1948 Indianapolis 500

32nd Indianapolis 500
Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Indianapolis 500
Sanctioning bodyAAA
DateMay 31, 1948
WinnerMauri Rose
Winning EntrantLou Moore
Average speed119.814 mph (192.822 km/h)
Pole positionRex Mays
Pole speed130.577 mph (210.143 km/h)
Most laps ledMauri Rose (81)
Pre-race
Pace carChevrolet Fleetmaster
Pace car driverWilbur Shaw
StarterSeth Klein[1]
Honorary refereeAlbert G. Feeney[1]
Estimated attendance200,000[2]
Chronology
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1947 1949

The 32nd International 500-Mile Sweepstakes was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Monday, May 31, 1948.

For the second year in a row, the Blue Crown Spark Plug teammates Mauri Rose and Bill Holland finished 1st-2nd. Rose became the second driver to win the Indianapolis 500 in consecutive years. Unlike the previous year's race, no controversy surrounds the results. Coupled with his co-victory in 1941, Rose became the third three-time winner at Indy.

Fourth place finisher Ted Horn completed a noteworthy record of nine consecutive races from 1936 to 1948 completing 1,799 out of a possible 1,800 laps. His nine consecutive finishes of 4th or better (however, with no victories) is the best such streak in Indy history. The only lap he missed in 1940 was due to being flagged for a rain shower.

Duke Nalon's third-place finish would be the best-ever result for the popular Novi engine.[3]

  1. ^ 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.
  2. ^ Stranahan, Bob (June 1, 1948). "Noses Out Teammate, Duke Nalon". The Indianapolis Star. p. 1. Retrieved June 1, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.Open access icon
  3. ^ The Talk of Gasoline Alley - 1070-AM WIBC, May 20, 2007