# 1941 Indianapolis 500

The 29th International 500-Mile Sweepstakes Race was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Friday, May 30, 1941. The start of the race was delayed due to a fire that swept through the garage area on race morning. No persons were injured, but one car in the field was destroyed. The race rolled off with only 31 cars, and ran to its scheduled distance. This would be the final "500" prior to the United States involvement in World War II along with the final race under with Eddie Rickenbacker as president of the speedway. He kept the track locked during the war before selling the track in November 1945 to Tony Hulman. The race returned a year later.
The 1941 race was the second, and most recent "500" to be recorded with co-winners. Floyd Davis started the race in the #16 Noc-Out Hose Clamp Special. His teammate Mauri Rose started the race on the pole position in the #3 car, but his dropped out early with spark plug trouble. Rose took over behind the wheel of the #16 car on lap 73, and drove that car to victory. Davis and Rose were credited as co-winners, and it was the first of three "500" victories for Rose.

## Race details

Sam Hanks was injured in a practice crash the day before the race and withdrew. Rather than elevate the first alternate to the starting field, Hanks was credited with 33rd place.

### Garage area fire

On the morning of the race a fire broke out in the "Gasoline Alley" garage area. George Barringer's revolutionary rear-engined car was destroyed. At the time, the car was being refueled (with gasoline). In a nearby garage, another car which was owned by Joel Thorne was being worked on with a welder. The fumes caught fire from the sparks of the welding, and a huge fire broke out which burned down about a third of the southern bank of garages. The start of the race was delayed by a couple hours, and fire fighters had trouble getting to the Speedway to put out the blaze due to the heavy race day traffic. Barringer's car was withdrawn, and he was credited with 32nd finishing position. With both Sam Hanks and Barringer out, the race lined up with only 31 cars.
Various equipment, tools, parts, and other supplies were lost in the fire. Two cars that did not qualify for the race were reported to have been damaged. However, all of the other cars that qualified for the race were safely evacuated. No major injuries were reported. The fire was put out, but the site smoldered throughout the day, and smoke continued to rise even after the race had safely started.
About a month later, the entire garage complex was demolished. At some point during summer and fall of 1941, a new Gasoline Alley was built in it place. However, it would sit unused until 1946.

### Wilbur Shaw

Two-time defending champion (and three-time winner overall) Wilbur Shaw crashed while leading on lap 152, and failed in his bid to become the first driver to three-peat at the Indianapolis 500 (and first four-time winner). As of 2024, no driver has ever won the Indianapolis 500 three consecutive years. Going down the mainstretch, the car lost control, and hit the outside wall, rupturing the gas tank. Shaw was drenched with fuel, and suffered a back injury which left him immobile for several minutes. Despite the fuel spill, the fuel did not ignite, and Shaw was brought to safety by the medical staff.
It is believed that the morning garage fire had an effect on Shaw's efforts. At some point before the race, Shaw's crew was preparing his tires for race day, and used chalk to write notes on the spare tires. One particular wheel was determined to be out of balance, and rather than being discarded, it was labeled in chalk with the words "USE LAST". However, the firefighters' water hoses are believed to have washed off the chalk message. Shaw inadvertently took on the bad wheel during a pit stop, which caused his crash.
Shaw never drove another competitive lap at the Speedway. He did participate in a special private tire test at the Speedway during World War II and became president of the track in 1946.

### Floyd Davis & Mauri Rose

Floyd Davis was the starting driver for the #16 car. On lap 72, Davis came in for a pit stop, and was relieved by Mauri Rose. Rose had started the race in another car and dropped out earlier. Car owner Lou Moore was apparently unsatisfied with Davis' performance thus far in the race, and ordered Rose to take over. Rose charged up the standings and took the lead in the #16 car, and went on to win. Both drivers were credited as "co-winners," similar to what occurred in the 1924 race. This marked the last time that one car would carry two drivers to victory at Indy.

## Starting grid

| Row | Inside | Inside | Middle | Middle | Outside | Outside |
| 1 | 3 | Mauri Rose | 1 | Rex Mays | 2 | Wilbur Shaw W |
| 2 | 15 | Harry McQuinn | 36 | Doc Williams | 7 | Frank Wearne |
| 3 | 34 | Cliff Bergere | 23 | Billy Devore | 41 | Chet Miller |
| 4 | 54 | Ralph Hepburn | 42 | Russ Snowberger | 47 | Everett Saylor R |
| 5 | 14 | George Connor | 12 | Al Miller | 19 | Emil Andres |
| 6 | 10 | George Robson | 16 | Floyd Davis | 45 | Paul Russo |
| 7 | 22 | Kelly Petillo W | 27 | Tommy Hinnershitz | 9 | Mel Hansen |
| 8 | 8 | Frank Brisko | 5 | Joel Thorne | 53 | Louis Tomei |
| 9 | 62 | Tony Willman | 26 | Overton Phillips R | 25 | Joie Chitwood |
| 10 | 4 | Ted Horn | 32 | Deacon Litz | 17 | Duke Nalon |
| 11 | 55 | Al Putnam | | | | |

### Did not start

* George Barringer (#35), car destroyed in garage fire
* Sam Hanks (#28), Injured in practice accident

### Alternates

* First alternate: Louis Durant R

### Failed to Qualify

* Shorty Cantlon
* Ira Hall (#38)
* René Le Bègue (#21)
* Bill Lipscomb R (#57)
* Roy Russing R (#22)
* Jean Trévoux R (#24)

## Box score

| Finish | Start | No | Name | Chassis | Engine | Qual | Rank | Laps | Status |
| 1 | 17 | 16 | Floyd Davis (Laps 1–72) Mauri Rose (Laps 73–200) | Wetteroth | Offenhauser | 121.106 | 25 | 200 | 115.117 mph |
| 2 | 2 | 1 | Rex Mays | Stevens | Winfield | 128.301 | 2 | 200 | +1:29.95 |
| 3 | 28 | 4 | Ted Horn | Adams | Sparks | 124.297 | 8 | 200 | +2:52.15 |
| 4 | 10 | 54 | Ralph Hepburn | Miller | Novi | 120.653 | 28 | 200 | +3:24.55 |
| 5 | 7 | 34 | Cliff Bergere | Wetteroth | Offenhauser | 123.890 | 13 | 200 | +3:38.86 |
| 6 | 9 | 41 | Chet Miller | Miller | Miller | 121.540 | 23 | 200 | +7:26.51 |
| 7 | 4 | 15 | Harry McQuinn (Kelly Petillo Laps 98-200) | A-R Weil | Alfa Romeo | 125.449 | 4 | 200 | +7:44.72 |
| 8 | 6 | 7 | Frank Wearne | Shaw | Offenhauser | 123.890 | 12 | 200 | +10:06.68 |
| 9 | 18 | 45 | Paul Russo (Louis Durant Laps 100-138) | Marchese | Miller | 125.217 | 5 | 200 | +26:24.75 |
| 10 | 20 | 27 | Tommy Hinnershitz (George Robson Laps 121-200) | Adams | Offenhauser | 121.021 | 27 | 200 | +24:41.81 |
| 11 | 24 | 53 | Louis Tomei | Miller | Offenhauser | 121.070 | 26 | 200 | +25:18.71 |
| 12 | 31 | 55 | Al Putnam (Louis Durant Laps 154-200) | Wetteroth | Offenhauser | 121.951 | 20 | 200 | +35:18.57 |
| 13 | 26 | 26 | Overton Phillips R (Mel Hansen Laps 104-187) | Bugatti | Miller | 116.298 | 33 | 187 | Flagged |
| 14 | 27 | 25 | Joie Chitwood | Lencki | Lencki | 120.329 | 29 | 177 | Flagged |
| 15 | 30 | 17 | Duke Nalon | Maserati | Maserati | 122.951 | 17 | 173 | Flagged |
| 16 | 13 | 14 | George Connor | Stevens | Offenhauser | 123.984 | 10 | 167 | Transmission |
| 17 | 12 | 47 | Everett Saylor R | Weil | Offenhauser | 119.860 | 31 | 155 | Crash T4 |
| 18 | 3 | 2 | Wilbur Shaw W | Maserati | Maserati | 127.836 | 3 | 151 | Crash T1 |
| 19 | 8 | 23 | Billy Devore | Stevens | Offenhauser | 121.770 | 21 | 121 | Rod |
| 20 | 25 | 62 | Tony Willman | Stevens | Offenhauser | 123.920 | 11 | 117 | Rod |
| 21 | 11 | 42 | Russ Snowberger | Snowberger | Offenhauser | 120.104 | 30 | 107 | Water pump |
| 22 | 29 | 32 | Deacon Litz | Stevens | Sampson | 123.440 | 15 | 89 | Oil trouble |
| 23 | 22 | 8 | Frank Brisko | Stevens | Brisko | 123.381 | 16 | 70 | Valve |
| 24 | 5 | 36 | Doc Williams | Cooper | Offenhauser | 124.014 | 9 | 68 | Radiator |
| 25 | 16 | 10 | George Robson | Weil | Duray | 121.576 | 22 | 66 | Oil leak |
| 26 | 1 | 3 | Mauri Rose | Maserati | Maserati | 128.691 | 1 | 60 | Spark plugs |
| 27 | 19 | 22 | Kelly Petillo W | Wetteroth | Offenhauser | 124.417 | 7 | 48 | Rod |
| 28 | 14 | 12 | Al Miller | Miller | Miller | 123.478 | 14 | 22 | Transmission |
| 29 | 21 | 9 | Mel Hansen | Miller | Offenhauser | 124.599 | 6 | 11 | Rod |
| 30 | 15 | 19 | Emil Andres | Lencki | Lencki | 122.266 | 19 | 5 | Crash T1 |
| 31 | 23 | 5 | Joel Thorne | Adams | Sparks | 121.163 | 24 | 5 | Crash T1 |
| DNS | — | 35 | George Barringer | Miller | Miller | 122.299 | 18 | 0 | Garage fire |
| DNS | — | 28 | Sam Hanks | Kurtis Kraft | Offenhauser | 118.211 | 32 | 0 | Practice crash |
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 |
| 1–38 | Rex Mays |
| 39–44 | Mauri Rose |
| 45–151 | Wilbur Shaw |
| 152–161 | Cliff Bergere |
| 162–200 | Mauri Rose |
Total laps led :
| Driver | Laps |
| Wilbur Shaw | 107 |
| Mauri Rose | 45 |
| Rex Mays | 38 |
| Cliff Bergere | 10 |
Yellow Lights :
| Laps* | Reason |
| 5–35 | Joel Thorne, Emil Andres crash in turn 1 |
| 151 | Wilbur Shaw crash in turn 1 |
| 155 | Everett Saylor crash in turn 4 |
| * – Approximate lap counts ||

### Other Notes

Speedway president Eddie Rickenbacker did not attend the race, and instead listened to it on the radio. He was recovering from injuries suffered in a near-fatal plane crash a few months before the race.