77

43rd Indianapolis International Motor Sweepstakes

30 May 1959Indianapolis804.675 km (4023 m x 200 Laps) = 500 Miles (2.5 Miles x 200 Laps)

 Pole Position: Johnny Thomson, Lesovsky-Offenhauser, 4:06.73 (234.77 km/h = 145.91 mph) Fastest Lap: Johnny Thomson, Lesovsky-Offenhauser, 1:01.89 (233.98 km/h = 145.42 mph lap 64) Race Results: Pos Car# Driver Car Time Speed Money 1 5 Rodger Ward Watson-Offenhauser 3:40:49.20 135.86 $106,850 (218.62 km/h) 2 16 Jim Rathmann Watson-Offenhauser 3:41:12.47 135.62 $39,800 3 3 Johnny Thomson Lesovsky-Offenhauser 3:41:39.85 135.34 $32,375 4 1 Tony Bettenhausen Epperly-Offenhauser 3:42:36.25 134.77 $15,475 5 99 Paul Goldsmith Epperly-Offenhauser 3:42:55.60 134.57 $11,975 6 33 Johnny Boyd Epperly-Offenhauser 3:44:06.23 133.87 $8,475 7 37 Duane Carter Kurtis-Offenhauser 3:44:59.15 133.34 $7,275 8 19 Eddie Johnson Kurtis KK500G-Offenhauser 3:44:59.69 133.34 $6,625 9 45 Paul Russo Kurtis KK500G-Offenhauser 3:45:00.24 133.33 $6,325 10 10 A.J. Foyt Jr. Kuzma-Offenhauser 3:45:03.65 133.30 $6,575 11 88 Gene Hartley Kuzma-Offenhauser 3:46:31.64 132.43 $4,795 12 74 Bob Veith Moore-Offenhauser 3:46:58.91 132.17 $4,675 13 89 Al Herman Dunn-Offenhauser 3:47:29.57 131.87 $4,455 14 66 Jimmy Daywalt Kurtis-Offenhauser 3:47:30.72 131.86 $5,335 15 71 Chuck Arnold Curtis-Offenhauser 3:49:09.05 130.92 $4,165 16 58 Jim McWithey Kurtis KK500C-Offenhauser 3:52:30.93 129.20 $4,045 Did Not Finish: 17 44 Eddie Sachs Kuzma-Offenhauser 182 Gear tower bolt $4,675 18 57 Al Keller Kuzma-Offenhauser 163 Piston $3,980 19 64 Pat Flaherty Watson-Offenhauser 162 Crash FS $5,725 20 73 Dick Rathmann Watson-Offenhauser 150 Fire in pit $4,045 21 53 Bill Cheesbourg Kuzma-Offenhauser 147 Magneto $3,765 22 15 Don Freeland Kurtis KK500G-Offenhauser 136 Valve spring $4,485 23 49 Ray Crawford Elder-Offenhauser 115 Crash 3 $3,655 24 9 Don Branson Phillips-Offenhauser 112 Torsion bar $3,625 25 65 Bob Christie Kurtis KK500C-Offenhauser 109 Rod bolt $4,595 26 48 Bobby Grim Kurtis KK500G-Offenhauser 85 Piston $4,190 27 24 Jack Turner Christensen-Offenhauser 47 Fuel tank $4,335 28 47 Chuck Weyant Kurtis KK500G-Offenhauser 45 Crash 3 $3,505 29 7 Jud Larson Kurtis-Offenhauser 45 Crash 3 $3,650 30 77 Mike Magill Sutton-Offenhauser 45 Crash 3 $3,445 31 87 Red Amick Kurtis KK500C-Offenhauser 45 Crash 3 $3,915 32 8 Len Sutton Lesovsky-Offenhauser 34 Crash 1 $3,385 33 6 Jimmy Bryan Salih-Offenhauser 1 Clutch/Cam gear $3,405 Lap Leaders: Car# Driver Car Laps Total 3 Johnny Thomson Lesovsky-Offenhauser 1-4 40 5 Rodger Ward Watson-Offenhauser 5-12 130 16 Jim Rathmann Watson-Offenhauser 13 19 5 Rodger Ward Watson-Offenhauser 14-16 16 Jim Rathmann Watson-Offenhauser 17-30 64 Pat Flaherty Watson-Offenhauser 31 11 16 Jim Rathmann Watson-Offenhauser 32-33 64 Pat Flaherty Watson-Offenhauser 34-40 16 Jim Rathmann Watson-Offenhauser 41-42 64 Pat Flaherty Watson-Offenhauser 43-45 5 Rodger Ward Watson-Offenhauser 46-48 3 Johnny Thomson Lesovsky-Offenhauser 49-84 5 Rodger Ward Watson-Offenhauser 85-200 Qualifying Times: Johnny Thomson Eddie Sachs Jim Rathmann Lesovsky-Offenhauser #3 Kuzma-Offenhauser #44 Watson-Offenhauser #16 Racing Associates Peter Schmidt Simoniz/Lindsey Hopkins 4:06.73 4:07.55 4:09.25 145.91 mph 145.43 mph 144.43 mph Dick Rathmann Bobby Grim Rodger Ward Watson-Offenhauser #73 Kurtis KK500G-Offenhauser #48 Watson-Offenhauser #5 McNamara/Kalamazoo Sports Sumar/Chapman Root Leader Card 500 Roadster 4:09.57 4:09.61 4:09.94 144.25 mph 144.23 mph 144.04 mph Bob Veith Eddie Johnson Gene Hartley Moore-Offenhauser #74 Kurtis KK500G-Offenhauser #19 Kuzma-Offenhauser #88 John Zink Heater Bryant Heating/Donaldson Drewry's/R.T. Marley 4:09.96 4:10.00 4:10.74 144.02 mph 144.00 mph 143.58 mph Don Branson Johnny Boyd Duane Carter Phillips-Offenhauser #9 Epperly-Offenhauser #33 Kurtis-Offenhauser #37 Bob Estes Bowes Seal Fast/Bignotti Smokey Yunick 4:11.20 4:12.08 4:12.11 143.31 mph 142.81 mph 142.80 mph Jimmy Daywalt Jack Turner Tony Bettenhausen Kurtis-Offenhauser #66 Christensen-Offenhauser #24 Epperly-Offenhauser #1 Federal Engineering Travelon Trailer/Ernest Ruiz Hoover Motor Express/Wills 4:08.82 4:10.91 4:12.24 144.68 mph 143.48 mph 142.72 mph Paul Goldsmith A.J. Foyt Jr. Pat Flaherty Epperly-Offenhauser #99 Kuzma-Offenhauser #10 Watson-Offenhauser #64 Norman Demler Dean Van Lines John Zink Heater 4:12.33 4:12.37 4:12.81 142.67 mph 142.65 mph 142.40 mph Jud Larson Jimmy Bryan Chuck Arnold Kurtis-Offenhauser #7 Salih-Offenhauser #6 Curtis-Offenhauser #71 Bowes Seal Fast/Bignotti Belond AP Muffler/Salih Hall-Mar 4:12.99 4:13.31 4:13.31 142.30 mph 142.12 mph 142.12 mph Len Sutton Al Herman Bob Christie Lesovsky-Offenhauser #8 Dunn-Offenhauser #89 Kurtis KK500C-Offenhauser #65 Wolcott Memorial Racing Dunn Engineering Federal Engineering 4:13.33 4:13.63 4:11.32 142.11 mph 141.94 mph 143.24 mph Don Freeland Red Amick Paul Russo Kurtis KK500G-Offenhauser #15 Kurtis KK500C-Offenhauser #87 Kurtis KK500G-Offenhauser #45 Jim Robbins Wheeler-Foutch Bardahl/Fred Gerhardt 4:11.65 4:11.88 4:12.84 143.06 mph 142.93 mph 142.38 mph Al Keller Chuck Weyant Bill Cheesbourg Kuzma-Offenhauser #57 Kurtis KK500G-Offenhauser #47 Kuzma-Offenhauser #53 Helse/H.H. Johnson Roy McKay Greenman-Casale 4:13.42 4:13.61 4:13.90 142.06 mph 141.95 mph 141.79 mph Mike Magill Ray Crawford Jim McWithey Sutton-Offenhauser #77 Elder-Offenhauser #49 Kurtis KK500C-Offenhauser #58 Dayton Steel Foundry/Walther Meguiar's Mirror/Crawford Ray Brady 4:14.45 4:14.69 4:14.93 141.48 mph 141.35 mph 141.22 mph Did Not Qualify: Car# Driver Car Entrant 1 Eddie Russo Epperly-Offenhauser Turner 12 Ralph Liguori Maserati El Dorado Italia 17 Johnny Kay Kurtis KK500C-Offenhauser Safety Auto Glass 21 Earl Motter Kuzma-Offenhauser Dean Van Lines 25 Bill Cheesbourg Kurtis KK500G-Offenhauser Hardwood Door 34 Dempsey Wilson Kurtis KK500F-Novi Novi Racing 38 Paul Russo Kurtis KK500F-Novi Novi Racing 39 Rex Easton Lesovsky-Offenhauser Massaglia Hotels 41 Ralph Liguori Kurtis KK500G-Offenhauser Sumar/Chapman Root 41 Jimmy Davies Kurtis KK500G-Offenhauser Sumar/Chapman Root 42 Bill Homeier Kurtis KK500G-Offenhauser Go-Kart/C.O. Prather 43 Johnny Tolan Lesovsky-Offenhauser H.A. Chapman 51 Bob Cortner Cornis-Offenhauser Cornis Engineering 52 Jud Larson Watson-Offenhauser Leader Cards Inc 54 Don Edmunds Kuzma-Offenhauser Bill Forbes Racing 55 Gene Force Kuzma-Offenhauser Sclavi & Amos 55 Jim Packard Kuzma-Offenhauser Sclavi & Amos 57 Jerry Unser Kuzma-Offenhauser Helse / H.H. Johnson 62 Bill Homeier Kurtis KK500G-Offenhauser Rusco Battery Cable 69 Shorty Templeman Kurtis KK500C-Maserati Frank Arciero 72 Chuck Arnold Kurtis KK500C-Offenhauser Speed International 76 Shorty Templeman Epperly-Offenhauser Braund Plywood 78 Eddie Russo Kurtis KK500D-Offenhauser Midwest Manufacturing 78 Bob Schroeder Kurtis KK500D-Offenhauser Midwest Manufacturing 78 Gene Force Kurtis KK500D-Offenhauser Midwest Manufacturing 82 Dempsey Wilson Kuzma-Offenhauser Central Excavating/Pete Salemi 82 Chuck Rodee Kuzma-Offenhauser Central Excavating/Pete Salemi 91 Johnny Moorehouse Kurtis KK500G-Offenhauser Binter 92 Jack Ensley Kurtis KK500G-Offenhauser McKay's Bulldog 93 Eddie Russo Kurtis KK500G-Offenhauser McKay's Bulldog 98 Chuck Daigh Kuzma-Offenhauser J.C. Agajanian 98 Eddie Russo Kuzma-Offenhauser J.C. Agajanian Notes:
  • Promoter: Indianapolis Motor Speedway. USAC Sanction No. 59CH1
  • Engine Specifications (cubic inches) and Restrictions:
    Normally Aspirated - 256.3
    Supercharged - 170.9
    Stock-Block - 274.6
    Fire resistant driver suits required
  • Yellow flags totalled 0:43:17
  • Average qualifying speed: 143.01 mph
  • Weather: Cloudy, Mild, Dry.
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    Race Review:

    Once again the Indianapolis 500 was included in the World Championship. The 1959 race featured - as usual - no European entries at all. In early practice for the 500 Jerry Unser, who had gone over the wall and survived the previous year, crashed and suffered serious burns. He died 17 days later. There was a second fatality between the two qualifying weekends when Bob Cortner crashed head-on into the wall at Turn Three. The result of qualifying was that Johnny Thompson was ahead of Eddie Sachs and Jim Rathmann. and the race developed into a battle between Rathmann, Thompson, Rodger Ward and Pat Flaherty. Flaherty and Thompson both fell out of the fight and Ward beat Rathmann to the flag by 23 seconds.