1949 Indianapolis 500

33rd Indianapolis 500
Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Indianapolis 500
Sanctioning bodyAAA
DateMay 30, 1949
WinnerBill Holland
Winning EntrantLou Moore
Average speed121.327 mph (195.257 km/h)
Pole positionDuke Nalon
Pole speed132.939 mph (213.945 km/h)
Most laps ledBill Holland (146)
Pre-race
Pace carOldsmobile 88
Pace car driverWilbur Shaw
StarterSeth Klein[1]
Honorary refereeJ. Emmett McManamon[1]
Estimated attendance150,000[2]
Chronology
Previous Next
1948 1950

The 33rd International 500-Mile Sweepstakes was an automobile race held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Monday, May 30, 1949.

After two years of failures to his teammate, Bill Holland finally won one for himself. Giving car owner Lou Moore his third consecutive Indy victory. Mauri Rose was fired by the team after the race when he again ignored orders and tried to pass Holland, only to see his car fail with 8 laps to go.[3]

Spider Webb suffered a broken transmission the morning of the race and failed to start. Rather than utilize an alternate starter, officials awarded Webb the 33rd finishing position.

Offenhauser-powered cars locked 28 out of the 33 starting positions, and the top 19 finishing positions.

Starting grid

Row Inside Middle Outside
1 54 Duke Nalon 5 Rex Mays 33 Jack McGrath
2 7 Bill Holland 17 Duane Carter 22 George Connor
3 61 Jimmy Jackson 26 George Lynch  R  98 Johnny Mantz
4 3 Mauri Rose  W  14 Hal Cole 12 Johnnie Parsons  R 
5 2 Myron Fohr  R  8 Mack Hellings 29 Duke Dinsmore
6 77 Joie Chitwood 57 Jackie Holmes  R  64 Troy Ruttman  R 
7 19 Paul Russo 6 Lee Wallard 68 Jim Rathmann  R 
8 4 Bill Sheffler 18 Sam Hanks 71 Norm Houser  R 
9 38 George Fonder  R  37 Spider Webb 10 Charles Van Acker
10 32 Johnny McDowell  R  69 Bayliss Levrett  R  74 Bill Cantrell
11 15 Fred Agabashian 9 Emil Andres 52 Manny Ayulo  R 
R Indianapolis 500 rookie
W Indianapolis 500 winner

Alternates

  • First alternate: Ralph Pratt  R  (#34)[4]

Failed to Qualify

Box score

Finish Start No Name Chassis Engine Qual Rank Laps Status
1 4 7 Bill Holland Diedt Offenhauser 128.673 9 200 121.327 mph
2 12 12 Johnnie Parsons  R  Kurtis Kraft Offenhauser 132.900 2 200 +3:11.00
3 6 22 George Connor Lesovsky Offenhauser 128.228 13 200 +3:34.81
4 13 2 Myron Fohr  R  Marchese Offenhauser 129.776 3 200 +5:16.68
5 16 77 Joie Chitwood Kurtis Kraft Offenhauser 126.863 27 200 +5:21.00
6 7 61 Jimmy Jackson Diedt Offenhauser 128.023 15 200 +7:15.03
7 9 98 Johnny Mantz Kurtis Kraft Offenhauser 127.786 18 200 +8:50.04
8 19 19 Paul Russo Slines Offenhauser 129.487 5 200 +20:55.31
9 32 9 Emil Andres
(Walt Brown Laps 19–197) 		Slines Offenhauser 126.042 31 197 Flagged
10 24 71 Norm Houser  R  Langley Offenhauser 127.756 20 181 Flagged
11 21 68 Jim Rathmann  R  Wetteroth Offenhauser 126.516 29 175 Flagged
12 18 64 Troy Ruttman  R  Wetteroth Offenhauser 125.945 32 151 Flagged
13 10 3 Mauri Rose  W  Diedt Offenhauser 127.759 19 192 Magneto strap
14 5 17 Duane Carter Stevens Offenhauser 128.233 12 182 Spun T3
15 15 29 Duke Dinsmore Olson Offenhauser 127.750 21 174 Radius rod
16 14 8 Mack Hellings Kurtis Kraft Offenhauser 128.260 11 172 Valve
17 22 4 Bill Sheffler Bromme Offenhauser 128.521 10 160 Rod
18 28 32 Johnny McDowell  R  Meyer Offenhauser 126.139 30 142 Magneto
19 11 14 Hal Cole Kurtis Kraft Offenhauser 127.168 24 117 Rod bearing
20 25 38 George Fonder  R 
(Mel Hansen Laps 68–116) 		Adams Sparks 127.289 22 116 Valve
21 30 74 Bill Cantrell Kurtis Kraft Offenhauser 127.191 23 95 Drive shaft
22 17 57 Jackie Holmes  R  Kurtis Kraft Offenhauser 128.087 14 65 Drive shaft
23 20 6 Lee Wallard Maserati Maserati 128.912 7 55 Gears
24 29 69 Bayliss Levrett  R  Kurtis Kraft Offenhauser 129.236 6 52 Drain plug
25 2 5 Rex Mays Kurtis Kraft Novi 129.552 4 48 Engine
26 3 33 Jack McGrath Kurtis Kraft Offenhauser 128.884 8 39 Oil pump
27 31 15 Fred Agabashian Maserati Maserati 127.007 25 38 Overheating
28 33 52 Manny Ayulo  R  Bromme Offenhauser 125.799 33 24 Rod
29 1 54 Duke Nalon Kurtis Kraft Novi 132.939 1 23 Crash T3
30 23 18 Sam Hanks Kurtis Kraft Offenhauser 127.809 17 20 Oil leak
31 27 10 Charles Van Acker Stevens Offenhauser 126.524 28 10 Crash T4
32 8 26 George Lynch  R  Rassey Offenhauser 127.823 16 1 Crash T1
33 26 37 Spider Webb Bromme Offenhauser 127.002 26 0 Transmission
[6][7]

Note: Relief drivers in parentheses[8]

 W  Former Indianapolis 500 winner

 R  Indianapolis 500 Rookie

All entrants utilized Firestone tires.

Race statistics

Broadcasting

Radio

The race was carried live on the Mutual Broadcasting System, the precursor to the IMS Radio Network. The broadcast was sponsored by Perfect Circle Piston Rings and Bill Slater served as the anchor. The broadcast featured live coverage of the start, the finish, and live updates throughout the race.

Mutual Broadcasting System
Booth Announcers Turn Reporters Roving reporters

Booth Announcer: Bill Slater
Analyst: Gordon Graham

South turns: Sid Collins
Backstretch: Gene Kelly
North turns: Jim Shelton

 Barry Lake

Television

The race was carried live for the first time in the history of television on WFBM-TV Channel 6 of Indianapolis. The station signed on for the first time on the morning of May 30, 1949,[11] with a documentary about the race entitled The Crucible of Speed, then coverage of the race itself. The race broadcast used three cameras located along the front stretch. Earl Townsend Jr., who previously worked as a radio reporter, was the first television announcer. Dick Pittenger and Paul Roberts joined Townsend along with engineer Robert Robbins. The telecast reached approximately 3,000 local households.

WFBM-TV Television
Play-by-play Pit reporters

Announcer: Earl Townsend Jr.
Color: Dick Pittenger
Color: Paul Roberts

 Robert Robbins

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to 1949 Indianapolis 500.

Notes

Works cited

  • 1949 Indianapolis 500 Radio Broadcast, Mutual: Re-broadcast on "The All-Night Race Party" – WIBC-AM (May 28, 2005)
  • Van Camp's Pork & Beans Presents: Great Moments From the Indy 500 – Fleetwood Sounds, 1975

References

  1. ^ 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.
  2. ^ Stranahan, Bob (May 31, 1949). "Sizzling Pace Sets New Record; Nalon Burned in Crash". The Indianapolis Star. p. 1. Retrieved June 1, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ "Career Summary:Maurice 'Mauri' Rose". www.snaplap.net. April 20, 2015. Retrieved June 4, 2020.
  4. ^ The Talk of Gasoline Alley – 1070-AM WIBC, May 14, 2004
  5. ^ ""1949 International 500 Mile Sweepstakes". ChampCarStats.com. Retrieved June 26, 2015.
  6. ^ "Indianapolis 500 1949". Ultimate Racing History. Archived from the original on February 5, 2013. Retrieved January 16, 2012.
  7. ^ "Indianapolis Motor Speedway". www.indianapolismotorspeedway.com. Retrieved September 12, 2023.
  8. ^ "International 500 Mile Sweepstakes – May 30, 1949". ChampCarStats.com.
  9. ^ O'Brien, J.E. (May 31, 1949). "Race Cashier to Greet Old Pals-Blue Crown Boys". Indianapolis News. p. 6. Retrieved April 22, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ Stewart, Walter (May 31, 1949). "Lou Moore Has The Know-How". The Commercial Appeal. p. 16. Retrieved April 22, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ "WFBM Radio & TV, Indianapolis". Indiana Broadcast Pioneers. January 28, 2025.


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