1951 Indianapolis 500

1951 Indianapolis 500
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Winning car of the 1951 Indianapolis 500
Race details
Date	30 May 1951 (1951-05-30)
Official name	35th International 500-Mile Sweepstakes
Location	Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Course	Permanent racing facility
Course length	4.023 km (2.5 mi)
Distance	200 laps, 804.672 km (500 mi)
Weather	Warm and sunny
Attendance	150,000[1]
Pole position
Driver	Duke Nalon	Jean Marcenac
Time	4:23.74 (4 laps)
Podium
First	Lee Wallard	Murrell Belanger
Second	Mike Nazaruk	Jim Robbins
Third	Jack McGrath Manny Ayulo	Kurtis Kraft

The 35th International 500-Mile Sweepstakes was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Wednesday, May 30, 1951. The event was part of the 1951 AAA National Championship Trail, and was also race 2 of 8 in the 1951 World Championship of Drivers. For the second year in a row, no European Formula One-based teams entered the race.

Duke Nalon, who had suffered serious burns in a crash in 1949, and who missed the 1950 race, made a comeback at Indy by winning the pole position in a Novi.

Heavy attrition saw only eight cars running at the finish. Winner Lee Wallard's car lost its brakes, suffered a damaged exhaust pipe, and broke a shock absorber mounting.^[2][3] In addition to the unbearably uncomfortable ride, Wallard had worn a fire retardant outfit, created by dipping his uniform in a mixture of borax crystals and water. Due to not wearing an undershirt, Wallard suffered serious chafing, and required treatment at the infield hospital after the victory lane celebration.^[3] It was estimated he lost 15 pounds during the race.^[3]

Wallard's winning car had the smallest displacement in the field. About a week after winning the race, Wallard suffered severe burns in a crash at Reading, which effectively ended his professional racing career.

Three-time winner Mauri Rose, in his 15th Indy start, crashed and flipped on lap 126. It was his final 500, as he retired from driving after the crash.

Time trials[]

Time trials were scheduled for six days. Rain, however, pushed qualifying into a seventh day.

• Saturday May 12 – Pole Day time trials
• Sunday May 13 – Second day time trials
• Saturday May 19 – Third day time trials
• Sunday May 20 – Fourth day time trials
• Saturday May 26 – Fifth day time trials
• Sunday May 27 – Sixth day time trials (rained out)
• Monday May 28 – Seventh day time trials (rain makeup day)

Box score[]

Pos	Grid	No	Driver	Constructor	Qual	Rank	Laps	Led	Time/Retired	Points
1	2	99	Lee Wallard	Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser	135.03	5	200	159	3:57:38.05	91
2	7	83	Mike Nazaruk  R	Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser	132.18	26	200	0	+ 1:47.24	6
3	3	9	Jack McGrath(Laps 1–100) Manny Ayulo(Laps 101–200)	Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser	134.3	8	200	11	+ 2:51.39	2 2
4	31	57	Andy Linden  R	Sherman-Offenhauser	132.22	25	200	0	+ 4:40.12	3
5	29	52	Bobby Ball  R	Schroeder-Offenhauser	134.09	9	200	0	+ 4:52.23	2
6	17	1	Henry Banks	Moore-Offenhauser	133.89	12	200	0	+ 5:40.02
7	24	68	Carl Forberg  R	Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser	132.89	22	193	0	+ 7 Laps
8	4	27	Duane Carter	Deidt-Offenhauser	133.74	15	180	0	+ 20 Laps
9	9	5	Tony Bettenhausen	Deidt-Offenhauser	131.95	29	178	0	Spun Off
10	1	18	Duke Nalon	Kurtis Kraft-Novi	136.49	2	151	0	Retirement
11	22	69	Gene Force  R	Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser	133.1	20	142	0	Engine
12	12	25	Sam Hanks	Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser	132.99	21	135	0	Engine
13	16	10	Bill Schindler	Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser	134.03	11	129	0	Engine
14	5	16	Mauri Rose  W	Deidt-Offenhauser	133.42	18	126	0	Accident
15	14	2	Walt Faulkner	Kuzma-Offenhauser	136.87	1	123	0	Engine
16	27	76	Jimmy Davies	Pawl-Offenhauser	133.51	17	110	25	Axle
17	11	59	Fred Agabashian	Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser	135.02	6	109	0	Clutch
18	15	73	Carl Scarborough  R	Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser	135.61	4	93	0	Fire
19	33	71	Bill Mackey  R	Stevens-Offenhauser	131.47	32	97	0	Clutch
20	19	8	Chuck Stevenson  R	Marchese-Offenhauser	133.76	14	93	0	Fire
21	8	3	Johnnie Parsons  W	Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser	132.15	27	87	0	Magneto
22	10	4	Cecil Green	Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser	131.89	31	80	5	Engine
23	6	98	Troy Ruttman	Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser	132.31	24	78	0	Engine
24	32	6	Duke Dinsmore	Schroeder-Offenhauser	131.97	28	73	0	Overheating
25	28	32	Chet Miller	Kurtis Kraft-Novi	135.79	3	56	0	Ignition
26	13	44	Walt Brown	Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser	131.9	30	55	0	Magneto
27	25	48	Rodger Ward  R	Bromme-Offenhauser	134.86	7	34	0	Oil Pipe
28	18	23	Cliff Griffith  R	Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser	133.83	13	30	0	Axle
29	20	81	Bill Vukovich  R	Trevis-Offenhauser	133.72	16	29	0	Oil leak
30	21	22	George Connor	Lesovsky-Offenhauser	133.35	19	29	0	Transmission
31	23	19	Mack Hellings	Deidt-Offenhauser	123.92	33	18	0	Engine
32	26	12	Johnny McDowell	Maserati-Offenhauser	132.47	23	15	0	Fuel leak
33	30	26	Joe James  R	Watson-Offenhauser	134.09	10	8	0	Transmission
Source:[4]

Notes

• ^1 – Includes 1 point for fastest lead lap

Alternates[]

• First alternate: Bob Sweikert  R  (#37)^[5]

Failed to Qualify[]

Notes[]

• Pole position: Duke Nalon – 4:23.74 (136.498 mph)
• Fastest Lead Lap: Lee Wallard – 1:07.26 (133.809 mph)^[8]
• Ayulo (100 laps) and McGrath (100) shared the same car. Points for 3rd position were shared between the drivers.
• Roger Penske stated in a live interview on RTV6 in Indianapolis on November 4, 2019, when the Penske Corporation was announcing the purchased of all the IMS assets, that 1951 was the first race he attended at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Championship standings after the race[]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to 1951 Indianapolis 500.

World Drivers' Championship standings

	Pos	Driver	Points
	1	Juan Manuel Fangio	9
20	2	Lee Wallard	9
1	3	Piero Taruffi	6
18	4	Mike Nazaruk	6
2	5	Nino Farina	4
Source: [9]

• Note: Only the top five positions are listed. Only the best 4 results counted towards the Championship.

Broadcasting[]

Radio[]

The race was carried live on the radio through a network arrangement set up by 1070 WIBC-AM of Indianapolis. Mutual, which had carried the race for several years, had raised its advertising rates for 1951, and lost its primary sponsor for the event, Perfect Circle Piston Rings. As a result, Mutual dropped the coverage altogether. Local station WIBC stepped in to cover the race, and provided its feed to various Mutual affiliates.^[10] A total of 26 stations carried the broadcast.

WIBC personality Sid Collins served as booth announcer, and the remainder of the crew consisted mostly of WIBC talent. Jim Shelton reported from his familiar turn four location, and Collins interviewed the winner in victory lane. Like the Mutual broadcasts, WIBC featured live coverage of the start (30 minutes), the finish (30 minutes), and 15-minute live updates throughout the race.

References[]

External links[]

• Indianapolis 500 History: Race & All-Time Stats – Official Site
• Van Camp's Pork & Beans Presents: Great Moments From the Indy 500 – Fleetwood Sounds, 1975
• 1951 Indianapolis 500 at RacingReference.info (Relief driver statistics)