The 43rd International 500-Mile Sweepstakes 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 ...
1959 World Championship of Drivers
Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...
.
Rodger Ward
Rodger M. Ward (January 10, 1921 – July 5, 2004) was a World War II P-38 aviator in the United States Army Air Forces, and an American race driver with 26 victories in top echelon open-wheel racing in North America, two Indianapolis 500 v ...
earned the first of two career Indy 500 victories. A record sixteen cars completed the full 500 miles.
All cars were required to have roll bars for the first time.
Practice and time trials
Two drivers,
Jerry Unser
Jeremy Michael Unser Jr. (November 15, 1932 – May 17, 1959) was an American racecar driver. He was the 1957 USAC Stock Car champion.
Jerry was the first of the Unser family to compete at Indianapolis. In his only start, in 1958, he was cau ...
and
Bob Cortner
Robert Charles Cortner (April 16, 1927 – May 19, 1959) was an American automobile racing driver from Redlands, California. Cortner was killed practicing for the 1959 Indianapolis 500.
Career
Cortner was active on the midget car racing circuit, ...
, were killed in separate crashes during the month. On May 2, Unser lost control in Turn Four, spun, and flipped down the main stretch. The car caught fire and Unser suffered significant burns; he died from complications of his burns on May 17. On May 19, rookie Cortner crashed in turn three after being pushed by a wind gust. He was killed instantly of head injuries.
On the morning of pole day, Tony Bettenhausen suffered a bad crash during a practice run. His car hit the outside wall and flipped over the inside guardrail. Bettenhausen escaped the crash with only minor injuries, and would qualify on the second weekend of time trials.
After three years of retirement, Duane Carter returned to the cockpit, and qualified for his ninth Indianapolis 500 start.
Time trials were scheduled for four days:
*Saturday May 16 – Pole Day time trials
*Sunday May 17 – Second day time trials
*Saturday May 23 – Third day time trials
*Sunday May 24 – Fourth day time trials
Box score
;Notes
* – Includes 1 point for fastest lead lap
Alternates
*First alternate: Rex Easton (#39, #45)
Failed to qualify
*
Russ Congdon
Russ is a masculine given name, often a short form of Russell, and also a surname.
People Given name or nickname
* Russ Abbot (born 1947), British musician, comedian and actor
* Russ Adams (born 1980), American retired baseball player
* Russ B ...
(#72) - Did not finish rookie test
*
Bob Cortner
Robert Charles Cortner (April 16, 1927 – May 19, 1959) was an American automobile racing driver from Redlands, California. Cortner was killed practicing for the 1959 Indianapolis 500.
Career
Cortner was active on the midget car racing circuit, ...
Jimmy Davies
James Richard Davies (August 8, 1929 – June 11, 1966) was an American racecar driver in Champ cars and midgets. He was the second man to win three USAC National Midget Championships.Don Edmunds (#54, #57, #76)
* Jack Ensley (#92)
* Gene Force (#55, #78)
* Andy Furci (#91)
* Elmer George (#21)
* Bill Homeier (#42, #62)
*
Van Johnson
Charles Van Dell Johnson (August 25, 1916 – December 12, 2008) was an American film, television, theatre and radio actor. He was a major star at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer during and after World War II.
Johnson was described as the embodiment ...
(#76, #91)
*
Johnny Kay
Johnny Kay (born John Kaciuban, June 23, 1940 – July 9, 2022) was a guitarist from Chester, Pennsylvania. He is most widely known as one of the guitarists for the early rock 'n' roll group Bill Haley & His Comets from 1960-1968.
Background
Bill ...
(#17) - Did not finish rookie test
*
Ralph Ligouri
Ralph Liguori (October 10, 1926 – July 21, 2020) was an American racing driver from New York City.
Indycar career
He competed in the United States Auto Club, USAC Championship Car series from 1957 to 1971 making 61 starts. His best finish was ...
Johnnie Parsons
Johnnie Woodrow Parsons'' The Talk of Gasoline Alley'' – 1070-AM WIBC, May 15, 2007 (July 4, 1918 – September 8, 1984) was an American race car driver from Los Angeles, California who won the Indianapolis 500 in 1950.
During his racing care ...
Eddie Russo
Eddie Russo (November 19, 1925 – October 14, 2012) was an American racecar driver.
Russo won the midget car racing track championship Raceway Park in Chicago in 1950. Russo competed in the AAA and USAC Championship Car series in the 1952-195 ...
(#1, #78, #93, #98)
*
Bob Schroeder
Robert Schroeder (born February 16, 1960) is an American businessman and Republican Party politician who served in the New Jersey General Assembly from 2010 to 2014, where he represented the 39th Legislative District, having taken the seat of ...
(#78)
*
Shorty Templeman
Clark Thomas "Shorty" Templeman (August 12, 1919 in Pueblo, Colorado – August 24, 1962 in Marion, Ohio) was an American racecar driver.
Championship car
He drove in the AAA and USAC Championship Car series, racing in the 1954-1962 season ...
Jerry Unser
Jeremy Michael Unser Jr. (November 15, 1932 – May 17, 1959) was an American racecar driver. He was the 1957 USAC Stock Car champion.
Jerry was the first of the Unser family to compete at Indianapolis. In his only start, in 1958, he was cau ...
(#57) - Fatal accident
*
Wayne Weiler
Wayne Weiler (December 9, 1934 in Phoenix, Arizona – October 13, 2005 in Phoenix, Arizona) was an American racecar driver.
Weiler started as a dirt track driver in Arizona in 1951. He drove in the USAC Championship Car series from 1958 to 1 ...
(#39) - Entry declined, failed physical
*
Dempsey Wilson
Dempsey Cothrin Wilson (March 11, 1927 – April 23, 1971) was an American racecar driver.
Wilson was born in Los Angeles, California. He began his racing career on Southern California short tracks, racing roadsters, then midgets and stock ca ...
(#34, #82)
Race notes
*Fastest lead lap: Johnny Thomson – 1:01.89
*Two drivers,
Jerry Unser
Jeremy Michael Unser Jr. (November 15, 1932 – May 17, 1959) was an American racecar driver. He was the 1957 USAC Stock Car champion.
Jerry was the first of the Unser family to compete at Indianapolis. In his only start, in 1958, he was cau ...
and Bob Cortner, were killed as a result of accidents during practice for this race.
*
Bobby Grim
Robert "Bobby" Grim (September 4, 1924 – June 14, 1995) was an American racecar driver.
Born in Coal City, Indiana, Grim died of cancer in Indianapolis, Indiana. He drove in the USAC Championship Car series, racing in the 1958-1969 seasons w ...
qualified 5th and won the Rookie of the Year award despite dropping out of the race before the halfway point. On lap 85, he suffered magneto failure, and began coasting to the pits. As was customary for drivers of the time, he raised his arm to signify to the other drivers he had lost power. However, due to the high speed he was still traveling, he dislocated his arm in the process. Visibly in pain, the crew thought he was coming in for relief, and quickly Jack Turner jumped behind the wheel, but the car would not run.'' The Talk of Gasoline Alley'' – 1070-AM WIBC, May 9, 2007
*The first scoring pylon, a famous landmark of the Speedway, was constructed at the south end of the pit area.
*Last year's winner Jimmy Bryan using the same exact car that won the race in 1957 and 1958 fell out of the race being left on the grid with a clutch failure to finish last (33rd).
Championship standings after the race
;Formula One Drivers' Championship standings
;Formula One Constructors' Championship standings
* Notes: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings. Also, points were not awarded in the 500 towards the F1 constructors championship.
Sid Collins
Sid Collins (born Sidney Cahn Jr.) (July 17, 1922 – May 2, 1977) was an American broadcaster best known as the radio voice of the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Radio Network from 1952–1976. Collins coined t ...
served as chief announcer. Fred Agabashian joined the crew for the first time as "driver expert." The broadcast reached 385 affiliates, including
Fairbanks, Alaska
Fairbanks is a home rule city and the borough seat of the Fairbanks North Star Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska. Fairbanks is the largest city in the Interior region of Alaska and the second largest in the state. The 2020 Census put the p ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...