 | |||||
| Indianapolis Motor Speedway | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Indianapolis 500 | |||||
| Sanctioning body | AAA | ||||
| Date | May 31, 1920 | ||||
| Winner | Gaston Chevrolet | ||||
| Winning Entrant | William Small Company | ||||
| Average speed | 88.618 mph (142.617 km/h) | ||||
| Pole position | Ralph DePalma | ||||
| Pole speed | 99.150 mph (159.566 km/h) | ||||
| Most laps led | Joe Boyer (93) | ||||
| Pre-race | |||||
| Pace car | Marmon 6 (Model 34) | ||||
| Pace car driver | Barney Oldfield | ||||
| Starter | E. C. Patterson[1] | ||||
| Honorary referee | Clifford C. Ireland[1] | ||||
| Estimated attendance | 120,000[2] (up 10k from previous year) | ||||
| Chronology | |||||
| |||||
The 8th International 500-Mile Sweepstakes Race was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Monday, May 31, 1920.
Ralph DePalma held a two lap lead when the car stalled on lap 187. His riding mechanic Pete DePaolo ran to the pits to get a can of gasoline, thinking they were out of fuel. DePalma was able to get the car rolling again, and the two rejoined the race. However, during the delay, the lead went to Gaston Chevrolet. Chevrolet himself ran out of fuel on lap 197, but he was able to coast to the pits and refuel. Chevrolet held on to win. Seven months later, he was fatally injured in a crash at Beverly Hills.
Chevrolet won the race without a single tire change, a remarkable feat at the time. Chevrolet was accompanied by riding mechanic John Bresnahan. Chevrolet's victory was the last by a driver born outside of the United States until George Robson's victory in the 1946 running.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "Crowd Put at 120,000, New Record Mark". The Indianapolis Star. June 1, 1920. p. 1. Retrieved June 3, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
