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1923 Indianapolis 500

11th running of the Indianapolis 500

Field	Value
race_name	11th Indianapolis 500
race_logo	1923 Indianapolis 500 program cover.jpg
sanction	AAA
date	May 30, 1923
winner	Tommy Milton
team	H.C.S. Motor Car Company
mph	90.954 mi/h
pole	Tommy Milton
pole_speed	108.170 mi/h
leader	Tommy Milton (128)
pace_car	Duesenberg
pace_driver	Fred Duesenberg
starter	Eddie Rickenbacker
honorary	John Oliver La Gorce
attendance	150,000
previous	[1922](1922-indianapolis-500)
next	[1924](1924-indianapolis-500)

The 11th International 500-Mile Sweepstakes Race was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Wednesday, May 30, 1923. After winning previously in 1921, Tommy Milton became the first multiple winner of the Indianapolis 500. Howdy Wilcox (the 1919 winner) drove relief for Milton in laps 103–151. During the break, Milton had to have his hands bandaged due to blisters, and changed his shoes due to crimping of his toes.

On lap 22, Tom Alley (driving Earl Cooper's entry) wrecked on the backstretch, going through the wall, and killed 16-year-old spectator Bert Shoup. Alley and two other spectators were injured.

Memorial Day controversy

In January 1923, about four months before the race, the Indiana Legislature passed a bill prohibiting commercialized sporting events, including the Indianapolis 500, from being held on Memorial Day. At the time, Memorial Day was a fixed-date holiday (May 30). Some veterans groups, and proponents of the measure, led by senator Robert L. Moorhead, were displeased with the way the holiday had become "...a day for games, races, and revelry, instead of a day of memory and tears". The bill sparked a heated debate, whereby the local American Legion issued a public proclamation opposing the law, on the grounds of free expression, and being "un-American" in principle.

The issue created a potential schedule shake-up, which could have moved the race to the proceeding Saturday (May 26), or forced an outright cancellation. Speedway management was leery about permanently moving the race to a Saturday, since many spectators worked on Saturdays, and they preferred to have the race on a holiday. Racing on Sunday was also strongly opposed by management at the time. Officials in the city of Indianapolis even proposed making the Saturday before Memorial Day a city holiday, to ensure the race was held on a holiday. On March 5, after consulting legal experts, Governor Warren T. McCray vetoed the bill, calling it "class legislation" and therefore unconstitutional.

In subsequent years, the Indianapolis 500 would be held on Memorial Day (May 30) regardless of the day of the week through 1970. The only exceptions were when May 30 fell on a Sunday. In those cases, the race was held on Monday May 31 (the observed holiday). Memorial Day ceased to be a fixed-date holiday after the passage of the Uniform Monday Holiday Act, which took effect in 1971. The race moved permanently to Sunday starting in 1974.

Time trials

Four-lap (10 mile) qualifying runs were utilized. Tommy Milton won the pole with a record speed of over 108 mph. Five cars qualified with average speeds of over 100 mph.

Starting grid

Row	Inside	Middle	Outside	1	2
1	USA Tommy Milton	7	USA Harry Hartz	3	GBR Dario Resta
21	ARG Martín de Álzaga	27	GBR Louis Zborowski	18	ESP Pierre de Vizcaya
23	USA L. L. Corum	25	USA Howdy Wilcox	5	USA Jimmy Murphy
8	USA Cliff Durant	2	USA Ralph DePalma	29	USA Earl Cooper
4	USA Joe Boyer	6	USA Eddie Hearne	16	GER Christian Werner
31	USA Frank Elliott	14	GER Christian Lautenschlager	35	USA Bennett Hill
26	USA Harlan Fengler	15	GER Max Sailer	28	USA Leon Duray
19	FRA Prince de Cystria	22	ARG Raúl Riganti	34	USA Wade Morton

Box score

Finish	Start	No	Name	Entrant	Chassis	Engine	Qual	Rank	Laps
1	1	USA Tommy Milton ****
(Howdy Wilcox Laps 103–151)	H.C.S. Motor Company	Miller	Miller	108.170	1	200	5:29:50.17
2	7	USA Harry Hartz	R. Cliff Durant	Miller	Miller	103.700	3	200	5:33:05
9	5	USA Jimmy Murphy ****	R. Cliff Durant	Miller	Miller	104.050	2	200	5:40:36.64
14	6	USA Eddie Hearne
(Earl Cooper 88–200)	R. Cliff Durant	Miller	Miller	97.300	9	200	5:46:14.23
7	23	USA L. L. Corum	Barber-Warnock	Ford T	Fronty-Ford	86.650	23	200	6:03:16.81
16	31	USA Frank Elliott
(Dave Lewis Laps 109–138)	R. Cliff Durant	Miller	Miller	93.250	12	200	6:04:52.37
10	8	USA Cliff Durant
(Eddie Hearne Laps 98–116)
(Eddie Hearne Laps 149–200)	R. Cliff Durant	Miller	Miller	102.650	4	200	6:05:06.30
20	15	GER Max Sailer ****
(Karl Sailer Laps 73–200)	Daimler Motoren Gesellschaft	Mercedes	Mercedes	90.550	18	200	6:11:49.60
22	19	FRA Prince de Cystria ****	Prince de Cystria	Bugatti	Bugatti	88.900	21	200	6:26:24.78
24	34	USA Wade Morton ****
(Jerry Wunderlich Laps 30–53)
(Thane Houser)
(Phil Shafer Laps 65–87)
(Jerry Wunderlich Laps 88–100)
(Ora Haibe Laps 101–160)
(Phil Shafer Laps 172–200)	Duesenberg Brothers	Duesenberg	Duesenberg	88.000	22	200	6:40:04.98
15	16	GER Christian Werner ****
(Max Sailer Laps 84–87)
(Max Sailer Laps 112–126)
(Christian Lautenschlager)	Daimler Motoren Gesellschaft	Mercedes	Mercedes	95.200	11	200	6:41:50.51
6	18	ESP Pierre de Vizcaya ****	Martín de Álzaga	Bugatti	Bugatti	90.300	19	165	Rod
21	28	USA Leon Duray
(Lou Wilson Laps 133–136)	R. Cliff Durant	Miller	Miller	89.900	20	136	Rod
3	3	GBR Dario Resta ****
(Ernie Ansterburg Laps 71–80)
(Joe Boyer Laps 81–88)	Packard Motor Car Company	Packard	Packard	98.020	8	88	Differential
11	2	USA Ralph DePalma ****
(Ernie Ansterburg)	Packard Motor Car Company	Packard	Packard	100.420	5	69	Head gasket
19	26	USA Harlan Fengler ****
(Lou Wilson Laps 46–69)	R. Cliff Durant	Miller	Miller	90.750	17	69	Gas tank
8	25	USA Howdy Wilcox ****	H.C.S. Motor Company	Miller	Miller	81.000	24	60	Clutch
13	4	USA Joe Boyer	Packard Motor Car Company	Packard	Packard	98.800	7	59	Differential
18	35	USA Bennett Hill
(Martín de Álzaga Laps 30–44)	Harry A. Miller	Miller	Miller	91.200	16	44	Crankshaft
5	27	UK Louis Zborowski ****	Count L. Zborowski	Bugatti	Bugatti	91.800	15	41	Rod
12	29	USA Earl Cooper
(Tom Alley Laps 2–21)	R. Cliff Durant	Miller	Miller	99.400	6	21	Crash BS
23	22	ARG Raúl Riganti ****	Martín de Álzaga	Bugatti	Bugatti	95.300	10	19	Gas line
17	14	GER Christian Lautenschlager ****	Daimler Motoren Gesellschaft	Mercedes	Mercedes	93.200	13	14	Crash T1
4	21	ARG Martín de Álzaga ****	Martín de Álzaga	Bugatti	Bugatti	92.900	14	6	Rod

Note: Relief drivers in parentheses

**** Former Indianapolis 500 winner

**** Indianapolis 500 Rookie

Race statistics

Lap Leaders	Laps	Leader
1–2	Jimmy Murphy
3	Tommy Milton
4	Jimmy Murphy
5	Tommy Milton
6	Jimmy Murphy
7–15	Tommy Milton
16–20	Jimmy Murphy
21–25	Tommy Milton
26	Howdy Wilcox
27	Tommy Milton
28	Howdy Wilcox
29	Jimmy Murphy
30–37	Tommy Milton
38	Jimmy Murphy
39–40	Howdy Wilcox
41–43	Tommy Milton
44–48	Howdy Wilcox
49–52	Tommy Milton
53	Howdy Wilcox
54–62	Tommy Milton
63	Cliff Durant
64	Tommy Milton
65–66	Cliff Durant
67–73	Tommy Milton
74	Cliff Durant
75–103	Tommy Milton
104–109	Harry Hartz
110–150	Howdy Wilcox
151–200	Tommy Milton

Total laps led	Leader	Laps
Tommy Milton	128
Howdy Wilcox	51
Jimmy Murphy	11
Harry Hartz	6
Cliff Durant	4

Race details

For 1923, riding mechanics were made optional. Only one team (the Mercedes of Christian Lautenschlager) utilized one.
First alternate: none

References

|Previous_year's_race = 1922 Indianapolis 500 |Next_year's_race = 1924 Indianapolis 500

References

Fox, Jack C.. (1994). "The Illustrated History of the Indianapolis 500 1911-1994". Carl Hungness Publishing.
Patton, W. Blaine. (May 31, 1923). "Sterling Pilot Takes Laurels Second Time In Speedway Classic". The Indianapolis Star.
''[[Donald Davidson (historian). The Talk of Gasoline Alley]]'' - [[WIBC (FM). 1070-AM WIBC]], May 15, 2002
(May 31, 1923). "Thousands witness auto speeders race". [[Ottawa Citizen.
(January 25, 1923). "Bill for Bible in schools is killed". The Indianapolis Times.
Sacco, p. 362
(January 31, 1923). "District Legion Advisors Oppose Memorial Day Bill". The Indianapolis Star.
(February 28, 1923). "Speedway Race May Be Run Despite Law". The Daily Republican.
(January 24, 1923). "Much labor to undo if speed race isn't held". The Indianapolis Times.
(March 6, 1923). "McCray sends measure back to Senate without signing; veto vote fails to override". The Indianapolis Star.
''Motor Age,'' June 7, 1923, p. 12
"Indianapolis 500 1923". Ultimate Racing History.
(1923-06-07). "Official Results of the Indianapolis 500". Motor Age.
(1998). "The Indianapolis 500 Chronicle". Publications International, Ltd..
"International 500 Mile Sweepstakes – May 30, 1923". ChampCarStats.com.
(1994). "Forgotten Heroes of the Speedways: The Riding Mechanics". Stephen Rettig.
''[[Donald Davidson (historian). The Talk of Gasoline Alley]]'' - [[WIBC (FM). 1070-AM WIBC]], May 14, 2004

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