1939 Indianapolis 500 - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Indianapolis 500

The Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, also known as the Indianapolis 500, the 500 Miles at Indianapolis, the Indy 500 or The 500, is an American automobile race, held annually, typically on the last weekend in May at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana...

took place May 30, 1939. The race was won by the number two car of Wilbur Shaw

Wilbur Shaw

Warren Wilbur Shaw was a noted American racing driver and president of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway from 1945 until his death. Shaw was the automotive test evaluator for Popular Science magazine...

, who started in the third position.http://www.indy500.com/stats/view/boxscore/year/1939 The race was notable for a three car accident on lap 109, when Floyd Roberts

Floyd Roberts

Floyd Roberts is a former Championship Car racing driver from Jamestown, North Dakota. He won the Indianapolis 500 in 1938 with a record speed of . He led for 92 laps. The following year, 1939, driving the same car, he was killed in a crash on the backstretch after hitting a wooden fence at near...

the reigning champion, was killed when his car went through the wooden outer wall at over 100 miles (160.9 km) an hour at the backstretch.

In Louis Meyer's

Louis Meyer

Louis Meyer was an American Hall of Fame race car driver best known as the first three-time winner of the Indianapolis 500....

final Indy 500, he too would crash at the backstretch at over 100 miles (160.9 km) at hour, but he walked away unharmed.

Of the 33 drivers who started the race, 12 would have their lives ended by vehicle accidents.

The Crash

With Roberts on lap 109, the car driven by Bob Swanson

Bob Swanson (driver)

Bob Swanson was an American racecar driver.Swanson won the first Turkey Night Grand Prix midget-car race in 1934. At the 1939 Indianapolis 500, he was involved in the accident that killed defending champion Floyd Roberts...

lost control and went sideways. Roberts' car contacted Swanson's, causing Swanson's car to eject Swanson, flip over, and catch fire, while Roberts' car went through the outer wall. Chet Miller's

Chet Miller

Chet Miller was an American racecar driver. He was killed in a crash in the south turn of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway during practice for the 1953 Indianapolis 500. During his long Indy career, Miller earned the nickname "Dean of the Speedway"...

car went into the debris field, flipped, and went into the inner wall. Two spectators were also injured by flying debris. The three drivers were taken to hospitals, while it took over 30 minutes to clear the burning wreck of Swanson's car from the track. Roberts death due to brain injuries was announced before the race was completed.

Results

Results of the 1939 Indianapolis 500 held at Indianapolis

Indianapolis Motor Speedway

The Indianapolis Motor Speedway, located in Speedway, Indiana in the United States, is the home of the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race and the Brickyard 400....

on Tuesday, May 30, 1939.

Finish	Start	No	Name	Qual	Rank	Laps	Led	Status
1	3	2	Wilbur Shaw Wilbur Shaw Warren Wilbur Shaw was a noted American racing driver and president of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway from 1945 until his death. Shaw was the automotive test evaluator for Popular Science magazine...	128.977	4	200	51	Running
2	1	10	Jimmy Snyder Jimmy Snyder (driver) Jimmy Snyder was an American racecar driver.Snyder was part of the midget car "Chicago Gang" with Emil Andres, Tony Bettenhausen, Cowboy O'Rourke, Paul Russo, and Wally Zale. They toured tracks in the Midwest and East Coast of the United States.Snyder won the 1937 track championship at the Chicago...	130.138	1	200	65	Running
3	10	54	Cliff Bergere Cliff Bergere Cliff Bergere was an American racecar driver.-Indy 500 results:...	123.835	15	200	0	Running
4	4	4	Ted Horn Ted Horn Ted Horn , born Eylard Theodore Von Horn, was an American race car driver. He won the AAA National Championship in 1946, 1947 and 1948 and collected 24 wins, 12 second-place finishes and 13 third-place finishes in 71 major American open-wheel races prior to his death at the DuQuoin State...	127.723	6	200	4	Running
5	16	31	Babe Stapp Babe Stapp Elbert "Babe" Stapp was an American racecar driver active in the 1920's and 1930's.-Career award:*He was inducted in the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame in 1994....	125.000	12	200	0	Running
6	15	41	George Barringer George Barringer George Barringer was an American racecar driver from Wichita Falls, Texas active during the 1930's and 1940's. Barringer made 17 Championship Car starts with a best finish of second at Springfield in August 1935 and Milwaukee in August 1939...	120.935	28	200	0	Running
7	20	8	Joel Thorne Joel Thorne Joel Thorne was an American racecar driver, engineer, and playboy. He died when he crashed his private plane, after what witnesses described as "stunting", into an apartment building, killing eight residents including a two month old baby...	122.177	23	200	0	Running
8	8	16	Mauri Rose Mauri Rose Mauri Rose was an American racecar driver.He started from the pole position driving a Maserati in the 1941 Indianapolis 500, but spark plug problems put him out of the race after sixty laps. He then took over the Wetteroth/Offenhauser car being driven by Floyd Davis that had started in 17th place....	124.896	13	200	0	Running
9	17	14	Frank Wearne Frank Wearne Frank Wearne was an American racecar driver. An Indianapolis 500 specialist, he participated in the race 7 times, with a best finish of 7th in 1940. He only made two Championship Car starts in races other than the Indy 500. -Indy 500 results:...	125.074	11	200	0	Running
10	33	26	Billy Devore	116.527	33	200	0	Running
11	27	62	Tony Gulotta Tony Gulotta Tony Gulotta was an American racecar driver active throughout the 1920s and 1930s....	121.749	24	200	0	Running
12	2	45	Louis Meyer Louis Meyer Louis Meyer was an American Hall of Fame race car driver best known as the first three-time winner of the Indianapolis 500....	130.067	2	197	79	Crash BS
13	12	18	George Connor George Connor (driver) George Connor was an American racecar driver.-Indy 500 results:* In 14 Indianapolis starts, Connor drove without leading a lap. This ranks 5th on the all-time list....	123.208	19	195	0	Stalled
14	26	51	Tony Willman Tony Willman Tony Willman was an American racecar driver. He was killed in a midget car accident.-Career awards:*He was inducted in the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame in 1992....	122.771	21	188	0	Fuel pump
15	30	58	Louis Tomei Louis Tomei Luigi Gilbert "Louis" Tomei was an American racecar driver active during the 1930's and 1940's.-Indy 500 results:-Stunt performer:...	118.426	30	186	0	Flagged
16	19	15	Rex Mays Rex Mays Rex Mays is a former AAA Championship Car race driver from Riverside, California. He made his Indianapolis 500 debut in 1934 and won the pole in 1935, 1936, and again in 1940 and finished second, he returned the next year and finished second again. Mays won the AAA National Championship in 1940...	126.413	7	145	1	Rings
17	9	9	Herb Ardinger Herb Ardinger Herb Ardinger was an American racecar driver.Ardinger competed in eight AAA Championship Car races from 1934 to 1939, including the 1934, 1936, 1937, and 1938 Indianapolis 500 races...	124.125	14	141	0	Clutch
18	24	35	Kelly Petillo Kelly Petillo Cavino Michele "Kelly" Petillo, was an American race car driver....	123.660	16	141	0	Pistons
19	14	49	Mel Hansen Mel Hansen Mel Hansen was an American racecar driver. Hansen was nicknamed the “Firecracker Kid” because he loved to throw the explosive devices under chairs and behind people who were gathered in groups...	121.683	25	113	0	Crash Pits
20	32	38	Harry McQuinn Harry McQuinn Harry McQuinn was an American racecar driver active in the 1930s and 1940s....	117.287	32	110	0	Ignition
21	5	3	Chet Miller Chet Miller Chet Miller was an American racecar driver. He was killed in a crash in the south turn of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway during practice for the 1953 Indianapolis 500. During his long Indy career, Miller earned the nickname "Dean of the Speedway"...	126.318	8	109	0	Crash BS
22	13	25	Ralph Hepburn Ralph Hepburn Ralph Hepburn was a pioneer of American motorcycle racing champion and an Indianapolis 500 racing driver.Born in Somerville, Massachusetts, Hepburn's family moved to Los Angeles, California when he was ten years old...	122.204	22	107	0	Crash BS
23	23	1	Floyd Roberts Floyd Roberts Floyd Roberts is a former Championship Car racing driver from Jamestown, North Dakota. He won the Indianapolis 500 in 1938 with a record speed of . He led for 92 laps. The following year, 1939, driving the same car, he was killed in a crash on the backstretch after hitting a wooden fence at near...	128.968	5	106	0	Crash BS
24	18	37	Ira Hall Ira Hall Ira Hall was an American racecar driver. Hall was later elected sheriff of Vigo County, Indiana.-Career award:...	121.188	27	89	0	Head gasket
25	25	21	Russ Snowberger Russ Snowberger Russ Snowberger was an American racecar driver and owner active from the 1920s through the 1950s....	123.199	20	50	0	Radiator
26	6	17	George Bailey George Bailey (driver) George Bailey was an American racecar driver active in the 1930s. He was killed in a crash during practice for the 1940 Indianapolis 500.-Indy 500 results:...	125.821	9	47	0	Valve
27	29	56	Floyd Davis Floyd Davis Floyd Eldon Davis was the co-winner of the 1941 Indianapolis 500....	119.375	29	43	0	Shock absorber
28	28	42	Al Miller Al Miller Al Miller II , was an American race car driver.Born Albert Krulac in Detroit, Michigan, Miller died in Mount Clemens, Michigan...	123.233	18	41	0	Accelerator
29	11	29	Frank Brisko Frank Brisko Frank Brisko was an American racecar driver.-Indy 500 results:...	123.351	17	38	0	Air pump
30	21	44	Emil Andres Emil Andres Emil Andres was an American racecar driver active during the 1930's and 1940's....	121.212	26	22	0	Spark plugs
31	22	32	Bob Swanson Bob Swanson (driver) Bob Swanson was an American racecar driver.Swanson won the first Turkey Night Grand Prix midget-car race in 1934. At the 1939 Indianapolis 500, he was involved in the accident that killed defending champion Floyd Roberts...	129.431	3	19	0	Rear axle
32	7	47	Shorty Cantlon Shorty Cantlon William "Shorty" Cantlon was an American racecar driver. He was killed on May 30, 1947, while racing in the 1947 Indianapolis 500 on lap 40 after swerving into the outside retaining wall to avoid the spinning car of Bill Holland, who recovered from the spin to finish second...	125.567	10	15	0	Main bearing
33	31	53	Deacon Litz Deacon Litz Artha Benson "Deacon" Litz was an American racecar driver active primarily during the 1920s and 1930s.-Indy 500 results:...	117.979	31	7	0	Valve

The Crash

Results

See also