1949 Indianapolis 500
 | |||||
| Indianapolis Motor Speedway | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Indianapolis 500 | |||||
| Sanctioning body | AAA | ||||
| Date | May 30, 1949 | ||||
| Winner | Bill Holland | ||||
| Winning Entrant | Lou Moore | ||||
| Average speed | 121.327 mph (195.257 km/h) | ||||
| Pole position | Duke Nalon | ||||
| Pole speed | 132.939 mph (213.945 km/h) | ||||
| Most laps led | Bill Holland (146) | ||||
| Pre-race | |||||
| Pace car | Oldsmobile 88 | ||||
| Pace car driver | Wilbur Shaw | ||||
| Chronology | |||||
| |||||
The 33rd International 500-Mile Sweepstakes was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Monday, May 30, 1949.
After two years of failures to his teammate, Bill Holland finally won one for himself, giving Lou Moore his third consecutive victory. Mauri Rose was fired by the team after the race when he again ignored orders and tried to pass Holland, only to see his car fail with 8 laps to go.
Results
| Finish | Start | No | Name | Qual | Rank | Laps | Led | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | 7 |  Bill Holland |
128.673 | 9 | 200 | 146 | Running |
| 2 | 12 | 12 | Johnnie Parsons (R) |
132.900 | 2 | 200 | 0 | Running |
| 3 | 6 | 22 | George Connor |
128.228 | 13 | 200 | 0 | Running |
| 4 | 13 | 2 | Myron Fohr (R) |
129.776 | 3 | 200 | 0 | Running |
| 5 | 16 | 77 | Joie Chitwood |
126.863 | 27 | 200 | 0 | Running |
| 6 | 7 | 61 | Jimmy Jackson |
128.023 | 15 | 200 | 0 | Running |
| 7 | 9 | 98 | Johnny Mantz |
127.786 | 18 | 200 | 0 | Running |
| 8 | 19 | 19 | Paul Russo |
129.487 | 5 | 200 | 0 | Running |
| 9 | 32 | 9 | Emil Andres (Relieved by Walt Brown) |
126.042 | 31 | 197 | 0 | Flagged |
| 10 | 24 | 71 | Norm Houser (R) |
127.756 | 20 | 181 | 0 | Flagged |
| 11 | 21 | 68 | Jim Rathmann (R) |
126.516 | 29 | 175 | 0 | Flagged |
| 12 | 18 | 64 | Troy Ruttman (R) |
125.945 | 32 | 151 | 0 | Flagged |
| 13 | 10 | 3 | Mauri Rose (W) |
127.759 | 19 | 192 | 0 | Magneto strap |
| 14 | 5 | 17 | Duane Carter |
128.233 | 12 | 182 | 0 | Spun T3 |
| 15 | 15 | 29 | Duke Dinsmore |
127.750 | 21 | 174 | 0 | Radius rod |
| 16 | 14 | 8 | Mack Hellings |
128.260 | 11 | 172 | 0 | Valve |
| 17 | 22 | 4 | Bill Sheffler |
128.521 | 10 | 160 | 0 | Rod |
| 18 | 28 | 32 | Johnny McDowell (R) |
126.139 | 30 | 142 | 0 | Magneto |
| 19 | 11 | 14 | Hal Cole |
127.168 | 24 | 117 | 0 | Rod bearing |
| 20 | 25 | 38 | George Fonder (R) (Relieved by Mel Hansen) |
127.289 | 22 | 116 | 0 | Valve |
| 21 | 30 | 74 | Bill Cantrell |
127.191 | 23 | 95 | 0 | Drive shaft |
| 22 | 17 | 57 | Jackie Holmes (R) |
128.087 | 14 | 65 | 0 | Drive shaft |
| 23 | 20 | 6 | Lee Wallard |
128.912 | 7 | 55 | 19 | Gears |
| 24 | 29 | 69 | Bayliss Levrett (R) |
129.236 | 6 | 52 | 0 | Drain plug |
| 25 | 2 | 5 | Rex Mays |
129.552 | 4 | 48 | 12 | Engine |
| 26 | 3 | 33 | Jack McGrath |
128.884 | 8 | 39 | 0 | Oil pump |
| 27 | 31 | 15 | Fred Agabashian |
127.007 | 25 | 38 | 0 | Overheating |
| 28 | 33 | 52 | Manny Ayulo (R) |
125.799 | 33 | 24 | 0 | Rod |
| 29 | 1 | 54 | Duke Nalon |
132.939 | 1 | 23 | 23 | Crash T3 |
| 30 | 23 | 18 | Sam Hanks |
127.809 | 17 | 20 | 0 | Oil leak |
| 31 | 27 | 10 | .svg.png){kind=small} Charles Van Acker |
126.524 | 28 | 10 | 0 | Crash T4 |
| 32 | 8 | 26 | George Lynch (R) |
127.823 | 16 | 1 | 0 | Crash T1 |
| 33 | 26 | 37 | Spider Webb |
127.002 | 26 | 0 | 0 | Transmission |
| [1] | ||||||||
Alternates
- First alternate: Ralph Pratt (R) (#34)[2]
Failed to Qualify
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Broadcasting
Radio
The race was carried live on the Mutual Broadcasting System, the precursor to the IMS Radio Network. The broadcast was sponsored by Perfect Circle Piston Rings and Bill Slater served as the anchor. The broadcast feature live coverage of the start, the finish, and live updates throughout the race.
| Mutual Broadcasting System | ||
|---|---|---|
| Booth Announcers | Turn Reporters | Roving reporters |
|
Booth Announcer: Bill Slater |
South turns: Sid Collins |
Barry Lake |
Television
The race was carried live for the first time in history on local television on WFBM-TV channel 6 of Indianapolis. The station signed on for the first time race morning May 30, 1949, with a documentary about the race entitled The Crucible of Speed, the covered the race itself. The race broadcast utilized three cameras located along the mainstrech. Earl Townsend, Jr. who had worked previously as a radio reporter, was the first television announcer. Dick Pittenger and Paul Roberts joined Townsend along with engineer Robert Robbins. The telecast reached approximately 3,000 local households.
| WFBM-TV Television | |
|---|---|
| Play-by-play | Pit reporters |
|
Announcer: Earl Townsend, Jr. |
Robert Robbins |
See also
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to 1949 Indianapolis 500. |
Notes
Works cited
- 1949 Indianapolis 500 Radio Broadcast, Mutual: Re-broadcast on "The All-Night Race Party" – WIBC-AM (May 28, 2005)
- Van Camp's Pork & Beans Presents: Great Moments From the Indy 500 – Fleetwood Sounds, 1975
References
- ↑ "Indianapolis 500 1949". Ultimate Racing History. Archived from the original on 16 January 2012. Retrieved 16 January 2012.
- ↑ The Talk of Gasoline Alley – 1070-AM WIBC, May 14, 2004
- ↑ ""1949 International 500 Mile Sweepstakes"". ChampCarStats.com. Retrieved 26 June 2015.
| 1948 Indianapolis 500 Mauri Rose |
1949 Indianapolis 500 Bill Holland |
1950 Indianapolis 500 Johnnie Parsons |
| Preceded by 119.814 mph (1948 Indianapolis 500) |
Record for the fastest average speed 121.327 mph |
Succeeded by 124.002 mph (1950 Indianapolis 500) |