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1916 Indianapolis 500

Sixth running of the Indianapolis 500

Field	Value
race_name	6th Indianapolis 500
race_logo	1916 Indianapolis 500 program cover.jpg
sanction	AAA
date	May 30, 1916
winner	Dario Resta
team	Peugeot
mph	84.001 mi/h
pole	Johnny Aitken
pole_speed	96.69 mi/h
leader	Dario Resta (103)
pace_car	Premier 6 (Model 6-56)
pace_driver	Frank E. Smith
starter	George M. Dickson
honorary	Howard Carpenter Marmon
attendance	83,000
previous	[1915](1915-indianapolis-500)
next	[1919](1919-indianapolis-500)

The 6th International 300-Mile Sweepstakes Race was the sixth running of the Indianapolis 500. It was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Tuesday, May 30, 1916. The management scheduled the race for 120 laps, 300 mi, the only Indianapolis 500 scheduled for less than 500 mi.

Although the common belief is that the race distance was changed due to the onset of World War I, it was in fact Speedway management that changed the distance in an attempt to make the race shorter and more appealing to fans. Despite the one-time altered distance, the race is still considered part of the continuous lineage of the Memorial Day classic, known as the Indianapolis 500. In addition to the altered distance, the start time was moved from 10:00 a.m. to the early afternoon (1:30 p.m.)

Eddie Rickenbacker took the lead at the start, and led the first nine laps until dropping out with steering problems. Dario Resta led 103 of the 120 laps, and claimed the victory. Resta was accompanied by riding mechanic Bob Dahnke.

Seven of the cars were entered by the Speedway or its owners, in order to ensure a strong field during the war. None of them finished in the top five. Despite the promoter's entries, the field consisted of only 21 cars, the smallest in Indy history.

World War I

Three months after the 1916 race, on the weekend after Labor Day, the Speedway held a second event, the Harvest Auto Racing Classic. The 1917 race was scheduled to return to 500 miles, but a dispute with the local hoteliers and the escalation of World War I intervened. On March 23, 1917, Speedway management cancelled the 1917 Indianapolis 500, and halted racing at the facility for both 1917 and 1918.

The track was offered as a landing strip and maintenance/refueling station for military aircraft traveling between Wilbur Wright Field and Chanute Air Force Base. It was referred to as the Speedway Aviation Repair Depot, and the 821st Aero Repair Squadron was stationed there. In addition, several experimental aircraft were tested at the grounds. At least one test pilot was fatally injured in a plane crash at the track.

No racing of any kind took place at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 1917–1918. Likewise, the National Championship was suspended in both 1917 and 1918. There were, however, AAA races (non-championship races) conducted during the war years at other tracks. On Memorial Day 1917, a 250-mile race was held at Cincinnati.

The Indianapolis 500 resumed after the war in 1919.

Starting grid

Row	Inside	Inside Center	Outside Center	Outside	1	2	3
18	USA Johnny Aitken	5	USA Eddie Rickenbacker	28	USA Gil Andersen	17	GBR Dario Resta
15	USA Barney Oldfield	29	USA Howdy Wilcox	27	USA Tom Rooney	19	USA Charlie Merz
4	CAN Pete Henderson	1	USA Wilbur D'Alene	7	USA Arthur Chevrolet	21	USA Jules Devigne
9	USA Ora Haibe	14	BEL Josef Christiaens	24	USA Billy Chandler	23	USA Aldo Franchi
26	USA Art Johnson	25	USA Dave Lewis	12	USA Tom Alley	10	USA Ralph Mulford
8	USA Louis Chevrolet

Box score

Finish	Start	No	Name	Entrant	Chassis	Engine	Qual	Rank	Laps
4	17	GBR Dario Resta	Peugeot Auto Racing Company	Peugeot	Peugeot	94.400	4	120	Running
10	1	USA Wilbur D'Alene ****	Duesenberg Brothers	Duesenberg	Duesenberg	90.870	11	120	Running
20	10	USA Ralph Mulford	Ralph Mulford	Peugeot	Peugeot	91.090	10	120	Running
14	14	BEL Josef Christiaens	Sunbeam Motor Car Company	Sunbeam	Sunbeam	86.080	16	120	Running
5	15	USA Barney Oldfield	Barney Oldfield	Delage	Delage	94.330	5	120	Running
9	4	CAN Pete Henderson ****
(Eddie Rickenbacker Laps 52–120)	Prest-O-Lite Racing Team	Maxwell	Maxwell	91.330	9	120	Running
6	29	USA Howdy Wilcox
(Gil Andersen)	Indianapolis Speedway Team Company	Premier	Premier	93.810	6	120	Running
17	26	USA Art Johnson ****	William Chandler	Crawford	Duesenberg	83.690	19	120	Running
15	24	USA Billy Chandler
(Frank Elliott)	William Chandler	Crawford	Duesenberg	84.840	17	120	Running
13	9	USA Ora Haibe ****	S. Osteweg	Osteweg	Wisconsin	87.080	15	120	Running
19	12	USA Tom Alley	Ogren Motor Car Company	Duesenberg	Duesenberg	82.040	21	120	Running
21	8	USA Louis Chevrolet	Chevrolet Brothers	Frontenac	Frontenac	87.690	13	82	Rod
3	28	USA Gil Andersen	Indianapolis Speedway Team Company	Premier	Premier	95.940	3	75	Oil line
18	25	USA Dave Lewis ****	William Chandler	Crawford	Duesenberg	83.120	20	71	Gas tank
1	18	USA Johnny Aitken	Indianapolis Speedway Team Company	Peugeot	Peugeot	96.690	1	69	Valve
12	21	USA Jules Devigne ****
(Jack LeCain)	Harry Harkness	Delage	Delage	87.170	14	61	Crash NC
7	27	USA Tom Rooney ****	Indianapolis Speedway Team Company	Premier	Premier	93.390	7	48	Crash T1
11	7	USA Arthur Chevrolet	Chevrolet Brothers	Frontenac	Frontenac	87.740	12	35	Magneto
8	19	USA Charlie Merz	Indianapolis Speedway Team Company	Peugeot	Peugeot	93.330	8	25	Lubrication
2	5	USA Eddie Rickenbacker	Prest-O-Lite Racing Team	Maxwell	Maxwell	96.440	2	9	Steering
16	23	USA Aldo Franchi ****	Aldo Franchi	Peugeot	Sunbeam	84.120	18	9	Engine trouble

Note: Relief drivers in parentheses

**** Indianapolis 500 Rookie

Race statistics

Lap Leaders	Laps	Leader
1–9	Eddie Rickenbacker
10–17	Johnny Aitken
18–120	Dario Resta

Total laps led	Laps	Leader
Dario Resta	103
Eddie Rickenbacker	9
Johnny Aitken	8

Race details

For 1916, riding mechanics were required.{{cite book
In the weeks and months leading up to the race, Speedway president Carl G. Fisher had expressed concern and disdain over the local hoteliers' practice of price gouging customers during the race week. It reached a boiling point where Fisher threatened to move the 1916 and/or 1917 Memorial Day 500-mile race to a board track in Cincinnati, Ohio. Ultimately, a truce was reached, and the race(s) were not moved. Apropos to that, the 1917 Indianapolis 500 was cancelled anyway shortly after the entry blanks were mailed out, due to the escalation of World War I.
Driver Jack LeCain was forced to miss the race due to a broken crankshaft suffered during a practice run two days before the race. He drove relief for Delage teammate Jules Devigne, taking over shortly beyond the 100-mile mark. After 61 laps, he suffered a serious crash, leaving him critically injured.
1915 winner Ralph DePalma withheld his entry for 1916, demanding $5,000 in appearance money from Speedway management. Carl Fisher refused to accede to the demand, and DePalma's subsequent entry blank, filed after the deadline, was rejected.

Notes

Works cited

"New Planes for Old" - The Work of the Aviation Repair Depots: Aerial Ace Weekely, 1 September 1919

References

References

Fox, Jack C.. (1994). "The Illustrated History of the Indianapolis 500 1911-1994". Carl Hungness Publishing.
Blakely, A.B.. (May 31, 1916). "Driver For Peugot Victor At Average of 84 Miles An Hour". The Indianapolis Star.
"The Talk of Gasoline Alley" - WFNI: May 5, 2012
(May 30, 1916). "Fleet Field Attune For Sixth Race". The Indianapolis Star.
Mittman, Dick. (2003-12-17). "Speedway Has Plenty Of Connections To First 100 Years Of Flight". Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
[http://images.indianahistory.org/cdm/singleitem/collection/dc013/id/183 821st Areo Squadron, Aviation Repair Depot, Speedway, Indiana, December 1918]
''[[Donald Davidson (historian). The Talk of Gasoline Alley]]'' - [[WIBC (FM). 1070-AM WIBC]], June 15, 2005
[http://www.champcarstats.com/races/191703.htm 1917 Sharonville Sweepstakes]
"Indianapolis 500 1916". Ultimate Racing History.
(1998). "The Indianapolis 500 Chronicle". Publications International, Ltd..
"International 300 Mile Sweepstakes – May 30, 1916". ChampCarStats.com.
''[[Donald Davidson (historian). The Talk of Gasoline Alley]]'' - [[WFNI]], May 23, 2013
(May 31, 1916). "Four Are Injured on Track; LeCain Hovering Near Death". The Indianapolis Star.

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