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1940 Indianapolis 500

28th running of the Indianapolis 500

Field	Value
race_name	28th Indianapolis 500
race_logo	Wilbur Shaw in Boyle Special.jpg
sanction	AAA
date	May 30, 1940
winner	Wilbur Shaw
team	Boyle Racing Headquarters
mph	114.277 mph
pole	Rex Mays
pole_speed	127.850 mph
leader	Wilbur Shaw (136)
pace_car	Studebaker Champion
pace_driver	Ab Jenkins
starter	Seth Klein
honorary	Roscoe Turner
attendance	150,000
previous	1939
next	1941

The 28th International 500-Mile Sweepstakes Race was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on May 30, 1940. The winner was Wilbur Shaw in the same Maserati 8CTF he had driven to victory in 1939. Shaw became the first driver in the history of the race to win in consecutive years. It also marked Shaw's third win in four years, making him the second three-time winner of the race. Shaw's average speed was 114.277 mph, slowed by rain which caused the last 50 laps to be run under caution. Shaw took home $31,875 () in prize winnings, plus additional prizes that included a car and a refrigerator.

Fourth place finisher Ted Horn was flagged due to the rain shower, and was officially credited with completing only 199 laps - one lap short of the full distance. This marked the only blemish on his noteworthy record of nine consecutive races completing every lap. He eventually completed 1,799 out of a possible 1,800 laps from 1936 to 1948.

The top four starting positions finished in the top four places, albeit in shuffled order.

Starting grid

Row	Inside	Middle	Outside	1	2
33	USA Rex Mays	1	USA Wilbur Shaw	7	USA Mauri Rose
3	USA Ted Horn	31	USA Mel Hansen	5	USA Cliff Bergere
9	USA Frank Wearne	16	USA Frank Brisko	27	USA Tommy Hinnershitz
8	USA Joel Thorne	19	USA Russ Snowberger	24	USA Babe Stapp
35	USA Kelly Petillo	28	USA Sam Hanks	41	USA Harry McQuinn
6	USA George Barringer	10	USA George Connor	26	USA Louis Tomei
36	USA Doc Williams	32	USA Bob Swanson	54	USA Ralph Hepburn
25	USA Emil Andres	17	USA George Robson	29	ARG Raúl Riganti
21	USA Duke Nalon	42	USA Joie Chitwood	34	USA Chet Miller
44	USA Al Putnam	38	USA Paul Russo	58	USA Al Miller
49	FRA René Le Bègue	14	USA Billy Devore	61	USA Floyd Davis

Alternates

First alternate: Tony Willman

Failed to qualify

George Bailey (#56) - Fatal accident
Henry Banks (#39)
Shorty Cantlon (#24) - Replaced by Babe Stapp
Wesley Crawford (#62)
Port DeFraties **** (#51)
René Dreyfus **** (#22) - drove two stints of relief for René Le Bègue during the race
Louis Durant **** (#12)
Ira Hall (#47)
Bill Lipscomb **** (#57)
Louis Unser **** - Passed driver's test
Lou Webb **** (#37)
Freddie Winnai (#59)

Box score

Finish	Start	No	Name	Chassis	Engine	Qual	Rank	Laps
2	1	United States Wilbur Shaw ****	Maserati	Maserati	127.065	2	200	114.277 mph
1	33	United States Rex Mays	Stevens	Winfield	127.850	1	200	+1:14.14
3	7	United States Mauri Rose	Wetteroth	Offenhauser	125.624	3	200	+1:37.79
4	3	United States Ted Horn	Miller	Miller	125.545	4	199	Flagged
10	8	United States Joel Thorne	Adams	Sparks	122.434	20	197	Flagged
20	32	United States Bob Swanson	Stevens	Sampson	124.882	6	196	Flagged
7	9	United States Frank Wearne	Stevens	Offenhauser	123.216	12	195	Flagged
5	31	United States Mel Hansen	Wetteroth	Miller	124.753	7	194	Flagged
8	16	United States Frank Brisko	Stevens	Brisko	122.716	16	193	Flagged
31	49	FRA René Le Bègue ****
(Laps 1–45 and 98–150)
FRA René Dreyfus
(Laps 46–97 and 151–192)	Maserati	Maserati	118.981	33	192	Flagged
15	41	United States Harry McQuinn	A-R Weil	Alfa Romeo	122.486	19	192	Flagged
22	25	United States Emil Andres	Stevens	Offenhauser	122.963	15	192	Flagged
14	28	United States Sam Hanks ****	Weil	Duray	123.064	13	192	Flagged
16	6	United States George Barringer	Weil	Offenhauser	121.889	22	191	Flagged
26	42	United States Joie Chitwood ****	Adams	Offenhauser	121.757	25	190	Flagged
18	26	United States Louis Tomei	Miller	Offenhauser	119.980	32	190	Exhaust pipe
27	34	United States Chet Miller
(Henry Banks Laps 148–189)	Alfa Romeo	Alfa Romeo	121.392	27	189	Flagged
32	14	United States Billy Devore
(George Connor Laps 107–181)	Shaw	Offenhauser	122.197	21	181	Flagged
28	44	United States Al Putnam	Adams	Offenhauser	120.818	28	179	Flagged
33	61	United States Floyd Davis
(Lou Webb Laps 27–57)
(George Connor Laps 58–59)
(Lou Webb Laps 60–157)	Lencki	Lencki	120.797	30	157	Flagged
13	35	United States Kelly Petillo ****	Wetteroth	Offenhauser	125.331	5	128	Bearing
25	21	United States Duke Nalon	Silnes	Offenhauser	121.790	24	120	Rod
23	17	United States George Robson ****	Miller	Offenhauser	122.562	18	67	Shock absorber
12	24	United States Babe Stapp
(Started in substitution for Shorty Cantlon)
(Tony Willman Lap 13–64)	Stevens	Offenhauser	123.367	11	64	Oil line
19	36	United States Doc Williams	Cooper	Miller	122.963	14	61	Oil line
17	10	United States George Connor	Lencki	Lencki	124.585	8	52	Rod
6	5	United States Cliff Bergere	Wetteroth	Offenhauser	123.673	10	51	Oil line
29	38	United States Paul Russo ****	Blume	Brisko	120.809	29	48	Oil leak
21	54	United States Ralph Hepburn	Miller	Offenhauser	123.860	9	47	Steering
30	58	United States Al Miller	Alfa Romeo	Alfa Romeo	120.288	31	41	Clutch
11	19	United States Russ Snowberger	Snowberger	Miller	121.564	26	38	Water pump
9	27	United States Tommy Hinnershitz ****	Adams	Offenhauser	122.614	17	32	Crash FS
24	29	ARG Raúl Riganti	Maserati	Maserati	121.827	23	24	Crash T2

Note: Relief drivers in parentheses

**** Former Indianapolis 500 winner

**** Indianapolis 500 Rookie

All entrants utilized Firestone tires.

Race statistics

Lap Leaders	Laps	Leader
1–33	Rex Mays
34–73	Wilbur Shaw
74–99	Rex Mays
100–104	Mauri Rose
105–200	Wilbur Shaw

Total laps led	Driver	Laps
Wilbur Shaw	136
Rex Mays	59
Mauri Rose	5

Yellow Lights	Laps*	Reason
25	Raúl Riganti crash in turn 2
33	Tommy Hinnershitz crash on mainstretch
47	Ralph Hepburn crash on mainstretch
151–200	Rain (approx. 1 hr., 18 mins.)
– Approximate lap counts*

References

Floyd Davis

References

Fox, Jack C.. (1994). "The Illustrated History of the Indianapolis 500 1911-1994". Carl Hungness Publishing.
Brooks, Ralph L.. (May 31, 1940). "Nearly 150,000 Fans Eat, Nap, Cheer, And Even Watch Race at '40 Classic". The Indianapolis Star.
"1940 Indianapolis 500 Official Box Score :: Indianapolis 500".
The New York Times, "First Place Nets $31,875 for Shaw", June 1, 1940, Sports page 16
''[[Donald Davidson (historian). The Talk of Gasoline Alley]]'' - [[WIBC (FM). 1070-AM WIBC]], May 14, 2004
"1940 International 500 Mile Sweepstakes".
"Indianapolis 500 1940". Ultimate Racing History.
"Indianapolis Motor Speedway".
Kern, Cleo L.. (May 31, 1940). "Winning Driver In Pits Twice". [[The Indianapolis Star]].
"International 500 Mile Sweepstakes – May 30, 1940". ChampCarStats.com.
Peck, Phillips J.. (May 30, 1940). "Becomes Second 3-Time Winner (Part 1)". Palladium-Item.
Peck, Phillips J.. (May 30, 1940). "Becomes Second 3-Time Winner (Part 2)". Palladium-Item.

Info: Wikipedia Source

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