1912 Indianapolis 500
| Indianapolis Motor Speedway | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Indianapolis 500 | |||||
| Sanctioning body | AAA | ||||
| Date | May 30, 1912 | ||||
| Winner | Joe Dawson | ||||
| Winning Entrant | National Motor Vehicle Company | ||||
| Average speed | 78.719 mph (126.686 km/h) | ||||
| Pole position | Gil Andersen | ||||
| Pole speed | N/A | ||||
| Most laps led | Ralph DePalma (196) | ||||
| Pre-race | |||||
| Pace car | Stutz | ||||
| Pace car driver | Carl G. Fisher | ||||
| Starter | Fred J. Wagner | ||||
| Honorary referee | R. P. Hooper | ||||
| Estimated attendance | 75,000 | ||||
| Chronology | |||||
| |||||
The 1912 Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, or International 500-Mile Sweepstakes Race, the second such race in history, was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Thursday, May 30, 1912. Indiana-born driver Joe Dawson won the race, leading only the final two laps. Ralph DePalma dominated the race, leading 196 of the 200 laps, and pulling out to an over 5-lap lead. But with just over two laps to go, his car failed with a broken connecting rod.