The 24th International 500-Mile Sweepstakes Race was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Saturday, May 30, 1936. The race was part of the 1936 AAA Championship Car season. The race is remembered for three noteworthy Indy traditions getting their start.
Louis Meyer became the first three-time winner of the Indianapolis 500. He notably celebrated in victory lane with a bottle of buttermilk, which later started the famous tradition of serving milk in victory lane at Indianapolis.
Lawson Harris served as Meyer's riding mechanic. Harris, who also rode with Meyer in 1933, became the first two-time Indianapolis 500 winning riding mechanic.
The Borg-Warner Trophy debuted for the winner in 1936. Also, pace car driver Tommy Milton suggested that the race winner should be awarded the official pace car as part of his complement of prizes. Louis Meyer was given the keys to the Packard after the race, and it has been a tradition ever since (with only a handful of exceptions).
Time trials Ten-lap (25 mile) qualifying runs were utilized. Rex Mays won the pole position for the second consecutive year.
Qualifying Results Date Driver Lap 1(mph) Lap 2(mph) Lap 3(mph) Lap 4(mph) Lap 5(mph) Lap 6(mph) Lap 7(mph) Lap 8(mph) Lap 9(mph) Lap 10(mph) Average Speed(mph)Sat 5/16/1936Rex Mays 119.745 119.348 118.743 119.968 121.065 119.984 120.289 119.697 119.253 118.985119.644
Starting grid RowInsideMiddleOutside 133 Rex Mays 21 Babe Stapp18 Chet Miller 210 Doc MacKenzie38 George Connor44 Herb Ardinger 342 Cliff Bergere27 Louis Tomei3 Wilbur Shaw 47 Shorty Cantlon22 Ted Horn35 Freddie Winnai 52 Bill Cummings 17 George Barringer4 Floyd Roberts 643 Jimmy Snyder12 Al Miller6 Chet Gardner 75 Billy Winn14 Frank Brisko47 Johnny Seymour 852 Frank McGurk 54 Doc Williams 9 Ralph Hepburn 941 Ray Pixley 15 Deacon Litz28 Harry McQuinn 108 Louis Meyer 32 Lou Moore36 Mauri Rose 1146 Fred Frame 53 Zeke Meyer19 Emil Andres
Alternates First alternate: Al Putman The Talk of Gasoline Alley - 1070-AM WIBC, May 14, 2004
Failed to Qualify
George Bailey (#51) Henry Banks (#29) Rick Decker (#44) Dave Evans (#25) Dusty Fahrnow (#55) Tony Gulotta (#31, #56) Harry Hunt (#58) Luther Johnson (#49) - Withdrew Roy Painter (#34) Kelly Petillo (#10) Phil Shafer (#26) Overton Snell (#24) Russ Snowberger (#23) Lucky Teter - Did not appear Joel Thorne - Did not appear George Wingerter (#57)
Box score FinishStartNoNameEntrantChassisEngineQualRankLapsStatus1288 Louis Meyer Louis MeyerStevensMiller114.17118200 109.069 mph21122 Ted HornHarry HartzWetterothMiller116.5648200 +2:17.153410 Doc MacKenzie(Kelly Petillo Laps 142–200)Kelly PetilloWetterothOffenhauser116.9615200 +4:06.9743036 Mauri RoseFour Wheel Drive Auto CompanyMillerMiller113.89021200 +4:36.465318 Chet MillerBoyle Motor ProductsSummersMiller117.6753200 +5:31.7862541 Ray Pixley Clarence FelkerMillerMiller116.7037200 +9:58.19793 Wilbur ShawW. Wilbur ShawShawOffenhauser117.5034200 +12:45.6181417 George BarringerPhil ShaferRiglingOffenhauser112.70027200 +17:15.2693253 Zeke MeyerBoyle Motor ProductsCooperStudebaker111.47630200 +21:00.1810538 George ConnorJoe MarksAdamsMiller116.2699200 +28:11.10111235 Freddie WinnaiMidwest Racing TeamStevensOffenhauser116.22110199Flagged12249 Ralph HepburnRalph HepburnMillerOffenhauser112.67328196Flagged132728 Harry McQuinnAlden Sampson IIStevensMiller114.11819196Out of gas14107 Shorty CantlonWilliam S. WhiteWeilMiller116.9126194Out of gas15133 Rex MaysPaul WeirickAdamsSparks119.6441192Out of gas162354 Doc Williams Race Car CorporationCooperMiller112.83726192Out of gas172932 Lou Moore(Cliff Bergere Laps 77–134)Lou MooreMillerOffenhauser113.99620185Out of gas183319 Emil Andres (Jimmy Snyder Laps 51–112)J. Stewart CarewWhippetCragar111.45531184Flagged19154 Floyd RobertsJoe LenckiStevensOffenhauser112.40329183Out of gas202014 Frank BriskoElgin Piston Ring CompanyMillerBrisko114.21317180Out of gas211712 Al MillerBoyle Motor ProductsSmithMiller116.13811119Crash FS22742 Cliff Bergere(Tony Gulotta Laps 60–114)(Herb Ardinger Laps 115–116)Bowes Seal Fast CorporationStevensMiller113.37722116Engine support232615 Deacon Litz(Louis Tomei Laps 59–107)A. B. LitzMillerMiller115.99713108Crankshaft24221 Babe StappGil PirrungShawOffenhauser118.945289Crankshaft25195 Billy WinnJames W. WinnMillerMiller114.6481678Crankshaft262252 Frank McGurk Charles WorleyAdamsCragar113.1022451Crankshaft27827 Louis TomeiBabe StappWetterothMiller111.0783344Engine support28644 Herb ArdingerBowes Seal Fast CorporationStevensMiller115.0821538Transmission29186 Chet GardnerChester L. GardnerDuesenbergOffenhauser116.0001238Clutch301643 Jimmy SnyderMurrell BelangerStevensMiller111.2913221Oil leak312147 Johnny SeymourWilliam L. CantlonStevensMiller113.1692313Clutch323146 Fred Frame Moore & FenglerMillerMiller112.877254Piston33132 Bill Cummings Boyle Motor ProductsMillerOffenhauser115.939140Clutch
Note: Relief drivers in parentheses
Former Indianapolis 500 winner
Indianapolis 500 Rookie
Race statistics
Lap Leaders Laps Leader1–12 Rex Mays13–31 Babe Stapp32–82 Wilbur Shaw83–88 Babe Stapp89–130 Louis Meyer131–146 Ted Horn147–200 Louis Meyer
Total laps led Driver LapsLouis Meyer 96Wilbur Shaw 51Babe Stapp 25Ted Horn 16Rex Mays 12
Yellow Lights Laps Reason 119 Al Miller crash on frontstretch
Race summary
To slow the cars, a fuel limit of 37.5 gallons of gasoline was implemented for the race distance. Engine tuners struggled to make their engines more efficient.
At the start, polesitter Rex Mays led but soon dropped out with a faulty throttle. Wilbur Shaw then took the lead, but lost time with a 17-minute pit stop to re-fasten loose rivets on his engine hood.
Louis Meyer steadily moved up through the field and took the lead by halfway. He pitted for fuel at 350 miles, allowing Ted Horn to take the point. But Meyer caught him, pulled away and became the first 3-time "500" winner. He wasn't sure his fuel would last until the end. He said, "That last lap, I held my breath."Book "The Indianapolis 500: A Complete Pictorial History by John and Barbara Devaney p. 111-112
For 1936, riding mechanics were required. After numerous fatalities in the 1935 race, additional safety measures were introduced for 1936. All new drivers were required to pass a rookie test prior to qualifying. In addition, the inside wall was removed in several locations, the outside walls were angled inward to keep cars from going over them, and several portions of the track were paved over in asphalt. In a sharp contrast to previous years, the 1936 race saw zero fatalities amongst the competitors or spectators. It marked the only year from the span of 1929-1940 (the Depression Era) in which no fatalities occurred at the Speedway. Bill Cummings car failed to pull away from the grid due to clutch and transmission failure. He became the first driver in Indy history to line up for the grid, but fail to pull away and start the race.
References