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Eighth running of the Indianapolis 500
The
8th International 500-Mile Sweepstakes Race
was held at the
Indianapolis Motor Speedway
on Monday, May 31, 1920.
Ralph DePalma
held a two lap lead when the car stalled on lap 187. His
riding mechanic
Pete DePaolo
ran to the pits to get a can of gasoline, thinking they were out of fuel. DePalma was able to get the car rolling again, and the two rejoined the race. However, during the delay, the lead went to
Gaston Chevrolet
. Chevrolet himself ran out of fuel on lap 197, but he was able to coast to the pits and refuel. Chevrolet held on to win. Seven months later, he was fatally injured in a crash at
Beverly Hills
.
Chevrolet won the race without a single tire change, a remarkable feat at the time. Chevrolet was accompanied by riding mechanic John Bresnahan. Chevrolet's victory was the last by a driver born outside of the United States until
George Robson
's victory in the
1946
running.
Time trials
[
edit
]
Four-lap (10 miles (16 km)) qualifying runs were introduced in 1920. Previously one-lap runs were used.
Ralph DePalma
won the pole position at 99.65 mph (160.37 km/h). None of his four laps matched the track record (104.78 mph (168.63 km/h)) set the previous year.
Qualifying Results
|
Date
|
Driver
|
Lap 1
(mph)
|
Lap 2
(mph)
|
Lap 3
(mph)
|
Lap 4
(mph)
|
Average Speed
(mph)
|
5/26/1920
|
Ralph DePalma
|
98.1
|
99.4
|
99.5
|
99.95
|
99.65
|
Starting grid
[
edit
]
R
Indianapolis 500 rookie
W
Indianapolis 500 winner
Box score
[
edit
]
Note
: Relief drivers in parentheses
[5]
W
Former Indianapolis 500 winner
R
Indianapolis 500 Rookie
Statistics
[
edit
]
Lap Leaders
|
Laps
|
Leader
|
1?11
|
Joe Boyer
|
12
|
Art Klein
|
13
|
Jean Chassagne
|
14?37
|
Joe Boyer
|
38?42
|
Ralph DePalma
|
43?62
|
Joe Boyer
|
63?69
|
Rene Thomas
|
70?107
|
Joe Boyer
|
108?112
|
Rene Thomas
|
113?186
|
Ralph DePalma
|
187?200
|
Gaston Chevrolet
|
|
Total laps led
|
Leader
|
Laps
|
Joe Boyer
|
93
|
Ralph DePalma
|
79
|
Gaston Chevrolet
|
14
|
Rene Thomas
|
12
|
Jean Chassagne
|
1
|
Art Klein
|
1
|
|
Race details
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
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
.
- ^
"Crowd Put at 120,000, New Record Mark"
.
The Indianapolis Star
. June 1, 1920. p. 1
. Retrieved
June 3,
2017
– via
Newspapers.com
.
- ^
"Indianapolis 500 1920"
.
Ultimate Racing History
.
Archived
from the original on 5 February 2013
. Retrieved
15 January
2012
.
- ^
Popely, Rick; Riggs, L. Spencer (1998).
The Indianapolis 500 Chronicle
.
Lincolnwood, Illinois
: Publications International, Ltd.
ISBN
0-7853-2798-3
.
- ^
"International 500 Mile Sweepstakes ? May 30, 1920"
. ChampCarStats.com.
- ^
Blazier, John E.; Rollings, Tom (1994).
Forgotten Heroes of the Speedways: The Riding Mechanics
.
- ^
The Talk of Gasoline Alley
-
1070-AM WIBC
, May 14, 2004
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