The 4th International 500-Mile Sweepstakes Race was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Saturday, May 30, 1914.
René Thomas was the race winner, accompanied by riding mechanic Robert Laly.
Background
Race history
The Indianapolis Motor Speedway opened in 1909, and the first motorsport event at the track, a series of motorcycle races, was held in August of that year.Kramer 2009, p. 29. A series of automobile races were held in 1909, but concerns were raised about the condition of the course after numerous accidents, including a fatality.Kramer 2010, p. 12. The track was re-paved at a high-cost to Carl G. Fisher and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Corporation, and further series of races took place in 1910. Fisher was worried about the dwindling attendances at these races, and decided to establish a 500-mile race; double the furthest distance of any previous race at the track. He went on to announce that the track would host no other races during the year, and that the prize for first place would be $25,000: more than 10 times higher than any other race.Kramer 2010, pp. 12–17. The total prize-fund was $85,000. Fisher's plans paid off, and at the 1911 Indianapolis 500, the inaugural event, newspapers reported that in excess of 80,000 people attended the race.Kramer 2010, p. 18. Each of the first two races were won by Americans; Ray Harroun in 1911 and Joe Dawson in 1912. In 1913, the large prize-fund attracted European teams and racers, and the race was won by Jules Goux in a Peugeot.
Rule changes
During the 1913 race, Jules Goux and his riding mechanic had drunk of an American pint of champagne ( of an Imperial pint or of a liter), during each of his pit stops. For 1914, the consumption of alcohol during the race was banned. Riding mechanics were mandatory for the 1914 race. The maximum engine size remained unchanged at of engine displacement.
Report
Elimination trials
There were 45 entrants for the race, but only the quickest 30 drivers during the elimination trials would qualify for the race. The first day of trials was completed on the Monday before the race, May 25. Caleb Bragg set the fastest official time on the first day, recording 1:36.8, though it was reckoned that Howdy Wilcox went quicker, but his time was not officially recorded. Ralph DePalma, a crowd favorite, struggled in his Mercedes and could only manage a time of 1:47.4, slower than the 1:45 that it was predicted drivers would have to beat in order to qualify. Only fifteen of the drivers ran on the first day, and they continued with two sessions on Tuesday. On the second day, three drivers set record times around the Speedway: first the 1912 winner, Joe Dawson, set an unofficial lap time of 1:34.8. Later in the day Teddy Tetzlaff completed a lap in 1:33.4, while Jules Goux finished the day as the fastest driver, with a time of 1:31.7. Tetzlaff's lap was completed in a Maxwell which was fuelled with a 50:50 mix of gasoline and kerosene; the other Maxwell, driven by Billy Carlson, set a time of 1:36.6 fuelled by a combination of kerosene and lubricating oil, with no gasoline. Ray Harroun, who had won the inaugural Indianapolis 500 in 1911, designed the Maxwell car, and was given $10,000 () by the company's president as a reward for the cars qualifying with sub-1:37 times.
By the end of the second day, 21 drivers had completed speed trials, and all but DePalma and Eddie Pullen had times below 1:45. Hughie Hughes's car suffered a broken crank case, preventing him from being able to set a qualifying time. On the final day of the trials, DePalma managed to make significant improvements in his Mercedes, and qualified with the twentieth fastest time overall, in 1:42.12. Georges Boillot set the overall fastest time, edging out his teammate Goux by completing a lap in 1:30.13, exceeding along the straights. The slowest of the thirty qualifiers was Harry Grant in a Sunbeam, with a lap time of 1:44.09.
Build up
After the rigors of the elimination trials, DePalma withdrew from the race, claiming that his car had been vibrating so heavily that his engine would not survive the race. His place was taken by Ray Gilhooley in the Italian-built Isotta car. Gilhooley was known as a fearless, and sometimes erratic, driver who was feared by his peers, as they considered him unpredictable. DePalma claimed that he had twice seen Gilhooley "tear through a wooden fence at full tilt" on occasions when Gilhooley risked overtakes on dangerous corners. The bookmakers made the 1913 race winner, Goux, the favorite, followed by his Peugeot teammate Boillot. Although the Frenchmen were accepted to be driving the quickest cars, there was some belief in the American press that their English tires might not be as durable as American tires, which could improve the chances of the American drivers.
Race The starting lineup for the race was determined by random draw the night before the race amongst the qualified drivers. Frenchman Jean Chassagne drew pole position, while Teddy Tetzlaff and Howdy Wilcox completed the front row. Wilcox led the first lap of the race, but the European drivers dominated the day, with five of the top six finishing positions going to them. René Thomas, driving a French-made Delage, led 102 laps en route to victory, setting a new record average speed of . Belgian Arthur Duray finished second after leading 77 laps, roughly 6 minutes 38 seconds behind Thomas. Barney Oldfield finished as the highest place American in fifth placed.
Classification
Elimination trials
Pos No. Driver Time 1 7 1:30.17 2 6 1:31.71 3 8 1:33.4 4 16 1:35.2 5 26 1:36.2 6 25 1:36.4 7 21 1:36.8 8 19 1:37.1 9 9 1:38.67 10 4 1:39.16 11 24 1:39.46 12 17 1:39.55 13 14 1:40 14 31 1:40.48 15 43 1:40.68 16 10 1:40.95 17 12 1:41.01 18 23 1:42.03 19 42 1:42.11 20 18 1:42.12 21 2 1:42.25 22 48 1:42.47 23 34 1:42.59 24 38 1:42.81 25 3 1:43.15 26 13 1:43.22 27 5 1:43.6 28 15 1:43.6 29 1 1:43.7 30 27 1:44.09
Starting grid The starting grid was determined by a random draw the night before the race.
RowInsideInside CenterOutside CenterOutside 1 Pace car position12 Jean Chassagne 8 Teddy Tetzlaff4 Howdy Wilcox 238 Billy Chandler 25 Billy Carlson 23 Ralph Mulford9 Josef Christiaens 315 Art Klein 21 Caleb Bragg14 Arthur Duray 10 Albert Guyot 431 Billy Knipper13 George Mason 2 Earl Cooper 16 René Thomas 524 Gil Andersen26 Joe Dawson 34 Ernest Friderich 6 Jules Goux 649 Ray Gilhooley 48 S. F. Brock 17 Bob Burman42 Eddie Rickenbacker 71 Louis Disbrow19 Spencer Wishart27 Harry Grant5 Charles Keene 843 Willie Haupt7 Georges Boillot 3 Barney Oldfield
Box score FinishNo.DriverEntrantCarLapsTime / retiredGrid 116 René Thomas Louis Delâge Delage200 82.470 mph 15 2 14 Arthur Duray Peugeot (Jacques Munier) Peugeot 200 +6:38.5010 3 10 Albert Guyot Delage (Albert Guyot) Delage 200 +10:15.7611 4 6 Jules Goux Peugeot (Jules Goux) Peugeot 200 +13:38.2719 5 3 Barney Oldfield (Gil Andersen) Stutz Stutz–Wisconsin200 +20:05.5530 6 9 Josef Christiaens Excelsior (Josef Christiaens) Excelsior 200 +23:38.017 7 27 Harry Grant Sunbeam Sunbeam 200 +32:36.7126 8 5 Charles Keene (C. L. Rogers) Beaver Bullet (Charles Keene) Keene–Wisconsin200 +37:11.8327 9 25 Billy Carlson (Harry Goetz)(Jack LeCain) Maxwell / U.S. Motor Maxwell200 +58:56.615 10 42 Eddie Rickenbacker Duesenberg Duesenberg200 +59:48.6023 11 23 Ralph Mulford Mercedes (E.J. Schroeder) Mercedes 200 +1:07:34.016 12 43 Willie Haupt Duesenberg Duesenberg200 +1:26:12.0128 13 31 Billy Knipper(Bob Burman) Keeton Keeton–Wisconsin200 +1:32:56.0112 14 7 Georges Boillot Peugeot (Georges Boillot) Peugeot 141 Broken frame29 15 34 Ernest Friderich Ettore Bugatti Bugatti134 Drive pinion18 16 1 Louis Disbrow Bob Burman Burman–Wisconsin128 Connecting rod24 17 19 Spencer Wishart Mercer Mercer122 Cam gear25 18 2 Earl Cooper (Bill Rader) Stutz Stutz–Wisconsin118 Wheel14 19 21 Caleb Bragg(Eddie Pullen) Mercer Mercer117 Camshaft9 20 15 Art Klein King (Art Klein) King–Wisconsin87 Valve8 21 38 Billy Chandler Braender Bulldog Mulford–Duesenberg69 Connecting rod4 22 4 Howdy Wilcox Gray Fox (Frank Fox) Fox–Pope-Hartford67 Valve3 23 13 George Mason (Lee Oldfield) Mason Special Duesenberg66 Piston13 24 17 Bob Burman Bob Burman Burman–Wisconsin47 Connecting rod22 25 26 Joe Dawson Marmon (Charles Ebstein) Marmon45 Crash17 26 24 Gil Andersen Stutz Stutz–Wisconsin42 Cylinder bolts16 27 49 Ray Gilhooley Isotta (G.M. Heckschew) Isotta41 Crash20 28 8 Teddy Tetzlaff Maxwell / U.S. Motor Maxwell 33 Rocker arm2 29 12 Jean Chassagne Sunbeam Sunbeam20 Crash1 30 48 S. F. Brock Ray Mercer–Wisconsin5 Camshaft21 Sources: MotorSport magazine, Racing-Reference
Note: Relief drivers in parentheses
Former Indianapolis 500 winner
Indianapolis 500 Rookie
Race statistics
Lap Leaders Laps Leader1 Howdy Wilcox2–4 Josef Christiaens5 Jules Goux6 Josef Christiaens7 Caleb Bragg8–12 Josef Christiaens13–29 René Thomas30–66 Arthur Duray67-75 Albert Guyot76–115 Arthur Duray116–200 René Thomas
Total laps led Laps Leader René Thomas 102 Arthur Duray 77 Josef Christiaens 9 Albert Guyot 9 Caleb Bragg 1 Jules Goux 1 Howdy Wilcox 1
Gallery
Notes
References
Bibliography
External links
at AutoGiftGarage.com