# 1936 Indianapolis 500

The 24th International 500-Mile Sweepstakes Race was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Saturday, May 30, 1936. The race was part of the 1936 AAA Championship Car season. The race is remembered for three noteworthy Indy traditions getting their start.
Louis Meyer became the first three-time winner of the Indianapolis 500. He notably celebrated in victory lane with a bottle of buttermilk, which later started the famous tradition of serving milk in victory lane at Indianapolis.
Lawson Harris served as Meyer's riding mechanic. Harris, who also rode with Meyer in 1933, became the first two-time Indianapolis 500 winning riding mechanic.
The Borg-Warner Trophy debuted for the winner in 1936. Also, pace car driver Tommy Milton suggested that the race winner should be awarded the official pace car as part of his complement of prizes. Louis Meyer was given the keys to the Packard after the race, and it has been a tradition ever since (with only a handful of exceptions).

## Time trials

Ten-lap (25 mile) qualifying runs were utilized. Rex Mays won the pole position for the second consecutive year.
Qualifying Results :
| Date | Driver | Lap 1 (mph) | Lap 2 (mph) | Lap 3 (mph) | Lap 4 (mph) | Lap 5 (mph) | Lap 6 (mph) | Lap 7 (mph) | Lap 8 (mph) | Lap 9 (mph) | Lap 10 (mph) | Average Speed (mph) |
| Sat 5/16/1936 | Rex Mays | 119.745 | 119.348 | 118.743 | 119.968 | 121.065 | 119.984 | 120.289 | 119.697 | 119.253 | 118.985 | 119.644 |

## Starting grid

| Row | Inside | Inside | Middle | Middle | Outside | Outside |
| 1 | 33 | Rex Mays | 21 | Babe Stapp | 18 | Chet Miller |
| 2 | 10 | Doc MacKenzie | 38 | George Connor | 44 | Herb Ardinger |
| 3 | 42 | Cliff Bergere | 27 | Louis Tomei | 3 | Wilbur Shaw |
| 4 | 7 | Shorty Cantlon | 22 | Ted Horn | 35 | Freddie Winnai |
| 5 | 2 | Bill Cummings W | 17 | George Barringer | 4 | Floyd Roberts |
| 6 | 43 | Jimmy Snyder | 12 | Al Miller | 6 | Chet Gardner |
| 7 | 5 | Billy Winn | 14 | Frank Brisko | 47 | Johnny Seymour |
| 8 | 52 | Frank McGurk R | 54 | Doc Williams R | 9 | Ralph Hepburn |
| 9 | 41 | Ray Pixley R | 15 | Deacon Litz | 28 | Harry McQuinn |
| 10 | 8 | Louis Meyer W | 32 | Lou Moore | 36 | Mauri Rose |
| 11 | 46 | Fred Frame W | 53 | Zeke Meyer | 19 | Emil Andres R |

### Alternates

* First alternate: Al Putman R

### Failed to Qualify

* George Bailey (#51)
* Henry Banks R (#29)
* Rick Decker (#44)
* Dave Evans (#25)
* Dusty Fahrnow (#55)
* Tony Gulotta (#31, #56)
* Harry Hunt R (#58)
* Luther Johnson (#49) - Withdrew
* Roy Painter R (#34)
* Kelly Petillo W (#10)
* Phil Shafer (#26)
* Overton Snell R (#24)
* Russ Snowberger (#23)
* Lucky Teter R - Did not appear
* Joel Thorne R - Did not appear
* George Wingerter (#57)

## Box score

| Finish | Start | No | Name | Entrant | Chassis | Engine | Qual | Rank | Laps | Status |
| 1 | 28 | 8 | Louis Meyer W | Louis Meyer | Stevens | Miller | 114.171 | 18 | 200 | Running |
| 2 | 11 | 22 | Ted Horn | Harry Hartz | Wetteroth | Miller | 116.564 | 8 | 200 | Running |
| 3 | 4 | 10 | Doc MacKenzie (Kelly Petillo Laps 142–200) | Kelly Petillo | Wetteroth | Offenhauser | 116.961 | 5 | 200 | Running |
| 4 | 30 | 36 | Mauri Rose | Four Wheel Drive Auto Company | Miller | Miller | 113.890 | 21 | 200 | Running |
| 5 | 3 | 18 | Chet Miller | Boyle Motor Products | Summers | Miller | 117.675 | 3 | 200 | Running |
| 6 | 25 | 41 | Ray Pixley R | Clarence Felker | Miller | Miller | 116.703 | 7 | 200 | Running |
| 7 | 9 | 3 | Wilbur Shaw | W. Wilbur Shaw | Shaw | Offenhauser | 117.503 | 4 | 200 | Running |
| 8 | 14 | 17 | George Barringer | Phil Shafer | Rigling | Offenhauser | 112.700 | 27 | 200 | Running |
| 9 | 32 | 53 | Zeke Meyer | Boyle Motor Products | Cooper | Studebaker | 111.476 | 30 | 200 | Running |
| 10 | 5 | 38 | George Connor | Joe Marks | Adams | Miller | 116.269 | 9 | 200 | Running |
| 11 | 12 | 35 | Freddie Winnai | Midwest Racing Team | Stevens | Offenhauser | 116.221 | 10 | 199 | Flagged |
| 12 | 24 | 9 | Ralph Hepburn | Ralph Hepburn | Miller | Offenhauser | 112.673 | 28 | 196 | Flagged |
| 13 | 27 | 28 | Harry McQuinn | Alden Sampson II | Stevens | Miller | 114.118 | 19 | 196 | Out of gas |
| 14 | 10 | 7 | Shorty Cantlon | William S. White | Weil | Miller | 116.912 | 6 | 194 | Out of gas |
| 15 | 1 | 33 | Rex Mays | Paul Weirick | Adams | Sparks | 119.644 | 1 | 192 | Out of gas |
| 16 | 23 | 54 | Doc Williams R | Race Car Corporation | Cooper | Miller | 112.837 | 26 | 192 | Out of gas |
| 17 | 29 | 32 | Lou Moore (Cliff Bergere Laps 77–134) | Lou Moore | Miller | Offenhauser | 113.996 | 20 | 185 | Out of gas |
| 18 | 33 | 19 | Emil Andres R (Jimmy Snyder Laps 51–112) | J. Stewart Carew | Whippet | Cragar | 111.455 | 31 | 184 | Flagged |
| 19 | 15 | 4 | Floyd Roberts | Joe Lencki | Stevens | Offenhauser | 112.403 | 29 | 183 | Out of gas |
| 20 | 20 | 14 | Frank Brisko | Elgin Piston Ring Company | Miller | Brisko | 114.213 | 17 | 180 | Out of gas |
| 21 | 17 | 12 | Al Miller | Boyle Motor Products | Smith | Miller | 116.138 | 11 | 119 | Crash FS |
| 22 | 7 | 42 | Cliff Bergere (Tony Gulotta Laps 60–114) (Herb Ardinger Laps 115–116) | Bowes Seal Fast Corporation | Stevens | Miller | 113.377 | 22 | 116 | Engine support |
| 23 | 26 | 15 | Deacon Litz (Louis Tomei Laps 59–107) | A. B. Litz | Miller | Miller | 115.997 | 13 | 108 | Crankshaft |
| 24 | 2 | 21 | Babe Stapp | Gil Pirrung | Shaw | Offenhauser | 118.945 | 2 | 89 | Crankshaft |
| 25 | 19 | 5 | Billy Winn | James W. Winn | Miller | Miller | 114.648 | 16 | 78 | Crankshaft |
| 26 | 22 | 52 | Frank McGurk R | Charles Worley | Adams | Cragar | 113.102 | 24 | 51 | Crankshaft |
| 27 | 8 | 27 | Louis Tomei | Babe Stapp | Wetteroth | Miller | 111.078 | 33 | 44 | Engine support |
| 28 | 6 | 44 | Herb Ardinger | Bowes Seal Fast Corporation | Stevens | Miller | 115.082 | 15 | 38 | Transmission |
| 29 | 18 | 6 | Chet Gardner | Chester L. Gardner | Duesenberg | Offenhauser | 116.000 | 12 | 38 | Clutch |
| 30 | 16 | 43 | Jimmy Snyder | Murrell Belanger | Stevens | Miller | 111.291 | 32 | 21 | Oil leak |
| 31 | 21 | 47 | Johnny Seymour | William L. Cantlon | Stevens | Miller | 113.169 | 23 | 13 | Clutch |
| 32 | 31 | 46 | Fred Frame W | Moore & Fengler | Miller | Miller | 112.877 | 25 | 4 | Piston |
| 33 | 13 | 2 | Bill Cummings W | Boyle Motor Products | Miller | Offenhauser | 115.939 | 14 | 0 | Clutch |
Note: Relief drivers in parentheses
W Former Indianapolis 500 winner
R Indianapolis 500 Rookie

### Race statistics

Lap Leaders :
| Laps | Leader |
| 1–12 | Rex Mays |
| 13–31 | Babe Stapp |
| 32–82 | Wilbur Shaw |
| 83–88 | Babe Stapp |
| 89–130 | Louis Meyer |
| 131–146 | Ted Horn |
| 147–200 | Louis Meyer |
Total laps led :
| Driver | Laps |
| Louis Meyer | 96 |
| Wilbur Shaw | 51 |
| Babe Stapp | 25 |
| Ted Horn | 16 |
| Rex Mays | 12 |
Yellow Lights :
| Laps | Reason |
| 119 | Al Miller crash on frontstretch |

## Race summary

To slow the cars, a fuel limit of 37.5 gallons of gasoline was implemented for the race distance. Engine tuners struggled to make their engines more efficient.
At the start, polesitter Rex Mays led but soon dropped out with a faulty throttle. Wilbur Shaw then took the lead, but lost time with a 17-minute pit stop to re-fasten loose rivets on his engine hood.
Louis Meyer steadily moved up through the field and took the lead by halfway. He pitted for fuel at 350 miles, allowing Ted Horn to take the point. But Meyer caught him, pulled away and became the first 3-time "500" winner. He wasn't sure his fuel would last until the end. He said, "That last lap, I held my breath."
* For 1936, riding mechanics were required.
* After numerous fatalities in the 1935 race, additional safety measures were introduced for 1936. All new drivers were required to pass a rookie test prior to qualifying. In addition, the inside wall was removed in several locations, the outside walls were angled inward to keep cars from going over them, and several portions of the track were paved over in asphalt. In a sharp contrast to previous years, the 1936 race saw zero fatalities amongst the competitors or spectators. It marked the only year from the span of 1929-1940 (the Depression Era) in which no fatalities occurred at the Speedway.
* Bill Cummings car failed to pull away from the grid due to clutch and transmission failure. He became the first driver in Indy history to line up for the grid, but fail to pull away and start the race.