Formula 1 - we recreate reality! 1951 season

[the Masked Lapwing]

Is it me or is Duke Dinsmore on the entry list twice?

[tommykl]

Ah, crap, he is. Scuderia Platé-Varzi can either find a replacement, drop the driver, or make him stay, at which point I'll run qualifying with him in both cars, and he'll race for the team with which he qualified best, with no one failing to qualify.

[FantometteBR]

I would like him to stay with us, but he can try to qualify with both cars, given that's a some kind of 'Indy tradition'

[tommykl]

I would like him to stay with us, but he can try to qualify with both cars, given that's a some kind of 'Indy tradition'

OK. There will therefore be no failure to qualify.

[tommykl]

Qualifying has been run, but I've got a lot of work to do, so it won't be posted very soon. Expect it around next weekend.

[tommykl]

May 29th, Indianapolis 500 qualifying recap

Formula 1 heads to the famous rectangle for the second time, with more experience this time. However, to prevent the total 'Europeanisation' of the race, the Indianapolis organisers moved the race to a date where it would be impossible for drivers to compete in both the Monaco Grand Prix and the 500. This didn't prevent teams from doing so, and while European teams will still compete, they have entered a reduced squad fielding either test drivers for evaluation or local hopefuls. Surprisingly, however, and perhaps due to the relatively boring race last year, the entry list was at an all-time low, and while 34 cars are entered, one driver is set to compete in two cars, leading to a situation where no drivers will fail to qualify for the race.

Entry list
Indianapolis 500 entry list - 33 starters
1. Art Cross (Scuderia Maremmana)
2. Johnny Mauro (Privateer)
3. Al Miller (Privateer)
4. Lee Wallard (Privateer)
5. Ralph Pratt (Privateer)
6. Bobby Ball (Privateer)
7. Manuel Ayulo (Scuderia Platé-Varzi)
8. Andy Linden (Ecurie Albertini)
9. Reg Parnell (Scuderia Ferrari)
10. Joie Chitwood (Ferrari America)
11. Jimmy Jackson (Ferrari America)
12. Cecil Green (Ferrari America)
14. Mauri Rose (Alfa Romeo SpA)
15. Myron Fohr (Alfa Romeo SpA)
16. Bill Vukovich (Garage Francorchamps)
17. Charles Van Acker (Garage Francorchamps)
18. Jack McGrath (Motorsport Bleu)
19. Duke Dinsmore (Motorsport Bleu)
20. Johnny McDowell (Claes Racing Developments)
21. Troy Ruttman (Ferrari America)
22. Mike Hawthorn (Privateer)
23. Tony Gaze (Privateer)
24. Duke Nalon (Robert William Racing Team)
25. Mike Nazaruk (Robert William Racing Team)
26. Walt Brown (America Motorsport Team)
27. Carl Forberg (America Motorsport Team)
28. Bill Schindler (America Motorsport Team)
29. Mack Hellings (America Motorsport Team)
30. Bob Sweikert (Scuderia Platé-Varzi)
31. Duke Dinsmore (Scuderia Platé-Varzi)
32. Dries van der Lof (Scuderia Commesso)
33. Henry Banks (Team Metcalf GP)
34. Jimmy Davies (Scuderia Ferrari)
35. Rodger Ward (Privateer)

The first entrant for the race was Jacques de Rham's Scuderia Maremmana, entering the race for the second time. Art Cross is the designated driver for the Jaguar-powered Deidt, the same combination as last season. Now that the engine has some experience at Indianapolis, the car should perform even better than last year, when Myron Fohr took a memorable second place for the team, although the driver choice could be a drawback, as Art Cross is an almost complete rookie.

Then came the usual entrants, although they came with a twist. Mauro, Miller, Wallard, Pratt, Ball and Ward are the type of drivers you would see driving for a big American team, but the overflow of European entrants seems to have driven them off, and the drivers have had to come up with home-built cars that may or may not be competitive. The absence of the usual AAA entrants should cement the supremacy of the car manufacturers in the Indy 500, while Mauro will have a hard time defending his title.

Scuderia Platé-Varzi was also quite eager to attend the race, hiring a Kuzma Indy Roadster for Manny Ayulo, and then for Bob Sweikert and Duke Dinsmore, who could also compete for Motorsport Bleu depending on his qualifying spot. The team will be using Maserati engines, so their performance could go either way.

Ecurie Albertini are a particularly mysterious team. Based in Monaco, they did not enter their home race, preferring to run a Kurtis-Kraft-Offy at Indianapolis for Andy Linden. Have they got something up their sleeve for the next few races? The Grignard-Talbot-Lago combo doesn't look very promising, but stranger things have happened...

Scuderia Ferrari are one of the rare teams to have entered one of their own drivers for the race. Their planned share of the extra car between Peter Whitehead and Reg Parnell allowed for one of the two to compete in the race, and it was Parnell who was chosen to compete. The team's second driver was either a well-kept secret or not found yet at that time. All we know is, Jimmy Davies, who drove two races for Maserati last season, has been chosen to compete as second driver for the Scuderia. Keep an eye out for this bunch...

Ferrari America were one of the good surprises at Monaco, with the Ferrari deal looking like a very good one indeed. The extra funding has allowed the team to go back to its roots by entering four Kurts-Kraft-Offys for the race with Joie Chitwood, Jimmy Jackson and Cecil Green immediately announced as drivers, with the then-unemployed Troy Ruttman added to the lineup after it became clear AAR would not return to racing. The team is one of the favourites for the overall win.

Again, Alfa Romeo have entered the race, this time with drivers they already know and have worked with. Mauri Rose, three-time winner of the race, and Myron Fohr, twice runner-up in the AAA series and second-place finisher last year. They should also be a serious threat for the win.

Next are ENB, racing under Jacques Swaters' Garage Francorchamps banner in Ferraris. Indianapolis specialists Charles Van Acker and Bill Vukovich are to compete for what seems to have become a mature operation.

Motorsport Bleu have decided to run a reduced team this year, but they haven't ruled out the Indy 500 and have found two highly-rated drivers in Jack McGrath and Duke Dinsmore, with the latter also competing for Scuderia Platé-Varzi. However, they will still compete in their Talbot-Lago-Talbot, which will nevertheless be faster than last year thanks to the experience gained then.

Claes Racing Developments are currently pretty much a shambles after the absolute mess concerning driver contracts. They have still managed to find themselves a driver for Indianapolis, Johnny McDowell, and their Maserati looks good, but they need to pull their heads out of the water.

Two mysterious privateers have shown up to Indianapolis in Kurtis-Kraft-Offys found God-knows-where. Tony Gaze and Mike Hawthorn are virtually unknown and were accepted only in order to fill up the grid. Their performance should be interesting to watch, as would Dries van der Lof's, who is in very much the same situation, apart from the fact that he's driving a Kurtis-Kraft-Ferrari for Scuderia Commesso. He is also entered for a few races later in the season, so this is his chance to prove himself, thanks to the certainty of qualifying.

With Redman Racing Team not able to compete fully, sister team RWRT (Robert William Racing Team) will be in charge of running the team in Indianapolis, finding two drivers, Duke Nalon and Mike Nazaruk to compete in the customary Kurtis-Kraft-Offys. Apart from that, not much is known of the team.

America Motorsport Team is odd in that the team calls itself American, yet uses a Maserati chassis and engine. This is the first time this team is entered in any sort of major event and the fact that they found four drivers (Forberg, Schindler, Brown and Hellings) is nothing short of a miracle. They could be a dark horse, however...

Finally, Team Metcalf GP is a peculiar team, with the owner apparently not having any sort of common sense. His chassis is absolutely awful, yet he keeps it. He had the decency to switch engines, but plumped for the relatively underpowered Jaguar instead of a tried-and-tested powerplant. The only good decision he made was to sign reigning AAA champion Henry Banks. It remains to be seen what Banks can do with what he is given.

Qualifying

1. Jimmy Davies (Ferrari) - 136.364 mph
Davies made it very clear that the valuable experience gained last year was enough to get fully up to speed against the already near-perfect American cars, and European professionalism did the rest. Add to that a top-drawer 4-lap run by Davies to get his first Formula 1 pole, become the youngest ever polesitter at 21 years 284 days, as well as Ferrari's first pole at Indianapolis. He will be hoping to finish better than last year's retirement on lap 16...

2. Duke Nalon (Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser) - 135.820 mph
Although overshadowed by Davies' pole position, Nalon's drive was slightly more impressive compared to the expectations, this being the team's first competitive race. Nalon's final two laps were the stuff of legends, and had his first two been better...He's glad not to have to drive the Talbot-Lago anymore, that's for sure.

3. Johnny Mauro (Mauro) - 135.685 mph
Forget everything that was said about homemade cars. Mauro proved that he deserved his victory last season with a stunning display in qualifying. It isn't likely that he will repeat his victory from 1950, but he should be in the hunt for a points finish.

4. Jimmy Jackson (Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser) - 135.676 mph
Ferrari America were expected to be at the pointy end of the field, but the class drives by the smaller teams meant that the team's drivers had to pull out good performances of their own. With a solid, quick time, Jackson was one of the two which didn't disappoint...

5. Troy Ruttman (Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser) - 135.550 mph
...Ruttman being the other. Just a tad slower than Jackson, due to both smaller experience and a slightly scruffier first lap, but a commendable performance by the rookie in his first appearance for a bigger team.

6. Walt Brown (Maserati) - 135.416 mph
Ditto Nalon in a way. Brown pulled out a tremendous lap in an unfamiliar car driving for a woefully inexperienced team. Kudos to him.

7. Reg Parnell (Ferrari) - 135.281 mph
In 1950, the fastest regular European driver in a regular European car was Luigi Fagioli, 35th. Parnell shattered that 'record' with a particularly quick lap, and this is his first time at Indianapolis! Ferrari are undoubtedly the best-placed team to take the overall win.

8. Myron Fohr (Alfa Romeo) - 135.147 mph
Fohr is a very experienced driver who was already familiar with the car having driven it for two races last season. He was always going to be up front. The fact that he came onto the track for his run a bit earlier than most frontrunners could mean that he didn't give his all, but 8th is a solid position, and everyone knows that grid place isn't important at Indianapolis.

9. Duke Dinsmore (Talbot-Lago-Talbot) - 135.141 mph
No, you're not dreaming. A Talbot-Lago is indeed in the top ten at Indy. Come to think of it, Duke Nalon's experience turned out to be useful to the team last season, and they used it to their advantage, turning up with a respected driver and a competitive car. All it took was a good run from Dinsmore, who will drive the Talbot-Lago in the race.

10. Bob Sweikert (Kuzma-Maserati) - 135.014 mph
Sweikert's performance would be considered good for an experienced driver, so the fact that he himself had zero experience in AAA Champ Cars or Formula 1 and that he was driving for a rookie team made his performance all the more impressive. One of the surprises of qualifying no doubt.

11. Charles Van Acker (Ferrari) - 134.880 mph
With a quick car, an experienced driver and an increasingly competent team, this kind of result was to be expected from Van Acker and can only help confirm the rise of ENB.

12. Andy Linden (Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser) - 134.747 mph
Ecurie Albertini mean business. Linden's third lap was staggering considering the team he was driving for, and he is in a good place to finish well in the race.

13. Lee Wallard (Wallard) - 134.481 mph
Mauro's outstanding performance may have been a flash in the pan, as Wallard's pace seems closer to what was expected from the privateers. A solid, clean run by Wallard to take a decent spot on the grid.

14. Joie Chitwood (Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser) - 134.348 mph
On a day where the front of the midfield gave their all, Chitwood was simply average and got passed by said front of the midfield. While he didn't embarass himself, he is stuck in the middle of the grid, which will probably be a handicap come race day.

15. Cecil Green (Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser) - 134.345 mph
With almost exactly the same time as Chitwood, Green is in the same basket. Clean and smooth driving, but just not quick enough to make it to the front. Watch out for these two in the race though.

16. Bill Vukovich (Ferrari) - 134.315 mph
Surprisingly, ditto Green and Chitwood. Vukovich had the pace and car to succeed, but didn't make the most of it and turned in a pretty average run. Not bad, but not that good either.

(17). Duke Dinsmore (Kuzma-Maserati) - 134.084 mph
Although Dinsmore ended up seven spots behind his teammate Sweikert, his performance was closer to the expected norm for Scuderia Platé-Varzi. His performance for Motorsport Bleu was better, however, and he will start the race for the French squad instead.

18. Mauri Rose (Alfa Romeo) - 133.690 mph
By all rights, Rose shouldn't have been down there, but his performance wasn't good at all. He'll have to do better in the race, because that was one of the worst qualifying performances of the weekend.

19. Al Miller (Miller) - 133.559 mph
A pretty average performance by last year's polesitter. In a homemade car, his performance is pretty honourable, and he could have a good run during the race.

20. Johnny McDowell (Maserati) - 133.428 mph
McDowell could have been much further up the grid, but a few errors on laps 2 and 3 made him lose a substantial amount of time. He could potentially spring a surprise in the race.

21. Henry Banks (Metcalf-Jaguar) - 133.298 mph
Somehow, despite a car that, on paper, should be nowhere, Metcalf always seems to be unusually high during qualifying, although this could be due to Henry Banks' famously smooth driving. Could this be the impulsion that the team need to start their season?

22. Manny Ayulo (Kuzma-Maserati) - 133.287 mph
A bit disappointing from Ayulo, beaten by both his teammates, but his overall showing wasn't too bad. He was off the pace, but not dramatically far behind. He can do better.

23. Jack McGrath (Talbot-Lago-Talbot) - 133.233 mph
Extremely disappointing performance by McGrath, who got destroyed by his teammate Dinsmore. His laps weren't filled with mistakes, but there were many many places where he could have gone just a little bit faster. All those places added up, and McGrath will have a lot of ground to make up for the race.

24. Dries van der Lof (Kurtis Kraft-Ferrari) - 133.168 mph
Van der Lof stumped the racing world by qualifying somewhere other than the last three in his first major race. His drive exceeded expectations concerning his team, his car and himself with a respectable time even for a solid back-of-the-midfield driver. Good job.

25. Mike Hawthorn (Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser) - 133.038 mph
See VdLof. Hawthorn was on it all along, and also exceeded expectations on début. This kid's going to go far.

26. Rodger Ward (Ward) - 132.908 mph
Ward's time can be seen as the other side of the homemade car debate. He wasn't particularly slow in relation to what his car could theoretically do, but that was simply not enough to secure a good place on the grid.

27. Ralph Pratt (Pratt) - 132.392 mph
For a man of his experience, Pratt should have done much better. Maybe it was a car problem, but his first and last laps were terribly slow. Close to being the disappointment of qualifying.

28. Bill Schindler (Maserati) - 132.341 mph
Schindler demonstrated the flaws of AMT with a drive that can also be described as quite slow indeed. It can also be argued, however, that Schindler's lack of extensive experience was a drawback, but with that kind of performance, you can only gain so much based on experience.

29. Bobby Ball (Ball) - 132.263 mph
See Schindler. An underdeveloped car and an inexperienced driver won't usually spring good results, even though Ball looked a bit uninspired on the track. He's got a bit more in him once he gets more experience.

30. Art Cross (Deidt-Jaguar) - 132.007 mph
Again, see Schindler and Ball. This is Cross' first participation in the Indy 500 and the car is still relatively slow no thanks to the underpowered Jaguar engine. A slow drive by Cross didn't help either.

31. Mike Nazaruk (Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser) - 131.967 mph
No wonder Nazaruk didn't do much good: the team has no experience and neither does he! He was also a bit slow on his final lap compared to the first three, and he therefore ended up with a lowly grid position.

32. Mack Hellings (Maserati) - 131.880 mph
Hellings is a very experienced driver in a decent car. He had no right to be that slow, and yet he was. His laps were uncharacteristically scruffy and he had no chance of a good time with that kind of driving.

33. Carl Forberg (Maserati) - 131.752 mph
Forberg may have been a bit slower than Hellings, but on paper he should never have been that close. While Forberg was slower than expected, he was still comparatively better than Hellings.

34. Tony Gaze (Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser) - 131.245 mph
Gaze was always going to be nowhere, but he didn't do himself any favours by making tonnes of rookie mistakes. He logically ended up far behind the rest of the field.

The race is going to be...interesting.

[tommykl]

First part of qualifying up.

[Shadaza]

hmm, I was expecting Green and Chitwood to lead the team, Jackson was only there as reward for his test work last season (he did horribly in the 1950 indy) and Ruttman is being evaluated as a potential driver in the team and reserve for Harry Schell. Interesting stuff.

[tommykl]

hmm, I was expecting Green and Chitwood to lead the team, Jackson was only there as reward for his test work last season (he did horribly in the 1950 indy) and Ruttman is being evaluated as a potential driver in the team and reserve for Harry Schell. Interesting stuff.

That's mainly because at Indy, I tend to reward experience rather than past performance.

[DanielPT]

hmm, I was expecting Green and Chitwood to lead the team, Jackson was only there as reward for his test work last season (he did horribly in the 1950 indy) and Ruttman is being evaluated as a potential driver in the team and reserve for Harry Schell. Interesting stuff.

That's mainly because at Indy, I tend to reward experience rather than past performance.

Whence probably why Alfa Romeo did not filled the back of the grid like last year...

[FantometteBR]

Ayulo beaten by Dinsmore and Sweikert? Not what I thought that could happen

[tommykl]

Qualifying is now finished.

[eurobrun]

How on earth is Dries van der Lof not last.

[simonracer]

ROBERT-WILLIAM RACING TEAM COMMENTS:
"Duke did really well, as we expected him to. Mike didn't do quite as well as we expected him to, but it's a long race, he's got potential and if he's there at the end of the race he should be at least reasonably close to the front of the pack.

[Pointrox]

It's so good to see Andy on the pace. We thought that missing our home round to prepare our Indy cars will be a mistake, but now I'm even more convinced that it was the right choice, and Andy will surely prove it in the race.

[tommykl]

May 30th 1950, Indianapolis 500

I'm going to try something new this time. Instead of posting reviews driver-by-driver, I'm going to do a lap-by-lap review, with five-lap segments.

Laps 1-5
Davies got off to a good start, and led the first lap, followed by Jackson, Nalon, Mauro and Brown. The worst starter was Charles van Acker, who dropped from 11th to 15th in just one lap. The battle at the front became very close, and the top four started trading places at almost every turn. Jackson led from Mauro at the end of lap 2, with the defending champion taking the lead on the next lap, while Davies droppde to fourth place. In the meantime, the rear was brought up by Tony Gaze and Carl Forberg, while van der Lof was already driving a surprisingly decent race in 20th place. Four laps, four leaders, as Nalon led the fourth lap, and barely kept his lead on lap 5, as he crossed the line neck and neck with Jackson. At the end of lap five, this was the race order: Nalon-Jackson-Mauro-Davies-Dinsmore-Ruttman-Brown-Fohr-Green-Sweikert-(top 10)-Wallard-Linden-Parnell-Chitwood-Vukovich-Van Acker-Miller-Ayulo-Rose-McDowell-(top 20)-Banks-van der Lof-Hawthorn-Cross-McGrath-Ball-Nazaruk-Schindler-Ward-Hellings-(top 30)-Pratt-Forberg-Gaze.

Laps 6-10
Jackson retook the lead on lap 6 from Nalon and Mauro, while Forberg was in last and getting slower and slower. On lap 7, the leaders had a small tangle and lost time, but they had a decent cushion over the followers so lost no places and Jackson kept his lead, while Nalon dropped to fourth behind Davies. Mauro was now breathing down Jackson's neck and Davies took the advantage, coming right back behind the two, within striking distance of the race lead, which he took on lap 9, a lead he kept and extended on lap 10. Ruttman was also in good form and was slowly making up ground on Davies. The order was as follows: Davies-Jackson-Mauro-Ruttman-Nalon-Dinsmore-Parnell-Fohr-Chitwood-Linden-(top 10)-Brown-Sweikert-Green-Wallard-Van Acker-Vukovich-Ayulo-Miller-Rose-Banks-(top 20)-van der Lof-McDowell-Nazaruk-Hawthorn-Ball-Cross-Schindler-McGrath-Hellings-Pratt-(top 30)-Ward-Gaze-Forberg.

Laps 11-15
Over the next two laps, Ruttman and Mauro fell back somewhat, and Jackson made a phenomenal pass to take the lead away from Davies on lap 12. Meanwhile, Pratt, Wallard, Ball and Parnell started to make their way up the field while Vukovich did the exact opposite and began falling down the order. It became clear that the race would turn into a game of cat-and-mouse, with the leader running away, getting caught but not passed and so-on. Jackson was now in the lead for four laps, the most consecutive in this race. Race order: Jackson-Davies-Mauro-Parnell-Ruttman-Fohr-Dinsmore-Nalon-Chitwood-Sweikert-(top 10)-Brown-Van Acker-Wallard-Green-Linden-Miller-Rose-Vukovich-Ayulo-van der Lof-(top 20)-McDowell-Nazaruk-Hellings-Cross-Schindler-Banks-Ball-Hawthorn-McGrath-Ward-(top 30)-Pratt-Gaze-Forberg.

Laps 16-20
Jackson made a big mistake on lap 16 and dropped back to third behind Davies and Mauro, with Ruttman and Parnell just behind. The situation stayed the same until lap 18, when Jackson took back the lead, with Myron Fohr joining the fight behind the top three. On lap 20 however, Jackson again messed up and gave up the lead to Mauro, dropping back to third in the process. Standings after lap 20: Mauro-Davies-Jackson-Parnell-Fohr-Dinsmore-Ruttman-Chitwood-Wallard-Brown-(top 10)-Nalon-Sweikert-Green-Linden-Van Acker-Vukovich-Miller-Rose-Ayulo-McDowell-(top 20)-van der Lof-Hawthorn-Hellings-Cross-Schindler-Banks-Nazaruk-Ball-Pratt-McGrath-(top 30)-Ward-Gaze-Forberg.

Laps 21-25
The order stayed pretty much the same at that point, but the battle for fourth place was heating up, as Ruttman, Fohr and Dinsmore crossed the line side-by-side, with Parnell, Wallard and Chitwood just a bit further behind. Mauro was still leading and was starting to pull out a small gap. Lap 22, however, was simply brilliant, as Davies took the lead, with Mauro second, Ruttman now third ahead of Jackson, Fohr and Dinsmore. Mauro responded by taking the lead again, with the two using their respective momenta to gain a substantial gap over their challengers, with Ruttman still third. However, Jackson dropped back to sixth place behind Dinsmore. Lap 24 saw the first retirement of the race, with Joie Chitwood blowing an engine out of ninth place. Mauro then started to set blistering lap times, Davies dropping back and eventually being passed by Ruttman, who was now second. After one eighth of the race, here were the standings: Mauro-Ruttman-Davies-Fohr-Jackson-Dinsmore-Brown-Wallard-Sweikert-Ayulo-(top 10)-Parnell-Nalon-Van Acker-Vukovich-Miller-Green-Rose-Linden-Banks-Hellings-(top 20)-Cross-van der Lof-McDowell-Hawthorn-Schindler-Pratt-Ball-Nazaruk-McGrath-Gaze-(top 30)-Ward-Forberg.

Laps 26-30
Mauro lost the lead to Ruttman on lap 27 after making a mistake and losing all his momentum. Ruttman became the youngest driver to lead an F1 race. In the meantime, Dinsmore and Wallard were making their way up the field and were now both in the top six. He barely kept his lead on the next lap, and while Mauro was again challenging, Myron Fohr was now right behind the two and seriously fighting for the win. It wouldn't last, as he would lose his ground as quickly as he gained it. Meanwhile, Ruttman set upon increasing his lead over Mauro. Standings after 15% of the race: Ruttman-Mauro-Jackson-Fohr-Wallard-Dinsmore-Davies-Ayulo-Nalon-Sweikert-(top 10)-Parnell-Miller-Green-Brown-Van Acker-Linden-Vukovich-Rose-Banks-van der Lof-(top 20)-McDowell-Hellings-Cross-Hawthorn-Schindler-Nazaruk-Pratt-McGrath-Ball-Ward-(top 30)-Gaze-Forberg.

Laps 31-35
Nothing, really, apart from Fohr edging closer and closer to the front, Ruttman maintaining his lead, Davies dropping further and further back and Jackson catching up and then dropping back again. Race order: Ruttman-Mauro-Jackson-Fohr-Parnell-Dinsmore-Wallard-Sweikert-Miller-Davies-(top 10)-Green-Brown-Nalon-Ayulo-Van Acker-Linden-Vukovich-Rose-McDowell-Banks-(top 20)-van der Lof-Hellings-Cross-Hawthorn-McGrath-Ball-Schindler-Nazaruk-Pratt-Gaze-(top 30)-Ward-Forberg.

Laps 36-40
Ruttman tried to continue to build up his lead, but soon found the task difficult, and he was unable to make a gap that would last a reasonable amount of time. The order, meanwhile, was changing constantly. Sweikert, Miller and Davies started to gain time on the cars ahead, while Parnell moved up to fourth place behind Ruttman, Mauro and Fohr, while Jackson dropped out of the points. After a fifth of the race, here was the order: Ruttman-Mauro-Fohr-Parnell-Jackson-Wallard-Sweikert-Dinsmore-Ayulo-Miller-(top 10)-Davies-Green-Nalon-Van Acker-Brown-Linden-Vukovich-Rose-Banks-van der Lof-(top 20)-McDowell-Ball-Hellings-Cross-Schindler-McGrath-Hawthorn-Ward-Pratt-Nazaruk-(top 30)-Gaze-Forberg.

Laps 41-45
Dinsmore made up some more ground while Jackson lost his, basically switching positions, while Mauro used lapped traffic to slingshot to just behind Ruttman. He applied heavy pressure for a couple of laps before making the pass for the lead on lap 43. Ruttman wouldn't settle for second, and he repassed Mauro on the next lap, while Dinsmore was now up to fourth place and Charles Van Acker was steadily rising into the top ten. Standings: Ruttman-Mauro-Fohr-Dinsmore-Parnell-Nalon-Jackson-Van Acker-Wallard-Green-(top 10)-Brown-Ayulo-Sweikert-Linden-Miller-Vukovich-Davies-Rose-Banks-van der Lof-(top 20)-Ball-Cross-McDowell-Hellings-Hawthorn-Schindler-McGrath-Ward-Nazaruk-Pratt-(top 30)-Gaze-Forberg.

Laps 46-50
The battle was now heating up between Fohr and Dinsmore, while Mauro made a mistake on lap 47 and lost a substantial amount of time to Ruttman, whose lead was now getting bigger and bigger. Jackson was now making up second after second and was soon fighting with Fohr and Dinsmore for third place. Fohr responded by pulling out a lead over Dinsmore, who also increased the gap back to Jackson. Race order with a quarter of the race done: Ruttman-Mauro-Fohr-Dinsmore-Jackson-Nalon-Parnell-Van Acker-Miller-Linden-(top 10)-Brown-Wallard-Davies-Green-Vukovich-Sweikert-Ayulo-van der Lof-Banks-McDowell-(top 20)-Rose-Ball-Cross-Hellings-Schindler-Pratt-Hawthorn-McGrath-Ward-Nazaruk-(top 30)-Gaze-Forberg.

Laps 51-55
While Mauro fell further and further back, he was passed by Myron Fohr for second on lap 52. Fohr kept on going, and while Ruttman was now running at a regular pace, Fohr was catching up at the rate of knots, eventually taking the lead on lap 54. When doing so, however, he carried too much speed into turn 1 and had to brake, allowing Ruttman through into the lead once more. These were the standings: Ruttman-Fohr-Mauro-Jackson-Dinsmore-Nalon-Parnell-Linden-Van Acker-Ayulo-(top 20)-Brown-Vukovich-Green-Davies-Miller-Banks-Sweikert-Wallard-Cross-McDowell-(top 20)-Rose-van der Lof-Ball-Ward-Schindler-Hellings-Hawthorn-McGrath-Pratt-Nazaruk-(top 30)-Gaze-Forberg.

Laps 56-60
At the very front, the order didn't change much. Ruttman tried to pull out a gap, but Fohr always had an answer, and the result was that the two extended their lead over the chasing pack, joined by Charles Van Acker, who had been driving consistently fast for the past few laps. Meanwhile, Mauro was still losing ground and was passed by Jackson for third place. Positions with 30% of the race done: Ruttman-Fohr-Jackson-Mauro-Dinsmore-Van Acker-Nalon-Linden-Green-Parnell-(top 10)-Banks-Ayulo-Davies-Vukovich-Cross-Brown-Wallard-Miller-van der Lof-McDowell-(top 20)-Sweikert-Rose-Ball-Ward-Schindler-Hellings-Pratt-McGrath-Hawthorn-Gaze-(top 30)-Nazaruk-Forberg.

Laps 61-65
Lap 61 saw the field reduced to 31 cars, as Tony Gaze retired from the race with a transmission failure. Sadly for the battle for the lead, Fohr started to experience mechanical problems. He wasn't forced to retire, but started to lose heaps of time to Ruttman, who was now free to run away with the race lead. Jackson was behind Fohr in no time and was ready to become the main challenger to Ruttman. Van Acker, meanwhile, was continuing his ascension, and so was Vukovich, who was now in the top ten. Standings: Ruttman-Fohr-Jackson-Mauro-Nalon-Van Acker-Dinsmore-Linden-Vukovich-Parnell-(top 10)-Ayulo-Banks-Cross-Green-Davies-Brown-Wallard-Miller-Sweikert-van der Lof-(top 20)-Ball-McDowell-Rose-Ward-Schindler-McGrath-Hellings-Pratt-Hawthorn-Nazaruk-(top 30)-Forberg.

Laps 66-70
Jackson didn't really step up to the plate at first, allowing Ruttman to keep his lead, while Van Acker was now up into the points, passing Mauro and Nalon, and then Fohr to reach third place, a very unexpected performance for ENB. The order was as follows: Ruttman-Jackson-Van Acker-Fohr-Nalon-Mauro-Dinsmore-Ayulo-Vukovich-Linden-(top 10)-Parnell-Banks-Cross-Davies-Green-Brown-McDowell-Sweikert-Miller-Wallard-(top 20)-van der Lof-Rose-Ball-Schindler-McGrath-Ward-Hellings-Pratt-Hawthorn-Nazaruk-(top 30)-Forberg.

Laps 71-75
With no pressure on his shoulders, Ruttman set about increasing his already impressive lead. Davies also started to gain some time on the chasing pack. Standings: Ruttman-Jackson-Van Acker-Fohr-Mauro-Nalon-Ayulo-Linden-Davies-Vukovich-(top 10)-Parnell-Dinsmore-Brown-Green-Cross-Banks-Wallard-Miller-Sweikert-McDowell-(top 20)-Rose-van der Lof-Schindler-Ball-McGrath-Pratt-Hellings-Ward-Hawthorn-Nazaruk-(top 30)-Forberg.

Laps 76-80
Again, Ruttman got further and further away from Jackson, while Fohr had apparently got rid of his car problems and had passed Van Acker, who was still holding his own at the front. We also saw the third retirement of the race on lap 79, when Art Cross had to come into the pitlane with a broken gearbox. These were the positions with 120 laps remaining: Ruttman-Jackson-Fohr-Van Acker-Linden-Dinsmore-Ayulo-Mauro-Nalon-Vukovich-(top 10)-Parnell-Brown-Green-Davies-Miller-Banks-Sweikert-Wallard-McDowell-van der Lof-(top 20)-Rose-Ball-Schindler-McGrath-Pratt-Hellings-Ward-Hawthorn-Nazaruk-Forberg.

Laps 81-85
See previous laps. Ruttman was still increasing his lead (seriously, the luck he's had with the numbers is incredible), but another driver was going even quicker. However, Walt Brown is so far behind at the moment that it's not yet good enough for points. Standings: Ruttman-Jackson-Fohr-Van Acker-Linden-Dinsmore-Brown-Ayulo-Mauro-Nalon-(top 10)-Vukovich-Parnell-Miller-Davies-Green-Banks-Sweikert-McDowell-van der Lof-Wallard-(top 20)-Ball-Schindler-Rose-McGrath-Pratt-Hellings-Ward-Nazaruk-Hawthorn-Forberg.

Laps 86-90
Ruttman is looking like he's already sealed the win, as his lead is just getting bigger and bigger, but remember, to finish first, first you have to finish. Bob Sweikert has experienced this. On lap 88, after experiencing heavy vibrations in his front right wheel, he lost control of his car in turn 3. His car turned low onto the apron before moving back up the race track, colliding fairly hard with the wall. The car was completely destroyed, but Sweikert was unharmed. Standings: Ruttman-Jackson-Van Acker-Dinsmore-Fohr-Brown-Linden-Mauro-Ayulo-Davies-(top 10)-Nalon-Vukovich-Parnell-Miller-Green-Banks-van der Lof-McDowell-Schindler-Rose-(top 20)-Wallard-Ball-McGrath-Pratt-Hellings-Nazaruk-Hawthorn-Ward-Forberg.

Laps 91-95
Ruttman was by now starting to stabilize his pace, but no one seemed to be able to mount an efficient response. He now had more than a one lap lead over the rest of the field. Standings: Ruttman-Jackson-Dinsmore-Van Acker-Fohr-Brown-Linden-Miller-Davies-Vukovich-(top 10)-Mauro-Nalon-Ayulo-Parnell-Green-Banks-Rose-McDowell-van der Lof-McGrath-(top 20)-Schindler-Ball-Wallard-Hellings-Pratt-Nazaruk-Ward-Hawthorn-Forberg.

Laps 96-100
Not much going on apart from the now-customary switches in the chasing pack. Mauri Rose was now on the move, reaching 16th place. Standings at the halfway point of the race: Ruttman-Jackson-Dinsmore-Linden-Fohr-Brown-Van Acker-Davies-Vukovich-Miller-(top 10)-Mauro-Nalon-Green-Ayulo-Parnell-Rose-Banks-McGrath-van der Lof-McDowell-(top 20)-Wallard-Pratt-Ball-Hellings-Schindler-Nazaruk-Ward-Hawthorn-Forberg.

Laps 101-105
At this point, Jackson decided it was time to attack, and this he did well. Ruttman still managed to limit the damage, by also upping the pace. Bill Vukovich also surprised everyone by setting astonishingly quick laps to get in the points! Standings: Ruttman-Jackson-Dinsmore-Vukovich-Linden-Brown-Van Acker-Miller-Fohr-Davies-(top 10)-Nalon-Parnell-Mauro-Ayulo-Green-Rose-Banks-McDowell-van der Lof-McGrath-(top 20)-Ball-Wallard-Hellings-Schindler-Pratt-Nazaruk-Ward-Hawthorn-Forberg.

Laps 106-110
With Ruttman and Jackson at around the same pace, Mauro started to make up some of the lost time, as did Nazaruk, who had been at the back for most of the race. However, the event of these five laps were centered around Mack Hellings. While attempting to pass Bobby Ball on lap 110, Hellings skidded over some oil left behind by Chitwood's blown engine. Hellings was sent into the outside wall at over 200 km/h. The car briefly caught fire, but the flames quickly put themselves out before they could make any sort of damage. Hellings got out of his car in visible pain, and was taken to the hospital as a precaution. Standings: Ruttman-Jackson-Dinsmore-Vukovich-Linden-Van Acker-Miller-Mauro-Brown-Parnell-(top 10)-Davies-Nalon-Fohr-Ayulo-Rose-Green-Banks-van der Lof-McGrath-McDowell-(top 20)-Schindler-Ball-Pratt-Wallard-Nazaruk-Ward-Hawthorn-Forberg.

Laps 111-115
ENB continued to take it in turns to have their drivers in a good position, as Van Acker started to gain some time back just as Vukovich lost his. Jackson started to make up the gap, but at a slow rate, and Nalon retired from 12th place with an oil leak. Standings: Ruttman-Jackson-Dinsmore-Van Acker-Linden-Miller-Vukovich-Davies-Fohr-Brown-(top 10)-Ayulo-Mauro-Parnell-Green-Rose-Banks-van der Lof-McGrath-McDowell-Schindler-(top 20)-Ball-Pratt-Wallard-Nazaruk-Ward-Hawthorn-Forberg.

Laps 116-120
Feeling some kind of pressure, perhaps seeing Jackson getting closer to unlapping himself, Ruttman pushed a bit more to increase the gap between them. Al Miller, despite all of his experience, lost all hopes of points by spinning in turn 2 and stalling his car, ending his race. Standings: Ruttman-Jackson-Dinsmore-Van Acker-Linden-Brown-Fohr-Davies-Vukovich-Ayulo-(top 10)-Parnell-Mauro-Green-van der Lof-Rose-Banks-McGrath-McDowell-Schindler-Ball-(top 20)-Pratt-Nazaruk-Wallard-Ward-Hawthorn-Forberg.

Laps 121-125
Fohr was now on fire and started making up a staggering amount of time in just five laps, with Nazaruk also doing well. Jackson was also gaining some ground on Ruttman, but it wasn't enough to be a significant threat. Standings: Ruttman-Jackson-Dinsmore-Fohr-Linden-Van Acker-Brown-Davies-Vukovich-Parnell-(top 10)-Ayulo-Mauro-Green-Banks-McDowell-van der Lof-Rose-McGrath-Schindler-Nazaruk-(top 20)-Ball-Pratt-Wallard-Ward-Hawthorn-Forberg.

Laps 126-130
Jackson was now upping the pace to catch up to Ruttman, who seemed unable to do better. Other drivers, meanwhile, were gaining plenty of ground, such as Pratt, van der Lof and Mauro. Andy Linden was still fairly quick while the others were seemingly content with where they were, and he took the opportunity to take third place. Standings: Ruttman-Jackson-Linden-Dinsmore-Fohr-Van Acker-Davies-Brown-Vukovich-Parnell-(top 10)-Ayulo-Mauro-Green-van der Lof-Rose-Banks-McDowell-Schindler-McGrath-Nazaruk-(top 20)-Pratt-Ball-Wallard-Ward-Hawthorn-Forberg.

Laps 131-135
Ruttman, as is turned out, was only delaying his response simply because his lead was large enough for him to do it. He picked up the pace once more, coinciding with Jackson slowing down a bit. A decent race was sadly ended on lap 132 when Reg Parnell spun on oil. The spin shed almost all of the speed from the car, but the car still collided very lightly with the inside wall, enough to snap the rear suspension, ending Parnell's race. Standings: Ruttman-Jackson-Dinsmore-Ayulo-Fohr-Van Acker-Davies-Vukovich-Brown-Linden-(top 10)-Mauro-Green-Rose-van der Lof-Banks-McDowell-Schindler-Nazaruk-Pratt-McGrath-(top 20)-Ball-Wallard-Ward-Hawthorn-Forberg.

Laps 136-140
This time around, the drivers on form were Davies and Vukovich, who were setting some consistent fast times. In the meantime, Ruttman seemed to be slowing down a bit, while Jackson was speeding up. The gap stayed reasonably large, but it was nonetheless substantially smaller. Standings: Ruttman-Jackson-Ayulo-Dinsmore-Fohr-Van Acker-Davies-Vukovich-Linden-Brown-(top 10)-Mauro-Green-Rose-van der Lof-Pratt-Nazaruk-McGrath-Ball-Banks-McDowell-(top 20)-Schindler-Wallard-Ward-Hawthorn-Forberg.

Laps 141-145
Van Acker, Wallard and Brown were now on fire, and Van Acker entered the points once again. At the very front, Ruttman started to pull away again, as Jackson lost time. Standings: Ruttman-Jackson-Ayulo-Van Acker-Fohr-Dinsmore-Ball-Davies-Brown-Linden-(top 10)-Mauro-Green-Rose-McGrath-van der Lof-Pratt-Nazaruk-Schindler-Banks-Ball-(top 20)-McDowell-Wallard-Ward-Hawthorn-Forberg.

Laps 146-150
This time, it was Jimmy Davies and Myron Fohr who were on form, with Davies returning to the points once more. Ruttman was still pulling away, and with the three quarters of the race done, it's looking like only a retirement could stop him from becoming the youngest winner ever. Standings: Ruttman-Jackson-Fohr-Van Acker-Davies-Dinsmore-Ayulo-Vukovich-Brown-Linden-(top 10)-Green-Mauro-Rose-van der Lof-McGrath-Schindler-Ball-Banks-Nazaruk-Pratt-(top 20)-McDowell-Wallard-Ward-Hawthorn-Forberg.

Laps 151-155
These laps were marked by two crashes, from Johnny Mauro and Johnny McDowell. On lap 152, Mauro ran a bit wide in turn 3 and lightly clipped the barrier. The car descended the banking at slow speed, Mauro still in control of the car, and stopped out of harm's way, but left some debris on the track. McDowell drove over the debris, and suffered a puncture on the next lap. The car span around and collided with the barrier, but McDowell had felt the puncture earlier and had slowed down, so the impact wasn't as hard as it could have been. At the front, Fohr hit trouble and had to slow down, being passed by Dinsmore, who was running at a good pace. At the opposite end, Bill Schindler also ran over debris from Mauro's accident, but managed to pit for new tyres, losing a substantial amount of time in the process. Standings: Ruttman-Jackson-Davies-Dinsmore-Van Acker-Fohr-Ayulo-Vukovich-Brown-Linden-(top 10)-Green-Rose-van der Lof-McGrath-Banks-Pratt-Ball-Wallard-Nazaruk-Schindler-(top 20)-Ward-Hawthorn-Forberg.

Laps 156-160
Experience is crucial in a race like this. Jimmy Jackson knows that, and has chosen to unleash all his skill now. While Ruttman is pretty stable on pace right now, Jackson is on a roll, and has cut the gap to almost half of what it was just 15 laps ago. 80% of the race is over, and Ruttman still leads with a big gap over Jackson, who has a similar gap back to the chasing pack of Dinsmore, Davies, Fohr and Van Acker, all in a few seconds. Standings: Ruttman-Jackson-Dinsmore-Davies-Fohr-Van Acker-Vukovich-Ayulo-Brown-Linden-(top 10)-Green-Rose-Banks-McGrath-van der Lof-Pratt-Wallard-Ball-Schindler-Nazaruk-(top 20)-Ward-Hawthorn-Forberg.

Laps 161-165
Ruttman then showed that youth could be a match for experience by setting some more quick laps to increase his gap. Further back, Bobby Ball was absolutely flying, while Forberg briefly made his way out of last place for the first time since lap 10. This didn't last long, and he quickly fell back behind Hawthorn. Standings: Ruttman-Jackson-Fohr-Davies-Dinsmore-Van Acker-Vukovich-Ayulo-Brown-Linden-(top 10)-Green-Rose-van der Lof-Banks-Ball-Pratt-McGrath-Wallard-Nazaruk-Schindler-(top 20)-Ward-Hawthorn-Forberg.

Laps 166-170
On lap 168, Walt Brown's race was sadly halted. His chance of points were ended when he brushed the side of Ralph Pratt while attempting to lap him. Pratt continued on relatively unscathed, but Brown suffered from suspension damage and had to retire. At the front, Ruttman was beginning to slow, perhaps prone to car trouble or to fatigue. Jackson kept consistently setting sufficient lap times, and slowly but surely began reeling Ruttman in. A driver who was surprisingly quick now was Mike Hawthorn, who started to make up heaps of ground. However, he is so far back that the only driver he can hope to overtake is Rodger Ward. Standings: Ruttman-Jackson-Davies-Fohr-Dinsmore-Vukovich-Van Acker-Ayulo-Green-Linden-(top 10)-Ball-Banks-van der Lof-Wallard-Rose-Pratt-McGrath-Nazaruk-Schindler-Hawthorn-(top 20)-Ward-Forberg.

Laps 171-175
Nazaruk was now the man in form, and made it up to 17th place, while Jackson kept on reeling in Ruttman, at an even faster rate. The race was now getting interesting. Forberg was now certainly permanently out of last place, as Rodger Ward was now even slower, while Carl was picking up the pace. Standings: Ruttman-Jackson-Davies-Fohr-Dinsmore-Vukovich-Van Acker-Ayulo-Green-Linden-(top 10)-Ball-Banks-Rose-van der Lof-Pratt-Wallard-Nazaruk-McGrath-Schindler-Hawthorn-(top 20)-Forberg-Ward.

Laps 176-180
Jackson was still setting fast laps, while Ruttman was simply unable to respond on pace. The gap is shrinking fast. But the men on form are now Mike Nazaruk and Bill Vukovich, who now enters the points. Standings: Ruttman-Jackson-Vukovich-Fohr-Davies-Van Acker-Dinsmore-Ayulo-Green-Linden-(top 10)-Ball-Rose-Nazaruk-Wallard-Banks-Pratt-van der Lof-Schindler-McGrath-Hawthorn-(top 20)-Forberg-Ward.

Laps 181-185
Forberg and Green were now getting quicker, although Forberg was now a lost cause, litterally, as he, Ward and Hawthorn are mathematically too far back from Ruttman to win the race without a retirement. Jackson's pace was beginning to slow, while Ruttman stayed consistent and managed to increase the gap a little with just 15 laps to go. Standings: Ruttman-Jackson-Vukovich-Davies-Fohr-Van Acker-Dinsmore-Ayulo-Green-Linden-(top 10)-Nazaruk-Rose-Wallard-Banks-Ball-van der Lof-Pratt-Schindler-McGrath-Hawthorn-(top 20)-Forberg-Ward.

Laps 186-190
Ruttman and Jackson were now on almost the same pace, with Jackson still mildly quicker, but the main point was the battle for foutrh place, with Davies, Fohr and Van Acker almost nose to tail, while Vukovich was still on a strong pace. Could he pip Jackson for second place? Meanwhile, van der Lof, Ball, Wallard, Pratt, Schindler and McGrath were now out of contention. Standings: Ruttman-Jackson-Vukovich-Fohr-Davies-Van Acker-Dinsmore-Ayulo-Green-Linden-(top 10)-Banks-Rose-Nazaruk-van der Lof-Ball-Wallard-Pratt-Schindler-McGrath-Hawthorn-(top 20)-Forberg-Ward.

Laps 191-195
It looks like Ruttman saved the best for last, as he pulled off a series of insanely quick laps to increase his lead once again, to a realistically uncatchable margin, unless he encountered a problem. Vukovich, meanwhile, was unable to keep the pace he had been setting, and looks like he'll have to settle for third place. Mike Hawthorn also retired from the race, struck by a gearbox failure. Standings: Ruttman-Jackson-Vukovich-Fohr-Van Acker-Davies-Dinsmore-Green-Ayulo-Linden-(top 10)-Rose-Nazaruk-Banks-van der Lof-Schindler-Wallard-Pratt-Ball-McGrath-Forberg-(top 20)-Ward.

Laps 196-200
Ralph Pratt failed at the part that hurts the most, when his car, damaged during the collision with Walt Brown, finally gave up the ghost. Jackson seemed to give up, or was just unable to go any faster, and Ruttman could just coast home to victory, the youngest winner of the Indy 500 and of a Formula 1 race at just 21 years old. Vukovich cruised to third, but the battle for fourth was crashed by Cecil Green, who made a fantastic late-race comeback to finish fifth behind Duke Dinsmore. Fohr, Van Acker, Davies, Ayulo and Linden round out the top 10.

The final standings will come later, probably some time tomorrow, when I figure out all the lapped cars.

[Shadaza]

May 30th 1950, Indianapolis 500

I'm going to try something new this time. Instead of posting reviews driver-by-driver, I'm going to do a lap-by-lap review, with five-lap segments.

Laps 1-5
Davies got off to a good start, and led the first lap, followed by Jackson, Nalon, Mauro and Brown. The worst starter was Charles van Acker, who dropped from 11th to 15th in just one lap. The battle at the front became very close, and the top four started trading places at almost every turn. Jackson led from Mauro at the end of lap 2, with the defending champion taking the lead on the next lap, while Davies droppde to fourth place. In the meantime, the rear was brought up by Tony Gaze and Carl Forberg, while van der Lof was already driving a surprisingly decent race in 20th place. Four laps, four leaders, as Nalon led the fourth lap, and barely kept his lead on lap 5, as he crossed the line neck and neck with Jackson. At the end of lap five, this was the race order: Nalon-Jackson-Mauro-Davies-Dinsmore-Ruttman-Brown-Fohr-Green-Sweikert-(top 10)-Wallard-Linden-Parnell-Chitwood-Vukovich-Van Acker-Miller-Ayulo-Rose-McDowell-(top 20)-Banks-van der Lof-Hawthorn-Cross-McGrath-Ball-Nazaruk-Schindler-Ward-Hellings-(top 30)-Pratt-Forberg-Gaze.

only 39 instalments to go!

[tommykl]

Laps 6-15 now up.

[tommykl]

Laps 16-40 now up.

[Shadaza]

Go Troy GO!

[eurobrun]

Wow, I had no idea Forberg would be so rejectful.

[tommykl]

Wow, I had no idea Forberg would be so rejectful.

He's not supposed to, he's just really slow for no definite reason.

[tommykl]

Sorry for not updating this, I've just been very busy. I've copied everything I've done in a Word file, so I can post it back on the temporary forum during the 'blackout'.

[eurobrun]

Not trying to be annoying but when will the next update be up.

[tommykl]

Not trying to be annoying but when will the next update be up.

As soon as I have the time to be bothered. With exams coming up soon, I might not finish the actual race before July

[Pointrox]

That will be the longest 500 miles of our lives
I'm not complaining though - take your time.

[eurobrun]

Don't worry, exams suck.

[tommykl]

Despite the schoolwork, laps 46-55 are now up.

[tommykl]

Laps 56-75 are now up.

[eurobrun]

The reliability of these cars is incredible.

[Wizzie]

The reliability of these cars is incredible.

The kid's onto something Tommy! In real life, 10 cars were already out by this point

[tommykl]

The reliability of these cars is incredible.

The kid's onto something Tommy! In real life, 10 cars were already out by this point

I know. I use random.org to determine who finishes and who doesn't, with an equal chance of both. In the end, I can tell you that 20 cars will finish. It's just that, since the laps of retirement are random as well, most of them will happen within the next 40-50 laps

[Wizzie]

The reliability of these cars is incredible.

The kid's onto something Tommy! In real life, 10 cars were already out by this point

I know. I use random.org to determine who finishes and who doesn't, with an equal chance of both. In the end, I can tell you that 20 cars will finish. It's just that, since the laps of retirement are random as well, most of them will happen within the next 40-50 laps

20? 20?! 8 finished in real life. And of those, two were many, many laps down

[eurobrun]

The kid's onto something Tommy! In real life, 10 cars were already out by this point

I know. I use random.org to determine who finishes and who doesn't, with an equal chance of both. In the end, I can tell you that 20 cars will finish. It's just that, since the laps of retirement are random as well, most of them will happen within the next 40-50 laps

20? 20?! 8 finished in real life. And of those, two were many, many laps down

20 is close enough.

[tommykl]

I know. I use random.org to determine who finishes and who doesn't, with an equal chance of both. In the end, I can tell you that 20 cars will finish. It's just that, since the laps of retirement are random as well, most of them will happen within the next 40-50 laps

20? 20?! 8 finished in real life. And of those, two were many, many laps down

Yeah, I might change the probability of retiring for the rest of the year...

Anyway, laps 76-85 are now done.

[tommykl]

At lap 100, this is roughly where drivers stand relative to each other:

Ruttman





























Jackson







Dinsmore















Linden

Fohr Brown



Van Acker






Davies Vukovich


Miller
Mauro
Nalon


Green
Linden
Parnell








Rose Banks















McGrath




van der Lof
McDowell










Wallard
Pratt

Ball Hellings

Schindler














Nazaruk







Ward




Hawthorn






















Forberg

[tommykl]

Laps 101-120 are now complete.

[tommykl]

Laps 121-130 are now posted.

[eurobrun]

Sorry for being annoying but will this ever get finished?

[tommykl]

Sorry for being annoying but will this ever get finished?

My exams end next Wednesday. This should resume shortly afterwards. In the meantime, you can still enter more races if you wish