The 24th International 500-Mile Sweepstakes Race was held at the

Indianapolis Motor Speedway The Indianapolis Motor Speedway is an automobile racing circuit located in Speedway, Indiana, an enclave suburb of Indianapolis, Indiana. It is the home of the Indianapolis 500 and the Verizon 200, and and formerly the home of the United State ...

on Saturday, May 30, 1936. The race was part of the

1936 AAA Championship Car season The 1936 AAA Championship Car season consisted of four races, beginning in Speedway, Indiana on May 30 and concluding in Westbury, New York on October 12. There were also three non-championship events. The AAA National Champion was Mauri Rose, ...

. The race is remembered for three noteworthy Indy

traditions A tradition is a belief or behavior (folk custom) passed down within a group or society with symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past. A component of cultural expressions and folklore, common examples include holidays or ...

getting their start.

Louis Meyer Louis Meyer (July 21, 1904 – October 7, 1995) was an American Hall of Fame race car driver who was the first three-time winner of the Indianapolis 500. Biography Born in lower Manhattan, New York on July 21, 1904, he was the son of French im ...

became the first three-time winner of the

Indianapolis 500 The Indianapolis 500, formally known as the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, and commonly called the Indy 500, is an annual automobile race held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of Indi ...

. He notably celebrated in victory lane with a bottle of

buttermilk Buttermilk is a fermented dairy drink. Traditionally, it was the liquid left behind after churning butter out of cultured cream. As most modern butter in western countries is not made with cultured cream but uncultured sweet cream, most mod ...

, which later started the famous tradition of serving milk in victory lane at Indianapolis.

Lawson Harris William Lawson Harris (June 30, 1897 – March 31, 1948) was an American director, actor, producer, and writer who made a number of films in Australia. He came to Australia originally at the behest of Arthur Shirley to work as production manag ...

served as Meyer's riding mechanic. Harris, who also rode with Meyer in

1933 Events January * January 11 – Sir Charles Kingsford Smith makes the first commercial flight between Australia and New Zealand. * January 17 – The United States Congress votes in favour of Philippines independence, against the wis ...

, became the first two-time Indianapolis 500 winning riding mechanic. The

Borg-Warner Trophy The Borg-Warner Trophy is the trophy presented to the winner of the Indianapolis 500. It is named for and was commissioned by automotive supplier BorgWarner. It is permanently housed at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum in Speedway, Indiana. ...

debuted for the winner in 1936. Also, pace car driver

Tommy Milton Thomas Milton (November 14, 1893 – July 10, 1962) was an American race car driver best known as the first two-time winner of the Indianapolis 500. He was notable for having only one functional eye, a disability that would have disqualified him ...

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 Packard or Packard Motor Car Company was an American luxury automobile company located in Detroit, Michigan. The first Packard automobiles were produced in 1899, and the last Packards were built in South Bend, Indiana in 1958. One of the "Thr ...

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 Rex Houston Mays Jr. (March 10, 1913 – November 6, 1949) was a AAA Championship Car race driver. He was a two-time AAA champion and won 8 points-scoring races. He made his Indianapolis 500 debut in 1934 and won the pole in 1935, 1936, and ag ...

won the pole position for the second consecutive year.

Results

Alternates

*First alternate: Al Putman

Failed to Qualify

* George Bailey (#51) *

Henry Banks Henry Banks (June 14, 1913 – December 18, 1994) was an American midget car and "big car" driver. "Married Roseanne Eisamann, two children, John Allen Banks, and Kathryn Roseanne Banks, three grandchildren Allen Edwin Banks, Jeffrey Henry Banks ...

(#29) * Rick Decker (#44) * Dave Evans (#25) * Dusty Fahrnow (#55) *

Tony Gulotta Tony Gulotta (August 4, 1903 New Orleans, Louisiana – March 2, 1981 Los Angeles, California) was an American racecar driver active in the 1920s and 1930s. He competed in American Championship Car Racing and finished eighth in the 1927 Natio ...

(#31, #56) *

Harry Hunt Harry Hunt (born 3 September 1988) is a British endurance and rally driver, and son of billionaire Jon Hunt. In 2016 he became the youngest British driver to take part in the Dakar Rally, finishing in 10th place out of 110 cars. He has participat ...

(#58) * Luther Johnson (#49) - Withdrew *

Roy Painter Roy Painter (born 1933) was a former leading figure on the British far right. A cab driver, he was a leading member of the Conservatives in Tottenham and had stood as a candidate for them in the Greater London Council. A supporter of Enoch Powell ...

(#34) *

Kelly Petillo Kelly Carl Petillo (born Cavino Michele Petillo; December 5, 1903 or December 16, 1903 – June 30, 1970) was an American racecar driver. Life and career Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1903, Petillo moved with his family to Huntington Park ...

(#10) *

Phil Shafer Phil "Red" Shafer (November 13, 1891 Des Moines, Iowa – January 29, 1971 Des Moines, Iowa) was an American racecar driver. He made 30 AAA Championship Car American open-wheel car racing, also known as Indy car racing, is a category o ...

(#26) * Overton Snell (#24) *

Russ Snowberger Russell Snowberger (October 8, 1901 – September 28, 1968) was an American racecar driver and owner active from the 1920s through the 1950s. After his lengthy Indianapolis career, Snowberger continued his affiliation with the "500" by sponsori ...

(#23) * Lucky Teter - Did not appear *

Joel Thorne Joel W. Thorne (16 October 1914 New York City – 17 October 1955 North Hollywood, California) was an American racecar driver, engineer, and playboy. He died when he crashed his private plane, after what witnesses described as "stunting", into ...

- Did not appear * George Wingerter (#57)

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

led but soon dropped out with a faulty throttle.

Wilbur Shaw Warren Wilbur Shaw (October 31, 1902 – October 30, 1954) was an American racing driver. He was president of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway from 1945 until his death in 1954. Shaw was the automotive test evaluator for ''Popular Science'' magazin ...

then took the lead, but lost time with a 17-minute pit stop to re-fasten loose rivets on his engine hood.

steadily moved up through the field and took the lead by halfway. He pitted for fuel at 350 miles, allowing

Ted Horn Ted Horn (February 27, 1909 – October 10, 1948), born Eylard Theodore Von Horn, was an American racecar driver. He won the AAA National Championship in 1946, 1947 and 1948 and collected 24 wins, 12 second-place finishes and 13 third-place ...

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 mechanic A riding mechanic was a mechanic that rode along with a race car during races, and who was tasked with maintaining, monitoring, and repairing the car during the race. The various duties included manually pumping oil and fuel, checking tire wear, ...

s 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 and/or spectators. It marked the only year from the span of 1929-1940 (the

Depression Era The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

) 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

{{Indy 500 Indianapolis 500 races

1936 in American motorsport