Wikipedia

1924 Indianapolis 500

The 12th International 500-Mile Sweepstakes Race was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Friday, May 30, 1924.

12th Indianapolis 500
Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Indianapolis 500
Sanctioning bodyAAA
DateMay 30, 1924
WinnerL. L. Corum and
Joe Boyer (co-winners)
Winning EntrantDuesenberg
Average speed98.234 mph (158.092 km/h)
Pole positionJimmy Murphy
Pole speed108.037 mph (173.869 km/h)
Most laps ledEarl Cooper (119)
Pre-race
Pace carCole V8
Pace car driverLew Pettijohn
StarterW. S. Gilbreath[1]
Honorary refereeHenry Ford[1]
Estimated attendance135,000-140,000[2]
Chronology
Previous Next
1923 1925

L. L. Corum started the race in the #15 entry, and was relieved during the race by Joe Boyer. Boyer proceeded to drive the car to victory, and both drivers were credited as "co-winners" for the 1924 race.

Boyer led the first lap of the race in his original #9 entry. After Boyer got out of the car and took over the #15, the #9 entry continued in the race, taken over by Ernie Ansterburg, Corum, and later Thane Houser. Houser crashed the car after 176 laps, and Boyer's original car was credited with 18th place.

Time trials

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Four-lap (10 mile) qualifying runs were utilized. Jimmy Murphy won the pole position with a speed of over 108mph.

Starting grid

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Row Inside Middle Outside
1 2   Jimmy Murphy  W  4   Harry Hartz 5   Tommy Milton  W 
2 9   Joe Boyer 3   Bennett Hill 8   Earl Cooper
3 18   Jules Ellingboe 16   Cliff Durant 32   Antoine Mourre  R 
4 10   Ernie Ansterburg  R  7   Jerry Wunderlich 21   Frank Elliott
5 12   Pete DePaolo 1   Eddie Hearne 6   Ira Vail
6 14   Fred Comer  R  31   Ora Haibe 19   Bob McDonogh  R 
7 26   Bill Hunt  R  28   Alfred Moss  R  15   L. L. Corum
8 27   Fred Harder  R 
R Indianapolis 500 rookie
W Indianapolis 500 winner

Race summary

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The 1924 winning car
 
Co-winners L. L. Corum (left) and Joe Boyer (right)

After Joe Boyer, in his original car, led the first lap, Jimmy Murphy took the lead. By half-distance, Murphy led while Earl Cooper held 2nd. Fred Duesenberg, incensed that his lead car was behind four Miller vehicles, called Boyer into the pits, as his car had fallen behind with unscheduled pit stops. He then waved in his 5th-place car, driven by L. L. Corum, and installed Boyer in it. Duesenberg reportedly told him, "Catch them," referring to the Millers, "or burn this ship!"[3]

Boyer re-entered the race with Corum's car and soon passed Bennett Hill and Harry Hartz. With 40 laps to go, he was about 1 mile behind leader Jimmy Murphy and Earl Cooper, turning laps at up to 104 mph.

Murphy was signaled that Boyer was rapidly closing and upped his pace, but he soon cut a tire and had to pit. Cooper assumed the lead but suffered the same fate after pushing harder. Cooper sped out of the pits and closed on Boyer. With 12 laps to go, Cooper made a passing attempt in turn 1, but skidded and again cut a tire, prompting another pit stop. Boyer then eased his pace to win the 500 with a record average speed of over 98 mph.[4]

Box score

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Finish Start No Name Entrant Chassis Engine Qual Rank Laps Status
1 21 15   L. L. Corum (Laps 1–111)
  Joe Boyer (Laps 112–200) 		Duesenberg Duesenberg Duesenberg 93.330 16 200 Running
2 6 8   Earl Cooper Earl Cooper Miller Miller 103.900 6 200 Running
3 1 2   Jimmy Murphy  W  Jimmy Murphy Miller Miller 108.030 1 200 Running
4 2 4   Harry Hartz R. Cliff Durant Miller Miller 107.130 2 200 Running
5 5 3   Bennett Hill Harry A. Miller Miller Miller 104.840 5 200 Running
6 13 12   Peter DePaolo Duesenberg Brothers Duesenberg Duesenberg 99.280 13 200 Running
7 16 14   Fred Comer  R 
(Wade Morton Laps 99–120) 		R. Cliff Durant Miller Miller 92.880 17 200 Running
8 15 6   Ira Vail
(C. W. Van Ranst Laps 162–200) 		Ira Vail Miller Miller 96.400 15 200 Running
9 9 32   Antoine Mourre  R  Antoine Mourre Miller Miller 99.490 9 200 Running
10 18 19   Bob McDonogh  R  Harry A. Miller Miller Miller 91.550 19 200 Running
11 7 18   Jules Ellingboe Harry A. Miller Miller Miller 102.600 7 200 Running
12 11 7   Jerry Wunderlich
(Wade Morton Laps 31–90)
(Wade Morton Laps 158–187) 		R. Cliff Durant Miller Miller 99.360 11 200 Running
13 8 16   Cliff Durant
(Phil Shafer Laps 91–110)
(Eddie Hearne) 		R. Cliff Durant Miller Miller 101.610 8 199 Out of gas
14 19 26   Bill Hunt  R  Barber-Warnock Ford T Fronty-Ford 85.040 21 191 Flagged
15 17 31   Ora Haibe
(Elmer Dempsey Laps 101–121) 		Albert Schmidt Mercedes Mercedes 92.810 18 182 Flagged
16 20 28   Alfred Moss  R  Barber-Warnock Ford T Fronty-Ford 85.270 20 177 Flagged
17 22 27   Fred Harder  R  Barber-Warnock Ford T Fronty-Ford 82.770 22 177 Flagged
18 4 9   Joe Boyer
(Ernie Ansterburg Laps 93–158)
(Thane Houser Laps 176) 		Duesenberg Brothers Duesenberg Duesenberg 104.840 4 176 Crash T1
19 14 1   Eddie Hearne
(Cliff Durant Laps 123–137) 		R. Cliff Durant Miller Miller 99.230 14 151 Fuel line
20 12 21   Frank Elliott Frank R. Elliott Miller Miller 99.310 12 149 Gas tank
21 3 5   Tommy Milton  W  Tommy Milton Miller Miller 105.200 3 110 Gas tank
22 10 10   Ernie Ansterburg  R  Duesenberg Duesenberg Duesenberg 99.400 10 2 Crash T2
[5][6]

Note: Relief drivers in parentheses[7]

 W  Former Indianapolis 500 winner

 R  Indianapolis 500 Rookie

Race statistics

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Race details

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  • Eddie Hearne was the lone entry in the race who competed in the inaugural Indy 500

References

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  1. ^ a b 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. ^ Patton, W. Blaine (May 31, 1924). "Boyer Relieves 'Duesie' Pilot In 106th, Finishing; Corum Officially Wins". The Indianapolis Star. p. 1. Retrieved June 3, 2017 – via Newspapers.com. 
  3. ^ Book "The Indianapolis 500: A Complete Pictorial History" p. 58
  4. ^ Book "The Indianapolis 500: A Complete Pictorial History" p.58-61
  5. ^ "Indianapolis 500 1924". Ultimate Racing History. Archived from the original on 5 February 2013. Retrieved 15 January 2012.
  6. ^ Popely, Rick; Riggs, L. Spencer (1998). The Indianapolis 500 Chronicle. Lincolnwood, Illinois: Publications International, Ltd. ISBN 0-7853-2798-3.
  7. ^ "International 500 Mile Sweepstakes – May 30, 1924". ChampCarStats.com.
  8. ^ Blazier, John E.; Rollings, Tom (1994). Forgotten Heroes of the Speedways: The Riding Mechanics.
  9. ^ The Talk of Gasoline Alley - 1070-AM WIBC, May 14, 2004


Grand Prix Race
Previous race:
1923 Italian Grand Prix 		1924 Grand Prix season
Grandes Épreuves 		Next race:
1924 French Grand Prix
Previous race:
1923 Indianapolis 500 		Indianapolis 500 Next race:
1925 Indianapolis 500
1923 Indianapolis 500
Tommy Milton 		1924 Indianapolis 500
L. L. Corum and Joe Boyer 		1925 Indianapolis 500
Peter DePaolo
Preceded by
94.484 mph
(1922 Indianapolis 500)
 Record for the fastest average speed
98.234 mph 		Succeeded by
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