1956 Indianapolis 500

40th Indianapolis 500

Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Indianapolis 500
Sanctioning body	USAC
Date	May 30, 1956
Winner	Pat Flaherty
Winning team	John Zink
Average speed	128.490 mph (206.785 km/h)
Pole position	Pat Flaherty
Pole speed	145.596 mph (234.314 km/h)
Most laps led	Pat Flaherty – 127 laps
Pre-race ceremonies
Pace car	DeSoto Fireflite
Pace car driver	L. Irving Woolson
Starter	Bill Vanderwater
Estimated attendance	125,000-150,000
Chronology
Previous Next 1955 1957

The 40th International 500-Mile Sweepstakes was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Wednesday, May 30, 1956. The event was part of the 1956 USAC National Championship Trail and was also race 3 of 8 in the 1956 World Championship of Drivers. The 1956 race was the first to be governed by the United States Automobile Club. AAA withdrew from auto racing the previous August. Another change would have a more immediate effect on the current race. The track had been paved over with asphalt with only about 600 yards of the main stretch still remaining brick.

The 1956 race is also known in Indy 500 lore as "Cagle's Miracle." Torrential rains pummeled the Speedway in the days leading up to the race. The track was full of standing water, access tunnels were completely flooded, and the infield was a muddy quagmire. The conditions threatened to postpone or outright cancel the race. Speedway superintendent Clarence Cagle supervised a massive cleanup effort, in which hundreds of thousands of gallons of water were pumped out of the tunnels and the infield. Cagle and his crew worked non-stop for 48 hours straight, some without sleep, and had the track ready just in time for race morning.

The race was slowed by a then-record eleven yellow caution light periods which totaled 1 hour, 11 minutes, and 15 seconds. The race was described by veteran sportswriters as "a series of sprint races between yellow lights". Pat Flaherty led a total of 127 laps en route to victory; taking the lead for good on lap 76. Sam Hanks - the popular veteran still searching for his first "500" victory - came home second, just 20 seconds behind. Hanks charged during the second half, but the numerous cautions stymied his chances to catch up to much less pass Flaherty. No less than twelve cars were involved in crashes or spins, including Dick Rathmann, who took the checkered flag to finish 5th, only to wreck in turn 1 on his cool down lap.

Time trials

Time trials was scheduled for four days, but the third day was rained out. With the new surface, a new track record was expected. Pat Flaherty did not disappoint with a pole speed of 145.596 mph (234.314 km/h), over 4.5 mph (7.2 km/h) faster than the 1954 record. 29 drivers qualified opening weekend. The second weekend saw heavy rain that completely canceled Saturday and left only a small window on Sunday for 4 drivers to fill the field. Nino Farina was one of the drivers left out when he didn't get a chance to qualify his Bardahl-Ferrari.

• Saturday May 19 – Pole Day time trials
• Sunday May 20 – Second day time trials
• Saturday May 26 – Third day time trials (rained out)
• Sunday May 27 – Fourth day time trials

Starting grid

Row	Inside		Middle		Outside
1	8	Pat Flaherty	24	Jim Rathmann	7	Pat O'Connor
2	73	Dick Rathmann	99	Tony Bettenhausen	98	Johnnie Parsons  W
3	47	Fred Agabashian	29	Paul Russo	5	Andy Linden
4	1	Bob Sweikert  W	53	Troy Ruttman  W	15	Johnny Boyd
5	4	Sam Hanks	10	Ed Elisian	19	Rodger Ward
6	48	Jimmy Daywalt	49	Ray Crawford	88	Johnny Thomson
7	2	Jimmy Bryan	89	Keith Andrews	26	Jimmy Reece
8	82	Gene Hartley	14	Bob Veith  R	54	Jack Turner  R
9	57	Bob Christie  R	16	Don Freeland	12	Al Herman
10	55	Al Keller	41	Billy Garrett  R	27	Cliff Griffith
11	34	Johnnie Tolan  R	81	Eddie Johnson	64	Duke Dinsmore

R Indianapolis 500 rookie

W Indianapolis 500 winner

Alternates

• First alternate: Eddie Sachs  R  (#58)

Failed to Qualify

• Jay Abney  R  (#87)
• George Amick  R  (#33) - Entry declined, failed physical
• Johnny Baldwin (R) (#91)
• Tony Bonadies  R  (#25)
• Buddy Cagle  R  (#81) - Wrecked rookie test
• Bill Cheesbourg  R  (#84, #87)
• Jimmy Davies (#31)
• Len Duncan (#51)
• Edgar Elder  R  (#41) - Did not finish rookie test
• Giuseppe Farina  R  (#9)
• Elmer George  R  (#78)
• Johnny Kay  R  (#35)
• Danny Kladis (#91)
• Mike Magill  R  (#74)
• Ernie McCoy
• Jim McWithey  R  (#77)
• Earl Motter  R  (#9, #41)
• Duke Nalon (#31)
• Roy Newman  R  (#74)
• Cal Niday
• Marvin Pifer  R  (#75)
• Dickie Reese  R  (#87)
• Eddie Russo (#10, #27, #33)
• Gig Stephens  R  (#85)
• Len Sutton  R  (#62)
• Marshall Teague (#3, #47)
• Shorty Templeman (#46)
• Leroy Warriner  R  (#93)
• Chuck Weyant (#22)
• Dempsey Wilson  R  (#22, #79)

Race summary

The early part of the race turned into a three-man duel between Russo, O'Connor, and Flaherty. Russo was the first to retire when his tire failed and his car crashed and caught fire. At quarter distance due to yellows and the pit stops, Parsons took the lead followed by Freeland. By the 200-mile (320 km) mark Flaherty took over the lead followed by Freeland, Sweikert, and Parsons but Hanks was working his way through the fields after sustaining some damage in the Russo crash, eventually taking second. Flaherty had built up such a lead that he was able to make his last pit stop and remain in front. He crossed the finish line with Hanks the only other car on the lead lap. The only real change in the top cars toward the end was both O'Connor and Jim Rathmann having to drop back with mechanical problems while both drivers were in the top 5.

Box score

Pos	Grid	No	Driver	Constructor	Qual	Rank	Laps	Time/Retired	Points
1	1	8	Pat Flaherty	Watson-Offenhauser	145.59	1	200	3:53:28.84	8
2	13	4	Sam Hanks	Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser	142.05	21	200	+0:20.45	6
3	26	16	Don Freeland	Phillips-Offenhauser	141.69	22	200	+1:30.23	4
4	6	98	Johnnie Parsons  W	Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser	144.14	7	200	+3:25.69	3
5	4	73	Dick Rathmann	Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser	144.47	6	200	+4:21.81	2
6	10	1	Bob Sweikert  W	Kuzma-Offenhauser	143.03	12	200	+5:35.05
7	23	14	Bob Veith  R	Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser	142.53	16	200	+6:25.63
8	15	19	Rodger Ward	Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser	141.17	27	200	+6:32.31
9	21	26	Jimmy Reece	Lesovsky-Offenhauser	142.88	14	200	+6:38.31
10	30	27	Cliff Griffith	Stevens-Offenhauser	141.47	24	199	-1 Lap
11	22	82	Gene Hartley	Kuzma-Offenhauser	142.84	15	196	-4 Laps
12	7	42	Fred Agabashian	Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser	144.06	8	196	-4 Laps
13	25	57	Bob Christie  R	Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser	142.23	20	196	-4 Laps
14	28	55	Al Keller	Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser	141.19	26	195	-5 Laps
15	32	81	Eddie Johnson	Kuzma-Offenhauser	139.09	32	195	-5 Laps
16	29	41	Billy Garrett  R	Kuzma-Offenhauser	140.55	30	194	-6 Laps
17	33	64	Duke Dinsmore	Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser	138.53	33	191	-9 Laps
18	3	7	Pat O'Connor	Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser	144.98	4	187	-13 Laps
19	19	2	Jimmy Bryan	Kuzma-Offenhauser	143.74	9	185	-15 Laps
20	2	24	Jim Rathmann	Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser	145.12	3	175	Engine
21	31	34	Johnnie Tolan  R	Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser	140.06	31	173	Engine
22	5	99	Tony Bettenhausen	Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser	144.60	5	160	Accident
23	14	10	Ed Elisian (Eddie Russo Laps 124-160)	Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser	141.38	25	160	Brakes
24	16	48	Jimmy Daywalt	Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser	140.97	28	134	Accident
25	24	54	Jack Turner  R	Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser	142.39	18	131	Engine
26	20	89	Keith Andrews	Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser	142.97	13	94	Transmission
27	9	5	Andy Linden	Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser	143.05	11	90	Oil Leak
28	27	12	Al Herman	Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser	141.61	23	74	Accident
29	17	49	Ray Crawford	Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser	140.88	29	49	Accident
30	12	15	Johnny Boyd	Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser	142.33	19	35	Oil Leak
31	11	53	Troy Ruttman  W	Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser	142.48	17	22	Spun Off
32	18	88	Johnny Thomson	Kuzma-Offenhauser	145.54	2	22	Spun Off
33	8	29	Paul Russo	Kurtis Kraft-Novi	143.54	10	21	Accident	1

Note: Relief drivers in parentheses

 W  Former Indianapolis 500 winner

 R  Indianapolis 500 Rookie

All entrants utilized Firestone tires.

^1 – 1 point for fastest lead lap

Race statistics

Lap Leaders
Laps	Leader
1–3	Jim Rathmann
4–10	Pat O'Connor
11–21	Paul Russo
22–40	Pat O'Connor
41	Pat Flaherty
42–44	Pat O'Connor
45	Pat Flaherty
46–55	Pat O'Connor
56–71	Johnnie Parsons
72–75	Don Freeland
76–200	Pat Flaherty

Total laps led
Driver	Laps
Pat Flaherty	127
Pat O'Connor	39
Johnnie Parsons	16
Paul Russo	11
Don Freeland	4
Jim Rathmann	3

Race notes

• Pole position: Pat Flaherty – 4:07.26 (time over four laps)
• Fastest Lead Lap: Paul Russo – 1:02.32
• Shared Drive: Car# 10: Ed Elisian 123 laps and Eddie Russo 37 laps
• Race winner Pat Flaherty was the last driver to win the 500 wearing a t-shirt. All subsequent winners have worn flame retardant uniforms.

Broadcasting

Radio

The race was carried live on the IMS Radio Network. Sid Collins served as chief announcer. The broadcast was carried by over 280 affiliates, as well as Armed Forces Radio. The broadcast came on-air at 10:45 a.m. local time, fifteen minutes prior to the start of the race. This was the final broadcast based out of the old wooden Pagoda, which was demolished after the race.

This was also the final year to have only two turn reporters ("south turns" and "north turns"). Beginning in 1957, the crew would be expanded to have one reporter in each of the four turns.

Indianapolis Motor Speedway Radio Network
Booth Announcers	Turn Reporters	Pit reporters
Chief Announcer: Sid Collins Analyst: Charlie Brockman	South turns: Bill Frosch Backstretch: Bernie Herman North turns: Jim Shelton	Luke Walton Greg Smith Bob Rhodes (garages)

Championship standings after the race

World Drivers' Championship standings

	Pos	Driver	Points
	1	Jean Behra	10
	2	Juan Manuel Fangio	9
	3	Stirling Moss	8
22	4	Pat Flaherty	8
21	5	Sam Hanks	6
Source:

• Note: Only the top five positions are included.

See also

• 1956 USAC Championship Car season

Gallery

• 
  1956 pace car

External links

• Indianapolis 500 History: Race & All-Time Stats – Official Site
• Van Camp's Pork & Beans Presents: Great Moments From the Indy 500 – Fleetwood Sounds, 1975
• 1956 Indianapolis 500 at RacingReference.info (Relief driver statistics)