1958 Indianapolis 500

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
42nd Indianapolis 500
Sanctioning body
USAC
DateMay 30, 1958
WinnerJimmy Bryan
Winning teamGeorge Salih
Average speed133.791 mph (215.316 km/h)
Pole positionDick Rathmann
Pole speed145.974 mph (234.922 km/h)
Most laps ledJimmy Bryan (139)
Pre-race ceremonies
Pace carPontiac Bonneville
Pace car driverSam Hanks
StarterBill Vanderwater[1]
Estimated attendance175,000[2]
Chronology
Previous Next
1957 1959

The 42nd International 500-Mile Sweepstakes was held at the

1958 World Championship of Drivers
.

The race is best known for a massive first-lap, 15-car pileup that resulted in the death of fan-favorite driver Pat O'Connor.

Jimmy Bryan was the race winner. This marked the first time that one car would carry two drivers to separate wins at the race, in back-to-back years, with Sam Hanks winning the previous year's race in the same car.

The race featured young rookie A. J. Foyt's debut at Indy. On lap 148, he spun in an oil slick, blew out the tires, and dropped out of the race.

Juan Manuel Fangio arrived at Indy under much fanfare as he attempted to qualify for the Indy 500 and score points towards the World Championship. He practiced early in the month, but withdrew when he could not get up to speed.

Time trials

Time trials were scheduled for four days.

  • Saturday May 17 – Pole Day time trials
    • Ed Elisian set a new one-lap track record of 146.508 mph to sit tentatively on the pole position. His four-lap average stood at 145.926 mph. Later in the day, Dick Rathmann qualified at 145.974 mph to win the pole position. Rathmann was not able to beat Elisian's single-lap record, but his four-lap record eclipsed Elisian overall by a mere 0.08 seconds.
  • Sunday May 18 – Second day time trials
  • Saturday May 24 – Third day time trials
  • Sunday May 25 – Fourth day time trials

Race summary

Opening lap crash – Death of Pat O'Connor

For the second year in a row, the starting grid was assembled single-file in the pit lane. The cars were instructed to pull away and assemble into the official eleven rows of three after they entered the racing surface. Confusion occurred on the pace lap, however, as the three drivers of the front row (Dick Rathmann, Ed Elisian, and Jimmy Reece) pulled away, and inadvertently escaped the pace car. The three cars were alone, and rather than wait for the grid to catch up, they rushed around to catch up to the back of the field. Sam Hanks pulled the pace car off the track and into the pits, but chief starter Bill Vanderwater displayed the yellow flag to wave off the start. An extra pace lap was allowed, and the front row re-took their position at the front of the pack. By the time Hanks was ready to pull the pace car back out on the track, the field had re-formed, and Vanderwater gave them the green flag.

At the start,

Jerry Unser touched wheels with Paul Goldsmith
, and flipped over the outside wall. Unser suffered a dislocated shoulder.

Although O'Connor was incinerated in the accident, medical officials said that he was probably killed instantly from a fractured skull.[3]

First half

Jimmy Bryan escaped the opening lap crash, and came around to lead the first lap. Eddie Sachs and Tony Bettenhausen also got by unscathed, to run second and third. Due to the crash, the yellow light stayed on for 25 minutes (approximately 18 laps). Four of the top five starting positions were out of the race from the crash, including polesitter Dick Rathmann, who placed 27th.

After a lengthy cleanup, the green flag came back out around lap 19. Bryan, Sachs, Bettenhausen, and rookie George Amick all traded time in the lead. There were 14 lead changes in the first half.

The second yellow came out on lap 38 when Chuck Weyant crashed in turn 4.

Eddie Sachs, a contender in the first quarter of the race, dropped out on lap 68 with transmission trouble.

Second half

The second half of the race settled down to a battle between Jimmy Bryan and Johnny Boyd, with rookie George Amick also in contention. Boyd lost the lead during a pit stop on lap 126. Bryan's team had faster pit stops (three stops for 1 minute and 31 seconds), which allowed him to hold the lead.

Rookie A. J. Foyt spun out on lap 149. He hit an oil slick in turn one and went sideways, blowing out all four tires. The car did not make contact with the wall, but the engine stalled and Foyt was out of the race. He placed 16th.

With 25 laps to go, Boyd was running about one second behind Bryan, with Amick (a lap down in third place) running between them. Boyd suddenly slowed on lap 177 with a worn out right rear tire, sending him to the pits, and elevating Amick to second. Bryan led the final 75 laps (139 total) en route to victory. Bryan was victorious in the same car in which Sam Hanks won the 500 a year earlier. Amick stayed within striking distance of Bryan for the last part of the race, but Amick's crew chief decided to accept a safe second-place rather than risk pushing their rookie driver into a mistake.

During the race as the news of Pat O'Connor's death spread around the track, the mood among the spectators became somber and glum. Reportedly, some in attendance left the grounds upon hearing the news of the fatality, some never to return.

Aftermath

Widely blamed for the accident, Ed Elisian was suspended by USAC for the accident (reinstated a few days later), and was shunned by many in the racing community.

Following the accident, race officials announced that they would change the starting procedure, abandoning the single-file trip down pit lane that was used in 1957 and 1958. Also, for the 1959 Indy 500, metal roll bars welded to the frame behind the driver's head were mandated, and helmets were required to pass safety certification by Speedway medical officials.

Box score

Pos Grid No Driver Constructor Qual Rank Laps Led Time/Retired WDC points USAC points
1 7 1 United States Jimmy Bryan Salih-Offenhauser 144.18 8 200 139 3:44:13.80 8 1000
2 25 99 United States George Amick  R  Epperly-Offenhauser 142.71 25 200 18 + 27.63 6 800
3 8 9 United States Johnny Boyd Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser 144.02 9 200 18 + 1:09.67 4 700
4 9 33 United States Tony Bettenhausen Epperly-Offenhauser 143.91 10 200 24 + 1:34.81 41 600
5 20 2
Jim Rathmann
Epperly-Offenhauser 143.14 15 200 0 + 1:35.62 2 500
6 3 16 United States Jimmy Reece Watson-Offenhauser 145.51 3 200 0 + 2:16.95   400
7 13 26 United States Don Freeland Phillips-Offenhauser 143.03 17 200 0 + 2:21.06   300
8 19 44 United States Jud Larson  R  Watson-Offenhauser 143.51 11 200 0 + 5:34.02   250
9 26 61
Eddie Johnson
Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser 142.67 26 200 0 + 6:15.76   200
10 33 54 United States Bill Cheesbourg Kurtis Kraft-Novi 142.54 30 200 0 + 8:03.59   150
11 21 52 United States Al Keller Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser 142.93 19 200 0 + 9:14.20   100
12 6 45 United States Johnnie Parsons  W  Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser 144.68 6 200 0 + 9:40.85   50
13 30 19 United States Johnnie Tolan 142.30 31 200 0 + 9:52.24    
14 17 65 United States Bob Christie Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser 142.25 33 189 0 Spun off    
15 32 59 United States Dempsey Wilson  R  143.27 13 151 0 Fire    
16 12 29 United States A. J. Foyt  R  143.13 16 148 0 Spun off    
17 31 77 United States Mike Magill Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser 142.27 32 136 0 Disqualified    
18 14 15 United States Paul Russo Kurtis Kraft-Novi 142.95 18 122 0 Radiator    
19 23 83 United States Shorty Templeman Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser 142.81 21 116 0 Brakes    
20 11 8 United States Rodger Ward Lesovsky-Offenhauser 143.26 14 93 0 Magneto    
21 15 43 United States Billy Garrett Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser 142.77 22 80 0 Magneto    
22 18 88 United States Eddie Sachs 144.66 7 68 1 Transmission    
23 22 7 United States Johnny Thomson Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser 142.90 20 52 0 Steering    
24 29 89 United States Chuck Weyant Dunn-Offenhauser 142.60 29 38 0 Accident    
25 10 25 United States Jack Turner Lesovsky-Offenhauser 143.43 12 21 0 Fuel pump    
26 4 14 United States Bob Veith Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser 144.88 4 1 0 Accident    
27 1 97 United States Dick Rathmann Watson-Offenhauser 145.97 1 0 0 Accident    
28 2 5 United States Ed Elisian Watson-Offenhauser 145.92 2 0 0 Accident    
29 5 4 United States Pat O'Connor Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser 144.82 5 0 0 Died in crash    
30 16 31 United States Paul Goldsmith  R  Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser 142.74 24 0 0 Accident    
31 24 92
Jerry Unser
 R 
Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser 142.75 23 0 0 Accident    
32 27 68 United States Len Sutton  R  Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser 142.65 27 0 0 Accident    
33 28 57 United States Art Bisch  R  142.63 28 0 0 Accident    
Notes
  • ^1 – Includes 1 point for fastest lead lap

All cars on Firestone tires

Alternates

Failed to qualify

Broadcasting

Radio

The race was carried live on the

Armed Forces Network and Voice of America. For the final time, a 15-minute pre-race was used.[6] The following year, the pre-race would be expanded to 30 minutes. The broadcast featured the debut of Lou Palmer, who reported from the normally quiet and remote third turn. However, on the opening lap, Palmer was quickly thrust into duty, as his first words on the network were to describe the massive 15-car pileup and fatal accident of Pat O'Connor
.

And we've got an accident here! Car #5! Car #5, the Zink Special, is the first to wreck! Another over the wall! And we've got...one, two, three, four, five...six cars, piled up here, on the northeast turn! The 54 Novi into the infield...car #19 in the infield, 68 now down into the infield...and it's almost impossible to identify the others. Out of car #5, now, is Ed Elisian...and, er, car #91 against the wall...that is all that we can see at the moment. Further down the track, there are still others. ...One car has left this track, Sid, and did go over the retaining wall. That's all of the information we can give you at the moment...we will check each car for you, and report on all of them as soon as we can. Right now, better send it to you Sid, in the tower...

Among the guests that visited the booth was Pete DePaolo.

In 2019, this entire race's radio broadcast became available as a paid digital download form the Indianapolis Motor Speedway website.[7][8]

Indianapolis Motor Speedway Radio Network
Booth Announcers Turn Reporters
Pit/garage reporters

Chief Announcer: Sid Collins

Statistician: Charlie Brockman

Turn 1: Bill Frosh
Turn 2: Bob Rhodes
Backstretch: Bernie Herman
Turn 3: Lou Palmer
Turn 4: Jim Shelton

Jack Shapiro (north)
Luke Walton (center)
Greg Smith (south)
Bob Hoover (garages)

Race notes

Formula One Championship standings after the race

  • Notes: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings. Also, points scored in the 500 did not count towards the F1 constructors championship.

USAC points standings after the race

Note: Only the top 10 are listed

Rank Driver Points Diff Pos Change
1 Jimmy Bryan 1000 0 Previously unranked
2 George Amick 880 -120 +4
3 Tony Bettenhausen 760 -240 -1
4 Johnny Boyd 700 -300 Previously unranked
5 Jim Rathmann 500 -500 Previously unranked
5 Jimmy Reece 500 -500 Previously unranked
7 Jud Larson 350 -650 -2
8 Don Freeland 300 -700 Previously unranked
9 Eddie Johnson 200 -800 Previously unranked
9 Len Sutton 200 -800 -8

References

  1. .
  2. ^ "Indianapolis Motor Speedway Fatalities – 1958 INDY 500 – Pat O'Connor – driver". Archived from the original on November 10, 2013. Retrieved January 16, 2016.
  3. ^ The Talk of Gasoline Alley1070-AM WIBC, May 14, 2004
  4. ^ "1958 International 500 Mile Sweepstakes". ChampCarStats.com. Retrieved 26 June 2015.
  5. Newspapers.com.Open access icon
  6. ^ "Indianapolis Motor Speedway". www.indianapolismotorspeedway.com. Retrieved March 14, 2020.
  7. ^ "IMS Museum to Offer Series of 'Lost' Indy 500 Radio Broadcasts for Sale; 1958 Race Available Now in Crisp Digital Quality". December 10, 2018. Archived from the original on September 27, 2020. Retrieved March 14, 2020.
  8. ^ a b "Indianapolis 1958 - Championship • STATS F1". www.statsf1.com. Retrieved 18 March 2019.

External links


Previous race:
1958 Dutch Grand Prix
FIA Formula One World Championship
1958 season
Next race:
1958 Belgian Grand Prix
Previous race:
1957 Indianapolis 500
Sam Hanks
1958 Indianapolis 500
Jimmy Bryan
Next race:
1959 Indianapolis 500
Rodger Ward