1958 Indianapolis 500

The 1958 Indianapolis 500 was held on Friday, May 30, 1958 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The event was part of the 1958 World Drivers' Championship.

It is best known for a massive first lap incident that resulted in the death of fan-favorite driver Pat O'Connor.

Dick Rathmann and Ed Elisian started the race on the front row, with Jimmy Reece on the outside of the front row. Elisian spun in turn 3 of the first lap, and collected Rathmann, sending them both into the wall, and starting a 15-car pileup.

According to AJ Foyt, O'Conner's car hit Reece's car, sailed fifty feet in the air, landed upside down, and burst into flames. Although O'Connor was incinerated in the accident, medical officials said that he was probably killed instantly from a fractured skull. [ [http://indymotorspeedway.com/500d-58.htm Indy 500 deadly accidents, 1958 ] ]

Widely blamed for the accident, Elisian was suspended by USAC for the accident (reinstated a few days later), and was shunned by many in the racing community. Allegedly, drivers prevented firefighters from reaching Elisian's burning car the following August at Milwaukee, and Elisian died in the fire.

Following the accident, race officials announced that they would change the starting procedure, abandoning the single-file trip down pit lane that was used in 1957 and 1958. Also, for the 1959 Indy 500, metal roll bars welded to the frame behind the driver's head were mandated, and helmets were required to pass safety certification by Speedway medical officials. [ [http://www.bjwor.com/031112.html we feel the blues when we lose ] ]

Classification

Quotes

Indianapolis Motor Speedway Radio Network

"And we've got an accident here! Car #5! Car #5, the Zink Special, is the first to wreck! Another over the wall! And we've got...one, two, three, four, five...six cars, piled up here, on the northeast turn! The 54 Novi into the infield...car #19 in the infield, 68 now down into the infield...and it's almost impossible to identify the others. Out of car #5, now, is Ed Elisian...and, er, car #91 against the wall...that is all that we can see at the moment. Further down the track, there are still others. ...One car "has" left this track, Sid, and "did" go over the retaining wall. That's all of the information we can give you at the moment...we will check each car for you, and report on all of them as soon as we can. Right now, better send it to you Sid, in the tower...":- Lou Palmer, with his first words ever spoken on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Radio Network, calling the third turn on the first lap of the race, and reporting the immediate aftermath of the resulting incident to Sid Collins

References

Notes

*Fastest Lead L

*A 15 car pileup accident on the opening lap involved and dealt fatal injuries to Pat O'Connor,who had appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated in the week leading up to the race and had finished 8th in the previous year's Indy 500.

* Last Appearances: George Amick (killed in 1959 USAC race at Daytona)

F1 race report
Name_of_race = Indianapolis 500
Year_of_race = 1958
Previous_race_in_season = 1958 Dutch Grand Prix
Next_race_in_season = 1958 Belgian Grand Prix
Previous_year's_race = 1957 Indianapolis 500
Next_year's_race = 1959 Indianapolis 500

Indy 500 Walker
Previous_race = 1957
Previous_winner = Sam Hanks
This_race = 1958
This_winner = Jimmy Bryan
Next_race = 1959
Next_winner = Rodger Ward