1929 Indianapolis 500 Explained

Race Name:17th Indianapolis 500
Race Logo:1929_500_program_cover.jpg
Sanction:AAA
Date:May 30, 1929
Winner:Ray Keech
Team:Maude A. Yagle
Mph:97.585mi/h
Pole Speed:120.599mi/h
Leader:Louis Meyer (65)
Pace Car:Studebaker President Roadster
Pace Driver:George Hunt
Starter:Larry P. Fisher[1]
Honorary:Harvey S. Firestone
Attendance:160,000[2]
Previous:1928
Next:1930

The 17th International 500-Mile Sweepstakes was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Thursday, May 30, 1929. Ray Keech, who finished fourth a year earlier, took the lead for the final time on lap 158 and won his first Indianapolis 500. Keech won for car owner Maude A. Yagle, the first and to-date, only female winning owner in Indy history. Only two weeks after winning the race, Ray Keech was fatally injured in a crash at Altoona Speedway on June 15, 1929. The race was part of the 1929 AAA Championship Car season.

The 1929 edition was the last contested with the supercharged 91 cu. in. (1.5 L) displacement engine formula. The supercharged front-wheel drive Miller 8s dominated qualifying, sweeping the front row. A total of twelve front-wheel drive machines made the field, but Keech's rear-wheel-drive Simplex Piston Ring Special took the victory. All three cars of the front row, as well as the first two cars of the second row, dropped out before the halfway point. Pole-sitter Cliff Woodbury crashed on lap 4, and became the first pole position winner in Indy history to finish last (33rd). Defending race winner Louis Meyer was leading in the second half, but lost nearly seven minutes when his car stalled in the pits due to low oil pressure on lap 157. He finished second just over six minutes behind Keech, with the lengthy pit stop the deciding margin.

The hard luck story of the race belonged to Lou Moore. After finishing second in 1928, Moore was on his way to back-to-back runner-up finishes. With two laps to go, however, his engine threw a rod. Due to the rules at the time, since Moore was not running at the finish, he was scored behind all finishers. He fell all the way back to 13th position, behind four cars that actually had fewer laps than he had.

It was the final race of the Roaring Twenties and the final race before the Stock Market Crash and Great Depression. The facility was expanded in 1929 to include a golf course.[3] Dubbed the "Speedway Golf Course," it featured nine holes outside the track, and nine holes inside the track, and was designed by Bill Diddel.[4] Also during the month, scenes for the movie Speedway were being filmed.

Engine specifications and rule changes

The 1929 race would be the final year contested with the supercharged 91 cu. in. (1.5 L) displacement engine formula. Speedway president Eddie Rickenbacker had decided to substantially change the engine specifications for 1930 and beyond in an effort to lure back the passenger car manufacturers, and make the cars on the track resemble more those sold to the motoring public. Rickenbacker's desire was to move away from the supercharged, specialized racing machines that had taken over the Speedway through the 1920s.

Contrary to popular belief, the proposed rules changes were not made in response to the stock market crash of 1929 (which had not occurred yet) and the subsequent Great Depression. The rule changes for 1930 were in fact being laid out as early as 1928, and were already approved by the AAA Contest Board in early January 1929.[5] In addition, the 1929 race would be the final for the foreseeable future to be without riding mechanics. From 1930 and beyond, the rules were once again going to mandate two-man cars.

With the 91 c.i.d engines on their way out, interest was focused on whether the roughly 200 horsepower machines could set a track record for 500 miles in their swan song. Qualifying speeds were expected to be fast.[6]

For 1929, riding mechanics were optional,[7] however, no teams utilized them.

Jimmy Gleason's car carried #53, the first number over 50 in the history of the race.

Race schedule

Participants began arriving at the Speedway in mid-April, but very few, if any, cars took laps prior to May 1. The track was officially made available for practice beginning on Wednesday May 1. Time trials was scheduled for four days - Saturday May 25 through Tuesday May 28.[8] Qualifying on Saturday would be held from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m., and qualifying on Sunday would be held from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Time trials for Monday and Tuesday was tentatively scheduled on an as-needed basis, although on Monday, rain would ultimately wash out the day.[8]

Notes and References

  1. Book: Fox, Jack C.. The Illustrated History of the Indianapolis 500 1911-1994. Carl Hungness Publishing. 4th. 1994. 22. en. 0-915088-05-3.
  2. News: Meyer Captures Second, Gleason Speeds In Third. W. Blaine. Patton. The Indianapolis Star. 1. Newspapers.com. May 31, 1929. June 3, 2017.
  3. News: Speedway Will Open Public Golf Grounds. The Indianapolis News. 21. Newspapers.com. April 17, 1928. February 3, 2016.
  4. Web site: The Golf Courses of Bill Diddel . 2016-02-03 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160201123747/http://billdiddel.com/courses.htm . 2016-02-01 . dead .
  5. The History of the 500 - WFNI/WIBC: Episode 10, 2013
  6. News: Tune Up On Swan Song For 91 1/2 Motors, Superchargers and also Single Seaters. The Indianapolis News. William F.. Sturm. 19. Newspapers.com. May 4, 1929. November 19, 2015.
  7. Book: Blazier, John E. . Rollings, Tom. Forgotten Heroes of the Speedways: The Riding Mechanics. 1994.
  8. News: Edenburn Ready for Time Trials at Track Saturday. The Indianapolis News. 23. Newspapers.com. May 23, 1929. January 19, 2016.
  9. News: Fourteen Additional Entries in Race Classic Brings List to 43. The Indianapolis News. William F.. Sturm. 25. Newspapers.com. May 2, 1929. November 12, 2015.
  10. News: Chiron to Have Chevrolet as Guide in Annual 500-Mile Race. The Indianapolis News. 19. Newspapers.com. April 6, 1929. November 6, 2015.
  11. News: Former World's Speed King to Drive Simplex Special In Next 500-Mile Race. The Indianapolis News. 26. Newspapers.com. April 11, 1929. November 5, 2015.
  12. News: Famous French Driver at Track. The Indianapolis News. 26. Newspapers.com. April 13, 1929. November 6, 2015.
  13. News: Famous Italian Racing Star to Compete in 500-Mile Event at Motor Speedway. The Indianapolis News. 23. Newspapers.com. April 16, 1929. November 10, 2015.
  14. News: Grimy Pilots Hint That Track Records May Be Lowered at Speedway. The Indianapolis News. William F.. Sturm. 20. Newspapers.com. April 20, 1929. November 10, 2015.
  15. News: Chief Herder of Cooper Cars to Ride Again at Speedway. The Indianapolis News. 22. Newspapers.com. April 22, 1929. November 10, 2015.
  16. News: With the Boyle Valve Team. The Indianapolis News. 37. Newspapers.com. April 26, 1929. November 10, 2015.
  17. News: Gulotta To Pilot Car in Speedway Event; Will Rabbit or Tortoise Methods Win in Running of Coming Speedway Race. The Indianapolis News. William F.. Sturm. 18. Newspapers.com. April 27, 1929. November 10, 2015.
  18. News: Twenty-Nine Entries Already Are Received for 500-Mile Speedway Classic. The Indianapolis News. William F.. Sturm. 22. Newspapers.com. May 1, 1929. November 12, 2015.
  19. News: One more Entry For Auto Race. The Indianapolis News. 45. Newspapers.com. May 3, 1929. November 17, 2015.
  20. News: He Stepped on it in Speedway Trial. The Indianapolis News. William F.. Sturm. 20. Newspapers.com. May 6, 1929. November 18, 2015.
  21. News: Ready to Show His Stuff. The Indianapolis News. 23. Newspapers.com. May 7, 1929. November 20, 2015.
  22. News: Officials of Speedway Select Pacemaker Car. The Indianapolis News. 22. Newspapers.com. May 7, 1929. November 20, 2015.
  23. News: Speedway Appetizers. The Indianapolis News. William F.. Sturm. 23. Newspapers.com. May 8, 1929. November 8, 2015.
  24. News: Speedway Appetizers. The Indianapolis News. William F.. Sturm. 30. Newspapers.com. May 9, 1929. December 8, 2015.
  25. News: Speedway Appetizers. The Indianapolis News. William F.. Sturm. 19. Newspapers.com. May 11, 1929. December 8, 2015.
  26. News: Speedway Appetizers. The Indianapolis News. William F.. Sturm. 18. Newspapers.com. May 13, 1929. December 8, 2015.
  27. News: Speedway Appetizers. The Indianapolis News. William F.. Sturm. 14. Newspapers.com. May 14, 1929. December 16, 2015.
  28. News: Speedway Appetizers. The Indianapolis News. William F.. Sturm. 24. Newspapers.com. May 15, 1929. December 16, 2015.
  29. News: Speedway Appetizers. The Indianapolis News. William F.. Sturm. 31. Newspapers.com. May 16, 1929. December 18, 2015.
  30. News: Elimination Trials For 500-Mile Race to be Held at Speedway Saturday May 25. The Indianapolis News. 42. Newspapers.com. May 17, 1929. December 18, 2015.
  31. News: Speedway Appetizers. The Indianapolis News. William F.. Sturm. 19. Newspapers.com. May 18, 1929. December 18, 2015.
  32. News: Speedway Appetizers. The Indianapolis News. William F.. Sturm. 19. Newspapers.com. May 20, 1929. December 18, 2015.
  33. News: Speedway Appetizers. The Indianapolis News. William F.. Sturm. 23. Newspapers.com. May 21, 1929. January 19, 2016.
  34. News: General High Speed Is Predicted Saturday. The Indianapolis News. 22. Newspapers.com. May 22, 1929. January 19, 2016.
  35. News: Thirty Cars May Be Ready for Time Trials Saturday. The Indianapolis News. 44. Newspapers.com. May 24, 1929. January 20, 2016.
  36. News: Sunday's Speedway Trials Scheduled to Start Early. The Indianapolis News. William F.. Sturm. 16. Newspapers.com. May 25, 1929. January 20, 2016.
  37. News: Score of Cars Await Chance to Qualify for 500-Mile Race at Speedway. The Indianapolis News. William F.. Sturm. 28. Newspapers.com. May 28, 1929. January 25, 2016.
  38. News: Unprecedented Record is Made in First Two Days of the Qualifying Trials. The Indianapolis News. 22. Newspapers.com. May 27, 1929. January 22, 2016.
  39. News: May 30 Urge for Speed Grips City (part 1). The Indianapolis News. William F.. Sturm. 1. Newspapers.com. May 29, 1929. January 25, 2016.
  40. News: May 30 Urge for Speed Grips City (part 2). The Indianapolis News. William F.. Sturm. 15. Newspapers.com. May 29, 1929. January 25, 2016.
  41. http://archives.chicagotribune.com/1929/05/29/page/19/article/woodburys-121-m-p-h-tops-trials-at-indianapolis-oval Woodfbry's 121 MPH Tops Trials at Indianapolis Oval
  42. News: Qualifying Trial Averages. The Indianapolis News. 17. Newspapers.com. May 29, 1929. January 25, 2016.
  43. News: Drivers and Cars Ready for Annual 500-Mile Classic. The Indianapolis News. 1. Newspapers.com. May 30, 1929. January 26, 2016.
  44. The Talk of Gasoline Alley – 1070-AM WIBC, May 14, 2004
  45. http://www.champcarstats.com/races/192901.htm 1929 International 500 Mile Sweepstakes - ChampCarStats.com
  46. Book: Clymer, Floyd. Floyd Clymer's Indianapolis 500 Mile Race History. Floyd Clyer Publishing. Keech Wins Indianapolis (via reprint of MoToR). 1946. 196–198.
  47. News: Crowd at Race Assays High in World Fame and Wealth. The Indianapolis News. 27. Newspapers.com. May 30, 1929. January 29, 2015.
  48. News: Movie Workers on Job Early to Film Race Crown for "Speedway" Picture. The Indianapolis News. 24. Newspapers.com. May 30, 1929. January 29, 2015.
  49. News: 160,000 witness auto race; one driver killed in crash. The Milwaukee Journal. May 30, 1929. Associated Press.
  50. News: Race Speed Slightly Faster Than in 1928 (Part 1). The Indianapolis News. 1. Newspapers.com. May 30, 1929. January 29, 2015.
  51. News: Race Speed Slightly Faster Than in 1928 (Part 2). The Indianapolis News. 1. Newspapers.com. May 30, 1929. January 29, 2015.
  52. News: Ray Keech Coasts in to Win From Field in Close Race. The Indianapolis News. 32. Newspapers.com. May 31, 1929. January 29, 2015.
  53. News: Winning Race Drivers Cut Huge Melon - Official Statistics on 500-Mile Race (Part 1). The Indianapolis News. 15. Newspapers.com. June 1, 1929. January 29, 2015.
  54. News: Winning Race Drivers Cut Huge Melon - Official Statistics on 500-Mile Race (Part 2). The Indianapolis News. 15. Newspapers.com. June 1, 1929. January 29, 2015.
  55. Book: The Indianapolis 500 Chronicle. Publications International, Ltd.. Rick. Popely. L. Spencer. Riggs. 1998. 0-7853-2798-3. Lincolnwood, Illinois.
  56. Web site: ChampCarStats.com. International 500 Mile Sweepstakes – May 30, 1929.
  57. News: Radio News and Programs - Local Stations. The Indianapolis News. 12. Newspapers.com. May 29, 1929. February 1, 2016.
  58. News: Crew "Tuned Up" for Speedway Broadcast of the News-WKBF. The Indianapolis News. 17. Newspapers.com. May 29, 1929. February 1, 2016.
  59. News: War Ace and Radio Announcer Meet in Rest Period at Race. The Indianapolis News. 30. Newspapers.com. May 30, 1929. February 1, 2016.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "1929 Indianapolis 500".

Except where otherwise indicated, Everything.Explained.Today is © Copyright 2009-2024, A B Cryer, All Rights Reserved. Cookie policy.