500 MILES TO GO

♫ Of an empty speedway track  where the [missing audio] ghosts passed, ♫ ♫ 500s for 39 years back. ♫ ♫ Wait from June to April. ♫ ♫ Wait until the day - when new  men come to join their ranks, ♫ ♫ And roar down the straightaway. ♫ ♫ Drivers and mechanics stake their lives and skill against the clock, ♫ ♫ And the hand of death in a battle that's going, ♫ ♫ So to join the ranks of [missing] Mauri Rose, Wilbur Shaw, and Jack McGrath. ♫ ♫ New men will spend their days. ♫ ♫ And number 1 and 55 looked the big one then. ♫ That iron man named Sweikert is ♫ ♫ back to try again. ♫ ♫ Back to try again. ♫ Sweikert fires up. The bellow of his engine  roars through Gasoline Alley as the fastest racing cars in the world stand ready to answer his  challenge. The first Indy winner since Wilbur Shaw to carry number one as national champion is  ready for practice. He rolls from the garage as the man to beat in this, the greatest of  racing classics. The Memorial Day 500 is only four weeks away as Sweikert faces the newly  resurfaced 2.5-mile challenge to men and machines. ♫ Then it's time at last  for a practice [missing] ♫ ♫ Pulse beats a little quicker. ♫ ♫ Oh, the track is tougher than you thought it was, ♫ ♫ The turns are a little slicker. ♫ ♫ So you try to learn how to feel the track, ♫ How to ease around the corner. ♫ ♫ Your have a prayer on your  lips that your car is right, ♫ ♫ For if something gives, you're a goner. ♫ ♫ Just cars made of rubber, aluminum, and steel, ♫ ♫ And men made of iron are sitting at the wheel. ♫ ♫ Sitting at the wheel. ♫ ♫ Then you step her up to a faster pace, ♫ ♫ And your engine starts to thunder. ♫ ♫ Then you cut a lap in a minute five, ♫ ♫ And the next one a little under. ♫ ♫ Oh,  the wind's a-howlin' and the wall's a blur, ♫ ♫ And the engine throbs with power. ♫ ♫ And you're all alone in another world, ♫ ♫ At 140 an hour. ♫ ♫ The cars made of rubber, aluminum, and steel. ♫ ♫ Men made of iron are sitting at the wheel. ♫ ♫ Sitting at the wheel. ♫ The new surface makes the track faster. As other  drivers study to find new ways through the turns, the question is: how much faster? How fast  to qualify for the race? How fast to win the big one? What are the new secrets of car  control as you travel a city block a second? How does 140 mph feel as you walk a  tightrope between the wall and the wind? Four weeks to find out. And the pit area  springs to life as drivers and mechanics work to squeeze higher speeds from their  machines. From the garages come new cars ready for testing—improved designs that may  be as good as the men who will drive them. The supercharged V8 Novi engines, packing 650  horsepower at 8,000 RPM, have been mounted in new rear-drive chassis. These twin beauties have  cost their owner one quarter of a million dollars for development and later improvements. Plagued by  hard luck for 10 years, they've never won a race. Another new chassis that can run on the big  track at Indianapolis as well as on dirt trails, featuring a special torsion suspension, may mark the beginning of a new  era in high speed and roadability. The Sumar Streamliner is in its  second year of testing; its fenders, designed to cut wind resistance, were taken off  when wind tunnel data didn't match racing facts. The Bardahl Experimental features a  Ferrari six-cylinder engine of new design in a 500-type American  chassis. Assembled in Italy, it was flown to the speedway to be driven  by famed international veteran Nino Farina. But until the new cars are proven, until the  mechanics have answered all the questions, the big threats are the old reliables—the men and machines that have gone 500 pounding miles  and won. Troy Ruttman, winner four years ago, joined the John Zink team to drive the car  that won with Sweikert at the wheel last year. The team's chief mechanic, A.J. Watson, not  content to stand pat on his win last year, has designed and built a new machine which he hopes  will give better traction in the turns. Longer and narrower than other Speedway cars, Pat Flaherty  is ready to take it out on a shakedown cruise. Mechanic Watson and his dad, who turned the  wrenches for the Indy winner back in 1912, spent a year building this machine. Controlling racing activities at the Speedway,  the United States Auto Club selects officials who supervise the products used in the race cars.  Reputable manufacturers are anxious to have USAC certification of actual use of their products  in competition. The motoring public benefits from these tests at the speedway, as product  improvement is a direct result of these trials. Another long step forward is the testing  here of the experimental Bardahl Ferrari. A new engine design developed in Italy by  the world-famed Ferrari factory has been brought here by Bardahl for future Indianapolis  contests. This year, valuable knowledge will be gained in lubrication and maintenance of  what may be the racing engine of future 500s. As work on the Bardahl Experimental continues, the Bardahl Special with Al Herman at the  wheel is tuned up for qualifications. Herman, Rookie of the Year in 1955, has been  moving the special at a 142 mph clip. The Novi is running faster and faster in  practice, worrying the competition with speeds that flirt with a qualifying record of  143. With less than a week to qualifications, Paul Russo, a veteran of nine  races, is letting it all the way out. The unofficial but very accurate  stopwatches are ready. Here he comes. Russo is really cranking on a fast  one through the north turn and down the straightaway. The machine  leaps ahead, averaging 146 mph. Some just can't go that fast. Can they make  the race? The search for speed goes on with the mechanics watching the cars handle  on the all-important turns. Drivers order chassis adjustments, trying to get through  the turns one-tenth of a second quicker. Even Russo restlessly prowls the track  and demands more from his mechanics. Qualifications: the first of two weekends.  125,000 people are here to see it. Russo is ready in the Novi as the crowd comes to  its feet. On his warm-up laps, he takes the green flag. But after two laps at 142, he's  called in by his car owner who wants a record. 10 years ago, the Novi set its first record  here at 133 mph. But times have changed. Pat Flaherty, who finished 10th last year, waits  as his crew brings his car from the garage. He's on his run and sets a new record of 146  mph on the first lap, finishing his four-lap run at an average speed of 145.5 mph. A  spectacular performance. Jack McGrath's official qualification records for one and four  laps are shattered. Car owner John Zink beams at the new record holder. They can really travel  on this track, and Flaherty has set the pace. Johnny Tolan is on his way. Qualifiers  are pushing harder than ever before. He takes the flag and the wheels begin to spin. He's out of the car, uninjured. Late in the afternoon, the Novi tries  again. Russo doesn't top Flaherty's record, but an average of 143.5 puts  him in the field for race day. Rookie Jack Turner hurries through  a corner. It's the slow way around. When the weekend ends, 29 cars have  qualified. Rain ruins the second weekend. Five more cars qualify and fill the field, but lost to the race for a year are the hopes,  dreams, and sweat of drivers and mechanics. As the weekend slips away, another  question arises: can Wednesday's race be run? Round-the-clock rain has flooded the grand  - [missing], car control and high-speed cornering is compromised; the incessant rains have washed it  away. If they run, it will be dangerous running. Race morning - intermittent  showers. If the race is postponed, will the tension and razor-sharp  readiness carry for another day? The faithful fans pour in, and suddenly, an hour  before the race, the skies clear and the Purdue University marching band scatters the gloom.  The bricks are drying. They're going to run. The famed Pagoda looks down once more at a  stirring sight. Coming to the starting line are the fastest racing cars ever to compete at  Indianapolis. The old qualifying records are buried by 31 cars that topped 140 mph. This may be  one of the bitterest contests in Speedway history. The fastest car in the field  is only 7 mph quicker than the slowest. Rumors are for speeds near 140 mph. ♫ 33 drivers have waited long -"Crawford!"  For this the final hour, -"Thompson!" with their nerves stretched taut and ready  now -"Hanks!" to unleash all the power  ♫ -"Agabashian!" of roaring motors -"Brian!",  all in tune by skilled mechanics ready, ♫ And now, the pace lap coming up. -"Sweikert!"  and you've got to take it steady. -"Flaherty!" ♫ The balloons rise quickly in the  clearing skies. Then Speedway President Tony Hulman speaks the historic  words: "Gentlemen, start your engines." ♫ And so the mechanics push you  off. Their biggest job is done,  ♫ ♫ and they tell you to take it easy but  hurry home as back to the pits they run. ♫ Into the first turn: Pat Flaherty inside  front row, Jim Rathmann in the center, Pat O'Connor on the outside. In the next three  rows, within easy striking distance of the front runners, are former 500 winners Parsons, Troy  Ruttman, and Bob Sweikert. There's Bettenhausen, Russo in the Novi, and Agabashian, and all have  run faster than 143 mph. The pot of prizes is $282,000, and these boys will run for it  and for the glory of getting home first. ♫ And so you're one of 33, each one a racing brother, ♫ ♫ But you soon will match your skill and nerve, each one against the other. ♫ ♫ And as the pace car leads you round, giants on parade, ♫ ♫ Your heart beats fast and your tight lips move as your fine car's made, ♫ ♫ Of rubber, aluminum, and steel. ♫ ♫ And men made of iron are sitting at the wheel. ♫ ♫ Sitting at the wheel for the green flag waits to send you off, ♫ ♫ And your nerves and muscles know you'll be soon alone in another world. ♫ ♫ 500 miles to go. ♫ ♫ 500 miles to go. ♫ Here they come. The race is on. They hit the green flag together, but  Rathmann roars out of the middle to take the lead. Flaherty duels O'Connor  for second. Rathmann is moving away. He completes the first lap at 139.5  mph—7 mph faster than last year. Bettenhausen moves into third  behind O'Connor. Flaherty, who started on the pole, drops to fourth. Bettenhausen challenges O'Connor for second  place. Going up the backstretch, O'Connor in number 7 takes the lead, and Bettenhausen,  staying right behind, slips into second place. The lap speed moves to 142 mph with three cars  maneuvering through the turn inches apart. Up the backstretch, Rathmann comes back  into second place as O'Connor leads the way. Flaherty closes in on third and  takes it away. It's a four-car battle now as Flaherty tries for second place. A fifth car shoots up among the leaders.  In fifth place, the Novi Special has moved through traffic like the wind. There goes  Flaherty into second and the Novi into fourth. Flaherty wants to run in front, and O'Connor  jolts the throttle to keep him off. Out of the north turn, the Novi is third as Flaherty cuts  inside. Flaherty can't make it, but the Novi can, coming down the straightaway at 180 mph  to pass both cars. Look at that driving. Slowly, Russo moves away, making that horsepower  work. O'Connor, in an older style roadster, can't fight the supercharged V8 on the  straightaway. The Novi sets a 142 mph pace as the front runners lap the tail of the field.  O'Connor tries for the lead on the first turn, but the Novi's speed on the back  straightaway pays off for Russo. Lap by lap, Russo stretches his lead,  traveling almost 143 mph for the first 50 miles. A new record: 50 miles in 21  minutes. Russo roars down the main chute. A wheel and tire fly in all directions as  Russo stops broadside to 32 other cars. He's all right. The cars that couldn't  match his pace are passing him now. Bill Vandewater throws the yellow flag, but  Troy Ruttman finds himself in trouble. He slides into the infield and out of  the race after brushing Keith Andrews. Andrews is all right, but staring down  the grillwork of oncoming traffic. Sam Hanks, who spun right behind Russo, pits for  an inspection of new tires. The field bunches up running under the caution flag. When the green  flies again, it'll be a brand new race. O'Connor and Flaherty lead the way with Rathmann right  behind. There's the green, and there they go into the straightaway. Flaherty comes  even and blasts ahead on the backstretch, but O'Connor takes first again.  Numbers 7 and 8 running one-two. How much faster can you go and still run second? Ray Nichels, O'Connor's mechanic,  wonders if the cars can stand the pace. A spin-out occurs at the head of the main  straightaway. Ray Crawford bounces off the wall, and the caution signal is on. Flaherty  makes his first pit stop for fuel and tires, and O'Connor opens up his lead. Flaherty picks up three tires and fuel in 42  seconds. Flaherty gets away. O'Connor slows down to pit. The crew swarms on  the car, hoping to roll O'Connor out without losing the lead. Johnny Parsons roars  by and gets the "Position 1" sign and a go signal from his car owner. O'Connor  is away with four tires and fuel in 41 seconds. Parsons must pit after 180 miles; he  heads in, giving up the lead to play it safe. Flaherty is ready to take back the lead. There's  a spin-out—Al Herman in the Bardahl Special careens to a stop in front of the pits as his  tire blows out. He's all right, but shaken by the spin. A tough break for a brilliant young  driver who moved from 27th into third place. On the green signal, Flaherty jams  his foot to the floorboard, Hanks only seconds behind. It's a spin—Jimmy  Bryan loses it in the first turn. Sam Hanks makes his second pit  stop. At the 300-mile mark, he was 1 second behind Flaherty,  but he needs fuel and rubber. Flaherty piles up the miles as Sweikert fights his  way up to second place. Hanks comes back in third. Trouble in the backstretch: it's Sweikert  limping home with a shredded rear tire. His car was battered by the retaining wall in a  300-foot slide, but his magnificent driving skill and racing spirit keep him in the race. As  Sweikert limps to the pit, Flaherty gains a full lap. Then his crew takes advantage of the yellow  light slowdown to bring in the front runner. Sweikert is right behind him. Flaherty is  refueled in 37 seconds, and he keeps the lead. Sweikert is on his way but a full lap  behind—a tough break for a real competitor. Flaherty may try to run the last 70 laps  without another stop. Unless something snaps, they've got to catch him. Don Freeland and Hanks are 20 seconds behind. Hanks hangs  his foot in it, and he's second. A jolting crash sends Jimmy Daywalt skidding  to a stop. He's all right and out of his car. The caution signal slows the pace  again, and the field bunches up. Flaherty's lead over car number 4 is cut to  30 seconds—just half a lap. In position two, it's now or never for Sam Hanks. This is his  11th 500; 5,500 miles in search of victory, now just a mile and a quarter ahead of  him as he stands on the accelerator. Lap after pounding lap, Hanks cuts into  Flaherty's lead. They pass the 400-mile mark traveling over 140 mph. Will  the car hold together? Jim Rathmann, an early leader, is slow coming around.  Mechanic Beckley is worried. There he is, out of competition with oil line trouble while  running sixth as he pulls in. His car is a victim of the tremendous pace. Rathmann joins 13 other  cars in the garages as the battle continues. 17 seconds—the length of one  straightaway. Flaherty's crew sweats it out. Hanks' team sees a glimmer of hope. Will Flaherty's Irish luck hold out? Only  a few more laps. Hanks can't close the gap. Flaherty refuses to crumble under the  pressure. Two more laps. 11 years, 17 seconds. The white flag—one more lap. Hanks takes the  white flag. Watson waits that last long minute. The checkered flag snaps for Pat Flaherty.  He's in the money. Hanks takes second place. The Zink team heads to the winner's circle  to meet George Francis Patrick Flaherty, who just won more than $93,000—the  biggest purse in Indianapolis history. He traveled 500 miles in 3 hours and 53  minutes in a magnificent performance. A terrific performance by Al Herman, Rookie of  the Year in 1955, was turned in on the Bardahl Special. From a 27th starting position, he had  worked his way up to third place in only 75 laps when his tire blows out. After six straight  years of success in this racing classic, Lady Luck stopped the Bardahl Special.  But the small setbacks are well worth the knowledge and experience gained by taking part  in this, the greatest auto race in the world. ♫ And so the grueling race is done,  ♫ ♫ each driver gave his all, ♫ ♫ But win or lose these ♫ iron men again will heed the call. ♫ ♫ To prove the theories of engineers ♫ ♫ and test them on this track, ♫ ♫ These men with racing in their  ♫ ♫ blood are planning to be back. ♫ ♫ Yes, they'll be back to try again,  ♫ ♫ for in their hearts they know, ♫ ♫ That the big one still is there to beat. ♫ ♫ 500 miles to go. ♫ ♫ 500 miles to go. ♫