1923 Indianapolis 500

The 11th International 500-Mile Sweepstakes Race was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Wednesday, May 30, 1923. After winning previously in 1921, Tommy Milton became the first multiple winner of the Indianapolis 500. Howdy Wilcox (the 1919 winner) drove relief for Milton in laps 103–151. During the break, Milton had to have his hands bandaged due to blisters, and changed his shoes due to crimping of his toes.^[3]

11th Indianapolis 500

Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Indianapolis 500
Sanctioning body	AAA
Date	May 30, 1923
Winner	Tommy Milton
Winning Entrant	H.C.S. Motor Car Company
Average speed	90.954 mph (146.376 km/h)
Pole position	Tommy Milton
Pole speed	108.170 mph (174.083 km/h)
Most laps led	Tommy Milton (128)
Pre-race
Pace car	Duesenberg
Pace car driver	Fred Duesenberg
Starter	Eddie Rickenbacker[1]
Honorary referee	John Oliver La Gorce[1]
Estimated attendance	150,000[2]
Chronology
Previous Next 1922 1924

1923 start.

On lap 22, Tom Alley (driving Earl Cooper's entry) wrecked on the backstretch, going through the wall, and killed 16-year-old spectator Bert Shoup. Alley and two other spectators were injured.^[4]

Memorial Day controversy

In January 1923, about four months before the race, the Indiana Legislature passed a bill prohibiting commercialized sporting events, including the Indianapolis 500, from being held on Memorial Day.^[5] Some veterans groups, and proponents of the measure, led by senator Robert L. Moorhead, were displeased with the way the holiday had become "...a day for games, races, and revelry, instead of a day of memory and tears".^[6] The bill sparked a heated debate, whereby the local American Legion issued a public proclamation opposing the law, on the grounds of free expression, and being "un-American" in principle.^[7]

The issue created a potential schedule shake-up, which could have moved the race to the proceeding Saturday (May 26), or forced an outright cancellation.^[8][9] Speedway management was leery about permanently moving the race to a Saturday, since many spectators worked on Saturdays, and they preferred to have the race on a holiday. Officials in the city of Indianapolis even proposed making the Saturday before Memorial Day a city holiday, to ensure the race was held on a holiday. On March 5, after consulting legal experts, Governor Warren T. McCray vetoed the bill, calling it "class legislation" and therefore unconstitutional.^[10]

Time trials

Milton's winning car

Four-lap (10 mile) qualifying runs were utilized. Tommy Milton won the pole with a record speed of over 108 mph. Five cars qualified with average speeds of over 100 mph.

Starting grid

Row	Inside		Middle		Outside
1	1	Tommy Milton  W	7	Harry Hartz	3	Dario Resta  W
2	21	Martín de Álzaga  R	27	Louis Zborowski  R	18	Pierre de Vizcaya  R
3	23	L. L. Corum	25	Howdy Wilcox  W	5	Jimmy Murphy  W
4	8	Cliff Durant	2	Ralph DePalma  W	29	Earl Cooper
5	4	Joe Boyer	6	Eddie Hearne	16	Christian Werner  R
6	31	Frank Elliott	14	Christian Lautenschlager  R	35	Bennett Hill
7	26	Harlan Fengler  R	15	Max Sailer  R	28	Leon Duray
8	19	Prince de Cystria  R	22	Raúl Riganti  R	34	Wade Morton  R

R Indianapolis 500 rookie

W Indianapolis 500 winner

Box score

Finish	Start	No	Name	Entrant	Chassis	Engine	Qual	Rank	Laps	Time/Retired
1	1	1	Tommy Milton  W  (Howdy Wilcox Laps 103–151)	H.C.S. Motor Company	Miller	Miller	108.170	1	200	5:29:50.17
2	2	7	Harry Hartz	R. Cliff Durant	Miller	Miller	103.700	3	200	5:33:05
3	9	5	Jimmy Murphy  W	R. Cliff Durant	Miller	Miller	104.050	2	200	5:40:36.64
4	14	6	Eddie Hearne (Earl Cooper 88–200)	R. Cliff Durant	Miller	Miller	97.300	9	200	5:46:14.23
5	7	23	L. L. Corum	Barber-Warnock	Ford T	Fronty-Ford	86.650	23	200	6:03:16.81
6	16	31	Frank Elliott (Dave Lewis Laps 109–138)	R. Cliff Durant	Miller	Miller	93.250	12	200	6:04:52.37
7	10	8	Cliff Durant (Eddie Hearne Laps 98–116) (Eddie Hearne Laps 149–200)	R. Cliff Durant	Miller	Miller	102.650	4	200	6:05:06.30
8	20	15	Max Sailer  R  (Karl Sailer Laps 73–200)	Daimler Motoren Gesellschaft	Mercedes	Mercedes	90.550	18	200	6:11:49.60
9	22	19	Prince de Cystria  R	Prince de Cystria	Bugatti	Bugatti	88.900	21	200	6:26:24.78
10	24	34	Wade Morton  R  (Jerry Wunderlich Laps 30–53) (Thane Houser) (Phil Shafer Laps 65–87) (Jerry Wunderlich Laps 88–100) (Ora Haibe Laps 101–160) (Phil Shafer Laps 172–200)	Duesenberg Brothers	Duesenberg	Duesenberg	88.000	22	200	6:40:04.98
11	15	16	Christian Werner  R  (Max Sailer Laps 84–87) (Max Sailer Laps 112–126) (Christian Lautenschlager)	Daimler Motoren Gesellschaft	Mercedes	Mercedes	95.200	11	200	6:41:50.51
12	6	18	Pierre de Vizcaya  R	Martín de Álzaga	Bugatti	Bugatti	90.300	19	165[11]	Rod
13	21	28	Leon Duray (Lou Wilson Laps 133–136)	R. Cliff Durant	Miller	Miller	89.900	20	136	Rod
14	3	3	Dario Resta  W  (Ernie Ansterburg Laps 71–80) (Joe Boyer Laps 81–88)	Packard Motor Car Company	Packard	Packard	98.020	8	88	Differential
15	11	2	Ralph DePalma  W  (Ernie Ansterburg)	Packard Motor Car Company	Packard	Packard	100.420	5	69	Head gasket
16	19	26	Harlan Fengler  R  (Lou Wilson Laps 46–69)	R. Cliff Durant	Miller	Miller	90.750	17	69	Gas tank
17	8	25	Howdy Wilcox  W	H.C.S. Motor Company	Miller	Miller	81.000	24	60	Clutch
18	13	4	Joe Boyer	Packard Motor Car Company	Packard	Packard	98.800	7	59	Differential
19	18	35	Bennett Hill (Martín de Álzaga Laps 30–44)	Harry A. Miller	Miller	Miller	91.200	16	44	Crankshaft
20	5	27	Louis Zborowski  R	Count L. Zborowski	Bugatti	Bugatti	91.800	15	41	Rod
21	12	29	Earl Cooper (Tom Alley Laps 2–21)	R. Cliff Durant	Miller	Miller	99.400	6	21	Crash BS
22	23	22	Raúl Riganti  R	Martín de Álzaga	Bugatti	Bugatti	95.300	10	19	Gas line
23	17	14	Christian Lautenschlager  R	Daimler Motoren Gesellschaft	Mercedes	Mercedes	93.200	13	14	Crash T1
24	4	21	Martín de Álzaga  R	Martín de Álzaga	Bugatti	Bugatti	92.900	14	6	Rod
[12][13][14]

Note: Relief drivers in parentheses^[15]

 W  Former Indianapolis 500 winner

 R  Indianapolis 500 Rookie

Race statistics

Lap Leaders Laps Leader 1–2 Jimmy Murphy 3 Tommy Milton 4 Jimmy Murphy 5 Tommy Milton 6 Jimmy Murphy 7–15 Tommy Milton 16–20 Jimmy Murphy 21–25 Tommy Milton 26 Howdy Wilcox 27 Tommy Milton 28 Howdy Wilcox 29 Jimmy Murphy 30–37 Tommy Milton 38 Jimmy Murphy 39–40 Howdy Wilcox 41–43 Tommy Milton 44–48 Howdy Wilcox 49–52 Tommy Milton 53 Howdy Wilcox 54–62 Tommy Milton 63 Cliff Durant 64 Tommy Milton 65–66 Cliff Durant 67–73 Tommy Milton 74 Cliff Durant 75–103 Tommy Milton 104–109 Harry Hartz 110–150 Howdy Wilcox 151–200 Tommy Milton

Total laps led Leader Laps Tommy Milton 128 Howdy Wilcox 51 Jimmy Murphy 11 Harry Hartz 6 Cliff Durant 4

Race details

• For 1923, riding mechanics were made optional.^[16] Only one team (the Mercedes of Christian Lautenschlager) utilized one.
• First alternate: none^[17]