1914 Indianapolis 500

Fourth running of the Indianapolis 500 February 2025 4th Indianapolis 500 1914 Indianapolis 500 program cover.jpg AAA May 30, 1914 René Thomas Delage Robert Laly 6:03:46 82.474 mi/h km/h on Jean Chassagne Grid set by blind draw René Thomas (102) Stoddard-Dayton Carl G. Fisher Thomas J. HayFox Jack C. The Illustrated History of the Indianapolis 500 1911-1994 Carl Hungness Publishing 4th 1994 22 en 0-915088-05-3 John A. Wilson 110,000110,000 Cheer Winner In Race https://www.newspapers.com/clip/3189122/indy_500_1914_front_page/ Herbert R. Hyman The Indianapolis Star 1 Newspapers.com May 31, 1914 June 3, 2017 1913 1915 The 4th International 500-Mile Sweepstakes Race was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Saturday, May 30, 1914. René Thomas was the race winner, accompanied by riding mechanic Robert Laly. Background Race history The Indianapolis Motor Speedway opened in 1909, and the first motorsport event at the track, a series of motorcycle races, was held in August of that year.Kramer 2009, p. 29. A series of automobile races were held in 1909, but concerns were raised about the condition of the course after numerous accidents, including a fatality.Kramer 2010, p. 12. The track was re-paved at a high-cost to Carl G. Fisher and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Corporation, and further series of races took place in 1910. Fisher was worried about the dwindling attendances at these races, and decided to establish a 500-mile race; double the furthest distance of any previous race at the track. He went on to announce that the track would host no other races during the year, and that the prize for first place would be $25,000: more than 10 times higher than any other race.Kramer 2010, pp. 12–17. The total prize-fund was $85,000.https://www.newspapers.com/clip/16527111/the_indianapolis_star/ America Endeavors Today to Regain Speed Honors The Indianapolis Star Blakely A. S. May 30, 1914 1 Fisher's plans paid off, and at the 1911 Indianapolis 500, the inaugural event, newspapers reported that in excess of 80,000 people attended the race.Kramer 2010, p. 18. Each of the first two races were won by Americans; Ray Harroun in 1911 and Joe Dawson in 1912. In 1913, the large prize-fund attracted European teams and racers, and the race was won by Jules Goux in a Peugeot. Rule changes During the 1913 race, Jules Goux and his riding mechanic had drunk 4 5 of an American pint of champagne (2 3 of an Imperial pint or 19 50 of a liter),Miller Denny Indianapolis Motor Speedway- the Eddie Rickenbacker Era 2020 AuthorHouse 9781665501446 30 https://books.google.com/books?id=U0oUEAAAQBAJ&pg=PT30 3 June 2022 during each of his pit stops. For 1914, the consumption of alcohol during the race was banned.http://www.caranddriver.com/features/indianapolis-500-100-interesting-facts-milestones-and-more-feature Celebrating the Indy 500's 100th Anniversary: 100 Most Interesting Facts and Milestones Swan Tom Car and Driver Ann Arbor, Michigan May 2011 9 December 2015 Riding mechanics were mandatory for the 1914 race.Blazier, John E. Rollings, Tom Forgotten Heroes of the Speedways: The Riding Mechanics 1994 The maximum engine size remained unchanged at 450 cuin cc of engine displacement.https://www.newspapers.com/clip/3890362/ Who Will Share the $50,000 In Big Race Meet? Bismarck Daily Tribune 29 May 1914 4 Newspapers.com 26 December 2015 Report Elimination trials thumb|right|Georges Boillot set the fastest time during the elimination trials, exceeding 125 mph along the straights. There were 45 entrants for the race, but only the quickest 30 drivers during the elimination trials would qualify for the race. The first day of trials was completed on the Monday before the race, May 25. Caleb Bragg set the fastest official time on the first day, recording 1:36.8, though it was reckoned that Howdy Wilcox went quicker, but his time was not officially recorded. Ralph DePalma, a crowd favorite, struggled in his Mercedes and could only manage a time of 1:47.4, slower than the 1:45 that it was predicted drivers would have to beat in order to qualify. Only fifteen of the drivers ran on the first day, and they continued with two sessions on Tuesday.https://www.newspapers.com/clip/3880671/1914_indianapolis_500_time_trials/ Time Trials at Speedway Are Started Blankenbaker R. M. The Indianapolis Star 26 May 1914 7 Newspapers.com 24 December 2015 On the second day, three drivers set record times around the Speedway: first the 1912 winner, Joe Dawson, set an unofficial lap time of 1:34.8. Later in the day Teddy Tetzlaff completed a lap in 1:33.4, while Jules Goux finished the day as the fastest driver, with a time of 1:31.7. Tetzlaff's lap was completed in a Maxwell which was fuelled with a 50:50 mix of gasoline and kerosene; the other Maxwell, driven by Billy Carlson, set a time of 1:36.6 fuelled by a combination of kerosene and lubricating oil, with no gasoline.https://www.newspapers.com/clip/3880698/1914_indianapolis_500_trials_day_2/ Three Racers Break Marks at Speedway Blankenbaker R. M. The Indianapolis Star 27 May 1914 1 Newspapers.com 24 December 2015 Ray Harroun, who had won the inaugural Indianapolis 500 in 1911, designed the Maxwell car, and was given $10,000 (US 10000 1914 eq -3) by the company's president as a reward for the cars qualifying with sub-1:37 times.https://www.newspapers.com/clip/3881184 De Palma Last To Qualify For 500-Mile Grind Blankenbaker R. M. The Indianapolis Star 28 May 1914 1 Newspapers.com 24 December 2015 By the end of the second day, 21 drivers had completed speed trials, and all but DePalma and Eddie Pullen had times below 1:45. Hughie Hughes's car suffered a broken crank case, preventing him from being able to set a qualifying time.https://www.newspapers.com/clip/3881148/1914_indianapolis_500_time_trials_day_2/ Three Racers Break Marks at Speedway Blankenbaker R. M. The Indianapolis Star 27 May 1914 5 Newspapers.com 24 December 2015 On the final day of the trials, DePalma managed to make significant improvements in his Mercedes, and qualified with the twentieth fastest time overall, in 1:42.12. Georges Boillot set the overall fastest time, edging out his teammate Goux by completing a lap in 1:30.13, exceeding 125 mph along the straights. The slowest of the thirty qualifiers was Harry Grant in a Sunbeam, with a lap time of 1:44.09.https://www.newspapers.com/clip/3881227 Starters in 500-Mile Race and Time in Speed Test The Indianapolis Star 28 May 1914 1 Newspapers.com 24 December 2015 Build up thumb|200px|right|The 1914 winning car, now located at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame and Museum After the rigors of the elimination trials, DePalma withdrew from the race, claiming that his car had been vibrating so heavily that his engine would not survive the race. His place was taken by Ray Gilhooley in the Italian-built Isotta car.https://www.newspapers.com/clip/3890375 De Palma Out Of Big Race New York Times 30 May 1914 8 Newspapers.com 26 December 2015 Gilhooley was known as a fearless, and sometimes erratic, driver who was feared by his peers, as they considered him unpredictable. DePalma claimed that he had twice seen Gilhooley "tear through a wooden fence at full tilt" on occasions when Gilhooley risked overtakes on dangerous corners.https://www.newspapers.com/clip/3890398 Master Mind + Mechanics = Speed The Ogden Standard 30 May 1914 11 Newspapers.com 26 December 2015 The bookmakers made the 1913 race winner, Goux, the favorite, followed by his Peugeot teammate Boillot. Although the Frenchmen were accepted to be driving the quickest cars, there was some belief in the American press that their English tires might not be as durable as American tires, which could improve the chances of the American drivers.https://www.newspapers.com/clip/3913564 Americans Rely on Tires; Hope To Win Classic The Indianapolis Star 29 May 1914 1 Newspapers.com 29 December 2015 Race The starting lineup for the race was determined by random draw the night before the race amongst the qualified drivers. Frenchman Jean Chassagne drew pole position, while Teddy Tetzlaff and Howdy Wilcox completed the front row. Wilcox led the first lap of the race, but the European drivers dominated the day, with five of the top six finishing positions going to them. René Thomas, driving a French-made Delage, led 102 laps en route to victory, setting a new record average speed of 82.47 mph kph on. Belgian Arthur Duray finished second after leading 77 laps, roughly 6 minutes 38 seconds behind Thomas. Barney Oldfield finished as the highest place American in fifth placed.The Indianapolis 500 Chronicle Publications International, Ltd. Rick Popely L. Spencer Riggs 1998 0-7853-2798-3 Lincolnwood, Illinois Classification Elimination trials Pos No. Driver Time 1 7 Georges Boillot FRA 1:30.17 2 6 Jules Goux FRA 1:31.71 3 8 Teddy Tetzlaff USA 1912 1:33.4 4 16 René Thomas René Thomas (racing driver) FRA 1:35.2 5 26 Joe Dawson Joe Dawson (racing driver) USA 1912 1:36.2 6 25 Billy Carlson USA 1912 1:36.4 7 21 Caleb Bragg USA 1912 1:36.8 8 19 Spencer Wishart USA 1912 1:37.1 9 9 Josef Christiaens BEL 1:38.67 10 4 Howdy Wilcox USA 1912 1:39.16 11 24 Gil Andersen USA 1912 1:39.46 12 17 Bob Burman USA 1912 1:39.55 13 14 Arthur Duray BEL 1:40 14 31 Billy Knipper USA 1912 1:40.48 15 43 Willie Haupt USA 1912 1:40.68 16 10 Albert Guyot FRA 1:40.95 17 12 Jean Chassagne FRA 1:41.01 18 23 Ralph Mulford USA 1912 1:42.03 19 42 Eddie Rickenbacker USA 1912 1:42.11 20 18 Ralph DePalma USA 1912 1:42.12 21 2 Earl Cooper USA 1912 1:42.25 22 48 S. F. Brock USA 1912 1:42.47 23 34 Ernest Friderich FRA 1:42.59 24 38 Billy Chandler USA 1912 1:42.81 25 3 Barney Oldfield USA 1912 1:43.15 26 13 George Mason George Mason (racing driver) USA 1912 1:43.22 27 5 Charles Keene Charles Keene (racing driver) USA 1912 1:43.6 28 15 Art Klein USA 1912 1:43.6 29 1 Louis Disbrow USA 1912 1:43.7 30 27 Harry Grant Harry Grant (racing driver) USA 1912 1:44.09 Starting grid The starting grid was determined by a random draw the night before the race. RowInsideInside CenterOutside CenterOutside 1 Pace car position12 FRA Jean Chassagne orange R silver8 USA 1912 Teddy Tetzlaff4 USA 1912 Howdy Wilcox 238 USA 1912 Billy Chandler orange R silver25 USA 1912 Billy Carlson orange R silver23 USA 1912 Ralph Mulford9 BEL Josef Christiaens orange R silver 315 USA 1912 Art Klein orange R silver21 USA 1912 Caleb Bragg14 BEL Arthur Duray orange R silver10 FRA Albert Guyot 431 USA 1912 Billy Knipper13 USA 1912 George Mason orange R silver2 USA 1912 Earl Cooper orange R silver16 FRA René Thomas orange R silver 524 USA 1912 Gil Andersen26 USA 1912 Joe Dawson gold W silver34 FRA Ernest Friderich orange R silver6 FRA Jules Goux gold W silver 649 USA 1912 Ray Gilhooley orange R silver48 USA 1912 S. F. Brock orange R silver17 USA 1912 Bob Burman42 USA 1912 Eddie Rickenbacker 71 USA 1912 Louis Disbrow19 USA 1912 Spencer Wishart27 USA 1912 Harry Grant5 USA 1912 Charles Keene orange R silver 843 USA 1912 Willie Haupt7 FRA Georges Boillot orange R silver3 USA 1912 Barney Oldfield orange R Indianapolis 500 rookie solid 1px darkgray gold W Indianapolis 500 winner solid 1px darkgray Box score FinishNo.DriverEntrantCarLapsTime / retiredGrid 116 FRA René Thomas orange R silver Louis Delâge Delage200 82.470 mph 15 2 14 BEL Arthur Duray orange R silver Peugeot (Jacques Munier) Peugeot 200 +6:38.5010 3 10 FRA Albert Guyot Delage (Albert Guyot) Delage 200 +10:15.7611 4 6 FRA Jules Goux gold W silver Peugeot (Jules Goux) Peugeot 200 +13:38.2719 5 3 USA 1912 Barney Oldfield orange R silver(Gil Andersen) Stutz Stutz–Wisconsin200 +20:05.5530 6 9 BEL 1912 Josef Christiaens orange R silver Excelsior (Josef Christiaens) Excelsior 200 +23:38.017 7 27 USA 1912 Harry Grant Sunbeam Sunbeam 200 +32:36.7126 8 5 USA 1912 Charles Keene orange R silver(C. L. Rogers) Beaver Bullet (Charles Keene) Keene–Wisconsin200 +37:11.8327 9 25 USA 1912 Billy Carlson orange R silver(Harry Goetz)(Jack LeCain) Maxwell / U.S. Motor Maxwell200 +58:56.615 10 42 USA 1912 Eddie Rickenbacker Duesenberg Duesenberg200 +59:48.6023 11 23 USA 1912 Ralph Mulford Mercedes (E.J. Schroeder) Mercedes 200 +1:07:34.016 12 43 USA 1912 Willie Haupt Duesenberg Duesenberg200 +1:26:12.0128 13 31 USA 1912 Billy Knipper(Bob Burman) Keeton Keeton–Wisconsin200 +1:32:56.0112 14 7 FRA Georges Boillot orange R silver Peugeot (Georges Boillot) Peugeot 141 Broken frame29 15 34 FRA Ernest Friderich orange R silver Ettore Bugatti Bugatti134 Drive pinion18 16 1 USA 1912 Louis Disbrow Bob Burman Burman–Wisconsin128 Connecting rod24 17 19 USA 1912 Spencer Wishart Mercer Mercer122 Cam gear25 18 2 USA 1912 Earl Cooper orange R silver(Bill Rader) Stutz Stutz–Wisconsin118 Wheel14 19 21 USA 1912 Caleb Bragg(Eddie Pullen) Mercer Mercer117 Camshaft9 20 15 USA 1912 Art Klein orange R silver King (Art Klein) King–Wisconsin87 Valve8 21 38 USA 1912 Billy Chandler orange R silver Braender Bulldog Mulford–Duesenberg69 Connecting rod4 22 4 USA 1912 Howdy Wilcox Gray Fox (Frank Fox) Fox–Pope-Hartford67 Valve3 23 13 USA 1912 George Mason orange R silver(Lee Oldfield) Mason Special Duesenberg66 Piston13 24 17 USA 1912 Bob Burman Bob Burman Burman–Wisconsin47 Connecting rod22 25 26 USA 1912 Joe Dawson gold W silver Marmon (Charles Ebstein) Marmon45 Crash17 26 24 USA 1912 Gil Andersen Stutz Stutz–Wisconsin42 Cylinder bolts16 27 49 USA 1912 Ray Gilhooley orange R silver Isotta (G.M. Heckschew) Isotta41 Crash20 28 8 USA 1912 Teddy Tetzlaff Maxwell / U.S. Motor Maxwell 33 Rocker arm2 29 12 FRA Jean Chassagne orange R silver Sunbeam Sunbeam20 Crash1 30 48 USA 1912 S. F. Brock orange R silver Ray Mercer–Wisconsin5 Camshaft21 Sources: MotorSport magazine,https://www.motorsportmagazine.com/database/races/1914-indianapolis-500/ 1914 Indianapolis 500 MotorSport magazine 9 December 2015 Racing-Referencehttps://www.racing-reference.info/race/1914-03/UO 1914 International 500 Racing-Reference 27 March 2020 Note: Relief drivers in parentheses gold W silver Former Indianapolis 500 winner orange R silver Indianapolis 500 Rookie Race statistics 30% Lap Leaders Laps Leader1 Howdy Wilcox2–4 Josef Christiaens5 Jules Goux6 Josef Christiaens7 Caleb Bragg8–12 Josef Christiaens13–29 René Thomas30–66 Arthur Duray67-75 Albert Guyot76–115 Arthur Duray116–200 René Thomas 70% Total laps led Laps Leader René Thomas 102 Arthur Duray 77 Josef Christiaens 9 Albert Guyot 9 Caleb Bragg 1 Jules Goux 1 Howdy Wilcox 1 Gallery Notes References 30em Bibliography https://www.questia.com/read/122038759/indianapolis-motor-speedway-100-years-of-racing Indianapolis Motor Speedway: 100 Years of Racing Kramer Ralph Krause Iola, WI 2009 978-0896898356 September 14, 2017 September 14, 2017 Questia subscription https://web.archive.org/web/20170914220250/https://www.questia.com/read/122038759/indianapolis-motor-speedway-100-years-of-racing dead https://www.questia.com/read/121831234/the-indianapolis-500-a-century-of-excitement The Indianapolis 500: A Century of Excitement Kramer Ralph Krause Iola, WI 2010 978-1440214134 September 14, 2017 September 14, 2017 Questia subscription https://web.archive.org/web/20170914220442/https://www.questia.com/read/121831234/the-indianapolis-500-a-century-of-excitement dead External links https://archive.today/20140620061737/http://www.autogiftgarage.com/carculture/2014/05/1914-indianapolis-500-france-vs-america/ 1914 Indianapolis 500 France v America el at AutoGiftGarage.com 1914 Indianapolis 500 http://www.ultimateracinghistory.com/race.php?raceid=19997 Ultimate Racing History 15 January 2012 https://web.archive.org/web/20130603015523/http://www.ultimateracinghistory.com/race.php?raceid=19997 3 June 2013 live 1913 Jules Goux 1914 Rene Thomas 1915 Ralph DePalma 82.474 78.719 mph(1912 Indianapolis 500) 89.840 mph(1915 Indianapolis 500) Category:Indianapolis 500 races Indianapolis 500 Indianapolis 500 Indianapolis 500 Category:May 1914 sports events in the United States