1948 Indianapolis 500

32nd Indianapolis 500

Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Indianapolis 500
Sanctioning body	AAA
Date	May 31, 1948
Winner	Mauri Rose
Winning Entrant	Lou Moore
Average speed	119.814 mph (192.822 km/h)
Pole position	Rex Mays
Pole speed	130.577 mph (210.143 km/h)
Most laps led	Mauri Rose (81)
Pre-race
Pace car	Chevrolet Fleetmaster
Pace car driver	Wilbur Shaw
Starter	Seth Klein[1]
Honorary referee	Albert G. Feeney[1]
Estimated attendance	200,000[2]
Chronology
Previous Next 1947 1949

The 32nd International 500-Mile Sweepstakes was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Monday, May 31, 1948.

For the second year in a row, the Blue Crown Spark Plug teammates Mauri Rose and Bill Holland finished 1st-2nd. Rose became the second driver to win the Indianapolis 500 in consecutive years. Unlike the previous year's race, no controversy surrounds the results. Coupled with his co-victory in 1941, Rose became the third three-time winner at Indy.

Fourth place finisher Ted Horn completed a noteworthy record of nine consecutive races from 1936 to 1948 completing 1,799 out of a possible 1,800 laps. His nine consecutive finishes of 4th or better (however, with no victories) is the best such streak in Indy history. The only lap he missed in 1940 was due to being flagged for a rain shower.

Duke Nalon's third-place finish would be the best-ever result for the popular Novi engine.^[3]

Starting grid

Row	Inside		Middle		Outside
1	5	Rex Mays	2	Bill Holland	3	Mauri Rose  W
2	61	Jimmy Jackson	1	Ted Horn	74	Doc Williams
3	36	Bill Cantrell  R	98	Johnny Mantz  R	34	Les Anderson
4	55	Joie Chitwood	54	Duke Nalon	4	Charles Van Acker
5	52	Jack McGrath  R	63	Hal Cole	76	Sam Hanks
6	8	Emil Andres	9	George Connor	64	Hal Robson
7	31	Chet Miller	19	Billy Devore	35	Mack Hellings  R
8	6	Tony Bettenhausen	7	Tommy Hinnershitz	53	Bill Sheffler
9	25	Paul Russo	65	Harry McQuinn	33	Johnny Mauro  R
10	91	Lee Wallard  R	16	Duane Carter  R	51	Spider Webb  R
11	86	Mike Salay  R	26	Fred Agabashian	17	Mel Hansen

R Indianapolis 500 rookie

W Indianapolis 500 winner

Alternates

• First alternate: Johnny Shackleford  R  (#48)^[4]

Failed to Qualify

• Walt Ader  R  (#15, #45)
• Manny Ayulo  R  (#88)
• Henry Banks (#38)
• Cliff Bergere (#12, #85)
• Walt Brown (#69)
• Jim Brubaker  R  (#14)
• Red Byron  R  (#43)
• Bob Droeger  R  (#44)
• Louis Durant (#29)
• Milt Fankhouser (#23)
• Myron Fohr  R  (#32)
• Ken Fowler (#41)
• Roland Free (#73)
• Andy Granatelli  R  (#39, #59)
• Art Hartsfeld  R  (#27)
• Ralph Hepburn (#12) - Fatal accident
• Jackie Holmes  R  (#24, #93)
• Ronney Householder (#68)
• George Lynch  R  (#56)
• George Metzler  R  (#47)
• Al Miller (#66)
• Cowboy O'Rourke  R  (#45)
• Johnnie Parsons  R  (#39)
• Joe Perkins  R  (#62)
• Ralph Pratt  R (#87)
• Charlie Rogers  R  (#89)
• Pete Romcevich (#49)
• Loral Tansy  R  (#71)
• Joel Thorne (#57)
• Louis Tomei (#10)
• Eddie Zalucki  R  (#21)^[5]

Box score

Finish	Start	No	Name	Chassis	Engine	Qual	Rank	Laps	Status
1	3	3	Mauri Rose  W	Diedt	Offenhauser	129.129	4	200	119.814 mph
2	2	2	Bill Holland	Diedt	Offenhauser	129.515	3	200	+1:23.77
3	11	54	Duke Nalon	Kurtis Kraft	Novi	131.603	1	200	+3:46.45
4	5	1	Ted Horn	Maserati	Maserati	126.565	9	200	+4:07.14
5	21	35	Mack Hellings  R	Kurtis Kraft	Offenhauser	127.968	6	200	+14:15.19
6	14	63	Hal Cole	Kurtis Kraft	Offenhauser	124.391	18	200	+18:27.53
7	28	91	Lee Wallard  R	Meyer	Offenhauser	128.420	5	200	+24:23.67
8	27	33	Johnny Mauro  R  (Louis Durant Laps 112–140)	Alfa Romeo	Alfa Romeo	121.790	33	198	Flagged
9	23	7	Tommy Hinnershitz	Kurtis Kraft	Offenhauser	125.122	14	198	Flagged
10	4	61	Jimmy Jackson	Diedt	Offenhauser	127.510	7	193	Spindle
11	12	4	Charles Van Acker	Stevens	Offenhauser	125.440	13	192	Flagged
12	20	19	Billy Devore	Kurtis Kraft	Offenhauser	123.967	21	190	Flagged
13	8	98	Johnny Mantz  R	Kurtis Kraft	Offenhauser	122.791	27	185	Flagged
14	22	6	Tony Bettenhausen	Stevens	Offenhauser	126.396	10	167	Clutch
15	18	64	Hal Robson	Adams	Offenhauser	122.796	26	164	Valve
16	7	36	Bill Cantrell  R	Stevens	Fageol	123.733	22	161	Steering
17	10	55	Joie Chitwood (Paul Russo Laps 54–74) (Johnny Shackleford laps 106–136)	Shaw	Offenhauser	124.619	15	138	Fuel leak
18	24	53	Bill Sheffler	Bromme	Offenhauser	124.529	17	132	Spark plugs
19	1	5	Rex Mays	Kurtis Kraft	Winfield	130.577	2	129	Fuel leak
20	19	31	Chet Miller (Ken Fowler laps 30–50) (Louis Tomei laps 51–108)	Mercedes	Mercedes	127.249	8	108	Oil trouble
21	13	52	Jack McGrath  R	Bromme	Offenhauser	124.580	16	70	Stalled
22	29	16	Duane Carter  R	Wetteroth	Offenhauser	126.015	11	59	Lost wheel
23	32	26	Fred Agabashian	Kurtis Kraft	Duray	122.737	28	58	Oil line
24	9	34	Les Anderson	Kurtis Kraft	Offenhauser	122.337	30	58	Gears
25	33	17	Mel Hansen	Adams	Sparks	122.117	32	42	Too slow
26	15	76	Sam Hanks	Adams	Sparks	124.266	19	34	Clutch
27	30	51	Spider Webb  R	Bromme	Offenhauser	125.545	12	27	Oil line
28	17	9	George Connor	Stevens	Offenhauser	123.018	25	24	Drive shaft
29	6	74	Doc Williams	Cooper	Offenhauser	124.151	20	19	Clutch
30	31	86	Mike Salay  R	Wetteroth	Offenhauser	123.393	24	13	Stalled
31	16	8	Emil Andres	Kurtis Kraft	Offenhauser	123.550	23	11	Steering
32	25	25	Paul Russo	Maserati	Maserati	122.595	29	7	Oil leak
33	26	65	Harry McQuinn	Maserati	Maserati	122.154	31	1	Supercharger
[6][7]

Note: Relief drivers in parentheses^[8]

 W  Former Indianapolis 500 winner

 R  Indianapolis 500 Rookie

All entrants utilized Firestone tires.

Race statistics

Lap Leaders Laps Leader 1–17 Rex Mays 18–72 Ted Horn 73–91 Rex Mays 92–100 Duke Nalon 101–123 Mauri Rose 124–142 Ted Horn 143–200 Mauri Rose

Total laps led Driver Laps Mauri Rose 81 Ted Horn 74 Rex Mays 36 Duke Nalon 9

Yellow Lights: 10 minutes, 40 seconds Laps* Reason 60–69 Duane Carter lost wheel in turn 2, spun on backstretch * – Approximate lap counts[9][10][11]

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. The broadcast feature live coverage of the start, the finish, and live updates throughout the race.

Sid Collins, from WIBC, joined the crew for the first time, serving as a turn reporter at the south end of the track.

Gallery

• 
  Johnny Mauro's 1948 Alfa Romeo 308
• 
  1948 Novi

See also

• 1948 AAA Championship Car season

Notes

Works cited

References

1. Fox, Jack C. (1994). The Illustrated History of the Indianapolis 500 1911-1994 (4th ed.). Carl Hungness Publishing. p. 22. ISBN 0-915088-05-3.
2. Stranahan, Bob (June 1, 1948). "Noses Out Teammate, Duke Nalon". The Indianapolis Star. p. 1. Retrieved June 1, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
3. The Talk of Gasoline Alley - 1070-AM WIBC, May 20, 2007
4. The Talk of Gasoline Alley - 1070-AM WIBC, May 14, 2004
5. ""1948 International 500 Mile Sweepstakes"". ChampCarStats.com. Retrieved 26 June 2015.
6. "Indianapolis 500 1948". Ultimate Racing History. Archived from the original on 5 February 2013. Retrieved 16 January 2012.
7. "Indianapolis Motor Speedway". www.indianapolismotorspeedway.com. Retrieved 2023-09-12.
8. "International 500 Mile Sweepstakes – May 31, 1948". ChampCarStats.com.
9. Fifer, Orien W. (May 31, 1948). "Average Speed Slightly Over Last Year's Mark (clip 1)". Indianapolis News. p. 1. Retrieved April 23, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
10. Fifer, Orien W. (May 31, 1948). "Average Speed Slightly Over Last Year's Mark (clip 2)". Indianapolis News. p. 3. Retrieved April 23, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
11. Clark, Al (June 1, 1948). "The Witness Chair". Indianapolis News. p. 19. Retrieved April 23, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.

1947 Indianapolis 500 Mauri Rose	1948 Indianapolis 500 Mauri Rose	1949 Indianapolis 500 Bill Holland
Preceded by 117.200 mph (1938 Indianapolis 500)	Record for the fastest average speed 119.814 mph	Succeeded by 121.327 mph (1949 Indianapolis 500)