1920 Indianapolis 500

8th Indianapolis 500

Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Indianapolis 500
Sanctioning body	AAA
Date	May 31, 1920
Winner	Gaston Chevrolet
Winning Entrant	William Small Company
Average speed	88.618 mph (142.617 km/h)
Pole position	Ralph DePalma
Pole speed	99.150 mph (159.566 km/h)
Most laps led	Joe Boyer (93)
Pre-race
Pace car	Marmon 6 (Model 34)
Pace car driver	Barney Oldfield
Chronology
Previous Next 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. Seven 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.

Time trials

Four-lap (10 mile) qualifying runs were introduced in 1920. Previously one-lap runs were used. Ralph De Palma won the pole position at 99.65 mph. None of his four laps matched the track record (104.78 mph) 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 DePalma	98.1	99.4	99.5	99.95	99.65

Box score

Finish	Start	No	Name	Qual	Rank	Laps	Led	Status
1	6	4	Gaston Chevrolet	91.550	8	200	14	Running
2	18	25	René Thomas (W)	93.950	5	200	12	Running
3	11	10	Tommy Milton	90.200	11	200	0	Running
4	15	12	Jimmy Murphy (R)	88.700	13	200	0	Running
5	1	2	Ralph DePalma (W)	99.150	1	200	79	Running
6	9	31	Eddie Hearne	88.050	15	200	0	Running
7	4	26	Jean Chassagne	95.450	4	200	1	Running
8	19	28	Joe Thomas (R)	92.800	6	200	0	Running
9	23	33	Ralph Mulford	—	—	200	0	Running
10	17	15	Pete Henderson	81.150	21	200	0	Running
11	14	32	John Boling (R)	81.850	20	199	0	Flagged
12	2	6	Joe Boyer	96.900	2	192	93	Crash T3
13	10	9	Ray Howard	84.600	18	150	0	Camshaft
14	12	29	Eddie O'Donnell	88.200	14	149	0	Oil line
15	21	16	Jules Goux (W)	84.300	19	148	0	Engine trouble
16	13	34	Willie Haupt	85.480	16	146	0	Rod
17	8	7	Bennett Hill (R)	90.550	10	115	0	Crash T4
18	3	3	Louis Chevrolet	96.300	3	94	0	Steering
19	20	18	Howdy Wilcox (W)	88.820	12	65	0	Engine trouble
20	7	5	Roscoe Sarles	90.750	9	58	0	Crash T4
21	5	8	Art Klein	92.700	7	40	1	Crash
22	22	19	Jean Porporato	79.980	22	23	0	Ruled off
23	16	17	André Boillot	85.400	17	16	0	Engine trouble
[1]

Race details

• For 1920, riding mechanics were required.^[2]
• First alternate: none^[3]

References

1. "Indianapolis 500 1920". Ultimate Racing History. Archived from the original on 15 January 2012. Retrieved 15 January 2012.
2. Blazier, John E. and Rollings, Tom (1994). Forgotten Heroes of the Speedways: The Riding Mechanics.
3. The Talk of Gasoline Alley - 1070-AM WIBC, May 14, 2004