1929 Indianapolis 500


The 17th International 500-Mile Sweepstakes was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Thursday, May 30, 1929. Ray Keech, who finished fourth a year earlier, took the lead for the final time on lap 158 and won his first Indianapolis 500. Keech won for car owner Maude A. Yagle, the first and to-date, only female winning owner in Indy history. Only two weeks after winning the race, Ray Keech was fatally injured in a crash at Altoona Speedway on June 15, 1929. The race was part of the 1929 AAA Championship Car season.
The 1929 edition was the last contested with the supercharged 91 cu. in. displacement engine formula. The supercharged front-wheel drive Miller 8s dominated qualifying, sweeping the front row. A total of twelve front-wheel drive machines made the field, but Keech's rear-wheel-drive Simplex Piston Ring Special took the victory. All three cars of the front row, as well as the first two cars of the second row, dropped out before the halfway point. Pole-sitter Cliff Woodbury crashed on lap 4, and became the first pole position winner in Indy history to finish last. Defending race winner Louis Meyer was leading in the second half, but lost nearly seven minutes when his car stalled in the pits due to low oil pressure on lap 157. He finished second just over six minutes behind Keech, with the lengthy pit stop the deciding margin.
The hard luck story of the race belonged to Lou Moore. After finishing second in 1928, Moore was on his way to back-to-back runner-up finishes. With two laps to go, however, his engine threw a rod. Due to the rules at the time, since Moore was not running at the finish, he was scored behind all finishers. He fell all the way back to 13th position, behind four cars that actually had fewer laps than he had.
It was the final race of the Roaring Twenties and the final race before the Stock Market Crash and Great Depression. The facility was expanded in 1929 to include a golf course. Dubbed the "Speedway Golf Course," it featured nine holes outside the track, and nine holes inside the track, and was designed by Bill Diddel. Also during the month, scenes for the movie Speedway were being filmed.

Engine specifications and rule changes

The 1929 race would be the final year contested with the supercharged 91 cu. in. displacement engine formula. Speedway president Eddie Rickenbacker had decided to substantially change the engine specifications for 1930 and beyond in an effort to lure back the passenger car manufacturers, and make the cars on the track resemble more those sold to the motoring public. Rickenbacker's desire was to move away from the supercharged, specialized racing machines that had taken over the Speedway through the 1920s.
Contrary to popular belief, the proposed rules changes were not made in response to the stock market crash of 1929 and the subsequent Great Depression. The rule changes for 1930 were in fact being laid out as early as 1928, and were already approved by the AAA Contest Board in early January 1929. In addition, the 1929 race would be the final for the foreseeable future to be without riding mechanics. From 1930 and beyond, the rules were once again going to mandate two-man cars.
With the 91 c.i.d engines on their way out, interest was focused on whether the roughly 200 horsepower machines could set a track record for 500 miles in their swan song. Qualifying speeds were expected to be fast.
For 1929, riding mechanics were optional, however, no teams utilized them.
Jimmy Gleason's car carried #53, the first number over 50 in the history of the race.

Race schedule

Participants began arriving at the Speedway in mid-April, but very few, if any, cars took laps prior to May 1. The track was officially made available for practice beginning on Wednesday May 1. Time trials was scheduled for four days - Saturday May 25 through Tuesday May 28. Qualifying on Saturday would be held from 1 p.m to 5 p.m., and qualifying on Sunday would be held from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Time trials for Monday and Tuesday was tentatively scheduled on an as-needed basis, although on Monday, rain would ultimately wash out the day.

Preparations – April

An expanded garage area greeted competitors arriving at the Speedway for 1929. During the offseason, Speedway superintendent Laurence Welch oversaw the construction of a second row of garages along the Gasoline Alley corridor.
Veteran Indianapolis drivers Earl Devore and Norman Batten were lost at sea in November 1928 in the sinking of the SS Vestris. Batten's widow Marion Batton entered the 1929 race as a car owner.
Time trials was scheduled for four days – Saturday May 25 through Tuesday May 28. A qualifying run consisted of four laps. Cars were allowed to take as many warm up laps as needed, and when the driver was ready to begin, he would hold his hand up as he came down the frontstretch. The minimum speed to make the field was set at 90 mph.
Car that qualified on the first day lined up in the grid first, with the fastest qualifier on the first day winning the pole position. Cars qualifying on the second, third, and fourth day, regardless of speed, would line up behind the first day qualifiers. No plans were being made to allow any "last-minute" qualifiers on Wednesday, or on race morning. However, in case of weather, the officials would further assess the situation at the close of qualifying Tuesday evening.

Saturday May 25

The first day of time trials was held Saturday May 24, scheduled for 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. All cars in the qualifying line at 5 o'clock were allowed to make their attempt, with qualifying continuing until the track closed at sundown. On the morning of time trials, the biggest news out of the paddock was that Ralph DePalma would not attempt to qualify. After signing with the Alden Sampson team a week earlier, DePalma was prohibited from driving by his current employer. Sampson immediately replaced DePalma with Dave Evans, and Evans was expected to take to the track on Sunday.
Qualifying on Saturday saw an upset on the front row. Leon Duray was the favorite for the pole position going into the session. One year prior, Duray set the one-lap and four-lap track records. Likewise, he also held the U.S. closed-track record, so he was considered the fastest driver in the field.
Late in the afternoon, Cliff Woodbury took to the track, and tentatively put his car on the top spot. His four-lap average of 120.599 mph, however, was not near a track record. After Woodbury's run, Leon Duray took his Packard Cable Special to the bricks. He took one warm-up lap, returned to the pits for adjustments, then took two more warm-up laps. The next time around he started his run. His first lap was turned at only 120.289 mph, slower than Woodbury's average. Duray was unable to muster any more speed, and settled for second at an average of 119.087 mph.
Also a surprise was Ralph Hepburn who qualified third. Hepburn took the outside of the front row with a run of 116.543 mph. Peter DePaolo's run was mostly a disappointment, as he managed only 5th starting position. Chet Gardner's engine threw a rod and damaged the crankcase. Carl Marchese hit the wall, and would require repairs. Both Gardner and Marchese were expected to attempt to qualify sometime on Monday or Tuesday.
The day ended with fifteen cars qualified. The two slowest cars belonged to foreign drivers Louis Chiron and Jules Moriceau. There was some doubt whether their speeds would hold up to make the starting field. Early predictions had been made that it would take as much as 110 mph to avoid being "crowded out." However, with 18 spots left open and most of the top cars already qualified, the prediction was that any speed over 103 mph was relatively safe.
NameLap 1
Lap 2
Lap 3
Lap 4
Average Speed
18 Cliff Woodbury120.805121.408120.805119.395120.599
221 Leon Duray120.289119.952119.554116.626119.087
318 Ralph Hepburn116.445116.611117.188115.935116.543
432 Babe Stapp115.488115.741115.144116.099115.618
537 Peter DePaolo '114.475115.771115.444114.694115.093
62 Ray Keech117.709114.548116.641110.960114.906
79 Billy Arnold114.723115.178114.344114.767114.752
81 Lou Meyer '114.577114.957114.591114.694114.704
926 Deacon Litz112.994114.884115.414114.340114.526
1012 Russ Snowberger114.068113.536113.479113.407113.622
1123 Tony Gulotta111.524111.359112.754112.966112.146
1210 Bill Spence '111.954111.621111.649111.372111.649
133 Lou Moore109.836110.756110.783111.345110.677
146 Louis Chiron '107.168107.335107.630107.271107.351
1535 Jules Moriceau 105.423105.473105.758105.783105.609

The second day of time trials was held on Sunday May 26 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Any cars still in line at 5 o'clock would be able to make an attempt, with the track closing at sundown. Four additional drivers completed runs, filling the field to 19 cars. A total of 14 spots were still open. Of the 19 cars qualified, a total of 17 broke the 110 mph barrier, and all-time record for time trials at Indianapolis at the time.
Johnny Seymour was the fastest driver of the day, posting the 10th-fastest speed overall. However, as a second day qualifier, he would line up 16th on the starting grid.
NameLap 1
Lap 2
Lap 3
Lap 4
Average Speed
1638 Johnny Seymour114.591114.446114.315113.881114.307
174 Peter Kreis112.150112.346113.208112.416112.528
1817 Phil Shafer111.566112.136111.495111.359111.628
195 Bob McDonogh110.633112.094111.718112.024111.614

Rain washed out qualifying on Monday May 27. Seven cars announced their intentions to get in the qualifying line, but the only track activity was practice runs. Late in the afternoon, Myron Stevens hit a bump in turn one, which veered the car to the inside wall. The car bounced off the retaining wall and back onto the track surface. Stevens was thrown from the machine as it flipped end-over-end. Stevens was checked out at the hospital and suffered only superficial injuries.

Tuesday May 28

The fourth and final day of time trials was held on Tuesday May 28. The day started with fourteen spots open on the grid. Officials announced that if the field filled to 33 cars by the end of the day, there would be no further qualifying. A total of sixteen cars took to the track, and the starting grid was set.
Rain hampered most of the day. Two cars completed runs around noon, then rain resumed. At 4 p.m., the rain stopped, and the 24 cars in the qualifying line would be sent in until darkness. Ernie Triplett was the fastest driver of the day. Two drivers failed to qualify. Bill Lindau was "crowded out" by Cliff Bergere, and rookie Frank Swigart was too slow. Two additional drivers, Zeke Meyer and Sam Grecco, tried to qualify in total darkness, but were too slow and officials flagged them off the track.
NameLap 1
Lap 2
Lap 3
Lap 4
Average Speed
Notes
2047 Ernie Triplett '115.340115.031114.271114.518114.789
2142 Freddy Winnai '113.622114.416113.679113.852113.892
2334 Fred Frame111.885111.956111.359111.132111.328
2244 Phil Pardee110.906111.718111.056111.166111.211Car withdrawn May 29
2453 Jimmy Gleason110.552109.720110.321110.783110.345
2549 Wesley Crawford '108.538106.509109.356110.092108.607
2643 Carl Marchese '108.238108.108108.761108.656108.440
2736 Frank Farmer '107.720107.656108.669107.849107.972
2831 Herman Schurch '106.749107.501108.134107.411107.477
2948 Speed Gardner '105.945107.733105.659104.651105.985
3028 Frank Brisko '105.202106.270105.945106.020105.857
3129 Rick Decker '105.275105.436105.300105.126105.285
3227 Albert Karnatz '106.597106.232104.493101.810104.749
3325 Cliff Bergere106.358102.845102.939102.693103.687
DNQ46 Bill Lindau '102.509Bumped by Bergere
DNQ Frank Swigart '99.585Too Slow
DNQ45 Sam Grecco 'N/AFlagged due to darkness
DNQ16 Zeke Meyer 'N/AFlagged due to darkness

The track was closed Wednesday morning for track cleaning. The final "Carburation Day" practice session was held Thursday afternoon. Phil Pardee crashed in turn three, and was sent to the hospital with slight injuries. Pardee's car was too damaged to race and was withdrawn. Officials elevated Bill Lindau, the first alternate, to 33rd starting position.
RowInsideMiddleOutside
1 Cliff Woodbury Leon Duray Ralph Hepburn
2 Babe Stapp Peter DePaolo ' Ray Keech
3 Billy Arnold Lou Meyer ' Deacon Litz
4 Russ Snowberger Tony Gulotta Bill Spence '
5 Lou Moore Louis Chiron ' Jules Moriceau '
6 Johnny Seymour Peter Kreis Phil Shafer
7 Bob McDonogh Ernie Triplett ' Freddy Winnai '
8 Fred Frame Jimmy Gleason Wesley Crawford '
9 Carl Marchese ' Frank Farmer ' Herman Schurch '
10 Speed Gardner ' Frank Brisko ' Rick Decker '
11 Albert Karnatz ' Cliff Bergere Bill Lindau '

Cars withdrawn

Sources:

Race summary

The race began at 10 a.m. with George Hunt driving the Studebaker President Roadster pace car. Theodore "Pop" Meyers rode as a passenger in the pace car. Among the notable guests and celebrities in attendance were Governor Harry G. Leslie, Glenn Curtiss, Horace E. Dodge, Harvey S. Firestone, William S. Knudsen, and Ray Harroun. In addition, former Speedway president Carl G. Fisher was on hand. William Haines, Anita Page, Ernest Torrence, and Karl Dane were on hand, as filming continued on the film Speedway.
During the pace lap, Ralph Hepburn's car stalled. His crew was able to push-start the car, and he caught up to re-join the field. The pace lap was run at about 60-70 mph, and the field was released for the start.

Start

took the lead from the middle of the front row. On lap 4, pole-sitter Cliff Woodbury suffered a failure in the right rear wheel. In turn three, the car skidded, then spun in turn four, backing the car into the outside wall, punching a section of the wall down. Woodbury became the first driver in Indy history to start on the pole position and finish last. Woodbury was credited with only 3 laps completed, but was uninjured, and immediately returned to the pits to drive relief for other cars.
Leon Duray led the first seven laps, with Ray Keech second. The pace was about 109 mph. On lap 8, Deacon Litz was running third behind Duray and Keech when he realized his hand-brake had fallen off. Barreling down the backstretch, Litz veered to the inside apron to avoid crashing and possibly collecting the two other leaders. He skidded by both Duray and Keech, gathered control, and remarkably was able to take the lead cleanly. Litz was quickly able to adapt, and started pulling out to a sizable lead.
On lap 10, Bill Spence crashed in turn two. Spence had already been in the pits to change out all eight spark plugs. The car hit the wall and turned over several times and Spence was thrown from the cockpit. He was taken unconscious from the track, but died en route to the hospital from a fractured skull. It was the first fatal accident to occur during the race in ten years.

First half

After troubles on the pace lap, Ralph Hepburn dropped out on lap 14 with transmission trouble. Ray Keech made a 30-second pit stop to change a right rear tire on lap 21, and fell back to tenth position. Back out on the track, Keech began charging to catch up to the leaders.
Attrition took a huge toll on the field in the first 75 laps. Peter DePaolo dropped out with a broken steering knuckle, and Babe Stapp suffered a broken universal joint. By lap 65, seven of the top ten qualifiers were out – including all of the top five qualifiers. Jules Moriceau crashed in turn three after completing 30 laps. He spun around four times, hitting the wall each time, then bounced back across the track. The car came to rest pointing forward, and was towed back to the pits. Moriceau was not injured, and walked back to the pits planning to drive relief.
Deacon Litz continued to set the pace until lap 56. Lou Moore was in second, followed by Leon Duray, and Ray Keech. Billy Arnold and Tony Gulotta were also running in the top five. At the 100-mile mark, Litz set a record average speed of 107.17 mph. After his early crash, Cliff Woodbury was already back behind the wheel around lap 30, driving relief for Billy Arnold. Arnold came to the pits with broken goggles and a cut eye, and needed relief while his injuries were tended to.
Deacon Litz dropped out while leading with a broken rod on lap 56. According to Litz, "something the size of a brick" exploded out of the side of the crankcase. That handed the lead to Lou Moore. Running in second was now Louis Meyer. Moore and Meyer traded time in the lead until the halfway point.

Second half

Barney Kleopfer took over as relief driver for Lou Moore for the second half. Ray Keech and Louis Meyer, however, would go the distance without relief help. Ray Keech made his second and final pit stop on lap 109. The team changed three tires and refueled in just over three minutes.
Fred Frame led eleven laps at the halfway point. Frame's challenge at the front of the field was short-lived, and he eventually fell back and finished 10th. Louis Meyer took the lead once again on lap 109, and led until lap 157. With Meyer leading, Keech second, and Kleopfer third, car numbers #1, #2, and #3 were running 1st-2nd-3rd.
Louis Meyer came to the pits on lap 157, but had a disastrous seven-minute pit stop. The engine stalled and the crew worked diligently on the carburetor to get him back out on the track. By the time he got back in the race, he had fallen to third place. Ray Keech was now firmly in control with Kleopfer in second.

Finish

In the closing laps, Ray Keech led Barney Kleopfer. Louis Meyer was charging hard in third place, desperate to make up for lost time in the pits. The Kleopfer car was running low on oil, and sputtering. Keech held a lead of about 1 minute and 14 seconds with ten laps to go. Third place was another 4 minutes behind. The rest of the field was many laps down.
While Keech cruised to victory, the race now came down to who was going to finish second. Barney Kloepfter pulled Lou Moore's car into the pits with two laps to go. The engine was clanking, suffering from burned out bearings. Lou Moore got back in the car, attempting to nurse the final two laps out of the machine. Still holding a lead of at least a few minutes over third place, he was able to crank the car one more time, and pulled away. He only got as far as turn two, and the engine threw a rod down the backstretch. Due to the rules at the time, all cars that were running at the finish were ranked ahead of cars that dropped out, regardless of total lap count. Since Moore was not running at the finish, he was scored behind all finishers. He fell all the way back to 13th position, behind three cars that actually had fewer laps than he had. But more frustrating for Moore was the loss of over $12,000 in prize money. His lap prize money $2,200 and 13th place purse of $462 was of little consolation.
Ray Keech took home a purse of $31,350 for the victory. A hard-charging Louis Meyer snatched second place after the Moore car's misfortunes. Meyer finished 6 minutes and 24 second behind, and collected $20,400.
Jimmy Gleason finished third, nursing a sore ankle from an injury the previous fall. After suffering a crash in practice just before time trials, Carl Marchese came home fourth. After showing strength in qualifying, the only front-wheel drive car to go the distance belonged to Cliff Bergere, credited with 9th place. The final few laps were also dramatic for Billy Arnold. After suffering a cut eye early in the going, Arnold was back in the car for the finish, but ran out of gas on lap 196. One of his mechanics ran to his aid with a gas can, and Arnold was able to finish. The delay, however, cost Arnold two positions, and he dropped from 6th to 8th in the final standings.
Sources: The Indianapolis News

Box score

Statistics

Broadcasting

The race was carried live on radio on WKBF-AM, in a partnership arranged with the Indianapolis News. The broadcast began at 9:30 a.m. local time, and was five and a half hours in duration. It was the fifth consecutive year the race was being carried on the radio through this format. WFBM also picked up the broadcast.
The broadcast originated from the Pagoda, with microphones also set up in the pit area. The booth announcing staff included Chris Albion and John H. Heiney. John Mannix and a crew of four assistants handled the pit duties, and William F. Sturm was on hand to offer race summaries.
At 2 p.m., NBC came on air for live national coverage of the final hour of the race. Anchor Graham McNamee's call was picked up on WKBF and 47 other NBC affiliates across the country.

Legacy

reigned as Indianapolis 500 champion for only 17 days. He would be fatally injured in a crash at Altoona Speedway on June 15, 1929. Keech joined Gaston Chevrolet and Joe Boyer as Indy 500 winners who were killed in racing accidents the same year as their Indy victory.
Despite the predictions of record speeds, the final race contested with the 91.5 cubic inch "specialized" racing machines failed to set records in either qualifying or the race. Peter DePaolo's 1924 race record would stand for another three years. The one-lap qualifying record set by Leon Duray in 1928 would also stand for nearly a decade until it fell.

Works cited