1911 INDIANAPOLIS 500

The '1911 Indianapolis 500-Mile Race', or 'International 500-Mile Sweepstakes Race', the first recorded automobile race of such distance in history, and cause for the largest public gathering up to that time in the city's history, was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Tuesday, May 30, 1911.
The largest racing purse offered to that date, $27,550, drew 46 entries from the United States and Europe, from which 40 qualified by sustaining 75 mph (120.7 km/h) for a quarter mile distance, though starting position was determined by date of entry instead of speed. Entries were prescribed by rules to have a minimum weight of 2,300 lb (1,043 kg) and a maximum engine size of 600 cubic inches (9.83 litres) displacement.
The cars lined up five to a row, excepting the first and last; the former led in what is now called the pole position by co-founder and president of the Speedway Carl G. Fisher in a Stoddard-Dayton pace car, the latter holding a single car to make up for the shifted positioning that resulted. Fisher's use of the Stoddard-Dayton is believed to constitute the first use of such a vehicle, for the first known mass-rolling start of an automobile race.
Amid roiling smoke, the roar of the 40 machines' engines, and the waving of a red flag which signalled 'clear course ahead', American Johnny Aitken, in a National, took the lead from the fourth starting spot on the extreme outside of the first row, and held it until lap 5 when Spencer Wishart took over in a Mercedes, himself soon overtaken by David L. Bruce-Brown's Fiat which would go on to dominate the first half of the race. Nearing the halfway point, Ray Harroun, an engineer for the Marmon company and defending AAA national champion, and the only driver competing without a riding mechanic due to his first-ever-recorded use of a cowl-mounted rear-view mirror, passed Bruce-Brown for the lead in his self-designed, six-cylinder "Marmon Wasp" (so named for its distinctively sharp-pointed, wasp-like tail).
Others falter during the marathon event; of the 14 cars to fall out, riding mechanic Sam Dickson is the lone fatality, killed when driver Arthur Greiner hits the wall in the second turn on lap 12.
Harroun, relieved by Cyrus Patschke for 35 laps (87.5 miles / 140.82 km), leads 88 of the 200 laps, the most among the race's seven leaders, to average a speed of 74.602 mph (120.060 km/h) in a total time of 6:42:08 for the 500-mile (804.67 km) distance to win.
Or apparently win.
During the midpoint of the second half the race, Harroun and Lozier driver Ralph Mulford had fought an intense battle for supremacy, with Harroun being scored as holding a small advantage near the 340 mile (550 kilometer) mark...whereupon one of the Wasp's tires 'let go'. With balloon tires not yet developed, automobile tires of the day did not 'go flat', but were in fact thin strips of solid rubber which could be cut and torn without totally destroying the tire, and by extension the car, if pit stop for replacement occurred swiftly enough. Harroun's forced stopped allowed Mulford to move to the front, before Mulford soon pitted as well, also needing new rubber. After Mulford came back onto the track, Harroun was scored in the lead with a 1 minute, 48 second advantage...and it is on this statistic that controversy ensues.
Upon Harroun's declared victory, Mulford filed protest, contending that he had lapped Harroun when the Marmon had limped in on the torn tire, an argument appearing plausible to some, due to an accident disrupting the official timing and scoring stand at nearly the same time. However, race officials were quick to note that Mulford's subsequent pit stop forced the Lozier crew to spend several minutes themselves changing a tire that had stuck to the wheel hub; Mulford's protest was thus denied, though the reality remains that the final result will always be open to dispute.
After the race, and collection of $10,000 for first place, Harroun returned to the position he had taken at the end of the 1910 racing season: retirement. He would never race again.

Contents

Official Results

Qualification Results

Race Results

Notes

References and External Links

Official Results

Qualification Results

''Starting grid qualification determined by order of entry date.''

Row	Far Inside	Inside Center	Center	Outside Center	Far Outside
1	''Pace Car Position''	'Lewis Strang'	'Ralph DePalma' (Italian-born)	'Harry Endicott'	'Johnny Aitken'
2	'Louis Disbrow'	'Frank Fox'	'Harry Knight'	'Joe Jagersberger' (Austrian-born)	'Will Jones'
3	'Gil Anderson'	'Spencer Wishart'	'W. H. Turner'	'Fred Belcher'	'Arthur Chevrolet' (Swiss-born)
4	'Charles Basle' (French-born)	'Eddie Hearne'	'Harry Grant'	'Charlie Merz'	'Howdy Wilcox'
5	'Mel Marquette'	'Fred Ellis'	'Harry Cobe'	'Jack Tower'	'Ernest Delaney'
6	'David L. Bruce-Brown'	'Lee Frayer'	'Joe Dawson'	'Ray Harroun'	'Ralph Mulford'
7	'Teddy Tetzlaff'	'Herbert Lytle'	'Hughie Hughes'	'Charles Bigelow'	'Ralph Beardsley'
8	'Caleb Bragg'	'Howard Hall'	'Bill Endicott'	'Arthur Greiner'	'Bob Burman'
9	'Billy Knipper'

Race Results

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Entrant	Engine	Cylinders	Displacement	Chassis	Color	Start Pos	Laps Led ★	Time	Laps / Speed / Reason Out
1	32	'Ray Harroun' ★ ★	Marmon "Wasp"	Nordyke & Marmon Company	Marmon	6	477 in³ / 7.82 L	Marmon	yellow/black	28	88	6:42:08	200 - 74.602 mph / 120.060 km/h
2	33	'Ralph Mulford'	Lozier	Lozier Motor Company	Lozier	4	544 in³ / 8.91 L	Lozier	White	29	10	6:43:51 / +1:43	200 - 74.285 mph / 119.550 km/h
3	28	'David L. Bruce-Brown'	Fiat	E. E. Hewlett	Fiat	4	589 in³ / 9.65 L	Fiat	maroon/white	25	81	6:52:29 / +10:21	200 - 72.730 mph / 117.048 km/h
4	11	'Spencer Wishart'	Mercedes	Spencer Wishart	Mercedes	4	583 in³ / 9.55 L	Mercedes	gray	11	5	6:52:57 / +10:49	200 - 72.648 mph / 116.916 km/h
5	31	'Joe Dawson'	Marmon	Nordyke & Marmon Company	Marmon	4	495 in³ / 8.11 L	Marmon	yellow/black	27	0	6:54:34 / +12:26	200 - 72.365 mph / 116.460 km/h
6	2	'Ralph DePalma' ( Italian-born)	Simplex	Simplex Automobile Company	Simplex	4	597 in³ / 9.78 L	Simplex	red/white	2	4	7:02:02 / +19:54	200 – 71.084 mph / 114.399 km/h
7	20	'Charlie Merz'	National	National Motor Vehicle Company	National	4	447 in³ / 7.33 L	National	blue/white	18	0	7:06:20 / +24:12	200 – 70.367 mph / 113.245 km/h
8	12	'W. H. Turner'	Amplex	Simplex Automobile Company	Amplex	4	443 in³ / 7.26 L	Amplex	red	12	0	7:15:56 / +33:48	200 – 68.818 mph / 110.752 km/h
9	15	'Fred Belcher'	Knox	Knox Automobile Company	Knox	6	432 in³ / 7.08 L	Knox	brown	13	4	7:17:09 / +35:01	200 – 68.626 mph / 110.443 km/h
10	25	'Harry Cobe'	Jackson	Jackson Automobile Company	Jackson	4	559 in³ / 9.16 L	Jackson	maroon/white	22	0	7:21:50 / +39:42	200 – 67.899 mph / 109.273 km/h
11	10	'Gil Anderson'	Stutz	Ideal Motor Car Company	Wisconsin	4	390 in³ / 6.39 L	Stutz	gray/white	10	0	7:22:56 / +40:48	200 – 67.73 mph / 109.001 km/h
12	36	'Hughie Hughes'	Mercer	Mercer Motors Company	Mercer	4	300 in³ / 4.92 L	Mercer	yellow/blue	32	0	7:22:56 / +40:48	200 – 67.73 mph / 109.001 km/h
13	30	'Lee Frayer'	Firestone-Columbus	Columbus Buggy Company	Firestone-Columbus	4	432 in³ / 7.08 L	Firestone-Columbus	scarlet/gray	26	0	flagged	flagged
14	21	'Howdy Wilcox'	National	National Motor Vehicle Company	National	4	589 in³ / 9.65 L	National	blue/white	19	0	flagged	flagged
15	37	'Charles Bigelow'	Mercer	Mercer Motors Company	Mercer	4	300 in³ / 4.92 L	Mercer	yellow/blue	33	0	flagged	flagged
16	3	'Harry Endicott'	Inter-State	Inter-State Automobile Company	Inter-State	4	390 in³ / 6.39 L	Inter-State	gray/black	3	0	flagged	flagged
17	41	'Howard Hall'	Velie	Velie Motors Corporation	Velie	4	334 in³ / 5.47 L	Velie	gray	36	0	flagged	flagged
18	46	'Billy Knipper'	Benz	E. A. Moross	Benz	4	444 in³ / 7.28 L	Benz	white	40	0	flagged	flagged
19	45	'Bob Burman'	Benz	E. A. Moross	Benz	4	520 in³ / 8.52 L	Benz	white	39	0	flagged	flagged
20	38	'Ralph Beardsley'	Simplex	Simplex Automobile Company	Simplex	4	597 in³ / 9.78 L	Simplex	red	34	0	flagged	flagged
21	18	'Eddie Hearne'	Fiat	Edward A. Hearne	Fiat	4	487 in³ / 7.98 L	Fiat	red/white	16	0	flagged	flagged
22	6	'Frank Fox'	Pope-Hartford	Pope Manufacturing Company	Pope-Hartford	4	390 in³ / 6.39 L	Pope-Hartford	red/white	6	0	flagged	flagged
23	27	'Ernest Delaney'	Cutting	Clark-Carter Automobile Company	Cutting	4	390 in³ / 6.39 L	Cutting	gray/black/white	24	0	flagged	flagged
24	26	'Jack Tower'	Jackson	Jackson Automobile Company	Jackson	4	432 in³ / 7.08 L	Jackson	maroon/white	23	0	flagged	flagged
25	23	'Mel Marquette'	McFarlan	Speed Motors Company	McFarlan	6	377 in³ / 6.18 L	McFarlan	lead/white	20	0	flagged	flagged
26	42	'Bill Endicott'	Cole	Cole Motor Car Company	Cole	4	471 in³ / 7.72 L	Cole	green	37	0	flagged	flagged
27	4	'Johnny Aitken'	National	National Motor Vehicle Company	National	4	589 in³ / 9.65 L	National	blue/white	4	8	DNF	125 – connecting rod
28	9	'Will Jones'	Case	Case Corporation	Wisconsin	4	284 in³ / 4.65 L	Case	red/gray	9	0	DNF	122 - steering
29	1	'Lewis Strang'	Case	Case Corporation	Wisconsin	4	284 in³ / 4.65 L	Case	red/gray	1	0	DNF	109 – steering
30	7	'Harry Knight'	Westcott	Westcott Motor Car Company	Westcott	6	421 in³ / 6.90 L	Westcott	gray	7	0	DNF	90 – accident, front-straight
31	8	'Joe Jagersberger' (Austrian-born)	Case	Case Corporation	Wisconsin	4	284 in³ / 4.65 L	Case	red/gray	8	0	DNF	87 – accident, front-straight
32	35	'Herbert Lytle'	Apperson	Apperson Brothers Automotive Company	Apperson	4	546 in³ / 8.95 L	Apperson	vermillion/white	31	0	DNF	82 – accident, pits
33	19	'Harry Grant'	Alco	American Locomotive Company	Alco	6	580 in³ / 9.50 L	Alco	black	17	0	DNF	51 – bearings
34	17	'Charles Basle' (French-born)	Buick	Buick Motor Company	Buick	4	594 in³ / 9.73 L	Buick	white/red	15	0	DNF	46 – mechanical
35	5	'Louis Disbrow'	Pope-Hartford	Pope Manufacturing Company	Pope-Hartford	4	390 in³ / 6.39 L	Pope-Hartford	red/black	5	0	DNF	45 – accident, front-straight
36	16	'Arthur Chevrolet' ( Swiss-born)	Buick	Buick Motor Company	Buick	4	594 in³ / 9.73 L	Buick	white/red	14	0	DNF	30 – mechanical
37	39	'Caleb Bragg'	Fiat	Caleb S. Bragg	Fiat	4	487 in³ / 7.98 L	Fiat	maroon	35	0	DNF	24 – wrecked, pits
38	24	'Fred Ellis'	Jackson	Jackson Automobile Company	Jackson	4	355 in³ / 5.82 L	Jackson	maroon/white	21	0	DNF	22 – withdrawn
39	34	'Teddy Tetzlaff'	Lozier	Lozier Motor Company	Lozier	4	544 in³ / 8.91 L	Lozier	white/red	30	0	DNF	20 – accident, front-straight
40	44	'Arthur Greiner'	Amplex	Simplex Motor Car Company	Amplex	4	443 in³ / 7.26 L	Amplex	red/white	8	0	DNF	12 – accident, second turn

:
★ ''Due to an accident at the timing and scoring stand, laps 138 through 176 were unofficially recorded.''
:
★
★ ''Ray Harroun was relieved by Cyrus Patschke for approximately 35 laps at the halfway point of the race.''

Notes

'Race field average engine displacement':

★ 460.10 in³ / 7.54 L
'Race field average qualifying speed':

★ No full lap
'Finishing entries average time and finishing speed':

★ 7:05:27

★ 70.740 mph / 113.846 km/h

References and External Links

Who Really Won the First Indy 500? Jaslow, Russel

''Indianapolis 500 Chronicle'', Rick Pope, copyright 1999

''2006 Indianapolis 500 Official Program''