# 1948 Indianapolis 500

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

## Starting grid

| Row | Inside | Inside | Middle | Middle | Outside | Outside |
| 1 | 5 | Rex Mays | 2 | Bill Holland | 3 | Mauri Rose W |
| 2 | 61 | Jimmy Jackson | 1 | Ted Horn | 74 | Doc Williams |
| 3 | 36 | Bill Cantrell R | 98 | Johnny Mantz R | 34 | Les Anderson |
| 4 | 55 | Joie Chitwood | 54 | Duke Nalon | 4 | Charles Van Acker |
| 5 | 52 | Jack McGrath R | 63 | Hal Cole | 76 | Sam Hanks |
| 6 | 8 | Emil Andres | 9 | George Connor | 64 | Hal Robson |
| 7 | 31 | Chet Miller | 19 | Billy Devore | 35 | Mack Hellings R |
| 8 | 6 | Tony Bettenhausen | 7 | Tommy Hinnershitz | 53 | Bill Sheffler |
| 9 | 25 | Paul Russo | 65 | Harry McQuinn | 33 | Johnny Mauro R |
| 10 | 91 | Lee Wallard R | 16 | Duane Carter R | 51 | Spider Webb R |
| 11 | 86 | Mike Salay R | 26 | Fred Agabashian | 17 | Mel Hansen |

### Alternates

* First alternate: Johnny Shackleford R (#48)

### Failed to Qualify

* Walt Ader R (#15, #45)
* Manny Ayulo R (#88)
* Henry Banks (#38)
* Cliff Bergere (#12, #85)
* Walt Brown (#69)
* Jim Brubaker R (#14)
* Red Byron R (#43)
* Bob Droeger R (#44)
* Louis Durant (#29)
* Milt Fankhouser (#23)
* Myron Fohr R (#32)
* Ken Fowler (#41)
* Roland Free (#73)
* Andy Granatelli R (#39, #59)
* Art Hartsfeld R (#27)
* Ralph Hepburn (#12) - Fatal accident
* Jackie Holmes R (#24, #93)
* Ronney Householder (#68)
* George Lynch R (#56)
* George Metzler R (#47)
* Al Miller (#66)
* Cowboy O'Rourke R (#45)
* Johnnie Parsons R (#39)
* Joe Perkins R (#62)
* Ralph Pratt R (#87)
* Charlie Rogers R (#89)
* Pete Romcevich (#49)
* Loral Tansy R (#71)
* Joel Thorne (#57)
* Louis Tomei (#10)
* Eddie Zalucki R (#21)

## Box score

| Finish | Start | No | Name | Chassis | Engine | Qual | Rank | Laps | Status |
| 1 | 3 | 3 | Mauri Rose W | Diedt | Offenhauser | 129.129 | 4 | 200 | 119.814 mph |
| 2 | 2 | 2 | Bill Holland | Diedt | Offenhauser | 129.515 | 3 | 200 | +1:23.77 |
| 3 | 11 | 54 | Duke Nalon | Kurtis Kraft | Novi | 131.603 | 1 | 200 | +3:46.45 |
| 4 | 5 | 1 | Ted Horn | Maserati | Maserati | 126.565 | 9 | 200 | +4:07.14 |
| 5 | 21 | 35 | Mack Hellings R | Kurtis Kraft | Offenhauser | 127.968 | 6 | 200 | +14:15.19 |
| 6 | 14 | 63 | Hal Cole | Kurtis Kraft | Offenhauser | 124.391 | 18 | 200 | +18:27.53 |
| 7 | 28 | 91 | Lee Wallard R | Meyer | Offenhauser | 128.420 | 5 | 200 | +24:23.67 |
| 8 | 27 | 33 | Johnny Mauro R (Louis Durant Laps 112–140) | Alfa Romeo | Alfa Romeo | 121.790 | 33 | 198 | Flagged |
| 9 | 23 | 7 | Tommy Hinnershitz | Kurtis Kraft | Offenhauser | 125.122 | 14 | 198 | Flagged |
| 10 | 4 | 61 | Jimmy Jackson | Diedt | Offenhauser | 127.510 | 7 | 193 | Spindle |
| 11 | 12 | 4 | Charles Van Acker | Stevens | Offenhauser | 125.440 | 13 | 192 | Flagged |
| 12 | 20 | 19 | Billy Devore | Kurtis Kraft | Offenhauser | 123.967 | 21 | 190 | Flagged |
| 13 | 8 | 98 | Johnny Mantz R | Kurtis Kraft | Offenhauser | 122.791 | 27 | 185 | Flagged |
| 14 | 22 | 6 | Tony Bettenhausen | Stevens | Offenhauser | 126.396 | 10 | 167 | Clutch |
| 15 | 18 | 64 | Hal Robson | Adams | Offenhauser | 122.796 | 26 | 164 | Valve |
| 16 | 7 | 36 | Bill Cantrell R | Stevens | Fageol | 123.733 | 22 | 161 | Steering |
| 17 | 10 | 55 | Joie Chitwood (Paul Russo Laps 54–74) (Johnny Shackleford laps 106–136) | Shaw | Offenhauser | 124.619 | 15 | 138 | Fuel leak |
| 18 | 24 | 53 | Bill Sheffler | Bromme | Offenhauser | 124.529 | 17 | 132 | Spark plugs |
| 19 | 1 | 5 | Rex Mays | Kurtis Kraft | Winfield | 130.577 | 2 | 129 | Fuel leak |
| 20 | 19 | 31 | Chet Miller (Ken Fowler laps 30–50) (Louis Tomei laps 51–108) | Mercedes | Mercedes | 127.249 | 8 | 108 | Oil trouble |
| 21 | 13 | 52 | Jack McGrath R | Bromme | Offenhauser | 124.580 | 16 | 70 | Stalled |
| 22 | 29 | 16 | Duane Carter R | Wetteroth | Offenhauser | 126.015 | 11 | 59 | Lost wheel |
| 23 | 32 | 26 | Fred Agabashian | Kurtis Kraft | Duray | 122.737 | 28 | 58 | Oil line |
| 24 | 9 | 34 | Les Anderson | Kurtis Kraft | Offenhauser | 122.337 | 30 | 58 | Gears |
| 25 | 33 | 17 | Mel Hansen | Adams | Sparks | 122.117 | 32 | 42 | Too slow |
| 26 | 15 | 76 | Sam Hanks | Adams | Sparks | 124.266 | 19 | 34 | Clutch |
| 27 | 30 | 51 | Spider Webb R | Bromme | Offenhauser | 125.545 | 12 | 27 | Oil line |
| 28 | 17 | 9 | George Connor | Stevens | Offenhauser | 123.018 | 25 | 24 | Drive shaft |
| 29 | 6 | 74 | Doc Williams | Cooper | Offenhauser | 124.151 | 20 | 19 | Clutch |
| 30 | 31 | 86 | Mike Salay R | Wetteroth | Offenhauser | 123.393 | 24 | 13 | Stalled |
| 31 | 16 | 8 | Emil Andres | Kurtis Kraft | Offenhauser | 123.550 | 23 | 11 | Steering |
| 32 | 25 | 25 | Paul Russo | Maserati | Maserati | 122.595 | 29 | 7 | Oil leak |
| 33 | 26 | 65 | Harry McQuinn | Maserati | Maserati | 122.154 | 31 | 1 | Supercharger |
Note: Relief drivers in parentheses
W Former Indianapolis 500 winner
R Indianapolis 500 Rookie
All entrants utilized Firestone tires.

### Race statistics

Lap Leaders :
| Laps | Leader |
| 1–17 | Rex Mays |
| 18–72 | Ted Horn |
| 73–91 | Rex Mays |
| 92–100 | Duke Nalon |
| 101–123 | Mauri Rose |
| 124–142 | Ted Horn |
| 143–200 | Mauri Rose |
Total laps led :
| Driver | Laps |
| Mauri Rose | 81 |
| Ted Horn | 74 |
| Rex Mays | 36 |
| Duke Nalon | 9 |
Yellow Lights: 10 minutes, 40 seconds :
| Laps* | Reason |
| 60–69 | Duane Carter lost wheel in turn 2, spun on backstretch |
| * – Approximate lap counts ||

## 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.

## Gallery

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