1927 Indianapolis 500

The 15th International 500-Mile Sweepstakes Race was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Monday, May 30, 1927.

First-time starter George Souders won by eight laps, the largest margin since 1913. Souders became the first driver to win the full-500 mile race solo, with neither help from a relief driver, nor accompanied by a riding mechanic.

Time trials[]

Four-lap (10 mile) qualifying runs were utilized. Frank Lockhart won the pole position with a speed of 120.10 mph. Lockhart set a new 1-lap track record on his final lap.

Results[]

Finish	Start	No	Name	Entrant	Chassis	Engine	Qual	Rank	Laps	Led	Status
1	22	32	George Souders  R	William S. White	Duesenberg	Duesenberg	111.551	12	200	51	Running
2	15	10	Earl Devore	F. P. Cramer	Miller	Miller	107.497	23	200	0	Running
3	27	27	Tony Gulotta	Anthony Gulotta	Miller	Miller	107.765	22	200	0	Running
4	19	29	Wilbur Shaw  R	Fred Clemons	Miller	Miller	104.465	32	200	0	Running
5	28	21	Dave Evans  R	David E. Evans	Duesenberg	Duesenberg	107.360	25	200	0	Running
6	7	14	Bob McDonogh	Cooper Engineering Company	Cooper	Miller	113.175	8	200	0	Running
7	18	16	Eddie Hearne	Harry Hartz	Miller	Miller	105.115	31	200	0	Running
8	25	6	Tommy Milton  W	Tommy Milton	Detroit	Miller	108.758	20	200	0	Running
9	14	25	Cliff Bergere  R	Muller Brothers	Miller	Miller	108.820	19	200	0	Running
10	13	5	Frank Elliott	Frank Elliott	Miller	Miller	109.682	17	200	0	Running
11	33	31	Fred Frame  R	O. B. Dolfinger	Miller	Miller	106.859	27	199	0	Flagged
12	32	42	Jim Hill  R	Earl Devore	Miller	Miller	107.392	24	197	0	Flagged
13	31	24	Benny Shoaff  R	Duesenberg Brothers	Duesenberg	Duesenberg	110.152	13	198	0	Rear end gears
14	26	41	Wade Morton	Duesenberg Brothers	Duesenberg	Duesenberg	108.075	21	152	0	Crash
15	20	44	Al Melcher  R	Charles Haase	Miller	Miller	102.918	33	144	0	Supercharger
16	23	43	Louis Schneider  R	Fred Lecklider	Miller	Miller	109.910	15	137	0	Timing gears
17	12	9	Peter Kreis	Cooper Engineering Company	Cooper	Miller	109.900	16	123	0	Front axle
18	1	2	Frank Lockhart  W	Frank S. Lockhart	Miller	Miller	120.100	1	120	110	Rod
19	6	15	Cliff Woodbury	Cliff Woodbury	Miller	Miller	113.200	7	108	0	Supercharger
20	17	26	Dutch Bauman  R	Harry S. Miller	Miller	Miller	106.078	29	90	9	Pinion shaft
21	29	35	Al Cotey  R	Al Cotey	Miller	Miller	106.295	28	87	0	Universal joint
22	16	17	W. E. Shattuc	Dr. W. E. Shattuc, M.D.	Miller	Miller	107.060	26	83	0	Valve
23	30	23	Fred Lecklider	Henry Kohlert	Miller	Miller	105.729	30	49	0	Crash T1
24	5	19	Ralph Hepburn	Cliff Woodbury	Miller	Miller	114.209	5	39	0	Fuel tank leak
25	4	1	Harry Hartz	Harry Hartz	Miller	Miller	116.739	4	38	0	Crankshaft
26	2	3	Peter DePaolo  W	Peter DePaolo	Miller	Miller	119.510	2	31	30	Supercharger
27	3	12	Leon Duray	Leon Duray	Miller	Miller	118.788	3	26	0	Fuel tank leak
28	9	4	Bennett Hill	Cooper Engineering Company	Miller	Miller	112.013	10	26	0	Shackle bolt
29	21	18	Jules Ellingboe	Earl Cooper	Miller	Miller	113.239	6	25	0	Crash T4
30	10	8	Norman Batten	Norman K. Batten	Fengler	Miller	111.940	11	24	0	Caught fire
31	24	38	Babe Stapp  R	Duesenberg Brothers	Duesenberg	Duesenberg	109.555	18	24	0	Universal joint
32	11	22	Jack Petticord  R	Cliff Woodbury	Miller	Miller	109.920	14	22	0	Supercharger
33	8	7	Dave Lewis	Dave Lewis	Miller	Miller	112.275	9	21	0	Front axle
[3][4]

Race details[]

For 1927, riding mechanics were optional;^[5] however, no teams utilized them.

Eddie Hearne was the only driver in the field who had competed at the inaugural Indy 500. This would be the final time a driver from the inaugural race would compete.

References[]