Enjoy a complete gallery of images from the 1935 Indianapolis 500 below. These were recently digitized from our photography collection and is the first time they’ve appeared on the IMS site.
About The Race:
Although frequently described as being "Irish–Italian," there was nothing Irish about 1935 "500" winner Kelly Petillo. The son of an Italian immigrant, his name was actually Cavino Michelli Petillo. As a child, he went by his middle name, the nickname "Kelly" reputedly coming about when a confused schoolteacher thought he was telling her, "Me Kelly." Another myth, which persists to this day, is that his 1935 winning car was held together with baling wire. (He certainly borrowed a lot of parts to complete his Curly–Wetteroth-built car for the race, and a rod through the crankcase during qualifying did require quite a bit of patching up, but there was no baling wire involved.) Wilbur Shaw was runner-up for the second time in three races and Rex Mays, at 22, became the youngest ever pole-sitter, a record which has never been broken.
Enjoy a complete gallery of images from the 1935 Indianapolis 500 below. These were recently digitized from our photography collection and is the first time they’ve appeared on the IMS site.
Joe Ruttman (photo), younger brother of 1952 Indianapolis 500 winner Troy Ruttman, was bumped from the starting field from the inaugural Brickyard 400 in 1994 by three-thousandths of a second by friend A.J. Foyt.
The Oklahoma driver (photo) earned his second straight BC39 Presented by Avanti Windows & Doors victory after starting 19th in the 24-car field.
California driver Justin Grant held off Gavin Miller and Kyle Cummins to win the 30-lap NOS Energy Drink USAC Midget National Championship feature at The Dirt Track at IMS.