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1921 Indianapolis 500
Ninth running of the Indianapolis 500
Ninth running of the Indianapolis 500
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| race_name | 9th Indianapolis 500 |
| race_logo | 1921 Indianapolis 500 program cover.jpg |
| sanction | AAA |
| date | May 30, 1921 |
| winner | Tommy Milton |
| team | Louis Chevrolet |
| mph | 89.621 mi/h |
| pole | Ralph DePalma |
| pole_speed | 100.750 mi/h |
| leader | Ralph DePalma (108) |
| pace_car | H.C.S. 6 |
| pace_driver | Harry C. Stutz |
| starter | Thomas J. Hay |
| honorary | David Beecroft |
| attendance | 135,000-150,000 ("last year was 125k") |
| previous | [1920](1920-indianapolis-500) |
| next | [1922](1922-indianapolis-500) |
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
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. 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.
| 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 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | USA Ralph DePalma | 6 | USA Roscoe Sarles | 7 | USA Joe Boyer | ||||||
| 1 | USA Eddie Hearne | 22 | USA Jules Ellingboe | 19 | FRA Jean Chassagne | ||||||
| 18 | USA Louis Fountaine | 23 | USA Percy Ford | 5 | USA Eddie Miller | ||||||
| 3 | USA Ira Vail | 14 | FRA André Boillot | 10 | USA Howdy Wilcox | ||||||
| 16 | USA Ora Haibe | 9 | FRA Albert Guyot | 21 | USA Bennett Hill | ||||||
| 17 | USA Riley Brett | 15 | FRA René Thomas | 27 | USA Tom Alley | ||||||
| 24 | USA Jimmy Murphy | 2 | USA Tommy Milton | 8 | USA Ralph Mulford | ||||||
| 25 | USA Joe Thomas | 28 | USA C. W. Van Ranst |
Box score
| Finish | Start | No | Name | Entrant | Chassis | Engine | Qual | Rank | Laps | Time/Retired | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20 | 2 | USA Tommy Milton | Louis Chevrolet | Frontenac | Frontenac | 93.050 | 11 | 200 | 5:34:44.65 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2 | 6 | USA Roscoe Sarles | Duesenberg Brothers | Duesenberg | Duesenberg | 98.350 | 2 | 200 | 5:38:34.03 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 8 | 23 | USA Percy Ford **** | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| (Jules Ellingboe) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| (Andy Burt) | Stanley Kandul | Frontenac | Frontenac | 87.000 | 19 | 200 | 5:52:15.30 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 9 | 5 | USA Eddie Miller **** | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| (Jimmy Murphy) | Duesenberg Brothers | Duesenberg | Duesenberg | 83.850 | 20 | 200 | 5:54:24.98 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 13 | 16 | USA Ora Haibe | Sunbeam Motor Car Company | Sunbeam | Sunbeam | 93.500 | 10 | 200 | 5:57:45.83 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 14 | 9 | FRA Albert Guyot | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| (Joe Boyer) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| (Eddie Miller) | Duesenberg Brothers | Duesenberg | Duesenberg | 87.800 | 16 | 200 | 6:01:17.07 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 10 | 3 | USA Ira Vail | Ira Vail | Leach | Miller | 82.350 | 22 | 200 | 6:14:17.47 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 15 | 21 | USA Bennett Hill | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| (Jerry Wunderlich) | John Thiele | Duesenberg | Duesenberg | 87.780 | 17 | 200 | 6:19:06.74 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 21 | 8 | USA Ralph Mulford | Louis Chevrolet | Frontenac | Frontenac | 91.700 | 12 | 177 | Flagged | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 17 | 15 | FRA René Thomas **** | Sunbeam Motor Car Company | Sunbeam | Sunbeam | 83.750 | 21 | 144 | Water hose | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 18 | 27 | USA Tom Alley | L. L. Corum | Frontenac | Frontenac | 80.500 | 23 | 133 | Rod | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1 | 4 | USA Ralph DePalma **** | Ralph DePalma | Ballot | Ballot | 100.750 | 1 | 112 | Rod | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 4 | 1 | USA Eddie Hearne | E. A. Hearne | Duesenberg | Duesenberg | 96.180 | 6 | 111 | Oil line | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 19 | 24 | USA Jimmy Murphy | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| (Eddie Pullen) | Duesenberg Brothers | Duesenberg | Duesenberg | 93.600 | 9 | 107 | Crash T4 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 16 | 17 | USA Riley Brett **** | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| (Harry Thicksten) | George L. Wade | Brett | Brett | 87.750 | 18 | 91 | Hit wall | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 23 | 28 | USA C. W. Van Ranst **** | C. W. Van Ranst | Frontenac | Frontenac | 88.350 | 14 | 87 | Water hose | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 3 | 7 | USA Joe Boyer | Duesenberg Brothers | Duesenberg | Duesenberg | 96.650 | 4 | 74 | Rear axle | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 6 | 19 | FRA Jean Chassagne | Jean Chassagne | Peugeot | Peugeot | 91.000 | 13 | 65 | Lost hood | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 5 | 22 | USA Jules Ellingboe **** | Jules Ellingboe | Frontenac | Frontenac | 95.400 | 8 | 49 | Steering | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 11 | 14 | FRA André Boillot | Louis Coatalen | Sunbeam | Sunbeam | 97.600 | 3 | 41 | Rod bearing | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 7 | 18 | USA Louis Fountaine **** | George L. Wade | Brett | Brett | 88.300 | 15 | 33 | Crash FS | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 22 | 25 | USA Joe Thomas | Duesenberg Brothers | Duesenberg | Duesenberg | 96.250 | 5 | 25 | Crash T3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 12 | 10 | USA Howdy Wilcox **** | Jules Goux | Peugeot | Peugeot | 96.000 | 7 | 22 | Rod |
Note: Relief drivers in parentheses
**** Former Indianapolis 500 winner
**** 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.{{cite book
- First alternate: none
References
Indy 500 Walker| Previous_race = 1920| Previous_winner = Gaston Chevrolet| This_race = 1921| This_winner = Tommy Milton| Next_race = 1922| Next_winner = Jimmy Murphy|
References
- Fox, Jack C.. (1994). "The Illustrated History of the Indianapolis 500 1911-1994". Carl Hungness Publishing.
- (May 31, 1921). "Race Throngs Upset Records". The Indianapolis Star.
- ''[[Donald Davidson (historian). The Talk of Gasoline Alley]]'' - [[WIBC (FM). 1070-AM WIBC]], May 5, 2004
- [https://archive.today/20140226174614/http://m.daily-journal.com/news/local/local-indy-links-from-long-ago/article_78401c31-f2e8-5969-9ceb-e283988075c3.html?mode=jqm Local Indy 500 links from long ago]
- "Indianapolis 500 1921". Ultimate Racing History.
- Ikert, B. M.. (1921-06-02). "Motor Age: American Cars Dominate 500-Mile Race". Class Journal Company.
- (1998). "The Indianapolis 500 Chronicle". Publications International, Ltd..
- "International 500 Mile Sweepstakes – May 30, 1921". ChampCarStats.com.
- ''[[Donald Davidson (historian). The Talk of Gasoline Alley]]'' - [[WIBC (FM). 1070-AM WIBC]], May 14, 2004
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