# 1921 Indianapolis 500

The 9th International 500-Mile Sweepstakes Race was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Monday, May 30, 1921.
Ralph DePalma dominated another early running of the 500, but again failed to win. He led 109 laps, and had a two-lap lead at the halfway point. A connecting rod broke, and he dropped out on lap 112. DePalma retired with one win, and 612 laps led in the "500." His laps led record would not be matched for 66 years until Al Unser, Sr. reached it in 1987.
Tommy Milton won the first of two 500 victories. He was accompanied by riding mechanic Harry Franck. The only European car to finish was a 1921 Grand Prix Sunbeam driven by Ora Haibe who was placed fifth.

## Time trials

Time trials was scheduled for five days, May 25–29. Four-lap (10 mile) qualifying runs were utilized. A short field of only 26 cars submitted entries, but only 23 cars arrived and prepared to qualify. Mervin Headley's entry was disallowed because only half the entry fee was paid. Two other entries were no-shows.
Ralph DePalma completed his qualifying run on Wednesday May 25, at an average speed of 100.75 mph. He won the pole position as the only driver over the 100 mph mark. None of his four laps matched the track record (104.78 mph) set in 1919.
This would be the first 500 that featured the familiar starting grid of rows of cars three-abreast.
Qualifying Results :
| Date | Driver | Lap 1 (mph) | Lap 2 (mph) | Lap 3 (mph) | Lap 4 (mph) | Average Speed (mph) |
| 5/26/1921 | Ralph DePalma | 100.89 | 100.53 | 100.56 | 101.00 | 100.75 |

## Starting grid

| Row | Inside | Inside | Middle | Middle | Outside | Outside |
| 1 | 4 | Ralph DePalma W | 6 | Roscoe Sarles | 7 | Joe Boyer |
| 2 | 1 | Eddie Hearne | 22 | Jules Ellingboe R | 19 | Jean Chassagne |
| 3 | 18 | Louis Fountaine R | 23 | Percy Ford R | 5 | Eddie Miller R |
| 4 | 3 | Ira Vail | 14 | André Boillot | 10 | Howdy Wilcox W |
| 5 | 16 | Ora Haibe | 9 | Albert Guyot | 21 | Bennett Hill |
| 6 | 17 | Riley Brett R | 15 | René Thomas W | 27 | Tom Alley |
| 7 | 24 | Jimmy Murphy | 2 | Tommy Milton | 8 | Ralph Mulford |
| 8 | 25 | Joe Thomas | 28 | C. W. Van Ranst R | | |

## Box score

| Finish | Start | No | Name | Entrant | Chassis | Engine | Qual | Rank | Laps | Time/Retired |
| 1 | 20 | 2 | Tommy Milton | Louis Chevrolet | Frontenac | Frontenac | 93.050 | 11 | 200 | 5:34:44.65 |
| 2 | 2 | 6 | Roscoe Sarles | Duesenberg Brothers | Duesenberg | Duesenberg | 98.350 | 2 | 200 | 5:38:34.03 |
| 3 | 8 | 23 | Percy Ford R (Jules Ellingboe) (Andy Burt) | Stanley Kandul | Frontenac | Frontenac | 87.000 | 19 | 200 | 5:52:15.30 |
| 4 | 9 | 5 | Eddie Miller R (Jimmy Murphy) | Duesenberg Brothers | Duesenberg | Duesenberg | 83.850 | 20 | 200 | 5:54:24.98 |
| 5 | 13 | 16 | Ora Haibe | Sunbeam Motor Car Company | Sunbeam | Sunbeam | 93.500 | 10 | 200 | 5:57:45.83 |
| 6 | 14 | 9 | Albert Guyot (Joe Boyer) (Eddie Miller) | Duesenberg Brothers | Duesenberg | Duesenberg | 87.800 | 16 | 200 | 6:01:17.07 |
| 7 | 10 | 3 | Ira Vail | Ira Vail | Leach | Miller | 82.350 | 22 | 200 | 6:14:17.47 |
| 8 | 15 | 21 | Bennett Hill (Jerry Wunderlich) | John Thiele | Duesenberg | Duesenberg | 87.780 | 17 | 200 | 6:19:06.74 |
| 9 | 21 | 8 | Ralph Mulford | Louis Chevrolet | Frontenac | Frontenac | 91.700 | 12 | 177 | Flagged |
| 10 | 17 | 15 | René Thomas W | Sunbeam Motor Car Company | Sunbeam | Sunbeam | 83.750 | 21 | 144 | Water hose |
| 11 | 18 | 27 | Tom Alley | L. L. Corum | Frontenac | Frontenac | 80.500 | 23 | 133 | Rod |
| 12 | 1 | 4 | Ralph DePalma W | Ralph DePalma | Ballot | Ballot | 100.750 | 1 | 112 | Rod |
| 13 | 4 | 1 | Eddie Hearne | E. A. Hearne | Duesenberg | Duesenberg | 96.180 | 6 | 111 | Oil line |
| 14 | 19 | 24 | Jimmy Murphy (Eddie Pullen) | Duesenberg Brothers | Duesenberg | Duesenberg | 93.600 | 9 | 107 | Crash T4 |
| 15 | 16 | 17 | Riley Brett R (Harry Thicksten) | George L. Wade | Brett | Brett | 87.750 | 18 | 91 | Hit wall |
| 16 | 23 | 28 | C. W. Van Ranst R | C. W. Van Ranst | Frontenac | Frontenac | 88.350 | 14 | 87 | Water hose |
| 17 | 3 | 7 | Joe Boyer | Duesenberg Brothers | Duesenberg | Duesenberg | 96.650 | 4 | 74 | Rear axle |
| 18 | 6 | 19 | Jean Chassagne | Jean Chassagne | Peugeot | Peugeot | 91.000 | 13 | 65 | Lost hood |
| 19 | 5 | 22 | Jules Ellingboe R | Jules Ellingboe | Frontenac | Frontenac | 95.400 | 8 | 49 | Steering |
| 20 | 11 | 14 | André Boillot | Louis Coatalen | Sunbeam | Sunbeam | 97.600 | 3 | 41 | Rod bearing |
| 21 | 7 | 18 | Louis Fountaine R | George L. Wade | Brett | Brett | 88.300 | 15 | 33 | Crash FS |
| 22 | 22 | 25 | Joe Thomas | Duesenberg Brothers | Duesenberg | Duesenberg | 96.250 | 5 | 25 | Crash T3 |
| 23 | 12 | 10 | Howdy Wilcox W | Jules Goux | Peugeot | Peugeot | 96.000 | 7 | 22 | Rod |
Note: Relief drivers in parentheses
W Former Indianapolis 500 winner
R Indianapolis 500 Rookie

### Statistics

Lap Leaders :
| Laps | Leader |
| 1 | Ralph DePalma |
| 2 | Joe Boyer |
| 3–5 | Ralph DePalma |
| 6 | Roscoe Sarles |
| 7–110 | Ralph DePalma |
| 111–200 | Tommy Milton |
Total laps led :
| Leader | Laps |
| Ralph DePalma | 108 |
| Tommy Milton | 90 |
| Joe Boyer | 1 |
| Roscoe Sarles | 1 |

## Race details

* For 1921, riding mechanics were required.
* First alternate: none