1916 Indianapolis 500

6th Indianapolis 500

Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Indianapolis 500
Sanctioning body	AAA
Date	May 30, 1916
Winner	Dario Resta
Winning Entrant	Peugeot
Average speed	84.001 mph (135.187 km/h)
Pole position	Johnny Aitken
Pole speed	96.69 mph (155.61 km/h)
Most laps led	Resta (103)
Pre-race
Pace car	Premier 6 (Model 6-56)
Pace car driver	Frank E. Smith
Chronology
Previous Next 1915 1919

The 6th International 300-Mile Sweepstakes Race was the sixth running of the Indianapolis 500. It was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Tuesday, May 30, 1916. The management scheduled the race for 120 laps, 300 miles (480 km), the only Indianapolis 500 scheduled for less than 500 miles (800 km).

Although the common belief is that the race distance was changed due to the onset of World War I, it was in fact Speedway management that changed the distance in order to make the race shorter and more appealing to fans. Despite the one-time altered distance, the race is still considered part of the continuous lineage of the Memorial Day classic, known as the Indianapolis 500.^[1] In addition to the altered distance, the start time was moved from 10:00 a.m. to the early afternoon (1:30 p.m.)^[2]

Eddie Rickenbacker took the lead at the start, and led the first nine laps until dropping out with steering problems. Dario Resta led 103 of the 120 laps, and claimed the victory. Resta was accompanied by riding mechanic Bob Dahnke.

Seven of the cars were entered by the Speedway or its owners, in order to ensure a strong field during the war. None of them finished in the top five. Despite the promoter's entries, the field consisted of only 21 cars, the smallest in Indy history.

World War I

Three months after the 1916 race, on Labor Day weekend of 1916, the Speedway held a second event, the Harvest Auto Racing Classic. The 1917 race was scheduled to return to 500 miles, but a dispute with the local hoteliers and the escalation of World War I intervened. On March 23, 1917, Speedway management cancelled the 1917 Indianapolis 500, and halted racing at the facility for both 1917 and 1918.

The track was offered as a landing strip and maintenance/refueling station for military aircraft traveling between Wilbur Wright Field and Chanute Air Force Base. It was referred to as the Speedway Aviation Repair Depot, and the 821st Aero Repair Squadron was stationed there.^[3][4] In addition, several experimental aircraft were tested at the grounds. At least one test pilot was fatally injured in a plane crash at the track.^[5]

No racing of any kind took place at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 1917-1918. Likewise, the National Championship was suspended in both 1917 and 1918. There were, however, AAA races (non-championship races) conducted during the war years at other tracks. On Memorial Day 1917, a 250-mile race was held at Cincinnati.^[6]

The Indianapolis 500 resumed after the war in 1919.

Box score

1916 Indianapolis 500 winning car

Finish	Start	No	Name	Qual	Rank	Laps	Led	Status
1	4	17	Dario Resta	94.400	4	120	103	Running
2	10	1	Wilbur D'Alene (R)	90.870	11	120	0	Running
3	20	10	Ralph Mulford	91.090	10	120	0	Running
4	14	14	Josef Christiaens	86.080	16	120	0	Running
5	5	15	Barney Oldfield	94.330	5	120	0	Running
6	9	4	Pete Henderson (R)	91.330	9	120	0	Running
7	6	29	Howdy Wilcox	93.810	6	120	0	Running
8	17	26	Art Johnson (R)	83.690	19	120	0	Running
9	15	24	William Chandler	84.840	17	120	0	Running
10	13	9	Ora Haibe (R)	87.080	15	120	0	Running
11	19	12	Tom Alley	82.040	21	120	0	Running
12	21	8	Louis Chevrolet	87.690	13	82	0	Rod
13	3	28	Gil Andersen	95.940	3	75	0	Oil line
14	18	25	Dave Lewis (R)	83.120	20	71	0	Gas tank
15	1	18	Johnny Aitken	96.690	1	69	8	Valve
16	12	21	Jules Devigne (R) (Relieved by Jack LeCain)	87.170	14	61	0	Crash NC
17	7	27	Tom Rooney (R)	93.390	7	48	0	Crash T1
18	11	7	Arthur Chevrolet	87.740	12	35	0	Magneto
19	8	19	Charlie Merz	93.330	8	25	0	Lubrication
20	2	5	Eddie Rickenbacker	96.440	2	9	9	Steering
21	16	23	Aldo Franchi (R)	84.120	18	9	0	Engine trouble
[7]

Race details

• For 1916, riding mechanics were required.^[8]
• In the weeks and months leading up to the race, Speedway president Carl G. Fisher had expressed concern and disdain over the local hoteliers' practice of price gouging customers during the race week. It reached a boiling point where Fisher threatened to move the 1916 and/or 1917 Memorial Day 500-mile race to a board track in Cincinnati, Ohio. Ultimately, a truce was reached, and the race(s) were not moved. Apropos to that, the 1917 Indianapolis 500 was cancelled anyway shortly after the entry blanks were mailed out, due to the escalation of World War I.^[9]
• Driver Jack LeCain was forced to miss the race due to a broken crankshaft suffered during a practice run two days before the race. He drove relief for Delage teammate Jules Devigne, taking over shortly beyond the 100-mile mark. After 61 laps, he suffered a serious crash, leaving him critically injured.^[10]
• 1915 winner Ralph DePalma withheld his entry for 1916, demanding $5,000 in appearance money from Speedway management. Carl Fisher refused to accede to the demand, and DePalma's subsequent entry blank, filed after the deadline, was rejected.

Notes

Works cited

• "New Planes for Old" - The Work of the Aviation Repair Depots: Aerial Ace Weekely, 1 September 1919

References

1. "The Talk of Gasoline Alley" - WFNI: May 5, 2012
2. "Fleet Field Attune For Sixth Race". The Indianapolis Star. May 30, 1916. p. 1. Retrieved March 27, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
3. Mittman, Dick (2003-12-17). "Speedway Has Plenty Of Connections To First 100 Years Of Flight". Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Retrieved 2014-02-18.
4. 821st Areo Squadron, Aviation Repair Depot, Speedway, Indiana, December 1918
5. The Talk of Gasoline Alley - 1070-AM WIBC, June 15, 2005
6. 1917 Sharonville Sweepstakes
7. "Indianapolis 500 1916". Ultimate Racing History. Archived from the original on 15 January 2012. Retrieved 15 January 2012.
8. Blazier, John E.; Rollings, Tom (1994). Forgotten Heroes of the Speedways: The Riding Mechanics.
9. The Talk of Gasoline Alley - WFNI, May 23, 2013
10. "Four Are Injured on Track; LeCain Hovering Near Death". The Indianapolis Star. May 31, 1916. p. 1. Retrieved March 27, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.