Indianapolis 500 firsts
Qualifications. Pole Position. †- During time trials, Bill Vukovich II turned his first lap at , to set the one-lap track record, and was the first driver to officially break the barrier. He, however, crashed on his second lap, and did not complete the four-lap qualifying run. Later in the afternoon, Joe Leonard qualified a four-lap average of to break the four-lap barrier. Later in the day, however, Bobby Unser qualified even faster, over , and became the first pole position winner to break and for his four-lap average.