1946 Indianapolis 500
The 30th International 500-Mile Sweepstakes was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Thursday, May 30, 1946. This was the first Indianapolis 500 presided over by new track owner Tony Hulman. The track had closed in late 1941 due to World War II, and over the next four years, the facility fell into a terrible state of disrepair. Hulman purchased the Speedway in November 1945, and quickly went to work cleaning up the grounds, which had become overwhelmed by overgrowth and weeds. The Speedway re-opened, and the 1946 race was considered a rousing success.
| Indianapolis Motor Speedway | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Indianapolis 500 | |||||
| Sanctioning body | AAA | ||||
| Date | May 30, 1946 | ||||
| Winner | George Robson | ||||
| Winning Entrant | Thorne Engineering | ||||
| Average speed | 114.820 mph (184.785 km/h) | ||||
| Pole position | Cliff Bergere | ||||
| Pole speed | 126.471 mph (203.535 km/h) | ||||
| Most laps led | George Robson (138) | ||||
| Pre-race | |||||
| Pace car | Lincoln Continental | ||||
| Pace car driver | Henry Ford II | ||||
| Starter | Seth Klein | ||||
| Honorary referee | Jack Dempsey | ||||
| Estimated attendance | 165,000 | ||||
| Chronology | |||||
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Race winner George Robson would be killed in a racing crash just months after the victory.
The 1946 running of the 500 was the first of sixty-one consecutive years (1946-2006) that featured popular fixture Tom Carnegie on the Speedway public address system.
During the pre-race ceremonies, James Melton performed the song "Back Home Again in Indiana." It was the first time the traditional song had been performed before the start of the race.