 | |||||
| Indianapolis Motor Speedway | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Indianapolis 500 | |||||
| Sanctioning body | AAA | ||||
| Date | May 30, 1924 | ||||
| Winner | L. L. Corum & Joe Boyer (co-winners) | ||||
| Winning Entrant | Duesenberg | ||||
| Average speed | 98.234 mph (158.092 km/h) | ||||
| Pole position | Jimmy Murphy | ||||
| Pole speed | 108.037 mph (173.869 km/h) | ||||
| Most laps led | Earl Cooper (119) | ||||
| Pre-race | |||||
| Pace car | Cole V8 | ||||
| Pace car driver | Lew Pettijohn | ||||
| Starter | W.S. Gilbreath[1] | ||||
| Honorary referee | Henry Ford[1] | ||||
| Estimated attendance | 135,000-140,000[2] | ||||
| Chronology | |||||
| |||||
The 12th International 500-Mile Sweepstakes Race was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Friday, May 30, 1924.
L. L. Corum started the race in the #15 entry, and was relieved during the race by Joe Boyer. Boyer proceeded to drive the car to victory, and both drivers were credited as "co-winners" for the 1924 race.
Boyer led the first lap of the race in his original #9 entry. After Boyer got out of the car and took over the #15, the #9 entry continued in the race, taken over by Ernie Ansterburg, Corum, and later Thane Houser. Houser crashed the car after 176 laps, and Boyer's original car was credited with 18th place.
Time trials
Four-lap (10 mile) qualifying runs were utilized. Jimmy Murphy won the pole position with a speed of over 108mph.
Race summary and results
After Joe Boyer, in his original car, led the first lap, Jimmy Murphy took the lead. By half-distance, Murphy led while Earl Cooper held 2nd. Fred Duesenberg, incensed that his lead car was behind four Miller vehicles, called Boyer into the pits, as his car had fallen behind with unscheduled pit stops. He then waved in his 5th-place car, driven by L. L. Corum, and installed Boyer in it. Duesenberg reportedly told him, "Catch them," referring to the Millers, "or burn this ship!"[3]
Boyer re-entered the race with Corum's car and soon passed Bennett Hill and Harry Hartz. With 40 laps to go, he was about 1 mile behind leader Jimmy Murphy and Earl Cooper, turning laps at up to 104 mph.
Murphy was signaled that Boyer was rapidly closing and upped his pace, but he soon cut a tire and had to pit. Cooper assumed the lead but suffered the same fate after pushing harder. Cooper sped out of the pits and closed on Boyer. With 12 laps to go, Cooper made a passing attempt in turn 1, but skidded and again cut a tire, prompting another pit stop. Boyer then eased his pace to win the 500 with a record average speed of over 98 mph.[4]
| Finish | Start | No | Name | Entrant | Chassis | Engine | Qual | Rank | Laps | Led | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 21 | 15 | .svg.png.webp){kind=small} L. L. Corum (laps 1-111) Joe Boyer (laps 112-200) |
Duesenberg | Duesenberg | Duesenberg | 93.330 | 16 | 200 | 24 | Running |
| 2 | 6 | 8 | Earl Cooper |
Earl Cooper | Miller | Miller | 103.900 | 6 | 200 | 119 | Running |
| 3 | 1 | 2 | Jimmy Murphy W |
Jimmy Murphy | Miller | Miller | 108.030 | 1 | 200 | 56 | Running |
| 4 | 2 | 4 | Harry Hartz |
R. Cliff Durant | Miller | Miller | 107.130 | 2 | 200 | 0 | Running |
| 5 | 5 | 3 | Bennett Hill |
Harry A. Miller | Miller | Miller | 104.840 | 5 | 200 | 0 | Running |
| 6 | 13 | 12 | Peter DePaolo |
Duesenberg Brothers | Duesenberg | Duesenberg | 99.280 | 13 | 200 | 0 | Running |
| 7 | 16 | 14 | Fred Comer R Wade Morton (laps 99-120) |
R. Cliff Durant | Miller | Miller | 92.880 | 17 | 200 | 0 | Running |
| 8 | 15 | 6 | Ira Vail (laps 1-161) C. W. Van Ranst (laps 162-200) |
Ira Vail | Miller | Miller | 96.400 | 15 | 200 | 0 | Running |
| 9 | 9 | 32 |  Antoine Mourre R |
Antoine Mourre | Miller | Miller | 99.490 | 9 | 200 | 0 | Running |
| 10 | 18 | 19 | Bob McDonogh R |
Harry A. Miller | Miller | Miller | 91.550 | 19 | 200 | 0 | Running |
| 11 | 7 | 18 | Jules Ellingboe |
Harry A. Miller | Miller | Miller | 102.600 | 7 | 200 | 0 | Running |
| 12 | 11 | 7 | Jerry Wunderlich Wade Morton (laps 31-90, 158-187) |
R. Cliff Durant | Miller | Miller | 99.360 | 11 | 200 | 0 | Running |
| 13 | 8 | 16 | Cliff Durant Phil Shafer (laps 91-110) Eddie Hearne |
R. Cliff Durant | Miller | Miller | 101.610 | 8 | 199 | 0 | Out of gas |
| 14 | 19 | 26 | Bill Hunt R |
Barber-Warnock | Ford T | Fronty-Ford | 85.040 | 21 | 191 | 0 | Flagged |
| 15 | 17 | 31 | Ora Haibe Elmer Dempsey (laps 101-121) |
Albert Schmidt | Mercedes | Mercedes | 92.810 | 18 | 182 | 0 | Flagged |
| 16 | 20 | 28 |  Alfred Moss R |
Barber-Warnock | Ford T | Fronty-Ford | 85.270 | 20 | 177 | 0 | Flagged |
| 17 | 22 | 27 | Fred Harder R |
Barber-Warnock | Ford T | Fronty-Ford | 82.770 | 22 | 177 | 0 | Flagged |
| 18 | 4 | 9 | Joe Boyer (laps 1-94) Ernie Ansterburg (laps 95-158) L. L. Corum (laps 159-175) Thane Houser (lap 176) |
Duesenberg Brothers | Duesenberg | Duesenberg | 104.840 | 4 | 176 | 1 | Crash T1 |
| 19 | 14 | 1 | Eddie Hearne Cliff Durant (laps 123-137) |
R. Cliff Durant | Miller | Miller | 99.230 | 14 | 151 | 0 | Fuel line |
| 20 | 12 | 21 | Frank Elliott |
Frank R. Elliott | Miller | Miller | 99.310 | 12 | 149 | 0 | Gas tank |
| 21 | 3 | 5 | Tommy Milton W |
Tommy Milton | Miller | Miller | 105.200 | 3 | 110 | 0 | Gas tank |
| 22 | 10 | 10 | Ernie Ansterburg R |
Duesenberg | Duesenberg | Duesenberg | 99.400 | 10 | 2 | 0 | Crash T2 |
| [5][6] | |||||||||||
Race details
- For 1924, riding mechanics were optional,[7] however, no teams utilized them.
- First alternate: none[8]
- Eddie Hearne was the lone entry in the race who competed in the inaugural Indy 500
References
- 1 2 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.
- ↑ Patton, W. Blaine (May 31, 1924). "Boyer Relieves 'Duesie' Pilot In 106th, Finishing; Corum Officially Wins". The Indianapolis Star. p. 1. Retrieved June 3, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ Book "The Indianapolis 500: A Complete Pictorial History" p. 58
- ↑ Book "The Indianapolis 500: A Complete Pictorial History" p.58-61
- ↑ "Indianapolis 500 1924". Ultimate Racing History. Archived from the original on 16 January 2012. Retrieved 15 January 2012.
- ↑ Popely, Rick; Riggs, L. Spencer (1998). The Indianapolis 500 Chronicle. Lincolnwood, Illinois: Publications International, Ltd. ISBN 0-7853-2798-3.
- ↑ Blazier, John E.; Rollings, Tom (1994). Forgotten Heroes of the Speedways: The Riding Mechanics.
- ↑ The Talk of Gasoline Alley - 1070-AM WIBC, May 14, 2004