1948 Indianapolis 500

The 32nd International 500-Mile Sweepstakes was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Monday, May 31, 1948.

32nd Indianapolis 500
Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Indianapolis 500
Sanctioning bodyAAA
DateMay 31, 1948
WinnerMauri Rose
Winning EntrantLou Moore
Average speed119.814 mph (192.822 km/h)
Pole positionRex Mays
Pole speed130.577 mph (210.143 km/h)
Most laps ledMauri Rose (81)
Pre-race
Pace carChevrolet Fleetmaster
Pace car driverWilbur Shaw
StarterSeth Klein[1]
Honorary refereeAlbert G. Feeney[1]
Estimated attendance200,000[2]
Chronology
Previous Next
1947 1949

For the second year in a row, the Blue Crown Spark Plug teammates Mauri Rose and Bill Holland finished 1st-2nd. Rose became the second driver to win the Indianapolis 500 in consecutive years. Unlike the previous year's race, no controversy surrounds the results. Coupled with his co-victory in 1941, Rose became the third three-time winner at Indy.

Fourth place finisher Ted Horn completed a noteworthy record of nine consecutive races from 1936-1948 completing 1,799 out of a possible 1,800 laps. His nine consecutive finishes of 4th or better (however, with no victories) is the best such streak in Indy history. The only lap he missed in 1940 was due to being flagged for a rain shower.

Duke Nalon's third-place finish would be the best-ever result for the popular Novi engine.[3]

Results
Finish Start No Name Qual Rank Laps Led Status
1 3 3 Mauri Rose  W  129.129 4 200 81 Running
2 2 2 Bill Holland 129.515 3 200 0 Running
3 11 54 Duke Nalon 131.603 1 200 9 Running
4 5 1 Ted Horn 126.565 9 200 74 Running
5 21 35 Mack Hellings  R  127.968 6 200 0 Running
6 14 63 Hal Cole 124.391 18 200 0 Running
7 28 91 Lee Wallard  R  128.420 5 200 0 Running
8 27 33 Johnny Mauro  R 
(Relieved by Louis Durant)		 121.790 33 198 0 Flagged
9 23 7 Tommy Hinnershitz 125.122 14 198 0 Flagged
10 4 61 Jimmy Jackson 127.510 7 193 0 Spindle
11 12 4 Charles Van Acker 125.440 13 192 0 Flagged
12 20 19 Billy Devore 123.967 21 190 0 Flagged
13 8 98 Johnny Mantz  R  122.791 27 185 0 Flagged
14 22 6 Tony Bettenhausen 126.396 10 167 0 Clutch
15 18 64 Hal Robson 122.796 26 164 0 Valve
16 7 36 Bill Cantrell  R  123.733 22 161 0 Steering
17 10 55 Joie Chitwood
(Relieved by Paul Russo)
(Relieved by Johnny Shackleford)		 124.619 15 138 0 Fuel leak
18 24 53 Bill Sheffler 124.529 17 132 0 Spark plugs
19 1 5 Rex Mays 130.577 2 129 36 Fuel leak
20 19 31 Chet Miller
(Had relief help)		 127.249 8 108 0 Oil trouble
21 13 52 Jack McGrath  R  124.580 16 70 0 Stalled
22 29 16 Duane Carter  R  126.015 11 59 0 Lost wheel
23 32 26 Fred Agabashian 122.737 28 58 0 Oil line
24 9 34 Les Anderson 122.337 30 58 0 Gears
25 33 17 Mel Hansen 122.117 32 42 0 Too slow
26 15 76 Sam Hanks 124.266 19 34 0 Clutch
27 30 51 Spider Webb  R  125.545 12 27 0 Oil line
28 17 9 George Connor 123.018 25 24 0 Drive shaft
29 6 74 Doc Williams 124.151 20 19 0 Clutch
30 31 86 Mike Salay  R  123.393 24 13 0 Stalled
31 16 8 Emil Andres 123.550 23 11 0 Steering
32 25 25 Paul Russo 122.595 29 7 0 Oil leak
33 26 65 Harry McQuinn 122.154 31 1 0 Supercharger
[4]

Alternates
  • First alternate: Johnny Shackleford  R  (#48)[5]

Failed to Qualify

Broadcasting

Radio

The race was carried live on the Mutual Broadcasting System, the precursor to the IMS Radio Network. The broadcast was sponsored by Perfect Circle Piston Rings and Bill Slater served as the anchor. The broadcast feature live coverage of the start, the finish, and live updates throughout the race.

Sid Collins, from WIBC, joined the crew for the first time, serving as a turn reporter at the south end of the track.

  • Johnny Mauro's 1948 Alfa Romeo 308
  • 1948 Novi

See also

Notes

Works cited

References
  1. 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.
  2. Stranahan, Bob (June 1, 1948). "Noses Out Teammate, Duke Nalon". The Indianapolis Star. p. 1. Retrieved June 1, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. The Talk of Gasoline Alley - 1070-AM WIBC, May 20, 2007
  4. "Indianapolis 500 1948". Ultimate Racing History. Archived from the original on 17 January 2012. Retrieved 16 January 2012.
  5. The Talk of Gasoline Alley - 1070-AM WIBC, May 14, 2004
  6. ""1948 International 500 Mile Sweepstakes"". ChampCarStats.com. Retrieved 26 June 2015.
1947 Indianapolis 500
Mauri Rose		 1948 Indianapolis 500
Mauri Rose		 1949 Indianapolis 500
Bill Holland
Preceded by
117.200 mph
(1938 Indianapolis 500)		 Record for the fastest average speed
119.814 mph		 Succeeded by
121.327 mph
(1949 Indianapolis 500)
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