# 1927 Indianapolis 500

The 15th International 500-Mile Sweepstakes Race was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Monday, May 30, 1927.
First-time starter George Souders won by eight laps, the largest margin since 1913. Souders became the first driver to win the full-500 mile race solo, with neither help from a relief driver, nor accompanied by a riding mechanic.

## Time trials

Four-lap (10 mile) qualifying runs were utilized. Frank Lockhart won the pole position with a speed of 120.10 mph. Lockhart set a new 1-lap track record on his final lap.
For the first time, all 33 qualifiers exceeded 100 mph for average speed.
Qualifying Results :
| Date | Driver | Lap 1 (mph) | Lap 2 (mph) | Lap 3 (mph) | Lap 4 (mph) | Average Speed (mph) |
| 5/26/1927 | Frank Lockhart | 120.192 | 119.474 | 119.824 | 120.918 | 120.100 |

## Starting grid

| Row | Inside | Inside | Middle | Middle | Outside | Outside |
| 1 | 2 | Frank Lockhart W | 3 | Pete DePaolo W | 12 | Leon Duray |
| 2 | 1 | Harry Hartz | 19 | Ralph Hepburn | 15 | Cliff Woodbury |
| 3 | 14 | Bob McDonogh | 7 | Dave Lewis | 4 | Bennett Hill |
| 4 | 8 | Norman Batten | 22 | Jack Petticord R | 9 | Pete Kreis |
| 5 | 5 | Frank Elliott | 25 | Cliff Bergere R | 10 | Earl Devore |
| 6 | 17 | W. E. Shattuc | 26 | Dutch Baumann R | 16 | Eddie Hearne |
| 7 | 29 | Wilbur Shaw R | 44 | Al Melcher R | 18 | Jules Ellingboe |
| 8 | 32 | George Souders R | 43 | Louis Schneider R | 38 | Babe Stapp R |
| 9 | 6 | Tommy Milton W | 41 | Wade Morton | 27 | Tony Gulotta |
| 10 | 21 | Dave Evans R | 35 | Al Cotey R | 23 | Fred Lecklider |
| 11 | 24 | Benny Shoaff R | 42 | Jim Hill R | 31 | Fred Frame R |

## Race summary

At the start, polesitter Lockhart took the lead and dominated the first half of the race. At the halfway point, he had won almost $10,000 in lap prize money. But on lap 120, his Miller broke a connecting rod, and he was out of the race. He reportedly stepped out, shrugged, smiled, and asked for a hot dog.
After Lockhart's retirement, Pete DePaolo took the lead, driving in relief for Bob McDonogh after his own car dropped out. But a supercharger problem required an extended, unscheduled pit stop to repair. With 60 laps to go, George Souders first took the lead. He steadily pulled away from Babe Stapp, both in Duesenbergs, and cruised to victory by over 12 minutes. Stapp (driving relief for Benny Shoaff), seemingly on his way to second place, broke a rear axle with a lap and a half to go, and the car finished out of the top ten.

## Box score

| Finish | Start | No | Name | Entrant | Chassis | Engine | Qual | Rank | Laps | Status |
| 1 | 22 | 32 | George Souders R | William S. White | Duesenberg | Duesenberg | 111.551 | 12 | 200 | Running |
| 2 | 15 | 10 | Earl Devore (Zeke Meyer Laps 97–152) | F. P. Cramer | Miller | Miller | 107.497 | 23 | 200 | Running |
| 3 | 27 | 27 | Tony Gulotta (Pete DePaolo Laps 86–92) | Anthony Gulotta | Miller | Miller | 107.765 | 22 | 200 | Running |
| 4 | 19 | 29 | Wilbur Shaw R (Louis Meyer Laps 77–129) | Fred Clemons | Miller | Miller | 104.465 | 32 | 200 | Running |
| 5 | 28 | 21 | Dave Evans R (Steve Nemesh Laps 57–82) | David E. Evans | Duesenberg | Duesenberg | 107.360 | 25 | 200 | Running |
| 6 | 7 | 14 | Bob McDonogh (Pete DePaolo Laps 113–200) | Cooper Engineering Company | Cooper | Miller | 113.175 | 8 | 200 | Running |
| 7 | 18 | 16 | Eddie Hearne (Harry Hartz Laps 47–81) (Leon Duray Laps 116–130) (Ira Vail Laps 131–154) | Harry Hartz | Miller | Miller | 105.115 | 31 | 200 | Running |
| 8 | 25 | 6 | Tommy Milton W (C. W. Van Ranst Laps 82–106) (Ralph Hepburn Laps 107–200) | Tommy Milton | Detroit | Miller | 108.758 | 20 | 200 | Running |
| 9 | 14 | 25 | Cliff Bergere R (Wesley Crawford Laps 96–108) (Wesley Crawford Laps 147–176) | Muller Brothers | Miller | Miller | 108.820 | 19 | 200 | Running |
| 10 | 13 | 5 | Frank Elliott (Fred Frame Laps 54–100) | Frank Elliott | Miller | Miller | 109.682 | 17 | 200 | Running |
| 11 | 33 | 31 | Fred Frame R (George Fernic Laps 6–68) (George Abell Laps 69–76) (George Fernic Laps 77–123) (George Abell Laps 124–127) (George Fernic Laps 128–199) | O. B. Dolfinger | Miller | Miller | 106.859 | 27 | 199 | Flagged |
| 12 | 32 | 42 | Jim Hill R (Don Ostrander Laps 30–87) (Don Ostrander Laps 108–115) (Don Ostrander Laps 176–197) | Earl Devore | Miller | Miller | 107.392 | 24 | 197 | Flagged |
| 13 | 31 | 24 | Benny Shoaff R (Babe Stapp Laps 69–103) (Babe Stapp Laps 173–198) | Duesenberg Brothers | Duesenberg | Duesenberg | 110.152 | 13 | 198 | Rear end gears |
| 14 | 26 | 41 | Wade Morton (Ralph Holmes Laps 34–63) (Freddie Winnai Laps 64–131) (Ralph Holmes Laps 140–152) | Duesenberg Brothers | Duesenberg | Duesenberg | 108.075 | 21 | 152 | Crash |
| 15 | 20 | 44 | Al Melcher R (Jack Petticord Laps 44–129) (Fred Lecklider Laps 130–143) (Jack Petticord Laps 143–144) | Charles Haase | Miller | Miller | 102.918 | 33 | 144 | Supercharger |
| 16 | 23 | 43 | Louis Schneider R (L. L. Corum Laps 88–97) (Dutch Baumann Laps 125–135) | Fred Lecklider | Miller | Miller | 109.910 | 15 | 137 | Timing gears |
| 17 | 12 | 9 | Pete Kreis | Cooper Engineering Company | Cooper | Miller | 109.900 | 16 | 123 | Front axle |
| 18 | 1 | 2 | Frank Lockhart W (Harry Hartz Laps 101–123) | Frank S. Lockhart | Miller | Miller | 120.100 | 1 | 120 | Rod |
| 19 | 6 | 15 | Cliff Woodbury (Ralph Hepburn Laps 71–80) | Cliff Woodbury | Miller | Miller | 113.200 | 7 | 108 | Supercharger |
| 20 | 17 | 26 | Dutch Baumann R | Harry S. Miller | Miller | Miller | 106.078 | 29 | 90 | Pinion shaft |
| 21 | 29 | 35 | Al Cotey R (Eddie Burbach Laps 63–87) | Al Cotey | Miller | Miller | 106.295 | 28 | 87 | Universal joint |
| 22 | 16 | 17 | W. E. Shattuc | Dr. W. E. Shattuc, M.D. | Miller | Miller | 107.060 | 26 | 83 | Valve |
| 23 | 30 | 23 | Fred Lecklider (Henry Kohlert Laps 17–49) | Henry Kohlert | Miller | Miller | 105.729 | 30 | 49 | Crash T1 |
| 24 | 5 | 19 | Ralph Hepburn | Cliff Woodbury | Miller | Miller | 114.209 | 5 | 39 | Fuel tank leak |
| 25 | 4 | 1 | Harry Hartz | Harry Hartz | Miller | Miller | 116.739 | 4 | 38 | Crankshaft |
| 26 | 2 | 3 | Peter DePaolo W | Peter DePaolo | Miller | Miller | 119.510 | 2 | 31 | Supercharger |
| 27 | 3 | 12 | Leon Duray | Leon Duray | Miller | Miller | 118.788 | 3 | 26 | Fuel tank leak |
| 28 | 9 | 4 | Bennett Hill | Cooper Engineering Company | Miller | Miller | 112.013 | 10 | 26 | Shackle bolt |
| 29 | 21 | 18 | Jules Ellingboe | Earl Cooper | Miller | Miller | 113.239 | 6 | 25 | Crash T4 |
| 30 | 10 | 8 | Norman Batten | Norman K. Batten | Fengler | Miller | 111.940 | 11 | 24 | Caught fire |
| 31 | 24 | 38 | Babe Stapp R | Duesenberg Brothers | Duesenberg | Duesenberg | 109.555 | 18 | 24 | Universal joint |
| 32 | 11 | 22 | Jack Petticord R | Cliff Woodbury | Miller | Miller | 109.920 | 14 | 22 | Supercharger |
| 33 | 8 | 7 | Dave Lewis | Dave Lewis | Miller | Miller | 112.275 | 9 | 21 | Front axle |
Note: Relief drivers in parentheses
W Former Indianapolis 500 winner
R Indianapolis 500 Rookie

### Race statistics

Lap Leaders :
| Laps | Leader |
| 1-81 | Frank Lockhart |
| 82–90 | Dutch Baumann |
| 91–119 | Frank Lockhart |
| 120–149 | Pete DePaolo |
| 150–200 | George Souders |
Total laps led :
| Leader | Laps |
| Frank Lockhart | 110 |
| George Souders | 51 |
| Pete DePaolo | 30 |
| Dutch Baumann | 9 |

## Race details

For 1927, riding mechanics were optional; however, no teams utilized them.
Eddie Hearne was the only driver in the field who had competed at the inaugural Indy 500. This would be the final time a driver from the inaugural race would compete.