1939 Indianapolis 500

The 27th International 500-Mile Sweepstakes Race was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on May 30, 1939. The race was won by the number two car of Wilbur Shaw, who started in the third position, driving a Maserati 8CTF.^[3] The race was notable for a three car accident on lap 109, when Floyd Roberts, the reigning champion, was killed when his car went through the wooden outer wall at over 100 miles (160 km) an hour at the backstretch.^[4] In Louis Meyer's final Indy 500, he too would crash at the backstretch at over 100 miles (160 km) an hour, but he walked away unharmed.

27th Indianapolis 500

Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Indianapolis 500
Sanctioning body	AAA
Date	May 30, 1939
Winner	Wilbur Shaw
Winning Entrant	Boyle Racing Headquarters
Average speed	115.035 mph (185.131 km/h)
Pole position	Jimmy Snyder
Pole speed	130.138 mph (209.437 km/h)
Most laps led	Louis Meyer (79)
Pre-race
Pace car	Buick Roadmaster 80
Pace car driver	Charles Chayne
Starter	Seth Klein[1]
Honorary referee	Paul G. Hoffman[1]
Estimated attendance	145,000[2]
Chronology
Previous Next 1938 1940

Time trials

Ten-lap qualifying runs were eliminated for 1939, and the distance reverted to four-lap (10 mile) runs. This change was made permanent, and four-lap runs have been used ever since.

Starting grid

Row	Inside		Middle		Outside
1	10	Jimmy Snyder	45	Louis Meyer  W	2	Wilbur Shaw  W
2	4	Ted Horn	3	Chet Miller	17	George Bailey
3	47	Shorty Cantlon	16	Mauri Rose	9	Herb Ardinger
4	54	Cliff Bergere	29	Frank Brisko	18	George Connor
5	25	Ralph Hepburn	49	Mel Hansen  R	41	George Barringer
6	31	Babe Stapp	14	Frank Wearne	37	Ira Hall
7	15	Rex Mays	8	Joel Thorne	44	Emil Andres
8	32	Bob Swanson	1	Floyd Roberts  W	35	Kelly Petillo  W
9	21	Russ Snowberger	51	Tony Willman	62	Tony Gulotta
10	42	Al Miller	56	Floyd Davis	58	Louis Tomei
11	53	Deacon Litz	38	Harry McQuinn	26	Billy Devore

R Indianapolis 500 rookie

W Indianapolis 500 winner

Alternates

• First alternate: George Robson  R ^[5]

Failed to Qualify

• Henry Banks (#39)
• Sam Hanks  R  (#42)
• Tommy Hinnershitz  R  (#33)
• Ronney Householder (#26)
• Frank McGurk (#41)
• Zeke Meyer (#27)
• Duke Nalon (#7)
• Johnny Seymour (#61)
• Lou Webb  R  (#59)
• Doc Williams (#36)^[6]

Floyd Roberts crash

With Roberts on lap 109, the car driven by Bob Swanson lost control and went sideways. Roberts' car contacted Swanson's, causing Swanson's car to eject Swanson, flip over, and catch fire, while Roberts' car went through the outer wall. Attempting to avoid the accident, Chet Miller swerved into the debris field. His car flipped, and went into the inner wall. Two spectators were also injured by flying debris. The three drivers were taken to hospitals, while it took over 30 minutes to clear the burning wreck of Swanson's car from the track. Roberts death due to brain injuries was announced before the race was completed.^[7]

First rear-engined car

George Bailey became the first driver to compete with a rear-engined car in the Indianapolis 500 when he contested the 1939 race in a Gulf-Miller.^[8]

Box score

Finish	Start	No	Name	Entrant	Chassis	Engine	Qual	Rank	Laps	Status
1	3	2	Wilbur Shaw  W	Boyle Racing Headquarters	Maserati	Maserati	128.977	4	200	115.035 mph
2	1	10	Jimmy Snyder	Joel Thorne, Inc.	Adams	Sparks	130.138	1	200	+1:48.12
3	10	54	Cliff Bergere	Lewis W. Welch	Miller-Ford	Offenhauser	123.835	15	200	+3:03.91
4	4	4	Ted Horn	Boyle Racing Headquarters	Miller	Miller	127.723	6	200	+7:21.33
5	16	31	Babe Stapp	Bill White Race Cars, Inc.	Alfa Romeo-Weil	Alfa Romeo	125.000	12	200	+8:55.19
6	15	41	George Barringer	Bill White Race Cars, Inc.	Weil	Offenhauser	120.935	28	200	+9:25.11
7	20	8	Joel Thorne	Joel Thorne, Inc.	Adams	Sparks	122.177	23	200	+10:54.55
8	8	16	Mauri Rose	W. Wilbur Shaw	Shaw	Offenhauser	124.896	13	200	+13:04.31
9	17	14	Frank Wearne	Moore & Roberts	Wetteroth	Offenhauser	125.074	11	200	+17:29.16
10	33	26	Billy Devore (Henry Banks Laps 146–189)	Leon Duray	Weil	Duray	+26:55.88	33	200	Running
11	27	62	Tony Gulotta (Harry McQuinn Laps 111–127)	George Lyons	Stevens	Offenhauser	121.749	24	200	+27:50.52
12	2	45	Louis Meyer  W	Bowes Racing, Inc.	Stevens	Winfield	130.067	2	197	Crash BS
13	12	18	George Connor	Joseph Marks	Adams	Offenhauser	123.208	19	195	Stalled
14	26	51	Tony Willman	Joe Lencki	Lencki	Lencki	122.771	21	188	Fuel pump
15	30	58	Louis Tomei (Mel Hansen Laps 161–186)	Frank T. Griswold	Alfa Romeo	Alfa Romeo	118.426	30	186	Flagged
16	19	15	Rex Mays	Thorne Engineering Corp.	Adams	Sparks	126.413	7	145	Rings
17	9	9	Herb Ardinger (Frank Brisko Laps 76–94) (Mel Hansen Laps 137–141)	Harry Hartz	Wetteroth	Miller	124.125	14	141	Clutch
18	24	35	Kelly Petillo  W	Kelly Petillo	Wetteroth	Offenhauser	123.660	16	141	Pistons
19	14	49	Mel Hansen  R	Joel Thorne, Inc.	Shaw	Offenhauser	121.683	25	113	Crash Pits
20	32	38	Harry McQuinn (Al Putnam Laps 12–36) (Frank Brisko Laps 37–42) (Al Putnam Laps 43–76) (George Robson Laps 77–110)	F. Burren	Blume	Brisko	117.287	32	110	Ignition
21	5	3	Chet Miller	Boyle Racing Headquarters	Summers	Miller	126.318	8	109	Crash BS
22	13	25	Ralph Hepburn (Bob Swanson Laps 104–107)	Anthony Gulotta	Stevens	Offenhauser	122.204	22	107	Crash BS
23	23	1	Floyd Roberts  W  ✝	Lou Moore, Inc.	Wetteroth	Offenhauser	128.968	5	106	Crash BS
24	18	37	Ira Hall	Magnee & Nowiak	Nowiak	Studebaker	121.188	27	89	Head gasket
25	25	21	Russ Snowberger	Russell Snowberger	Snowberger	Miller	123.199	20	50	Radiator
26	6	17	George Bailey	Harry A. Miller	Miller	Miller	125.821	9	47	Valve
27	29	56	Floyd Davis	Ed Walsh	Miller	Offenhauser	119.375	29	43	Shock absorber
28	28	42	Al Miller	Paul Weirick	Adams	Offenhauser	123.233	18	41	Accelerator
29	11	29	Frank Brisko	Frank Brisko	Stevens	Brisko	123.351	17	38	Air pump
30	21	44	Emil Andres	Jimmy Snyder	Stevens	Offenhauser	121.212	26	22	Spark plugs
31	22	32	Bob Swanson	Sampson Motors, Inc.	Stevens	Sampson	129.431	3	19	Rear axle
32	7	47	Shorty Cantlon	Assoc. Enterprises, Ltd.	Stevens	Offenhauser	125.567	10	15	Main bearing
33	31	53	Deacon Litz	Richard T. Wharton	Maserati	Maserati	117.979	31	7	Valve
[9][10]

Note: Relief drivers in parentheses^[11]

 W  Former Indianapolis 500 winner

 R  Indianapolis 500 Rookie

All entrants utilized Firestone tires.

Race statistics

Lap Leaders Laps Leader 1–36 Jimmy Snyder 37–69 Wilbur Shaw 70–73 Louis Meyer 74 Rex Mays 75–103 Jimmy Snyder 104–130 Louis Meyer 131–134 Ted Horn 135–182 Louis Meyer 183–200 Wilbur Shaw

Total laps led Driver Laps Louis Meyer 79 Jimmy Snyder 65 Wilbur Shaw 51 Ted Horn 4 Rex Mays 1

Yellow Lights Laps* Reason 106–125 Floyd Roberts crash on backstretch (31:30) * – Approximate lap counts[12]

See also

• 1939 AAA Championship Car season