The 29th International 500-Mile Sweepstakes Race was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Friday, May 30, 1941. The start of the race was delayed due to a fire that swept through the garage area on race morning. No persons were injured, but one car in the field was destroyed. The race rolled off with only 31 cars, and ran to its scheduled distance. This would be the final "500" prior to the United States involvement in World War II along with the final race under with Eddie Rickenbacker as president of the speedway. He kept the track locked during the war before selling the track in November 1945 to Tony Hulman. The race returned a year later.
The 1941 race was the second, and most recent "500" to be recorded with co-winners. Floyd Davis started the race in the #16 Noc-Out Hose Clamp Special. His teammate Mauri Rose started the race on the pole position in the #3 car, but his dropped out early with spark plug trouble. Rose took over behind the wheel of the #16 car on lap 73, and drove that car to victory. Davis and Rose were credited as co-winners, and it was the first of three "500" victories for Rose.
Race details Sam Hanks was injured in a practice crash the day before the race and withdrew. Rather than elevate the first alternate to the starting field, Hanks was credited with 33rd place.
Garage area fire On the morning of the race a fire broke out in the "Gasoline Alley" garage area. George Barringer's revolutionary rear-engined car was destroyed. At the time, the car was being refueled (with gasoline). In a nearby garage, another car which was owned by Joel Thorne was being worked on with a welder. The fumes caught fire from the sparks of the welding, and a huge fire broke out which burned down about a third of the southern bank of garages. The start of the race was delayed by a couple hours, and fire fighters had trouble getting to the Speedway to put out the blaze due to the heavy race day traffic. Barringer's car was withdrawn, and he was credited with 32nd finishing position. With both Sam Hanks and Barringer out, the race lined up with only 31 cars.
Various equipment, tools, parts, and other supplies were lost in the fire. Two cars that did not qualify for the race were reported to have been damaged. However, all of the other cars that qualified for the race were safely evacuated. No major injuries were reported. The fire was put out, but the site smoldered throughout the day, and smoke continued to rise even after the race had safely started.
About a month later, the entire garage complex was demolished. At some point during summer and fall of 1941, a new Gasoline Alley garage area was built in its place. However, due to the war, the new garages would sit unused until 1946.
Wilbur Shaw Two-time defending champion (and three-time winner overall) Wilbur Shaw crashed while leading on lap 152, and failed in his bid to become the first driver to three-peat at the Indianapolis 500 (and first four-time winner). As of 2025, no driver has ever won the Indianapolis 500 three consecutive years. Going down the mainstretch, the car lost control, and hit the outside wall, rupturing the gas tank. Shaw was drenched with fuel, and suffered a back injury which left him immobile for several minutes. Despite the fuel spill, the fuel did not ignite, and Shaw was brought to safety by the medical staff.
It is believed that the morning garage fire had an effect on Shaw's efforts. At some point before the race, Shaw's crew was preparing his tires for race day, and used chalk to write notes on the spare tires. One particular wheel was determined to be out of balance, and rather than being discarded, it was labeled in chalk with the words "USE LAST". However, the firefighters' water hoses are believed to have washed off the chalk message. Shaw inadvertently took on the bad wheel during a pit stop, which caused his crash.Stories of the 500: 1941, Wilbur Shaw
Shaw never drove another competitive lap at the Speedway. He did participate in a special private tire test at the Speedway during World War II and became president of the track in 1946.The Talk of Gasoline Alley – WFNI, July 22, 2009
Floyd Davis & Mauri Rose Floyd Davis was the starting driver for the #16 car. On lap 72, Davis came in for a pit stop, and was relieved by Mauri Rose. Rose had started the race in another car and dropped out earlier. Car owner Lou Moore was apparently unsatisfied with Davis' performance thus far in the race, and ordered Rose to take over. Rose charged up the standings and took the lead in the #16 car, and went on to win. Both drivers were credited as "co-winners," similar to what occurred in the 1924 race. This marked the last time that one car would carry two drivers to victory at Indy.
Starting grid RowInsideMiddleOutside 13 Mauri Rose1 Rex Mays2 Wilbur Shaw 215 Harry McQuinn36 Doc Williams7 Frank Wearne 334 Cliff Bergere23 Billy Devore41 Chet Miller 454 Ralph Hepburn42 Russ Snowberger47 Everett Saylor 514 George Connor12 Al Miller19 Emil Andres 610 George Robson16 Floyd Davis45 Paul Russo 722 Kelly Petillo 27 Tommy Hinnershitz9 Mel Hansen 88 Frank Brisko5 Joel Thorne53 Louis Tomei 962 Tony Willman26 Overton Phillips 25 Joie Chitwood 104 Ted Horn32 Deacon Litz17 Duke Nalon 1155 Al Putnam
Did not start George Barringer (#35), car destroyed in garage fire Sam Hanks (#28), Injured in practice accident
Alternates First alternate: Louis Durant The Talk of Gasoline Alley - 1070-AM WIBC, May 14, 2004
Failed to Qualify
Shorty Cantlon Ira Hall (#38) René Le Bègue (#21) Bill Lipscomb (#57) Roy Russing (#22) Jean Trévoux (#24)
Box score FinishStartNoNameChassisEngineQualRankLapsStatus11716 Floyd Davis (Laps 1–72) Mauri Rose (Laps 73–200)WetterothOffenhauser121.10625200 115.117 mph221 Rex MaysStevensWinfield128.3012200 +1:29.953284 Ted HornAdamsSparks124.2978200 +2:52.1541054 Ralph HepburnMillerNovi120.65328200 +3:24.555734 Cliff BergereWetterothOffenhauser123.89013200 +3:38.866941 Chet MillerMillerMiller121.54023200 +7:26.517415 Harry McQuinn(Kelly Petillo Laps 98-200)A-R WeilAlfa Romeo125.4494200 +7:44.72867 Frank WearneShawOffenhauser123.89012200 +10:06.6891845 Paul Russo(Louis Durant Laps 100–138)MarcheseMiller125.2175200 +26:24.75102027 Tommy Hinnershitz(George Robson Laps 121–200)AdamsOffenhauser121.02127200 +24:41.81112453 Louis TomeiMillerOffenhauser121.07026200 +25:18.71123155 Al Putnam(Louis Durant Laps 154–200)WetterothOffenhauser121.95120200 +35:18.57132626 Overton Phillips (Mel Hansen Laps 104–187)BugattiMiller116.29833187Flagged142725 Joie ChitwoodLenckiLencki120.32929177Flagged153017 Duke NalonMaseratiMaserati122.95117173Flagged161314 George ConnorStevensOffenhauser123.98410167Transmission171247 Everett Saylor WeilOffenhauser119.86031155Crash T41832 Wilbur Shaw MaseratiMaserati127.8363151Crash T119823 Billy DevoreStevensOffenhauser121.77021121Rod202562 Tony WillmanStevensOffenhauser123.92011117Rod211142 Russ SnowbergerSnowbergerOffenhauser120.10430107Water pump222932 Deacon LitzStevensSampson123.4401589Oil trouble23228 Frank BriskoStevensBrisko123.3811670Valve24536 Doc WilliamsCooperOffenhauser124.014968Radiator251610 George RobsonWeilDuray121.5762266Oil leak2613 Mauri RoseMaseratiMaserati128.691160Spark plugs271922 Kelly Petillo WetterothOffenhauser124.417748Rod281412 Al MillerMillerMiller123.4781422Transmission29219 Mel HansenMillerOffenhauser124.599611Rod301519 Emil AndresLenckiLencki122.266195Crash T131235 Joel ThorneAdamsSparks121.163245Crash T1DNS—35 George BarringerMillerMiller122.299180Garage fireDNS—28 Sam HanksKurtis KraftOffenhauser118.211320Practice crash
Note: Relief drivers in parentheses
Former Indianapolis 500 winner
Indianapolis 500 Rookie
All entrants utilized Firestone tires.
Race statistics
Lap Leaders Laps Leader1–38 Rex Mays39–44 Mauri Rose45–151 Wilbur Shaw152–161 Cliff Bergere162–200 Mauri Rose
Total laps led Driver LapsWilbur Shaw 107Mauri Rose 45Rex Mays 38Cliff Bergere 10
Yellow Lights Laps* Reason5–35 Joel Thorne, Emil Andres crash in turn 1151 Wilbur Shaw crash in turn 1155 Everett Saylor crash in turn 4* – Approximate lap counts
Other Notes Speedway president Eddie Rickenbacker did not attend the race, and instead listened to it on the radio. He was recovering from injuries suffered in a near-fatal plane crash a few months before the race.
See also 1941 AAA Championship Car season
References