# 1934 Indianapolis 500

The 22nd International 500-Mile Sweepstakes Race was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on May 30, 1934. The winner was the number seven car driven by Bill Cummings, an Indianapolis native, at an average speed of 104.863 miles per hour. Cummings led for 57 laps total, including the last 26. Of the 33 cars that began the race, only 12 were running at the finish, although there were no crashes resulting in serious injuries. One serious incident involved George Bailey, whose car went over the outside wall, but resulted in only a broken wrist to the driver. The finish was the closest in the history of the race to that point, with second-place finisher Mauri Rose within 100 yards of Cummings at the finish (officially 27.25 seconds behind). Rose would also file a protest that Cummings had illegally gained ground during a "slow-down" period following a crash.
Cummings was accompanied by riding mechanic Earl Unversaw. The race was part of the 1934 AAA Championship Car season.

## Background

In an effort to improve safety, the maximum field size was capped at 33 cars. 33 starters has remained the maximum field size since, with the exception of the 1979 and 1997 races. After several consecutive 500s with multiple fatalities, efforts were also made to reduce speeds through fuel limits; entries were limited to 2.5 U.S. gallons (9.5 L) of fuel for qualification and 45 U.S. gallons (170 L) of fuel for the race.
For 1934, riding mechanics were required.

## Time trials

Ten-lap (25 mile) qualifying runs were utilized. Kelly Petillo earned the pole position with a speed of 119.329 mph (192.041 km/h). Babe Stapp and Charles Tramison were both disqualified for exceeding the fuel limit in their qualifying runs.
During a qualification attempt, driver Pete Kreis lost control in turn 1, climbed over the wall, and struck a tree outside of the track. He and his riding mechanic were fatally injured.

## Starting grid

| Row | Inside | Inside | Middle | Middle | Outside | Outside |
| 1 | 17 | Kelly Petillo | 3 | Wilbur Shaw | 32 | Frank Brisko |
| 2 | 9 | Mauri Rose | 4 | Chet Gardner | 26 | Phil Shafer |
| 3 | 8 | Tony Gulotta | 36 | Al Miller | 10 | Russ Snowberger |
| 4 | 7 | Bill Cummings | 31 | Ralph Hepburn | 18 | George Barringer R |
| 5 | 1 | Louis Meyer W | 24 | Herb Ardinger R | 15 | Shorty Cantlon |
| 6 | 58 | George Bailey R | 51 | Al Gordon | 22 | Cliff Bergere |
| 7 | 12 | Deacon Litz | 2 | Lou Moore | 41 | Johnny Sawyer |
| 8 | 6 | Dave Evans | 35 | Rex Mays R | 16 | Joe Russo |
| 9 | 42 | Dusty Fahrnow R | 73 | Doc MacKenzie | 45 | Rick Decker |
| 10 | 49 | Charles Crawford R | 5 | Stubby Stubblefield | 63 | Harry McQuinn R |
| 11 | 29 | Gene Haustein | 46 | Chet Miller | 33 | Johnny Seymour |

### Alternates

* First alternate: Willard Prentiss

### Failed to Qualify

* Bill Chittum R (#59)
* Maynard Clark R (#56)
* George Connor R (#39)
* Wesley Crawford (#44)
* Danny Day R (#62)
* Pete DePaolo (#27) - Withdrew
* Leon Duray (#54)
* Fred Frame (#34)
* Sam Hoffman R (#47)
* Ted Horn R (#53)
* Harry Hunt R (#43)
* Pete Kreis (#14) - Fatal accident
* Harry Lewis R (#52)
* Tee Linn R (#62)
* Milt Marion R (#57)
* Vern Ornduff R (#62)
* Jack Petticord (#52)
* Harold Shaw R (#65) - Driver refused
* Orville Smith R (#61) - Driver rejected
* Babe Stapp (#44, #54)
* Al Theisen R (#53)
* Charles Tramison R (#72)
* Bob Wallace R (#53)
* Doc Williams R (#38) - Driver rejected

## Race summary

At the start, polesitter Petillo took the lead for the first 4 laps. But the pace was 8 mph off the record of the previous year, owing to new fuel regulations that limited cars to 45 gallons for the entire race. Frank Brisko lead much of the first half of the race, but began to fall back as the race approached half-distance. By half-distance, Mauri Rose was leading, but close behind him was Cummings. "Wild Bill" first assumed the lead at 325 miles as Rose pitted for fuel, then lost it as he too made a stop. Cummings then closed on Rose and passed him with 70 miles to go. Both drivers, confident that they had enough fuel, then upped their pace to reach 140 mph on the straights. Cummings and Rose were never more than 30 seconds apart in the last part of the race. Cummings took the checkered with a new record average speed, despite the new fuel limitations. Rose was second, 27 seconds behind.

## Box score

| Finish | Start | No | Name | Entrant | Chassis | Engine | Qual | Rank | Laps | Status |
| 1 | 10 | 7 | Bill Cummings | H. C. Henning | Miller | Miller | 116.116 | 6 | 200 | Running |
| 2 | 4 | 9 | Mauri Rose | Leon Duray | Stevens | Miller | 116.044 | 7 | 200 | Running |
| 3 | 20 | 2 | Lou Moore (Wilbur Shaw Laps 77–152) | California Racers, Inc. | Miller | Miller | 113.442 | 16 | 200 | Running |
| 4 | 19 | 12 | Deacon Litz (Babe Stapp Laps 67–172) | A. B. Litz | Miller | Miller | 113.731 | 14 | 200 | Running |
| 5 | 24 | 16 | Joe Russo | Joe E. Russo | Duesenberg | Duesenberg | 113.115 | 18 | 200 | Running |
| 6 | 8 | 36 | Al Miller (Zeke Meyer Laps 169–200) | Phil Shafer | Rigling | Buick | 113.307 | 17 | 200 | Running |
| 7 | 18 | 22 | Cliff Bergere (Tony Gulotta Laps 119–130) (Billy Winn Laps 131–141) | William S. White | Weil | Miller | 115.243 | 8 | 200 | Running |
| 8 | 9 | 10 | Russ Snowberger | Russell Snowberger | Snowberger | Studebaker | 111.428 | 23 | 200 | Running |
| 9 | 3 | 32 | Frank Brisko (Rex Mays Laps 130–200) | F.W.D. Auto Company | Miller | Miller | 116.894 | 4 | 200 | Running |
| 10 | 14 | 24 | Herb Ardinger R (Danny Day Laps 93–133) | Angelo Lucenti | Graham | Graham | 111.722 | 22 | 200 | Running |
| 11 | 1 | 17 | Kelly Petillo | Joe Marks | Adams | Miller | 119.329 | 1 | 200 | Running |
| 12 | 29 | 5 | Stubby Stubblefield (Dave Evans Laps 124–144) | Cummins Engine Company | Duesenberg | Cummins | 105.921 | 32 | 200 | Running |
| 13 | 28 | 49 | Charles Crawford R | Detroit Gasket & Manufacturing | Ford | Ford V8 | 108.784 | 30 | 110 | In pits |
| 14 | 11 | 31 | Ralph Hepburn (Louis Meyer Laps 138–164) | Ralph Hepburn | Miller | Miller | 114.321 | 10 | 164 | Connecting rod |
| 15 | 12 | 18 | George Barringer R (Chet Gardner Laps 98–161) | H. C. Henning | Miller | Miller | 113.859 | 11 | 161 | Bent front axle |
| 16 | 6 | 26 | Phil Shafer (Zeke Meyer Laps 97–130) | Phil Shafer | Rigling | Buick | 113.816 | 12 | 130 | Camshaft drive |
| 17 | 7 | 8 | Tony Gulotta | Floyd Smith | Cooper | Studebaker | 113.733 | 13 | 94 | Rod |
| 18 | 13 | 1 | Louis Meyer W | Louis Meyer | Stevens | Miller | 112.332 | 20 | 92 | Oil tank |
| 19 | 22 | 6 | Dave Evans | Cummins Engine Company | Duesenberg | Cummins | 102.414 | 33 | 81 | Transmission |
| 20 | 15 | 15 | Shorty Cantlon (Billy Winn Laps 39–76) | William J. Cantlon | Stevens | Miller | 117.875 | 2 | 76 | Crankshaft |
| 21 | 5 | 4 | Chet Gardner | Alden Sampson II | Stevens | Miller | 114.786 | 9 | 72 | Rod |
| 22 | 17 | 51 | Al Gordon | Paul Weirick | Adams | Miller | 116.273 | 5 | 66 | Crash T1 |
| 23 | 23 | 35 | Rex Mays R | Fred Frame | Duesenberg | Miller | 113.639 | 15 | 53 | Front axle |
| 24 | 25 | 42 | Dusty Fahrnow R | Irving Goldberg | Cooper | Cooper | 113.070 | 19 | 28 | Rod |
| 25 | 21 | 41 | Johnny Sawyer | Lencki & Unger | Miller | Lencki | 109.808 | 27 | 27 | Rod |
| 26 | 33 | 33 | Johnny Seymour | Fred Frame | Adams | Miller | 108.591 | 31 | 22 | Pinion gear |
| 27 | 27 | 45 | Rick Decker | Rickliffe Decker | Miller | Miller | 110.895 | 26 | 17 | Clutch |
| 28 | 2 | 3 | Wilbur Shaw | Joe Marks | Stevens | Miller | 117.647 | 3 | 15 | Lost oil |
| 29 | 26 | 73 | Doc MacKenzie | Mikan & Carson | Mikan-Carson | Studebaker | 111.933 | 21 | 15 | Crash NC |
| 30 | 31 | 29 | Gene Haustein | Lawrence J. Martz | Hudson | Hudson | 109.426 | 28 | 13 | Crash T4 |
| 31 | 30 | 63 | Harry McQuinn R | Michel DeBaets | Rigling | Miller | 111.067 | 24 | 13 | Rod |
| 32 | 16 | 58 | George Bailey R | Roy Scott | Snowberger | Studebaker | 111.063 | 25 | 12 | Crash T3 |
| 33 | 32 | 46 | Chet Miller | Bohn Aluminum and Brass Corporation | Ford | Ford V8 | 109.252 | 29 | 11 | Crash T1 |
Note: Relief drivers in parentheses
W Former Indianapolis 500 winner
R Indianapolis 500 Rookie

### Race statistics

Lap Leaders :
| Laps | Leader |
| 1–6 | Kelly Petillo |
| 7–71 | Frank Brisko |
| 72–78 | Bill Cummings |
| 79–109 | Mauri Rose |
| 110–113 | Frank Brisko |
| 114–124 | Mauri Rose |
| 125–148 | Bill Cummings |
| 149–174 | Mauri Rose |
| 175–200 | Bill Cummings |
Total laps led :
| Driver | Laps |
| Frank Brisko | 69 |
| Mauri Rose | 68 |
| Bill Cummings | 57 |
| Kelly Petillo | 6 |