 | |||||
| Indianapolis Motor Speedway | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Indianapolis 500 | |||||
| Sanctioning body | AAA | ||||
| Date | May 30, 1952 | ||||
| Winner | Troy Ruttman | ||||
| Winning Entrant | J. C. Agajanian | ||||
| Average speed | 128.922 mph (207.480 km/h) | ||||
| Pole position | Fred Agabashian | ||||
| Pole speed | 138.010 mph (222.106 km/h) | ||||
| Most laps led | Bill Vukovich (150) | ||||
| Pre-race | |||||
| Pace car | Studebaker Commander | ||||
| Pace car driver | P.O. Peterson | ||||
| Starter | Seth Klein[1] | ||||
| Honorary referee | Raymond Firestone[1] | ||||
| Estimated attendance | 200,000[2] | ||||
| Chronology | |||||
| |||||
The 36th International 500-Mile Sweepstakes was a motor race held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Friday, May 30, 1952. It was the opening race of the 1952 AAA National Championship Trail and was also race 2 of 8 in the 1952 World Championship of Drivers.
Troy Ruttman won the race for car owner J. C. Agajanian. Ruttman, aged 22 years and 80 days, set the record for the youngest 500 winner in history. It was also the last dirt track car to win at Indy. Ruttman's win also saw him become the youngest winner of a World Drivers' Championship race, a record he would hold for 51 years until the 2003 Hungarian Grand Prix when Spanish driver Fernando Alonso won at the age of 22 years and 26 days.
Bill Vukovich led 150 laps, but with 9 laps to go, he broke a steering linkage while leading.[3] He nursed his car to a stop against the outside wall, preventing other cars from getting involved in the incident.
In the third year that the 500 was included in the World Championship, Ferrari entered the race with Alberto Ascari driving a Ferrari 375 Indianapolis. The effort gained considerable attention, but Ascari was forced to retire after a few laps when the hub of a wheel on his car collapsed. He was classified 31st. It was the only World Championship race in 1952 that Ascari entered and did not win.
Fifth place finisher Art Cross was voted the Rookie of the Year. Though at least one rookie starter was in the field every year dating back to 1911, this was the first time the now-popular award was officially designated.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Stranahan, Bob (May 31, 1952). "Sets Race Record Of 128 MPH After Vukovich Bid Failes". The Indianapolis Star. p. 1. Retrieved June 2, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "More Indy Hearbreaks". Autoweek. 62 (11): 82. May 28, 2012. ISSN 0192-9674.
