1950 Indianapolis 500

1950 Indianapolis 500
The 34th International 500-Mile Sweepstakes was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Tuesday, May 30, 1950. The event was sanctioned by the AAA and served as the premier event on the calendar of the 1950 AAA National Championship Trail.
For the first time, the race was included as a points-paying event towards the FIA-sanctioned World Drivers' Championship.
The race was originally scheduled for 200 laps (500 miles), but was stopped after 138 laps (345 miles) due to rain.
A rumor circulated in racing circles during and after this race that Johnnie Parsons's team discovered an irreparable crack in the engine block on race morning. The discovery supposedly precipitated Parsons to charge for the lap leader prizes. Presumably, he set his sights on leading as many laps as possible before the engine inevitably was to fail. Furthermore, the race ending early due to rain supposedly saved Parsons's day allowing him to secure the victory before the engine let go. However, the engine block crack was proved to be an urban myth, and it was said to be a very minor but acceptable level of porosity, which did not significantly affect the performance.
Parsons's win saw him score 9 points and move to a temporary first-place tie (after 3 races on the Formula One season calendar) in the first ever World Drivers' Championship, alongside Nino Farina and Juan Manuel Fangio, and also saw him become the first American to win a World Championship race. Parsons is one of only three drivers to have won his first World Championship race, the other two being Farina, who won the first World Championship race (the 1950 British Grand Prix, 17 days earlier) and Giancarlo Baghetti, who won the 1961 French Grand Prix. Despite the 500 being his only race in the World Championship, it would be enough to see him finish the championship 6th in points.
During the month, Clark Gable and Barbara Stanwyck were at the track to film scenes for the film To Please a Lady. Stanwyck was on hand in victory lane after the race for the traditional celebratory kiss to the winner.
Time trials
Time trials was scheduled for six days.
Saturday May 13: Walt Faulkner won the pole position with a record run of 134.343 mph.
Sunday May 14
Saturday May 20: The third day of time trials saw six cars complete runs. Bayliss Levrett (131.181 mph) was the fastest of the afternoon. Charles Van Acker was ruled physically disqualified, after a crash he suffered at the Speedway from 1949.
Sunday May 21
Saturday May 27: The day began with 11 spots open in the grid.
Sunday May 28: Only one driver managed to bump his way into the field. Johnny McDowell bumped Cliff Griffith, while 15 other cars failed to make the field. The two Novi entries failed to qualify – Chet Miller had engine trouble in one of the cars, while the other snapped a supercharger shaft. Rain and two crashes cut the track time to less than three hours. Cy Marshall was among the few left in line when time trials closed at 6 p.m.
Box score
Notes
– Includes 1 point for fastest lead lap
= past winner
= rookie
Notes
Pole position: Walt Faulkner – 4:27.97
Fastest Lead Lap: Johnnie Parsons – 1:09.77
Shared drivers:
Joie Chitwood (82 laps) and Tony Bettenhausen (54 laps), after Bettenhausen retired. Points for 5th position were shared between the drivers.
Henry Banks (71 laps) and Fred Agabashian (41 laps)
Bayliss Levrett (105 laps) and Bill Cantrell (3 laps)
First win for Firestone in the World Championship.
Qualifying
First alternate
Non-qualifiers
The 1950 Indianapolis 500 as part of the FIA World Drivers' Championship
The AAA/USAC-sanctioned Indianapolis 500 was included in the FIA World Drivers' Championship (WDC) from 1950 through 1960. Drivers competing at Indianapolis during those years were credited with World Drivers' Championship points and participation in addition to those which they received towards the AAA/USAC National Championship. No points were awarded by the FIA towards the World Constructors Championship.
The 1950 Indianapolis 500 was race 3 of 7 on the 1950 World Drivers' Championship. The event, however, failed to attract significant interest from any of the regular competitors on the Grand Prix circuit. Although Giuseppe Farina and Franco Rol submitted Maserati-constructed entries their cars never arrived, and the 1950 event would take place without any European competitors.
Parsons' win saw the FIA award him nine points towards the World Drivers' Championship (WDC), moving him into a tie for first in the WDC standings with Farina and Juan Manuel Fangio. With his victory, Parsons became the first American to win a WDC race. Despite not competing in any of the other events during the 1950 WDC season, the points he was awarded from the 500 were enough to see him finish sixth in the standings.
Parsons is one of only three drivers to win on their WDC début. The other two are Farina, who won the inaugural World Championship race – the 1950 British Grand Prix, 17 days earlier – and Giancarlo Baghetti, who won the 1961 French Grand Prix.
World Drivers' Championship standings
Note: Only the top five positions are listed. Only the best 4 results counted towards the Championship.
Broadcasting
Radio
The race was carried live on the Mutual Broadcasting System, the precursor to the IMS Radio Network. The broadcast was sponsored by Perfect Circle Piston Rings and Bill Slater served as the anchor. Sid Collins moved into the booth for the first time to serve as analyst, and conducted the victory lane interview at the conclusion of the race. The broadcast feature live coverage of the start, the finish, and live updates throughout the race.
Prior to the race, it was reported that Slater might miss the race, due to illness. WIBC personality Sid Collins was named as a replacement, however, Slater was able to arrive in time for race day. Collins, who had previously served as a turn reporter, was invited to be the co-anchor in the booth. For the first time, Collins interviewed the winner in victory lane at the conclusion of the race. Collins claims he burned his trousers on Parsons's hot exhaust pipe during the interview, which took place in the rain.
Because the race was shortened, Mutual had to interrupt Queen for a Day to cover the finish of the abbreviated event. This was cited by some as a reason why the Speedway would begin flag-to-flag coverage in 1953.
Television
The race was carried live for the second year in a row on local television on WFBM-TV channel 6 of Indianapolis. Earl Townsend, Jr. was the announcer, along with Dick Pittenger and Paul Roberts. After the race, Speedway management disallowed WFBM from broadcasting the race live again, feeling that gate attendance had been negatively affected.
References
External links
Indianapolis 500 History: Race & All-Time Stats – Official Site
1950 Indianapolis 500 Radio Broadcast, Mutual
Van Camp's Pork & Beans Presents: Great Moments From the Indy 500 – Fleetwood Sounds, 1975
1950 Indianapolis 500 at RacingReference.info (Relief driver statistics)
Indianapolis 500 races
Indianapolis 500
Indianapolis 500
Indianapolis
1950 in American motorsport