Indianapolis 500
1956 Indianapolis 500
Podium
HANKurtis Kraft
2
FLAWatson
1
DFRPhillips
3
Key facts
WinnerFLA3:53:28.840 from P1
PoleFLA4:07.260
Fastest lapRUS1:02.320 on lap 19
Finishers34 / 34classified
Race result
| Pos | Driver | Team | Grid | +/- | Laps | Time / gap | Pts | Fastest lap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | FLAPat Flaherty | Watson | 1 | – | 200 | 3:53:28.840 | 8 | – |
| 2 | HANSam Hanks | Kurtis Kraft | 13 | ▲11 | 200 | +20.450s | 6 | – |
| 3 | DFRDon Freeland | Phillips | 26 | ▲23 | 200 | +90.230s | 4 | – |
| 4 | PARJohnnie Parsons | Kuzma | 6 | ▲2 | 200 | +205.690s | 3 | – |
| 5 | RATDick Rathmann | Kurtis Kraft | 4 | ▼1 | 200 | +261.810s | 2 | – |
| 6 | SWEBob Sweikert | Kuzma | 10 | ▲4 | 200 | +335.050s | – | |
| 7 | VEIBob Veith | Kurtis Kraft | 23 | ▲16 | 200 | +385.630s | – | |
| 8 | WARRodger Ward | Kurtis Kraft | 15 | ▲7 | 200 | +392.310s | – | |
| 9 | REEJimmy Reece | Lesovsky | 21 | ▲12 | 200 | +398.310s | – | |
| 10 | GRICliff Griffith | Stevens | 30 | ▲20 | 199 | +1 lap | – | |
| 11 | HARGene Hartley | Kuzma | 22 | ▲11 | 196 | +4 laps | – | |
| 12 | AGAFred Agabashian | Kurtis Kraft | 7 | ▼5 | 196 | +4 laps | – | |
| 13 | CHRBob Christie | Kurtis Kraft | 25 | ▲12 | 196 | +4 laps | – | |
| 14 | KELAl Keller | Kurtis Kraft | 28 | ▲14 | 195 | +5 laps | – | |
| 15 | JOHEddie Johnson | Kuzma | 32 | ▲17 | 195 | +5 laps | – | |
| 16 | GARBilly Garrett | Kuzma | 29 | ▲13 | 194 | +6 laps | – | |
| 17 | DINDuke Dinsmore | Kurtis Kraft | 33 | ▲16 | 191 | +9 laps | – | |
| 18 | O'CPat O'Connor | Kurtis Kraft | 3 | ▼15 | 187 | +13 laps | – | |
| 19 | BRYJimmy Bryan | Kuzma | 19 | – | 185 | +15 laps | – | |
| 20 | JRAJim Rathmann | Kurtis Kraft | 2 | ▼18 | 175 | +25 laps | – | |
| 21 | TOLJohnnie Tolan | Kurtis Kraft | 31 | ▲10 | 173 | +27 laps | – | |
| 22 | BETTony Bettenhausen | Kurtis Kraft | 5 | ▼17 | 160 | +40 laps | – | |
| 23 | ELIEd Elisian | Kurtis Kraft | 14 | ▼9 | 160 | +40 laps | – | |
| 24 | ERUEddie Russo | Kurtis Kraft | – | 0 | +200 laps | – | ||
| 25 | DAYJimmy Daywalt | Kurtis Kraft | 16 | ▼9 | 134 | +66 laps | – | |
| 26 | TURJack Turner | Kurtis Kraft | 24 | ▼2 | 131 | +69 laps | – | |
| 27 | ANDKeith Andrews | Kurtis Kraft | 20 | ▼7 | 94 | +106 laps | – | |
| 28 | LINAndy Linden | Kurtis Kraft | 9 | ▼19 | 90 | +110 laps | – | |
| 29 | HERAl Herman | Kurtis Kraft | 27 | ▼2 | 74 | +126 laps | – | |
| 30 | CRARay Crawford | Kurtis Kraft | 17 | ▼13 | 49 | +151 laps | – | |
| 31 | BOYJohnny Boyd | Kurtis Kraft | 12 | ▼19 | 35 | +165 laps | – | |
| 32 | RUTTroy Ruttman | Kurtis Kraft | 11 | ▼21 | 22 | +178 laps | – | |
| 33 | THOJohnny Thomson | Kuzma | 18 | ▼15 | 22 | +178 laps | – | |
| 34 | RUSPaul Russo | Kurtis Kraft | 8 | ▼26 | 21 | +179 laps | 1 | 1:02.320 |
Qualifying
| Pos | Driver | Team | Time | Gap to pole |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | FLAPat Flaherty | Watson | 4:07.260 | |
| 2 | JRAJim Rathmann | Kurtis Kraft | 4:08.070 | +0.810s |
| 3 | O'CPat O'Connor | Kurtis Kraft | 4:08.310 | +1.050s |
| 4 | RATDick Rathmann | Kurtis Kraft | 4:09.180 | +1.920s |
| 5 | BETTony Bettenhausen | Kurtis Kraft | 4:08.960 | +1.700s |
| 6 | PARJohnnie Parsons | Kuzma | 4:09.750 | +2.490s |
| 7 | AGAFred Agabashian | Kurtis Kraft | 4:09.880 | +2.620s |
| 8 | RUSPaul Russo | Kurtis Kraft | 4:10.790 | +3.530s |
| 9 | LINAndy Linden | Kurtis Kraft | 4:11.650 | +4.390s |
| 10 | SWEBob Sweikert | Kuzma | 4:11.690 | +4.430s |
| 11 | RUTTroy Ruttman | Kurtis Kraft | 4:12.660 | +5.400s |
| 12 | BOYJohnny Boyd | Kurtis Kraft | 4:12.920 | +5.660s |
| 13 | HANSam Hanks | Kurtis Kraft | 4:13.430 | +6.170s |
| 14 | ELIEd Elisian | Kurtis Kraft | 4:14.630 | +7.370s |
| 15 | WARRodger Ward | Kurtis Kraft | 4:15.010 | +7.750s |
| 16 | DAYJimmy Daywalt | Kurtis Kraft | 4:15.360 | +8.100s |
| 17 | CRARay Crawford | Kurtis Kraft | 4:15.530 | +8.270s |
| 18 | THOJohnny Thomson | Kuzma | 4:07.340 | +0.080s |
| 19 | BRYJimmy Bryan | Kuzma | 4:10.450 | +3.190s |
| 20 | ANDKeith Andrews | Kurtis Kraft | 4:11.790 | +4.530s |
| 21 | REEJimmy Reece | Lesovsky | 4:11.950 | +4.690s |
| 22 | HARGene Hartley | Kuzma | 4:12.020 | +4.760s |
| 23 | VEIBob Veith | Kurtis Kraft | 4:12.570 | +5.310s |
| 24 | TURJack Turner | Kurtis Kraft | 4:12.820 | +5.560s |
| 25 | CHRBob Christie | Kurtis Kraft | 4:13.100 | +5.840s |
| 26 | DFRDon Freeland | Phillips | 4:14.060 | +6.800s |
| 27 | HERAl Herman | Kurtis Kraft | 4:14.220 | +6.960s |
| 28 | KELAl Keller | Kurtis Kraft | 4:14.970 | +7.710s |
| 29 | GARBilly Garrett | Kuzma | 4:16.120 | +8.860s |
| 30 | GRICliff Griffith | Stevens | 4:14.470 | +7.210s |
| 31 | TOLJohnnie Tolan | Kurtis Kraft | 4:17.030 | +9.770s |
| 32 | JOHEddie Johnson | Kuzma | 4:18.820 | +11.560s |
| 33 | DINDuke Dinsmore | Kurtis Kraft | 4:19.870 | +12.610s |
Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Previous winners here
| 1955 | Bob Sweikert | Kurtis Kraft |
| 1954 | Bill Vukovich | Kurtis Kraft |
| 1953 | Bill Vukovich | Kurtis Kraft |
| 1952 | Troy Ruttman | Kuzma |
| 1951 | Lee Wallard | Kurtis Kraft |
| 1950 | Johnnie Parsons | Kurtis Kraft |
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