1919 Indianapolis 500

Seventh running of the Indianapolis 500

The 7th Liberty 500 Mile Sweepstakes was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Saturday, May 31, 1919. After a two year hiatus due to World War I, the Indianapolis 500 returned to competition in 1919. Howdy Wilcox won, accompanied by riding mechanic Leo Banks. More than half the field (19 of 33 cars) consisted of rookie drivers, tied for the most ever, excluding the inaugural race where all 40 cars were considered "rookies." Ralph DePalma, the 1915 winner, and the driver who suffered a defeat in 1912, again put in a strong performance. DePalma led 93 of the first 102 laps, and drove the first half at record breaking speed. Tire problems, however, necessitated a long pit stop, and DePalma finished in 6th place. Rain was a factor during practice, limiting available track time in the days immediately leading up to time trials. Since most teams did not arrive until later in the month, some cars had very limited preparation time. Qualifying was supposed to be held on just one day, but officials decided to add two additional days due to the lost track time. The first half of the race was marred by three fatalities. Driver Arthur Thurman died in a crash on lap 45. On lap 96, Louis LeCocq and his riding mechanic Robert Bandini wrecked in turn two, and both were burned to death.

Over two years had gone by since the last competitive events had been held at the Speedway. The 1916 race was followed by the Harvest Auto Racing Classic, at which point the track was closed due to the escalation of World War I. When the Armistice was signed in November 1918, the Speedway management was anxious to begin planning for the resumption of the 500 mile race for 1919. Some early rumors circulated that the race may change dates to July 4, or even expand to 1,000 miles. These rumors were briefly entertained when the AAA Contest Board announced that both May 30 and July 4 were being set aside on the calendar for the event. On December 6, 1918, Speedway business manager T. E. "Pop" Myers announced that the 1919 Indianapolis 500 would be scheduled for Friday, May 30. It was decided to keep the traditional date, and likewise return the race to a distance of 500 miles. The 1916 race had been scheduled for 300 miles (a decision that management later mostly regretted), the only such time which the race was scheduled for less than 500 miles. AAA would return as the sanctioning body. An editorial the following day in the Indianapolis News, however, sharply criticized the choice of Memorial Day. It was going to be the first "Decoration Day" holiday following the end of the "Great War", and they believed that the holiday should be left alone to properly honor the many thousands of war casualties. About a week later, Speedway management announced that they would change the date to Saturday May 31. The race was deliberately moved off Memorial Day (Friday May 30) and pushed to Saturday so as not to detract from the holiday. The race was given a new name for 1919, the Liberty Sweepstakes as a gesture to the peacetime brought on by victory and the end of the war. The new title was used for only one year. Without hesitation, Cliff Durant submitted the first entry on December 16.

The deadline for entries to be submitted was midnight on Thursday May 1. A total of 43 cars were entered, including three entries by the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The AAA Contest Board confirmed that the maximum starting field rule of 33 cars would apply. Thursday May 1: Omar Toft arrived in Indianapolis after a nine day drive from Los Angeles. He arrived in just enough time to deliver his entry to the Speedway headquarters. Three other last minute entries also arrived. Friday May 2: Jean Chassagne arrived in town from Wolverhampton, England along with his chief mechanic Thomas Harrison. Saturday May 3: Howdy Wilcox was seen perusing the track, in search of a ride. He was rumored to be in line to drive one of the I. M. S. entries. Sunday May 4: Jean Chassagne made his first visit to the Speedway. The Sunbeam cars of Chassagne and Dario Resta had reportedly arrived in New York from England. The cars were expected to arrive at the Speedway soon. Monday May 5: The Sunbeam cars of Chassagne and Resta arrived in Indianapolis. They were immediately being unpacked and readied for testing on the Speedway. Tuesday May 6: Howdy Wilcox became the first driver to take to the track for the month. Wilcox drove one of the I. M. S. Premier entries for several laps over 100 mph. Among those on hand to observe were Arthur Chevrolet, Jules Goux, and Jean Chassagne. Goux's car was being overhauled, while Chassagne's car was expected to arrive at any time. Wednesday May 7: Eddie Rickenbacker was named the honorary referee. Thursday May 8: The 1916 winner and 1916 National Champion Dario Resta arrived at the Speedway for the Sunbeam entry. He was expected to take the track for preparation soon. Much fanfare was being made that four former winners (Resta, René Thomas, Ralph DePalma, Jules Goux) were expected to attempt to qualify. Friday May 9: As the first full week of track availability was coming to an end, still only two non local teams had arrived at the Speedway. The Ballot team out of France, and the Sunbeam team out of England. Poised to be spirited rivals, both were at the track with their full complement of drivers. The only Americans at the track thus far were Howdy Wilcox, and Elmer T. Shannon. Saturday May 10: Visiting the Speedway was Barney Oldfield, in town for his tire company. Oldfield was planning to return later in the month to start his preparations. Sunday May 11: No track activity on Sunday. The prevailing topics of discussion for the week focused on the number of foreign entries and foreign drivers vying for the field. Monday May 12: Greek driver George Buzane was mentioned as a possible driver for one of the I. M. S. Premier entries. Louis Wagner and Eddie Pullen were among drivers mentioned as possible qualifiers. Tuesday May 13: Dario Resta took practice laps for the first time during the month. Carl G. Fisher and James A. Allison were among those watching in attendance. J. J. McCoy arrived at the track, and was expected to start taking laps as soon as his McCoy Special was unpacked. With the prestigious French Grand Prix still not yet revived after the war, Indianapolis was being ranked as the biggest motor race of the year. Wednesday May 14: Predictions were being made of record speeds during the race. Thursday May 15: Dario Resta was practicing his Ballot entry, but nearly crashed. The shock absorbers were not affixed properly, and when the car hit a bump in turn one, it became airborne. The car jumped a foot off the ground, but Resta was able to slow the car down and keep it from crashing over the embankment. Resta and his crew made repairs, and he was soon back out on the track running several hot laps. Art Klein, Arthur Thurman, and J. M. Reynolds arrived at the Speedway. The expectations were that practice would begin to pick up by Saturday and Sunday. Friday May 16: Of discussion was the budding rivalry between the American and European entries. The 7th 500 would be the "rubber match" between the two factions, each of whom had won the race three times apiece. Saturday May 17: Rene Thomas was clocked with a lap of 1 minute and 32 seconds, for an average speed of 97 mph. Louis Disbrow took the Detroit Special for a few laps around the track. Sunday May 18: More drivers arrived from Europe, including André Boillot, Paul Bablot, and Louis Wagner. Also arriving in town was Ralph DePalma. The track was open for practice, but closed to the public on Sunday. About four or five cars took to the track including Dario Resta and Jean Chassagne in the Sunbeam cars. Resta took some hot laps, while Chassagne took his time. Rene Thomas in the Ballot was observed opening up the throttle down the backstretch, but "loafing" in the turns. George Buzane took some hot laps in one of the I. M. S. Premiers late Sunday afternoon, leading some to think he may attempt to qualify. The Indianapolis Star published a photograph, purported to be the first ever picture of the track taken from an airplane. Several drivers, including Tommy Milton, were at Uniontown Speedway for another race, and were expected to arrive at Indianapolis soon. Tuesday May 20: The Sunbeam cars for Jean Chassagne and Dario Resta were ruled ineligible after it was discovered their engines were oversized. Chief engineer Louis Coatalen discovered the infraction, and informed speedway officials that the team was withdrawing from the event. Tom Alley and A. E. Cotey arrived at the Speedway on Tuesday. Wednesday May 21: Many drivers and teams were arriving at the Speedway, but rain and foggy weather was limiting available track time. Charles Kirkpatrick was named to the Detroit Special. Thursday May 22: Rain kept cars off the track. After losing his ride with the withdrawn Sunbeam team, Dario Resta joined the Ballot team, possibly to serve as a relief driver on race day. Friday May 23: Jesse G. Vincent was named the driver of the pace car. Two entries were scratched, the Jay Bee Special for P. W. Monaghan, and the Hudson for C. W. Johnson. Saturday May 24: The fastest practice lap was made by Ralph DePalma at 98 mph. After many days of rainy weather,
Sunday May 25: George Buzane crashed and flipped over in the south turns. Buzane and his riding mechanic Carl Weinbrecht were not seriously injured. The track was closed to the public on Sunday. The minimum speed to qualify was set at 80 mph, and the field was set at a maximum of 33 cars. Based on the entries prepared at the track, the expectation was that about six cars would fail to qualify. In an effort to foil the "bootleg" programs that were being printed and sold in and around the Speedway, car numbers were not assigned until race morning.

RowInside Inside CenterOutside CenterOutside 1 René Thomas Howdy Wilcox Albert Guyot Ralph DePalma 2 Eddie O'Donnell Paul Bablot Art Klein Eddie Hearne 3 Earl Cooper Ira Vail Charles Kirkpatrick Louis Chevrolet 4 Louis Wagner Joe Boyer Ralph Mulford Gaston Chevrolet 5 W. W. Brown Arthur Thurman Roscoe Sarles Cliff Durant 6 Ray Howard Jules Goux Wilbur D'Alene Kurt Hitke 7 Louis LeCocq Ora Haibe Denny Hickey Tom Alley 8 Elmer T. Shannon Omar Toft Tommy Milton André Boillot 9 J. J. McCoy

First alternate: James M. Reynolds

The start of the race was scheduled for Saturday May 31 at 11:00 a. m. local time. The facility was closed to the public on Friday, but participants were allowed a brief period of practice time on Friday morning for last minute preparations. The rest of the day was spent prepping the track by scrubbing the brick surface of oil and debris. Maurice Becker, the riding mechanic for Howdy Wilcox during the month, was disallowed by his family from participating in the race. He was replaced for the race by Leo Banks just hours before the start. A crowd estimated at 120,000 arrived at the Speedway on a hot and sunny Saturday morning. At 8 a. m., the Purdue Band entertained fans. Pace car driver Jesse G. Vincent, with passenger Eddie Rickenbacker, took the field around for one unscored warm up lap. At a speed of about 80 mph, the field was released for the start. André Boillot's car initially failed to pull away, but eventually got started, and sprinted to catch up to the rest of the field.

For 1919, riding mechanics were required. It is written that a band played the song "Back Home Again in Indiana" as Crawfordsville, Indiana native Howdy Wilcox led in the final stages of the race, eventually to become not only the first Indiana native, but first American, to win since Joe Dawson in 1912, the year before European cars and drivers had begun entering the race in earnest. It is believed that this the first time the song was performed at the race, which would later become a traditional fixture of the pre race ceremonies. Howdy Wilcox would be the last Indianapolis 500 winner to use Goodyear tires until A. J. Foyt in 1967.