Wikipedia

1934 Indianapolis 500

The 22nd International 500-Mile Sweepstakes Race was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on May 30, 1934. The winner was the number seven car driven by Bill Cummings, an Indianapolis native, at an average speed of 104.863 miles per hour. Cummings led for 57 laps total, including the last 26.[3] Of the 33 cars that began the race, only 12 were running at the finish, although there were no crashes resulting in serious injuries. One serious incident involved George Bailey, whose car went over the outside wall, but resulted in only a broken wrist to the driver. The finish was the closest in the history of the race to that point, with second-place finisher Mauri Rose within 100 yards of Cummings at the finish (officially 27.25 seconds behind). Rose would also file a protest that Cummings had illegally gained ground during a "slow-down" period following a crash.[4]

22nd Indianapolis 500
Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Indianapolis 500
Sanctioning bodyAAA
DateMay 30, 1934
WinnerBill Cummings
Winning EntrantH. C. Henning
Average speed104.863 mph
Pole positionKelly Petillo
Pole speed119.329 mph
Most laps ledFrank Brisko (69)
Pre-race
Pace carLaSalle Model 350
Pace car driverWillard "Big Boy" Rader
StarterSeth Klein[1]
Honorary refereeRoy D. Chapin[1]
Estimated attendance140,000[2]
Chronology
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1933 1935

Cummings was accompanied by riding mechanic Earl Unversaw. The race was part of the 1934 AAA Championship Car season.


Background edit

In an effort to improve safety, the maximum field size was capped at 33 cars. 33 starters has remained the maximum field size since, with the exception of the 1979 and 1997 races. After several consecutive 500s with multiple fatalities, efforts were also made to reduce speeds through fuel limits; entries were limited to 2.5 U.S. gallons (9.5 L) of fuel for qualification and 45 U.S. gallons (170 L) of fuel for the race.[5][6]

For 1934, riding mechanics were required.[7]

Time trials edit

Ten-lap (25 mile) qualifying runs were utilized. Kelly Petillo earned the pole position with a speed of 119.329 mph (192.041 km/h). Babe Stapp and Charles Tramison were both disqualifed for exceeding the fuel limit in their qualifying runs.

During a qualification attempt, driver Pete Kreis lost control in turn 1, climbed over the wall, and struck a tree outside of the track. He and his riding mechanic were fatally injured.

Starting grid edit

Row Inside Middle Outside
1 17   Kelly Petillo 3   Wilbur Shaw 32   Frank Brisko
2 9   Mauri Rose 4   Chet Gardner 26   Phil Shafer
3 8   Tony Gulotta 36   Al Miller 10   Russ Snowberger
4 7   Bill Cummings 31   Ralph Hepburn 18   George Barringer  R 
5 1   Louis Meyer  W  24   Herb Ardinger  R  15   Shorty Cantlon
6 58   George Bailey  R  51   Al Gordon 22   Cliff Bergere
7 12   Deacon Litz 2   Lou Moore 41   Johnny Sawyer
8 6   Dave Evans 35   Rex Mays  R  16   Joe Russo
9 42   Dusty Fahrnow  R  73   Doc MacKenzie 45   Rick Decker
10 49   Charles Crawford  R  5   Stubby Stubblefield 63   Harry McQuinn  R 
11 29   Gene Haustein 46   Chet Miller 33   Johnny Seymour
R Indianapolis 500 rookie
W Indianapolis 500 winner

Alternates edit

Failed to Qualify edit

Race summary edit

At the start, polesitter Petillo took the lead for the first 4 laps. But the pace was 8 mph off the record of the previous year, owing to new fuel regulations that limited cars to 45 gallons for the entire race. Frank Brisko lead much of the first half of the race, but began to fall back as the race approached half-distance. By half-distance, Mauri Rose was leading, but close behind him was Cummings. "Wild Bill" first assumed the lead at 325 miles as Rose pitted for fuel, then lost it as he too made a stop. Cummings then closed on Rose and passed him with 70 miles to go. Both drivers, confident that they had enough fuel, then upped their pace to reach 140 mph on the straights. Cummings and Rose were never more than 30 seconds apart in the last part of the race. Cummings took the checkered with a new record average speed, despite the new fuel limitations. Rose was second, 27 seconds behind. [10]

Box score edit

Finish Start No Name Entrant Chassis Engine Qual Rank Laps Status
1 10 7   Bill Cummings H. C. Henning Miller Miller 116.116 6 200 Running
2 4 9   Mauri Rose Leon Duray Stevens Miller 116.044 7 200 Running
3 20 2   Lou Moore
(Wilbur Shaw Laps 77–152) 		California Racers, Inc. Miller Miller 113.442 16 200 Running
4 19 12   Deacon Litz
(Babe Stapp Laps 67–172) 		A. B. Litz Miller Miller 113.731 14 200 Running
5 24 16   Joe Russo Joe E. Russo Duesenberg Duesenberg 113.115 18 200 Running
6 8 36   Al Miller
(Zeke Meyer Laps 169–200) 		Phil Shafer Rigling Buick 113.307 17 200 Running
7 18 22   Cliff Bergere
(Tony Gulotta Laps 119–130)
(Billy Winn Laps 131–141) 		William S. White Weil Miller 115.243 8 200 Running
8 9 10   Russ Snowberger Russell Snowberger Snowberger Studebaker 111.428 23 200 Running
9 3 32   Frank Brisko
(Rex Mays Laps 130–200) 		F.W.D. Auto Company Miller Miller 116.894 4 200 Running
10 14 24   Herb Ardinger  R 
(Danny Day Laps 93–133) 		Angelo Lucenti Graham Graham 111.722 22 200 Running
11 1 17   Kelly Petillo Joe Marks Adams Miller 119.329 1 200 Running
12 29 5   Stubby Stubblefield
(Dave Evans Laps 124–144) 		Cummins Engine Company Duesenberg Cummins 105.921 32 200 Running
13 28 49   Charles Crawford  R  Detroit Gasket & Manufacturing Ford Ford V8 108.784 30 110 In pits
14 11 31   Ralph Hepburn
(Louis Meyer Laps 138–164) 		Ralph Hepburn Miller Miller 114.321 10 164 Connecting rod
15 12 18   George Barringer  R 
(Chet Gardner Laps 98–161) 		H. C. Henning Miller Miller 113.859 11 161 Bent front axle
16 6 26   Phil Shafer
(Zeke Meyer Laps 97–130) 		Phil Shafer Rigling Buick 113.816 12 130 Camshaft drive
17 7 8   Tony Gulotta Floyd Smith Cooper Studebaker 113.733 13 94 Rod
18 13 1   Louis Meyer  W  Louis Meyer Stevens Miller 112.332 20 92 Oil tank
19 22 6   Dave Evans Cummins Engine Company Duesenberg Cummins 102.414 33 81 Transmission
20 15 15   Shorty Cantlon
(Billy Winn Laps 39–76) 		William J. Cantlon Stevens Miller 117.875 2 76 Crankshaft
21 5 4   Chet Gardner Alden Sampson II Stevens Miller 114.786 9 72 Rod
22 17 51   Al Gordon Paul Weirick Adams Miller 116.273 5 66 Crash T1
23 23 35   Rex Mays  R  Fred Frame Duesenberg Miller 113.639 15 53 Front axle
24 25 42   Dusty Fahrnow  R  Irving Goldberg Cooper Cooper 113.070 19 28 Rod
25 21 41   Johnny Sawyer Lencki & Unger Miller Lencki 109.808 27 27 Rod
26 33 33   Johnny Seymour Fred Frame Adams Miller 108.591 31 22 Pinion gear
27 27 45   Rick Decker Rickliffe Decker Miller Miller 110.895 26 17 Clutch
28 2 3   Wilbur Shaw Joe Marks Stevens Miller 117.647 3 15 Lost oil
29 26 73   Doc MacKenzie Mikan & Carson Mikan-Carson Studebaker 111.933 21 15 Crash NC
30 31 29   Gene Haustein Lawrence J. Martz Hudson Hudson 109.426 28 13 Crash T4
31 30 63   Harry McQuinn  R  Michel DeBaets Rigling Miller 111.067 24 13 Rod
32 16 58   George Bailey  R  Roy Scott Snowberger Studebaker 111.063 25 12 Crash T3
33 32 46   Chet Miller Bohn Aluminum and Brass Corporation Ford Ford V8 109.252 29 11 Crash T1
[11]<[5]

Note: Relief drivers in parentheses[12]

 W  Former Indianapolis 500 winner

 R  Indianapolis 500 Rookie

Race statistics edit

References edit

  1. ^ a b Fox, Jack C. (1994). The Illustrated History of the Indianapolis 500 1911-1994 (4th ed.). Carl Hungness Publishing. p. 22. ISBN 0-915088-05-3.
  2. ^ Ogle, Carl F. (May 31, 1934). "Boy Who Listened to Racers' Drone In 1914 Realizes Childhood Ambition". The Indianapolis Star. p. 1. Retrieved June 3, 2017 – via Newspapers.com. 
  3. ^ "Reference at www.indy500.com". Archived from the original on 2008-05-14. Retrieved 2008-06-19.
  4. ^ "CUMMINGS VICTOR IN 500-MILE RACE". The New York Times. 31 May 1934. Associated Press as printed in the New York Times May 31, 1934, page 26, sports. (requires subscription to read full article)
  5. ^ a b Popely, Rick; Riggs, L. Spencer (1998). The Indianapolis 500 Chronicle. Lincolnwood, Illinois: Publications International, Ltd. ISBN 0-7853-2798-3.
  6. ^ Book "The Indianapolis: A Complete Pictorial History" p.103
  7. ^ Blazier, John E.; Rollings, Tom (1994). Forgotten Heroes of the Speedways: The Riding Mechanics.
  8. ^ The Talk of Gasoline Alley - 1070-AM WIBC, May 14, 2004
  9. ^ "1934 International 500 Mile Sweepstakes". ChampCarStats.com. Retrieved 28 June 2015.
  10. ^ Book "The Indianapolis 500: A Complete Pictorial History" p. 193
  11. ^ "Indianapolis 500 1934". Ultimate Racing History. Archived from the original on 17 January 2012. Retrieved 16 January 2012.
  12. ^ "International 500 Mile Sweepstakes – May 30, 1934". ChampCarStats.com.


1933 Indianapolis 500
Louis Meyer 		1934 Indianapolis 500
Bill Cummings 		1935 Indianapolis 500
Kelly Petillo
Preceded by
104.162 mph
(1933 Indianapolis 500)
 Record for the fastest average speed
104.863 mph 		Succeeded by
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