1930 Indianapolis 500
The 18th International 500-Mile Sweepstakes Race was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Friday, May 30, 1930. The race was part of the 1930 AAA Championship Car season.
Pole position winner Billy Arnold took the lead on lap 3, and led the entire rest of the race. He led a total of 198 laps, which stands as an all-time Indianapolis 500 race record. Arnold was accompanied by riding mechanic Spider Matlock.
Arnold was the first driver to complete the entire 500 miles in under five hours without relief help. Pete DePaolo finished the 1925 race in under five hours, but used a relief driver for 21 laps. Arnold would eventually be named the first member of the prestigious 100 mph Club.
The race was marred by the death of Paul Marshall. He was acting as riding mechanic for his brother Cy when their car hit and flipped over the wall. His brother survived with serious injuries.
Rules changes and the "Junk" formula
The 1930 race ushered in a series of substantially new engine rules and specifications. The allotted displacement was increased from 91 cu. in. to 366 cu. in.. Superchargers were banned with the exception of two-cycle engines, and riding mechanics were made mandatory once again. In addition, the traditional mandate of a maximum 33-car field was lifted. This rules package would be in place through 1937.Contrary to popular belief, the rule changes were not made in response to the stock market crash of 1929. The rules package is sometimes referred to disparagingly as the "Junk Formula" or the "Junkyard," and a common misconception is that it was implemented in order to dumb down the cars and maintain full fields during the Great Depression.
Speedway president Eddie Rickenbacker sought to make the changes in order to lure back the passenger car manufacturers, and make the cars on the track more resemble those sold to the motoring public. Rickenbacker's desire was to move away from the supercharged, specialized racing machines that had taken over the Speedway through the 1920s. It was his vision at the time to bring the Speedway back to its origins and roots as a "proving ground" for the passenger car industry. Upon announcing the rule changes, he was quoted as saying, "Even a Model T can win." The rule changes were in fact being laid out as early as 1928, and were approved by the AAA Contest Board in early January 1929.
Race schedule
Practice
The deadline for entries to be submitted was midnight on May 1. The track was made available for practice a couple days later, with the first car taking to the track on or around Tuesday May 6. Most cars did not arrive at the Speedway until the second full week, with activity picking up mid-month.By Monday May 19, a total of ten cars had taken to the track, with Louis Schneider posting the fastest lap thus far. On Tuesday May 20, the focus of attention was on the 201-c.i.d, 16-cylinder, Sampson Special of Louis Meyer. The car was now completed and wheeled out of its garage at the Steinhart Brake Services building. It was cranked up for the first time, and ready to deliver to the Speedway. Back at the track, Shorty Cantlon turned a lap of 109 mph.
File:1930-05-25 Indy 500 Maserati V4 Borzacchini Rossi.jpg|thumb|right|Maserati Tipo V4 driven by Baconin Borzacchini
On Wednesday May 21, Louis Meyer took to the track for the first time, blistering the bricks with a lap of 110.56 mph in the 16-cylinder machine. Meyer immediately established himself as a favorite for the front row. Meanwhile, Harry Hartz, who had not yet taken any laps in his front wheel drive Miller Special, was still expected to qualify come Saturday.
On Thursday May 22, Ralph Hepburn and Billy Arnold took laps in Harry Hartz's Miller Special. They were the two fastest laps thus far for the month. Speculation was growing that Hartz was preparing to hand the car over to either Hepburn or Arnold, but no official arrangement had been announced. As late as Friday night, Hartz was still insisting to the press that he was intending to race the car himself.
Time trials
Qualifications was scheduled for five days, spanning from Saturday May 24 through Wednesday May 28. Four-lap qualifying runs were utilized, and cars were allowed up to three attempts. The minimum speed required was 85 mph. Time trials would end each day at sundown.Saturday May 24
The first day of time trials was held Saturday May 24, scheduled for 11 a.m. to 7:01 p.m. L. L. Corum was the first car to qualify. Car owner Harry Hartz took the #4 Miller Special out for a shake-down qualifying attempt. After one official lap of 110.429 mph, he parked the car and handed it over to Billy Arnold. Arnold proceeded to win the pole position with a four-lap run of 113.268 mph.One day after smacking the wall, Ernie Triplett qualified sixth. After practicing on Friday at over 111 mph, and being a favorite for the pole position, Louis Meyer fell short of expectations. Meyer qualified second, owing to an ill-conceived gear ratio change the team decided to make on Saturday morning.
No major incidents were reported.
| Name | Lap 1 | Lap 2 | Lap 3 | Lap 4 | Average Speed | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1 | 4 |  |1912Sunday May 25Only two cars completed qualifying runs on Sunday May 25. Peter DePaolo was forced to change engines after crankshaft damage suffered on Saturday. Tony Gulotta put in the 12th-fastest speed thus far in the field, but as a second day qualifier, lined up in 20th starting position.Rookie owner/driver Julius C. Slade quit his run after only two laps, then eventually would hand the car over to Roland Free. Rick Decker also pulled in after only two laps.
|