1919 Indianapolis 500


The 7th Liberty 500-Mile Sweepstakes was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Saturday, May 31, 1919.
After a two-year hiatus due to World War I, the Indianapolis 500 returned to competition in 1919. Howdy Wilcox won, accompanied by riding mechanic Leo Banks. More than half the field consisted of rookie drivers, tied for the most ever, excluding the inaugural race where all 40 cars were considered "rookies." Ralph DePalma, the 1915 winner, and the driver who suffered a defeat in 1912, again put in a strong performance. DePalma led 93 of the first 102 laps, and drove the first half at record-breaking speed. Tire problems, however, necessitated a long pit stop, and DePalma finished in 6th place.
Rain was a factor during practice, limiting available track time in the days immediately leading up to time trials. Since most teams did not arrive until later in the month, some cars had very limited preparation time. Qualifying was supposed to be held on just one day, but officials decided to add two additional days due to the lost track time.
The first half of the race was marred by three fatalities. Driver Arthur Thurman died in a crash on lap 45. On lap 96, Louis LeCocq and his riding mechanic Robert Bandini wrecked in turn two, and both were burned to death.

Race background

Over two years had gone by since the last competitive events had been held at the Speedway. The 1916 race was followed by the Harvest Auto Racing Classic, at which point the track was closed due to the escalation of World War I. When the Armistice was signed in November 1918, the Speedway management was anxious to begin planning for the resumption of the 500-mile race for 1919. Some early rumors circulated that the race may change dates to July 4, or even expand to 1,000 miles. These rumors were briefly entertained when the AAA Contest Board announced that both May 30 and July 4 were being set aside on the calendar for the event.
On December 6, 1918, Speedway business manager T.E. "Pop" Myers announced that the 1919 Indianapolis 500 would be scheduled for Friday, May 30. It was decided to keep the traditional date, and likewise return the race to a distance of 500 miles. The 1916 race had been scheduled for 300 miles, the only such time which the race was scheduled for less than 500 miles. AAA would return as the sanctioning body. An editorial the following day in the Indianapolis News, however, sharply criticized the choice of Memorial Day. It was going to be the first "Decoration Day" holiday following the end of the "Great War", and they believed that the holiday should be left alone to properly honor the many thousands of war casualties. About a week later, Speedway management announced that they would change the date to Saturday May 31. The race was deliberately moved off Memorial Day and pushed to Saturday so as not to detract from the holiday.
The race was given a new name for 1919, the Liberty Sweepstakes as a gesture to the peacetime brought on by victory and the end of the war. The new title was used for only one year. Without hesitation, Cliff Durant submitted the first entry on December 16.

Race schedule

Practice

The deadline for entries to be submitted was midnight on Thursday May 1. A total of 43 cars were entered, including three entries by the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The AAA Contest Board confirmed that the maximum starting field rule of 33 cars would apply.
Time trials were scheduled for three days, May 27–29. Elimination trials consisted of one timed lap. This would be the final time single-lap qualifying runs were used at Indianapolis. In 1920, four-lap time trial runs would be introduced. For the first time, qualifiers would line up in the grid by speed based on the day they qualified. All cars that qualified on the first day would line up by speed rank first, with the fastest qualifier starting on the pole position. The remaining cars that qualified on subsequent days would line up by speed rank behind the first day qualifiers. The cars from the second and third days, however, were merged on the grid. This format was adopted in order to encourage more drivers to qualify early on, instead of waiting until the last minute.
Originally it was planned for all elimination trials to be held on Tuesday, but due to inclement weather, the schedule was expanded to allow Wednesday and Thursday as well. The minimum speed to qualify was set at 80 mph, and the field was set at a maximum of 33 cars. Based on the entries prepared at the track, the expectation was that about six cars would fail to qualify.
In an effort to foil the "bootleg" programs that were being printed and sold in and around the Speedway, car numbers were not assigned until race morning.

Tuesday May 27

The first day of time trials was held Tuesday May 27 starting at 10:00 a.m. Ralph DePalma was the first car in the field. Former winner René Thomas shattered the track record with a lap of 104.7 mph to secure the pole position. Thomas went out late in the afternoon, deciding to wait out windy conditions. A total of eleven cars completed runs, all over 90 mph. Howdy Wilcox went out after Thomas, and qualified second with a speed of 100.0 mph.
NameAverage Speed
1 René Thomas '104.7
2 Howdy Wilcox100.0
3 Albert Guyot98.3
4 Ralph DePalma '98.2
5 Eddie O'Donnell97.3
6 Paul Bablot '94.9
7 Art Klein94.9
8 Eddie Hearne94.5
9 Earl Cooper94.2
10 Ira Vail '94.1
11 Charles Kirkpatrick 90.0

Sources: The Indianapolis Star, The Indianapolis News

Wednesday May 28

The second day of time trials was held Wednesday May 28. The qualifiers on the second and third day would line up behind the qualifiers from the first day. Louis Chevrolet drove a Frontenac at a speed of 103.1 mph to be the fastest car of the day. Tommy Milton was on his was to qualifying over 101 mph, but his car slowed, and he managed a lap of only 89.9 mph.
During a practice run, Omar Toft spun in the south turns, but avoided contact and was able to continue around. Two cars, Al Cotey and Dave Lewis, made an attempt but failed to qualify. Cotey was too slow and Lewis suffered engine failure. Both drivers were eligible to try again on Thursday.
A total of 13 cars completed qualifying runs Wednesday, filling the field to 24 cars. The final starting positions, however, for those 13 cars would not be finalized until qualifying was completed on Thursday.
NameAverage Speed
Notes
12 Louis Chevrolet103.1
13 Louis Wagner '101.7
14 Joe Boyer '100.9
15 Ralph Mulford100.5
16 Gaston Chevrolet '100.4
18 Arthur Thurman '98.0
20 Cliff Durant '96.5
23 Wilbur D'Alene94.2
25 Louis LeCocq '92.9
27 Denny Hickey '92.5
29 Elmer T. Shannon '91.7
31 Tommy Milton '89.9
32 André Boillot '89.5
— Al Cotey 74.6Below 80 mph minimum
— Dave LewisIncompleteEngine failure

Sources: The Indianapolis Star, The Indianapolis News

Thursday May 29

The third and final day of time trials was held Thursday May 29. The day opened with nine spots available in the field.
The 1913 winner Jules Goux was the final car to qualify. During a practice run on Thursday, he suffered a broken piston and broken connecting rod, which blew a hole in the Peugeot's engine block. The Premier team offered him a spare engine, and Goux spent the entire day working to install it. Late in the day, just minutes before sundown, Goux took the car to the track. After one single warm-up lap, he signaled to officials to start the run. His lap of 95 mph bumped James Reynolds, and Goux surprisingly made the field. Not as lucky was Dave Lewis. A day after suffering engine problems, Evans was on his qualifying lap, running over 100 mph. Two-thirds of the way through the lap, the bearings in the engine burned out, and broke the crankcase.
During an exhibition run, Ralph DePalma attempted to set track records in a 950-c.i.d. car, the same car he set records in at Daytona. He failed to break René Thomas's one-lap record from Tuesday, but he did set 5-mile and 10-mile distance speed records.
NameAverage Speed
Notes
17 W. W. Brown '99.8
19 Roscoe Sarles '97.75
21 Ray Howard '95.0
22 Jules Goux '95.0
24 Kurt Hitke '93.5
26 Ora Haibe92.8
28 Tom Alley92.2
30 Omar Toft '91.5
33 J. J. McCoy '86.5
— James M. Reynolds '83.5Bumped by Goux
— Al Cotey 82.9Too slow
— Dave LewisIncompleteConnecting rod

Sources: The Indianapolis Star, The Indianapolis News

Starting grid

Alternates

The start of the race was scheduled for Saturday May 31 at 11:00 a.m. local time. The facility was closed to the public on Friday, but participants were allowed a brief period of practice time on Friday morning for last-minute preparations. The rest of the day was spent prepping the track by scrubbing the brick surface of oil and debris.
Maurice Becker, the riding mechanic for Howdy Wilcox during the month, was disallowed by his family from participating in the race. He was replaced for the race by Leo Banks just hours before the start.
A crowd estimated at 120,000 arrived at the Speedway, on a hot sunny, Saturday morning. At 8 a.m., the Purdue Band entertained fans. Pace car driver Jesse G. Vincent, with passenger Eddie Rickenbacker, took the field around for one unscored warm-up lap. At a speed of about 80 mph, the field was released for the start. André Boillot's car initially failed to pull away, but eventually got started, and sprinted to catch up to the rest of the field.

First half

The first half of the race belonged to 1915 winner Ralph DePalma. Depalma led the first 65 laps, and raced at a record pace. With an average speed of over 92 mph, DePalma was shattering existing track records. Though the pace was incredible, his lead was not large. His closest contenders stayed within reach. Louis Chevrolet took the lead for lap 66-74, before giving it back to DePalma. Also in the top five were Earl Cooper, Howdy Wilcox, and René Thomas.
Two fatal accidents, taking the lives of three competitors, marred the first half of the race. On lap 45, Arthur Thurman lost control at about 90 mph, swerved to the inside wall on the backstretch, then flipped over three times. Thurman was thrown from the car, and landed about twenty-five feet away. He died about ten minutes later as he was being taken to the hospital. His riding mechanic Nicholas Molinaro suffered a fractured skull, but survived.
On the 96th lap, Louis LeCocq and his riding mechanic Robert Bandini lost control and turned over in the exit of turn two. The fuel tank ruptured and burst into flames. Both LeCocq and Bandini were pinned underneath the car, doused with gasoline, and burned to death at the scene. With other cars whizzing by, flaming gasoline was spread in all directions, as crews attempted to extinguish the flames.

Second half

After dominating most of the first half, Ralph DePalma gave up the lead on lap 103 to make a pit stop. DePalma was experiencing tire trouble, and was forced to make long stop to make repairs. DePalma lost about ten laps in the pits, and fell out of contention.
Howdy Wilcox took the lead on lap 103, and led the rest of the way. After major crashes and high attrition in the first half, the second half of the race settled down into a steady pace. Only three cars dropped out in the second half, leaving 14 cars running to complete 500 miles. Wilcox made a pit stop for tires and fuel at some point after the 400 mile mark. He came out of the pits with a two-lap lead over Eddie Hearne, and cruised the rest of the way.
Late in the race, Louis Chevrolet reportedly came into the pits on three wheels. He made repairs, and finished in 7th place. After losing much time in the pits, Ralph DePalma worked his way back up to finish 6th. DePalma nipped Chevrolet at the scoring line by a fraction of a second in the battle for 6th-7th. DePalma led 93 laps, bringing his career total so far to 425 laps led - by far the most of any driver during that era..

Box score

Statistics

Race details

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