1920 Indianapolis 500

Eighth running of the Indianapolis 500 February 2025 8th Indianapolis 500 1920 Indianapolis 500 program cover.jpg AAA May 31, 1920 Gaston Chevrolet William Small Company John Bresnahan 5:38:32 88.618 mi/h km/h on Ralph DePalma 99.150 mi/h km/h on Joe Boyer (93) Marmon 6 (Model 34) Barney Oldfield E. C. PattersonFox Jack C. The Illustrated History of the Indianapolis 500 1911-1994 Carl Hungness Publishing 4th 1994 22 en 0-915088-05-3 Clifford C. Ireland 120,000Crowd Put at 120,000, New Record Mark https://www.newspapers.com/clip/11445882/ The Indianapolis Star 1 Newspapers.com June 1, 1920 June 3, 2017 (up 10k from previous year) 1919 1921 The 8th International 500-Mile Sweepstakes Race was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Monday, May 31, 1920. Ralph DePalma held a two lap lead when the car stalled on lap 187. His riding mechanic Pete DePaolo ran to the pits to get a can of gasoline, thinking they were out of fuel. DePalma was able to get the car rolling again, and the two rejoined the race. However, during the delay, the lead went to Gaston Chevrolet. Chevrolet himself ran out of fuel on lap 197, but he was able to coast to the pits and refuel. Chevrolet held on to win. About six months later, he was fatally injured in a crash at Beverly Hills. Chevrolet won the race without a single tire change, a remarkable feat at the time. Chevrolet was accompanied by riding mechanic John Bresnahan. Chevrolet's victory was the last by a driver born outside of the United States until George Robson's victory in the 1946 running. Time trials thumb|The 1920 winning car Four-lap (10 mile) qualifying runs were introduced in 1920. Previously one-lap runs were used. Ralph DePalma won the pole position at 99.65 mph on. None of his four laps matched the track record (104.78 mph on) set the previous year. Qualifying Results Date Driver Lap 1(mph) Lap 2(mph) Lap 3(mph) Lap 4(mph) Average Speed(mph)5/26/1920 Ralph DePalma98.199.499.599.9599.65 Starting grid RowInsideInside CenterOutside CenterOutside 1 Pace car position2 USA 1912 Ralph DePalma gold W silver6 USA 1912 Joe Boyer3 USA 1912 Louis Chevrolet 226 FRA Jean Chassagne8 USA 1912 Art Klein4 USA 1912 Gaston Chevrolet5 USA 1912 Roscoe Sarles 37 USA 1912 Bennett Hill orange R silver31 USA 1912 Eddie Hearne9 USA 1912 Ray Howard10 USA 1912 Tommy Milton 429 USA 1912 Eddie O'Donnell34 USA 1912 Willie Haupt32 USA 1912 John Boling orange R silver12 USA 1912 Jimmy Murphy orange R silver 517 FRA André Boillot15 CAN 1868 Pete Henderson25 FRA René Thomas gold W silver28 USA 1912 Joe Thomas orange R silver 618 USA 1912 Howdy Wilcox gold W silver16 FRA Jules Goux gold W silver19 FRA Jean Porporato33 USA 1912 Ralph Mulford orange R Indianapolis 500 rookie solid 1px darkgray gold W Indianapolis 500 winner solid 1px darkgray Box score FinishStartNoNameEntrantCarQualRankLapsStatus164USA 1912 Gaston ChevroletWilliam Small CompanyFrontenac91.5508200 88.618 mph21825FRA René Thomas gold W silverErnest BallotBallot93.9505200 +6:19.6031110USA 1912 Tommy MiltonDuesenberg BrothersDuesenberg90.20011200 +6:30.4841512USA 1912 Jimmy Murphy orange R silverDuesenberg BrothersDuesenberg88.70013200 +13:59.35512USA 1912 Ralph DePalma gold W silverRalph DePalmaBallot99.1501200 +26:47.156931USA 1912 Eddie HearneDuesenberg BrothersDuesenberg88.05015200 +31:49.557426FRA Jean ChassagneErnest BallotBallot95.4504200 +36:44.6581928USA 1912 Joe Thomas orange R silver(Art Klein Laps 105–115)(Harry Thicksten Laps 116–125)William Small CompanyFrontenac92.8006200 +43:09.5592333USA 1912 Ralph MulfordRalph MulfordMulford–Duesenberg——200 +1:38:42.25101715CAN 1868 Pete Henderson(Tom Alley Laps 93–200)Revere Motor Car CorporationDuesenberg81.15021200 +1:45:21.95111432USA 1912 John Boling orange R silver(Riley Brett Laps 99–199)C. L. RichardsBrett81.85020199Flagged1226USA 1912 Joe Boyer(Ira Vail Laps 155–191)Frontenac Motor CorporationFrontenac96.9002192Crash T313109USA 1912 Ray Howard(Aldo Franchi Laps 41–90)Peugeot Auto Racing CompanyPeugeot84.60018150Camshaft141229USA 1912 Eddie O'DonnellDuesenberg BrothersDuesenberg88.20014149Oil line152116FRA Jules Goux gold W silverJules GouxPeugeot84.30019148Engine trouble161334USA 1912 Willie Haupt(Wade Morton Laps 55–111)Meteor Motors CompanyDuesenberg85.48016146Rod1787USA 1912 Bennett Hill orange R silver(Roscoe Sarles Laps 75–115)Frontenac Motor CorporationFrontenac90.55010115Crash T41833USA 1912 Louis Chevrolet(Salvatore Barbarino Laps 64–79)(Jerry Wunderlich Laps 80–94)William Small CompanyFrontenac96.300394Steering192018USA 1912 Howdy Wilcox gold W silverJules GouxPeugeot88.8201265Engine trouble2075USA 1912 Roscoe SarlesWilliam Small CompanyFrontenac90.750958Crash T42158USA 1912 Art KleinFrontenac Motor CorporationFrontenac92.700740Crash222219FRA Jean PorporatoJean PorporatoGrégoire79.9802223Ruled off231617FRA André BoillotJules GouxPeugeot85.4001716Engine trouble Indianapolis 500 1920 http://www.ultimateracinghistory.com/race.php?raceid=19993 Ultimate Racing History 15 January 2012 https://archive.today/20130205072003/http://www.ultimateracinghistory.com/race.php?raceid=19993 5 February 2013 live The Indianapolis 500 Chronicle Publications International, Ltd. Rick Popely L. Spencer Riggs 1998 0-7853-2798-3 Lincolnwood, Illinois Note: Relief drivers in parentheseshttps://www.champcarstats.com/races/192005.htm International 500 Mile Sweepstakes – May 30, 1920 ChampCarStats.com gold W silver Former Indianapolis 500 winner orange R silver Indianapolis 500 Rookie Statistics 30% Lap Leaders Laps Leader1–11 Joe Boyer12 Art Klein13 Jean Chassagne14–37 Joe Boyer38–42 Ralph DePalma43–62 Joe Boyer63–69 René Thomas70–107 Joe Boyer108–112 René Thomas113–186 Ralph DePalma187–200 Gaston Chevrolet 70% Total laps led Leader LapsJoe Boyer 93Ralph DePalma 79Gaston Chevrolet 14René Thomas 12Jean Chassagne 1Art Klein 1 Race details For 1920, riding mechanics were required.Blazier, John E. Rollings, Tom Forgotten Heroes of the Speedways: The Riding Mechanics 1994 First alternate: noneThe Talk of Gasoline Alley - 1070-AM WIBC, May 14, 2004 References 1919 Howdy Wilcox 1920 Gaston Chevrolet 1921 Tommy Milton Category:Indianapolis 500 races Indianapolis 500 Indianapolis 500 Indianapolis 500 Category:May 1920 sports events in the United States