Troy Ruttman
Troy Ruttman (born March 11, 1930 – May 19, 1997) was an American race car driver. He was the older brother of Jimmy Ruttman, and NASCAR driver Joe Ruttman.
Ruttman won the Indianapolis 500 in 1952, at the age of 22 years and 80 days. , he is ...
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
The 2003 Hungarian Grand Prix (formally the Marlboro Magyar Nagydíj 2003) was a Formula One motor race held on 24 August 2003 at the Hungaroring, Mogyoród, Pest, Hungary. It was the thirteenth round of the 2003 Formula One season. The 70-lap ...
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. 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
Alberto Ascari (; 13 July 1918 – 26 May 1955) was an Italian racing driver and a two time Formula One World Champion. He was a multitalented racer who competed in motorcycle racing before switching to cars. Ascari won consecutive world titles ...
on 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
Events January–February
* January 26 – Black Saturday in Egypt: Rioters burn Cairo's central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses.
* February 6
** Princess Elizabeth, Duchess of Edinburgh, becomes m ...
that Ascari entered and did not win.
Fifth place finisher
Art Cross
Art Cross (January 24, 1918 – April 15, 2005) was an American racecar driver. He was the first recipient of the Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year Award in 1952.
Racing career
Cross began racing midget cars in 1938. He received a Purple He ...
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.
Time trials
Time trials was scheduled for four days, but rain pushed qualifying into a fifth day.
*Saturday May 17 – Pole Day time trials
*Sunday May 18 – Second day time trials (rained out)
*Saturday May 24 – Third day time trials
*Sunday May 25 – Fourth day time trials (rained out)
*Monday May 26 – Fifth day time trials (rain make up day)
Joe Barzda
Joseph John "Joe" Barzda (May 22, 1915 – October 11, 1993) was an American racing driver from New Brunswick, New Jersey.
Barzda was primarily a midget car racing, midget racing and sprint car racing driver but made ten starts in the United Sta ...
Giuseppe Farina
Emilio Giuseppe Farina, also known as Giuseppe Antonio "Nino" Farina, (; 30 October 1906 – 30 June 1966) was an Italian racing driver and first official Formula One World Champion. He gained the title in 1950. He was the Italian Champion in ...
– Withdrew
*
Walt Faulkner
Walt Faulkner (February 16, 1918 – April 22, 1956) was an American racing driver from Tell, Texas. He moved to Milledgeville, Georgia at the age of two-and-a-half, and to Lake Wales, Florida at the age of eight. He then moved to San Diego, Cal ...
(#3)
*
Johnny Fedricks
Johnny is an English language personal name. It is usually an affectionate diminutive of the masculine given name John (given name), John, but from the 16th century it has sometimes been a given name in its own right for males and, less commonly ...
(#82)
*
Carl Forberg
Carl Roy Forberg (March 4, 1911 – January 17, 2000) was an American racecar driver from Omaha, Nebraska
Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern Uni ...
Dick Fraizer
Dick, Dicks, or Dick's may refer to:
Media
* ''Dicks'' (album), a 2004 album by Fila Brazillia
* Dicks (band), a musical group
* ''Dick'' (film), a 1999 American comedy film
* "Dick" (song), a 2019 song by Starboi3 featuring Doja Cat
Names
...
Peter Hahn
Peter Hahn von Rottenstern (1799–1873), member of the Baltic German nobility, which also belonged to Russian nobility, remembered in the United States mainly as the father of Helena Blavatsky.
Early life and marriage
Born as the son of the ...
Tommy Hinnershitz
Thomas Paul Hinnershitz (April 6, 1912 – August 1, 1999) was an American race car driver.
Hinnershitz was active through the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s on dirt, asphalt and boards, driving "Big Cars" (later Sprint Cars), at that time slightly ...
Jud Larson
Eugene Wesley (Jud) Larson (January 21, 1923 Grand Prairie, Texas – June 11, 1966 Reading, Pennsylvania) was an American racecar driver.
Larson drove in the USAC Championship Car series, racing in the 1956-1959 and 1964-1965 seasons with ...
(#39, #66)
*
Bayliss Levrett
Bayliss Levrett (February 14, 1914 – March 13, 2002) was an American racecar driver from Jacksonville, Florida. He died in Reno, Nevada at the age of 88 after a long battle with Alzheimer's disease.
Award
Levrett is a 2007 inductee in the Nati ...
Mike Nazaruk
Mike Nazaruk (October 2, 1921 Newark, New Jersey – May 1, 1955 Langhorne, Pennsylvania) was an American racecar driver. He raced midget cars, sprint cars, and IndyCars. He was nicknamed "Iron Mike."Danny Oakes (#39)
*
Puffy Puffer
Puffy can refer to:
* Puffy, stage name of Sean Combs (born 1969), American rapper and entrepreneur
* Puffy, nickname of Mike Bordin (born 1962), American drummer for the rock band Faith No More
* Puffy, nickname of Jeff Dubay (born 1968), Minnes ...
*
Paul Russo
Paul Russo (April 10, 1914 in Kenosha, Wisconsin – February 13, 1976 in Clearwater, Florida) was an American racecar driver.
Midget car career
He started racing midget cars in 1934. He went with a contingent of midget-car drivers to Hawa ...
Doc Shanebrook
DOC, Doc, doc or DoC may refer to:
In film and television
* Doc (2001 TV series), ''Doc'' (2001 TV series), a 2001–2004 PAX series
* Doc (1975 TV series), ''Doc'' (1975 TV series), a 1975–1976 CBS sitcom
* D.O.C. (Lost), "D.O.C." (''Lost'' ...
* Pole position: Fred Agabashian – 4:20.85 (4 laps)
* Agabashian's
Cummins Diesel
Cummins Inc. is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and distributes engines, filtration, and power generation products. Cummins also services engines and related equipment, including fuel systems, controls, air ...
Special was the first entry in the Indianapolis 500 to be powered by a turbocharged engine (then described as "turbosupercharged"). Gear-driven centrifugal blowers known as "superchargers" had been used since the 1920s to increase the volumetric efficiency and power output of racing engines, but the Cummins Diesel was the first to make use of the "free" energy contained in the engine exhaust stream to drive a turbine wheel connected to a centrifugal blower (thus, "turbo-supercharging").
* Fastest Lead Lap: Bill Vukovich – 1:06.60 (135.135 mph)
* As of
2022
File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretariat; The global monkeypo ...
,
Troy Ruttman
Troy Ruttman (born March 11, 1930 – May 19, 1997) was an American race car driver. He was the older brother of Jimmy Ruttman, and NASCAR driver Joe Ruttman.
Ruttman won the Indianapolis 500 in 1952, at the age of 22 years and 80 days. , he is ...
remains the youngest driver to win the Indianapolis 500, at 22 years and 80 days.Davidson, Donald. (2007). "The Talk of Gasoline Alley" adio program '' WIBC (FM)'', April 30, 2007. Archived at https://web.archive.org/web/20070928124654/http://media.wibc.com/av/audio/talk_gas/2007/april30.mp3, retrieved on January 6, 2016.
* Ruttman also became the youngest driver to win a race counting for the World Championship of Drivers. His record was broken by Fernando Alonso at the
2003 Hungarian Grand Prix
The 2003 Hungarian Grand Prix (formally the Marlboro Magyar Nagydíj 2003) was a Formula One motor race held on 24 August 2003 at the Hungaroring, Mogyoród, Pest, Hungary. It was the thirteenth round of the 2003 Formula One season. The 70-lap ...
.
*
Alberto Ascari
Alberto Ascari (; 13 July 1918 – 26 May 1955) was an Italian racing driver and a two time Formula One World Champion. He was a multitalented racer who competed in motorcycle racing before switching to cars. Ascari won consecutive world titles ...
marked the first instance of a driver competing seriously for the World Drivers' Championship (of which the 500 was a points-scoring race) to race in the 500. Although he finished 31st at Indy, he went on to win all of the remaining races and the title.
* 1952 was the only occasion when the fastest (
Chet Miller
Chester Miller (July 19, 1902 – May 15, 1953) was an American racecar driver. He was killed in a crash in the south turn of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway during practice for the 1953 Indianapolis 500. Yates, Brock W. "The Indianapolis 500 ...
) and slowest (
Jim Rigsby
James William Rigsby (June 6, 1923 – August 31, 1952) was an American racecar driver from Spadry, Arkansas. He was killed in a crash during a sprint car race at Dayton, Ohio
Dayton () is the List of cities in Ohio, sixth-largest city in t ...
) qualifiers for the race started next to each other.
* 1952 was the first Indy 500 in which not a single relief driver was utilized during the race.
Broadcasting
Radio
The race was carried live on the radio on the
Indianapolis Motor Speedway Radio Network
The Indianapolis Motor Speedway Radio Network (known typically as the IMS Radio Network or the INDYCAR Radio Network), is an in-house radio syndication arrangement which broadcasts the Indianapolis 500, the NTT IndyCar Series, and Indy Lights to ...
. During the offseason, the Speedway management created the network to handle broadcasting duties in-house. The arrangement was under the flagship of 1070 WIBC-AM of Indianapolis, and featured a crew that consisted mostly of WIBC talent. WIBC landed exclusive rights of the broadcast in the Indianapolis market, which eventually would draw the ire of the other major stations in the area. In later years, the broadcast would be carried on all five stations inside the city.
Sid Collins served as booth announcer. Jim Shelton was among the turn reporters, reporting from turn 4. Gordon Graham reported from the pits and from victory lane. Like previous years, the broadcast featured live coverage of the start, the finish, and 15-minute live updates throughout the race. At least twenty stations around the county picked up the broadcast.
Championship standings after the race
;World Drivers' Championship standings
*Note: Only the top five positions are included. Only the best 4 results counted towards the Championship.
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 ...
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 ...