1959 Indianapolis 500

The 43rd International 500-Mile Sweepstakes was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Saturday, May 30, 1959. The event was part of the 1959 USAC National Championship Trail and was also race 2 of 9 in the 1959 World Championship of Drivers.

1959 Indianapolis 500
Race details
Date 30 May 1959 (1959-05-30)
Official name 43rd International 500-Mile Sweepstakes
Location Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Course Permanent racing facility
Course length 4.023 km (2.5 mi)
Distance 200 laps, 804.672 km (500 mi)
Attendance 180,000[1]
Pole position
Driver Racing Associates
Time 4:06.73 (4 laps)
Podium
First Leader Card 500 Special roadster (Bob Wilke)
Second Simoniz Special (Lindsey Hopkins)
Third Racing Associates Special

Rodger Ward earned the first of two career Indy 500 victories. A record sixteen cars completed the full 500 miles.

All cars were required to have roll bars for the first time.[2]

Practice and time trials

Two drivers, Jerry Unser and Bob Cortner, were killed in separate crashes during the month. On May 2, Unser lost control in Turn Four, spun, and flipped down the main stretch. The car caught fire and Unser suffered significant burns; he died from complications of his burns on May 17. On May 19, rookie Cortner crashed in turn three after being pushed by a wind gust. He was killed instantly of head injuries.[3]

On the morning of pole day, Tony Bettenhausen suffered a bad crash during a practice run. His car hit the outside wall and flipped over the inside guardrail. Bettenhausen escaped the crash with only minor injuries, and would qualify on the second weekend of time trials.

After three years of retirement, Duane Carter returned to the cockpit, and qualified for his ninth Indianapolis 500 start.

Time trials were scheduled for four days:

  • Saturday May 16 – Pole Day time trials
  • Sunday May 17 – Second day time trials
  • Saturday May 23 – Third day time trials
  • Sunday May 24 – Fourth day time trials

Classification

Pos Grid No Driver Constructor Qual Rank Laps Led Time/Retired Points
1 6 5 Rodger Ward Watson-Offenhauser 144.03 7 200 130 3:40:49.20 8
2 3 16 Jim Rathmann Watson-Offenhauser 144.43 4 200 19 + 0:23.28 6
3 1 3 Johnny Thomson Lesovsky-Offenhauser 145.9 1 200 40 + 0:50.64 51
4 15 1 Tony Bettenhausen Epperly-Offenhauser 142.72 18 200 0 + 1:47.09 3
5 16 99 Paul Goldsmith Epperly-Offenhauser 142.67 19 200 0 + 2:06.44 2
6 11 33 Johnny Boyd Epperly-Offenhauser 142.81 16 200 0 + 3:16.98  
7 12 37 Duane Carter Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser 142.79 17 200 0 + 4:09.92  
8 8 19 Eddie Johnson Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser 144 9 200 0 + 4:10.53  
9 27 45 Paul Russo Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser 142.38 22 200 0 + 4:11.04  
10 17 10 A. J. Foyt Kuzma-Offenhauser 142.64 20 200 0 + 4:14.48  
11 9 88 Gene Hartley Kuzma-Offenhauser 143.57 10 200 0 + 5:42.48  
12 7 74 Bob Veith Moore-Offenhauser 144.02 8 200 0 + 6:09.73  
13 23 89 Al Herman Dunn-Offenhauser 141.93 29 200 0 + 6:40.40  
14 13 66 Jimmy Daywalt Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser 144.68 3 200 0 + 6:41.54  
15 21 71 Chuck Arnold  R  Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser 142.11 24 200 0 + 8:19.86  
16 33 58 Jim McWithey  R  Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser 141.21 33 200 0 + 11:41.69  
17 2 44 Eddie Sachs Kuzma-Offenhauser 145.42 2 182 0 Spun off  
18 28 57 Al Keller Kuzma-Offenhauser 142.05 27 163 0 Engine  
19 18 64 Pat Flaherty  W  Watson-Offenhauser 142.39 21 162 11 Accident  
20 4 73 Dick Rathmann Watson-Offenhauser 144.24 5 150 0 Fire  
21 30 53 Bill Cheesbourg Kuzma-Offenhauser 141.78 30 147 0 Magneto  
22 25 15 Don Freeland Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser 143.05 14 136 0 Magneto  
23 32 49 Ray Crawford Elder-Offenhauser 141.34 32 115 0 Accident  
24 10 9 Don Branson  R  Phillips-Offenhauser 143.31 12 112 0 Suspension  
25 24 65 Bob Christie Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser 143.24 13 109 0 Engine  
26 5 48 Bobby Grim  R  Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser 144.22 6 85 0 Magneto  
27 14 24 Jack Turner Christensen-Offenhauser 143.47 11 47 0 Fuel leak  
28 29 47 Chuck Weyant Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser 141.95 28 45 0 Accident  
29 19 7 Jud Larson Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser 142.29 23 45 0 Accident  
30 31 77 Mike Magill Sutton-Offenhauser 141.48 31 45 0 Accident  
31 26 87 Red Amick  R  Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser 142.92 15 45 0 Accident  
32 22 8 Len Sutton Lesovsky-Offenhauser 142.1 26 34 0 Accident  
33 20 6 Jimmy Bryan  W  Epperly-Offenhauser 142.11 25 1 0 Engine  
Notes
  • ^1 – Includes 1 point for fastest lead lap

Alternates

  • First alternate: Rex Easton  R  (#39, #45)[4]

Failed to qualify

Race notes

  • Fastest lead lap: Johnny Thomson – 1:01.89
  • Two drivers, Jerry Unser and Bob Cortner, were killed as a result of accidents during practice for this race.
  • Bobby Grim qualified 5th and won the Rookie of the Year award despite dropping out of the race before the halfway point. On lap 85, he suffered magneto failure, and began coasting to the pits. As was customary for drivers of the time, he raised his arm to signify to the other drivers he had lost power. However, due to the high speed he was still traveling, he dislocated his arm in the process. Visibly in pain, the crew thought he was coming in for relief, and quickly Jack Turner jumped behind the wheel, but the car would not run.[6]
  • The first scoring pylon, a famous landmark of the Speedway, was constructed at the south end of the pit area.
  • Last year's winner Jimmy Bryan using the same exact car that won the race in 1957 and 1958 fell out of the race being left on the grid with a clutch failure to finish last (33rd).

Championship standings after the race

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

Broadcasting

Radio

The race was carried live on the IMS Radio Network. Sid Collins served as chief announcer. Fred Agabashian joined the crew for the first time as "driver expert." The broadcast reached 385 affiliates, including Fairbanks, Alaska.[8]

Indianapolis Motor Speedway Radio Network
Booth AnnouncersTurn ReportersPit/garage reporters

Chief Announcer: Sid Collins
Driver expert: Fred Agabashian
Statistician: Charlie Brockman

Turn 1: Bill Frosh
Turn 2: John Peterson
Backstretch: Bernie Herman
Turn 3: Lou Palmer
Turn 4: Jim Shelton

Greg Smith (north)
Jack Shapiro (center)
Luke Walton (south)

References

  1. Stranahan, Bob (May 31, 1959). "Good Race Day Time Had By All". The Indianapolis Star. p. 1. Retrieved June 2, 2017 via Newspapers.com.
  2. The Talk of Gasoline Alley. May 3, 2010. WFNI.
  3. "Fatalities - May 1959". The Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Archived from the original on February 4, 2012. Retrieved January 9, 2016.
  4. The Talk of Gasoline Alley1070-AM WIBC, May 14, 2004
  5. "1959 International 500 Mile Sweepstakes". ChampCarStats.com. Retrieved June 26, 2015.
  6. The Talk of Gasoline Alley1070-AM WIBC, May 9, 2007
  7. "Indianapolis 1959 - Championship • STATS F1". www.statsf1.com. Retrieved 18 March 2019.
  8. "Alaska Joins '500' Hookup". The Indianapolis News. May 29, 1959. p. 44. Retrieved March 6, 2018 via Newspapers.com.
Previous race:
1959 Monaco Grand Prix
FIA Formula One World Championship
1959 season
Next race:
1959 Dutch Grand Prix
Previous race:
1958 Indianapolis 500
Jimmy Bryan
1959 Indianapolis 500
Rodger Ward
Next race:
1960 Indianapolis 500
Jim Rathmann
Preceded by
135.601 mph
(1957 Indianapolis 500)
Record for the Indianapolis 500 fastest average speed
135.875
mph
Succeeded by
138.767 mph
(1960 Indianapolis 500)
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