1927 Indianapolis 500

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

First-time starter George Souders wins by eight laps, the largest margin since 1913. Souders becomes 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

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.

Results

Finish	Start	No	Name	Qual	Rank	Laps	Led	Status
1	22	32	George Souders (R)	111.551	12	200	51	Running
2	15	10	Earl Devore	107.497	23	200	0	Running
3	27	27	Tony Gulotta	107.765	22	200	0	Running
4	19	29	Wilbur Shaw (R)	104.465	32	200	0	Running
5	28	21	Dave Evans (R)	107.360	25	200	0	Running
6	7	14	Bob McDonogh	113.175	8	200	0	Running
7	18	16	Eddie Hearne	105.115	31	200	0	Running
8	25	6	Tommy Milton (W)	108.758	20	200	0	Running
9	14	25	Cliff Bergere (R)	108.820	19	200	0	Running
10	13	5	Frank Elliott	109.682	17	200	0	Running
11	33	31	Fred Frame (R)	106.859	27	199	0	Flagged
12	32	42	Jim Hill (R)	107.392	24	197	0	Flagged
13	31	24	Benny Shoaff (R)	110.152	13	198	0	Rear end gears
14	26	41	Wade Morton	108.075	21	152	0	Crash
15	20	44	Al Melcher (R)	102.918	33	144	0	Supercharger
16	23	43	Louis Schneider (R)	109.910	15	137	0	Timing gears
17	12	9	Peter Kreis	109.900	16	123	0	Front axle
18	1	2	Frank Lockhart (W)	120.100	1	120	110	Rod
19	6	15	Cliff Woodbury	113.200	7	108	0	Supercharger
20	17	26	Dutch Bauman (R)	106.078	29	90	9	Pinion shaft
21	29	35	Al Cotey (R)	106.295	28	87	0	Universal joint
22	16	17	W. E. Shattuc	107.060	26	83	0	Valve
23	30	23	Fred Lecklider	105.729	30	49	0	Crash T1
24	5	19	Ralph Hepburn	114.209	5	39	0	Fuel tank leak
25	4	1	Harry Hartz	116.739	4	38	0	Crankshaft
26	2	3	Peter DePaolo (W)	119.510	2	31	30	Supercharger
27	3	12	Leon Duray	118.788	3	26	0	Fuel tank leak
28	9	4	Bennett Hill	112.013	10	26	0	Shackle bolt
29	21	18	Jules Ellingboe	113.239	6	25	0	Crash T4
30	10	8	Norman Batten	111.940	11	24	0	Caught fire
31	24	38	Babe Stapp (R)	109.555	18	24	0	Universal joint
32	11	22	Jack Petticord (R)	109.920	14	22	0	Supercharger
33	8	7	Dave Lewis	112.275	9	21	0	Front axle
[1]

Race details

For 1927, riding mechanics were optional;^[2] however, no teams utilized them.

References