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78-633: For nearly 70 years, the event was better known as the Night Before the 500 and was traditionally scheduled the night immediately before the Indianapolis 500 and held under-the-lights . From its inception in 1946 through 2014, the event was held as a midget car race. In 2015, the race was switched to the USAC Silver Crown Series and held in the afternoon. In 2016, it was renamed Carb Night Classic and moved to Friday night of

156-464: A couple of exhibition night baseball games in the early 1900s between organized baseball teams. One of them was in 1909, and the other was in 1927, but the games did not count in league standings. Even though the games were between professional teams, they were unofficial experiments and did not count as the "nocturnal first". In 1929, the president of the Des Moines, Iowa baseball club announced to

234-640: A different scale ) towards the respective AAA or USAC national championships . No points, however, were awarded by the FIA towards the World Constructors' Championship . The 1956 Indianapolis 500 was round 3 of 8 on the 1956 World Championship . The event, however, failed to attract interest from any of the regular competitors on the Grand Prix circuit. Former World Champion Giuseppe Farina entered, but struggled to get his car up to speed, and he

312-515: A green shamrock on his helmet, eschewing longtime Indy superstitions against using the color green. Note : Relief drivers in parentheses  W  Former Indianapolis 500 winner  R  Indianapolis 500 Rookie All entrants utilized Firestone tires. ^1 – 1 point for fastest lead lap The race was carried live on the IMS Radio Network . Sid Collins served as chief announcer. The broadcast

390-697: A large space to reduce glare on both windshields and a driver's visor. Systems such as this have been common in short track motor racing for many years. The night NASCAR race at Bristol Motor Speedway 's half-mile track in Tennessee is among the most popular events of the season. The first modern oval track over 1 mile (1.609 kilometers) long to install a lighting system was Charlotte Motor Speedway in 1992. NASCAR sanctioned races have been held at night for many years due to systems like these. MotoGP held its first night race at Losail International Circuit in 2008 . Formula One held its first night race at

468-507: A number of laps off the pace, he pulled into the garage area on lap 176 with engine failure due to low oil pressure. With the green back on for lap 166, Sam Hanks began to charge and started to cut into Flaherty's lead. Hanks had trimmed the deficit to about 18 seconds when Eddie Russo (driving Ed Elisian 's car) stalled out on the track. The yellow light was on for two minutes. With twenty laps to go, Flaherty continued to lead, with Hanks solidly in second, and Freeland third. Flaherty's lead

546-479: A rest in the infield in turn one. The most serious injury was to a pit crew member, who suffered a broken leg when Thomson's car careened towards the pits. The yellow light would stay on for over 15 minutes to clear the track and clean up an oil spill caused by the accident. Tolan, Hanks, and Andrews would continue, but Thomson and Ruttman were out of the race. The green came back out on lap 31. Pat O'Connor led, with Pat Flaherty close behind. The two drivers swapped

624-527: A scheduling conflict saw the event rescheduled a second time until July 4 and the race was renamed the "Firecracker Fifties." On July 4, the event was cancelled due to heavy rain, and never rescheduled. After that much-maligned event, the Night Before the 500 returned to IRP the following season. Beginning in 1974, the Indianapolis 500 was permanently moved to Sunday, which meant the Night Before

702-597: A short track that was once located across the street from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway . The headline event was a double feature of Midget car racing sanctioned by the AAA Contest Board , held the night before the 1946 Indianapolis 500 . The features were won by Benny Emerick and Leroy Warriner . The event quickly grew in popularity and prestige, and drew large fields of cars and large crowds. After doubleheader features in 1946–1947,

780-405: A spin in turn two on lap 96, but was able to drive the car back to the pits. The yellow light was on for about two laps. At the halfway point, Pat Flaherty led, with Sam Hanks second, and Bob Sweikert third. Andy Linden pulled into the pits with the car smoking, and he was forced to drop out with an oil leak. Tire problems were befalling numerous drivers. Officials from Firestone believed that

858-418: A total of 127 laps en route to victory; taking the lead for good on lap 76. Sam Hanks - the popular veteran still searching for his first "500" victory - came home second, just 20 seconds behind. Hanks charged during the second half, but the numerous cautions stymied his chances to catch up to much less pass Flaherty. No less than twelve cars were involved in crashes or spins, including Dick Rathmann , who took

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936-563: Is also known in Indy 500 lore as "Cagle's Miracle". Torrential rains pummeled the Speedway in the days leading up to the race. The track was full of standing water, access tunnels were completely flooded, and the infield was a muddy quagmire. The conditions threatened to postpone or outright cancel the race. Speedway superintendent Clarence Cagle supervised a massive cleanup effort, in which hundreds of thousands of gallons of water were pumped out of

1014-527: The 1987 Series , have been played at night. The use of floodlights in cricket matches has helped to bring much investment into the game both at a national and an international level since it began in 1977. Today floodlit (day/night) cricket is played in most of the test playing nations although some nations have only started hosting day/night matches in the last 10 to 12 years. Many important tournaments like Indian Premier League and Champions League Twenty20 have become success due to night games. Cricket

1092-523: The 2008 Singapore Grand Prix . 1956 Indianapolis 500 The 40th International 500-Mile Sweepstakes was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Wednesday, May 30, 1956. The event was part of the 1956 USAC National Championship Trail and was also race 3 of 8 in the 1956 World Championship of Drivers . The 1956 race was the first to be governed by the United States Automobile Club . The AAA withdrew from auto racing

1170-656: The Chicago Cardinals played the Providence Steam Roller . Automobile races at night can take on two different forms. Sports car races such as the 24 Hours of Le Mans and rally races such as Monte Carlo Rally manage to continue running through the night by having the competing cars utilize headlights . The alternate possibility involves installing a system of flood lights along the circuit to illuminate it for cars that do not have headlights. The lights must be designed to diffuse light over

1248-666: The Cincinnati Reds beat the Philadelphia Phillies 2–1 at Crosley Field . The original plan was that the Reds would play seven night games each season, one against each visiting club. Because games were at night, after working hours, many working families began attending night baseball games. As a result night games tended to have better attendance than day ganes. Consequently night baseball quickly found acceptance in other Major League cities and eventually became

1326-739: The Hoosier Hundred Thursday night, the Carb Night Classic Friday night, and the Little 500 on Saturday night. After former winner Dave Steele 's death, the track began starting in 2018, to name the event in his memory. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic , the 2020 Indianapolis 500 was postponed to August 23, therefore the Carb Night Classic was held on August 21, whereas a revival of the Night Before

1404-597: The Hulman Classic , the Hoosier Hundred , and the Little 500 . The move to daytime was short-lived, and for 2016, the event was revamped once again. For many years the Night Before the 500 classic was held on the same night and at the same time as the Little 500 , splitting fans (and some competitors) between both events. It was decided to move the event permanently to Friday night of Memorial Day weekend. Once again, it would be held under-the-lights, and it

1482-496: The Indianapolis Speedrome for 1962–1964. It returned to Kokomo for 1965 to 1968, then moved to Indianapolis Raceway Park beginning in 1969. In 1956, Shorty Templeman became the first and only driver to sweep all three features of the tripleheader in a single night. Templeman had failed to qualify for the Indianapolis 500 that year, and pocketed about $ 1,500 in prize money for the three-race sweep. By 1959,

1560-596: The Kanaweola Athletic Club , 39–0, at Maple Avenue Driving Park in the first professional football night game. The first night football game west of the Mississippi River was played in Wichita, Kansas in 1905 between Cooper College (now Sterling College of Sterling, Kansas ) and Fairmount College (now Wichita State University ). The first NFL game played at night was in 1929 when

1638-678: The Memorial Day weekend, to avoid conflicting with the Little 500 at Anderson Speedway . In 2018, the race was named after Dave Steele , a former USAC driver killed in a 2017 racing crash. Various support races have accompanied the Midget main event including stock cars, Formula Super Vee , Formula Ford , and the Mini Indy series. Since 2010 (except in 2017), the Mazda Road to Indy U.S. F2000 and Pro Mazda racing series supported

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1716-498: The Novi team, threatened to withdraw the already-qualified car of Paul Russo in protest of the decision. He claimed that the officials miscalculated the time needed for all 12 cars to get a fair shot; and that his team's other driver ( Eddie Russo ) had virtually no chance to make it to the front of the line. The issue became moot as torrential rains flooded the Speedway during Sunday night and into Monday. The extra qualifying session

1794-508: The Philadelphia Phillies ) was rained out before it became official. The Cubs still play the fewest home night games of any major league club (35 per season, as of 2014). The first night All-Star Game was held at Philadelphia's Shibe Park in 1943 , while the first World Series night game was Game 4 of the 1971 Series at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh. All All-Star Games since 1970 , and all World Series games since Game 6 of

1872-462: The Road to Indy U.S. F2000 National Championship and Pro Mazda Championship supported the event. During the 1980s and 1990s, several future stars of NASCAR and IndyCar headlined the event. Drivers such as Ken Schrader , Jeff Gordon , Ryan Newman , Kasey Kahne , Jason Leffler were among those with wins in the midget feature. Following USAC ceasing sanctioning of paved midget cars, for 2015

1950-465: The 500 race was held on August 22. The sprint and midget races are non-championship, because USAC does not sanction midget or sprint car championship races on pavement. The USAC midgets continued having a non-points race the following editions of the event. From its inception in 1946 through 1955, the Night Before the 500 was part of the AAA Midgets championship. After AAA withdrew from racing,

2028-576: The 500 races were likewise permanently moved to Saturday night each year. During the period when the "Night Before the 500" was held at Kokomo, the Speedrome , or the Fairgrounds, IRP sometimes also held their own docket of races the same night (and vice versa). But these races were not considered part of the continuous lineage of the traditional "Night Before the 500" classic. When the races were at Kokomo, organizers regularly set up bus service from

2106-409: The 6 o'clock gun in order to allow those cars a chance. Around 7:30 p.m., the skies opened up, and any chance to continue qualifying before sunset was lost. After a late-night meeting, USAC announced that they would re-open qualifying on Monday morning at 8 a.m. The track would be available for exactly 63 minutes (to fulfill the two hours they promised on Sunday morning). Jean Marcenac, chief mechanic for

2184-483: The DeSoto pace car. At the start, Jim Rathmann grabbed the lead going into turn one from the middle of the front row. Pole winner Pat Flaherty followed in second, and Pat O'Connor third. Down the backstretch, O'Connor moved into second, followed by Tony Bettenhausen . Flaherty slipped to fourth. Rathmann completed the first lap at a record speed of 138.867 mph. On lap 4, O'Connor took the lead in turn three. The race

2262-520: The Indianapolis 500 be selected as the race to represent the country and to pay points towards the world championship. Drivers competing at the Indianapolis 500 in 1950 through 1960 were credited with participation in and earned points towards the World Championship of Drivers. However, the machines competing at Indianapolis were not necessarily run to Formula One specifications and regulations. The drivers also earned separate points (on

2340-600: The Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the Indianapolis 500 the following morning. In the first few years, the event had no official name. In 1954, the first appearance of the traditional moniker appeared, as the race was officially advertised as the "Now Famous - Night Before the 500". The 1951 races were cancelled, then in 1952-1953 the program was changed to a single 100-lap feature. The tripleheader format returned in 1954. After 1955, AAA withdrew from automobile racing. USAC took over sanctioning of

2418-561: The Indianapolis Motor Speedway to Kokomo (which was about an hour to the north) in an effort to boost attendance. For 1979, a one-time doubleheader of two separate Midget racing events were scheduled for the same day (Saturday May 26). The first event was held at Indianapolis Raceway Park, a doubleheader of the USAC Midgets and the Formula Super Vee -based Mini Indy Series. The management at IRP decided to move their event to

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2496-734: The National Association convention he was going to play night baseball in 1930. However, the first official minor league night game actually took place in Independence, Kansas on April 28, 1930. An article in the April 1931 edition of Baseball Magazine stated that Independence was the first team in America to play a league night baseball game. After the game in Independence, night baseball "spread like wildfire" across

2574-412: The Night Before the 500 classic was moved back to the facility permanently. In addition to the traditional Midget feature, various support races began being scheduled as part of the evening. Formula Super Vee ran at the oval for five races. Mark Smith won the race in 1989. His fastest lap of 0:19.581 is still the current track record. In 1983, Jeff Andretti won a Formula Ford race. From 2010 to 2016,

2652-690: The Night Before the 500 feature event became part of the USAC Midgets national championship series. Beginning in 2015, the headlining event switched to the USAC Silver Crown . The race moved to Friday nights starting in 2016. In 2023, the event took the Hoosier Hundred name, reviving the Hoosier Hundred event after it was cancelled following its 2020 running at the Indiana State Fairgrounds . The race length

2730-617: The ball in sight. But many cricket stadiums have different types of floodlights like ANZ Stadium in Australia , stadiums in New Zealand etc. The DSC Cricket Stadium in Dubai recently installed Ring of Fire system of floodlights which is latest and smartest system of floodlight in the world. The term has also been adopted by other outdoor stadium sports such as American football and Canadian football . The first night football game

2808-451: The checkered flag to finish 5th, only to wreck in turn 1 on his cool down lap. Blown tires were the culprit for several of the incidents. Pole Day attracted a record crowd of 125,000 spectators. With the new asphalt surface, new track records were expected. Pat Flaherty won the pole position with a new one-lap track record of 146.056 mph and a new four-lap track record of 145.596 mph. A total of ten drivers would qualify faster than

2886-638: The daytime due to the rising cost of lighting the track. The event was billed as the Volkswagen's Day Before the 500, as the Formula Super Vee cars used Volkswagen engines. Later in the evening, a second USAC Midget event was scheduled across town at the Indianapolis Speedrome, and was held under the traditional name Coca-Cola Night Before the 500 . Many USAC Midget drivers were entered for both events. Arrangements were made for

2964-511: The doubleheader and tripleheader formats had been mostly abandoned in favor of one longer feature. In addition, support races were filling the docket to improve the show for fans. The event moved to the Indiana State Fairgrounds oval in 1972-1973 and was held as two 50-lap features. But the 1973 Night Before the 500 was plagued by rain, much like the 1973 Indianapolis 500 . The Night Before the 500 twin 50-lap Midget races were rained out on Sunday May 27 and initially rescheduled for June 17. However,

3042-571: The drivers to be transported from one venue to the other by police escort. The first midget event was held as scheduled at IRP, but the Super Vee event was rained out and rescheduled for Sunday evening (May 27) after the conclusion of the Indy 500. Likewise, the "Night Before the 500" midget race at the Speedrome were also rained out, and postponed until Sunday night May 27. In 1980, IRP completed an improvement project which included new lights, and

3120-467: The event beginning in 1956. The popular tripleheader format at 16th Street Speedway was maintained, and used through 1958. However, after the 1958 season, 16th Street Speedway was closed and later demolished. Over the next two decades, the event bounced around between several short tracks in Indiana . Kokomo Speedway , about an hour north of Indianapolis, held the event from 1959 to 1961, then it moved to

3198-432: The event expanded to a tripleheader of features beginning in 1948. The three races were considered entirely separate events, each with their own practice and time trials, and occasionally a consolation race. The first race typically began around 2 p.m., the second race began around 7 p.m., and the third race (sometimes nicknames the "owl" race), began as late as 10 p.m. or even midnight. The racing typically continued well into

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3276-542: The event switched to the USAC Silver Crown Series . In addition, the event was moved up to Saturday afternoon in an effort to boost attendance and give fans a better opportunity to take in the event, without conflicting with the many other events of the busy racing weekend. The name of the event was changed to the Day Before the 500 and was part of four days of USAC events in the area including also

3354-464: The event. The current name of the event is derived from " Carb Day ", the final practice session for the Indianapolis 500 , held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway earlier in the afternoon. While the two events are not directly linked, they share a long and rich history of co-existence. The first Night Before the 500 event was held in 1946 at 16th Street Speedway (formerly Indianapolis Midget Speedway, and sometimes known as West 16th Street Speedway),

3432-408: The exit of turn two. With the field slowed once again under the yellow, Flaherty's lead was about 30 seconds. The green light came back out on lap 159, but it was short-lived. Tony Bettenhausen blew a right-rear tire and crashed in the south shortchute. The yellow would stay on for another seven minutes. After running in the top ten most of the day, Jim Rathmann's car began smoking noticeably. After

3510-416: The first twenty laps (50 miles), a new race record. Russo also set the fastest lap of the race on lap 19 (144.416 mph). On lap 22, Paul Russo was still leading, but going into turn one, he violently blew a right rear tire. The car broke into a spin, and crashed into the outside wall. Russo was not seriously injured. He climbed from the car and ran to the infield grass. The remnants of the tire flew into

3588-462: The grandstands, and two spectators suffered minor injuries. The first yellow caution period of the day came out, with Pat O'Connor now in the lead. Under the caution, another crash occurred. Johnny Thomson lost control at the south end of the mainstretch, hitting the inside pit wall, and swerving out into the path of other cars. Johnnie Tolan , Keith Andrews , Sam Hanks and Troy Ruttman also became involved, with Ruttman spinning out and coming to

3666-410: The high track temperature was responsible for the many tire failures. Lee Wallard , observing the race on the radio network , felt that the drivers were racing too hard and were wearing out their tires. He conjectured that some drivers were unwilling to pit for new tires because they did not want to give up valuable track position. Keith Andrews , as-such, reportedly blew a right-front tire, and spun on

3744-563: The historic lights. Lighting technology had significantly improved since the 1927 night game exhibition. After fifty years of experiments, a new era in professional baseball was about to start. The Independence Producers of Independence, Kansas were a Class C minor league baseball team that played in a stadium known now as Shulthis Stadium . They purchased lights from the Giant Manufacturing Company and installed permanent lights on their field. When Independence played

3822-629: The history of Organized Baseball took place in Independence, Kansas. Numerous references, photos, and media clippings discussing the first night Organized Baseball game are available can be found on websites. After the 1930 game in Independence, night baseball did spread to other countries. The first night game baseball game in Canada took place in Vancouver, Canada in 1931. In 1933 Japan played their first night baseball game, and Cuba did so in 1937. The first big-league team to play games at night

3900-465: The lead multiple times over the next several laps. At the 40-lap mark (100 miles), the top five was Flaherty, O'Connor, Johnnie Parsons , Tony Bettenhausen , and Jim Rathmann . The second yellow came out when Ray Crawford spun at the north end of the mainstretch. After a series of pit stops by the leaders, Johnnie Parsons now led. Don Freeland moved into second, then took the lead when Parsons made his pit stop on lap 72. Al Herman 's car locked up

3978-538: The league game to the Muskogee Chiefs by a score of 13–3. Independence had previously played an exhibition game against the House of David, a professional baseball team, but the game did not qualify as an Organized Baseball game. Independence did however defeat the House of David with a score of 9–1. Since Independence had played a night baseball game before any Major League teams did so, the first night game in

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4056-407: The mainstretch. He later dropped out with transmission failure. Pat Flaherty continued to lead, with Bob Sweikert second, and Sam Hanks third. All three cars were on the lead lap. But on lap 130, Sweikert shredded a right-rear tire in turn two. He brushed the outside wall down the backstretch, but was able to limp back to the pit area on the rim. He lost a lot of time, but he was able to get back in

4134-527: The minor leagues. In addition to that, in 1935, The Sporting News pointed out that Des Moines, Iowa was not the first to install permanent lights, but it was in fact Independence that did so. By the end of the 1934 season there were sixty-five minor league teams with permanent lights installed on their fields. The light towers installed in Independence in 1930 were removed and scrapped in June 1990. Mickey Mantle , an Independence Yankee in 1949, played under

4212-589: The night game on April 28, 1930, it made Independence the birthplace of professional night baseball. By the end of the 1930 season there were thirty-eight minor league teams with lights installed on their fields. Independence played the first night game in the history of Organized Baseball on April 28, 1930. The term Organized Baseball refers to Major League Baseball and Minor League Baseball games. Organized Baseball games must follow specific rules in order to be Organized Baseball games. The Commissioner of Baseball has authority over Organized Baseball. Independence lost

4290-586: The norm; the term "day game" was subsequently coined to designate the increasingly rarer afternoon contests. The last non-expansion/non-relocated team to play all their home games in the daytime were the Chicago Cubs ; they played their first official night game in Wrigley Field on August 9, 1988 and beat the New York Mets 6–4, one night after their initial attempt at night baseball (against

4368-400: The old track record from 1954. Jim Rathmann and Pat O'Connor rounded out the front row. Two cars suffered spins, Bob Christie and Jack Turner . Neither drivers were injured, and both would ultimately make the field. Ed Elisian waved off twice before making the field on his third and final attempt. By the end of the day, the field was filled to 17 cars. The second day of Time Trials

4446-405: The overnight hours, ending sometimes after 2 a.m. After the first feature, the grandstands were emptied, and the fans were required to exit the gates. After a brief wait, fans could buy tickets for the second feature, and re-enter. The process repeated after the second feature. Many spectators in attendance watched the races then walked across the street to get in line to wait for the gates to open at

4524-559: The previous August after a succession of incidents, including the Le Mans disaster and the fatal crash of Bill Vukovich during the 1955 race . Another change was made to the track that would have an immediate effect on the racing. The vast majority of the circuit was paved over in asphalt. A short stretch approximately 600 yards in length was left brick along the mainstretch. Speeds were expected to climb, and qualifying records were expected to be shattered during time trials. The 1956 race

4602-509: The race, it was confirmed he had completed all 200 laps and officially placed 5th. Flaherty, driving for the John Zink team, notably notched the first Indy 500 victory for the famous Watson roadster. In his 12th attempt, veteran Sam Hanks was still searching for his elusive first Indy victory. Flaherty was the last driver to win the "500" wearing a t-shirt . All subsequent winners have worn flame retardant uniforms. Flaherty also sported

4680-401: The race. Under the ensuing yellow, Flaherty came in for a pit stop for fuel and the crew changed his right-rear tire. The stop lasted 37 seconds, and he came back out still holding the lead. At the 150-lap mark (350 miles), Flaherty led with Freeland second, and Hanks third. Jimmy Daywalt crashed hard on the leader's lap 149. A small fire broke out, and the car came to rest against the wall at

4758-416: The rear wheels and crashed near the start/finish line on lap 75. It brought out the third yellow of the afternoon. Freeland and Bob Sweikert , running 1st-2nd, came into the pits during the yellow. Tony Bettenhausen suffered a small fire in the pits, but it was quickly extinguished and he was able to rejoin the race. When the green came back out on lap 88, Pat Flaherty was now in front. Don Freeland did

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4836-475: The time of day they take place. A baseball game was played under electric lighting in 1880, the year after Thomas Edison invented the light bulb . It was an experimental game between two department store teams, and it would take another fifty years before organized baseball would sanction night baseball. In 1892, the Texas League's Houston Buffaloes played at night using arc lights . There were

4914-521: The track, and five completed runs. The field was filled to 33 cars, with one car ( Eddie Sachs ) bumped. Eddie Johnson , the last car to make it out, completed his run in the rain. One of the drivers not able to qualify was Giuseppe "Nino" Farina . He was unable to get his Bardahl - Ferrari up to speed, and he did not make a qualifying attempt. Qualifying had lasted only 57 minutes before more rains came. With 12 cars still waiting in line, USAC officials announced that they would extended qualifying beyond

4992-415: The tunnels and out of the infield. Cagle and his crew worked non-stop for 48 hours straight, some without sleep, and had the track ready just in time for race morning. The race was slowed by a then-record eleven yellow caution light periods which totaled 1 hour, 11 minutes, and 15 seconds. The race was described by veteran sportswriters as "a series of sprint races between yellow lights". Pat Flaherty led

5070-409: The week, track crews had worked diligently for more than two days to clean up the grounds. Rumors of a postponement or an outright cancellation were unfounded. Showers fell overnight, but ceased by the time the gates opened at 5 a.m., and the facility was ready to go. Race day dawned sunny and the track was dry. Tony Hulman gave the command to start engines at 10:56 a.m., and the field pulled away behind

5148-410: Was already unfolding as ultra-competitive, as the top four to five cars were running close together on the track and jockeying for position. Jimmy Daywalt pulled into the pits with magneto failure. His crew went to work to get him back in the race. On lap 11, Paul Russo in the Novi machine now led, with O'Connor second, and Flaherty third. Russo set a blistering pace, averaging 142.255 mph for

5226-589: Was also the final year to have only two turn reporters ("south turns" and "north turns"). Beginning in 1957, the crew would be expanded to have one reporter in each of the four turns. Lee Wallard , the 1951 winner , joined the broadcast as guest commentator. Wallard visited the booth several times at periodic intervals to offer color commentary and observations. Chief Announcer : Sid Collins Analyst: Charlie Brockman Guest commentator: Lee Wallard South turns: Bill Frosch Backstretch: Bernie Herman North turns: Jim Shelton The Indianapolis 500

5304-577: Was back up to about 26 seconds. Running in fourth place with just 13 laps to go, Pat O'Connor dropped out with magneto failure. In the final ten laps, Hanks was unable to close the gap. Pat Flaherty took the checkered flag and won by a margin of 20.45 seconds over Sam Hanks. Don Freeland finished third, and Johnnie Parsons fourth. Dick Rathmann , (who had spun earlier), crossed the finish line to finish fifth, only to crash in turn one on his cool-down lap. Rathmann initially feared he still had one lap to go, but when scoring serials were checked and settled after

5382-406: Was cancelled, and the field was set. On Carburetion Day (Tuesday May 29), rain had finally stopped, allowing a brief, 45-minute practice session. Meanwhile, parts of the facility were badly flooded, and the infield was a muddy quagmire. With the race scheduled for Wednesday, track superintendent Clarence Cagle oversaw a massive clean-up effort. After torrential rains and flooding throughout

5460-455: Was carried by over 280 affiliates, as well as Armed Forces Radio. The broadcast came on-air at 10:45 a.m. local time, fifteen minutes prior to the start of the race. This was the final broadcast based out of the old wooden Pagoda, which was demolished after the race. Guests in the booth included senator William E. Jenner , L. Irving Woolson ( DeSoto ), L.L. "Tex" Colbert ( Chrysler ), and USAC competition director Duane Carter . This

5538-481: Was first played under floodlights on Monday, August 11, 1952 in England which was watched by several million people on their television sets. Since then every test playing country has installed floodlights in their stadiums . Traditional Cricket floodlights have a long pole on which lights are fixed. This is done because many times the ball travels too high when a batsman hits it and high lights are needed to keep

5616-425: Was held on Sunday May 20. Twelve cars completed qualifying attempts, and the field was filled to 29 cars. Johnny Thomson (145.549 mph) was the fastest driver of the day. Thomson's speed was the second-fastest in the entire field, just 0.08 seconds slower than polesitter Pat Flaherty's time. At the end of the first weekend of time trials, there were only four spots left open in the grid. The third day of Time Trials

5694-598: Was included in the FIA World Championship of Drivers from 1950 through 1960 . The race was sanctioned by AAA through 1955 , and then by USAC beginning in 1956 . At the time the new world championship was announced and first organized by the CSI , the United States did not yet have a Grand Prix . Indianapolis Motor Speedway vice president and general manager Theodore E. "Pop" Meyers lobbied that

5772-548: Was increased to 146 scheduled laps (100 miles (160 km)). Night game A night game , also called a nighter , is a sporting event that takes place, completely or partially, after the local sunset. Depending on the sport, this can be done either with floodlights or with the usual low-light conditions. The term "night game" is typically used only in reference to sports traditionally held outdoors. Although indoor sporting events often take place after local sunset, these events are artificially lighted regardless of

5850-648: Was played in Mansfield, Pennsylvania on September 28, 1892 between Mansfield State Normal and Wyoming Seminary . It ended bitterly at halftime in a 0–0 tie. In 1893 at the Chicago's World Fair , the Chicago A. A. played a night football game against West Point . Chicago won the 40-minute game 14–0. On November 21, 1902, the Philadelphia Athletics of the first National Football League defeated

5928-478: Was renamed the Carb Night Classic... The Race Before the 500 . The name derived from Carb Day at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway , the traditional final day of practice for the Indianapolis 500 , which was earlier in the afternoon. The move made for four USAC events over four consecutive nights, leading up to the Indianapolis 500 on Sunday. The Hulman Classic would be scheduled for Wednesday night,

6006-404: Was scheduled for Saturday May 26. Rain washed out all track activity for the day. The fourth and final day of Time Trials was scheduled for Sunday May 27. USAC officials announced Sunday morning that a minimum of two hours would be made available for qualifying. Eighteen cars lined up intending to make a qualifying attempt, however, rain persisted throughout the day. Six cars were able to take to

6084-646: Was the 1930 Kansas City Monarchs of the Negro leagues, who often played against the House of David baseball team, who carried portable lights mounted on trucks along with their team bus. The Monarchs first night baseball game was on April 28, 1930. It was an exhibition game in Enid, Oklahoma against Phillips University . The first night game in Major League Baseball history occurred on May 24, 1935 when

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