1951 Indianapolis 500
9th World Championship race
Fact File
| Date: | Wednesday, 30 May 1951 |
|---|---|
| Winner: |  Lee Wallard Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser |
| Pole position: | Duke Nalon Kurtis Kraft-Novi |
| Fastest lap: | Lee Wallard Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser |
| Circuit: | Indianapolis, 200 laps |
| Round: | 2 of 8 |
Race Result
| Pos | Driver | Constructor | Laps | Time | Points | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | +1 | Lee Wallard | Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser | 200 | 3hr 57m 38.050s | 9 FL |
| 2 | +5 | Mike Nazaruk | Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser | 200 | +1m 47.243s | 6 |
| 3 | Jack McGrath & Manuel Ayulo | Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser | 200 | 2 2 | ||
| 4 | +27 | Andy Linden | Sherman-Offenhauser | 200 | 3 | |
| 5 | +24 | Bobby Ball | Schroeder-Offenhauser | 200 | 2 | |
| 6 | +11 | Henry Banks | Moore-Offenhauser | 200 | ||
| 7 | +17 | Carl Forberg | Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser | 193 | +7 laps | |
| 8 | -4 | Duane Carter | Deidt-Offenhauser | 180 | +20 laps | |
| 9 | Tony Bettenhausen | Deidt-Offenhauser | 178 | DNF | ||
| 10 | -9 | Duke Nalon | Kurtis Kraft-Novi | 151 | DNF | |
| 11 | +11 | Gene Force | Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser | 142 | DNF | |
| 12 | Sam Hanks | Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser | 135 | DNF | ||
| 13 | +3 | Bill Schindler | Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser | 129 | DNF | |
| 14 | -9 | Mauri Rose | Deidt-Offenhauser | 126 | DNF | |
| 15 | -1 | Walt Faulkner | Kuzma-Offenhauser | 123 | DNF | |
| 16 | +11 | Jimmy Davies | Pawl-Offenhauser | 110 | DNF | |
| 17 | -6 | Fred Agabashian | Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser | 109 | DNF | |
| 18 | -3 | Carl Scarborough | Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser | 100 | DNF | |
| 19 | +14 | Bill Mackey | Hall-Offenhauser | 97 | DNF | |
| 20 | -1 | Chuck Stevenson | Marchese-Offenhauser | 93 | DNF | |
| 21 | -13 | Johnnie Parsons | Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser | 87 | DNF | |
| 22 | -12 | Cecil Green | Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser | 80 | DNF | |
| 23 | -17 | Troy Ruttman | Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser | 78 | DNF | |
| 24 | +8 | Duke Dinsmore | Schroeder-Offenhauser | 73 | DNF | |
| 25 | +3 | Chet Miller | Kurtis Kraft-Novi | 56 | DNF | |
| 26 | -13 | Walt Brown | Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser | 55 | DNF | |
| 27 | -2 | Rodger Ward | Bromme-Offenhauser | 34 | DNF | |
| 28 | -10 | Cliff Griffith | Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser | 30 | DNF | |
| 29 | -9 | Bill Vukovich | Trevis-Offenhauser | 29 | DNF | |
| 30 | -9 | George Connor | Lesovsky-Offenhauser | 29 | DNF | |
| 31 | -8 | Mack Hellings | Deidt-Offenhauser | 18 | DNF | |
| 32 | -6 | Johnny McDowell | Maserati-Offenhauser | 15 | DNF | |
| 33 | -3 | Joe James | Watson-Offenhauser | 8 | DNF |
Championship Standings
How the championship standings stood post-race.
Driver
| Pos | Driver | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Juan Manuel Fangio | 9 |
| = | Lee Wallard | 9 |
| 3 |  Piero Taruffi | 6 |
| = | Mike Nazaruk | 6 |
| 5 | Giuseppe Farina | 4 |
| 6 | Consalvo Sanesi | 3 |
| = | Andy Linden | 3 |
| 8 | Manuel Ayulo | 2 |
| = | Jack McGrath | 2 |
| 10 |  Emmanuel de Graffenried | 2 |
| = | Bobby Ball | 2 |
Statistics & Milestones
- Race debut
- Driver: Manuel Ayulo, Bobby Ball, Carl Forberg (only start), Gene Force, Cliff Griffith, Joe James, Andy Linden, Bill Mackey (only start), Chet Miller, Duke Nalon, Mike Nazaruk, Carl Scarborough, Chuck Stevenson, Bill Vukovich, Rodger Ward
- Constructor: Bromme, Hall (only start), Kuzma, Pawl, Schroeder, Sherman, Trevis
- Last start
- Driver: Walt Brown, Cecil Green, Mack Hellings, Mauri Rose, Lee Wallard
- Constructor: Marchese
- Wins
- Driver: 1st and only for Lee Wallard (4th different winner, 2nd American driver)
- Constructor: 2nd for Kurtis Kraft
- Race 1-2
- Constructor: 1st for Kurtis Kraft (2nd different constructor to finish 1-2)
- Podiums
- Driver: 1st and only for Lee Wallard (14th different podium finisher, 4th American driver), 1st and only for Mike Nazaruk (15th different podium finisher, 5th American driver), 1st and only for Manuel Ayulo (16th different podium finisher, 6th American driver), 1st for Jack McGrath (17th different podium finisher, 7th American driver)
- Constructor: 2nd, 3rd & 4th for Kurtis Kraft
- Poles
- Driver: 1st and only for Duke Nalon (4th different polesitter, 2nd American driver)
- Constructor: 2nd for Kurtis Kraft
- Qualifying 1-2
- Constructor: 2nd for Kurtis Kraft
- Fastest laps
- Driver: 1st and only for Lee Wallard (4th different fastest lap setter, 2nd American driver)
- Constructor: 2nd for Kurtis Kraft
- Front row starts
- Driver: 1st and only for Duke Nalon & Lee Wallard (12th & 13th different front row starters, 4th & 5th American drivers), 1st for Jack McGrath (14th different front row starter, 6th American driver)
- Points finishes
- Driver: 1st for Mike Nazaruk, Jack McGrath & Andy Linden, 1st and only for Lee Wallard, Manuel Ayulo & Bobby Ball (26th-31st different point scorers, 7th-12th American drivers)
- Win & fastest lap
- Driver: 1st and only for Lee Wallard (4th different driver to win and set the fastest lap, 2nd American driver)