1956 Indianapolis 500

Previous race

At Monaco, Stirling Moss led every lap from the front row to take his second Formula One victory. Fangio hit the straw bales on lap 2, triggering retirements for Schell and Musso who swerved to avoid him, then damaged a rear wheel against the harbour wall on lap 32. He eventually took over Collins’ car and finished second. Jean Behra was third, a lap down.

Entrants

None of the regular Grand Prix competitors are entered. Former World Champion Giuseppe Farina is the only driver with ties to the European championship circuit; he was unable to get his Bardahl-Ferrari up to qualifying speed and did not make the field.

Between-race developments

The 1956 race is the first to be governed by USAC, following the AAA’s withdrawal from auto racing the previous August after a series of incidents including the Le Mans disaster and the fatal crash of Bill Vukovich during the 1955 race.

Track changes

Most of the circuit has been resurfaced in asphalt. A stretch of approximately 600 yards along the main straight retains the original brick surface. Higher speeds and new qualifying records are expected.

Practice

Pat Flaherty set new one-lap and four-lap track records — 146.056 mph and 145.596 mph respectively — to win pole position on a day that drew a record crowd of 125,000. Ten other drivers surpassed the previous track record from 1954.

Torrential rain in the days before the race flooded the access tunnels and left the infield waterlogged. Track superintendent Clarence Cagle and his crew worked without sleep for 48 hours to pump hundreds of thousands of gallons of water out of the facility, making the circuit ready in time for race morning.