 | |||||
| Indianapolis Motor Speedway | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Indianapolis 500 | |||||
| Sanctioning body | AAA | ||||
| Date | May 30, 1939 | ||||
| Winner | Wilbur Shaw | ||||
| Winning Entrant | Boyle Racing Headquarters | ||||
| Average speed | 115.035 mph (185.131 km/h) | ||||
| Pole position | Jimmy Snyder | ||||
| Pole speed | 130.138 mph (209.437 km/h) | ||||
| Most laps led | Louis Meyer (79) | ||||
| Pre-race | |||||
| Pace car | Buick Roadmaster 80 | ||||
| Pace car driver | Charles Chayne | ||||
| Starter | Seth Klein[1] | ||||
| Honorary referee | Paul G. Hoffman[1] | ||||
| Estimated attendance | 145,000[2] | ||||
| Chronology | |||||
| |||||
The 27th International 500-Mile Sweepstakes Race was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on May 30, 1939. The race was won by the number two car of Wilbur Shaw, who started in the third position, driving a Maserati 8CTF.[3] The race was notable for a three car accident on lap 109, when Floyd Roberts, the reigning champion, was killed when his car went through the wooden outer wall at over 100 miles (160 km) an hour at the backstretch.[4] In Louis Meyer's final Indy 500, he too would crash at the backstretch at over 100 miles (160 km) an hour, but he walked away unharmed.
- ^ a b Fox, Jack C. (1994). The Illustrated History of the Indianapolis 500 1911-1994 (4th ed.). Carl Hungness Publishing. p. 22. ISBN 0-915088-05-3.
- ^ Brooks, Ralph L. (May 31, 1939). "Oh, Yes, the Crowd! It Was There Too; 145,000 of It and All Well-Red". The Indianapolis Star. p. 1. Retrieved June 3, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "1939 Indianapolis 500 Official Box Score :: Indianapolis 500". Archived from the original on 2008-05-14. Retrieved 2008-06-11.
- ^ "Wilbur Shaw Wins. Floyd Roberts Dies". Associated Press. May 31, 1939. Retrieved 2012-10-08.
Shaw swept through a trail of death and destruction Tuesday to win the twenty-seventh running of the Indianapolis motor speedway 500 mile race and stand ...
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