1937 Indianapolis 500
The 25th International 500-Mile Sweepstakes was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Monday, May 31, 1937. With temperatures topping out at 92 °F (33 °C), it is one of the hottest days on record for the Indy 500.
| Indianapolis Motor Speedway | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Indianapolis 500 | |||||
| Sanctioning body | AAA | ||||
| Date | May 31, 1937 | ||||
| Winner | Wilbur Shaw | ||||
| Winning Entrant | Shaw-Gilmore | ||||
| Average speed | 113.580 mph | ||||
| Pole position | Bill Cummings | ||||
| Pole speed | 123.343 mph | ||||
| Most laps led | Wilbur Shaw (131) | ||||
| Pre-race | |||||
| Pace car | LaSalle Series 50 | ||||
| Pace car driver | Ralph DePalma | ||||
| Starter | Seth Klein | ||||
| Honorary referee | William S. Knudsen | ||||
| Estimated attendance | 170,000 | ||||
| Chronology | |||||
| |||||
Speedway legend Wilbur Shaw won the first of his three "500" victories. In the waning laps, Shaw's car was leaking oil, and was suffering from critically low oil pressure. He had to nurse his car to the finish line. Second place Ralph Hepburn, aware of Shaw's troubles, began closing dramatically. Shaw held off Hepburn at the checkered flag by 2.16 seconds, the closest finish in Indy history to that point. It was a record that would stand until 1982.
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