Indianapolis
500 winner Bob Sweikert receives a kiss from movie star Dinah Shore in victory
lane.
Indianapolis, Ind. (May 30, 1955) – Handsome Bob Sweikert drove his big new Zink Special to victory on Monday in the bloodiest 500-mile race in 25 years – a bitter contest that cost the life of two-time winner Bill Vukovich of Fresno, Calif.
The six-car accident that sent Vukovich hurtling to a flaming death along the backstretch was the first fatal mishap in the Memorial Day classic since William “Shorty” Cantlon of Indianapolis was killed in 1947.
Vukovich, a swarthy little mechanic of Slovenian ancestry, kept the track record in death – the 46th since the speedway opened in 1909.
Sweikert’s winning speed was 128.209 miles per hour. Vuky set the record last year at 130.84 miles per hour in winning for the second straight year.
Sweikert, whose new Offenhauser-powered Kurtis Kraft, said a stiff wind made the race, “twice as hard” as usual and sometimes made the cars jump.
The 28-year-old Californian turned Hoosier, competing in his hometown’s big race for the fourth time, blamed the wind for a spin by Rodger Ward of Los Angeles that started the big pileup.
Ed Elisian of Oakland, Calif., and Al Keller of Green Acres, Fla., whipped their cars towards the infield to avoid Ward but Johnny Boyd of Fresno, Calif., smacked the retaining wall.
Vukovich, who had led 50 of the first 56 laps, tried to miss the wreckage, but his car suddenly flipped end-over-end and landed outside the two-foot high barrier. The car caught fire while lying upside down. Vukovich was dead when safety crews removed him from the cockpit.
Sweikert, whose car was owned by John Zink of Tulsa, Okla., drove a smart race, aways keeping in contention and coming on to win when the early leaders wrecked or developed mechanical problems.
Sweikert was considered an outsider in pre-race speculation although he was the sixth-ranked driver in last year’s American Automobile Association’s championship point standings. There were 10 cars that qualified faster than Sweikert and he started in the fifth row.
Either Vukovich or Jack McGrath of Inglewood, Calif., perennial early leaders in the race, were considered race favorites. McGrath, who set a 10-mile qualifying record of 142.58 miles per hour, led early on before Vukovich took over. Ironically, McGrath’s ignition would fail on lap 54, two laps before Vukovich’s fatal ride.
Jimmy Bryan of Phoenix, the 1954 AAA national driving champion led for 31 laps, Sweikert was ahead for 35, Art Cross was in front for 25 laps before the last big drive. Don Freeland of Los Angeles led three laps during a series of pit stops for the leaders then Sweikert came back on the 160th lap – the 400-mile mark – and was out front the rest of the way.
Results –
1. Bob Sweikert
2. Tony Bettenhausen
3. Jimmy Davies
4. Johnny Thomson
5. Walt Faulkner
6. Andy Linden
7. Al Herman
8. Pat O’Conner
9. Jimmy Daywalt
10.Pat Flaherty
11.Duane Carter
12. Chuck Weyant
13.Eddie Johnson
14.Jim Rathmann
15.Don Freeland
16.Cal Niday
17.Art Cross
18.Shorty Templeman
19.Sam Hanks
20.Keith Andrews
21.Johnnie Parsons
22.Eddie Russo
23.Ray Crawford
24.Jimmy Bryan
25.Bill Vukovich
26.Jack McGrath
27.Al Keller
28.Rodger Ward
29.Johnny Boyd
30.Ed Elisian
31.Jerry Hoyt
32.Fred Agabashian
33.Jimmy Reece
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