1953 Indianapolis 500

37th Indianapolis 500

Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Indianapolis 500
Sanctioning body	AAA
Date	May 30, 1953
Winner	Bill Vukovich
Winning Entrant	Howard B. Keck
Average speed	128.740 mph (207.187 km/h)
Pole position	Bill Vukovich
Pole speed	138.392 mph (222.720 km/h)
Most laps led	Bill Vukovich (195)
Pre-race
Pace car	Ford Crestline Sunliner
Pace car driver	William Clay Ford
Starter	Seth Klein
Honorary referee	Henry Ford II
Estimated attendance	190,000
Chronology
Previous Next 1952 1954

The 37th International 500-Mile Sweepstakes was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Saturday, May 30, 1953. The event was part of the 1953 AAA National Championship, and was race 2 of 9 in the 1953 World Championship of Drivers. Bill Vukovich, after falling just short a year before, dominated the race, leading 195 of the 200 laps. Vukovich won the first of two consecutive "500" victories, finishing more than three minutes ahead of second place Art Cross.

With the temperature in the high 90s (°F), and the track temperature exceeding 130 °F (54 °C), this race is often known as the "Hottest 500". Only twelve cars were running at the finish. Many drivers needed relief drivers, and some relief drivers required their own relief drivers. Vukovich and Cross, however, both ran the full 500 miles solo. Driver Carl Scarborough dropped out the race, and later died at the infield hospital due to heat prostration.

Sixteen-year race veteran Chet Miller died in an accident in practice on May 15.

Time trials

Saturday May 16

The first day of time trials was scheduled for Saturday May 15, but was rained out. Pole qualifying was rescheduled for Sunday at 12 p.m.

Sunday May 17

Morning rain delayed the start of time trials until about 2:20 p.m. Only twelve drivers managed to take to the track, and seven completed a qualifying attempt. Manny Ayulo was the first driver in the field, completing his run at a speed of 136.384 mph. Bill Vukovich won the pole position with a four-lap average speed of 138.392 mph, which was not a new track record. Vukovich famously completed his qualifying run in the rain. On his third lap, his car slid sideways going into turn one due to increasing dampness, but he stayed with it. On his fourth and final lap, as Vukovich was coming out of turn four, the skies opened up and a downpour ensued. The speed on his last lap slipped to 137 mph, but he nevertheless took the checkered flag. The track was closed and Vukovich secured the pole position.

Pos	No.	Name	Lap 1 (mph)	Lap 2 (mph)	Lap 3 (mph)	Lap 4 (mph)	Average Speed (mph)
1	14	Bill Vukovich	139.147	138.568	138.739	137.132	138.392
2	59	Fred Agabashian	137.405	138.376	137.279	137.132	137.546
3	59	Jack McGrath	136.674	137.153	136.405	136.178	136.602
4	88	Manny Ayulo	136.240	136.075	136.6956	136.529	136.384
5	32	Andy Linden	135.196	135.726	136.446	136.882	136.060
6	32	Tony Bettenhausen	135.583	136.529	135.952	136.033	136.024
7	55	Jerry Hoyt	135.952	135.399	135.890	135.685	135.731
—	76	George Fonder	wave off (twice)				—
—	16	Art Cross	wave off				—
—	3	Sam Hanks	wave off				—
—	62	Spider Webb	wave off				—
—	4	Duane Carter	did not take green flag				—

Saturday May 23

The third day of time trials opened with 26 spots still open in the starting grid. With as many as 66 cars in the paddock looking for a chance to qualify, the schedule for time trials was extended to 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.. A very busy day saw 45 total qualifying attempts; 27 cars completed an attempt. The field was filled to 33 cars, and one car (Joe Barzda) was bumped.

Johnnie Parsons, the 1950 winner, was the fastest driver of the day. His speed of 137.667 mph wound up being the third-fastest overall in the field, but as a third day qualifier, he was forced to line up in 8th starting spot (middle of row 3). The threat of rain added to the urgency of the day. However, the rain held off throughout most of the afternoon. Two drivers (Marshall Teague and Eddie Johnson) exhausted all three of their allotted attempts. Teague slid sideways in turn two during his attempt, but would hold on to make the field. Johnson would later be bumped.

No incidents were reported during the day. Art Cross threw a rod during his first attempt. He took over the car of Jimmy Reece, and qualified 12th. Among those not yet in the field was Henry Banks.

Sunday May 24

Bump Day, the fourth and final day of time trials, was held on Sunday May 24. With the field already filled to 33 cars, the bumping process began right away. A total of six cars were bumped. Len Duncan was the first driver bumped for the day, after the successful run of Jimmy Bryan. Duncan later got in a backup car, but wrecked it in a practice run. Frank Armi spun out in turn two and also failed to make the race. Both Duncan and Armi would return to the make the race in 1954.

Bill Holland, the 1949 winner, returned to Indianapolis after being suspended by AAA for competing in "outlaw" races. Holland's car from the previous Sunday was bumped, but he took over the John Finch machine. He put in a speed of 137.868 mph, and became the second-fastest car overall in the field. Johnnie Tolan got out on the track with five seconds left before the 7 o'clock gun. His speed of 134.852 mph, however, was too slow to make the field.

Starting grid

Row	Inside		Middle		Outside
1	14	Bill Vukovich	59	Fred Agabashian	5	Jack McGrath
2	88	Manny Ayulo	32	Andy Linden	98	Tony Bettenhausen
3	55	Jerry Hoyt	21	Johnnie Parsons  W	3	Sam Hanks
4	92	Rodger Ward	29	Bob Scott	16	Art Cross
5	41	Gene Hartley	23	Walt Faulkner	38	Don Freeland  R
6	97	Chuck Stevenson	7	Paul Russo	62	Spider Webb
7	73	Carl Scarborough	12	Ernie McCoy  R	48	Jimmy Daywalt  R
8	22	Marshall Teague  R	83	Mike Nazaruk	77	Pat Flaherty
9	2	Jim Rathmann	9	Duke Nalon	4	Duane Carter
10	49	Bill Holland  W	51	Bob Sweikert	99	Cal Niday  R
11	8	Jimmy Bryan	53	Jimmy Davies	56	Johnny Thomson  R

R Indianapolis 500 rookie

W Indianapolis 500 winner

Alternates

• First alternate: Eddie Johnson (#26)
• Second alternate: Johnnie Tolan  R  (#66, #85)

Failed to qualify

• Frank Armi  R  (#79)
• Alberto Ascari (#97) – Did not appear
• Henry Banks (#10)
• Buzz Barton  R  (#35)
• Joe Barzda  R  (#69)
• Bill Boyd  R  (#86)
• Billy Cantrell  R  (#42)
• Neal Carter  R  (#23)
• George Connor (#25)
• Ray Crawford  R  (#49)
• Jorge Daponte  R  (#95)
• Billy DeVore (#28)
• Duke Dinsmore (#52)
• Bill Doster  R 
• Len Duncan  R  (#31, #81)
• Edgar Elder  R  (#49)
• Johnny Fedricks  R  (#46)
• John Fitch  R  (#49, #74)
• George Fonder (#76)
• Gene Force (#48)
• Potsy Goacher  R  (#36)
• Cliff Griffith (#24)
• Red Hamilton  R  (#91)
• Allen Heath  R  (#65)
• Al Herman  R  (#93)
• Jackie Holmes (#71)
• Bill Homeier  R  (#84, #87)
• Johnny Kay  R  (#67)
• Jud Larson  R  (#96)
• Jim Mayes  R  (#34)
• Johnny Mauro (#47) – Did not appear
• Chet Miller (#15) – Fatal accident
• Roy Newman  R  (#43)
• Danny Oakes  R  (#63)
• Pat O'Connor  R  (#28, #64, #74)
• Jimmy Reece (#16)
• Johnny Roberts  R  (#82)
• Hal Robson (#57)
• Troy Ruttman  W  (#2)
• Eddie Sachs  R  (#34)
• Wayne Selser  R  (#75)
• Joe Sostilio  R  (#17)
• Harry Stockman  R  (#84)
• Bill Taylor  R  (#39)
• George Tichenor  R  (#65)
• Leroy Warriner  R  (#44)
• Ebe Yoder  R 

Race summary

First half

Race day dawned hot, with temperatures climbing into the 90s. The command to start engines was given at 10:54 a.m., and the field pulled away for the pace lap. At start, Bill Vukovich took the lead from the pole position, and led the field into turn one. Manny Ayulo and Tony Bettenhausen battled for second as Vukovich pulled out to a comfortable lead. On lap 4, Andy Linden crashed in turn three. Jerry Hoyt spun to the infield grass to avoid the wreck. Linden was out, but Hoyt was able to continue in the race. The yellow light stayed on for about one lap, and Linden was not injured.

Vukovich surrendered the lead during his first pit stop on lap 48. That put Fred Agabashian in the lead for one lap, followed by Jim Rathmann, then Sam Hanks for two laps. After the leaders cycled through their stops, Vukovich was back in the lead on lap 54. At the same time, Gene Hartley spun out in turn four bringing out the second yellow of the day. Hartley was taken to the infield hospital, but was released and would be able to serve as a relief driver later in the day.

The grueling conditions were starting to take a toll on the field. Several cars dropped out with mechanical problems before the halfway point. Jimmy Davies came into the pits without brakes, and brushed the inside wall to slow the car down. He would stay in the race to finish 10th, but several laps down. When Duke Nalon came in for his pit stop, his crew dumped a bucket of water over his head. On lap 70 Carl Scarborough came into the pits and the car caught fire during fueling. The fire was quickly extinguished, but relief driver Bob Scott took over behind the wheel. Scarborough was taken to the infield hospital where he died of what was reported as heat prostration. According to speedway historian Donald Davidson, Scarborough may have inhaled CO₂ from the fire extinguishers, which may have contributed to, or been the actual cause of death.

With 80 laps completed, Bill Vukovich was still leading, with Art Cross second and Fred Agabashian third. Don Freeland lost a wheel in turn one on the leader's lap 81, and he spun down to the infield grass. He was unhurt, but the car was finished. Johnnie Parsons dropped out with a blown engine on lap 86, and Duane Carter was out with ignition problems.

Second half

At the halfway point, Bill Vukovich led with Fred Agabashian in second and Sam Hanks in third. Agabashian came in for a pit stop on lap 104. Agabashian was overcome by the heat and the engine fumes, and had to be replaced in the cockpit by relief driver Paul Russo. Jim Rathmann did the same, handing his car over to Eddie Johnson on lap 113. Vukovich came in for his second pit stop on lap 112, followed by Hanks four laps later. Back out on the track, Vukovich had a 50-second lead over Hanks.

Pat Flaherty hit the wall in the northchute on the leaders' lap 118. The yellow light was turned on for 6 minutes and 50 seconds to clean up the oil and fluids that spilled on the track. The next driver to fall by the wayside was Tony Bettenhausen. After completing 115 laps, Bettenhausen came into the pits signaling for a relief driver. Chuck Stevenson took over the car as Bettenhausen passed out and collapsed to the ground from the heat. After a lengthy period of rest, Jim Rathmann got back in the race. Rathmann took over the car of Bill Holland, but it ultimately broke down with a magneto failure.

At the 150-lap mark (375 miles), Bill Vukovich had lapped the field. Manny Ayulo was running second, and Sam Hanks in third. Ayulo's day ended after 184 laps with engine failure. Hanks came in on lap 151, and he was the next to need a relief driver. Duane Carter got behind the wheel, but the team lost considerable time as the crew had to repair a broken exhaust pipe. Marshall Teague came in on lap 169 needing assistance climbing out of the car. Cal Niday was preparing to take over behind the wheel, but the car had an oil leak and was done for the day.

Bill Vukovich made his final pit stop on lap 171. Henry Banks was reportedly standing by in Vukovich's pit, with his helmet on ready to drive relief. Vukovich, however, refused the help and insisted on driving the full 500 miles solo. He drank a cup of water, poured some water down the back of his shirt, and went back out on the track. Radio network reporter Luke Walton labeled Vukovich the "ironman" of the race. Walton described the day as the "hottest day we've had in Hoosierland since Willkie accepted the nomination in Elwood back in 1940".

Vukovich cruised over the final 30 laps and won his first "500" by 3 minutes and 30 seconds (about 3 laps) over second place Art Cross. Duane Carter (driving the car of Sam Hanks) came home third, with Paul Russo (driving the car of Fred Agabashian) fourth. As Vukovich was headed to victory lane, the action on the track was still hot. Gene Hartley (driving Tony Bettenhausen's car) crashed, as did Duke Nalon. Officials flagged the race after the first eight cars finished. Only four other cars were still running.

Box score

Pos	Grid	No	Driver	Constructor	Qual	Rank	Laps	Time/retired	WDC Points	AAA Points
1	1	14	Bill Vukovich	Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser	138.39	1	200	3:53:01.69	9	1000
2	12	16	Art Cross	Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser	137.31	8	200	+3:30.87	6	800
3	9	3	Sam Hanks (Duane Carter Laps 152–200)	Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser	137.53	5	200	+4:11.50	2 2	532
4	2	59	Fred Agabashian (Paul Russo Laps 105–200)	Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser	137.54	4	200	+4:39.24	1.5 1.5	315
5	3	5	Jack McGrath	Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser	136.60	13	200	+7:49.64	2	500
6	21	48	Jimmy Daywalt  R	Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser	135.74	23	200	+8:10.21		400
7	25	2	Jim Rathmann (Eddie Johnson Laps 113–200)	Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser	135.66	27	200	+8:46.02		169.5
8	20	12	Ernie McCoy  R	Stevens-Offenhauser	135.92	22	200	+10:04.55		250
9	6	98	Tony Bettenhausen (Chuck Stevenson Laps 116–159) (Gene Hartley Laps 160–196)	Kuzma-Offenhauser	136.02	20	196	Accident		116
10	32	53	Jimmy Davies	Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser	135.26	31	193	-7 laps		150
11	26	9	Duke Nalon	Kurtis Kraft-Novi	135.46	30	191	Accident		100
12	19	73	Carl Scarborough ✝ (Bob Scott Laps 70–190)	Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser	135.93	21	190	-10 laps		17.5
13	4	88	Manny Ayulo	Kuzma-Offenhauser	136.38	15	184	Engine
14	31	8	Jimmy Bryan	Schroeder-Offenhauser	135.50	29	183	-17 laps
15	28	49	Bill Holland  W  (Jim Rathmann Laps 142–177)	Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser	137.86	2	177	Magneto
16	10	92	Rodger Ward (Andy Linden Laps 116–144) (Duke Dinsmore Laps 145–154)	Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser	137.46	6	177	Axle
17	14	23	Walt Faulkner (Johnny Mantz Laps 135–)	Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser	137.11	10	176	-24 laps
18	22	22	Marshall Teague  R	Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser	135.72	25	169	Oil Leak
19	18	62	Spider Webb (Johnny Thomson Laps 113–157) (Jackie Holmes Laps 158–166)	Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser	136.16	17	166	Oil Leak
20	29	51	Bob Sweikert	Kuzma-Offenhauser	136.87	11	151	Suspension
21	23	83	Mike Nazaruk	Turner-Offenhauser	135.70	26	146	Transmission
22	24	77	Pat Flaherty	Kuzma-Offenhauser	135.66	28	115	Accident
23	7	55	Jerry Hoyt (Chuck Stevenson Laps 83–95) (Andy Linden Laps 96–107)	Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser	135.73	24	107	Overheating
24	27	4	Duane Carter	Lesovsky-Offenhauser	135.26	32	94	Ignition
25	17	7	Paul Russo	Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser	136.21	16	89	Magneto
26	8	21	Johnnie Parsons  W	Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser	137.66	3	86	Engine
27	15	38	Don Freeland  R	Watson-Offenhauser	136.86	12	76	Accident
28	13	41	Gene Hartley	Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser	137.26	9	53	Accident
29	16	97	Chuck Stevenson	Kuzma-Offenhauser	136.56	14	42	Fuel Leak
30	30	99	Cal Niday  R	Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser	136.09	18	30	Magneto
31	11	29	Bob Scott	Bromme-Offenhauser	137.43	7	14	Oil Leak
32	33	56	Johnny Thomson  R	Del Roy-Offenhauser	135.26	33	6	Ignition
33	5	32	Andy Linden	Stevens-Offenhauser	136.06	19	3	Accident

Note: Relief drivers in parentheses

 W  Former Indianapolis 500 winner

 R  Indianapolis 500 Rookie

All entrants utilized Firestone tires.

^1 – Includes 1 point for fastest lead lap

Race statistics

Lap Leaders
Laps	Leader
1–48	Bill Vukovich
49	Fred Agabashian
50	Jim Rathmann
51–53	Sam Hanks
54–200	Bill Vukovich

Total laps led
Driver	Laps
Bill Vukovich	195
Sam Hanks	3
Fred Agabashian	1
Jim Rathmann	1

Yellow Lights: 9 minutes, 28 seconds
Laps*	Reason
4	Andy Linden crash in turn 3 (55 seconds)
54	Gene Hartley spin in turn 4 (60 seconds)
81	Don Freeland lost a wheel in turn 1 (43 seconds)
118–122	Pat Flaherty crash in northchute (6:50)
* – Approximate lap counts

Race notes

• Pole position: Bill Vukovich – 4:20.13 (4 laps)
• Fastest lead lap: Bill Vukovich – 1:06.240
• The purse for first place was $89,496 (US$1,019,186 in 2023 dollars).
• One of the prizes awarded to the winner was a pet dog and a year's supply of dog food.

Broadcasting

Radio

The race was carried live flag-to-flag on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Radio Network. Instead of being produced by 1070 WIBC-AM, the network pooled together talent and technical staff from all five of the major radio stations in Indianapolis. The broadcast was anchored by Sid Collins, and featured on-air talent from WIBC, WFBM, WISH, WIRE, and WXLW.

The broadcast signed on at 10:45 a.m. local time, and carried live through the conclusion, until 3:45 p.m. local time. The broadcast was carried on 135 stations in at least 35 states across the country, and on Armed Forced Network to Europe and Asia.

Indianapolis Motor Speedway Radio Network
Booth Announcers	Turn Reporters	Pit/garage reporters
Chief Announcer: Sid Collins Color: Charlie Brockman Analyst: Chuck Breece	South Turns: Bill Frosch North Turns: Jim Shelton Trackside location: Dick Pittenger Trackside location: Robin Bright	Luke Walton (north pits) Al Vare (south pits) Sid Collins (victory lane)

Championship standings after the race

World Drivers' Championship standings

	Pos	Driver	Points
	1	Alberto Ascari	9
16	2	Bill Vukovich	9
1	3	Luigi Villoresi	6
14	4	Art Cross	6
2	5	José Froilán González	4
Source:

• Note: Only the top five positions are included. Only the best 4 results counted towards the Championship.

Championship car standings

	Pos	Driver	Points
	1	Bill Vukovich	1000
	2	Art Cross	800
	3	Sam Hanks	532
	4	Jack McGrath	500
	5	Jimmy Daywalt	400
Source:

• Note: Only the top five positions are included.

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
• 1953 Indianapolis 500 Radio Broadcast, Indianapolis Motor Speedway Radio Network: Re-broadcast on "The History of the 500" – WFNI (May 12, 2013)