 | |||||
| Indianapolis Motor Speedway | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Indianapolis 500 | |||||
| Sanctioning body | AAA | ||||
| Date | May 30, 1955 | ||||
| Winner | Bob Sweikert | ||||
| Winning Entrant | John Zink | ||||
| Average speed | 128.209 mph (206.332 km/h) | ||||
| Pole position | Jerry Hoyt | ||||
| Pole speed | 140.045 mph (225.381 km/h) | ||||
| Most laps led | Bob Sweikert (86) | ||||
| Pre-race | |||||
| Pace car | Chevrolet Bel Air | ||||
| Pace car driver | Thomas H. Keating | ||||
| Starter | Bill Vanderwater[1] | ||||
| Honorary referee | Robert A. Stranahan, Jr.[1] | ||||
| Estimated attendance | 150,000[2] | ||||
| Chronology | |||||
| |||||
The 39th International 500-Mile Sweepstakes was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Monday, May 30, 1955. The event was race 1 of 11 of the 1955 AAA National Championship Trail and was race 3 of 7 in the 1955 World Championship of Drivers.
The race is notable to many as the race in which Bill Vukovich was killed in a crash while seemingly on his way to an unprecedented third consecutive Indy 500 win.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Cadou Jr., Jep (May 31, 1955). "Vukovich Killed In Pileup". The Indianapolis Star. p. 18. Retrieved June 2, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
