The 14th International 500-Mile Sweepstakes Race was held at the

Indianapolis Motor Speedway The Indianapolis Motor Speedway is an automobile racing circuit located in Speedway, Indiana, an enclave suburb of Indianapolis, Indiana. It is the home of the Indianapolis 500 and the Verizon 200, and and formerly the home of the United Sta ...

on Monday, May 31, 1926. Louis Chevrolet drove the

Chrysler Stellantis North America (officially FCA US and formerly Chrysler ()) is one of the " Big Three" automobile manufacturers in the United States, headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan. It is the American subsidiary of the multinational automotiv ...

pace car for the start. Rain halted the race at lap 72, and officials waited for the track to dry out. The race was resumed over an hour later. Rain fell again, and the race was called at the 400 mile mark (160 laps). Rookie Frank Lockhart moved up from 20th to fifth by lap 5, having had passed 14 cars on that lap alone.Biography
at the

Motorsports Hall of Fame of America The Motorsports Hall of Fame of America (MSHFA) is hall of fame that honors motorsports competitors and contributors from the United States from all disciplines, with categories for Open Wheel, Stock Cars, Powerboats, Drag Racing, Motorcycle ...

, Retrieved March 15, 2007 He moved up to second on Lap 16. After the rain delay, Lockhart and Dave Lewis battled for the lead for about 20 laps, until Lewis dropped out. After Lewis retired with a broken valve,

Harry Hartz Harry Hartz (24 December 1896 – 26 September 1974) was an American auto mechanic and race car driver. Career Harry Hartz was born in Pomona, California, and grew up in the Los Angeles area. At age eighteen, he began to drive in support eve ...

closed on Lockhart and briefly took the lead at about 250 miles as the crowd roared. But soon afterward Hartz was forced to make an unscheduled pit stop. Lockhart then stretched out a two-lap lead when the race was called, and he was declared the winner. It was the first rain-shortened race in "500" history, and Lockhart was the fourth

rookie A rookie is a person new to an occupation, profession, or hobby. In sports, a ''rookie'' is a professional athlete in their first season (or year). In contrast with a veteran who has experience and expertise, a rookie is usually inexperienced ...

to win the race. Lockhart may have actually completed as many as 163 laps (407.5 miles), but official scoring results reverted to the completion of lap 160.

Time trials

Four-lap (10 mile) qualifying runs were utilized. Earl Cooper won the pole position. Frank Lockhart set a new 1-lap track record during his first attempt at 115.488 mph, but the run was aborted after a tire failure on the second lap. He later blew an engine during another attempt, and finally put a car in the field 20th on the grid.

Results

Race details

*For 1926,

riding mechanic A riding mechanic was a mechanic that rode along with a race car during races, and who was tasked with maintaining, monitoring, and repairing the car during the race. The various duties included manually pumping oil and fuel, checking tire wear, ...

s were optional, however, no teams utilized them. *First alternate: none'' The Talk of Gasoline Alley'' - 1070-AM WIBC, May 14, 2004 *This would be the first Indy 500 where a driver from the inaugural Indy 500 did not compete.

References

{{Indy 500 Indianapolis 500 races

Indianapolis 500 The Indianapolis 500, formally known as the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, and commonly called the Indy 500, is an annual automobile race held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of Indi ...

1926 in American motorsport May 1926 sports events