The 36th International 500-Mile Sweepstakes was a motor race 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 Friday, May 30, 1952. It was the opening race of the 1952 AAA National Championship Trail and was also race 2 of 8 in the 1952 World Championship of Drivers.

Troy Ruttman Troy Ruttman (born March 11, 1930 – May 19, 1997) was an American race car driver. He was the older brother of Jimmy Ruttman, and NASCAR driver Joe Ruttman. Ruttman won the Indianapolis 500 in 1952, at the age of 22 years and 80 days. , he is ...

won the race for car owner J. C. Agajanian. Ruttman, aged 22 years and 80 days, set the record for the youngest 500 winner in history. It was also the last dirt track car to win at Indy. Ruttman's win also saw him become the youngest winner of a World Drivers' Championship race, a record he would hold for 51 years until the 2003 Hungarian Grand Prix when Spanish driver Fernando Alonso won at the age of 22 years and 26 days.

Bill Vukovich William John Vukovich Sr. (; December 13, 1918 – May 30, 1955) was an American automobile racing driver of Serbian descent. He won the 1953 and 1954 Indianapolis 500, plus two more American Automobile Association National Championship races, ...

led 150 laps, but with 9 laps to go, he broke a steering linkage while leading. He nursed his car to a stop against the outside wall, preventing other cars from getting involved in the incident. In the third year that the 500 was included in the World Championship,

Ferrari Ferrari S.p.A. (; ) is an Italian luxury sports car manufacturer based in Maranello, Italy. Founded by Enzo Ferrari (1898–1988) in 1939 from the Alfa Romeo racing division as ''Auto Avio Costruzioni'', the company built its first car in ...

entered the race with

Alberto Ascari Alberto Ascari (; 13 July 1918 – 26 May 1955) was an Italian racing driver and a two time Formula One World Champion. He was a multitalented racer who competed in motorcycle racing before switching to cars. Ascari won consecutive world titles ...

on Ferrari 375 Indianapolis. The effort gained considerable attention, but Ascari was forced to retire after a few laps when the hub of a wheel on his car collapsed. He was classified 31st. It was the only World Championship race in 1952 that Ascari entered and did not win. Fifth place finisher

Art Cross Art Cross (January 24, 1918 – April 15, 2005) was an American racecar driver. He was the first recipient of the Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year Award in 1952. Racing career Cross began racing midget cars in 1938. He received a Purple He ...

was voted the Rookie of the Year. Though at least one rookie starter was in the field every year dating back to 1911, this was the first time the now-popular award was officially designated.

Time trials

Time trials was scheduled for four days, but rain pushed qualifying into a fifth day. *Saturday May 17 – Pole Day time trials *Sunday May 18 – Second day time trials (rained out) *Saturday May 24 – Third day time trials *Sunday May 25 – Fourth day time trials (rained out) *Monday May 26 – Fifth day time trials (rain make up day)

Box score

;Notes * – 1 point for fastest lead lap

Failed to qualify

* Frank Armi (#39) * George Armstrong – Did not arrive *

Buzz Barton Buzz Barton (1913–1980) was an American film actor.Munden p.37 He is predominantly known for his roles as a child actor in a number of silent westerns made by the FBO studios during the 1920s. Following the introduction of sound, he mainly pla ...

(#58) *

Joe Barzda Joseph John "Joe" Barzda (May 22, 1915 – October 11, 1993) was an American racing driver from New Brunswick, New Jersey. Barzda was primarily a midget car racing, midget racing and sprint car racing driver but made ten starts in the United Sta ...

(#53) * Bill Boyd (#92) – Did not arrive * Bill Cantrell (#52) * Neal Carter (#25) *

Jimmy Daywalt Jimmy Daywalt (August 28, 1924 – April 4, 1966) was an American racecar driver. Born in Wabash, Indiana, he drove in the AAA and USAC Championship Car series, racing in the 1950, 1953–1957, 1959, and 1961–1962 seasons with 20 starts. He fi ...

(#64) *

Duke Dinsmore J. Carlyle "Duke" Dinsmore (April 10, 1913 – October 13, 1985) was an American racecar driver. Complete AAA/USAC Championship Car results Indianapolis 500 results * Shared drive with Rodger Ward and Andy Linden. Dinsmore drove ten ...

(#68) *

Giuseppe Farina Emilio Giuseppe Farina, also known as Giuseppe Antonio "Nino" Farina, (; 30 October 1906 – 30 June 1966) was an Italian racing driver and first official Formula One World Champion. He gained the title in 1950. He was the Italian Champion in ...

– Withdrew *

Walt Faulkner Walt Faulkner (February 16, 1918 – April 22, 1956) was an American racing driver from Tell, Texas. He moved to Milledgeville, Georgia at the age of two-and-a-half, and to Lake Wales, Florida at the age of eight. He then moved to San Diego, Cal ...

(#3) *

Johnny Fedricks Johnny is an English language personal name. It is usually an affectionate diminutive of the masculine given name John (given name), John, but from the 16th century it has sometimes been a given name in its own right for males and, less commonly ...

(#82) *

Carl Forberg Carl Roy Forberg (March 4, 1911 – January 17, 2000) was an American racecar driver from Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern Uni ...

(#53) * Gene Force (#96) *

Dick Fraizer Dick, Dicks, or Dick's may refer to: Media * ''Dicks'' (album), a 2004 album by Fila Brazillia * Dicks (band), a musical group * ''Dick'' (film), a 1999 American comedy film * "Dick" (song), a 2019 song by Starboi3 featuring Doja Cat Names ...

(#63) * Potsy Goacher (#93) *

Perry Grimm Perry Grimm (February 19, 1914 – September 11, 1971) was an American racecar driver who raced midget cars in California and Australia. Midget car Grimm drove midget cars for the Edelbrock dirt track racing team. He raced on the West Coas ...

(#55) *

Peter Hahn Peter Hahn von Rottenstern (1799–1873), member of the Baltic German nobility, which also belonged to Russian nobility, remembered in the United States mainly as the father of Helena Blavatsky. Early life and marriage Born as the son of the ...

(#74) * Allen Heath (#32, #97) *

Tommy Hinnershitz Thomas Paul Hinnershitz (April 6, 1912 – August 1, 1999) was an American race car driver. Hinnershitz was active through the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s on dirt, asphalt and boards, driving "Big Cars" (later Sprint Cars), at that time slightly ...

(#27) * Jackie Holmes (#41) * Jimmy Jackson (#61) *

Danny Kladis Danny Kladis (February 10, 1917 – April 26, 2009) was an American racecar driver. He was born in Crystal City, Missouri and died at Joliet, Illinois. 92-year-old Kladis was the oldest living Indy 500 starter at the time of his death. Racin ...

(#19) *

Jud Larson Eugene Wesley (Jud) Larson (January 21, 1923 Grand Prairie, Texas – June 11, 1966 Reading, Pennsylvania) was an American racecar driver. Larson drove in the USAC Championship Car series, racing in the 1956-1959 and 1964-1965 seasons with ...

(#39, #66) *

Bayliss Levrett Bayliss Levrett (February 14, 1914 – March 13, 2002) was an American racecar driver from Jacksonville, Florida. He died in Reno, Nevada at the age of 88 after a long battle with Alzheimer's disease. Award Levrett is a 2007 inductee in the Nati ...

(#69) – Wrecked practice, retired *

Frank Luptow Frank Luptow (born Frank Lueptow) (1914-1952) was an American racing driver. He competed in International Motor Contest Association (IMCA) big cars (now sprint cars) and NASCAR stock cars. He won the 1949, 1950, and 1951 IMCA big car championships ...

(#56) * George Lynch (#74) *

Johnny Mauro Johnny Mauro (October 25, 1910 – January 23, 2003) was an American racecar driver Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. Auto r ...

(#35) *

Mike Nazaruk Mike Nazaruk (October 2, 1921 Newark, New Jersey – May 1, 1955 Langhorne, Pennsylvania) was an American racecar driver. He raced midget cars, sprint cars, and IndyCars. He was nicknamed "Iron Mike."Danny Oakes Danny Oakes (July 18, 1911 – January 13, 2007) was an American midget car hall of fame driver. Early life Daniel G. Oakes became interested in racing when he delivered morning and evening newspapers in his hometown of Santa Barbara, Califor ...

(#39) *

Puffy Puffer Puffy can refer to: * Puffy, stage name of Sean Combs (born 1969), American rapper and entrepreneur * Puffy, nickname of Mike Bordin (born 1962), American drummer for the rock band Faith No More * Puffy, nickname of Jeff Dubay (born 1968), Minnes ...

Paul Russo Paul Russo (April 10, 1914 in Kenosha, Wisconsin – February 13, 1976 in Clearwater, Florida) was an American racecar driver. Midget car career He started racing midget cars in 1934. He went with a contingent of midget-car drivers to Hawa ...

(#10) *

Carl Scarborough Carl Scarborough (July 3, 1914 – May 30, 1953) was an American racecar driver. He died from heat exhaustion during the 1953 Indianapolis 500, a race in which several drivers experienced heat-related illness. The race was Scarborough's second ent ...

(#33, #44) * Albert Scully (#62) – Did not arrive *

Doc Shanebrook DOC, Doc, doc or DoC may refer to: In film and television * Doc (2001 TV series), ''Doc'' (2001 TV series), a 2001–2004 PAX series * Doc (1975 TV series), ''Doc'' (1975 TV series), a 1975–1976 CBS sitcom * D.O.C. (Lost), "D.O.C." (''Lost'' ...

(#76) * Ottis Stine (#84) * Bill Taylor (#47) * George Tichenor (#88) * Johnnie Tolan (#51) *

Leroy Warriner Leroy Warriner (March 1, 1919 – January 2, 2003) was an American racing driver from Indianapolis who attempted to qualify for the Indianapolis 500 every year from 1951 to 1958 without succeeding. Warriner only managed to qualify for a single Cha ...

(#27) * Chuck Weyant (#92) – Did not arrive

Notes

Pole position In a motorsports race, the pole position is usually the best and "statistically the most advantageous" starting position on the track. The pole position is usually earned by the driver with the best qualifying times in the trials before the rac ...

: Fred Agabashian – 4:20.85 (4 laps) * Agabashian's

Cummins Diesel Cummins Inc. is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and distributes engines, filtration, and power generation products. Cummins also services engines and related equipment, including fuel systems, controls, air ...

Special was the first entry in the Indianapolis 500 to be powered by a turbocharged engine (then described as "turbosupercharged"). Gear-driven centrifugal blowers known as "superchargers" had been used since the 1920s to increase the volumetric efficiency and power output of racing engines, but the Cummins Diesel was the first to make use of the "free" energy contained in the engine exhaust stream to drive a turbine wheel connected to a centrifugal blower (thus, "turbo-supercharging"). * Fastest Lead Lap:

– 1:06.60 (135.135 mph) * As of

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; 2022 Sri Lankan protests, Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretari ...

remains the youngest driver to win the Indianapolis 500, at 22 years and 80 days. Davidson, Donald. (2007). "The Talk of Gasoline Alley"

adio program Adio may refer to: Business *Adio (company), the former skateboard footwear and apparel company Music Songs *Adio (song), "Adio" (song), a song by Montenegrin recording artist Knez that represented Montenegro at the Eurovision Song Contest 2015 * ...

WIBC (FM) WIBC (93.1 MHz) is a commercial FM radio station in Indianapolis, Indiana. It is owned by Urban One and broadcasts a news/talk format. The studios are located at 40 Monument Circle in downtown Indianapolis. The transmitter and antenna are loc ...

'', April 30, 2007. Archived at https://web.archive.org/web/20070928124654/http://media.wibc.com/av/audio/talk_gas/2007/april30.mp3, retrieved on January 6, 2016. * Ruttman also became the youngest driver to win a race counting for the World Championship of Drivers. His record was broken by Fernando Alonso at the 2003 Hungarian Grand Prix. *

marked the first instance of a driver competing seriously for the World Drivers' Championship (of which the 500 was a points-scoring race) to race in the 500. Although he finished 31st at Indy, he went on to win all of the remaining races and the title. * 1952 was the only occasion when the fastest (

Chet Miller Chester Miller (July 19, 1902 – May 15, 1953) was an American racecar driver. He was killed in a crash in the south turn of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway during practice for the 1953 Indianapolis 500. Yates, Brock W. "The Indianapolis 500 ...

) and slowest (

Jim Rigsby James William Rigsby (June 6, 1923 – August 31, 1952) was an American racecar driver from Spadry, Arkansas. He was killed in a crash during a sprint car race at Dayton, Ohio Dayton () is the List of cities in Ohio, sixth-largest city in t ...

) qualifiers for the race started next to each other. * 1952 was the first Indy 500 in which not a single relief driver was utilized during the race.

Broadcasting

Radio

The race was carried live on the radio on the

Indianapolis Motor Speedway Radio Network The Indianapolis Motor Speedway Radio Network (known typically as the IMS Radio Network or the INDYCAR Radio Network), is an in-house radio syndication arrangement which broadcasts the Indianapolis 500, the NTT IndyCar Series, and Indy Lights to ...

. During the offseason, the Speedway management created the network to handle broadcasting duties in-house. The arrangement was under the flagship of 1070 WIBC-AM of

Indianapolis Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Marion ...

, and featured a crew that consisted mostly of WIBC talent. WIBC landed exclusive rights of the broadcast in the Indianapolis market, which eventually would draw the ire of the other major stations in the area. In later years, the broadcast would be carried on all five stations inside the city.

Sid Collins Sid Collins (born Sidney Cahn Jr.) (July 17, 1922 – May 2, 1977) was an American broadcaster best known as the radio voice of the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Radio Network from 1952–1976. Collins coined th ...

served as booth announcer. Jim Shelton was among the turn reporters, reporting from turn 4. Gordon Graham reported from the pits and from victory lane. Like previous years, the broadcast featured live coverage of the start, the finish, and 15-minute live updates throughout the race. At least twenty stations around the county picked up the broadcast.

Championship standings after the race

;World Drivers' Championship standings *Note: Only the top five positions are included. Only the best 4 results counted towards the Championship.

References

External links

Indianapolis 500 History: Race & All-Time Stats
– Official Site *Van Camp's Pork & Beans Presents: ''Great Moments From the Indy 500'' – Fleetwood Sounds, 1975 {{F1GP 50-59 Indianapolis 500 races

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 ...

1952 in American motorsport

Indy Indy may refer to: Computing and technology *Indy (software), used for Internet access to music *Internet Direct, or "Indy", a software library *SGI Indy, a computer workstation Periodicals *''The Indy'', shorthand for newspapers that include " ...