1957 Indianapolis 500

41st Indianapolis 500

Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Indianapolis 500
Sanctioning body	United States Auto Club (USAC) / World Championship
Date	May 30, 1957
Winner	Sam Hanks
Winning Entrant	George Salih
Average speed	135.601 mph (218.229 km/h)
Pole position	Pat O'Connor
Pole speed	143.948 mph (231.662 km/h)
Most laps led	Sam Hanks (136)
Pre-race
Pace car	Mercury Turnpike Cruiser
Pace car driver	F. C. Reith
Chronology
Previous Next 1956 1958

The 41st International 500-Mile Sweepstakes was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Thursday, May 30, 1957. The event was part of the 1957 USAC National Championship Trail, and was included in the 1957 World Drivers Championship.

Sam Hanks won the Indianapolis 500 in his thirteenth attempt (the most such by any 500 winner). He retired from competition at Indy in victory lane. Contrary to popular belief, Hanks did not completely retire from racing until the end of the year. He skipped the Race of Two Worlds when his entrant withdrew, but competed in USAC Stock Car events later in the year, winning the event at Trenton, and finished third in points championships for 1957.

Hanks received a record $103,844 purse, the first driver to win a $100,000 single-race payday. The total race purse was also a record, over $300,000 for the first time.

Hanks won the race in George Salih's "Lay-down Offy". The Offenhauser engine was mounted on its side and shifted off-center. This was done in order to lower the center of gravity, reduce frontal area, and counterbalance the body roll in the turns. The car that Hanks drove for the win in 1957 would win back-to-back Indy 500s, with Jimmy Bryan piloting the very same chassis to victory again in 1958.

Track improvements

For 1957, the Speedway introduced a new state-of-the-art pit lane and brand new Master Control Tower to house broadcasting as well as timing and scoring. For the first time, the pit area was separated from the mainstretch by an inside wall. The pit lane was paved in concrete (the mainstretch remained brick), while a grass strip went the length of the pit road to accommodate pit crew sign board men.

For the 1957 race, the field lined up in the pit area single-file, rather than the traditional eleven rows of three on the racing surface. On the pace lap, the field assembled into position, and was aligned for the green flag. By 1957, the field was now being taken around for two warm-up laps (one "parade" lap, and one "pace" lap), an increase over the single lap used previously. This single-file grid practice would eventually lead to confusion, and was utilized for only two years.

Practice and time trials

Time trials was scheduled for four days, but the second day was rained out. Rain affected practice days as well.

Giuseppe Farina was the only European driver on the entry list for the race, however, he did not attempt to qualify. Farina had difficulty getting his car up to speed, and had experienced handling problems. On May 15, his teammate Keith Andrews stepped into his car for a test run, but crashed. Down the frontstretch, Andrews began to slide, and when he attempted to correct, the car backed into the inside wall separating the pit area. Andrews was crushed to death between the cowl and the fuel tank, but no fire broke out. Farina withdrew after Andrews was killed, with no backup car to use.

Saturday May 18 – Pole Day time trials

Pat O'Connor qualified for the pole position. Showers delayed qualifying for nearly four hours, and at other points during the afternoon. A total of only nine cars completed runs.

O'Connor's speed of 143.948 mph was not a track record. Troy Ruttman was on the track, and after a lap of over 144 mph, rain forced him to abort the attempt. He was able to get back out to the track, but had to settle for a speed of only 142.772 mph.

The first rookie to make the field was Elmer George, the husband of Mari Hulman George, and son-in-law of Speedway president Tony Hulman.

Sunday May 19 – Second day time trials

The second day scheduled for qualifying was rained out.

Saturday May 25 – Third day time trials

Paul Russo (144.817 mph) was the fastest driver of the day, in one of the Novi Specials. Russo was the fastest qualifier in the field, as his speed was faster than the pole position time from the previous weekend.

Sunday May 26 – Fourth day time trials

Rain and winds plagued the final day of time trials. Twenty three cars entered the day looking to fill the final 11 positions. A total of 43 attempts were made, with 9 cars bumped.

Tony Bettenhausen (142.439 mph) was the fastest driver of the day, driving one of the 500 hp Novi Specials. Bill Cheesbourg needed two cars to make the field. His first attempt was too slow. But late in the day, he got in Cliff Griffith's car, and at a speed of 141.565 mph, bumped Johnnie Parsons from the lineup.

Race summary

First half

On the backstretch during the pace lap, Elmer George hit the back of Eddie Russo's car, putting both cars out of the race before the start. Only 31 cars took the green flag.

Polesitter Pat O'Connor took the lead at the start and led the first four laps. Troy Ruttman led laps 5–6. O'Connor re-took the lead for laps 7–9, but Ruttman led laps 10–11, until blowing the engine. Paul Russo took the lead on lap 12, and in the first twelve laps there had already been four lead changes between three drivers.

Second half

Sam Hanks took the lead for the final time on lap 135.

Box score

Pos	Grid	No	Driver	Constructor	Qual	Rank	Laps	Led	Time/Retired	Points
1	13	9	Sam Hanks	Epperly-Offenhauser	142.81	6	200	136	3:41:14.25	8
2	32	26	Jim Rathmann	Epperly-Offenhauser	139.8	31	200	24	+21.46	7
3	15	1	Jimmy Bryan	Kuzma-Offenhauser	141.18	17	200	0	+2:13.97	4
4	10	54	Paul Russo	Kurtis Kraft-Novi	144.81	1	200	24	+2:56.86	3
5	12	73	Andy Linden	Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser	143.24	5	200	0	+3:14.27	2
6	5	6	Johnny Boyd	Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser	142.1	10	200	0	+4:35.27
7	28	48	Marshall Teague	Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser	140.32	26	200	0	+4:45.58
8	1	12	Pat O'Connor	Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser	143.94	2	200	7	+5:33.15
9	16	7	Bob Veith	Phillips-Offenhauser	141.01	19	200	0	+6:17.11
10	14	22	Gene Hartley	Lesovsky-Offenhauser	141.27	16	200	0	+7:10.12
11	19	19	Jack Turner	Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser	140.36	25	200	0	+7:56.07
12	11	10	Johnny Thomson	Kuzma-Offenhauser	143.52	4	199	5	+1 Lap
13	33	95	Bob Christie	Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser	139.77	32	197	0	+3 Laps
14	25	82	Chuck Weyant	Kuzma-Offenhauser	141.1	18	196	0	+4 Laps
15	22	27	Tony Bettenhausen	Kurtis Kraft-Novi	142.43	9	195	0	+5 Laps
16	17	18	Johnnie Parsons (W)	Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser	140.78	21	195	0	+5 Laps
17	21	3	Don Freeland	Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser	139.64	33	192	0	+8 Laps
18	6	5	Jimmy Reece	Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser	142	11	182	0	Throttle
19	27	92	Don Edmunds (R)	Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser	140.44	23	170	0	Spun Off
20	31	28	Johnnie Tolan	Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser	139.84	30	138	0	Clutch
21	30	89	Al Herman	Dunn-Offenhauser	140	29	111	0	Accident
22	4	14	Fred Agabashian	Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser	142.55	8	107	0	Fuel Leak
23	2	88	Eddie Sachs (R)	Kuzma-Offenhauser	143.87	3	105	0	Fuel Leak
24	18	77	Mike Magill (R)	Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser	140.41	24	101	0	Accident
25	20	43	Eddie Johnson	Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser	140.17	28	93	0	Wheel Bearing
26	23	31	Bill Cheesbourg (R)	Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser	141.56	13	81	0	Fuel Leak
27	8	16	Al Keller	Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser	141.39	14	75	0	Accident
28	29	57	Jimmy Daywalt	Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser	140.2	27	53	0	Accident
29	7	83	Ed Elisian	Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser	141.77	12	51	0	Retirement
30	24	8	Rodger Ward	Lesovsky-Offenhauser	141.32	15	27	0	Compressor
31	3	52	Troy Ruttman (W)	Watson-Offenhauser	142.77	7	13	4	Engine
32	26	55	Eddie Russo	Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser	140.86	20	0	0	Accident
33	9	23	Elmer George (R)	Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser	140.72	22	0	0	Accident

Alternates

• First alternate: Billy Garrett (#33)

Failed to Qualify

• George Amick (R) (#4)
• Keith Andrews (#62) - Fatal accident
• Johnny Baldwin (R) (#82)
• Tony Bonadies (R) (#15, #81)
• Bud Clemons (R) (#59)
• Ray Crawford (#49)
• Jimmy Davies (#32)
• Giuseppe Farina (R) (#62)
• Johnny Fedricks (R) (#71)
• Gene Force (#64)

• Andy Furci (R) (#58)
• Cliff Griffith (#31)
• Danny Kladis (#72, #84)
• Jud Larson (R) (#25)
• Jim McWithey (R) (#34)
• Cal Niday (#32)
• Johnnie Parsons (#98)
• Leroy Warriner (R) (#92)
• Dempsey Wilson (R) (#42)

Race notes

• Pole position: Pat O'Connor – 4:10.09 (time is over four laps)
• Fastest Lead Lap: Jim Rathmann – 1:02.75
• Sam Hanks was the only driver in the field using the British made Lodge Spark Plugs. The other 32 drivers all had the American Champion brand installed.
• Dick Rathmann qualified, but was mugged the night before the race. He was replaced in the car by Johnnie Parsons.

Broadcasting

Radio

The race was carried live on the IMS Radio Network. Sid Collins served as chief announcer. The broadcast was carried by over 300 affiliates, including Latin America.

Charlie Brockman conducted the winner's interview in victory lane.

Indianapolis Motor Speedway Radio Network
Booth Announcers	Turn Reporters	Pit/garage reporters
Chief Announcer: Sid Collins Analyst: Driver Expert: Statistician: Charlie Brockman	Turn 1: Bill Frosch Turn 2: Bob Rhodes Backstretch: Bernie Herman Turn 3: Bob Minton Turn 4: Jim Shelton	Charlie Brockman(victory lane)

Championship standings after the race

World Drivers' Championship standings

	Pos	Driver	Points
	1	Juan Manuel Fangio	17
28	2	Sam Hanks	8
27	3	Jim Rathmann	7
2	4	Jean Behra	6
2	5	Tony Brooks	6

• Note: Only the top five positions are included.

Gallery

• 
  1957 pace car

External links

• Indianapolis 500 History: Race & All-Time Stats – Official Site
• Van Camp's Pork & Beans Presents: Great Moments From the Indy 500 – Fleetwood Sounds, 1975
• 500 Miles to Glory: Mercury LP record, 1957