DataGrange Motorsport

Pat O'Connor's Car Catches Air Before Turning Over ...

1958 RACE 4
Indianapolis, Indiana

30 May, Forty-Second Indianapolis International Motor Sweepstakes

P1 Grid: R. Rathmann, USA, Watson Offenhauser 4.5 liter inline four. Firestone (maiden, career).

Major shunt in Turn 3 on Lap 1 (P. O’Connor killed).
J. Bryan (Epperly) wins the restart.
E. Sachs (Kuzma) takes the lead on Lap 3 with a pass.
A. Bettenhausen (Epperly) takes the lead on Lap 4 with a pass.
G. Amick (Epperly) takes the lead on Lap 28 with a pass.
Bryan takes the lead on Lap 46 with a pass.
J. Boyd (Kurtis Kraft) takes the lead at Lap 110 during pit cycle.
Bryan takes the lead at Lap 128 with a pass and drives on to victory.

Tragedy strikes early in the 1958 meeting on Lap 1 as the lead pack enters Turn 3. Ed Elisian dives low and hot in a breathless break for the lead, yet his car breaks loose near the apron and spins into Dick Rathmann. Pat O’Connor rushes into the lead cars, caroms off into Jimmy Reece, and then soars airborne before turning over. O’Connor’s car  explodes into flames upon contact with the track, instantly killing the driver, and then the scene devolves into a thirteen-car fiasco filled consumed with tire smoke and torn sheet metal. The race continues under a pall as Jimmy Bryan proves out to hold the superior drive in the late stages to take checkers. The recriminations begin afterwards as USAC promplty banishes Elisian for exercising poor judgment on Lap 1. Elisian wins his case on appeal, yet suffers the estrangement from his driving colleagues, and USAC swiftly institutes radical changes mandating helmet standards and welded roll cages … a much belated yet momentous step forward in motor racing. The meeting also marks the first appearance of Texas driver Antony J. Foyt.

1. Bryan, USA, Epperly Offfenhauser 4.5 liter inline four. Firestone (maiden, career).
2. Amick, USA, Epperly, -27.6 sec.
3. Boyd, USA, Kurtis Kraft.

Constructor Victor: Epperly (second).
Engine Victor: Offenhauser (ninth).

Championship
S. Moss-GBR 17, L. Musso-ITA 12, Bryan-USA 8, Trintignant-FRA 8, Schell-USA 8.

Scuderia Ferrari 23, Epperly 20, Walker-Cooper 16.

Pat O'Connor: Adytum on High

Two Time Indy 500 Champion William Vukovich Loses His Life in a High Speed Backstretch Shunt During the 1955 Meeting.

1955 RACE 3
Indianapolis, Indiana

30 May, Thirty-Ninth Indianapolis International Motor Sweepstakes
Indianapolis Motor Speedway

P1 Grid: J. Hoyt, USA, Stevens-Offenhauser 4.5 liter inline four. Firestone (maiden).

J. McGrath (Kurtis Kraft) wins the start.
W. Vukovich (Kurtis Kraft) assumes the lead with a pass on Lap 6
J. Bryan (Kuzma) inherits the lead after a major backstretch shunt on Lap 56.
A. Cross (Kurtis Kraft) inherits the lead after the leader suffers mechanicals on Lap 91.
R. Sweikert (Kurtis Kraft) inherits the lead after the leader suffers mechancials on Lap 101. Sweikert resumes the lead after a service cycle at Lap 160 and drives on to victory.

Tragedy strikes Indy for the second time in its history during its annual meeting. Race leader and two-time champion William Vukovich, dashing along the backstretch on Lap 56, rushes headlong into a sudden four-car shunt triggered by Rodger Ward’s overturned car. Vukovich’s car soars airborne over the outer barrier, overturns, and lands upside before catching aflame. The Californian, attempting to snare his third consecutive race victory, dies at the scene, removing the lustre of eventual race victor Robert Sweikert, who takes the lead at halfway and drives on for his maiden victory. Disaster would strike again at Le Mans only thirteen days later.

1. Sweikert, USA, Zink-Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser 4.5 liter inline four. Firestone (maiden victory).
2. P. Russo, USA, Chapman-Kurtis Kraft, -1 lap.
3. J. Davies, USA, Bardahl-Kurtis Kraft.

Constructor Victor: Zink-Kurtis Kraft (first).
Engine Victor: Offenhauser (sixth).

Championship
Trintignant-FRA 11.33, Fangio-ARG 10, Sweikert-USA 8.

Scuderia Ferrari 21, Daimler Benz AG 13, Officine Alfieri Maserati 8, Zink-Kurtis Kraft 8.