Format

The rules for the race were based on those used by USAC in North America. Engines were limited to 4,200 cubic centimetres (260 cu in) in naturally aspirated form, 2,800 cm³ (170 cu in) for supercharged engines. A USAC rolling start was also used, instead of Formula One's usual standing start. The race was planned for a distance of 500 miles (800 km), similar to the Indianapolis 500. However, unlike Indianapolis, the 500 miles would not be run continuously. Instead, three separate 63-lap heats were planned, with an hour break for repairs and rest between each heat, for a total of approximately 500 miles. The overall race winner would be determined by the driver which finished all three heats with the highest average speed. The circuit would be run in an anti-clockwise direction, the same used at Indianapolis, but opposite the direction used by Formula One at Monza.

Entrants

Mario Borniggia in Ferrari 275 S/340 America.

Fifteen cars were entered for the event. Ten cars traveled across the Atlantic from USAC, while only two teams arrived with Formula One equipment. Mario Bornigia used a privateer Ferrari, while Maserati entered their factory driver Jean Behra. The rest of the Formula One teams however chose to boycott the event. The Union des Pilotes Professionnels Internationaux (International Union of Professional Pilots), which had been formed only a few months prior,^[2] cited the dangers of the speeds able to be obtained on the Monza banking and the wear on tires posing threats to safety.^[3][4] A further three entries arrived from the World Sportscar Championship, thanks to the Scottish Ecurie Ecosse Jaguar team, who had just won the 24 Hours of Le Mans the weekend before.

Number Driver Entrant Chassis Engine Tyre 1 Jimmy Bryan Dean Van Lines Kuzma Offenhauser F 2 John Lawrence Ecurie Ecosse Jaguar D-Type Jaguar D 4 Jack Fairman Ecurie Ecosse Jaguar D-Type Jaguar D 6 Ninian Sanderson Ecurie Ecosse Jaguar D-Type Jaguar D 7 Bob Veith Bob Estes Phillips Offenhauser F 8 Jean Behra Maserati Maserati 250F Maserati F Maserati 450S1 Maserati 12 Pat O'Connor Sumar Kurtis Kraft 500G Offenhauser F 16 Mario Borniggia Scuderia Cottione Ferrari 340 America Ferrari ? 27 Tony Bettenhausen Novi Auto Air Conditioning Kurtis Kraft 500F Novi (s/c) F 35 Eddie Sachs Jim Robbins Kurtis Kraft 500G Offenhauser F 49 Ray Crawford Meguiar Mirror Glaze Kurtis Kraft 500G Offenhauser F 52 Troy Ruttman John Zink Watson Offenhauser F Jim Rathmann2 54 Paul Russo Novi Auto Air Conditioning Kurtis Kraft 500F Novi (s/c) F 73 Andy Linden McNamara Veedol Kurtis Kraft 500G Offenhauser F 98 Johnnie Parsons Agajanian Kuzma Offenhauser F

Key Colour Car Type Gray USAC Red Formula One Blue Sportscar

Practice and qualifying

An example of a Maserati 250F as was used in Formula One. The 250F was unable to handle the Monza banking when equipped with larger Firestone tyres.

Although several American teams ran laps on Tuesday, official practice did not begin until Wednesday. All drivers were required to meet speed requirements to qualify: three laps at 185 km/h (115 mph), three laps at 200 km/h (120 mph), and another three laps at 225 km/h (140 mph). All drivers in attendance passed, and began to set their cars for top speed. Eddie Sachs led the first day's practice with a lap time of 56.4 seconds, one of few drivers to lap under a minute. On Thursday, Maserati arrived to enter Jean Behra in the event, but the two cars which Behra practiced with suffered handling problems when they were fitted with larger diameter Firestone tyres, recording a best lap time of 1:03.2 in the team's Formula One car. Maserati chose to not return the following day, joining the already withdrawn Ferrari, and leaving the race without any Formula One machinery.

Qualification was held on Friday, and the USAC teams continued to lower their lap times. Tony Bettenhausen, in the Novi Special, took pole position with a lap time of 53.7 seconds, averaging a speed of 284.927 km/h (177.045 mph), over 50 km/h faster than the pole speed at that year's Indianapolis 500.^[1] Eight other USAC cars also qualified, with Paul Russo in the other Novi Special suffering a terminal flywheel failure during its qualification attempt and withdrawing. The three Ecurie Ecosse Jaguars also qualified, but all slower than the USAC entries, due in part to being limited to their Dunlop road racing tyres, which were smaller than the Firestones. The best Ecurie Ecosse time was earned by Jack Fairman, lapping in 59.8 seconds.

Race

Heat one

The first heat started on Sunday, with temperatures at the circuit reaching 40 °C (104 °F).^[4] Bettenhausen slowly led the field to the starting line where an official waved the Italian flag to begin the race. The trio of Jaguars, although starting at the back, managed to jump to an early lead due to their use of a four-speed gearbox, allowing them to out-accelerate the USAC roadsters with two-speed gearboxes. Fairman led the first of 63 laps before the roadsters were able to build enough speed to catch and eventually pass the Jaguars. Bettenhausen returned to the front of the field, but was forced to relinquish the lead during the fourth lap with a broken throttle linkage. Pat O'Connor and Jimmy Bryan moved to the front and traded off the lead for half of the heat.

Jimmy Bryan's Kuzma–Offenhauser, known as the Dean Van Lines Special

Bryan eventually took command of the lead, pulling away from O'Connor and followers Eddie Sachs and Andy Linden. By the end of the 63 laps, Bryan was leading O'Connor by three seconds, with Linden the only other driver finishing on the lead lap. Bettenhausen, having rejoined the race after repairing the throttle linkage, was the only retirement after a sway bar broke on Lap 45. The USAC entries dominated, earning the first seven positions. Only Bob Veith's Phillips-Offy was unable to finish ahead of the trio of Jaguars.

Heat One Results[5]
Pos.	No.	Driver	Chassis-Engine	Laps	Notes
1	1	Jimmy Bryan	Kuzma–Offy	63
2	12	Pat O'Connor	Kurtis Kraft–Offy	63
3	73	Andy Linden	Kurtis Kraft–Offy	63
4	35	Eddie Sachs	Kurtis Kraft–Offy	62
5	52	Troy Ruttman	Watson–Offy	61
6	98	Johnnie Parsons	Kuzma–Offy	59
7	49	Ray Crawford	Kurtis Kraft–Offy	58
8	4	Jack Fairman	Jaguar	58
9	2	John Lawrence	Jaguar	57
10	6	Ninian Sanderson	Jaguar	53
11	7	Bob Veith	Phillips–Offy	51
DNF	27	Tony Bettenhausen	Kurtis Kraft–Novi	45	Broken sway bar

Heat two

Following an hour of repairs, the field began a rolling start for the second heat. In preparation for the Jaguar's ability to accelerate at the start, the lead USAC entries attempted to block the front stretch by running alongside one another. Troy Ruttman took the early lead, followed closely by O'Connor, Sachs, Bryan, and the Jaguar of Fairman. O'Connor soon retired with a broken fuel tank, followed several laps later by Sachs with broken cam house bolts. Ruttman was eventually caught and passed by Bryan, and the two finished in first and second at the end of the 63 laps. Only seven cars were still running at the end of the race, including the three Jaguars running in fifth, sixth, and seventh places.

Heat Two Results[6]
Pos.	No.	Driver	Chassis-Engine	Laps	Notes
1	1	Jimmy Bryan	Kuzma–Offy	63
2	52	Troy Ruttman	Watson–Offy	63
3	98	Johnnie Parsons	Kuzma–Offy	61
4	49	Ray Crawford	Kurtis Kraft–Offy	59
5	4	Jack Fairman	Jaguar	59
6	2	John Lawrence	Jaguar	57
7	6	Ninian Sanderson	Jaguar	53
DNF	35	Eddie Sachs	Kurtis Kraft–Offy	45	Broken cam house bolts
DNF	73	Andy Linden	Kurtis Kraft–Offy	27	Cracked frame
DNF	12	Pat O'Connor	Kurtis Kraft–Offy	16	Split fuel tank
DNF	7	Bob Veith	Phillips–Offy	1	Steering problems

Heat three

Another hour for repairs allowed for O'Connor to repair his fuel tank, bringing the entry to eight cars for the final heat. Only seven managed to begin the rolling start, as Ray Crawford remained in his pits to finish repairs. Bryan and Ruttman took the early lead once again as O'Connor was once again forced to retire, his repairs to the fuel tank not holding up to the bumps of the Monza banking. Jack Fairman's Jaguar managed to lead Johnnie Parsons' Kuzma-Offy early, but eventually the three remaining USAC cars led the three Jaguars to the finish line. Ruttman finished ahead of Bryan, while Fairman once more led the Jaguar trio.

Heat Three Results[7]
Pos.	No.	Driver	Chassis-Engine	Laps	Notes
1	52	Troy Ruttman	Watson–Offy	63
2	1	Jimmy Bryan	Kuzma–Offy	63
3	98	Johnnie Parsons	Kuzma–Offy	62
4	4	Jack Fairman	Jaguar	60
5	2	John Lawrence	Jaguar	57
6	6	Ninian Sanderson	Jaguar	55
DNF	12	Pat O'Connor	Kurtis Kraft–Offy	9	Split fuel tank
DNF	49	Ray Crawford	Kurtis Kraft–Offy	1	Retired

Entrants

The unique Lister–Jaguar entered by Ecurie Ecosse

Once again, ten drivers and cars traveled from the United States to represent USAC. A further two USAC cars were also in attendance, to be driven by Formula One drivers Juan Manuel Fangio and Maurice Trintignant, but set up and run by the American crews. Ferrari, as part of their requirement with the Automobile Club of Italia, brought two unique cars. The first was an older 375 F1 chassis using a modified 4,023 cubic centimetres (245.5 cu in) V12 engine from 335 S sports car, and renamed the 412 MI.^[10][8] The second was a modified 246 featuring a Ferrari-built Dino V6 engine, enlarged to 3,210 cubic centimetres (196 cu in) and equally renamed the 326 MI.^[11][12] Luigi Chinetti's new North American Racing Team also entered a third Ferrari in the event, using an older V12 car which had originally attempted to qualify for the 1952 Indianapolis 500. Ferrari also chose to use the Firestone tires which USAC teams used, rather than the Englebert tires the company had a contract with.^[1]

Maserati also built a custom car, their only entry in the event. Based on the design of USAC's cars, the car (designated the 420M/58) featured an alcohol-fueled V8 engine which was placed off-center to counteract centripetal force of running on an oval. Learning from their problems the previous year, the car was specifically designed to use the larger Firestone tyres. A two-speed gearbox was also used. The Italian Eldorado Ice Cream Company helped fund the effort and so the entire car was painted white with their logo written across the side.^[8]

Jaguar also had a custom-built car entered, thanks to Lister Cars. A Lister sports car chassis was purchased by the team, modified into a single-seater body style, and fitted with a Jaguar Straight-6 engine from the D-Type. The bodywork was aluminium, and remained unpainted for the event, giving it a near mirror finish. Dunlop tyres remained on the front, but the rear was adapted to handle the larger Firestone tyres. The team also entered two standard Jaguar D-Types as they had done the previous year, although these were also altered to adapt to Monza's oval. Air scoops were added to the rear fenders in an attempt to help keep the cars' Dunlop tyres from overheating.

Number Driver Entrant Chassis Engine Tyre 1 Jimmy Bryan Belond AP Salih Offenhauser F 2 Jack Fairman Ecurie Ecosse Lister3 Jaguar D F 4 Masten Gregory Ecurie Ecosse Jaguar D-Type Jaguar D 5 Jim Rathmann Zink Leader Card Watson Offenhauser F 6 Ivor Bueb Ecurie Ecosse Jaguar D-Type Jaguar D 8 Rodger Ward Wolcott Fuel Injection Lesovsky Offenhauser F 9 Bob Veith Bowes Seal Fast Kurtis Kraft 500G Offenhauser F 10 Stirling Moss Eldorado Italia Maserati 420M/58 Maserati F 12 Luigi Musso Scuderia Ferrari Ferrari 412 MI Ferrari F Phil Hill5 14 Mike Hawthorn4 Scuderia Ferrari Ferrari 326 MI Dino F Luigi Musso4 Phil Hill4 16 Harry Schell North American Racing Team Ferrari 375 Indianapolis Ferrari F 24 Jimmy Reece Hoyt Machine Kurtis Kraft 500C Offenhauser F 26 Don Freeland Bob Estes Phillips Offenhauser F 29 Juan Manuel Fangio Dean Van Lines Kuzma Offenhauser F 35 Eddie Sachs Jim Robbins Kurtis Kraft 500G Offenhauser F 49 Ray Crawford Meguiar's Mirror Glaze Kurtis Kraft 500G Offenhauser F 55 Maurice Trintignant Sclavi & Amos Kuzma Offenhauser F A. J. Foyt6 75 Johnny Thomson D-A Lubricants Kuzma Offenhauser F 98 Troy Ruttman Agajanian Kuzma Offenhauser F

Key Colour Car Type Gray USAC Red Modified Formula One Blue Sportscar Green Custom-built

Practice and qualifying

Stirling Moss on Maserati 420M/58 during race

Juan Manuel Fangio started practice early by setting one of the first laps around the circuit on Wednesday in a USAC entry loaned to him. Jim Rathmann set the fastest lap of the day with a time of 54.4 seconds, or 280 km/h (170 mph). Monza was drenched by rain on Thursday when official practice began, but Fangio chose to use the circuit anyway and set a lap speed over 233 km/h (145 mph), while the American teams chose to not run.

Qualifying began on a dry track late on Friday, with Fangio once again setting early laps, and increasing his pace to record a 55.2 second lap. Luigi Musso recorded the fastest time for the European entries, with a 55.3 second lap in a 412 MI.^[13] Qualifying continued again on Saturday, with the Americans quickly jumping to the top of the time charts. Bob Veith recorded a 54.0 second lap at a speed of 283 km/h (176 mph), however qualifying was determined by an average of three laps. Musso was able to improve on his previous day's performance in the Ferrari and recorded an average speed of 280.8 km/h (174.5 mph) to earn pole position. Veith qualified second, and Fangio ended the day third. Stirling Moss' Maserati qualified eleventh, while Phil Hill's Ferrari was fourteenth. Masten Gregory led the Jaguar trio in sixteenth with the older D-Type.

Race

Heat one

Phil Hill in Ferrari 326 MI #14

Sunday was race day, once again running as three 63-lap heats. Problems occurred early for Fangio as he was forced to withdraw from the first heat after his team discovered that his Offenhauser engine had a cracked piston. The other eighteen cars took the rolling start and, as in the year before, the Jaguars' gearing allowed them to jump to the early lead before Ferrari's Musso and several USAC drivers reclaimed it before the end of the first lap of the race.^[3] Eddie Sachs and Musso traded off the lead over the next several laps before Sachs remained in the lead, Jimmy Bryan also slipping into second. Rathmann worked his way through the field and took the lead from Sachs on Lap 11. Sachs was forced to drop from second place a few laps later when he broke a connecting rod, giving second to Musso. Musso however also dropped back after being overcome by methanol fumes, pitting on Lap 27 and handing the car to Mike Hawthorn. Rathmann continued to lead until the finish, followed by Bryan, Veith, and the Moss Maserati in fourth. Musso, who returned to his Ferrari on the final lap, brought the car home in sixth, three laps behind.

Heat One Results[14]
Pos.	No.	Driver	Chassis-Engine	Laps	Notes
1	5	Jim Rathmann	Watson–Offy	63
2	1	Jimmy Bryan	Salih-Offy	63
3	9	Bob Veith	Kurtis Kraft–Offy	62
4	10	Stirling Moss	Maserati	62
5	75	Johnny Thomson	Kuzma–Offy	61
6	12	Luigi Musso	Ferrari	60	Hawthorn relieved Musso from Laps 27 to 60
		Mike Hawthorn
7	98	Troy Ruttman	Kuzma–Offy	60
8	24	Jimmy Reece	Kurtis Kraft–Offy	59
9	55	Maurice Trintignant	Kuzma–Offy	59
10	49	Ray Crawford	Kurtis Kraft–Offy	58
11	2	Jack Fairman	Lister–Jaguar	57
12	16	Harry Schell	Ferrari	56
13	4	Masten Gregory	Jaguar	55
14	6	Ivor Bueb	Jaguar	45
DNF	35	Eddie Sachs	Kurtis Kraft–Offy	20	Broken connecting rod
DNF	26	Don Freeland	Phillips–Offy	16	Broken cam gear
DNF	8	Rodger Ward	Lesovsky–Offy	16	Broken torsion bar
DNF	14	Phil Hill	Ferrari–Dino	11	Broken magneto

Heat two

Heat two began with 13 of the 14 cars which had completed the first heat, Masten Gregory chose to not return with the Jaguar, but Rodger Ward was able to repair his car and compete. Fangio planned to race, but his team had not completed engine repairs by the end of the hour and a half break. Maurice Trintignant, who had completed the first heat in the Sclavi & Amos Kuzma-Offenhauser, chose to be relieved by rookie A. J. Foyt for the rest of the race. Rathmann led the field to the start and remained in the lead throughout. Musso once again remained with the top drivers, but pitted after only nineteen laps to be replaced, this time by Phil Hill whose Ferrari had retired in the first heat. Moss, Veith, Bryan, and Troy Ruttman all fought for second place, eventually led to the finish by Veith, nearly 20 seconds behind winner Rathmann. Moss' Maserati suffered engine trouble and dropped back at the finish, earning fifth.

Heat Two Results[15]
Pos.	No.	Driver	Chassis-Engine	Laps	Notes
1	5	Jim Rathmann	Watson–Offy	63
2	9	Bob Veith	Kurtis Kraft–Offy	63
3	1	Jimmy Bryan	Salih-Offy	63
4	98	Troy Ruttman	Kuzma–Offy	63
5	10	Stirling Moss	Maserati	62
6	55	A. J. Foyt	Kuzma–Offy	61
7	24	Jimmy Reece	Kurtis Kraft–Offy	60
8	49	Ray Crawford	Kurtis Kraft–Offy	60
9	12	Luigi Musso	Ferrari	60	Hill relieved Musso from Laps 20 to 60
		Phil Hill
10	2	Jack Fairman	Lister–Jaguar	57
11	6	Ivor Bueb	Jaguar	51
DNF	8	Rodger Ward	Lesovsky–Offy	31	Retired
DNF	16	Harry Schell	Ferrari	15	Retired
DNF	75	Johnny Thomson	Kuzma–Offy	4	Broken crankshaft

Heat three

The Zink Leader Card Monza Special, Jim Rathmann's race winning Watson–Offenhauser

Ferrari 412 MI finished third overall

Eleven cars were entered for the final heat, joined by Fangio and Gregory who had both repaired their cars. Fairman chose not to continue in the Lister-Jaguar, while Hawthorn started the #12 Ferrari in place of Musso. Rathmann once again led at the start, followed by Bryan and Foyt. Fangio's car lasted only two laps before his fuel pump failed and he was forced to retire. Hawthorn suffered the same methanol inhalation problems as Musso and relinquished his car to Phil Hill after 24 laps. Moss, after bringing his Maserati up to fourth place, suffered steering failure on Lap 41, crashing into the guard rails at the top of the banking. Rathmann led straight to the finish, ahead of Bryan. Hill brought the Ferrari up to third before giving the car back to Hawthorn, who finished the race in third.

Heat Three Results[16]
Pos.	No.	Driver	Chassis-Engine	Laps	Notes
1	5	Jim Rathmann	Watson–Offy	63
2	1	Jimmy Bryan	Salih-Offy	63
3	12	Mike Hawthorn	Ferrari	60	Hill relieved Hawthorn from Laps 25 to 60
		Phil Hill
4	49	Ray Crawford	Kurtis Kraft–Offy	60
5	24	Jimmy Reece	Kurtis Kraft–Offy	59
DNF	55	A. J. Foyt	Kuzma–Offy	54	Broken crankshaft
7	6	Ivor Bueb	Jaguar	52
DNF	4	Masten Gregory	Jaguar	44	Retired
DNF	10	Stirling Moss	Maserati	40	Accident
DNF	9	Bob Veith	Kurtis Kraft–Offy	28	Lost a wheel
DNF	98	Troy Ruttman	Kuzma–Offy	12	Broken fuel line
DNF	29	Juan Manuel Fangio	Kuzma–Offy	2	Broken fuel pump

Notes