The 43rd International 500-Mile Sweepstakes was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Saturday, May 30, 1959. The event was part of the 1959 USAC National Championship Trail and was also race 2 of 9 in the 1959 World Championship of Drivers.
Rodger Ward earned the first of two career Indy 500 victories. A record sixteen cars completed the full 500 miles.
All cars were required to have roll bars for the first time.
Practice and time trials Two drivers, Jerry Unser and Bob Cortner, were killed in separate crashes during the month. On May 2, Unser lost control in Turn Four, spun, and flipped down the main stretch. The car caught fire and Unser suffered significant burns; he died from complications of his burns on May 17. On May 19, rookie Cortner crashed in turn three after being pushed by a wind gust. He was killed instantly of head injuries.
On the morning of pole day, Tony Bettenhausen suffered a bad crash during a practice run. His car hit the outside wall and flipped over the inside guardrail. Bettenhausen escaped the crash with only minor injuries, and would qualify on the second weekend of time trials.
After three years of retirement, Duane Carter returned to the cockpit, and qualified for his ninth Indianapolis 500 start.
Time trials were scheduled for four days: Saturday May 16 – Pole Day time trials Sunday May 17 – Second day time trials Saturday May 23 – Third day time trials Sunday May 24 – Fourth day time trials
Starting grid RowInsideMiddleOutside 13 Johnny Thomson44 Eddie Sachs16 Jim Rathmann 273 Dick Rathmann48 Bobby Grim 5 Rodger Ward 374 Bob Veith19 Eddie Johnson88 Gene Hartley 49 Don Branson 33 Johnny Boyd37 Duane Carter 566 Jimmy Daywalt24 Jack Turner1 Tony Bettenhausen 699 Paul Goldsmith10 A. J. Foyt64 Pat Flaherty 77 Jud Larson6 Jimmy Bryan 71 Chuck Arnold 88 Len Sutton89 Al Herman65 Bob Christie 915 Don Freeland87 Red Amick 45 Paul Russo 1057 Al Keller47 Chuck Weyant53 Bill Cheesbourg 1177 Mike Magill49 Ray Crawford58 Jim McWithey
Alternates First alternate: Rex Easton (#39, #45)The Talk of Gasoline Alley – 1070-AM WIBC, May 14, 2004
Failed to qualify
Russ Congdon (#72) - Did not finish rookie test Bob Cortner (#51) - Fatal accident Chuck Daigh (#98) Jimmy Davies (#53) Don Edmunds (#54, #57, #76) Jack Ensley (#92) Gene Force (#55, #78) Andy Furci (#91) Elmer George (#21) Bill Homeier (#42, #62) Van Johnson (#76, #91) Johnny Kay (#17) - Did not finish rookie test Ralph Ligouri (#12, #41) Johnny Moorhouse (#91) Earl Motter (#21) Jim Packard (#55) Johnnie Parsons (#45) Chuck Rodee (#82) Eddie Russo (#1, #78, #93, #98) Bob Schroeder (#78) Shorty Templeman (#69, #76) Johnnie Tolan (#43) Jerry Unser (#57) - Fatal accident Wayne Weiler (#39) - Entry declined, failed physical Dempsey Wilson (#34, #82)
Box score FinishGridNo.DriverConstructorQualifyingLapsStatusPointsSpeedRank 1 6 5 Rodger Ward Watson-Offenhauser 144.03 7 200 135.857 mph 1,000 8 2 3 16 Jim Rathmann Watson-Offenhauser 144.43 4 200 +23.28 800 6 3 1 3 Johnny Thomson Lesovsky-Offenhauser 145.90 1 200 +50.64 700 5 4 15 1 Tony Bettenhausen Epperly-Offenhauser 142.72 18 200 +1:47.09 600 3 5 16 99 Paul Goldsmith Epperly-Offenhauser 142.67 19 200 +2:06.44 500 2 6 11 33 Johnny Boyd Epperly-Offenhauser 142.81 16 200 +3:16.98 400 7 12 37 Duane Carter Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser 142.79 17 200 +4:09.92 300 8 8 19 Eddie Johnson Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser 144.00 9 200 +4:10.53 250 9 27 45 Paul Russo Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser 142.38 22 200 +4:11.04 200 10 17 10 A. J. Foyt Kuzma-Offenhauser 142.64 20 200 +4:14.48 150 11 9 88 Gene Hartley Kuzma-Offenhauser 143.57 10 200 +5:42.48 100 12 7 74 Bob Veith Moore-Offenhauser 144.02 8 200 +6:09.73 50 13 23 89 Al Herman Dunn-Offenhauser 141.93 29 200 +6:40.40 14 13 66 Jimmy Daywalt Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser 144.68 3 200 +6:41.54 15 21 71 Chuck Arnold Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser 142.11 24 200 +8:19.86 16 33 58 Jim McWithey Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser 141.21 33 200 +11:41.69 17 2 44 Eddie Sachs Kuzma-Offenhauser 145.42 2 182 Spun off 18 28 57 Al Keller Kuzma-Offenhauser 142.05 27 163 Engine 19 18 64 Pat Flaherty Watson-Offenhauser 142.39 21 162 Accident 20 4 73 Dick Rathmann Watson-Offenhauser 144.24 5 150 Fire 21 30 53 Bill Cheesbourg Kuzma-Offenhauser 141.78 30 147 Magneto 22 25 15 Don Freeland Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser 143.05 14 136 Magneto 23 32 49 Ray Crawford Elder-Offenhauser 141.34 32 115 Accident 24 10 9 Don Branson Phillips-Offenhauser 143.31 12 112 Suspension 25 24 65 Bob Christie Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser 143.24 13 109 Engine 26 5 48 Bobby Grim Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser 144.22 6 85 Magneto 27 14 24 Jack Turner Christensen-Offenhauser 143.47 11 47 Fuel leak 28 29 47 Chuck Weyant Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser 141.95 28 45 Accident 29 19 7 Jud Larson Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser 142.29 23 45 Accident 30 31 77 Mike Magill Sutton-Offenhauser 141.48 31 45 Accident 31 26 87 Red Amick Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser 142.92 15 45 Accident 32 22 8 Len Sutton Lesovsky-Offenhauser 142.10 26 34 Accident 33 20 6 Jimmy Bryan Salih-Offenhauser 142.11 25 1 Engine
Former Indianapolis 500 winner
Indianapolis 500 Rookie
All entrants utilized Firestone tires.
Notes – Includes 1 point for fastest lead lap
Race statistics
Lap Leaders Laps Leader1–4 Johnny Thomson5–12 Rodger Ward13 Jim Rathmann14–16 Rodger Ward17–30 Jim Rathmann31 Pat Flaherty32–33 Jim Rathmann34–40 Pat Flaherty41–42 Jim Rathmann43–45 Pat Flaherty46–48 Rodger Ward49–84 Johnny Thomson85–200 Rodger Ward
Total laps led Driver LapsRodger Ward 130Johnny Thomson 40Jim Rathmann 19Pat Flaherty 11
Yellow Lights: 43 minutes, 17 seconds Laps* Reason8–10 Eddie Sachs spin in turn 1 (2:25)36–40 Len Sutton crash in turn 1 (5:42)47–56 Weyant, Magil, Amick, Larson crash in turn 4 (11:15)121–133 Ray Crawford crash in turn 3 (17:30)167–173 Pat Flaherty crash on mainstretch (6:25)* – Approximate lap counts
Race notes Fastest lead lap: Johnny Thomson – 1:01.89 Two drivers, Jerry Unser and Bob Cortner, were killed as a result of accidents during practice for this race. Bobby Grim qualified 5th and won the Rookie of the Year award despite dropping out of the race before the halfway point. On lap 85, he suffered magneto failure, and began coasting to the pits. As was customary for drivers of the time, he raised his arm to signify to the other drivers he had lost power. However, due to the high speed he was still traveling, he dislocated his arm in the process. Visibly in pain, the crew thought he was coming in for relief, and quickly Jack Turner jumped behind the wheel, but the car would not run.The Talk of Gasoline Alley – 1070-AM WIBC, May 9, 2007 The first scoring pylon, a famous landmark of the Speedway, was constructed at the south end of the pit area. Last year's winner Jimmy Bryan using the same exact car that won the race in 1957 and 1958 fell out of the race being left on the grid with a clutch failure to finish last (33rd). Final Indianapolis 500 start for 1956 winner Pat Flaherty. He crashed out after completing 162 laps, finishing 19th.
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.
Drivers competing at the Indianapolis 500 in 1950 through 1960 were credited with participation in and earned points towards the World Championship of Drivers. However, the machines competing at Indianapolis were not necessarily run to Formula One specifications and regulations. The drivers also earned separate points (on a different scale) towards the respective AAA or USAC national championships. No points, however, were awarded by the FIA towards the World Constructors' Championship.
Summary The 1959 Indianapolis 500 was round 2 of 9 on the 1959 World Championship. The event, however, failed to attract interest from any of the regular competitors on the Grand Prix circuit, particularly since it was held only one day prior to the Dutch Grand Prix. Race winner Rodger Ward earned 8 points towards the World Championship. Ward also competed in the U.S. Grand Prix at Sebring. He finished tenth in the final season standings.
World Drivers' Championship standings after the race PosDriverPoints 1 Jack Brabham 9 23 2 Rodger Ward 8 1 3 Tony Brooks 6 21 4 Jim Rathmann 6 20 5 Johnny Thomson 5Source: Notes: Only the top five positions are included.
Broadcasting Radio The race was carried live on the IMS Radio Network. Sid Collins served as chief announcer. Fred Agabashian joined the crew for the first time as "driver expert." The broadcast reached 385 affiliates, including Fairbanks, Alaska.
Indianapolis Motor Speedway Radio Network Booth AnnouncersTurn ReportersPit/garage reportersChief Announcer: Sid Collins Driver expert: Fred Agabashian Statistician: Charlie BrockmanTurn 1: Bill Frosh Turn 2: John Peterson Backstretch: Bernie Herman Turn 3: Lou Palmer Turn 4: Jim SheltonGreg Smith (north)Jack Shapiro (center)Luke Walton (south)
References
External links Indianapolis 500 History: Race & All-Time Stats – Official Site