— Indianapolis Motor Speedway photo —
— Indianapolis 500 Insights —
By: Jeff Majeski — Jeff’s Indy Talk
— 30 Days in May — Day 23 —
No. 23 — Floyd Roberts — 1938 Burd Piston Ring Special Wetteroth/Miller
The first Indianapolis 500 program I got was from the 1973 race.
I would spend time poring over its contents, absorbing various facts and figures about the race – sort of a 5-year-old Donald Davidson.
Of particular interest to me was Wilbur Shaw’s success from 1937-40. (The summary for each of these races was listed on one page.)
I noticed that had it not been for Floyd Roberts winning in 1938 that Shaw would’ve won the 500 four times in a row.
At this time, A.J. Foyt was trying to become the first four-time winner, a feat he finally achieved in 1977.
Anyway, Roberts beat Shaw by a wide margin (more than four minutes), but Shaw, so vital in helping the Speedway survive after World War II, won in 1939 and 1940 to become the first back-to-back winner.
