1933 Indianapolis 500

21st Indianapolis 500

Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Indianapolis 500
Sanctioning body	AAA
Date	May 30, 1933
Winner	Louis Meyer
Winning Entrant	Tydol-Meyer
Average speed	104.162 mph
Pole position	Bill Cummings
Pole speed	118.530 mph
Most laps led	Louis Meyer (71)
Pre-race
Pace car	Chrysler Imperial
Pace car driver	Byron Foy
Starter	Roscoe Turner
Honorary referee	Larry P. Fisher
Estimated attendance	100,000
Chronology
Previous Next 1932 1934

The 21st International 500-Mile Sweepstakes Race was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Tuesday, May 30, 1933. Louis Meyer defeated Wilbur Shaw by a time of 401.89 seconds (6.69 minutes). The average speed of the race was 104.162 miles per hour (167.632 km/h) while Bill Cummings achieved the pole position with a speed of 118.521 miles per hour (190.741 km/h). The race was part of the 1933 AAA Championship Car season.

Meyer was accompanied by riding mechanic Lawson Harris.

The 1933 month of May at Indianapolis was the deadliest running of the 500. Five participants were fatally injured. During practice, Bill Denver and his riding mechanic Bob Hurst were killed in a crash. On race day, Mark Billman was killed in a crash on lap 79 while Lester Spangler and his riding mechanic G.L. "Monk" Jordan were killed in a crash on lap 132. It was the fifth straight year at least one competitor died in a crash during the month.

Time trials

Ten-lap (25 mile) qualifying runs were utilized. 42 cars averaged faster than the designated 100mph mark, making for the largest starting field in the race's history.

Starting grid

Row	Inside		Middle		Outside
1	5	Bill Cummings	58	Frank Brisko	12	Fred Frame  W
2	37	Lou Moore	16	Ernie Triplett	36	Louis Meyer  W
3	15	Lester Spangler  R	10	Ira Hall	6	Cliff Bergere
4	8	Stubby Stubblefield	2	Peter Kreis	34	Tony Gulotta
5	25	Shorty Cantlon	26	Deacon Litz	21	Chet Gardner
6	9	Zeke Meyer	4	Russ Snowberger	47	L. L. Corum  W
7	68	Bennett Hill	46	Luther Johnson	22	Louis Schneider  W
8	64	Mark Billman  R	17	Wilbur Shaw	19	Al Miller
9	27	Kelly Petillo	32	Wesley Crawford	14	Raúl Riganti
10	29	Gene Haustein	45	Babe Stapp	57	Malcolm Fox
11	18	Joe Russo	28	Chet Miller	24	Paul Bost
12	53	Johnny Sawyer  R	65	Freddie Winnai	38	Dave Evans
13	59	Ray Campbell	61	Rick Decker	51	Doc MacKenzie
14	49	Willard Prentiss  R	23	Ralph Hepburn	3	Mauri Rose  R

R Indianapolis 500 rookie

W Indianapolis 500 winner

Alternates

• First alternate: Sam Palmer  R 
• Howdy Wilcox II had qualified for the race, but officials disqualified him from the field when they learned that he had diabetes. On race day, he was replaced in the car by Mauri Rose.

Failed to Qualify

• Al Aspen (#42)
• George Barringer (#54)
• Paul Butler (#56)
• Ray Carter  R  (#63)
• Terry Curley  R  (#66)
• Frank Davidson  R  (#76)
• Danny Day  R 
• Leon DeHart  R  (#55)
• Bill Denver (#42) - Fatal accident
• Harry Falt  R  (#71)
• Speed Gardner (#31)
• George Howie (#48) - Withdrew
• L. A. Lariviere  R  (#75)
• Harry Lewis  R  (#44)
• Virgil Livengood  R  (#69)
• Jack Mertz  R  (#79)
• Roy Painter  R  (#72)
• Phil Shafer (#7)
• Overton Snell  R  (#52)
• Bill Sockwell  R  (#74)
• Howdy Wilcox II (#3) - Replaced by Mauri Rose
• Doc Williams  R  (#66)

Race summary

Bill Cummings led early on from the pole, turning laps of 113 mph. He faded from the front and dropped out with mechanical problems. Louis Meyer came from 7th starting position to first lead at 325 miles. By 400 miles, he had a commanding lead and was signaled "E-Z" by his pit crew to slow from his 110 mph pace. He cruised to the checkered with a lead of over 5 laps over Wilbur Shaw, with a new record average speed.

Box score

Finish	Start	No	Name	Entrant	Chassis	Engine	Qual	Rank	Laps	Status
1	6	36	Louis Meyer  W	Louis Meyer	Miller	Miller	116.977	7	200	Running
2	23	17	Wilbur Shaw	Leon Duray	Stevens	Miller	115.497	12	200	Running
3	4	37	Lou Moore	Maley & Scully	Duesenberg	Miller	117.843	4	200	Running
4	15	21	Chet Gardner	Alden Sampson II	Stevens	Miller	112.319	22	200	Running
5	10	8	Stubby Stubblefield	Phil Shafer	Rigling	Buick	114.784	13	200	Running
6	36	38	Dave Evans	Arthur E. Rose	Rigling	Studebaker	109.448	36	200	Running
7	12	34	Tony Gulotta	The Studebaker Corporation	Rigling	Studebaker	113.578	15	200	Running
8	17	4	Russ Snowberger (George Howie Laps 110–115) (Mauri Rose Laps 116–200)	Russell Snowberger	Snowberger	Studebaker	110.769	27	200	Running
9	16	9	Zeke Meyer	The Studebaker Corporation	Rigling	Studebaker	111.099	25	200	Running
10	20	46	Luther Johnson (Ralph Hepburn Laps 116–147) (Sam Palmer Laps 148–200)	The Studebaker Corporation	Rigling	Studebaker	110.097	31	200	Running
11	9	6	Cliff Bergere (Sam Palmer Laps 83–120)	The Studebaker Corporation	Rigling	Studebaker	115.643	11	200	Running
12	18	47	L. L. Corum  W	The Studebaker Corporation	Rigling	Studebaker	110.465	29	200	Running
13	40	49	Willard Prentiss  R  (Harold Shaw Laps 145–146)	J. W. Kleinschmidt	Rigling	Duesenberg	107.776	41	200	Running
14	27	14	Raúl Riganti (Juan Gaudino Laps 120–140) (Juan Gaudino Laps 158–174)	Raúl Riganti	Chrysler	Chrysler	108.081	39	200	Running
15	28	29	Gene Haustein	Lawrence J. Martz	Hudson	Hudson	107.603	42	197	Flagged
16	14	26	Deacon Litz (Louis Schneider Laps 50–97) (Louis Schneider Laps 153–197)	A. B. Litz	Miller	Miller	113.138	17	197	Flagged
17	31	18	Joe Russo	F. P. Duesenberg	Duesenberg	Duesenberg	112.531	20	192	Flagged
18	39	51	Doc MacKenzie	Ray T. Brady	Duesenberg	Studebaker	108.073	40	192	Rear axle
19	25	27	Kelly Petillo	William M. Yahr	Smith	Miller	113.037	18	168	Spun & stalled
20	32	28	Chet Miller (Shorty Cantlon Laps 102–145)	R. G. "Buddy" Marr	Hudson	Hudson	112.025	23	163	Rod
21	24	19	Al Miller	R. G. "Buddy" Marr	Hudson	Hudson	109.799	35	161	Rod
22	19	68	Bennett Hill (Frank Brisko Laps 110–130)	S. C. Goldberg	Cooper	Cooper	110.264	30	158	Rod
23	29	45	Babe Stapp	M. J. Boyle	Miller	Miller	116.626	9	156	Out of gas
24	26	32	Wesley Crawford (Billy Winn Laps 122–147)	Frank Brisko	Stevens	Miller	109.862	33	147	Crash T1
25	1	5	Bill Cummings (Frank Brisko Laps 113–120)	M. J. Boyle	Miller	Miller	118.521	1	136	Radiator
26	7	15	Lester Spangler  R  ✝	Harry Hartz	Miller	Miller	116.903	8	132	Died in crash at T1
27	35	65	Freddie Winnai (Terry Curley Laps 100–104)	James Kemp	Duesenberg	Duesenberg	111.018	26	125	Engine trouble
28	30	57	Malcolm Fox	William Richards	Studebaker	Studebaker	112.922	19	121	Crash T1
29	3	12	Fred Frame  W	Harry Hartz	Wetteroth	Miller	117.864	3	85	Valve
30	22	64	Mark Billman  R  ✝	James Kemp	Duesenberg	Duesenberg	112.410	21	79	Died in crash at T2
31	34	53	Johnny Sawyer  R	Lencki & Unger	Miller	Miller	110.590	28	77	Clutch
32	11	2	Pete Kreis	Fred Frame	Summers	Miller	114.370	14	63	Universal joint
33	5	16	Ernie Triplett	William S. White	Weil	Miller	117.685	5	61	Piston
34	13	25	Shorty Cantlon	William Cantlon	Stevens	Miller	113.384	16	50	Rod
35	42	3	Mauri Rose  R	Joe Marks	Stevens	Miller	117.649	6	48	Timing gears
36	2	58	Frank Brisko	F.W.D. Auto Company	Miller	Miller	118.388	2	47	Oil too hot
37	8	10	Ira Hall	Denny Duesenberg	Stevens	Duesenberg	115.739	10	37	Piston
38	41	23	Ralph Hepburn	S. C. Goldberg	Cooper	Cooper	110.001	32	33	Rod bearing
39	37	59	Ray Campbell	Tulio Gulotta	Hudson	Hudson	108.650	37	24	Oil leak
40	33	24	Paul Bost	Fred Frame	Duesenberg	Miller	111.330	24	13	Oil line
41	38	61	Rick Decker	Bessie Decker	Miller	Miller	108.280	38	13	Manifold
42	21	22	Louis Schneider  W	W. R. Blackburn	Stevens	Miller	109.850	34	1	Stalled

Note: Relief drivers in parentheses

 W  Former Indianapolis 500 winner

 R  Indianapolis 500 Rookie

Race statistics

Lap Leaders
Laps	Leader
1–32	Bill Cummings
33–36	Fred Frame
37–38	Babe Stapp
39–50	Fred Frame
51–63	Babe Stapp
64–84	Fred Frame
85–129	Babe Stapp
130–200	Louis Meyer

Total laps led
Driver	Laps
Louis Meyer	71
Babe Stapp	60
Fred Frame	37
Bill Cummings	32

Race details

For 1933, riding mechanics were required.

Despite the deadly month, three rules were installed to make the racing safer. Cars were allowed a maximum of 6 quarts of oil, and could not add oil during the race (a rule still in place today). These changes meant to send "leakers" to the garage and not make the track slippery. Also, fuel tanks were a maximum of 15 gallons, instead of 40 gallons or more. Cars would have to pit more often for fuel and crews could inspect tire wear and other problems.

"Will Overhead"

In 1933, one of the more famous bits of Indy 500 nostalgia occurred. Telegraph was still being used to transmit race information to newspapers and other outlets across the United States. George Zanaon, a typesetter for The World-Independent newspaper in the town of Walsenburg, Colorado was preparing a story for that day's Indianapolis 500. Since Memorial Day was a holiday, his young editor John B. Kirkpatrick was alone monitoring the Associated Press wire for race updates. The race took several hours to complete, and the AP wire was shut down prior to the finish. Kirkpatrick had nearly the entire story ready for print, minus the winner of the race. A helpful AP editor in Denver advised him that he would send the name of the winner via Western Union telegraph.

The telegraph Kirkpatrick received, in typical newspaper shorthand lingo was: "WILL OVERHEAD WINNER OF INDIANAPOLIS 500," meaning that he would send the information by telegraph when the information was available. The young editor misunderstood the jargon in the message, and interpreted it as saying a driver named Will Overhead was the winner. The headline read "Will Overhead won the Indianapolis Memorial Day race today. At the two hundred fifty mile post Babe Stapp was leading the string of racing cars, but gave way to Overhead on the last half of the 500 mile grind." The true winner was Louis Meyer. The gaffe put the town of Walsenburg, and The World-Independent newspaper (now known as the Huerfano World Journal), on the map in racing circles.

References

• 1933 Indianapolis 500 - Racing Reference