former Indianapolis 500 winner
RowInsideMiddleOutside 1 23 Jerry Hoyt 10 Tony Bettenhausen 3 Jack McGrath 2 14 Fred Agabashian 4 Bill Vukovich 8 Sam Hanks 3 77 Walt Faulkner 19 Andy Linden 22 Cal Niday 4 15 Jimmy Davies 1 Jimmy Bryan 89 Pat Flaherty 5 37 Eddie Russo 6 Bob Sweikert 5 Jimmy Reece 6 71 Al Herman 48 Jimmy Daywalt 98 Duane Carter 7 29 Pat O'Connor 33 Jim Rathmann 12 Don Freeland 8 42 Al Keller 49 Ray Crawford 99 Art Cross 9 41 Chuck Weyant 39 Johnny Boyd 16 Johnnie Parsons 10 31 Keith Andrews 68 Ed Elisian 27 Rodger Ward 11 81 Shorty Templeman 83 Eddie Johnson 44 Johnny Thomson
Alternates First alternate: Len Duncan (#24, #73)The Talk of Gasoline Alley – 1070-AM WIBC, May 14, 2004
Failed to qualify
Manny Ayulo (#88) - Fatal accident Tony Bonadies (#36) Bob Christie (#7) Elmer George (#74) Gene Hartley (#28) Bill Homeier (#72, #77) Johnny Kay (#76) Danny Kladis (#93) Russ Klar (#61) Ernie McCoy (#69) Earl Motter (#81) Duke Nalon (#31) Roy Newman (#93) Jiggs Peters (#32) Paul Russo (#10, #21) Troy Ruttman (#18) George Tichenor (#78) Johnnie Tolan - Withdrew, ill Leroy Warriner (#64) Spider Webb (#9)
Race recap Start Jack McGrath, starting from the outside despite the fastest qualifying time, grabbed the initial lead, but was quickly challenged by Bill Vukovich, who was looking for his third consecutive win. Vukovich took the lead on lap four, surrendering it back to McGrath on lap 15 but regaining it on lap 16. Fred Agabashian, who had finished in the top ten the previous two years spun on lap 39 and could not continue. McGrath chased Vukovich until lap 54, when he pulled over with mechanical problems. Despite getting out of the car and attempting to repair it himself, he was forced to drop out with a magneto issue.
Lap 56, Vukovich crash With Vukovich having a considerable lead on lap 56, Rodger Ward, several laps down, flipped over twice, either due to a problem with the wind, oil, or breaking an axle. Although he landed on his wheels, the car was facing the wrong way.Goldstein, Richard (July 7, 2004) Rodger Ward, 83, Two-Time Indianapolis 500 Winner (obituary). New York Times. Retrieved May 26, 2018. Al Keller, attempting to avoid Ward, turned to the inside, going close to or on to the grass, before turning hard to the right and coming quickly back up the track and contacting Johnny Boyd. Boyd's car careened into Vukovich, who appeared to be attempting to also go to the left of Ward. Vukovich made a last-second attempt to avoid Boyd to the right, but Boyd's car sent Vukovich hard into the outside barrier. Vukovich's front end also lifted into the air, causing the front to clear the barrier and the car to contact it with the rear, sending the car into a cartwheel, during which it hit several vehicles parked outside the track, and possibly a pole. The car burst into flames after it came to rest, and Vukovich died from injuries from the crash. Boyd's car also flipped but he and the other drivers escaped major injury.The Rex Dean Accident Report: The Race and Accident. Retrieved May 26, 2018. Driver Ed Elisian stopped his car on the infield and ran across the track in an attempt to help Vukovich.
Remainder of race After 27 minutes of running under caution, Jimmy Bryan took over the lead of the race, but was forced to retire after ninety laps with a fuel pump issue, when the lead was taken over by Bob Sweikert. The only other driver to retire due to contact for the remainder of the race was Cal Niday on lap 170.Box Scores - Indianapolis 500 - 1955 Indianapolis 500 Historical Stats from website of Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Retrieved May 26, 2018. Art Cross led the race from laps 133 to 156, but after surrendering the lead to Don Freeland was forced to retire due to mechanical trouble on lap 168. Freeland similarly was passed by Sweikert on lap 160, and retired on lap 178. Sweikert led the remainder of the race. Sweikert stated that the winds made racing difficult, and perhaps led to a decision of racing cautiously and taking advantage of other's difficulty.Burgess, Dale (May 31, 1955) "Bob Sweikert Wins 500 Mile Race" Associated Press. Retrieved May 26, 2018.
Aftermath The two deaths in the 500 were part of a particularly deadly year for motorsports, which also included four other Indy drivers dying in other races, Alberto Ascari being killed while testing a sports car at Monza, and a horrific accident at the 24 Hours of Le Mans which saw nearly 100 fatalities including Pierre Levegh who was driving at the time of the accident. Following the year the American Automobile Association ceased sanctioning auto races (including the Indy 500) and the United States Auto Club (USAC) was formed to handle sanctioning duties.Oreovicz, John (May 23, 2016) Indy at 100: The '50s golden era ESPN.com. Retrieved May 26, 2018. It would take until 1959 for fire suits to be made mandatory for all drivers and roll bars for all cars after Jerry Unser's fatal accident at the 1959 Indianapolis 500.Wren, Adam (May 25, 2016) Driving Forces: Danger and Safety at the Indy 500 Indianapolis Monthly. Retrieved May 26, 2018.
Box score FinishGridNo.DriverConstructorQualifyingLapsStatusPointsSpeedRank 1 14 6 Bob Sweikert KK500D-Offenhauser 139.99 11 200 128.209 mph 1000 8 2 2 10 Tony Bettenhausen(Paul Russo Laps 57–133) KK500C-Offenhauser 139.98 13 200 +2:43.56 500 300 3 3 3 10 15 Jimmy Davies KK500B-Offenhauser 140.27 5 200 +3:32.36 700 4 4 33 44 Johnny Thomson Kuzma-Offenhauser 134.11 33 200 +3:38.91 600 3 5 7 77 Walt Faulkner(Bill Homeier Laps 138–161) KK500C-Offenhauser 139.76 16 200 +5:17.17 447½52½ 1 1 6 8 19 Andy Linden KK4000-Offenhauser 139.09 22 200 +5:57.94 400 7 16 71 Al Herman Silnes-Offenhauser 139.81 15 200 +6:24.24 300 8 19 29 Pat O'Connor KK500D-Offenhauser 139.19 21 200 +6:41.60 250 9 17 48 Jimmy Daywalt Kurtis-Offenhauser 139.41 18 200 +7:09.81 200 10 12 89 Pat Flaherty KK500B-Offenhauser 140.14 7 200 +7:46.54 150 11 18 98 Duane Carter Kuzma-Offenhauser 139.33 19 197 -3 Laps 100 12 25 41 Chuck Weyant KK3000-Offenhauser 138.06 25 196 -4 Laps 50 13 32 83 Eddie Johnson Trevis-Offenhauser 134.44 32 196 -4 Laps 14 20 33 Jim Rathmann Epperly-Offenhauser 138.70 24 191 -9 Laps 15 21 12 Don Freeland Phillips-Offenhauser 139.86 14 178 Transmission 16 9 22 Cal Niday KK500B-Offenhauser 140.30 4 170 Accident 17 24 99 Art Cross KK500D-Offenhauser 138.75 23 168 Engine 18 31 81 Shorty Templeman Trevis-Offenhauser 135.01 31 142 Transmission 19 6 8 Sam Hanks KK500C-Offenhauser 140.00 10 134 Transmission 20 28 31 Keith Andrews Schroeder-Offenhauser 136.04 28 120 Fuel Pump 21 27 16 Johnnie Parsons KK500D-Offenhauser 136.80 27 119 Magneto 22 13 37 Eddie Russo Allen-Offenhauser 140.11 8 112 Ignition 23 23 49 Ray Crawford KK500B-Offenhauser 139.20 20 111 Engine 24 11 1 Jimmy Bryan Kuzma-Offenhauser 140.16 6 90 Fuel Pump 25 5 4 Bill Vukovich ✝ KK500C-Offenhauser 141.07 3 56 Fatal Accident 1 26 3 3 Jack McGrath KK500C-Offenhauser 142.58 1 54 Magneto 27 22 42 Al Keller KK2000-Offenhauser 139.55 17 54 Accident 28 30 27 Rodger Ward Kuzma-Offenhauser 135.04 30 53 Accident 29 26 39 Johnny Boyd KK500C-Offenhauser 136.98 26 53 Accident 30 29 68 Ed Elisian KK4000-Offenhauser 135.33 29 53 Retirement 31 1 23 Jerry Hoyt Stevens-Offenhauser 140.04 9 40 Oil Leak 32 4 14 Fred Agabashian KK500D-Offenhauser 141.93 2 39 Spun Off 33 15 5 Jimmy Reece Pankratz-Offenhauser 139.99 12 10 Engine
Note: Relief drivers in parentheses
Former Indianapolis 500 winner
Indianapolis 500 Rookie
All entrants utilized Firestone tires.
– 1 point for fastest lead lap
Race statistics
Lap Leaders Laps Leader1–3 Jack McGrath4–14 Bill Vukovich15 Jack McGrath16–24 Bill Vukovich25–26 Jack McGrath27–56 Bill Vukovich57 Jimmy Bryan58 Bob Sweikert59–88 Jimmy Bryan89–132 Bob Sweikert133–156 Art Cross157–159 Don Freeland160–200 Bob Sweikert
Total laps led Driver LapsBob Sweikert 86Bill Vukovich 50Jimmy Bryan 31Art Cross 24Jack McGrath 6Don Freeland 3
Yellow Lights: 30 minutes, 25 seconds Laps* Reason40–41 Fred Agabashian spin on backstretch (1:40)56–72 Ward, Elisian, Keller, Boyd, Vukovich crash on backstretch (27:10)173 Cal Niday crash in turn 4 (1:35)* – Approximate lap counts
Additional stats Pole position: Jerry Hoyt – 1:04.27 (while Hoyt started on the pole, Jack McGrath set the fastest time but started on the outside of the first row) Fastest Lead Lap: Bill Vukovich – 1:03.67 Shared Drives: Car #10: Tony Bettenhausen (123 laps) and Paul Russo (77 laps). They shared the 6 points for second place. After Russo had failed to qualify in his own machine, Bettenhausen and Russo pre-arranged to serve as co-drivers in the #10 car on race day. Bettenhausen started the race, and per plan, handed the car over to Russo during the first pit stop. Russo then handed the car back to Bettenhausen on the second and final pit stop. Car #77: Walt Faulkner (176 laps) and Bill Homeier (24 laps). They shared the 2 points for fifth place. While in the lead, Bill Vukovich hit the 3-car pileup of Al Keller, Johnny Boyd, and Rodger Ward. He was killed (by fracture to the skull) when his car became airborne and went out of the course on the back long straightaway, landing upside down and on fire. His death concluded a streak of three straight years leading the most laps in the race (likely to have been four straight, 1955 inclusive), a feat unequaled since.