1956 Indianapolis 500

The 1956 Indianapolis 500 was an automobile race held on Wednesday, May 30, 1956 at Indianapolis. It was the third round of the 1956 World Drivers' Championship.

The 1956 race would be the first 500 to be governed by the United States Automobile Club as the American Automobile Association withdrew the previous August. Another change would have a more immediate effect on the current race. The track had been resurfaced with asphalt with only a small line of bricks still remaining on the main stretch. With the new surface, a new track record was expected. Pat Flaherty did not disappoint with a pole speed of 145.596 miles, over 4.5 miles faster than the 1954 record. 29 drivers qualified opening weekend. The second weekend saw heavy rain that completely canceled Saturday and left only a small window on Sunday for 4 drivers to fill the field. Nino Farina was one of the drivers left out when he didn’t get a chance to qualify his Bardahl-Ferrari.

The early part of the race turned into a three man duel between Russo, O’Connor, and Flaherty. Russo was the first to retire when his tyre failed and his car crashed and caught fire. At quarter distance due to yellows and the pit stops, Parsons took the lead followed by Freeland. By the 200 mile mark Flaherty took over the lead followed by Freeland, Sweikert, and Parsons but Hanks was working his way through the fields after sustaining some damage in the Russo crash, eventually taking second. Flaherty had built up such a lead that he was able to make his last pit stop and remain in front. He crossed the finish line with Hanks the only other car on the lead lap. The only real change in the top cars toward the end was both O’Connor and Jim Rathmann having to drop back with mechanical problems while both drivers were in the top 5.

Drivers' Championship standings after the race

 * Note: Only the top five positions are included.