|| *Comments on the 1956 Indianapolis 500:* View the most recent comment <#16> | Post a comment <#post> Tweet 1. Steve posted: 08.19.2010 - 6:54 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) First National Championship race under sanction of United States Auto Club. The American Automobile Association (AAA) withdrew from motorsport completely following the disaster at Le Mans in 1955, in which Frenchman Pierre Levegh's Mercedes was launched into a spectator area. He and 80 spectators were killed. Thank you for adding the USAC races! Will we soon see USAC stats (laps led, winning %, etc) added to the Driver Rankings page? 2. webmaster posted: 08.19.2010 - 7:36 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Steve, I just updated the rankings page to include USAC data - thanks for the suggestion! 3. Steve posted: 08.20.2010 - 2:32 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Thank you so much! The addition of USAC statistics truly completes the careers of A.J., Mario, the Unsers, Johncock, Rutherford, Sneva, Mears, and other IndyCar greats! When I first found this website, it only had Cup, Busch, Truck, and IROC information. This site has come so far! 4. Greg Gruver posted: 08.24.2010 - 1:50 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) This is the best racing stat site on the internet. Thanks guys and keep up the great work! 5. Anonymous posted: 12.04.2010 - 9:14 pm Rate this comment: (1) (8) Put up FIA racing, not this crap. 6. RaceFanX posted: 05.25.2011 - 3:07 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) Huh? We've got F1 on the site already. In addition to racing Flaherty was a bartender in Chicago. He didn't have a ride for this race when he heard two guys in the bar talking about how John Zink didn't have a driver for Indy yet. Flaherty called Zink, got the ride and won the 500 with it. 7. KurtBusch22Fan posted: 06.28.2011 - 1:01 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) I mean like FIA road racing, not F1. I wanna see more of it. 8. Schroeder51 posted: 03.14.2015 - 3:28 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) First Indy 500 starts for Bob Veith, Bob Christie, Billy Garrett, Johnnie Tolan, and Jack Turner. Last Indy 500 starts for Duke Dinsmore and Keith Andrews. 9. Schroeder51 posted: 03.14.2015 - 8:46 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Add to DNQs: Earl Motter, #9 Bardahl-Ferrari (Did not qualify) Chuck Weyant, #22 Martin Brothers (Did not qualify) Eddie Russo, #27 Jim Robbins (Did not qualify) George Amick, #33 Belond Miracle Power (Entry declined, failed physical) Edgar Elder, #41 Greenman-Castle (Did not finish rookie test) Earl Motter, #41 Greenman-Castle (Passed rookie test) Roy Newman, #74 Dayton Steel (Did not qualify) Buddy Cagle, #81 Central Excavating (Wrecked rookie test) Jay Abney, #87 McDonald (Did not qualify) Eddie Johnson, #89 Dunn Engineering (Did not qualify) Ernie McCoy, X/X (Did not qualify) Cal Niday, X/X (Did not qualify) 10. Jolly Mean Giant posted: 01.30.2016 - 7:39 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Qualifying results: 1. Pat Flaherty-145.59 MPH 2. Johnny Thomson-145.54 MPH 3. Jim Rathmann-145.12 MPH 4. Pat O'Connor-144.98 MPH 5. Tony Bettenhausen-144.6 MPH 6. Dick Rathmann-144.47 MPH 7. Johnnie Parsons-144.14 MPH 8. Fred Agabashian-144.06 MPH 9. Jimmy Bryan-143.74 MPH 10. Paul Russo-143.54 MPH 11. Andy Linden-143.05 MPH 12. Bob Sweikert-143.03 MPH 13. Keith Andrews-142.97 MPH 14. Jimmy Reece-142.88 MPH 15. Gene Hartley-142.84 MPH 16. Bob Veith-142.53 MPH 17. Troy Ruttman-142.48 MPH 18. Jack Turner-142.39 MPH 19. Johnny Boyd-142.33 MPH 20. Bob Christie-142.23 MPH 21. Sam Hanks-142.05 MPH 22. Don Freeland-141.69 MPH 23. Al Herman-141.61 MPH 24. Cliff Griffith-141.47 MPH 25. Ed Elisian-141.38 MPH 26. Al Keller-141.19 MPH 27. Rodger Ward-141.17 MPH 28. Jimmy Daywalt-140.97 MPH 29. Ray Crawford-140.88 MPH 30. Billy Garrett-140.55 MPH 31. Johnnie Tolan-140.06 MPH 32. Eddie Johnson-139.09 MPH 33. Duke Dinsmore-138.53 MPH 11. Jolly Mean Giant posted: 02.04.2016 - 5:00 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Withdrew: Chuck Weyant-#22 Martin Bros. Weyant was injured in a practice crash and did not make a qualifying attempt. George Amick-#33 Belond Equa Flow Amick failed a physical exam and was not allowed to participate. Roy Newman-#74 Dayton Steel Buddy Cagle-#81 Central Excavating Cagle wrecked while taking his rookie test. Jay Abney-#87 McDonald Ernie McCoy Cal Niday 12. Jolly Mean Giant posted: 03.21.2017 - 11:39 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) First alternate: Eddie Sachs 13. RaceFanX posted: 05.15.2019 - 9:47 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Sponsor: #8 Pat Flaherty- John Zink Special (They had a smaller sponsorship too from Mobil Oil, with a few small red pegasus logos, but the car was branded as the John Zink Special from Tulsa, Oklahoma) 14. possum posted: 10.26.2019 - 4:40 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Owner for the Novi should be (as always) Lewis Welch. First year for the Novi with the Kurtis 500F chassis (somehow appropriate that the 6th version of the chassis was for the Novi). 15. JollyMeanGiant posted: 02.23.2021 - 7:36 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Additional DNQs: Earl Motter, #41 Greenman-Casale, Kuzma D/Offy Earl Motter, #9 Bardahl-Ferrari, Kurtis 500D/Offy Roy Newman, #77 Dayton Steel Foundry, Schroeder D/Offy Cal Niday, #33 Belond Miracle Power, Epperly/Offy Cal Niday, #47 Sumar, Kurtis/Offy Roy Newman, #93 McKay's Bulldog, Kurtis 3000D/Offy Duke Nalon, #31 Novi Air Conditioning, Kurtis 500F/Novi SC Danny Kladis, #91 Bardahl-Ferrari, Ferrari/Ferrari Elmer George, #78 Hopkins, Lesovsky D/Studebaker V8 WD: Buddy Cagle, #81 Central Excavating, Kuzma/Offy George Amick, #33 Belond Miracle Power, Epperly/Offy Chuck Weyant, #22 Martin Brothers, Curtis/Offy Jay Abney, #87 McDonald, Kurtis 4000D/Offy Edgar Elder, #41 Greenman-Casale, Kuzma D/Offy 16. JollyMeanGiant posted: 03.03.2021 - 1:17 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Only 34 cars completed full runs during qualifying. Eddie Sachs in the #58 was 34th fastest. (Rain on the last day of qualifying kept many cars that would have probably tried to complete a full run off the track.) ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *Post a comment:* Your comment may not appear immediately - all comments must be approved by the moderator. Name: Comment: