1958 Indianapolis 500

42nd Indianapolis 500

Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Indianapolis 500
Sanctioning body	USAC
Date	May 30, 1958
Winner	Jimmy Bryan
Winning team	George Salih
Average speed	133.791 mph (215.316 km/h)
Pole position	Dick Rathmann
Pole speed	145.974 mph (234.922 km/h)
Most laps led	Jimmy Bryan (139)
Pre-race ceremonies
Pace car	Pontiac Bonneville
Pace car driver	Sam Hanks
Starter	Bill Vanderwater
Estimated attendance	175,000
Chronology
Previous Next 1957 1959

The 42nd International 500-Mile Sweepstakes was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Friday, May 30, 1958. The event was part of the 1958 USAC National Championship Trail, and was also race 4 of 11 in the 1958 World Championship of Drivers.

The race is best known for a massive first-lap, 15-car pileup that resulted in the death of fan-favorite driver Pat O'Connor.

Jimmy Bryan was the race winner. This marked the first time that one car would carry two drivers to separate wins at the race, in back-to-back years, with Sam Hanks winning the previous year's race in the same car.

The race featured young rookie A. J. Foyt's debut at Indy. On lap 148, he spun in an oil slick, blew out the tires, and dropped out of the race.

Juan Manuel Fangio arrived at Indy under much fanfare as he attempted to qualify for the Indy 500 and score points towards the World Championship. He practiced early in the month, but withdrew when he could not get up to speed.

Time trials

Time trials were scheduled for four days.

• Saturday May 17 – Pole Day time trials
  • Ed Elisian set a new one-lap track record of 146.508 mph to sit tentatively on the pole position. His four-lap average stood at 145.926 mph. Later in the day, Dick Rathmann qualified at 145.974 mph to win the pole position. Rathmann was not able to beat Elisian's single-lap record, but his four-lap record eclipsed Elisian overall by a mere 0.08 seconds.
• Sunday May 18 – Second day time trials
• Saturday May 24 – Third day time trials
• Sunday May 25 – Fourth day time trials

Starting grid

Row	Inside		Middle		Outside
1	97	Dick Rathmann	5	Ed Elisian	16	Jimmy Reece
2	14	Bob Veith	4	Pat O'Connor	45	Johnnie Parsons  W
3	1	Jimmy Bryan	9	Johnny Boyd	33	Tony Bettenhausen
4	25	Jack Turner	8	Rodger Ward	29	A. J. Foyt  R
5	26	Don Freeland	15	Paul Russo	43	Billy Garrett
6	31	Paul Goldsmith  R	65	Bob Christie	88	Eddie Sachs
7	44	Jud Larson  R	2	Jim Rathmann	52	Al Keller
8	7	Johnny Thomson	83	Shorty Templeman	92	Jerry Unser  R
9	99	George Amick  R	61	Eddie Johnson	68	Len Sutton  R
10	57	Art Bisch  R	89	Chuck Weyant	19	Johnnie Tolan
11	77	Mike Magill	59	Dempsey Wilson  R	54	Bill Cheesbourg

R Indianapolis 500 rookie

W Indianapolis 500 winner

Alternates

• First alternate: Gene Hartley (#24)

Failed to qualify

• Fred Agabashian (#14, #56, #57, #75)
• Tony Bonadies  R  (#58)
• Bud Clemons  R  (#59)
• Bob Cortner  R  (#93) – Did not finish rookie test
• Ray Crawford (#49)
• Jimmy Daywalt (#57, #69, #82)
• Rex Easton  R  (#10, #72)
• Don Edmunds (#92)
• Jack Ensley  R  (#17)
• Juan Manuel Fangio  R  (#54, #77)
• Pat Flaherty  W  (#5) – Entry declined, failed physical
• Elmer George (#10, #28)
• Joe Giba  R  (#62)
• Gene Hartley (#24)
• Al Herman (#68, #75)
• Bill Homeier (#74, #95)
• Van Johnson  R  (#58)
• Jim McWithey  R  (#66)
• Earl Motter  R  (#61) – Passed rookie test
• Tom Pistone  R  (#66) – Entry declined, lack of experience
• Eddie Russo (#55)
• Troy Ruttman  W  (#98)
• Dutch Schaefer  R  (#61) – Entry declined, lack of experience
• Carroll Shelby  R  (#17) – Did not begin rookie test
• Marshall Teague (#18)
• Leroy Warriner  R  (#95)

Race summary

Opening lap crash – Death of Pat O'Connor

For the second year in a row, the starting grid was assembled single-file in the pit lane. The cars were instructed to pull away and assemble into the official eleven rows of three after they entered the racing surface. Confusion occurred on the pace lap, however, as the three drivers of the front row (Dick Rathmann, Ed Elisian, and Jimmy Reece) pulled away, and inadvertently escaped the pace car. The three cars were alone, and rather than wait for the grid to catch up, they rushed around to catch up to the back of the field. Sam Hanks pulled the pace car off the track and into the pits, but chief starter Bill Vanderwater displayed the yellow flag to wave off the start. An extra pace lap was allowed, and the front row re-took their position at the front of the pack. By the time Hanks was ready to pull the pace car back out on the track, the field had re-formed, and Vanderwater gave them the green flag.

At the start, Dick Rathmann took the lead in turn 1, Ed Elisian was second, and Jimmy Reece third. As the cars battled into turn three, Elisian spun and took Rathmann to the outside wall, triggering a huge 15-car pileup. Reece braked and was hit from behind by Pat O'Connor. O'Connor's car sailed fifty feet in the air, landed upside down and burst into flames. Several other cars spun to the wall and into the infield. Jerry Unser touched wheels with Paul Goldsmith, and flipped over the outside wall. Unser suffered a dislocated shoulder.

Although O'Connor was incinerated in the accident, medical officials said that he was probably killed instantly from a fractured skull.

First half

Jimmy Bryan escaped the opening lap crash, and came around to lead the first lap. Eddie Sachs and Tony Bettenhausen also got by unscathed, to run second and third. Due to the crash, the yellow light stayed on for 25 minutes (approximately 18 laps). Four of the top five starting positions were out of the race from the crash, including polesitter Dick Rathmann, who placed 27th.

After a lengthy cleanup, the green flag came back out around lap 19. Bryan, Sachs, Bettenhausen, and rookie George Amick all traded time in the lead. There were 14 lead changes in the first half.

The second yellow came out on lap 38 when Chuck Weyant crashed in turn 4.

Eddie Sachs, a contender in the first quarter of the race, dropped out on lap 68 with transmission trouble.

Second half

The second half of the race settled down to a battle between Jimmy Bryan and Johnny Boyd, with rookie George Amick also in contention. Boyd lost the lead during a pit stop on lap 126. Bryan's team had faster pit stops (three stops for 1 minute and 31 seconds), which allowed him to hold the lead.

Rookie A. J. Foyt spun out on lap 149. He hit an oil slick in turn one and went sideways, blowing out all four tires. The car did not make contact with the wall, but the engine stalled and Foyt was out of the race. He placed 16th.

With 25 laps to go, Boyd was running about one second behind Bryan, with Amick (a lap down in third place) running between them. Boyd suddenly slowed on lap 177 with a worn out right rear tire, sending him to the pits, and elevating Amick to second. Bryan led the final 75 laps (139 total) en route to victory. Bryan was victorious in the same car in which Sam Hanks won the 500 a year earlier. Amick stayed within striking distance of Bryan for the last part of the race, but Amick's crew chief decided to accept a safe second-place rather than risk pushing their rookie driver into a mistake.

During the race as the news of Pat O'Connor's death spread around the track, the mood among the spectators became somber and glum. Reportedly, some in attendance left the grounds upon hearing the news of the fatality, some never to return.

Aftermath

Widely blamed for the accident, Ed Elisian was suspended by USAC for the accident (reinstated a few days later), and was shunned by many in the racing community.

Following the accident, race officials announced that they would change the starting procedure, abandoning the single-file trip down pit lane that was used in 1957 and 1958. Also, for the 1959 Indy 500, metal roll bars welded to the frame behind the driver's head were mandated, and helmets were required to pass safety certification by Speedway medical officials.

Box score

Finish	Grid	No.	Driver	Constructor	Qual	Laps	Time/Retired	Points	WDC Points
1	7	1	Jimmy Bryan	Salih-Offenhauser	144.18	200	3:44:13.80	1000	8
2	25	99	George Amick  R	Epperly-Offenhauser	142.71	200	+ 27.63	800	6
3	8	9	Johnny Boyd	Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser	144.02	200	+ 1:09.67	700	4
4	9	33	Tony Bettenhausen	Epperly-Offenhauser	143.91	200	+ 1:34.81	600	41
5	20	2	Jim Rathmann	Epperly-Offenhauser	143.14	200	+ 1:35.62	500	2
6	3	16	Jimmy Reece	Watson-Offenhauser	145.51	200	+ 2:16.95	400
7	13	26	Don Freeland	Phillips-Offenhauser	143.03	200	+ 2:21.06	300
8	19	44	Jud Larson  R	Watson-Offenhauser	143.51	200	+ 5:34.02	250
9	26	61	Eddie Johnson	Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser	142.67	200	+ 6:15.76	200
10	33	54	Bill Cheesbourg	Kurtis Kraft-Novi	142.54	200	+ 8:03.59	150
11	21	52	Al Keller	Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser	142.93	200	+ 9:14.20	100
12	6	45	Johnnie Parsons  W	Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser	144.68	200	+ 9:40.85	50
13	30	19	Johnnie Tolan	Kuzma-Offenhauser	142.30	200	+ 9:52.24
14	17	65	Bob Christie	Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser	142.25	189	Spun off
15	32	59	Dempsey Wilson  R	Kuzma-Offenhauser	143.27	151	Fire
16	12	29	A. J. Foyt  R	Kuzma-Offenhauser	143.13	148	Spun off
17	31	77	Mike Magill	Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser	142.27	136	Disqualified
18	14	15	Paul Russo	Kurtis Kraft-Novi	142.95	122	Radiator
19	23	83	Shorty Templeman	Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser	142.81	116	Brakes
20	11	8	Rodger Ward	Lesovsky-Offenhauser	143.26	93	Magneto
21	15	43	Billy Garrett	Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser	142.77	80	Magneto
22	18	88	Eddie Sachs	Kuzma-Offenhauser	144.66	68	Transmission
23	22	7	Johnny Thomson	Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser	142.90	52	Steering
24	29	89	Chuck Weyant	Dunn-Offenhauser	142.60	38	Accident
25	10	25	Jack Turner	Lesovsky-Offenhauser	143.43	21	Fuel pump
26	4	14	Bob Veith	Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser	144.88	1	Accident
27	1	97	Dick Rathmann	Watson-Offenhauser	145.97	0	Accident
28	2	5	Ed Elisian	Watson-Offenhauser	145.92	0	Accident
29	5	4	Pat O'Connor ✝	Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser	144.82	0	Died in crash
30	16	31	Paul Goldsmith  R	Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser	142.74	0	Accident
31	24	92	Jerry Unser  R	Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser	142.75	0	Accident
32	27	68	Len Sutton  R	Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser	142.65	0	Accident
33	28	57	Art Bisch  R	Kuzma-Offenhauser	142.63	0	Accident

 W  Former Indianapolis 500 winner

 R  Indianapolis 500 Rookie

All entrants utilized Firestone tires.

^1 – Includes 1 point for fastest lead lap

Race statistics

Lap Leaders
Laps	Leader
1–18	Jimmy Bryan
19–20	Tony Bettenhausen
21	Eddie Sachs
22–25	Tony Bettenhausen
26	Jimmy Bryan
27–30	George Amick
31	Jimmy Bryan
32–34	George Amick
35	Tony Bettenhausen
36–46	George Amick
47–48	Jimmy Bryan
49	Tony Bettenhausen
50–52	Jimmy Bryan
53–65	Tony Bettenhausen
66–104	Jimmy Bryan
105–107	Tony Bettenhausen
108–125	Johnny Boyd
126–200	Jimmy Bryan

Total laps led
Driver	Laps
Jimmy Bryan	139
Tony Bettenhausen	24
George Amick	18
Johnny Boyd	18
Eddie Sachs	1

Yellow Lights: 36 minutes, 38 seconds
Laps*	Reason
Pace lap	Field not properly aligned
1–18	Multi-car crash in turn 3 (25:00)
39-44	Chuck Weyant spin in turn 3 (5:19)
169	A. J. Foyt spin in southchute (3:18)
193-197	Bob Christie spin (3:01)
* – Approximate lap counts

Broadcasting

Radio

The race was carried live on the IMS Radio Network. Sid Collins served as chief announcer. The broadcast reached 302 affiliates across all 48 states, as well as Armed Forces Network and Voice of America. For the final time, a 15-minute pre-race was used. The following year, the pre-race would be expanded to 30 minutes. The broadcast featured the debut of Lou Palmer, who reported from the normally quiet and remote third turn. However, on the opening lap, Palmer was quickly thrust into duty, as his first words on the network were to describe the massive 15-car pileup and fatal accident of Pat O'Connor.

And we've got an accident here! Car #5! Car #5, the Zink Special, is the first to wreck! Another over the wall! And we've got...one, two, three, four, five...six cars, piled up here, on the northeast turn! The 54 Novi into the infield...car #19 in the infield, 68 now down into the infield...and it's almost impossible to identify the others. Out of car #5, now, is Ed Elisian...and, er, car #91 against the wall...that is all that we can see at the moment. Further down the track, there are still others. ...One car has left this track, Sid, and did go over the retaining wall. That's all of the information we can give you at the moment...we will check each car for you, and report on all of them as soon as we can. Right now, better send it to you Sid, in the tower...

Among the guests that visited the booth was Pete DePaolo.

In 2019, this entire race's radio broadcast became available as a paid digital download form the Indianapolis Motor Speedway website.

Indianapolis Motor Speedway Radio Network
Booth Announcers	Turn Reporters	Pit/garage reporters
Chief Announcer: Sid Collins Statistician: Charlie Brockman	Turn 1: Bill Frosh Turn 2: Bob Rhodes Backstretch: Bernie Herman Turn 3: Lou Palmer Turn 4: Jim Shelton	Jack Shapiro (north) Luke Walton (center) Greg Smith (south) Bob Hoover (garages)

Race notes

• Fastest Lead Lap: Tony Bettenhausen – 1:02.370 (144.300 mph)
• Pat O'Connor had appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated in the week leading up to the race. His subsequent death is considered an early example of the perceived "Sports Illustrated cover jinx."
• Only Appearance: George Amick (killed in 1959 USAC 100-mile race at Daytona)
• First Appearance: A. J. Foyt (First 4-time Indianapolis 500 winner.)

World Drivers' Championship

1958 Indianapolis 500
Race 4 of 11 in the 1958 Formula One season ← Previous race Next race →
Race details
Date	May 30, 1958 (1958-05-30)
Location	Indianapolis Motor Speedway Speedway, Indiana
Course	Permanent racing facility
Course length	4.023 km (2.500 miles)
Distance	200 laps, 804.672 km (500.000 miles)

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 1958 Indianapolis 500 was round 4 of 11 on the 1958 World Championship. The event, however, attracted little interest from any of the regular competitors on the Grand Prix circuit, particularly since it was held only four days after the Dutch Grand Prix. Juan Manuel Fangio entered with much fanfare, but withdrew when he was unable to get his car up to speed. Race winner Jimmy Bryan earned 8 points towards the World Championship. He finished 13th in the final season standings.

World Drivers' Championship standings after the race

	Pos	Driver	Points
	1	Stirling Moss	17
	2	Luigi Musso	12
	3	Maurice Trintignant	8
31	4	Jimmy Bryan	8
1	5	Harry Schell	8
Source:

• Notes: Only the top five positions are included.

USAC National Championship Trail standings after the race

Rank	Driver	Points
1	Jimmy Bryan	1000
2	George Amick	880
3	Tony Bettenhausen	760
4	Johnny Boyd	700
5	Jim Rathmann	500
5	Jimmy Reece	500

• Notes: Only the top five positions are included.

External links

• Indianapolis 500 History: Race & All-Time Stats – Official Site
• 1958 Indianapolis 500 Radio Broadcast, Indianapolis Motor Speedway Radio Network
• "O'Connor Killed In 12-Car Crackup During First Lap". St. Petersburg Times. May 31, 1958. Retrieved January 16, 2016.