1931 Indianapolis 500: Louis Schneider Wins After Arnold's Crash

The 1931 Indianapolis 500 was the 19th International 500-Mile Sweepstakes, held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Saturday 30 May 1931. Louis Schneider won it after rain delayed the start by two hours, and defending winner Billy Arnold's race ended in a crash that killed an 11-year-old boy outside the track. The diesel Cummins entry also finished 13th after running the whole distance without a pit stop.

Who won the 1931 Indianapolis 500?

Louis Schneider won the 19th race with riding mechanic Jigger Johnson beside him. He took the lead after Billy Arnold's crash and finished 43.19 seconds ahead of Fred Frame, which was then the second closest margin in the race's history.

With about 30 laps left, Schneider and Bill Cummings were battling nose to tail for the lead. Cummings struck the south short chute wall on lap 177, which left Schneider alone out front.

The only stop Schneider made came on lap 106, when he filled up with gasoline and oil and swapped the right rear tyre.

Louis Schneider's win came after Billy Arnold's crash, which killed an 11-year-old boy outside the track.

What happened to Billy Arnold?

Arnold, the defending winner, had been the fastest qualifier. He charged from 18th to the lead by lap 7, and he led 155 laps before his rear axle gave way on lap 162. In turn four he spun and was struck by Luther Johnson's car.

Arnold's car burst into flames, hit the concrete wall and slid for about 200 feet. Arnold and his riding mechanic, Spider Matlock, were both thrown out of the car.

A wheel from the wreck went over the wall and across Georgetown Road, killing an 11-year-old boy, Wilbur C. Brink, who was playing in his yard. Arnold suffered a broken pelvis, and Matlock broke a shoulder.

Johnson's car turned over, but he escaped without serious harm. Five laps after Arnold's crash, Tony Gulotta went into the inside wall in nearly the same spot, ripping out part of the outside barrier, and neither he nor his riding mechanic was seriously hurt.

Why was the start delayed in 1931?

Overnight and morning rain pushed the start back from 10 a.m. to noon. Before that, the Indianapolis Drum and Bugle Corps paraded for the early arrivals, and Governor Harry G. Leslie came with a party that included seven other state governors.

The pace car, a Cadillac 370 V-12 driven by Willard 'Big Boy' Rader, led the field around on a single pace lap that did not count. Theodore E. Meyers, the general manager of the Speedway, was alongside him, and the green flag was shown for a flying start on the main straight.

Paul Bost moved to the front from the outside of row one. Bill Cummings then led laps 3 to 6, while Arnold, starting 18th, passed 17 cars to take the lead on lap 7.

Leon Duray pitted after six laps with his overheating problem, which persisted, and he finished 37th.

What did practice look like in May 1931?

Practice was slow to get going. On Tuesday 5 May only seven complete cars had reached the garage area, and Tony Gulotta was one of the few taking laps, at around 100 mph. Track repairs disrupted the first week. Activity picked up midweek.

Breaks in the surface were being patched on Thursday 7 May, and Floyd 'Sparky' Sparks practised during the work at 75 to 80 mph.

On Wednesday 13 May, Leon Duray took out his supercharged two-cycle 16-cylinder Stutz Bearcat for the first time, but a stuck piston ended his run after a lap of 112 mph.

On Thursday 14 May, Billy Arnold set the quickest practice lap of the month at 110 mph, while the owner, Harry Hartz, also took some test laps in the car. Russ Snowberger was second fastest that day at 106 mph, and later reached 113 mph in a nearly stock Studebaker.

Meyer took his first practice laps of the month on Saturday 16 May in the 16-cylinder Sampson Special, and he completed a lap of 113.63 mph.

Cliff Durant took Leon Duray's supercharged car to 125 mph on the straights on Sunday 17 May. The car then blew the top off its radiator, and the team waited for a replacement from Detroit.

The Bill White and Harry Miller 16-cylinder machine reached the track on Wednesday 20 May, and Shorty Cantlon took it out. The following day a connecting rod failed and holed the crankcase, and the cause was traced to a fault in assembly.

How did the qualifying rules work in 1931?

Qualifying used four-lap runs of about 10 miles, with 90 mph set as the minimum for gasoline entries. Diesel entries had their own exception: a diesel that averaged more than 80 mph over four laps qualified, whatever its overall rank. Riding mechanics had to be in every car.

Russ Snowberger won the pole on the first day with a four-lap average of 112.796 mph, ahead of Bill Cummings and Paul Bost. Cummings had already reached 115.001 mph on his first attempt before a clutch failure, and his second run of 112.563 mph came just short of Snowberger.

Billy Arnold's time was disallowed on Saturday. His run of 113.848 mph was made past the closing time, and it was found that the crew had not connected the brake cables. He returned on Sunday to qualify at 116.080 mph, the fastest speed in the field.

Qualifying was slow after that. Only two cars completed runs on Sunday 24 May, and on Monday 25 May five more qualified to bring the field to 24. Jimmy Gleason, at 111.400 mph, was the fastest of that day.

Tuesday brought nine runs, including Louis Meyer in the Sampson Special, and by Wednesday the grid had reached 40. Gene Haustein, at 107.823 mph, was the fastest of the final day, and Joe Huff was the last qualifier before the closing gun.

With the field set, Pete Kreis withdrew after handling problems, and Harry Butcher returned to the grid in the Butcher Brothers Special.

Which entries struggled to qualify?

Several cars never made it into the field. Wilbur Shaw and Ralph DePalma both came to the track on Wednesday 27 May hoping to qualify, but officials ruled that DePalma had not arrived in time and that his car had not shown enough speed. Shaw's late attempt ended with a broken crankshaft before the run began.

Louis Meyer crashed on his first attempt on Saturday 23 May. He lost control in turn one, brushed both walls and limped back to the garage with bent frame damage. Shorty Cantlon spent the whole weekend off the track waiting for an engine rebuild, and he was finally put into the field on Tuesday 26 May.

Fred Clemmons qualified both of his Hoosier Pete entries, although the cars only reached the track on Wednesday morning. Billy Winn and Herman Schurch had about 45 minutes of shake-down practice before qualifying on around 20 laps each. Duray's car also qualified with water boiling from its radiator, showing the overheating was not cured.

What was the Cummins Diesel Special?

Earlier in May officials had announced a special rule for diesel entries, and the Cummins Diesel Special, built by Clessie Cummins and driven by Dave Evans, was the first car out to qualify. Its average of 96.871 mph was comfortably above the 80 mph threshold.

Overall the diesel ranked 43rd, so it started from the 40th and last position on the grid. On race day Evans finished 13th and completed the full 500 miles without a pit stop.

During the race the water temperature ran high, and riding mechanic Thane Houser signalled to the pits. Jimmy Doolittle, working as pit communicator, could not read the message because he had misplaced the paper that held the hand signals. Evans carried on without instructions, and Doolittle later found the paper in his coat.

What tragedies marked the month of May?

On Monday 25 May, Joe Caccia and his riding mechanic Clarence Grover were killed in practice. Caccia's car skidded entering turn two, slid into the outside barrier, tore through the retaining wall and crashed into a tree, where it burst into flames.

Floyd Sparks' car caught fire down the backstretch during another practice run. He hit the wall in turn three, and the car was badly burned, which ended his qualifying chances.

Frank Brisko's steering failed on Thursday 21 May. He hit the inside wall, rebounded into the outside wall and stopped in the middle of the track, but he and his riding mechanic, Fred Winnai, were not seriously injured.

How did the race unfold in the rain?

Rain returned on lap 33 and brought out the yellow flag. Drivers slowed to about 80 mph under caution for about 28 laps, and passing was banned except for cars entering the pits. The green came back once the rain had stopped.

A few laps later Wilbur Shaw, driving in relief for Phil Pardee, crashed spectacularly in turn three, leaped the outside wall and fell down the embankment, but he walked away unhurt.

By lap 70 Arnold led Ralph Hepburn, Tony Gulotta, Russ Snowberger and Fred Frame. Bill Cummings retired with an oil leak after 70 laps, and Louis Meyer, out after 28 laps, returned on lap 73 in the car of Myron Stevens.

Schneider's stop on lap 106 was the only one he made, while Shaw came back on lap 118 to drive in relief for Jimmy Gleason.

Myron Stevens' climb through the field

Myron Stevens' car started 35th and finished 4th, with Louis Meyer driving relief for much of the distance. That was a remarkable gain of 31 positions.

Snowberger, from pole, was among the top-five finishers who never needed relief help.

The role of riding mechanics

For 1931 riding mechanics were required in every car, in qualifying as well as the race. Every car therefore carried a second person, and the Cummins car's pit communication problem showed how much depended on that link.