International 500-Mile Sweepstakes Race (1957 Indianapolis 500) |
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Wikipedia: 1957 Indianapolis 500 Page Sections Race Summary Multimedia Images |
Race Summary
The following section is an excerpt from Wikipedia's 1957 Indianapolis 500 page on 10 July 2020, text available via the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.
The 41st International 500-Mile Sweepstakes was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Thursday, May 30, 1957. The event was part of the 1957 USAC National Championship Trail and it was race 3 of 8 in the 1957 World Championship of Drivers.
Sam Hanks won the Indianapolis 500 in his thirteenth attempt (the most such by any 500 winner). He retired from competition at Indy in victory lane. Contrary to popular belief, Hanks did not completely retire from racing until the end of the year. He skipped the Race of Two Worlds when his entrant withdrew, but competed in USAC Stock Car events later in the year, winning the event at Trenton, and finished third in points championships for 1957.
Hanks received a record $103,844 purse, the first driver to win a $100,000 single-race payday. The total race purse was also a record, over $300,000 for the first time.
Hanks won the race in George Salih's "Lay-down Offy". The Offenhauser engine was mounted on its side and shifted off-center. This was done in order to lower the center of gravity, reduce frontal area, and counterbalance the body roll in the turns. The car that Hanks drove for the win in 1957 would win back-to-back Indy 500s, with Jimmy Bryan piloting the very same chassis to victory again in 1958.
| Date | Media or Collection Name & Details | Files |
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| 1957 | 500 Miles to Glory Bill Randle, Mercury Records (Mono Version) | Front Cover - 178KB Back Cover - 150KB Disc Side A - 73KB Disc Side B - 77KB  Interviews Part 1 - 7.4MB - 5:25 Interviews Part 2 - 7.4MB - 5:24 Interviews Part 3 - 6.7MB - 4:53 Interviews Part 4 - 5.6MB - 4:06 Race Part 1 - 7.2MB - 5:13 Race Part 2 - 7.9MB - 5:46 Race Part 3 - 5.3MB - 3:52 Race Part 4 - 6.8MB - 4:59 |
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Subject: 500 Miles to Glory Front Cover
Photographer/Source: Mercury Records Event: 1957 Indianapolis 500 View image of 500 Miles to Glory Front Cover - 178KB |
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Subject: 500 Miles to Glory Back Cover
Photographer/Source: Mercury Records Event: 1957 Indianapolis 500 View image of 500 Miles to Glory Back Cover - 150KB |
