1949 Indianapolis 500

The 33rd International 500-Mile Sweepstakes was an automobile race held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Monday, May 30, 1949.

33rd Indianapolis 500
Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Indianapolis 500
Sanctioning bodyAAA
DateMay 30, 1949
WinnerBill Holland
Winning EntrantLou Moore
Average speed121.327 mph (195.257 km/h)
Pole positionDuke Nalon
Pole speed132.939 mph (213.945 km/h)
Most laps ledBill Holland (146)
Pre-race
Pace carOldsmobile 88
Pace car driverWilbur Shaw
StarterSeth Klein[1]
Honorary refereeJ. Emmett McManamon[1]
Estimated attendance150,000[2]
Chronology
Previous Next
1948 1950

After two years of failures to his teammate, Bill Holland finally won one for himself, giving car owner Lou Moore his third consecutive Indy 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.[3]

Spider Webb suffered a broken transmission the morning of the race and failed to start. Rather than utilize an alternate starter, officials awarded Webb 33rd finishing position.

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 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
[4]

Alternates
  • First alternate: Ralph Pratt  R  (#34)[5]

Failed to Qualify

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 featured live coverage of the start, the finish, and live updates throughout the race.

Mutual Broadcasting System
Booth AnnouncersTurn ReportersRoving reporters

Booth Announcer: Bill Slater
Analyst: Gordon Graham

South turns: Sid Collins
Backstretch: Gene Kelly
North turns: Jim Shelton

 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, then covered the race itself. The race broadcast utilized three cameras located along the main stretch. 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-playPit reporters

Announcer: Earl Townsend, Jr.
Color: Dick Pittenger
Color: Paul Roberts

 Robert Robbins

See also

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
  1. 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. Stranahan, Bob (May 31, 1949). "Sizzling Pace Sets New Record; Nalon Burned in Crash". The Indianapolis Star. p. 1. Retrieved June 1, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. "Career Summary:Maurice 'Mauri' Rose". www.snaplap.net. Retrieved June 4, 2020.
  4. "Indianapolis 500 1949". Ultimate Racing History. Archived from the original on 17 January 2012. Retrieved 16 January 2012.
  5. The Talk of Gasoline Alley – 1070-AM WIBC, May 14, 2004
  6. ""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)
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