The 33rd International 500-Mile Sweepstakes was an automobile race 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 30, 1949. After two years of failures to his teammate, Bill Holland finally won one for himself, giving car owner

Lou Moore Lewis Henry Moore (September 12, 1904 Hinton, Oklahoma – March 25, 1956 Atlanta, Georgia) was an American racecar driver. He was most known during his racing career for qualifying on the pole position of the 1932 Indianapolis 500. He was lat ...

his third consecutive Indy victory. Mauri Rose was fired by the team after the race when he again ignored orders and tried to pass Holland, only to see his car fail with 8 laps to go. Spider Webb suffered a broken transmission the morning of the race and failed to start. Rather than utilize an alternate starter, officials awarded Webb 33rd finishing position.

Results

Alternates

*First alternate: Ralph Pratt (#34)

Failed to Qualify

* Les Anderson (#74) * Henry Banks (#35) * Frank Beardsley * Randall Beinke (#42) * Tony Bettenhausen (#16, #46) * Lindley Bothwell (#66) * Frank Brisko (#48) *

Walt Brown Walter Brown may refer to: Politics * Walter Brown (Lord Provost), Lord Provost of Edinburgh, 1827–1829 * Walter L. Brown (1846–1924), New York politician * Walter Folger Brown (1869–1961), U.S. Postmaster General * Walter George Brown ( ...

(#18) * Jim Brubaker (#79) * Frank Burany (#24) *

Jimmy Daywalt Jimmy Daywalt (August 28, 1924 – April 4, 1966) was an American racecar driver. Born in Wabash, Indiana, he drove in the AAA and USAC Championship Car series, racing in the 1950, 1953–1957, 1959, and 1961–1962 seasons with 20 starts. He f ...

(#56) *

Billy Devore Louis Wiley "Billy" Devore (12 September 1910, St. John, Kansas – 12 August 1985, Indianapolis, Indiana) was an American racecar driver. He was the son of pre-war Indy driver Earl Devore. Indy 500 results Complete Formula One World Champion ...

* Ted Duncan (#72) * Kenny Eaton (#55) *

Milt Fankhouser Milton Carl "Milt" Fankhauser (29 October 1915 in New York City – 26 February 1970 in Santa Barbara, California) was an American racecar driver Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involvi ...

(#73) * Pat Flaherty (#43) * Dick Fraizer (#59) *

Eddie Haddad Eddie Haddad (February 20, 1928 in Winnipeg, Manitoba – August 14, 1978 in Chilliwack, British Columbia) was a boxer primarily active in the 1940s in Manitoba and British Columbia. His first major international tournament was at the 1948 O ...

(#47) *

Mel Hansen Melvin Lloyd Hansen (born July 11, 1911, Redfield, South Dakota – Died June 5, 1963, San Bernardino, California) was an American racecar driver. Hansen was nicknamed the "Firecracker Kid" because he loved to throw the explosive devices unde ...

(#44) * Tommy Hinnershitz (#15, #18) * Byron Horne (#39) * Danny Kladis (#58) * Tommy Mattson *

Johnny Mauro Johnny Mauro (October 25, 1910 – January 23, 2003) was an American racecar driver. He was born in Denver Colorado on October 25, 1910. Mauro and his family owned several car dealerships, leading him to being the only Ferrari importer in Den ...

(#16) * George Metzler (#67) - Fatal accident * Chet Miller (#65) *

Hal Robson Harold Robson (August 16, 1911 – July 2, 1996) was a Canadian-American racecar driver active in the 1940s. He was the brother of 1946 Indianapolis 500 The 30th International 500-Mile Sweepstakes was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedwa ...

(#23) * Mike Salay (#49) * Wally Stokes (#75) * Bill Taylor (#51) * Joel Thorne (#81) *

Louis Tomei Luigi Gilbert "Louis" Tomei (February 17, 1910 in Portland, Oregon – May 15, 1955 in Los Angeles) was an American racecar driver active during the 1930s and 1940s, and a stuntman active during the 1940s and 1950s. Indy 500 results S ...

(#42) * Doc Williams (#65)

Broadcasting

Radio

The race was carried live on the

Mutual Broadcasting System The Mutual Broadcasting System (commonly referred to simply as Mutual; sometimes referred to as MBS, Mutual Radio or the Mutual Radio Network) was an American commercial radio network in operation from 1934 to 1999. In the golden age of U.S. ra ...

, the precursor to the IMS Radio Network. The broadcast was sponsored by Perfect Circle Piston Rings and Bill Slater served as the anchor. The broadcast featured live coverage of the start, the finish, and live updates throughout the race.

Television

The race was carried live for the first time in history on local television on WFBM-TV channel 6 of Indianapolis. The station signed on for the first time race morning May 30, 1949, with a documentary about the race entitled ''The Crucible of Speed'', then covered the race itself. The race broadcast utilized three cameras located along the main stretch. Earl Townsend, Jr. who had worked previously as a radio reporter, was the first television announcer. Dick Pittenger and Paul Roberts joined Townsend along with engineer Robert Robbins. The telecast reached approximately 3,000 local households.

Notes

Works cited

*1949 Indianapolis 500 Radio Broadcast, Mutual: ''Re-broadcast'' on "The All-Night Race Party" – WIBC-AM (May 28, 2005) *Van Camp's Pork & Beans Presents: ''Great Moments From the Indy 500'' – Fleetwood Sounds, 1975

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 ...