The 22nd International 500-Mile Sweepstakes Race was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on May 30, 1934. The winner was the number seven car driven by Bill Cummings, an Indianapolis native, at an average speed of 104.863 miles per hour. Cummings led for 57 laps total, including the last 26.[3] Of the 33 cars that began the race, only 12 were running at the finish, although there were no crashes resulting in serious injuries. One serious incident involved George Bailey, whose car went over the outside wall, but resulted in only a broken wrist to the driver. The finish was the closest in the history of the race to that point, with second-place finisher Mauri Rose within 100 yards of Cummings at the finish (officially 27.25 seconds behind). Rose would also file a protest that Cummings had illegally gained ground during a "slow-down" period following a crash.[4]
In an effort to improve safety, the maximum field size was capped at 33 cars. 33 starters has remained the maximum field size since, with the exception of the 1979 and 1997 races. After several consecutive 500s with multiple fatalities, efforts were also made to reduce speeds through fuel limits; entries were limited to 2.5 U.S. gallons (9.5L) of fuel for qualification and 45 U.S. gallons (170L) of fuel for the race.[5][6]
Ten-lap (25 mile) qualifying runs were utilized. Kelly Petillo earned the pole position with a speed of 119.329mph (192.041km/h). Babe Stapp and Charles Tramison were both disqualified for exceeding the fuel limit in their qualifying runs.
During a qualification attempt, driver Pete Kreis lost control in turn 1, climbed over the wall, and struck a tree outside of the track. He and his riding mechanic were fatally injured.
At the start, polesitter Petillo took the lead for the first 4 laps. But the pace was 8mph off the record of the previous year, owing to new fuel regulations that limited cars to 45 gallons for the entire race. Frank Brisko lead much of the first half of the race, but began to fall back as the race approached half-distance. By half-distance, Mauri Rose was leading, but close behind him was Cummings. "Wild Bill" first assumed the lead at 325 miles as Rose pitted for fuel, then lost it as he too made a stop. Cummings then closed on Rose and passed him with 70 miles to go. Both drivers, confident that they had enough fuel, then upped their pace to reach 140mph on the straights. Cummings and Rose were never more than 30 seconds apart in the last part of the race. Cummings took the checkered with a new record average speed, despite the new fuel limitations. Rose was second, 27 seconds behind.[10]
↑ "CUMMINGS VICTOR IN 500-MILE RACE". The New York Times. May 31, 1934.Associated Press as printed in the New York Times May 31, 1934, page 26, sports. (requires subscription to read full article)
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