1925 Indianapolis 500

13th Indianapolis 500

Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Indianapolis 500
Sanctioning body	AAA
Date	May 30, 1925
Winner	Peter DePaolo
Winning Entrant	Duesenberg
Average speed	101.127 mph (162.748 km/h)
Pole position	Leon Duray
Pole speed	113.196 mph (182.171 km/h)
Most laps led	Peter DePaolo (115)
Pre-race
Pace car	Rickenbacker 8
Pace car driver	Eddie Rickenbacker
Starter	Seth Klein
Honorary referee	Charles M. Schwab
Estimated attendance	150,000
Chronology
Previous Next 1924 1926

The 13th International 500-Mile Sweepstakes Race was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Saturday, May 30, 1925.

Race winner Peter DePaolo became the first driver to complete the 500 miles in under five hours, and have an average over 100 mph. Norman Batten drove 21 laps of relief (laps 106–127) while DePaolo had his hands bandaged due to blisters and bruises.

Time trials

Four-lap (10 mile) qualifying runs were utilized. Leon Duray won the pole position with a 4-lap track record of 113.196 mph. Peter DePaolo, who qualified second, set the 1-lap track record at 114.285 mph.

Qualifying Results
Date	Driver	Lap 1 (mph)	Lap 2 (mph)	Lap 3 (mph)	Lap 4 (mph)	Average Speed (mph)
5/26/1925	Leon Duray	113.22	113.44	113.44	113.41	113.196

Starting grid

Row	Inside		Middle		Outside
1	28	Leon Duray	12	Pete DePaolo	6	Harry Hartz
2	2	Earl Cooper	1	Dave Lewis	17	Ralph Hepburn  R
3	10	Jules Ellingboe	22	Pietro Bordino  R	38	Pete Kreis  R
4	27	Frank Elliott	4	Tommy Milton  W	5	Fred Comer
5	3	Bennett Hill	15	W. E. Shattuc  R	24	Earl Devore  R
6	23	Wade Morton	29	Herbert Jones  R	8	Ralph DePalma  W
7	19	Ira Vail	14	Bob McDonogh	7	Melville Jones  R  (*)
8	9	Phil Shafer  R

R Indianapolis 500 rookie

W Indianapolis 500 winner

Note: (*) Car qualified by Harold J. Skelly

Race summary

The 1925 winning car

DePaolo jumped into the lead at the start, with Earl Cooper close behind. Phil Shafer led briefly, but DePaolo returned to the lead by half-distance. On lap 106, DePaolo came in for relief from Norman Batten while his bloody, blistered hands were bandaged. Dave Lewis then took over the lead in a front-wheel-drive Miller. The front wheels providing good grip in the turns, Lewis began to pull away. Batten soon pitted and DePaolo returned to the cockpit, and set his sights on Lewis.

At about 400 miles, Lewis began to slow, physically exhausted from the grind over the bricks. His crew called him in, but he overshot his pit stall and had to continue for another lap. When he finally stopped, crewmen lifted him out and Bennett Hill climbed in, now 1 1/2 laps behind DePaolo after the botched pit entry and eventual stop.

Hill sped after DePaolo, unlapping himself with about 25 laps to go and gaining several seconds with each lap. But DePaolo crossed the finish line with a record sub-5-hour 500 57 seconds ahead of Hill.

Box score

Finish	Start	No	Name	Entrant	Chassis	Engine	Qual	Rank	Laps	Status
1	2	12	Peter DePaolo (Norman Batten Laps 106–127)	Duesenberg Brothers	Duesenberg	Duesenberg	113.083	2	200	Running
2	5	1	Dave Lewis (Bennett Hill Laps 174–200)	R. Cliff Durant	Miller	Miller	109.061	5	200	Running
3	22	9	Phil Shafer  R  (Wade Morton Laps 160–200)	Duesenberg Brothers	Duesenberg	Duesenberg	103.523	16	200	Running
4	3	6	Harry Hartz	Harry Hartz	Miller	Miller	112.433	3	200	Running
5	11	4	Tommy Milton  W	Tommy Milton	Miller	Miller	104.366	13	200	Running
6	1	28	Leon Duray (Fred Comer Laps 105–155)	Harry Hartz	Miller	Miller	113.196	1	200	Running
7	18	8	Ralph DePalma  W  (L. L. Corum Laps 106–145)	Ralph DePalma	Miller	Miller	108.607	6	200	Running
8	9	38	Pete Kreis  R  (Norman Batten Laps 136–200)	Duesenberg Brothers	Duesenberg	Duesenberg	106.338	10	200	Running
9	14	15	W. E. Shattuc  R	Dr. W. E. Shattuc, M.D.	Miller	Miller	102.070	17	200	Running
10	8	22	Pietro Bordino  R  (Antoine Mourre Laps 74–179)	Pietro Bordino	Fiat	Fiat	107.661	9	200	Running
11	12	5	Fred Comer (Ira Vail Laps 86–132)	Harry Hartz	Miller	Miller	104.296	14	200	Running
12	10	27	Frank Elliott (Ora Haibe Laps 81–130)	Richard G. Doyle	Miller	Miller	104.910	11	200	Running
13	15	24	Earl Devore  R  (Glenn Shultz Laps 92–115) (L. L. Corum Laps 170–198)	Bancroft & Pope	Miller	Miller	97.799	19	198	Flagged
14	20	14	Bob McDonogh (Bennett Hill Laps 129–140)	Tommy Milton	Miller	Miller	101.931	18	188	Truss rod
15	16	23	Wade Morton (Jimmy Gleason Laps 110–156)	Duesenberg Brothers	Duesenberg	Duesenberg	95.821	20	156	Crash BS
16	6	17	Ralph Hepburn  R	Earl Cooper	Miller	Miller	108.489	7	144	Gas tank
17	4	2	Earl Cooper	R. Cliff Durant	Miller	Miller	110.487	4	127	Crash T1
18	13	3	Bennett Hill (Jules Ellingboe Laps 30–52) (Ray Cariens Laps 57–68) (Jerry Wunderlich Laps 69)	Harry A. Miller	Miller	Miller	104.167	15	69	Rear spring
19	17	29	Herbert Jones  R  (Alfred Moss Laps 13–58) (Alfred Moss Laps 66–68)	Herbert Jones	Miller	Miller	89.401	21	69	Crash T1
20	19	19	Ira Vail	R. J. Johnson	Miller	Miller	104.785	12	63	Rod
21	21	7	Melville Jones  R  (Fred Harder Laps 11–13)	H. J. Skelly	Ford T	Fronty-Ford	88.478	22	33	Transmission
22	7	10	Jules Ellingboe	Jerry Wunderlich	Miller	Miller	107.832	8	24	Steering

Note: Relief drivers in parentheses

 W  Former Indianapolis 500 winner

 R  Indianapolis 500 Rookie

Race statistics

Lap Leaders
Laps	Leader
1–54	Pete DePaolo
55–67	Phil Shafer
68–85	Pete DePaolo
86–88	Harry Hartz
89–104	Pete DePaolo
105–107	Dave Lewis
108–122	Ralph Hepburn
123–126	Earl Cooper
127–173	Dave Lewis
174–200	Pete DePaolo

Total laps led
Leader	Laps
Pete DePaolo	115
Dave Lewis	50
Ralph Hepburn	15
Phil Shafer	13
Earl Cooper	4
Harry Hartz	3

Race details

• For 1925, riding mechanics were optional, however, no teams utilized them.
• First alternate: none
• Ralph DePalma would be the only driver in the race who had competed in the first Indy 500 in 1911.
• Though Pete DePaolo is widely recognized as the first driver to complete (and win) the Indianapolis 500 in under five hours (over 100 mph average speed), he was not eligible for the prestigious Champion Spark Plug 100 mph Club founded in 1935. Since DePaolo briefly received relief help from Norman Batten during the race, DePaolo failed the strict criteria for the club. He never managed to complete the full 500 miles again, and accomplish the feat solo.
• The race marked the first appearance of a front-wheel-drive car. Harry Miller built the car on the suggestion of driver Jimmy Murphy, who thought the concept would be quick on Indy's bricks while having less tire wear. The "Junior 8", without a driveshaft to the rear wheels, was only 36 inches tall, and a flyweight sub-1500 lbs. It showed its effectiveness and began a wave of front-drive cars for the next quarter-century. Murphy never got to drive it; he was killed in a crash at Syracuse the previous September. Miller hired Dave Lewis for the 500.

Gallery

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  1925 Miller
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  1925 Indianapolis 500 pace car