The 17th International 500-Mile Sweepstakes was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Thursday, May 30, 1929. Ray Keech, who finished fourth a year earlier, took the lead for the final time on lap 158 and won his first Indianapolis 500. Keech won for car owner Maude A. Yagle, the first and to-date, only female winning owner in Indy history. Only two weeks after winning the race, Ray Keech was fatally injured in a crash at Altoona Speedway on June 15, 1929. The race was part of the 1929 AAA Championship Car season.
The 1929 edition was the last contested with the supercharged 91 cu. in. (1.5 L) displacement engine formula. The supercharged front-wheel drive Miller 8s dominated qualifying, sweeping the front row. A total of twelve front-wheel drive machines made the field, but Keech's rear-wheel-drive Simplex Piston Ring Special took the victory. All three cars of the front row, as well as the first two cars of the second row, dropped out before the halfway point. Pole-sitter Cliff Woodbury crashed on lap 4, and became the first pole position winner in Indy history to finish last (33rd). Defending race winner Louis Meyer was leading in the second half, but lost nearly seven minutes when his car stalled in the pits due to low oil pressure on lap 157. He finished second just over six minutes behind Keech, with the lengthy pit stop the deciding margin.
The hard luck story of the race belonged to Lou Moore. After finishing second in 1928, Moore was on his way to back-to-back runner-up finishes. With two laps to go, however, his engine threw a rod. Due to the rules at the time, since Moore was not running at the finish, he was scored behind all finishers. He fell all the way back to 13th position, behind four cars that actually had fewer laps than he had.
It was the final race of the Roaring Twenties and the final race before the Stock Market crash and Great Depression. The facility was expanded in 1929 to include a golf course. Dubbed the "Speedway Golf Course," it featured nine holes outside the track, and nine holes inside the track, and was designed by Bill Diddel. Also during the month, scenes for the movie Speedway were being filmed.
Engine specifications and rule changes The 1929 race would be the final year contested with the supercharged 91 cu. in. (1.5 L) displacement engine formula. Speedway president Eddie Rickenbacker sought to substantially change the engine specifications for 1930 and beyond in an effort to lure back the passenger car manufacturers, and make the cars on the track resemble more those sold to the motoring public. Rickenbacker's desire was to move away from the supercharged, specialized racing machines that had taken over the Speedway through the 1920s.
Contrary to popular belief, the proposed rules changes were not made in response to the stock market crash of 1929 (which had not occurred yet) and the subsequent Great Depression. The rule changes for 1930 were in fact being laid out as early as 1928, and were already approved by the AAA Contest Board in early January 1929.The History of the 500 – WFNI/WIBC: Episode 10, 2013 In addition, the 1929 race would be the final for the foreseeable future to be without riding mechanics. From 1930 and beyond, the rules were once again going to mandate two-man cars.
With the 91 c.i.d engines on their way out, interest was focused on whether the roughly 200 horsepower machines could set a track record for 500 miles in their swan song. Qualifying speeds were expected to be fast.
For 1929, riding mechanics were optional, however, no teams utilized them.
Jimmy Gleason's car carried #53, the first number over 50 in the history of the race.
Race schedule Participants began arriving at the Speedway in mid-April, but very few, if any, cars took laps prior to May 1. The track was officially made available for practice beginning on Wednesday May 1. Time trials was scheduled for four days – Saturday May 25 through Tuesday May 28. Qualifying on Saturday would be held from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m., and qualifying on Sunday would be held from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Time trials for Monday and Tuesday was tentatively scheduled on an as-needed basis, although on Monday, rain would ultimately wash out the day.
Race schedule – May 1929SunMonTueWedThuFriSat 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25Time Trials26Time Trials27Time Trials28Time Trials29Carb Day30Indy 50031 Color Notes Green Track Available for Practice Dark Blue Time trials Silver Race day Red Rained out* Blank No track activity * Includes days where track activitywas significantly limited due to rain
Preparations – April An expanded garage area greeted competitors arriving at the Speedway for 1929. During the offseason, Speedway superintendent Laurence Welch oversaw the construction of a second row of garages along the Gasoline Alley corridor.
Veteran Indianapolis drivers Earl Devore and Norman Batten were lost at sea in November 1928 in the sinking of the SS Vestris. Batten's widow Marion Batton entered the 1929 race as a car owner.
Saturday April 6: It was announced that Harry Hartz would attempt to return to racing at the 500, after suffering injuries in a crash at Salem in October 1927. Louis Chiron was named to the Louis Chevrolet entry. Chiron was expected to arrive in Indianapolis early the following week. Wednesday April 10: Car owner Maude "M. A." Yagle entered Ray Keech in the Simplex Special. The car was expected to arrive in a few days. Friday April 12: European champion Louis Chiron arrived at the Speedway along with two Delage race cars. Tuesday April 16: It was announced that Italian driver Gianfranco Comotti would be entered in the 500, driving one of the Talbot entries. Saturday April 20: Observers noted that several teams had arrived at the Speedway to begin preparations – more teams than usual at this early stage. Predictions for record speeds were being made, with Dave Evans predicting 102 mph, and mechanic Cotton Henning predicting between 103 and 105 mph. Monday April 22: Johnny Seymour of the Earl Cooper team was among those in the garage area preparing cars. Cooper had reportedly been at the Speedway working on race cars all winter, and even running practice laps in the dead of winter in very cold conditions. Friday April 26: 1922 race winning riding mechanic Ernie Olson had arrived at the Speedway, working as chief mechanic for Cliff Woodbury at the Boyle Valve team. Saturday April 27: To date thirteen entries had been announced for the race, according to Speedway manager T.E. "Pop" Meyers. It was expected that up to 40 entries would be received before the postmarked deadline of May 1. The three-car Packard Cable team owned by Leon Duray announced its second driver. Duray himself had been named to the first car, while Tony Gulotta was named to the second entry. Gulotta was preparing to drive a rear-wheel drive car, while Duray and the unnamed third entry will pilot front-wheel drive machines.
Practice – May (week 1) Wednesday May 1: The deadline for entries to be received was midnight on May 1. In addition, any entries postmarked before midnight on May 1 would be accepted. As of April 30, there had been 29 entries received, and Speedway management expected between 6–8 additional entries to arrive before the deadline. Defending race winner Louis Meyer was on the entry list, but three time runner-up Harry Hartz was not. After speculation weeks earlier about returning to racing, Hartz was set to participate only as a team owner. The track was said to be "buzzing" with activity, with preparations getting underway about ten days earlier than years past. Thursday May 2: A bevy of late entries poured in before the Wednesday night deadline, as well as by mail on Thursday. As of May 2, the entry list has swelled to 43 cars, the largest since before WWI. Rumors were circulating that Ralph DePalma may drive one of the Duesenberg entries. it was estimated that about half of the car entered were already at the track, or at least in the vicinity. All cars were expected to arrive by May 10. Friday May 3: Last-minute entries continued to trickle in, with driver Sam Greco named to the Miller Special owned by Ralph Maramud. The entry list reached 46 cars going for the traditional 33 starting positions. Saturday May 4: By the end of the first week, Phil Shafer, Johnny Seymour, and C. H. Cunard, had all been on the track. Increased track activity was expected soon.
Practice – May (week 2) Sunday May 5: Billy Arnold ran the fastest practice lap thus far for the year. Arnold's hand-timed lap of 1:17 was equal to an average speed of 116.88 mph. Off the track, Pete DePaolo announced he was coming out of retirement to drive the Boyle Valve entry. Monday May 6: Leon Duray was at the track ready to start practice as part of the three-car Packard Cable Special team. Tuesday May 7: Speedway officials announced the pace car for the race would be the Studebaker President Roadster, driven by George Hunt, an engineer for Studebaker. On the track, Phil Shafer ran a few laps, topping out at 100 mph, and Myron Stevens was also out taking laps. Jules Moriceau arrived at the track, as did a recovering Harry Hartz and Ralph DePalma. Moriceau was preparing to drive the Thompson Valve Special, while DePalma was entertaining two or three ride offers. Hartz, still recovering from injuries suffered at Salem in 1927, was walking with a cane, and still not ready to race again. Others already in town included Russ Snowberger, who was expected to drive one of Johnny Seymour's Cooper Specials, Johnny Knerr, and Louis Chevrolet. Wednesday May 8: Former winners of the "500" that were expected to compete in the 1929 race included defending champion Louis Meyer, Pete DePaolo, and perhaps Ralph DePalma. George Souders was still recovering from injuries, L. L. Corum was working for Stutz, Tommy Milton was attending not as a driver. All other former winners were either deceased or retired from driving. Louis Schneider, Wilbur Shaw, and Dutch Baumann were barred from competing in the 1929 race by the AAA Contest Board as discipline due to participation in "outlaw" dirt races in 1928. Thursday May 9: Leon Duray ran a lap of 1:15 (120 mph), the fastest lap thus far for the month. Duray was driving the Packard Cable Special entered for his teammate Ralph Hepburn. Hepburn was expected to arrive at the track on Friday. Friday May 10: Harry Hartz took Cliff Durant's Detroit Special for three laps. Hartz best lap was 1:28 (102 mph). Hartz, walking with a cane, climbed in the car Friday evening to shake it down, preparing to possibly drive relief on race day. Also out on the track Friday was Louis Chiron in the Delage entry. Chrion completed 10–12 laps, with a best lap of 1:23 (108.43 mph). Saturday May 11: At the end of the second week, overall track activity had not been busy. With just over two weeks left, activity was expected to pick up significantly at the beginning of the next week. Elimination trials for the 33-car field were going to be set with a 90 mph minimum speed, and there were going to be about 12 non-qualifiers.
Practice – May (week 3) Sunday May 12: Rain kept the cars off the track for most of the day. About the only track action was Bill Albertson, who ran a few laps in the late afternoon, and Zeke Meyer, who drove a few shakedown laps. Some drivers (Ray Keech, Louis Meyer, and others) left the grounds to race at Cleveland, but they were also rained out. Monday May 13: Rain continued into Monday, and washed out track activity for the entire day. Tuesday May 14: Leon Duray took to the track for a few laps in the Packard Cable Special around 7:30 p.m. Louis Meyer and Alden Sampson both took laps in the #1 and #44 entries. Also out on the track Tuesday was Bill Spence and Bill Lindau. Hollywood director Harry Beaumont arrived in town, preparing to films scenes for the upcoming silent film Speedway.