Rex Mays Classic winner Pat Flaherty and announcer Ed “Twenty-Grand” Steinbock share a laugh
after the Chicago tavern owner won the 100-mile USAC national championship
race. – Steve Noffke Collection
Milwaukee, Wis. (June 10, 1956) – Pat Flaherty of Chicago, winner of the Indianapolis 500, roared to his second victory in a row Sunday when he won the 100-mile Rex Mays Classic at a record 98.958 miles per hour.
The red-haired tavern keeper raced from his 11th starting post to win before 22,564 fans on the one-mile asphalt State Fair track and collect $5,488 of the $22,540 purse.
Flaherty finished about two-thirds of a mile ahead of Johnny Thomson of Springfield, Mass., last year’s winner, and his time of 1 hour and 37.884 seconds beat Thomson’s 1955 track record by more than four seconds.
The veteran started out in 11th and moved up to sixth after just 10 miles. He passed two more cars to reach fourth in the second 10 miles, after 25 miles he was third, and after 27 miles, he was running in second.
For the next 22 miles he ran behind leader Troy Ruttman of Indianapolis. At the halfway point of the race, Ruttman was running a blistering pace, with a record time of 30 minutes and 30.618 seconds.
But then Lady Luck frowned on Ruttman. His clutch went out and on the 52nd circuit, Flaherty got around the 1952 Indianapolis 500 winner on the backstretch and Ruttman was forced to drop out a lap later.
Flaherty was never seriously threatened for the remainder of the race, taking the checkered flag 20 seconds ahead of Thomson, almost the identical lead he had on Sam Hanks in the “500”.
Actually, the best racing – After Ruttman dropped out – was between Bob Sweikert, the 1955 “500” champion, and Jimmy Bryan, his long-time rival who was the 1954 driving champion. Sweikert and Bryan raced neck-and-neck almost the entire way. Sweikert finished third with Bryan a car-length behind in fourth.
Flaherty earned $5,448 for his victory, a popular win for the Irishman. Milwaukeeans feel he’s almost a hometown boy, owning a tavern less than a 100 miles away.
Results –
1. Pat Flaherty
2. Johnny Thomson
3. Bob Sweikert
4. Jimmy Bryan
5. Johnny Boyd
6. Don Freeland
7. Jimmy Reece
8. Gene Hartley
9. Al Keller
10.Bob Veith
11.Pat O’Conner
12.Keith Andrews
13.Jack Turner
14.Bill Garrett
15.Rex Easton
16.Shorty Templeman
17.Johnnie Parsons
18.Elmer George
19.Jim Rathmann
20.Troy Ruttman
21.Dick Rathmann
22.Danny Kladis
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