1953 Indianapolis 500

1953 Indianapolis 500
1953 Indianapolis 500
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	Winning car of the 1953 Indianapolis 500
Race details
Date	30 May 1953
Official name	37th 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	Extremely hot
Attendance	190,000
Pole position
Driver	Bill Vukovich;
Time	4:20.13 (4 laps)
Podium
First	Bill Vukovich;
Second	Art Cross;
Third	Sam Hanks; Duane Carter;

The 37th International 500-Mile Sweepstakes was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Saturday, May 30, 1953. The event was part of the 1953 AAA National Championship Trail, and was race 2 of 9 in the 1953 World Championship of Drivers.

Bill Vukovich, after falling short a year before, earned the first of two consecutive Indy 500 victories. With the temperature in the high 90s (°F), and the track temperature exceeding 130 °F (54 °C), this race is often known as the "Hottest 500." Driver Carl Scarborough dropped out the race, and later died at the infield hospital due to heat prostration.^[2]

Due to the extreme heat conditions, several drivers in the field required relief drivers, and some relief drivers even required additional relief. Vukovich, however, as well as second-place finisher Art Cross, both ran the full 500 miles solo.

Race details[]

Practice[]

Sixteen year race veteran Chet Miller died in an accident in practice on May 15.^[3]

Qualifying[]

Time trials were scheduled for four days.

Saturday May 16 – Pole Day time trials (rained out)
Sunday May 17 – Second day time trials
Saturday May 23 – Third day time trials
Sunday May 24 – Fourth day time trials

Vukovich qualified on pole, with a speed of 138.392 mph (222.720 km/h).

Race[]

Polesitter Bill Vukovich dominated the race, leading 195 laps and also recording fastest lap.

The race is commonly known as the "Hottest 500", with track temperatures exceeding 130 °F (54 °C). Recent research, however, has suggested that the 1937 race actually had higher recorded temperatures. Half the drivers in the field used relief help,^[3] including:
- Duane Carter (49 laps) took over from Sam Hanks (151)
- Paul Russo (96) took over from Fred Agabashian (104)
- Eddie Johnson (88) took over from Jim Rathmann (112)
- Gene Hartley (37) and Chuck Stevenson (44) took over from Tony Bettenhausen (115)
- Bob Scott (121) took over from Carl Scarborough (69)^[4]
- Jim Rathmann (36) took over from Bill Holland (141)
- Duke Dinsmore (10) and Andy Linden (29) took over from Rodger Ward (138)
- Johnny Mantz (42) took over from Walt Faulkner (134)
- Jackie Holmes (9) and Johnny Thomson (45) took over from Spider Webb (112)
- Andy Linden (12) and Chuck Stevenson (13) took over from Jerry Hoyt (82)

Carl Scarborough retired from the race due to heat exhaustion, and died later at the infield hospital.^[2]

Box score[]

Pos	Grid	No	Driver	Constructor	Qual	Rank	Laps	Led	Time/retired	Points
1	1	14	Bill Vukovich	Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser	138.39	1	200	195	3:53:01.69	9¹
2	12	16	Art Cross	Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser	137.31	8	200	0	+3:30.87	6
3	9	3	Sam Hanks (relieved by Duane Carter)	Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser	137.53	5	200	3	+4:11.50	2 2
4	2	59	Fred Agabashian (relieved by Paul Russo)	Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser	137.54	4	200	1	+4:39.24	1.5 1.5
5	3	5	Jack McGrath	Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser	136.6	13	200	0	+7:49.64	2
6	21	48	Jimmy Daywalt R	Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser	135.74	23	200	0	+8:10.21
7	25	2	Jim Rathmann (relieved by Eddie Johnson)	Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser	135.66	27	200	1	+8:46.02
8	20	12	Ernie McCoy R	Stevens-Offenhauser	135.92	22	200	0	+10:04.55
9	6	98	Tony Bettenhausen (relieved by Chuck Stevenson) (relieved by Gene Hartley)	Kuzma-Offenhauser	136.02	20	196	0	Accident
10	32	53	Jimmy Davies	Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser	135.26	31	193	0	+7 laps
11	26	9	Duke Nalon	Kurtis Kraft-Novi	135.46	30	191	0	Accident
12	19	73	Carl Scarborough ✝ (relieved by Bob Scott)	Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser	135.93	21	190	0	+10 laps
13	4	88	Manny Ayulo	Kuzma-Offenhauser	136.38	15	184	0	Engine
14	31	8	Jimmy Bryan	Schroeder-Offenhauser	135.5	29	183	0	+17 laps
15	28	49	Bill Holland W (relieved by Jim Rathmann)	Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser	137.86	2	177	0	Magneto
16	10	92	Rodger Ward (relieved by Andy Linden) (relieved by Duke Dinsmore)	Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser	137.46	6	177	0	Axle
17	14	23	Walt Faulkner (relieved by Johnny Mantz)	Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser	137.11	10	176	0	+24 laps
18	22	22	Marshall Teague R	Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser	135.72	25	169	0	Oil Leak
19	18	62	Spider Webb (relieved by Johnny Thomson) (relieved by Jackie Holmes)	Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser	136.16	17	166	0	Oil Leak
20	29	51	Bob Sweikert	Kuzma-Offenhauser	136.87	11	151	0	Suspension
21	23	83	Mike Nazaruk	-Offenhauser	135.7	26	146	0	Transmission
22	24	77	Pat Flaherty	Kuzma-Offenhauser	135.66	28	115	0	Accident
23	7	55	Jerry Hoyt (relieved by Chuck Stevenson) (relieved by Andy Linden)	Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser	135.73	24	107	0	Overheating
24	27	4	Duane Carter	Lesovsky-Offenhauser	135.26	32	94	0	Ignition
25	17	7	Paul Russo	Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser	136.21	16	89	0	Magneto
26	8	21	Johnnie Parsons W	Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser	137.66	3	86	0	Engine
27	15	38	Don Freeland R	Watson-Offenhauser	136.86	12	76	0	Accident
28	13	41	Gene Hartley	Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser	137.26	9	53	0	Accident
29	16	97	Chuck Stevenson	Kuzma-Offenhauser	136.56	14	42	0	Fuel Leak
30	30	99	Cal Niday R	Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser	136.09	18	30	0	Magneto
31	11	29	Bob Scott	Bromme-Offenhauser	137.43	7	14	0	Oil Leak
32	33	56	Johnny Thomson R	Del Roy-Offenhauser	135.26	33	6	0	Ignition
33	5	32	Andy Linden	Stevens-Offenhauser	136.06	19	3	0	Accident

Notes

^1 – Includes 1 point for fastest lead lap

Alternates[]

First alternate: Eddie Johnson (#26)^[5]

Failed to Qualify[]

Frank Armi R (#79)
Alberto Ascari (#97) - Did not appear
Henry Banks (#10)
Buzz Barton R (#35)
Joe Barzda R (#69)
R (#86)
Billy Cantrell R (#42)
R (#23)
George Connor (#25)
Ray Crawford R (#49)
Jorge Daponte R (#95)
Duke Dinsmore (#52)
R
Len Duncan R (#31, #81)
Edgar Elder R (#49)
R (#46)
John Fitch R (#49, #74)
George Fonder (#76)
R (#36)
Cliff Griffith (#24)
R (#91)
R (#65)
Al Herman R (#93)
Jackie Holmes (#71)
Bill Homeier R (#84, #87)
R (#67)
Jud Larson R (#96)
R (#34)
Johnny Mauro (#47) - Did not appear
Chet Miller (#15) – Fatal accident
R (#43)
Danny Oakes R (#63)
Pat O'Connor R (#28, #64, #74)
R (#82)
Hal Robson (#57)
Troy Ruttman (#2)
Eddie Sachs R (#34)
R (#75)
Joe Sostilio R (#17)
Harry Stockman R (#84)
R (#39)
R (#65)
Johnnie Tolan R (#66, #85)
Leroy Warriner R (#44)
R ^[6]

Race notes[]

Pole position: Bill Vukovich – 4:20.13 (4 laps)
Fastest lead lap: Bill Vukovich – 1:06.240
The purse for first place was $89,496^[7] (US$865,685 in 2020 dollars^[8]).
One of the prizes awarded to the winner was a pet dog and a year's supply of dog food.^[9]

Broadcasting[]

Radio[]

The race was carried live flag-to-flag on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Radio Network. Instead of being produced by 1070 WIBC-AM, the network pooled together talent and technical staff from all five of the major radio stations in Indianapolis. The broadcast was anchored by Sid Collins, and featured on-air talent from WIBC, WFBM, WISH, WIRE, and WXLW.^[10]

The broadcast signed on at 10:45 a.m. local time, and carried live through the conclusion, until 3:45 p.m. local time. The broadcast was carried on 135 stations in at least 35 states across the country, and on Armed Forced Network to Europe and Asia.

Indianapolis Motor Speedway Radio Network
Booth Announcers	Turn Reporters	Pit/garage reporters
Chief Announcer: Sid Collins Color: Charlie Brockman Analyst: Chuck Breece	South Turns: Bill Frosch North Turns: Jim Shelton Trackside location: Dick Pittenger Trackside location: Robin Bright	Luke Walton (north pits) Al Vare (south pits) Sid Collins (victory lane)

Championship standings after the race[]

World Drivers' Championship standings

	Pos	Driver	Points
	1	Alberto Ascari	9
16	2	Bill Vukovich	9
1	3	Luigi Villoresi	6
14	4	Art Cross	6
2	5	José Froilán González	4
Source:^[11]

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

Gallery[]

1953 winning car

References[]

^ Lamm, Corky (May 31, 1953). "Californian Leads Al But Two Laps; 5 Cars Crack Up". The Indianapolis Star. p. 1. Retrieved June 2, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
^ ^a ^b Yates, Brock (2005). Against Death and Time: One Fatal Season in Racing's Glory Years. Da Capo Press. ISBN 978-1-56025-770-7. Retrieved 2011-06-23.
^ ^a ^b Yates, Brock (1961). The Indianapolis 500: The Story of the Motor Speedway. Harper. p. 67.
^ Davidson, Donald (2011-02-03). "Pit Lane before the 1953 Indianapolis 500". Blog.indianapolismotorspeedway.com. Archived from the original on 2011-07-13. Retrieved 2011-06-23.
^ The Talk of Gasoline Alley – 1070-AM WIBC, May 14, 2004
^ "1953 International 500 Mile Sweepstakes". ChampCarStats.com. Retrieved 28 June 2015.
^ Yates, Brock (1961). The Indianapolis 500: The Story of the Motor Speedway. Harper. p. 68.
^ 1634–1699: McCusker, J. J. (1997). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States: Addenda et Corrigenda (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1700–1799: McCusker, J. J. (1992). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1800–present: Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. "Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–". Retrieved January 1, 2020.
^ The Talk of Gasoline Alley – 1070-AM WIBC, May 13, 2004
^ "5 Stations To Handle 500-Mile". The Indianapolis Star. May 24, 1953. p. 63. Retrieved March 7, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Indianapolis 1953 - Championship • STATS F1". www.statsf1.com. Retrieved 3 March 2019.

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
1953 Indianapolis 500 Radio Broadcast, Indianapolis Motor Speedway Radio Network: Re-broadcast on "The History of the 500" – WFNI (May 12, 2013)

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[1] Lamm, Corky (May 31, 1953). "Californian Leads Al But Two Laps; 5 Cars Crack Up". The Indianapolis Star. p. 1. Retrieved June 2, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.

[OneFatalSeason-2] Yates, Brock (2005). Against Death and Time: One Fatal Season in Racing's Glory Years. Da Capo Press. ISBN 978-1-56025-770-7. Retrieved 2011-06-23.

[yates-3] Yates, Brock (1961). The Indianapolis 500: The Story of the Motor Speedway. Harper. p. 67.

[4] Davidson, Donald (2011-02-03). "Pit Lane before the 1953 Indianapolis 500". Blog.indianapolismotorspeedway.com. Archived from the original on 2011-07-13. Retrieved 2011-06-23.

[5] The Talk of Gasoline Alley – 1070-AM WIBC, May 14, 2004

[6] "1953 International 500 Mile Sweepstakes". ChampCarStats.com. Retrieved 28 June 2015.

[yates2-7] Yates, Brock (1961). The Indianapolis 500: The Story of the Motor Speedway. Harper. p. 68.

[inflation-US-8] 1634–1699: McCusker, J. J. (1997). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States: Addenda et Corrigenda (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1700–1799: McCusker, J. J. (1992). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1800–present: Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. "Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–". Retrieved January 1, 2020.

[9] The Talk of Gasoline Alley – 1070-AM WIBC, May 13, 2004

[Star05-24-1953pg63-10] "5 Stations To Handle 500-Mile". The Indianapolis Star. May 24, 1953. p. 63. Retrieved March 7, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.

[11] "Indianapolis 1953 - Championship • STATS F1". www.statsf1.com. Retrieved 3 March 2019.

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