1954 Indianapolis 500

The 38th International 500-Mile Sweepstakes was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Monday, May 31, 1954. The event was part of the 1954 AAA National Championship Trail, and was included in the 1954 World Drivers Championship.

Bill Vukovich won his second consecutive 500. Vukovich died the following year attempting to win his third consecutive Indy 500. The race reportedly went 110 laps before the first yellow light.^[1]

Time trials

Time trials was scheduled for four days.

Saturday May 15 – Pole Day time trials
Sunday May 16 – Second day time trials
Saturday May 22 – Third day time trials
Sunday May 23 – Fourth day time trials

Classification

Pos	Grid	No	Driver	Constructor	Qual	Rank	Laps	Led	Time/Retired	Points
1	19	14	Bill Vukovich (W)	Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser	138.470	14	200	90	3:49:17.27	8
2	3	9	Jimmy Bryan	Kuzma-Offenhauser	139.660	5	200	46	+ 1:09.95	6
3	1	2	Jack McGrath	Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser	141.030	1	200	47	+ 1:19.73	5
4	11	34	Troy Ruttman (W) (Relieved by Duane Carter)	Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser	137.730	31	200	0	+ 2:52.68	1.5 1.5
5	14	73	Mike Nazaruk	Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser	139.580	6	200	0	+ 3:24.55	2
6	24	77	Fred Agabashian	Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser	137.740	30	200	0	+ 3:47.55
7	6	7	Don Freeland	Phillips-Offenhauser	138.330	16	200	0	+ 4:13.35
8	32	5	Paul Russo (Relieved by Jerry Hoyt)	Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser	137.670	32	200	0	+ 5:01.17
9	25	28	Larry Crockett (R)	Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser	139.550	8	200	0	+ 7:07.24
10	13	24	Cal Niday	Stevens-Offenhauser	139.820	3	200	0	+ 7:07.69
11	27	45	Art Cross (Relieved by Johnnie Parsons) (Relieved by Sam Hanks) (Relieved by Andy Linden) (Relieved by Jimmy Davies)	Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser	138.670	13	200	8	+ 8:22.19
12	5	98	Chuck Stevenson (Relieved by Walt Faulkner)	Kuzma-Offenhauser	138.770	12	199	0	+ 1 Lap
13	22	88	Manny Ayulo	Kuzma-Offenhauser	138.160	22	197	0	+ 3 Laps
14	9	17	Bob Sweikert	Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser	138.200	21	197	0	+ 3 Laps
15	8	16	Duane Carter (Relieved by Marshall Teague) (Relieved by Jimmy Jackson) (Relieved by Tony Bettenhausen)	Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser	138.230	19	196	0	+ 4 Laps
16	20	32	Ernie McCoy	Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser	138.410	15	194	0	+ 6 Laps
17	7	25	Jimmy Reece	Pankratz-Offenhauser	138.310	17	194	0	+ 6 Laps
18	31	27	Ed Elisian (R) (Relieved by Bob Scott)	Stevens-Offenhauser	137.790	29	193	0	+ 7 Laps
19	33	71	Frank Armi (R) (Relieved by George Fonder)	Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser	137.670	33	193	0	+ 7 Laps
20	10	1	Sam Hanks (Relieved by Jimmy Davies) (Relieved by Jim Rathmann)	Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser	137.990	25	191	1	Spun Off
21	12	35	Pat O'Connor (R)	Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser	138.080	23	181	0	Spun Off
22	16	12	Rodger Ward (Relieved by Eddie Johnson)	Pawl-Offenhauser	139.920	2	172	0	Retirement
23	17	31	Gene Hartley (Relieved by Marshall Teague)	Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser	139.060	10	168	0	Clutch
24	4	43	Johnny Thomson (Relieved by Andy Linden) (Relieved by Jimmy Daywalt)	Nichels-Offenhauser	138.780	11	165	0	Retirement
25	23	74	Andy Linden (Relieved by Bob Scott)	Schroeder-Offenhauser	137.820	27	165	0	Suspension
26	30	99	Jerry Hoyt	Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser	137.820	28	130	0	Engine
27	2	19	Jimmy Daywalt	Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser	139.780	4	111	8	Accident
28	28	38	Jim Rathmann (Relieved by Pat Flaherty)	Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser	138.220	20	110	0	Accident
29	21	10	Tony Bettenhausen	Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser	138.270	18	105	0	Wheel Bearing
30	29	65	Spider Webb (Relieved by Danny Kladis)	Bromme-Offenhauser	137.970	26	104	0	Fuel pump
31	26	33	Len Duncan (R) (Relieved by George Fonder)	Schroeder-Offenhauser	139.210	9	101	0	Brakes
32	15	15	Johnnie Parsons (W)	Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser	139.570	7	79	0	Engine
33	18	51	Bill Homeier (R)	Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser	138.000	24	74	0	Accident

Alternates

First alternate: Eddie Johnson (#26)^[2] — Johnson drove relief during the race

Failed to Qualify

Henry Banks (#26) - Retired
Wally Campbell (R) (#66, #81) - Failed rookie test
Bob Christie (R) (#66)
George Connor (#27) - Retired
Jimmy Davies (#53)
Billy Devore (#93)
Duke Dinsmore (#62, #67)
Walt Faulkner (#44, #97)
Pat Flaherty (#39, #89)

George Fonder (#33, #36)
Potsy Goacher (R) (#67)
Cliff Griffith (#22)
Al Herman (R) (#36)
Bill Holland (#38)
Frank Mundy (R) (#41)
Duke Nalon (#8)
Danny Oakes (R) (#47, #49)
Eddie Russo (R) (#37)

Eddie Sachs (R) (#54)
Bob Scott (#18, #21)
Joe Sostilio (R) (#45)
Marshall Teague (#3)
George Tichenor (R) (#22)
Johnnie Tolan (R) (#69)
Lee Wallard (#99) - Retired
Leroy Warriner (#67) - Withdrew, injured
Chuck Weyant (R) (#52)^[3]

Notes

Pole position: Jack McGrath – 4:15.26 (4 laps)
Fastest Lead Lap: Jack McGrath – 1:04.04
Relief drivers:
- Troy Ruttman (130 laps) & Duane Carter (70) shared car no 34. Shared points for 4th position.
- Paul Russo (150) & Jerry Hoyt (50) shared car no 5.
- Art Cross (120), Jimmie Davies (30), Johnnie Parsons (22), Andy Linden (17) & Sam Hanks (11) shared car no 45.
- Chuck Stevenson (82), Walt Faulkner (117) shared car no 98.
- Duane Carter (76), Jimmy Jackson (57), Tony Bettenhausen (34) & Marshall Teague (29) shared car no 16.
- Ed Elisian (148) & Bob Scott (45) shared car no 27.
- Frank Armi (179) & George Fonder (14) shared car no 71.
- Sam Hanks (112), Jimmie Davies (36) & Jim Rathmann (43) shared car no 1.
- Rodger Ward (105) & Eddie Johnson (67) shared car no 12.
- Gene Hartley (151) & Marshall Teague (17) shared car no 31.
- Andy Linden (113) & Bob Scott (52) shared car no 74.
- Johnny Thomson (113), Andy Linden (27) & Jimmy Daywalt (25) shared car no 43.
- Jim Rathmann (95) & Pat Flaherty (15) shared car no 38.
- Spider Webb (54) & Danny Kladis (50) shared car no 65.
- Len Duncan (43) & George Fonder (58) shared car no 33.

Broadcasting

Radio

The race was carried live flag-to-flag on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Radio Network. It was the second time the race was carried in its entirety. The broadcast was anchored by Sid Collins, his third as chief announcer, and seventh year overall with the crew. Charlie Brockman served as booth analyst and statistician, and also reported from victory lane.^[1]

Of note, the network expanded its coverage to include four qualifying wrap-up shows during time trials weekends.

The network expanded to include four qualifying wrap-up shows, and the number of affiliate stations increased to 210. All five major radio stations in Indianapolis carried the broadcast. The 1954 broadcast is notable in that it featured for the first time the famous phrase "Stay tuned for the Greatest Spectacle in Racing." Due to the increased number of affiliates at the time, the network needed a scripted "out-cue" to alert producers when to manually insert local commercials. A young WIBC marketing staff member named Alice Greene (née Bunger) is credited with inventing the phrase, and chief announcer Sid Collins coined it on-air. It has been used ever since, with all of the chief announcers proudly reciting it during their respective tenures.

Indianapolis Motor Speedway Radio Network
Booth Announcers	Turn Reporters	Pit/garage reporters
Chief Announcer: Sid Collins Color: Charlie Brockman	South Turns: Bill Frosch Backstretch: Jack Shapiro North Turns: E. Z. Gwynn	Luke Walton (north pits) Greg Smith (south pits)

Championship standings after the race

World Drivers' Championship standings

	Pos	Driver	Points
	1	Juan Manuel Fangio	8
16	2	Bill Vukovich	8
1	3	Nino Farina	6
14	4	Jimmy Bryan	6
2	5	José Froilán González	5

Note: Only the top five positions are included.

Gallery

Wikimedia Commons has media related to 1954 Indianapolis 500.

1954 winning car

References

1 2 "Heroes of the 500: The 1954 Indianapolis 500 Radio Broadcast" – WIBC, May 2014
↑ The Talk of Gasoline Alley – 1070-AM WIBC, May 14, 2004
↑ "1954 International 500 Mile Sweepstakes". ChampCarStats.com. Retrieved 26 June 2015.

External links

Indianapolis 500 History: Race & All-Time Stats – Official Site
1954 Indianapolis 500 at RacingReference.info (Relief driver statistics)

Previous race: 1954 Argentine Grand Prix	FIA Formula One World Championship 1954 season	Next race: 1954 Belgian Grand Prix
Previous race: 1953 Indianapolis 500 Bill Vukovich	1954 Indianapolis 500 Bill Vukovich	Next race: 1955 Indianapolis 500 Bob Sweikert
Preceded by 128.922 mph (1952 Indianapolis 500)	Record for the Indianapolis 500 fastest average speed 130.840 mph	Succeeded by 135.601 mph (1957 Indianapolis 500)

Indianapolis 500-Mile Race

Track and race information

Track

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AAA Contest Board (1909–1955)
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Ownership

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Radio	Bill Slater Sid Collins Paul Page Lou Palmer Bob Jenkins Mike King Donald Davidson

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Indianapolis 500 race summaries and box scores

1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929

1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 ~~1942~~ 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949

1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969

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No races held 1917—1918 or 1942—1945 due to World War I and World War II, respectively.

Formula One Grands Prix (1950–59) next »

1959	MON 500 NED FRA GBR GER POR ITA USA

1958	ARG MON NED 500 BEL FRA GBR GER POR ITA MOR

1957	ARG MON 500 FRA GBR GER PES ITA

1956	ARG MON 500 BEL FRA GBR GER ITA

1955	ARG MON 500 BEL NED GBR ITA

1954	ARG 500 BEL FRA GBR GER SUI ITA ESP

1953	ARG 500 NED BEL FRA GBR GER SUI ITA

1952	SUI 500 BEL FRA GBR GER NED ITA

1951	SUI 500 BEL FRA GBR GER ITA ESP

1950	GBR MON 500 SUI BEL FRA ITA

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