The 1930s was an odd decade in Indianapolis Motor Speedway history. The depression raged through the first part of the decade. Louis Meyer and Wilbur Shaw each won two races in the decade. The other six winners are some of the more obscure winners in race history. Fred Frame, winner of the 1932 contest, deserves more recognition than he gets today.
Fred Frame began his racing career in California, racing on dirt tracks in 1922. He set a world dirt speed record in 1924.
Frame began his Indianapolis career in 1927. He started last and finished 11th, completing 199 laps. He followed that race with finishes of eighth and 10th in 1928 and 1929. In 1931 frame started eighth finished second to Louis Schneider.
1932 got off to a bad start for Frame as he qualified 27th. In the race he charged to the front nd took the lead for good on lap 152. Frame led a total of 58 laps. It was not only an incredible feat to win from starting near the rear of the field, but Frame also set a new record for the race, beating Pete DePaolo’s record which had stood since 1925.
Harry Hartz, Frame’s car owner, also received a special prize. Hartz won possession of the Wheeler-Schebler trophy. The trophy was awarded to leader after 400 miles. If a car owner’s machine won the trophy in three races, the owner took permanent possession of it. Billy Arnold led at 400 miles in both 1930 and 1931 in a Hartz car.
The 500 win ended a four year stretch at Indianapolis in which Frame had finishes of eighth, tenth, second, and first. He would race three more years in the 500, but did not have the success of his middle years.
Riding in a Winning Car
My personal connection to Frame is much more distant than my connection to either Troy Ruttman or Floyd Davis. I never met Fred Frame. In 2014 in Milwaukee, I signed up for a charity lap in a vintage race car. My first choice, the Gilmore Red Lion Special, overheated as we pulled out of the garage. I climbed into a 1932 Ford V-8 stock car. the driver told me it was the car that won the 1933 Elgin National Stock Car road race with Fred Frame behind the wheel.
Frame in the 1933 Elgin National stock car race
We ran the required three laps, the driver asked if it would be okay if we did a few more. He had to ask? The thing I remember about the ride is how stiff the springs were. The next day I rode in a pace car. A lot of progress was made in suspensions in 80 years.
Don Cusick has teamed with Elton Julian of Dragonspeed and with some huge assistance from A.J. Foyt Racing, has put together the 33rd and final entry for the 106th running of the Indianapolis 500. Stefan Wilson will drive the number 25 Chevrolet in the race. A few weeks ago chances for the Cusick Motorsports entry looked grim. Finding a chassis, arranging to lease one of the few remaining engines, and putting a crew together were some of the challenges in getting the final entry together. A meeting with Julian set things in motion, and the final entry for the race is now official. Asked when the team will begin planning for 2023, Cusick said,
“We don’t want to do that again, I can assure you. I would tell you that we’re going to start working on 2023 on May 15, 2022. I think everything we’re doing, everything we’re putting into this effort is leading us towards that, and everything we learn is going to be applied to that.”
Julian, who entered a car in the 500 in 2019 for Ben Hanley, is excited to return to I
“Obviously Indy has been a passion of mine when I was a driver, as a team owner. Now, it’s firmly a target that I’ve always wanted to get to. We made strides in that direction and got killed during the lockdowns. We couldn’t hold on to the INDYCAR side of things, and it was disappointing. A large part of, call it excitement, is the fact that we’re coming back basically a year earlier than I had hoped. We shifted a lot of our focus back to the States this year, racing full-time in the States, but in the back of my mind was always ’23, ’23, whatever, even if it’s just the 500, but I can start preparing properly was always the mission. So I wasn’t thinking too much about it this year. Heard all the rumblings about I would but I can’t, or I would but I can’t, so I just put my hand up and said, well, we’ll do it. If personnel and the will and just having the fortitude to say yes and go for it, knowing that we have the quality, of course, it took some traction, and Jay instantly put us together with Stefan.”
Wilson said that the expanded full time Indycar field makes it difficult for one offs to enter the 500.
“It was not from a lack of interest, it was just there was so much interest in the INDYCAR Series right now. There’s 27, 28 full-time entries. A big issue that a lot of teams have run into is just personnel and having that bandwidth to take on more cars or to commit to the 500 in that kind of time. So we tried multiple different avenues, and we just kept hitting stumbling blocks. The later it got, the less likely it looked that we were going to be here. I think Elton tweeted out something was it four weeks ago maybe, that hey, we want to go back to Indy, and it was like, hey, huh, that’s interesting. Jay connected us and we started exchanging a few texts, and I wasn’t sure what Elton thought of me. I didn’t know if he respected me as a driver, wanted to work with me, but I was like, I’ll just see where this goes.”
In addition to a scarcity of cars and engines, Julian said that crew shortages make assembling a team difficult. He also noted that Indycar needs younger personnel.
“I think we’ve suffered a little bit from getting new blood in. Racing sports car and racing around the world, I will say that the average age of the crew member in INDYCAR is way older than anywhere else I see, and the first time we went to INDYCAR with my European crew, they were like, wow, we’re really young here. So I think there’s been a lack of new blood.”
He added that kids coming out of college aren’t interested in crew work before they begin their engineering careers “Some of the older talented guys that are in retirement mode now, that have left, you’ve got to beg the Andy Browns and these guys to come back out and do a race with you. So there’s been very little backfill from that, and you have a lot of kids now that go to school that have engineering degrees that want to get paid like 150 coming out of school. Nobody wants to just go work. So I think that’s part of it.” But I can tell you 100 percent I fight with Penske in Europe for personnel. They poached my systems engineer last year. I was like, why don’t you just take the whole team. But it’s like that, and it’s happening everywhere. There is a serious lack of people out there, and at the same time there’s people falling out of Formula 1 because they can’t hack the schedule. So there’s places to go find people.”
Wilson:
It will be very tempting to just focus on the race car, but we have to kind of also try and improve our starting position, as well. But I think we’ll know straight away on that first day of what’s realistic, and if we think that it’s going to be better time served just focusing on the race car straight away, then that’s what we’ll do. But if we think we’ve got a chance of starting much higher up the grid, then we’ll be splitting that time between both and making sure that we can try and make both as good as possible, because it is really important where we start. I found that out last year, just very, very difficult to pass. I think I passed like two cars in 20 laps, and that felt like a victory. I think that’s going to be our sort of mentality. We’ll kind of see where we start on that Tuesday.
Photo: Mauri Rose (L) and Floyd Davis with the Borg-Warner trophy after winning the 1941 Indianapolis 500
The 29th running of the Indianapolis 500 in 1941 is mainly remembered for two things- the race morning fire in the garage area, which miraculously destroyed just one car; and Wilbur Shaw’s tire issue that caused his crash while leading the race. The fire was indirectly responsible for the crash. One of the co-winners, Floyd Davis, is arguably the most forgotten man to win the 500.
After Shaw’s crash, Mauri Rose went on to win the race in Davis’s car.
Davis (in car)
Rose and Davis were teammates driving for Lou Moore’s Noc-out Hose Clamp team. Rose’s car dropped out early. Moore, who won the 1938 race with Floyd Roberts, was desperate to beat Wilbur Shaw again. He decided to have Rose replace Davis on lap 72. Davis was running mid pack, and Moore thought Rose had a chance to finish bear the front.
From yesterday- Youth will be Served- Ruttman’s 1952 500 Win
Davis reluctantly gave up his seat. After Shaw crashed, Rose drove the car to victory. since rose was not the car’s starting driver, both Rose and Davis were the winners. It was the second time in Speedway history that the 500 had co-winners. In 1924 Joe Boyer and Lora Corum shared the win. The rules have changed and this situation will never occur again.
Floyd Davis
Floyd Davis was from Springfield, Illinois. He was a champion dirt track sprint racer. His record in the 500 is mostly nondescript. he drove in four races beginning in 1937. before 1941 Davis’s best finish was 15th his rookie year.
The racing careers of the co-winners took different paths after the race. Rose would go on to win the 500 outright in 1947 and 1948, making him the third three time winner. He mentored Bill Vukovich in his first year at the track.
Davis drove in a few sprint races in the summer of 1941, then didn’t race anymore. Some say he quit in disgust over being pulled from the race.
World War II halted racing in the United States for four years. Davis joined the Navy. After the war, he returned to Indianapolis and worked for Detroit Diesel Allison and an heating and air conditioning company. Davis also was a general contractor.
The lack of a race in 1942 probably contributed to Davis’s lack of recognition. No 500 meant no program recapping the previous year’s contest. The 1946 race program, for the first race after the war, does not mention 1941 at all. A huge oversight in my opinion.
I said I have a personal connection to the drivers I am writing about this week. Floyd Davis lived about seven houses from me in the 50s. I would see him and his son a lot. I wish I had talked to him more about the race.
next time you are in the museum and see the Borg-Warner trophy, look for the twin faces of 1941. Davis is an Indianapolis 500 winner.
We speak today of the youth movement in Indycar. The podium at last Sunday’s Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama had an average age of 22.6 years. 70 years ago, there was no youth movement, but a driver who was 22 years, 80 days old won the race. Troy Ruttman is still the youngest driver to win the Indianapolis 500.
Despite his age, 1952 was Ruttman’s fourth 500 mile race. Rules were different then. He finished 12th in 1949 and 15th in 1950, A bad bearing caused him to drop out of the 1951 race after 78 laps. He had started sixth.
In 1952 Ruttman qualified the number 98 Agajanian Special seventh. .J. C. Agajanian, the car owner, was a pig farmer from southern California who would become one of the most colorful owners in Speedway history.
Bill Vukovich was heavily favored to win the race. Vuky seemed in control after the final pit stops, but Ruttman, who had led 36 laps, kept gaining. With 10 laps to go Ruttman had cut Vukovich’s lead to just 19 seconds. On lap 192, the steering shaft broke on Vukovich’s car. He crashed into the turn 3 outside wall as Ruttman sped past and took the checkered flag.
The day was not easy for Ruttman. On his first pit stop on lap 85, a flash fire erupted and was quickly extinguished. On his second stop on lap 1467, the crew was out of fresh tires and had to use the rubber that the the car used for qualifying. Ruttman said that he lost a balance weight on the right front wheel and had to wrestle the car for the last half of the race.
Troy Ruttman pits during the 1952 500 Mile Race
As happened to many 500 winners in that era and previous years, misfortune struck that summer. At a race in Cedar Rapids, Iowa in July, Ruttman suffered injuries, including a broken right arm, which kept him out of action for 18 months. In spite of missing nearly half the season, he still finished second in the national championship just 33 points behind Chuck Stevenson. Ruttman did not get a chance to defend his 500 title in 1953.
He returned to the 500 in 1954. Ruttman qualified 11th and finished fourth. In 1955, he failed to qualify for the race. Ruttman ran the 500 again in 1956 and 1957. He returned in 1960 and drove in every race through 1964, when he retired. He qualified third in 1957 and and sixth in 1960. His best finish in his last eight 500s was 12th in 1963.
Rutrtman retired to Michigan. He started a mini bike, go kart/motorcycle business in in Dearborn Heights. In 1974 Ruttman began a Yamaha motorcycle enterprise in Canton, Michigan, which became the largest Yamaha dealership in the United Sates.
Ruttman did not start a youth movement. The next two drivers who were younger than 30 to win the 500 were Bob Sweikert at age 29 in 1955 and A.J. Foyt, age 26, in 1961.
I met Ruttman when I was 17 years old at an event at a car dealership. he was friendly and took some time to talk to me and my brother. The following weekend we ran into him at the track. We said hello and he remembered our names. I am still impressed by that.
Thanks to Toddy Ruttman for her help with this story.
Photo: The field lines up in turn 15 for the start of Sunday’s Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama
First, I want to thank Kyle McIness for the great photos he provided for The Pit Window this weekend.
A few final thoughts:
I watched the replay of the race last evening. I’m not sure what Grosjean was doing with Rahal, but the second seemed unnecessary. Grosjean’s move on Colton Herta was even more egregious, as he tried to pin him against the pit wall. The move was not something a driver should do to anyone, but especially not to a teammate.
While the race was processional at the front of the pack, there was a lot of good action at the back.
I like the happy Pato O’Ward better than the pouty Pato.
Alex Palou is the Iceman 2.0.
Inside the Stats
I broke down some performance indicators for the first four races. The results indicate a very competitive season so far. What many feared would a team Penske runaway may not be the case. Here are some random categories chosen by The Pit Window panel of experts. (Me):
Top 5s
Will Power 4
Alex Palou 3
Josef Newgarden, Scott McLaughlin, Scott Dixon, and Pato O’Ward 2 each
Podiums
Palou 3
Newgarden, McLaughlin 2 each
Fast Six
Five drivers tied with 2:
Rinus VeeKay, Alexander Rossi, Felix Rosenqvist, Palou, McLaughlin
Laps Led
McLaughlin 235
Rinus VeeKay 75
Josef Newgarden 37
Colton Herta 28
Rookie Standings
Christian Lundgaard 57
Kyle Kirkwood 46
David Malukas 44
Callum Ilott 37
Devlin DeFrancesco 33
Tatiana Calderon 25
Tomorrow, May coverage at IMS begins. This week I will talk about three former winners who don’t get a lot of mentions when 500 winners are discussed. I have a personal connection to each of these drivers.
NINTH GMR GRAND PRIX PUBLIC SCHEDULE (All times local, subject to change; all on-track activity on IMS road course) FRIDAY, May 13 (General admission $20) 7:30 a.m.-6 p.m. Public Gates Open 8-8:30 a.m. USF2000 Qualifying 8:45-9:15 a.m. Indy Pro 2000 Qualifying 9:30-10:30 a.m. NTT INDYCAR SERIES Practice 1 (45 minutes) 10:45-11:30 a.m. Indy Lights Practice 1 11:45 a.m.-12:30 p.m. USF2000 Race 1 12:45-1:45 p.m. NTT INDYCAR SERIES Practice 2 (45 minutes) 2-2:30 p.m. Indy Lights Qualifying 2:45-3:35 p.m. Indy Pro 2000 Race 1 4-5:15 p.m. NTT INDYCAR SERIES NTT P1 Award Qualifying 5:35-6:30 p.m. Indy Lights Race 1 (35 laps or 55 minutes) SATURDAY, May 14 (General Admission $40; Reserved Seats Start at $41) 7:30 a.m.-6 p.m.Public Gates Open8:05-8:50 a.m.USF2000 Race 29:10-10 a.m.Indy Pro 2000 Race 210:30-11 a.m.NTT INDYCAR SERIES Warmup11:15-11:55 a.m.USF2000 Race 312:10-1 p.m.Indy Pro 2000 Race 31:20-2:15 p.m.Indy Lights Race 2 (35 laps or 55 minutes)2:40-3:05 p.m.Silver/Bronze Badge Grid Walk3:30 p.m.Ninth GMR Grand Prix (85 laps)5:45 p.m.GMR Grand Prix Post-Race Track Invasion106th INDIANAPOLIS 500 presented by Gainbridge PUBLIC SCHEDULE (All times local, subject to change; all on-track activity on IMS oval) TUESDAY, May 17 (General Admission $15) 8 a.m.-6 p.m. Public Gates Open 9-11 a.m. Veteran Practice 1-3 p.m. Rookie Orientation Program, Veteran Refresher Tests 3-6 p.m. Open Practice WEDNESDAY, May 18-THURSDAY, May 19 (General Admission $15) 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Public Gates Open Noon-6 p.m. Open Practice FRIDAY, May 20 – FAST FRIDAY (General Admission $15 )10 a.m.-6 p.m. Public Gates Open Noon-6 p.m. Open Practice 6:15 p.m. Qualifications Draw SATURDAY, May 21 – PPG Presents ARMED FORCES QUALIFYING (General Admission $20) 8 a.m.-6 p.m. Public Gates Open 9-10:30 a.m. Pre-Qualifying Practice (Two groups) Noon-5:50 p.m. NTT INDYCAR SERIES Qualifying (Setting positions 13-33 or 13-30 if there are more than 33 entries) SUNDAY, May 22 – PPG Presents ARMED FORCES QUALIFYING (General Admission $20) 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Public Gates Open 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Last Chance Practice* 12:30-2 p.m. Top 12 Practice 2-3 p.m. Last Chance Qualifying (Positions 31-33)* 4 p.m. Top 12 Qualifying 5:10 p.m. Firestone Fast Six Qualifying for NTT P1 Award 5:40 p.m. NTT P1 Award Presentation * — if necessary MONDAY, May 23 (General Admission $15; Infield Access Only for Fans) 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Public Gates Open (Gates 2, 4, 6S, 7, 7S only )Noon-2 p.m. Open Practice TUESDAY, May 24-THURSDAY, May 26 No track activity FRIDAY, May 27 – MILLER LITE CARB DAY (General Admission $40) 8 a.m.-6 p.m. Public Gates Open 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Final Practice 2:30-4 p.m. INDYCAR Pit Stop Challenge 4-6 p.m. Miller Lite Carb Day Concert, Turn 3 infield SATURDAY, May 28 – LEGENDS DAY presented by Firestone (General Admission $10) 8 a.m.-1 p.m. Public Gates Open 9-10 a.m. Full Field Driver Autograph Session, Pagoda Plaza 10:30 a.m. Public Drivers’ Meeting, Tower Terrace Noon-1:30 p.m. AES 500 Festival Parade, downtown Indianapolis 7 p.m. Firestone Legends Day Concert, TCU Amphitheater in White River State Park, downtown Indianapolis SUNDAY, May 29 – RACE DAY (General Admission $50; Reserved Seats Start at $55 )6 a.m.-4 p.m. Public Gates Open 7 a.m. Indy 500 Snake Pit presented by Coors Light Gates Open, Turn 3 infield 12:45 p.m.106th Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge (200 laps)
Youth ruled the weekend. 21 year old Rinus VeeKay won the pole and dominated the first part of the race. 22 year old Pato O’Ward won the race, passing VeeKay in turn following the final pit stop. The average of the podium-22.7 years. The Fast Six yesterday had an average age of 26.6, thanks to old guys who are 30 years old.
Pato O’Ward
Alex Palou earned his 12th podium and has taken the p[oints lead by three over Scott McLaughlin.
There was no better driver on track today than Will Power. He started 19th and finished fourth. Power has finished in the top four in all four races.
Andretti Autosport had another good day spoiled. Alexander Rossi had a solid fourth place pretty much locked up until a slow second pit stop. Colton Herta charged to the top ten but spun attempting to make a pass.
The drivers trying a three stop strategy were thwarted by Callum Ilott’s untimely spin and the caution it brought. Josef Newgarden was hurt the most by the yellow flag.
Will the Chevy dominance continue through the end of May? The engine has won every race in 2022. Honda is close, but just enough behind to not get a win.
Not only did Team Penske not win a race for the first time this season, but the team missed the podium for the first time.
The rookies suffered their worst race of the season. Christian Lundgaard was the highest first year finisher in 15th.
Is Rossi returning to his villain role? There was a minor incident with Graham Rahal late in the race.
While the front of the field was basically static, there were some good battles deeper in the field. Herta did not pass cars easily. It was fun watching Power move forward.
Scott Dixon missed the podium at Barber for the first time in 12 races.
Felix Rosenqvist once again didn’t take advantage of a good qualifying, finishing 16th.
I will have more on the Barber weekend tomorrow. Thanks for following along this weekend.
NTT INDYCAR SERIES Race 12:00 – 2:00PM NBC, Peacock
Indy Pro 2000 Race #2 2:30 – 3:20PM
Or is it rain day? Chances of rain have diminished some, but the radar shows Birmingham covered in green from noon to 3 pm. The showers may to be scattered. As long as there is no severe weather, the race will run.
If rain tires are needed after the race starts, I think that favors Josef Newgarden. He won the rain delayed race in 2018 when Tim Cindric called Newgarden in for rain tires before the rain began. If the start is declared a wet start, this race is up for grabs.
Pato O’Ward expressed concern yesterday in the press conference about the current stock of rain tires being two years old and never used. Rinus VeeKay said he has experience racing in the rain inkarts but not much in race cars.
Pato O’Ward
Should conditions be normal, I get the sense most drivers want to be on blacks for most of the race. The reds did not get much time yesterday in practice because of the late red flag. I didn’t see much lap time difference between the two tires in qualifying yesterday.
Rain or shine, it is May 1 and Indycar has cars on track.
Notes
Will Power and Scott Dixon have their worst starting positions for a race at Barber. In the 11 previous races here, the two veterans were in the Fast Six a combine 20 times. A 10th Barber podium for Dixon will be difficult to get today.
Scott McLaughlin
There are subtle shifts in team leadership happening at Team Penske and Chip Ganassi Racing. Scott Mclaughlin has been Penske’s overall best qualifier this year, and he is not far behind Josef Newgarden for the points lead. Alex Palou is backing up last year’s championship with strong qualifying runs and good finishes.
I will have an eye on Alexander Rossi today. He put in a great qualifying effort after his team, with help from other Andretti crew and Honda, put his car back together in two hours after his practice crash yesterday morning. Look for him on the podium.
Romain Grosjean and Josef Newgarden, who had a great duel for the win at Long Beach, make up row four.
Enjoy the race. If you are coming to the track, stay dry.
Callum Ilott posted the fastest lap in the final warm up for Sunday’s Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama. The session ran dry despite a slight chance of rain. just a few scattered drops fell.
Alex Palou had the second fastest time. Marcus Ericsson, Scott Dixon, and Alexander Rossi completed the top five.
Eight minutes into the 30 minute session Tatiana Calderon slid off the track in turn 2 and made contact with the barrier. Calderon was unhurt. The rest of the round was green.
Ilott will start 11th tomorrow.
Pole sitter Rinus VeeKay was 20th for this session.
All eyes turn to the skies now to see what kind of race we will have tomorrow. The rain looks to be scattered, which will make for interesting strategy. This race will be intriguing if it is run in completely dry conditions.
The Pit Window by Mike Silver 