1940 Indianapolis 500
Indianapolis Motor Speedway | |||||
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Indianapolis 500 | |||||
Sanctioning body | AAA | ||||
Date | May 30, 1940 | ||||
Winner | Wilbur Shaw | ||||
Winning Entrant | Boyle Racing Headquarters | ||||
Average speed | 114.277 mph | ||||
Pole position | Rex Mays | ||||
Pole speed | 127.850 mph | ||||
Most laps led | Wilbur Shaw (136) | ||||
Pre-race | |||||
Pace car | Studebaker Champion | ||||
Pace car driver | Ab Jenkins | ||||
Starter | Seth Klein[1] | ||||
Honorary referee | Roscoe Turner[1] | ||||
Estimated attendance | 150,000[2] | ||||
Chronology | |||||
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The 28th International 500-Mile Sweepstakes Race was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on May 30, 1940. The winner was Wilbur Shaw in the same Maserati 8CTF he had driven to victory in 1939. Shaw became the first driver in the history of the race to win in consecutive years. It also marked Shaw's third win in four years, making him the second three-time winner of the race. Shaw's average speed was 114.277 mph, slowed by rain which caused the last 50 laps to be run under caution.[3] Shaw took home $31,875 (equivalent to $693,224 in 2023) in prize winnings, plus additional prizes that included a car and a refrigerator.[4]
Fourth place finisher Ted Horn was flagged due to the rain shower, and was officially credited with completing only 199 laps - one lap short of the full distance. This marked the only blemish on his noteworthy record of nine consecutive races completing every lap. He eventually completed 1,799 out of a possible 1,800 laps from 1936 to 1948.
The top four starting positions finished in the top four places, albeit in shuffled order.
Starting grid
[edit]Row | Inside | Middle | Outside | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 33 | ![]() | 1 | ![]() | 7 | ![]() |
2 | 3 | ![]() | 31 | ![]() | 5 | ![]() |
3 | 9 | ![]() | 16 | ![]() | 27 | ![]() |
4 | 8 | ![]() | 19 | ![]() | 24 | ![]() |
5 | 35 | ![]() | 28 | ![]() | 41 | ![]() |
6 | 6 | ![]() | 10 | ![]() | 26 | ![]() |
7 | 36 | ![]() | 32 | ![]() | 54 | ![]() |
8 | 25 | ![]() | 17 | ![]() | 29 | ![]() |
9 | 21 | ![]() | 42 | ![]() | 34 | ![]() |
10 | 44 | ![]() | 38 | ![]() | 58 | ![]() |
11 | 49 | ![]() | 14 | ![]() | 61 | ![]() |
Alternates
[edit]- First alternate: Tony Willman[5]
Failed to qualify
[edit]- George Bailey (#56) - Fatal accident
- Henry Banks (#39)
- Shorty Cantlon (#24) - Replaced by Babe Stapp
- Wesley Crawford (#62)
- Port DeFraties R (#51)
- René Dreyfus R (#22) - drove two stints of relief for René Le Bègue during the race
- Louis Durant R (#12)
- Ira Hall (#47)
- Bill Lipscomb R (#57)
- Louis Unser R - Passed driver's test
- Lou Webb R (#37)
- Freddie Winnai (#59)[6]
Box score
[edit]Finish | Start | No | Name | Chassis | Engine | Qual | Rank | Laps | Status | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 2 | 1 | ![]() | Maserati | Maserati | 127.065 | 2 | 200 | 114.277 mph | |
2 | 1 | 33 | ![]() | Stevens | Winfield | 127.850 | 1 | 200 | +1:14.14 | |
3 | 3 | 7 | ![]() | Wetteroth | Offenhauser | 125.624 | 3 | 200 | +1:37.79 | |
4 | 4 | 3 | ![]() | Miller | Miller | 125.545 | 4 | 199 | Flagged | |
5 | 10 | 8 | ![]() | Adams | Sparks | 122.434 | 20 | 197 | Flagged | |
6 | 20 | 32 | ![]() | Stevens | Sampson | 124.882 | 6 | 196 | Flagged | |
7 | 7 | 9 | ![]() | Stevens | Offenhauser | 123.216 | 12 | 195 | Flagged | |
8 | 5 | 31 | ![]() | Wetteroth | Miller | 124.753 | 7 | 194 | Flagged | |
9 | 8 | 16 | ![]() | Stevens | Brisko | 122.716 | 16 | 193 | Flagged | |
10 | 31 | 49 | ![]() (Laps 1-45 and 98-150) ![]() (Laps 46-97 and 151-192) | Maserati | Maserati | 118.981 | 33 | 192 | Flagged | |
11 | 15 | 41 | ![]() | A-R Weil | Alfa Romeo | 122.486 | 19 | 192 | Flagged | |
12 | 22 | 25 | ![]() | Stevens | Offenhauser | 122.963 | 15 | 192 | Flagged | |
13 | 14 | 28 | ![]() | Weil | Duray | 123.064 | 13 | 192 | Flagged | |
14 | 16 | 6 | ![]() | Weil | Offenhauser | 121.889 | 22 | 191 | Flagged | |
15 | 26 | 42 | ![]() | Adams | Offenhauser | 121.757 | 25 | 190 | Flagged | |
16 | 18 | 26 | ![]() | Miller | Offenhauser | 119.980 | 32 | 190 | Exhaust pipe | |
17 | 27 | 34 | ![]() (Henry Banks Laps 148-189) | Alfa Romeo | Alfa Romeo | 121.392 | 27 | 189 | Flagged | |
18 | 32 | 14 | ![]() (George Connor Laps 107-181) | Shaw | Offenhauser | 122.197 | 21 | 181 | Flagged | |
19 | 28 | 44 | ![]() | Adams | Offenhauser | 120.818 | 28 | 179 | Flagged | |
20 | 33 | 61 | ![]() (Lou Webb Laps 27-57) (George Connor Laps 58-59) (Lou Webb Laps 60-157) | Lencki | Lencki | 120.797 | 30 | 157 | Flagged | |
21 | 13 | 35 | ![]() | Wetteroth | Offenhauser | 125.331 | 5 | 128 | Bearing | |
22 | 25 | 21 | ![]() | Silnes | Offenhauser | 121.790 | 24 | 120 | Rod | |
23 | 23 | 17 | ![]() | Miller | Offenhauser | 122.562 | 18 | 67 | Shock absorber | |
24 | 12 | 24 | ![]() (Started in substitution for Shorty Cantlon) (Tony Willman Lap 13-64) | Stevens | Offenhauser | 123.367 | 11 | 64 | Oil line | |
25 | 19 | 36 | ![]() | Cooper | Miller | 122.963 | 14 | 61 | Oil line | |
26 | 17 | 10 | ![]() | Lencki | Lencki | 124.585 | 8 | 52 | Rod | |
27 | 6 | 5 | ![]() | Wetteroth | Offenhauser | 123.673 | 10 | 51 | Oil line | |
28 | 29 | 38 | ![]() | Blume | Brisko | 120.809 | 29 | 48 | Oil leak | |
29 | 21 | 54 | ![]() | Miller | Offenhauser | 123.860 | 9 | 47 | Steering | |
30 | 30 | 58 | ![]() | Alfa Romeo | Alfa Romeo | 120.288 | 31 | 41 | Clutch | |
31 | 11 | 19 | ![]() | Snowberger | Miller | 121.564 | 26 | 38 | Water pump | |
32 | 9 | 27 | ![]() | Adams | Offenhauser | 122.614 | 17 | 32 | Crash FS | |
33 | 24 | 29 | ![]() | Maserati | Maserati | 121.827 | 23 | 24 | Crash T2 | |
[7][8][9] |
Note: Relief drivers in parentheses[10]
W Former Indianapolis 500 winner
R Indianapolis 500 Rookie
All entrants utilized Firestone tires.
Race statistics
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See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ 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.
- ^ Brooks, Ralph L. (May 31, 1940). "Nearly 150,000 Fans Eat, Nap, Cheer, And Even Watch Race at '40 Classic". The Indianapolis Star. p. 1. Retrieved June 2, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "1940 Indianapolis 500 Official Box Score :: Indianapolis 500". Archived from the original on 2008-05-14. Retrieved 2008-06-11.
- ^ The New York Times, "First Place Nets $31,875 for Shaw", June 1, 1940, Sports page 16
- ^ The Talk of Gasoline Alley - 1070-AM WIBC, May 14, 2004
- ^ "1940 International 500 Mile Sweepstakes". ChampCarStats.com. Retrieved 28 June 2015.
- ^ "Indianapolis 500 1940". Ultimate Racing History. Archived from the original on 5 February 2013. Retrieved 16 January 2012.
- ^ "Indianapolis Motor Speedway". www.indianapolismotorspeedway.com. Retrieved 2023-09-12.
- ^ Kern, Cleo L. (May 31, 1940). "Winning Driver In Pits Twice". The Indianapolis Star. p. 14. Retrieved April 24, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "International 500 Mile Sweepstakes – May 30, 1940". ChampCarStats.com.
- ^ Peck, Phillips J. (May 30, 1940). "Becomes Second 3-Time Winner (Part 1)". Palladium-Item. p. 1. Retrieved April 25, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Peck, Phillips J. (May 30, 1940). "Becomes Second 3-Time Winner (Part 2)". Palladium-Item. p. 12. Retrieved April 25, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.