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1940 Indianapolis 500

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28th Indianapolis 500
Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Indianapolis 500
Sanctioning bodyAAA
DateMay 30, 1940
WinnerWilbur Shaw
Winning EntrantBoyle Racing Headquarters
Average speed114.277 mph
Pole positionRex Mays
Pole speed127.850 mph
Most laps ledWilbur Shaw (136)
Pre-race
Pace carStudebaker Champion
Pace car driverAb Jenkins
StarterSeth Klein[1]
Honorary refereeRoscoe Turner[1]
Estimated attendance150,000[2]
Chronology
Previous Next
1939 1941

The 28th International 500-Mile Sweepstakes Race was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on May 30, 1940. The winner was Wilbur Shaw in the same Maserati 8CTF he had driven to victory in 1939. Shaw became the first driver in the history of the race to win in consecutive years. It also marked Shaw's third win in four years, making him the second three-time winner of the race. Shaw's average speed was 114.277 mph, slowed by rain which caused the last 50 laps to be run under caution.[3] Shaw took home $31,875 (equivalent to $693,224 in 2023) in prize winnings, plus additional prizes that included a car and a refrigerator.[4]

Fourth place finisher Ted Horn was flagged due to the rain shower, and was officially credited with completing only 199 laps - one lap short of the full distance. This marked the only blemish on his noteworthy record of nine consecutive races completing every lap. He eventually completed 1,799 out of a possible 1,800 laps from 1936 to 1948.

The top four starting positions finished in the top four places, albeit in shuffled order.

Starting grid

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Row Inside Middle Outside
1 33 United States Rex Mays 1 United States Wilbur Shaw  W  7 United States Mauri Rose
2 3 United States Ted Horn 31 United States Mel Hansen 5 United States Cliff Bergere
3 9 United States Frank Wearne 16 United States Frank Brisko 27 United States Tommy Hinnershitz  R 
4 8 United States Joel Thorne 19 United States Russ Snowberger 24 United States Babe Stapp
5 35 United States Kelly Petillo  W  28 United States Sam Hanks  R  41 United States Harry McQuinn
6 6 United States George Barringer 10 United States George Connor 26 United States Louis Tomei
7 36 United States Doc Williams 32 United States Bob Swanson 54 United States Ralph Hepburn
8 25 United States Emil Andres 17 United States George Robson  R  29 Argentina Raúl Riganti
9 21 United States Duke Nalon 42 United States Joie Chitwood  R  34 United States Chet Miller
10 44 United States Al Putnam 38 United States Paul Russo  R  58 United States Al Miller
11 49 France René Le Bègue  R  14 United States Billy Devore 61 United States Floyd Davis
R Indianapolis 500 rookie
W Indianapolis 500 winner

Alternates

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Failed to qualify

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Box score

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Finish Start No Name Chassis Engine Qual Rank Laps Status
1 2 1 United States Wilbur Shaw  W  Maserati Maserati 127.065 2 200 114.277 mph
2 1 33 United States Rex Mays Stevens Winfield 127.850 1 200 +1:14.14
3 3 7 United States Mauri Rose Wetteroth Offenhauser 125.624 3 200 +1:37.79
4 4 3 United States Ted Horn Miller Miller 125.545 4 199 Flagged
5 10 8 United States Joel Thorne Adams Sparks 122.434 20 197 Flagged
6 20 32 United States Bob Swanson Stevens Sampson 124.882 6 196 Flagged
7 7 9 United States Frank Wearne Stevens Offenhauser 123.216 12 195 Flagged
8 5 31 United States Mel Hansen Wetteroth Miller 124.753 7 194 Flagged
9 8 16 United States Frank Brisko Stevens Brisko 122.716 16 193 Flagged
10 31 49 France René Le Bègue  R 
(Laps 1-45 and 98-150)
France René Dreyfus
(Laps 46-97 and 151-192)
Maserati Maserati 118.981 33 192 Flagged
11 15 41 United States Harry McQuinn A-R Weil Alfa Romeo 122.486 19 192 Flagged
12 22 25 United States Emil Andres Stevens Offenhauser 122.963 15 192 Flagged
13 14 28 United States Sam Hanks  R  Weil Duray 123.064 13 192 Flagged
14 16 6 United States George Barringer Weil Offenhauser 121.889 22 191 Flagged
15 26 42 United States Joie Chitwood  R  Adams Offenhauser 121.757 25 190 Flagged
16 18 26 United States Louis Tomei Miller Offenhauser 119.980 32 190 Exhaust pipe
17 27 34 United States Chet Miller
(Henry Banks Laps 148-189)
Alfa Romeo Alfa Romeo 121.392 27 189 Flagged
18 32 14 United States Billy Devore
(George Connor Laps 107-181)
Shaw Offenhauser 122.197 21 181 Flagged
19 28 44 United States Al Putnam Adams Offenhauser 120.818 28 179 Flagged
20 33 61 United States Floyd Davis
(Lou Webb Laps 27-57)
(George Connor Laps 58-59)
(Lou Webb Laps 60-157)
Lencki Lencki 120.797 30 157 Flagged
21 13 35 United States Kelly Petillo  W  Wetteroth Offenhauser 125.331 5 128 Bearing
22 25 21 United States Duke Nalon Silnes Offenhauser 121.790 24 120 Rod
23 23 17 United States George Robson  R  Miller Offenhauser 122.562 18 67 Shock absorber
24 12 24 United States Babe Stapp
(Started in substitution for Shorty Cantlon)
(Tony Willman Lap 13-64)
Stevens Offenhauser 123.367 11 64 Oil line
25 19 36 United States Doc Williams Cooper Miller 122.963 14 61 Oil line
26 17 10 United States George Connor Lencki Lencki 124.585 8 52 Rod
27 6 5 United States Cliff Bergere Wetteroth Offenhauser 123.673 10 51 Oil line
28 29 38 United States Paul Russo  R  Blume Brisko 120.809 29 48 Oil leak
29 21 54 United States Ralph Hepburn Miller Offenhauser 123.860 9 47 Steering
30 30 58 United States Al Miller Alfa Romeo Alfa Romeo 120.288 31 41 Clutch
31 11 19 United States Russ Snowberger Snowberger Miller 121.564 26 38 Water pump
32 9 27 United States Tommy Hinnershitz  R  Adams Offenhauser 122.614 17 32 Crash FS
33 24 29 Argentina Raúl Riganti Maserati Maserati 121.827 23 24 Crash T2
[7][8][9]

Note: Relief drivers in parentheses[10]

 W  Former Indianapolis 500 winner

 R  Indianapolis 500 Rookie

All entrants utilized Firestone tires.

Race statistics

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b 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. ^ Brooks, Ralph L. (May 31, 1940). "Nearly 150,000 Fans Eat, Nap, Cheer, And Even Watch Race at '40 Classic". The Indianapolis Star. p. 1. Retrieved June 2, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.Open access icon
  3. ^ "1940 Indianapolis 500 Official Box Score :: Indianapolis 500". Archived from the original on 2008-05-14. Retrieved 2008-06-11.
  4. ^ The New York Times, "First Place Nets $31,875 for Shaw", June 1, 1940, Sports page 16
  5. ^ The Talk of Gasoline Alley - 1070-AM WIBC, May 14, 2004
  6. ^ "1940 International 500 Mile Sweepstakes". ChampCarStats.com. Retrieved 28 June 2015.
  7. ^ "Indianapolis 500 1940". Ultimate Racing History. Archived from the original on 5 February 2013. Retrieved 16 January 2012.
  8. ^ "Indianapolis Motor Speedway". www.indianapolismotorspeedway.com. Retrieved 2023-09-12.
  9. ^ Kern, Cleo L. (May 31, 1940). "Winning Driver In Pits Twice". The Indianapolis Star. p. 14. Retrieved April 24, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.Open access icon
  10. ^ "International 500 Mile Sweepstakes – May 30, 1940". ChampCarStats.com.
  11. ^ Peck, Phillips J. (May 30, 1940). "Becomes Second 3-Time Winner (Part 1)". Palladium-Item. p. 1. Retrieved April 25, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.Open access icon
  12. ^ Peck, Phillips J. (May 30, 1940). "Becomes Second 3-Time Winner (Part 2)". Palladium-Item. p. 12. Retrieved April 25, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.Open access icon


1939 Indianapolis 500
Wilbur Shaw
1940 Indianapolis 500
Wilbur Shaw
1941 Indianapolis 500
Mauri Rose
Floyd Davis