# 1920 Indianapolis 500

The 8th International 500-Mile Sweepstakes Race was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Monday, May 31, 1920.
Ralph DePalma held a two lap lead when the car stalled on lap 187. His riding mechanic Pete DePaolo ran to the pits to get a can of gasoline, thinking they were out of fuel. DePalma was able to get the car rolling again, and the two rejoined the race. However, during the delay, the lead went to Gaston Chevrolet. Chevrolet himself ran out of fuel on lap 197, but he was able to coast to the pits and refuel. Chevrolet held on to win. About six months later, he was fatally injured in a crash at Beverly Hills.
Chevrolet won the race without a single tire change, a remarkable feat at the time. Chevrolet was accompanied by riding mechanic John Bresnahan. Chevrolet's victory was the last by a driver born outside of the United States until George Robson's victory in the 1946 running.

## Time trials

Four-lap (10 miles (16 km)) qualifying runs were introduced in 1920. Previously one-lap runs were used. Ralph DePalma won the pole position at 99.65 mph (160.37 km/h). None of his four laps matched the track record (104.78 mph (168.63 km/h)) set the previous year.
Qualifying Results :
| Date | Driver | Lap 1 (mph) | Lap 2 (mph) | Lap 3 (mph) | Lap 4 (mph) | Average Speed (mph) |
| 5/26/1920 | Ralph DePalma | 98.1 | 99.4 | 99.5 | 99.95 | 99.65 |

## Starting grid

| Row | Inside | Inside | Inside Center | Inside Center | Outside Center | Outside Center | Outside | Outside |
| 1 | Pace car position | Pace car position | 2 | Ralph DePalma W | 6 | Joe Boyer | 3 | Louis Chevrolet |
| 2 | 26 | Jean Chassagne | 8 | Art Klein | 4 | Gaston Chevrolet | 5 | Roscoe Sarles |
| 3 | 7 | Bennett Hill R | 31 | Eddie Hearne | 9 | Ray Howard | 10 | Tommy Milton |
| 4 | 29 | Eddie O'Donnell | 34 | Willie Haupt | 32 | John Boling R | 12 | Jimmy Murphy R |
| 5 | 17 | André Boillot | 15 | Pete Henderson | 25 | René Thomas W | 28 | Joe Thomas R |
| 6 | 18 | Howdy Wilcox W | 16 | Jules Goux W | 19 | Jean Porporato | 33 | Ralph Mulford |

## Box score

| Finish | Start | No | Name | Entrant | Chassis | Engine | Qual | Rank | Laps | Status |
| 1 | 6 | 4 | Gaston Chevrolet | William Small Company | Frontenac | Frontenac | 91.550 | 8 | 200 | Running |
| 2 | 18 | 25 | René Thomas W | Ernest Ballot | Ballot | Ballot | 93.950 | 5 | 200 | Running |
| 3 | 11 | 10 | Tommy Milton | Duesenberg Brothers | Duesenberg | Duesenberg | 90.200 | 11 | 200 | Running |
| 4 | 15 | 12 | Jimmy Murphy R | Duesenberg Brothers | Duesenberg | Duesenberg | 88.700 | 13 | 200 | Running |
| 5 | 1 | 2 | Ralph DePalma W | Ralph DePalma | Ballot | Ballot | 99.150 | 1 | 200 | Running |
| 6 | 9 | 31 | Eddie Hearne | Duesenberg Brothers | Duesenberg | Duesenberg | 88.050 | 15 | 200 | Running |
| 7 | 4 | 26 | Jean Chassagne | Ernest Ballot | Ballot | Ballot | 95.450 | 4 | 200 | Running |
| 8 | 19 | 28 | Joe Thomas R (Art Klein Laps 105–115) (Harry Thicksten Laps 116–125) | William Small Company | Frontenac | Frontenac | 92.800 | 6 | 200 | Running |
| 9 | 23 | 33 | Ralph Mulford | Ralph Mulford | Mulford | Duesenberg | — | — | 200 | Running |
| 10 | 17 | 15 | Pete Henderson (Tom Alley Laps 93–20) | Revere Motor Car Corporation | Duesenberg | Duesenberg | 81.150 | 21 | 200 | Running |
| 11 | 14 | 32 | John Boling R (Riley Brett Laps 99–199) | C. L. Richards | Brett | Brett | 81.850 | 20 | 199 | Flagged |
| 12 | 2 | 6 | Joe Boyer (Ira Vail Laps 155–191) | Frontenac Motor Corporation | Frontenac | Frontenac | 96.900 | 2 | 192 | Crash T3 |
| 13 | 10 | 9 | Ray Howard (Aldo Franchi Laps 41–90) | Peugeot Auto Racing Company | Peugeot | Peugeot | 84.600 | 18 | 150 | Camshaft |
| 14 | 12 | 29 | Eddie O'Donnell | Duesenberg Brothers | Duesenberg | Duesenberg | 88.200 | 14 | 149 | Oil line |
| 15 | 21 | 16 | Jules Goux W | Jules Goux | Peugeot | Peugeot | 84.300 | 19 | 148 | Engine trouble |
| 16 | 13 | 34 | Willie Haupt (Wade Morton Laps 55–111) | Meteor Motors Company | Duesenberg | Duesenberg | 85.480 | 16 | 146 | Rod |
| 17 | 8 | 7 | Bennett Hill R (Roscoe Sarles Laps 75–115) | Frontenac Motor Corporation | Frontenac | Frontenac | 90.550 | 10 | 115 | Crash T4 |
| 18 | 3 | 3 | Louis Chevrolet (Salvatore Barbarino Laps 64–79) (Jerry Wunderlich Laps 80–94) | William Small Company | Frontenac | Frontenac | 96.300 | 3 | 94 | Steering |
| 19 | 20 | 18 | Howdy Wilcox W | Jules Goux | Peugeot | Peugeot | 88.820 | 12 | 65 | Engine trouble |
| 20 | 7 | 5 | Roscoe Sarles | William Small Company | Frontenac | Frontenac | 90.750 | 9 | 58 | Crash T4 |
| 21 | 5 | 8 | Art Klein | Frontenac Motor Corporation | Frontenac | Frontenac | 92.700 | 7 | 40 | Crash |
| 22 | 22 | 19 | Jean Porporato | Jean Porporato | Grégoire | Grégoire | 79.980 | 22 | 23 | Ruled off |
| 23 | 16 | 17 | André Boillot | Jules Goux | Peugeot | Peugeot | 85.400 | 17 | 16 | Engine trouble |
Note: Relief drivers in parentheses
W Former Indianapolis 500 winner
R Indianapolis 500 Rookie

### Statistics

Lap Leaders :
| Laps | Leader |
| 1–11 | Joe Boyer |
| 12 | Art Klein |
| 13 | Jean Chassagne |
| 14–37 | Joe Boyer |
| 38–42 | Ralph DePalma |
| 43–62 | Joe Boyer |
| 63–69 | René Thomas |
| 70–107 | Joe Boyer |
| 108–112 | René Thomas |
| 113–186 | Ralph DePalma |
| 187–200 | Gaston Chevrolet |
Total laps led :
| Leader | Laps |
| Joe Boyer | 93 |
| Ralph DePalma | 79 |
| Gaston Chevrolet | 14 |
| René Thomas | 12 |
| Jean Chassagne | 1 |
| Art Klein | 1 |

## Race details

* For 1920, riding mechanics were required.
* First alternate: none