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1920 Indianapolis 500

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8th Indianapolis 500
Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Indianapolis 500
Sanctioning bodyAAA
DateMay 31, 1920
WinnerGaston Chevrolet
Winning EntrantWilliam Small Company
Average speed88.618 mph (142.617 km/h)
Pole positionRalph DePalma
Pole speed99.150 mph (159.566 km/h)
Most laps ledJoe Boyer (93)
Pre-race
Pace carMarmon 6 (Model 34)
Pace car driverBarney Oldfield
StarterE. C. Patterson[1]
Honorary refereeClifford C. Ireland[1]
Estimated attendance120,000[2] (up 10k from previous year)
Chronology
Previous Next
1919 1921

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

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The 1920 winning car

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]
Row Inside Inside Center Outside Center Outside
1 Pace car position 2 United States Ralph DePalma  W  6 United States Joe Boyer 3 United States Louis Chevrolet
2 26 France Jean Chassagne 8 United States Art Klein 4 United States Gaston Chevrolet 5 United States Roscoe Sarles
3 7 United States Bennett Hill  R  31 United States Eddie Hearne 9 United States Ray Howard 10 United States Tommy Milton
4 29 United States Eddie O'Donnell 34 United States Willie Haupt 32 United States John Boling  R  12 United States Jimmy Murphy  R 
5 17 France André Boillot 15 Canada Pete Henderson 25 France René Thomas  W  28 United States Joe Thomas  R 
6 18 United States Howdy Wilcox  W  16 France Jules Goux  W  19 France Jean Porporato 33 United States Ralph Mulford
R Indianapolis 500 rookie
W Indianapolis 500 winner

Box score

[edit]
Finish Start No Name Entrant Chassis Engine Qual Rank Laps Status
1 6 4 United States Gaston Chevrolet William Small Company Frontenac Frontenac 91.550 8 200 Running
2 18 25 France René Thomas  W  Ernest Ballot Ballot Ballot 93.950 5 200 Running
3 11 10 United States Tommy Milton Duesenberg Brothers Duesenberg Duesenberg 90.200 11 200 Running
4 15 12 United States Jimmy Murphy  R  Duesenberg Brothers Duesenberg Duesenberg 88.700 13 200 Running
5 1 2 United States Ralph DePalma  W  Ralph DePalma Ballot Ballot 99.150 1 200 Running
6 9 31 United States Eddie Hearne Duesenberg Brothers Duesenberg Duesenberg 88.050 15 200 Running
7 4 26 France Jean Chassagne Ernest Ballot Ballot Ballot 95.450 4 200 Running
8 19 28 United States Joe Thomas  R 
(Art Klein Laps 105–115)
(Harry Thicksten Laps 116–125)
William Small Company Frontenac Frontenac 92.800 6 200 Running
9 23 33 United States Ralph Mulford Ralph Mulford Mulford Duesenberg 200 Running
10 17 15 Canada Pete Henderson
(Tom Alley Laps 93–20)
Revere Motor Car Corporation Duesenberg Duesenberg 81.150 21 200 Running
11 14 32 United States John Boling  R 
(Riley Brett Laps 99–199)
C. L. Richards Brett Brett 81.850 20 199 Flagged
12 2 6 United States Joe Boyer
(Ira Vail Laps 155–191)
Frontenac Motor Corporation Frontenac Frontenac 96.900 2 192 Crash T3
13 10 9 United States Ray Howard
(Aldo Franchi Laps 41–90)
Peugeot Auto Racing Company Peugeot Peugeot 84.600 18 150 Camshaft
14 12 29 United States Eddie O'Donnell Duesenberg Brothers Duesenberg Duesenberg 88.200 14 149 Oil line
15 21 16 France Jules Goux  W  Jules Goux Peugeot Peugeot 84.300 19 148 Engine trouble
16 13 34 United States Willie Haupt
(Wade Morton Laps 55–111)
Meteor Motors Company Duesenberg Duesenberg 85.480 16 146 Rod
17 8 7 United States Bennett Hill  R 
(Roscoe Sarles Laps 75–115)
Frontenac Motor Corporation Frontenac Frontenac 90.550 10 115 Crash T4
18 3 3 United States Louis Chevrolet
(Salvatore Barbarino Laps 64–79)
(Jerry Wunderlich Laps 80–94)
William Small Company Frontenac Frontenac 96.300 3 94 Steering
19 20 18 United States Howdy Wilcox  W  Jules Goux Peugeot Peugeot 88.820 12 65 Engine trouble
20 7 5 United States Roscoe Sarles William Small Company Frontenac Frontenac 90.750 9 58 Crash T4
21 5 8 United States Art Klein Frontenac Motor Corporation Frontenac Frontenac 92.700 7 40 Crash
22 22 19 France Jean Porporato Jean Porporato Grégoire Grégoire 79.980 22 23 Ruled off
23 16 17 France André Boillot Jules Goux Peugeot Peugeot 85.400 17 16 Engine trouble
[3][4]

Note: Relief drivers in parentheses[5]

 W  Former Indianapolis 500 winner

 R  Indianapolis 500 Rookie

Statistics

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Race details

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References

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  1. ^ 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.
  2. ^ "Crowd Put at 120,000, New Record Mark". The Indianapolis Star. June 1, 1920. p. 1. Retrieved June 3, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.Open access icon
  3. ^ "Indianapolis 500 1920". Ultimate Racing History. Archived from the original on 5 February 2013. Retrieved 15 January 2012.
  4. ^ Popely, Rick; Riggs, L. Spencer (1998). The Indianapolis 500 Chronicle. Lincolnwood, Illinois: Publications International, Ltd. ISBN 0-7853-2798-3.
  5. ^ "International 500 Mile Sweepstakes – May 30, 1920". ChampCarStats.com.
  6. ^ Blazier, John E.; Rollings, Tom (1994). Forgotten Heroes of the Speedways: The Riding Mechanics.
  7. ^ The Talk of Gasoline Alley - 1070-AM WIBC, May 14, 2004


1919 Indianapolis 500
Howdy Wilcox
1920 Indianapolis 500
Gaston Chevrolet
1921 Indianapolis 500
Tommy Milton