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1936 Indianapolis 500

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
24th Indianapolis 500
Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Indianapolis 500
Sanctioning bodyAAA
DateMay 30, 1936
WinnerLouis Meyer
Winning EntrantLouis Meyer
Average speed109.069 mph
Pole positionRex Mays
Pole speed119.644 mph
Most laps ledLouis Meyer (96)
Pre-race
Pace carPackard 120
Pace car driverTommy Milton
StarterSeth Klein[1]
Honorary refereeRalph DePalma[1]
Estimated attendance170,000[2]
Chronology
Previous Next
1935 1937

The 24th International 500-Mile Sweepstakes Race was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Saturday, May 30, 1936. The race was part of the 1936 AAA Championship Car season. The race is remembered for three noteworthy Indy traditions getting their start.

Louis Meyer became the first three-time winner of the Indianapolis 500. He notably celebrated in victory lane with a bottle of buttermilk, which later started the famous tradition of serving milk in victory lane at Indianapolis.

Lawson Harris served as Meyer's riding mechanic. Harris, who also rode with Meyer in 1933, became the first two-time Indianapolis 500 winning riding mechanic.

The Borg-Warner Trophy debuted for the winner in 1936. Also, pace car driver Tommy Milton suggested that the race winner should be awarded the official pace car as part of his complement of prizes. Louis Meyer was given the keys to the Packard after the race, and it has been a tradition ever since (with only a handful of exceptions).

Time trials

[edit]

Ten-lap (25 mile) qualifying runs were utilized. Rex Mays won the pole position for the second consecutive year.

Qualifying Results
Date Driver Lap 1
(mph)
Lap 2
(mph)
Lap 3
(mph)
Lap 4
(mph)
Lap 5
(mph)
Lap 6
(mph)
Lap 7
(mph)
Lap 8
(mph)
Lap 9
(mph)
Lap 10
(mph)
Average Speed
(mph)
Sat 5/16/1936 Rex Mays 119.745 119.348 118.743 119.968 121.065 119.984 120.289 119.697 119.253 118.985 119.644

Starting grid

[edit]
Row Inside Middle Outside
1 33 United States Rex Mays 21 United States Babe Stapp 18 United States Chet Miller
2 10 United States Doc MacKenzie 38 United States George Connor 44 United States Herb Ardinger
3 42 United States Cliff Bergere 27 United States Louis Tomei 3 United States Wilbur Shaw
4 7 United States Shorty Cantlon 22 United States Ted Horn 35 United States Freddie Winnai
5 2 United States Bill Cummings  W  17 United States George Barringer 4 United States Floyd Roberts
6 43 United States Jimmy Snyder 12 United States Al Miller 6 United States Chet Gardner
7 5 United States Billy Winn 14 United States Frank Brisko 47 United States Johnny Seymour
8 52 United States Frank McGurk  R  54 United States Doc Williams  R  9 United States Ralph Hepburn
9 41 United States Ray Pixley  R  15 United States Deacon Litz 28 United States Harry McQuinn
10 8 United States Louis Meyer  W  32 United States Lou Moore 36 United States Mauri Rose
11 46 United States Fred Frame  W  53 United States Zeke Meyer 19 United States Emil Andres  R 
R Indianapolis 500 rookie
W Indianapolis 500 winner

Alternates

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Failed to Qualify

[edit]

Box score

[edit]
Finish Start No Name Entrant Chassis Engine Qual Rank Laps Status
1 28 8 United States Louis Meyer  W  Louis Meyer Stevens Miller 114.171 18 200 Running
2 11 22 United States Ted Horn Harry Hartz Wetteroth Miller 116.564 8 200 Running
3 4 10 United States Doc MacKenzie
(Kelly Petillo Laps 142–200)
Kelly Petillo Wetteroth Offenhauser 116.961 5 200 Running
4 30 36 United States Mauri Rose Four Wheel Drive Auto Company Miller Miller 113.890 21 200 Running
5 3 18 United States Chet Miller Boyle Motor Products Summers Miller 117.675 3 200 Running
6 25 41 United States Ray Pixley  R  Clarence Felker Miller Miller 116.703 7 200 Running
7 9 3 United States Wilbur Shaw W. Wilbur Shaw Shaw Offenhauser 117.503 4 200 Running
8 14 17 United States George Barringer Phil Shafer Rigling Offenhauser 112.700 27 200 Running
9 32 53 United States Zeke Meyer Boyle Motor Products Cooper Studebaker 111.476 30 200 Running
10 5 38 United States George Connor Joe Marks Adams Miller 116.269 9 200 Running
11 12 35 United States Freddie Winnai Midwest Racing Team Stevens Offenhauser 116.221 10 199 Flagged
12 24 9 United States Ralph Hepburn Ralph Hepburn Miller Offenhauser 112.673 28 196 Flagged
13 27 28 United States Harry McQuinn Alden Sampson II Stevens Miller 114.118 19 196 Out of gas
14 10 7 United States Shorty Cantlon William S. White Weil Miller 116.912 6 194 Out of gas
15 1 33 United States Rex Mays Paul Weirick Adams Sparks 119.644 1 192 Out of gas
16 23 54 United States Doc Williams  R  Race Car Corporation Cooper Miller 112.837 26 192 Out of gas
17 29 32 United States Lou Moore
(Cliff Bergere Laps 77–134)
Lou Moore Miller Offenhauser 113.996 20 185 Out of gas
18 33 19 United States Emil Andres  R 
(Jimmy Snyder Laps 51–112)
J. Stewart Carew Whippet Cragar 111.455 31 184 Flagged
19 15 4 United States Floyd Roberts Joe Lencki Stevens Offenhauser 112.403 29 183 Out of gas
20 20 14 United States Frank Brisko Elgin Piston Ring Company Miller Brisko 114.213 17 180 Out of gas
21 17 12 United States Al Miller Boyle Motor Products Smith Miller 116.138 11 119 Crash FS
22 7 42 United States Cliff Bergere
(Tony Gulotta Laps 60–114)
(Herb Ardinger Laps 115–116)
Bowes Seal Fast Corporation Stevens Miller 113.377 22 116 Engine support
23 26 15 United States Deacon Litz
(Louis Tomei Laps 59–107)
A. B. Litz Miller Miller 115.997 13 108 Crankshaft
24 2 21 United States Babe Stapp Gil Pirrung Shaw Offenhauser 118.945 2 89 Crankshaft
25 19 5 United States Billy Winn James W. Winn Miller Miller 114.648 16 78 Crankshaft
26 22 52 United States Frank McGurk  R  Charles Worley Adams Cragar 113.102 24 51 Crankshaft
27 8 27 United States Louis Tomei Babe Stapp Wetteroth Miller 111.078 33 44 Engine support
28 6 44 United States Herb Ardinger Bowes Seal Fast Corporation Stevens Miller 115.082 15 38 Transmission
29 18 6 United States Chet Gardner Chester L. Gardner Duesenberg Offenhauser 116.000 12 38 Clutch
30 16 43 United States Jimmy Snyder Murrell Belanger Stevens Miller 111.291 32 21 Oil leak
31 21 47 United States Johnny Seymour William L. Cantlon Stevens Miller 113.169 23 13 Clutch
32 31 46 United States Fred Frame  W  Moore & Fengler Miller Miller 112.877 25 4 Piston
33 13 2 United States Bill Cummings  W  Boyle Motor Products Miller Offenhauser 115.939 14 0 Clutch
[5][6]

Note: Relief drivers in parentheses[7]

 W  Former Indianapolis 500 winner

 R  Indianapolis 500 Rookie

Race statistics

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Race summary

[edit]

To slow the cars, a fuel limit of 37.5 gallons of gasoline was implemented for the race distance. Engine tuners struggled to make their engines more efficient.

At the start, polesitter Rex Mays led but soon dropped out with a faulty throttle. Wilbur Shaw then took the lead, but lost time with a 17-minute pit stop to re-fasten loose rivets on his engine hood.

Louis Meyer steadily moved up through the field and took the lead by halfway. He pitted for fuel at 350 miles, allowing Ted Horn to take the point. But Meyer caught him, pulled away and became the first 3-time "500" winner. He wasn't sure his fuel would last until the end. He said, "That last lap, I held my breath."[9]

  • For 1936, riding mechanics were required.[10]
  • After numerous fatalities in the 1935 race, additional safety measures were introduced for 1936. All new drivers were required to pass a rookie test prior to qualifying. In addition, the inside wall was removed in several locations, the outside walls were angled inward to keep cars from going over them, and several portions of the track were paved over in asphalt. In a sharp contrast to previous years, the 1936 race saw zero fatalities amongst the competitors or spectators. It marked the only year from the span of 1929-1940 (the Depression Era) in which no fatalities occurred at the Speedway.
  • Bill Cummings car failed to pull away from the grid due to clutch and transmission failure. He became the first driver in Indy history to line up for the grid, but fail to pull away and start the race.

References

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  1. ^ a b Fox, Jack C. (1994). The Illustrated History of the Indianapolis 500 1911-1994 (4th ed.). Carl Hungness Publishing. p. 22. ISBN 0-915088-05-3.
  2. ^ Campbell, Russell E. (May 31, 1936). "Meyer Spins Home As 170,000 Sunburn". The Indianapolis Star. p. 1. Retrieved June 3, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.Open access icon
  3. ^ The Talk of Gasoline Alley - 1070-AM WIBC, May 14, 2004
  4. ^ "1936 International 500 Mile Sweepstakes". ChampCarStats.com. Retrieved 28 June 2015.
  5. ^ "Indianapolis 500 1936". Ultimate Racing History. Archived from the original on 18 September 2012. Retrieved 16 January 2012.
  6. ^ Popely, Rick; Riggs, L. Spencer (1998). The Indianapolis 500 Chronicle. Lincolnwood, Illinois: Publications International, Ltd. ISBN 0-7853-2798-3.
  7. ^ "International 500 Mile Sweepstakes – May 30, 1936". ChampCarStats.com.
  8. ^ Miley, Jack (May 31, 1936). "Meyer Wins Speed Grind Third Time". Daily News. p. 101. Retrieved April 27, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.Open access icon
  9. ^ Book "The Indianapolis 500: A Complete Pictorial History by John and Barbara Devaney p. 111-112
  10. ^ Blazier, John E.; Rollings, Tom (1994). Forgotten Heroes of the Speedways: The Riding Mechanics.


1935 Indianapolis 500
Kelly Petillo
1936 Indianapolis 500
Louis Meyer
1937 Indianapolis 500
Wilbur Shaw
Preceded by
106.240 mph
(1935 Indianapolis 500)
Record for the fastest average speed
109.069 mph
Succeeded by