1950 Indianapolis 500

Time trials

Time trials was scheduled for six days.

• Saturday May 13: Walt Faulkner won the pole position with a record run of 134.343 mph.
• Sunday May 14
• Saturday May 20: The third day of time trials saw six cars complete runs. Bayliss Levrett (131.181 mph) was the fastest of the afternoon. Charles Van Acker was ruled physically disqualified, after a crash he suffered at the Speedway from 1949.
• Sunday May 21
• Saturday May 27: The day began with 11 spots open in the grid.
• Sunday May 28: Only one driver managed to bump his way into the field. Johnny McDowell bumped Cliff Griffith, while 15 other cars failed to make the field. The two Novi entries failed to qualify – Chet Miller had engine trouble in one of the cars, while the other snapped a supercharger shaft. Rain and two crashes cut the track time to less than three hours. Cy Marshall was among the few left in line when time trials closed at 6 p.m.

Starting grid

Box score

Note: Relief drivers in parentheses

**** Former Indianapolis 500 winner

**** Indianapolis 500 Rookie

All entrants utilized Firestone tires.

– Includes 1 point for fastest lead lap.

Race statistics

Notes

• Pole position: Walt Faulkner – 4:27.97
• Fastest Lead Lap: Johnnie Parsons – 1:09.77
• Shared drivers:
  • Joie Chitwood (82 laps) and Tony Bettenhausen (54 laps), after Bettenhausen retired. Points for 5th position were shared between the drivers.
  • Henry Banks (71 laps) and Fred Agabashian (41 laps)
  • Bayliss Levrett (105 laps) and Bill Cantrell (3 laps)
• First win for Firestone in the World Championship.

Qualifying

First alternate

Non-qualifiers

World Drivers' Championship

Speedway, Indiana

Background

The Indianapolis 500 was included in the FIA World Championship of Drivers from 1950 through 1960. The race was sanctioned by AAA through 1955, and then by USAC beginning in 1956. At the time the new world championship was announced and first organized by the CSI, the United States did not yet have a Grand Prix. Indianapolis Motor Speedway vice president and general manager Theodore E. "Pop" Meyers lobbied that the Indianapolis 500 be selected as the race to represent the country and to pay points towards the world championship.

Drivers competing at the Indianapolis 500 in 1950 through 1960 were credited with participation in and earned points towards the World Championship of Drivers. However, the machines competing at Indianapolis were not necessarily run to Formula One specifications and regulations. The drivers also earned separate points (on a different scale) towards the respective AAA or USAC national championships. No points, however, were awarded by the FIA towards the World Constructors' Championship.

Summary

The 1950 Indianapolis 500 was round 3 of 7 on the 1950 World Championship. The event, however, failed to attract significant interest from any of the regular competitors on the Grand Prix circuit. Giuseppe Farina and Franco Rol submitted Maserati entries, but their cars never arrived, and the race took place without any European competitors. Race winner Johnnie Parsons earned 9 points towards the World Championship (8 points for first place, and 1 point for the fastest lap). Despite not competing in any of the other World Championship events, he finished sixth in the final season standings.

Parsons is one of only three drivers to win on their WDC début. The other two are Farina, who won the inaugural World Championship race – the 1950 British Grand Prix, 17 days earlier – and Giancarlo Baghetti, who won the 1961 French Grand Prix.

World Drivers' Championship standings after the race

• Note: Only the top five positions are listed. Only the best four results counted towards the Championship.

Broadcasting

Radio

The race was carried live on the Mutual Broadcasting System, the precursor to the IMS Radio Network. The broadcast was sponsored by Perfect Circle Piston Rings and Bill Slater served as the anchor. Sid Collins moved into the booth for the first time to serve as analyst, and conducted the victory lane interview at the conclusion of the race. The broadcast feature live coverage of the start, the finish, and live updates throughout the race.

Prior to the race, it was reported that Slater might miss the race, due to illness. WIBC personality Sid Collins was named as a replacement, however, Slater was able to arrive in time for race day. Collins, who had previously served as a turn reporter, was invited to be the co-anchor in the booth.{{cite news |url=http://www.indianapolismotorspeedway.com/indy500/news/show/51747-ims-radio-network-celebrates-60th-anniversary/

Because the race was shortened, Mutual had to interrupt Queen for a Day to cover the finish of the abbreviated event. This was cited by some as a reason why the Speedway would begin flag-to-flag coverage in 1953.

Television

The race was carried live for the second year in a row on local television on WFBM-TV channel 6 of Indianapolis. Earl Townsend Jr. was the announcer, along with Dick Pittenger and Paul Roberts. After the race, Speedway management disallowed WFBM from broadcasting the race live again, feeling that gate attendance had been negatively affected.

References

References

1. Fox, Jack C.. (1994). "The Illustrated History of the Indianapolis 500 1911-1994". Carl Hungness Publishing.
2. (May 31, 1950). "Parsons Sets Record As Rain Halts 500-Mile Speedway Race". The Cincinnati Enquirer.
3. "Great Moments From the Indy 500" (VanCamp's Pork and Beans Presents/Freetwood Sounds), 1975
4. "The Talk of Gasoline Alley" – WFNI, May 20, 2012
5. (2021). "Indy Split: The Big Money Battle that Nearly Destroyed Indy Racing". Octane Press.
6. [https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=OWslULmvb_UC&dat=19500522&printsec=frontpage&hl=en Vet Van Acker Is Ruled Out] (May 22, 1950)
7. [https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=OWslULmvb_UC&dat=19500527&printsec=frontpage&hl=en Speedway Qualifications End Tomorrow; 11 Vacancies]
8. [https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=OWslULmvb_UC&dat=19500529&printsec=frontpage&hl=en One Change In Lineup For Big Race (May 29, 1950)]
9. "1950 Indianapolis 500". formula1.com.
10. "International 500 Mile Sweepstakes – May 30, 1950". ChampCarStats.com.
11. Sansbury, Ed. (May 30, 1959). "Rain Calls For End Of Classic After 138 Laps". Tucson Citizen.
12. O'Brien, J.E.. (May 31, 1950). "Parsons waits booty after bobtailed 500". [[Indianapolis News]].
13. Dunkley, Charles. (May 31, 1950). "Johnny Parsons Wins Shortened 500-Mile Race". The Terra Haute Star.
14. ''[[Donald Davidson (historian). The Talk of Gasoline Alley]]'' – [[WIBC (FM). 1070-AM WIBC]], May 14, 2004
15. {{cite episode. The Talk of Gasoline Alley]]. 1070 WIBC-AM]]
16. {{cite episode. The Talk of Gasoline Alley]]
17. {{cite episode. The Talk of Gasoline Alley]]
18. Capps, Don. (October 25, 2000). "Where Upon Our Scribe, Sherman, & Mr. Peabody Once Again Crank Up The Way-Back Machine for 1961..". AtlasF1.
19. "1950 International 500 Mile Sweepstakes".