F1 Retrospective and Adytum on High: 1958 Indianapolis 500
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
