1957 Indianapolis 500

Pat O'Connor qualified for the pole position. Showers delayed qualifying for nearly four hours, and at other points during the afternoon. A total of only nine cars completed runs.[8]

O'Connor's speed of 143.948 mph was not a track record.[9] Troy Ruttman was on the track, and after a lap of over 144 mph, rain forced him to abort the attempt. He was able to get back out to the track, but had to settle for a speed of only 142.772 mph.

The first rookie to make the field was Elmer George, the husband of Mari Hulman George, and son-in-law of Speedway president Tony Hulman.

The second day scheduled for qualifying was rained out.

Paul Russo (144.817 mph) was the fastest driver of the day, in one of the Novi Specials. Russo was the fastest qualifier in the field, as his speed was faster than the pole position time from the previous weekend.

Rain and winds plagued the final day of time trials. Twenty three cars entered the day looking to fill the final 11 positions. A total of 43 attempts were made, with 9 cars bumped.

Tony Bettenhausen (142.439 mph) was the fastest driver of the day, driving one of the 500 hp Novi Specials. Bill Cheesbourg needed two cars to make the field. His first attempt was too slow. But late in the day, he got in Cliff Griffith's car, and at a speed of 141.565 mph, bumped Johnnie Parsons from the lineup.[10]

 R  = Indianapolis 500 rookie
 W  = Former Indianapolis 500 winner

On the backstretch during the pace lap, Elmer George hit the back of Eddie Russo's car, putting both cars out of the race before the start. Only 31 cars took the green flag.

Polesitter Pat O'Connor took the lead at the start and led the first four laps. Troy Ruttman led laps 5–6. O'Connor re-took the lead for laps 7–9, but Ruttman led laps 10–11, until blowing the engine. Paul Russo took the lead on lap 12, and in the first twelve laps there had already been four lead changes between three drivers.

Sam Hanks took the lead for the final time on lap 135.

Pos	Grid	No	Driver	Chassis	Engine	Laps	Led	Time/Status	F1 Points	USAC Points
1	13	9	Sam Hanks	Salih	Offenhauser	200	136	3:41:14.25	8	1000
2	32	26	Jim Rathmann	Epperly	Offenhauser	200	24	+21.46	71	800
3	15	1	Jimmy Bryan	Kuzma R	Offenhauser	200	0	+2:13.97	4	700
4	10	54	Paul Russo	Kurtis 500F	Novi SC	200	24	+2:56.86	3	600
5	12	73	Andy Linden	Kurtis 500G	Offenhauser	200	0	+3:14.27	2	500
6	5	6	Johnny Boyd	Kurtis 500G	Offenhauser	200	0	+4:35.27		400
7	28	48	Marshall Teague	Kurtis 500C	Offenhauser	200	0	+4:45.58		300
8	1	12	Pat O'Connor	Kurtis 500G	Offenhauser	200	7	+5:33.15		250
9	16	7	Bob Veith	Phillips	Offenhauser	200	0	+6:17.11		200
10	14	22	Gene Hartley	Lesovsky	Offenhauser	200	0	+7:10.12		150
11	19	19	Jack Turner	Kurtis 500G	Offenhauser	200	0	+7:56.07		100
12	11	10	Johnny Thomson	Kuzma	Offenhauser	199	5	+1 Lap		50
13	33	95	Bob Christie	Kurtis 500C	Offenhauser	197	0	+3 Laps
14	25	82	Chuck Weyant	Kurtis 500C	Offenhauser	196	0	+4 Laps
15	22	27	Tony Bettenhausen	Kurtis 500F	Novi SC	195	0	+5 Laps
16	17	18	Johnnie Parsons  W	Kurtis 500G	Offenhauser	195	0	+5 Laps
17	21	3	Don Freeland	Kurtis 500D	Offenhauser	192	0	+8 Laps
18	6	5	Jimmy Reece	Kurtis 500C	Offenhauser	182	0	Throttle
19	27	92	Don Edmunds  R	Kurtis 500G	Offenhauser	170	0	Spun Off
20	31	28	Johnnie Tolan	Kuzma	Offenhauser	138	0	Clutch
21	30	89	Al Herman	Dunn	Offenhauser	111	0	Accident
22	4	14	Fred Agabashian	Kurtis 500G	Offenhauser	107	0	Fuel Leak
23	2	88	Eddie Sachs  R	Kuzma	Offenhauser	105	0	Fuel Leak
24	18	77	Mike Magill  R	Kurtis 500G	Offenhauser	101	0	Accident
25	20	43	Eddie Johnson	Kurtis 500G	Offenhauser	93	0	Wheel Bearing
26	23	31	Bill Cheesbourg  R	Kurtis 500G	Offenhauser	81	0	Fuel Leak
27	8	16	Al Keller	Kurtis 500G	Offenhauser	75	0	Accident
28	29	57	Jimmy Daywalt	Kurtis 500C	Offenhauser	53	0	Accident
29	7	83	Ed Elisian	Kurtis 500C	Offenhauser	51	0	Timing gear
30	24	8	Rodger Ward	Lesovsky	Offenhauser SC	27	0	Supercharger
31	3	52	Troy Ruttman  W	Watson	Offenhauser	13	4	Oil leak
32	26	55	Eddie Russo	Kurtis 500C	Offenhauser	0	0	Accident
33	9	23	Elmer George  R	Kurtis 500B	Offenhauser	0	0	Accident
Sources:[17][18]

Notes

• ^1 – Includes 1 point for fastest lead lap.
•  R  = Indianapolis 500 rookie
•  W  = Former Indianapolis 500 winner

• Fastest Lead Lap: Jim Rathmann – 1:02.75
• Sam Hanks was the only driver in the field using the British made Lodge Spark Plugs. The other 32 drivers all had the American Champion brand installed.[19]
• Dick Rathmann qualified, but was mugged the night before the race. He was replaced in the car by Johnnie Parsons.[20]
• First Indianapolis 500 starts for Eddie Sachs, Mike Magill, Bill Cheesbourg, and Elmer George.
• Only Indianapolis 500 start for Don Edmunds.
• Last Indianapolis 500 starts for Sam Hanks, Andy Linden, Marshall Teague, and Fred Agabashian.

The race was carried live on the IMS Radio Network. Sid Collins served as chief announcer. The broadcast was carried by 302 affiliates, including Latin America. It reached 46 states and DC. The broadcast came on-air at 10:45 a.m. local time, fifteen minutes prior to the start of the race.[21] For the fifth years, the network featured announcers from the five major radio stations in Indianapolis (WISH, WIRE, WIBC, WFBM, and WISH). For 1957, the crew was expanded to eleven, with three new remote reporting locations. For the first time, there would be a reporter in each of the four turns, and a third pit reporter was added to help cover the recently lengthened pit lane. In addition, the booth announcers moved into the newly-constructed Master Control Tower along the frontstretch.[22]

Charlie Brockman conducted the winner's interview in victory lane.