1931 Indianapolis 500
The 19th International 500-Mile Sweepstakes Race was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Saturday, May 30, 1931. Race winner Louis Schneider, who led the final 34 laps, was accompanied by riding mechanic Jigger Johnson.
| Indianapolis Motor Speedway | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Indianapolis 500 | |||||
| Sanctioning body | AAA | ||||
| Date | May 30, 1931 | ||||
| Winner | Louis Schneider | ||||
| Winning Entrant | B. L. Schneider | ||||
| Average speed | 96.629 mph (155.509 km/h) | ||||
| Pole position | Russ Snowberger | ||||
| Pole speed | 112.796 mph (181.528 km/h) | ||||
| Most laps led | Billy Arnold (155) | ||||
| Pre-race | |||||
| Pace car | Cadillac 370 Twelve | ||||
| Pace car driver | Willard "Big Boy" Rader | ||||
| Starter | Barney Oldfield | ||||
| Honorary referee | William S. Knudsen | ||||
| Estimated attendance | 165,000 | ||||
| Chronology | |||||
| |||||
The start of the race was delayed two hours due to rain. Defending race winner Billy Arnold charged from 18th starting position to lead the race by lap 7. Arnold, who had dominated the 1930 race (led 198 laps), proceeded to lead the next 155 laps, and built up a five-lap lead over second place. His rear axle broke on lap 162. He spun in turn four, was hit by another car, driven by Luther Johnson, and went over the outside wall. One of his errant wheels bounced across Georgetown Road, and struck and killed an 11-year-old boy, Wilbur C. Brink. Arnold suffered a broken pelvis, and his riding mechanic, Spider Matlock, broke his shoulder.
The race was part of the 1931 AAA Championship Car season.