The 15th International 500-Mile Sweepstakes Race was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Monday, May 30, 1927.

15th Indianapolis 500
Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Indianapolis 500
Sanctioning bodyAAA
DateMay 30, 1927
WinnerGeorge Souders
Winning EntrantWilliam S. White
Average speed97.545 mph (156.983 km/h)
Pole positionFrank Lockhart
Pole speed120.100 mph (193.282 km/h)
Most laps ledFrank Lockhart (110)
Pre-race
Pace carLaSalle V-8 Series 303
Pace car driverWillard "Big Boy" Rader
StarterGeorge Townsend[1]
Honorary refereeCharles F. Kettering[1]
Estimated attendance135,000[2]
Chronology
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1926 1928

First-time starter George Souders won by eight laps, the largest margin since 1913. Souders became the first driver to win the full-500 mile race solo, with neither help from a relief driver, nor accompanied by a riding mechanic.

Time trials

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Four-lap (10 mile) qualifying runs were utilized. Frank Lockhart won the pole position with a speed of 120.10 mph. Lockhart set a new 1-lap track record on his final lap.

For the first time, all 33 qualifiers exceeded 100 mph for average speed. [3]

Qualifying Results
Date Driver Lap 1
(mph)
Lap 2
(mph)
Lap 3
(mph)
Lap 4
(mph)
Average Speed
(mph)
5/26/1927 Frank Lockhart 120.192 119.474 119.824 120.918 120.100

Starting grid

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Row Inside Middle Outside
1 2   Frank Lockhart  W  3   Pete DePaolo  W  12   Leon Duray
2 1   Harry Hartz 19   Ralph Hepburn 15   Cliff Woodbury
3 14   Bob McDonogh 7   Dave Lewis 4   Bennett Hill
4 8   Norman Batten 22   Jack Petticord  R  9   Pete Kreis
5 5   Frank Elliott 25   Cliff Bergere  R  10   Earl Devore
6 17   W. E. Shattuc 26   Dutch Baumann  R  16   Eddie Hearne
7 29   Wilbur Shaw  R  44   Al Melcher  R  18   Jules Ellingboe
8 32   George Souders  R  43   Louis Schneider  R  38   Babe Stapp  R 
9 6   Tommy Milton  W  41   Wade Morton 27   Tony Gulotta
10 21   Dave Evans  R  35   Al Cotey  R  23   Fred Lecklider
11 24   Benny Shoaff  R  42   Jim Hill  R  31   Fred Frame  R 
R Indianapolis 500 rookie
W Indianapolis 500 winner

Race summary

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At the start, polesitter Lockhart took the lead and dominated the first half of the race. At the halfway point, he had won almost $10,000 in lap prize money. But on lap 120, his Miller broke a connecting rod, and he was out of the race. He reportedly stepped out, shrugged, smiled, and asked for a hot dog.[4]

After Lockhart's retirement, Pete DePaolo took the lead, driving in relief for Bob McDonogh after his own car dropped out. But a supercharger problem required an extended, unscheduled pit stop to repair. With 60 laps to go, George Souders first took the lead. He steadily pulled away from Babe Stapp, both in Duesenbergs, and cruised to victory by over 12 minutes. Stapp (driving relief for Benny Shoaff), seemingly on his way to second place, broke a rear axle with a lap and a half to go, and the car finished out of the top ten.[5]

Box score

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Finish Start No Name Entrant Chassis Engine Qual Rank Laps Status
1 22 32   George Souders  R  William S. White Duesenberg Duesenberg 111.551 12 200 Running
2 15 10   Earl Devore
(Zeke Meyer Laps 97–152)
F. P. Cramer Miller Miller 107.497 23 200 Running
3 27 27   Tony Gulotta
(Pete DePaolo Laps 86–92)
Anthony Gulotta Miller Miller 107.765 22 200 Running
4 19 29   Wilbur Shaw  R 
(Louis Meyer Laps 77–129)
Fred Clemons Miller Miller 104.465 32 200 Running
5 28 21   Dave Evans  R 
(Steve Nemesh Laps 57–82)
David E. Evans Duesenberg Duesenberg 107.360 25 200 Running
6 7 14   Bob McDonogh
(Pete DePaolo Laps 113–200)
Cooper Engineering Company Cooper Miller 113.175 8 200 Running
7 18 16   Eddie Hearne
(Harry Hartz Laps 47–81)
(Leon Duray Laps 116–130)
(Ira Vail Laps 131–154)
Harry Hartz Miller Miller 105.115 31 200 Running
8 25 6   Tommy Milton  W 
(C. W. Van Ranst Laps 82–106)
(Ralph Hepburn Laps 107–200)
Tommy Milton Detroit Miller 108.758 20 200 Running
9 14 25   Cliff Bergere  R 
(Wesley Crawford Laps 96–108)
(Wesley Crawford Laps 147–176)
Muller Brothers Miller Miller 108.820 19 200 Running
10 13 5   Frank Elliott
(Fred Frame Laps 54–100)
Frank Elliott Miller Miller 109.682 17 200 Running
11 33 31   Fred Frame  R 
(George Fernic Laps 6–68)
(George Abell Laps 69–76)
(George Fernic Laps 77–123)
(George Abell Laps 124–127)
(George Fernic Laps 128–199)
O. B. Dolfinger Miller Miller 106.859 27 199 Flagged
12 32 42   Jim Hill  R 
(Don Ostrander Laps 30–87)
(Don Ostrander Laps 108–115)
(Don Ostrander Laps 176–197)
Earl Devore Miller Miller 107.392 24 197 Flagged
13 31 24   Benny Shoaff  R 
(Babe Stapp Laps 69–103)
(Babe Stapp Laps 173–198)
Duesenberg Brothers Duesenberg Duesenberg 110.152 13 198 Rear end gears
14 26 41   Wade Morton
(Ralph Holmes Laps 34–63)
(Freddie Winnai Laps 64–131)
(Ralph Holmes Laps 140–152)
Duesenberg Brothers Duesenberg Duesenberg 108.075 21 152 Crash
15 20 44   Al Melcher  R 
(Jack Petticord Laps 44–129)
(Fred Lecklider Laps 130–143)
(Jack Petticord Laps 143–144)
Charles Haase Miller Miller 102.918 33 144 Supercharger
16 23 43   Louis Schneider  R 
(L. L. Corum Laps 88–97)
(Dutch Baumann Laps 125–135)
Fred Lecklider Miller Miller 109.910 15 137 Timing gears
17 12 9   Pete Kreis Cooper Engineering Company Cooper Miller 109.900 16 123 Front axle
18 1 2   Frank Lockhart  W 
(Harry Hartz Laps 101–123)
Frank S. Lockhart Miller Miller 120.100 1 120 Rod
19 6 15   Cliff Woodbury
(Ralph Hepburn Laps 71–80)
Cliff Woodbury Miller Miller 113.200 7 108 Supercharger
20 17 26   Dutch Baumann  R  Harry S. Miller Miller Miller 106.078 29 90 Pinion shaft
21 29 35   Al Cotey  R 
(Eddie Burbach Laps 63–87)
Al Cotey Miller Miller 106.295 28 87 Universal joint
22 16 17   W. E. Shattuc Dr. W. E. Shattuc, M.D. Miller Miller 107.060 26 83 Valve
23 30 23   Fred Lecklider
(Henry Kohlert Laps 17–49)
Henry Kohlert Miller Miller 105.729 30 49 Crash T1
24 5 19   Ralph Hepburn Cliff Woodbury Miller Miller 114.209 5 39 Fuel tank leak
25 4 1   Harry Hartz Harry Hartz Miller Miller 116.739 4 38 Crankshaft
26 2 3   Peter DePaolo  W  Peter DePaolo Miller Miller 119.510 2 31 Supercharger
27 3 12   Leon Duray Leon Duray Miller Miller 118.788 3 26 Fuel tank leak
28 9 4   Bennett Hill Cooper Engineering Company Miller Miller 112.013 10 26 Shackle bolt
29 21 18   Jules Ellingboe Earl Cooper Miller Miller 113.239 6 25 Crash T4
30 10 8   Norman Batten Norman K. Batten Fengler Miller 111.940 11 24 Caught fire
31 24 38   Babe Stapp  R  Duesenberg Brothers Duesenberg Duesenberg 109.555 18 24 Universal joint
32 11 22   Jack Petticord  R  Cliff Woodbury Miller Miller 109.920 14 22 Supercharger
33 8 7   Dave Lewis Dave Lewis Miller Miller 112.275 9 21 Front axle
[6][7]

Note: Relief drivers in parentheses[8]

 W  Former Indianapolis 500 winner

 R  Indianapolis 500 Rookie

Race statistics

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Race details

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For 1927, riding mechanics were optional;[9] however, no teams utilized them.

Eddie Hearne was the only driver in the field who had competed at the inaugural Indy 500. This would be the final time a driver from the inaugural race would compete.

References

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  1. ^ a b Fox, Jack C. (1994). The Illustrated History of the Indianapolis 500 1911-1994 (4th ed.). Carl Hungness Publishing. p. 22. ISBN 0-915088-05-3.
  2. ^ Patton, W. Blaine (May 31, 1927). "Hoosier Averages 97.45 Miles An Hour In 500-Mile Grind". The Indianapolis Star. p. 1. Retrieved June 3, 2017 – via Newspapers.com. 
  3. ^ Book "The Indianapolis 500: A Complete Pictorial History" p. 72
  4. ^ Book "The Indianapolis 500: A Complete Pictorial History" p.72
  5. ^ Book "The Indianapolis 500: A Complete Pictorial History" p. 72-75
  6. ^ "Indianapolis 500 1927". Ultimate Racing History. Archived from the original on 5 February 2013. Retrieved 16 January 2012.
  7. ^ Popely, Rick; Riggs, L. Spencer (1998). The Indianapolis 500 Chronicle. Lincolnwood, Illinois: Publications International, Ltd. ISBN 0-7853-2798-3.
  8. ^ "International 500 Mile Sweepstakes – May 30, 1927". ChampCarStats.com.
  9. ^ Blazier, John E.; Rollings, Tom (1994). Forgotten Heroes of the Speedways: The Riding Mechanics.


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