1921 Indianapolis 500

9th Indianapolis 500

Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Indianapolis 500
Sanctioning body	AAA
Date	May 30, 1921
Winner	Tommy Milton
Winning Entrant	Louis Chevrolet
Average speed	89.621 mph (144.231 km/h)
Pole position	Ralph DePalma
Pole speed	100.750 mph (162.141 km/h)
Most laps led	Ralph DePalma (108)
Pre-race
Pace car	H.C.S. 6
Pace car driver	Harry C. Stutz
Starter	Thomas J. Hay [1]
Honorary referee	David Beecroft [1]
Estimated attendance	135,000-150,000 [2] ("last year was 125k")
Chronology
Previous Next 1920 1922

The 9th International 500-Mile Sweepstakes Race was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Monday, May 30, 1921.

Ralph DePalma dominated another early running of the 500, but again failed to win. He led 109 laps, and had a two-lap lead at the halfway point. A connecting rod broke, and he dropped out on lap 112. DePalma retired with one win, and 612 laps led in the "500." His laps led record would not be matched for 66 years until Al Unser, Sr. reached it in 1987.

Tommy Milton won the first of two 500 victories. He was accompanied by riding mechanic Harry Franck. The only European car to finish was a 1921 Grand Prix Sunbeam driven by Ora Haibe who was placed fifth.

Time trials

The 1921 winning car

Time trials was scheduled for five days, May 25–29. Four-lap (10 mile) qualifying runs were utilized. A short field of only 26 cars submitted entries, but only 23 cars arrived and prepared to qualify. Mervin Headley's entry was disallowed because only half the entry fee was paid. ^{[3] [4]} Two other entries were no-shows.

Ralph DePalma completed his qualifying run on Wednesday May 25, at an average speed of 100.75 mph. He won the pole position as the only driver over the 100 mph mark. None of his four laps matched the track record (104.78 mph) set in 1919.

This would be the first 500 that featured the familiar starting grid of rows of cars three-abreast.

Qualifying Results
Date	Driver	Lap 1 (mph)	Lap 2 (mph)	Lap 3 (mph)	Lap 4 (mph)	Average Speed (mph)
5/26/1921	Ralph DePalma	100.89	100.53	100.56	101.00	100.75

Starting grid

Row	Inside		Middle		Outside
1	4	Ralph DePalma  W	6	Roscoe Sarles	7	Joe Boyer
2	1	Eddie Hearne	22	Jules Ellingboe  R	19	Jean Chassagne
3	18	Louis Fountaine  R	23	Percy Ford  R	5	Eddie Miller  R
4	3	Ira Vail	14	André Boillot	10	Howdy Wilcox  W
5	16	Ora Haibe	9	Albert Guyot	21	Bennett Hill
6	17	Riley Brett  R	15	René Thomas  W	27	Tom Alley
7	24	Jimmy Murphy	2	Tommy Milton	8	Ralph Mulford
8	25	Joe Thomas	28	C. W. Van Ranst  R

R Indianapolis 500 rookie

W Indianapolis 500 winner

Box score

Finish	Start	No	Name	Entrant	Chassis	Engine	Qual	Rank	Laps	Time/Retired
1	20	2	Tommy Milton	Louis Chevrolet	Frontenac	Frontenac	93.050	11	200	5:34:44.65
2	2	6	Roscoe Sarles	Duesenberg Brothers	Duesenberg	Duesenberg	98.350	2	200	5:38:34.03
3	8	23	Percy Ford  R  (Jules Ellingboe) (Andy Burt)	Stanley Kandul	Frontenac	Frontenac	87.000	19	200	5:52:15.30
4	9	5	Eddie Miller  R  (Jimmy Murphy)	Duesenberg Brothers	Duesenberg	Duesenberg	83.850	20	200	5:54:24.98
5	13	16	Ora Haibe	Sunbeam Motor Car Company	Sunbeam	Sunbeam	93.500	10	200	5:57:45.83
6	14	9	Albert Guyot (Joe Boyer) (Eddie Miller)	Duesenberg Brothers	Duesenberg	Duesenberg	87.800	16	200	6:01:17.07
7	10	3	Ira Vail	Ira Vail	Leach	Miller	82.350	22	200	6:14:17.47
8	15	21	Bennett Hill (Jerry Wunderlich)	John Thiele	Duesenberg	Duesenberg	87.780	17	200	6:19:06.74
9	21	8	Ralph Mulford	Louis Chevrolet	Frontenac	Frontenac	91.700	12	177	Flagged
10	17	15	René Thomas  W	Sunbeam Motor Car Company	Sunbeam	Sunbeam	83.750	21	144	Water hose
11	18	27	Tom Alley	L. L. Corum	Frontenac	Frontenac	80.500	23	133	Rod
12	1	4	Ralph DePalma  W	Ralph DePalma	Ballot	Ballot	100.750	1	112	Rod
13	4	1	Eddie Hearne	E. A. Hearne	Duesenberg	Duesenberg	96.180	6	111	Oil line
14	19	24	Jimmy Murphy (Eddie Pullen)	Duesenberg Brothers	Duesenberg	Duesenberg	93.600	9	107	Crash T4
15	16	17	Riley Brett  R  (Harry Thicksten)	George L. Wade	Brett	Brett	87.750	18	91	Hit wall
16	23	28	C. W. Van Ranst  R	C. W. Van Ranst	Frontenac	Frontenac	88.350	14	87	Water hose
17	3	7	Joe Boyer	Duesenberg Brothers	Duesenberg	Duesenberg	96.650	4	74	Rear axle
18	6	19	Jean Chassagne	Jean Chassagne	Peugeot	Peugeot	91.000	13	65	Lost hood
19	5	22	Jules Ellingboe  R	Jules Ellingboe	Frontenac	Frontenac	95.400	8	49	Steering
20	11	14	André Boillot	Louis Coatalen	Sunbeam	Sunbeam	97.600	3	41	Rod bearing
21	7	18	Louis Fountaine  R	George L. Wade	Brett	Brett	88.300	15	33	Crash FS
22	22	25	Joe Thomas	Duesenberg Brothers	Duesenberg	Duesenberg	96.250	5	25	Crash T3
23	12	10	Howdy Wilcox  W	Jules Goux	Peugeot	Peugeot	96.000	7	22	Rod
[5] [6] [7]

Note: Relief drivers in parentheses ^[8]

 W  Former Indianapolis 500 winner

 R  Indianapolis 500 Rookie

Statistics

Lap Leaders Laps Leader 1 Ralph DePalma 2 Joe Boyer 3–5 Ralph DePalma 6 Roscoe Sarles 7–110 Ralph DePalma 111–200 Tommy Milton

Total laps led Leader Laps Ralph DePalma 108 Tommy Milton 90 Joe Boyer 1 Roscoe Sarles 1

Race details

• For 1921, riding mechanics were required. ^[9]
• First alternate: none ^[10]

References

1. 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.
2. "Race Throngs Upset Records". The Indianapolis Star. May 31, 1921. p. 1. Retrieved June 3, 2017– via Newspapers.com.
3. The Talk of Gasoline Alley - 1070-AM WIBC, May 5, 2004
4. Local Indy 500 links from long ago
5. "Indianapolis 500 1921". Ultimate Racing History. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved January 15, 2012.
6. Ikert, B. M. (June 2, 1921). Motor Age: American Cars Dominate 500-Mile Race. Class Journal Company. p. 1.
7. Popely, Rick; Riggs, L. Spencer (1998). The Indianapolis 500 Chronicle. Lincolnwood, Illinois: Publications International, Ltd. ISBN   0-7853-2798-3.
8. "International 500 Mile Sweepstakes – May 30, 1921". ChampCarStats.com.
9. Blazier, John E.; Rollings, Tom (1994). Forgotten Heroes of the Speedways: The Riding Mechanics.
10. The Talk of Gasoline Alley - 1070-AM WIBC, May 14, 2004

1920 Indianapolis 500 Gaston Chevrolet

1921 Indianapolis 500 Tommy Milton

1922 Indianapolis 500 Jimmy Murphy