1956 Indianapolis 500

Indianapolis Motor Speedway · 30 May 1956

Round 3🇺🇸 USA

Pat Flaherty won the 1956 Indianapolis 500 for Watson from 1st on the grid, 20.45s ahead of Sam Hanks. Don Freeland gained the most places, from 26th on the grid to 3rd.

Fan rating

Ratings are only available for races from the 2026 season onwards.

Laps

200

First GP

1950

Indianapolis Motor Speedway history →

Weekend Points

Pos	Team	Points Breakdown	Pts
1	Kurtis Kraft Hanks 6 + Parsons 3 + Rathmann 2 + Russo 1 + Veith 0 + Ward 0 + Agabashian 0 + Christie 0 + Keller 0 + Dinsmore 0 + O'Connor 0 + Rathmann 0 + Tolan 0 + Bettenhausen 0 + Russo 0 + Elisian 0 + Daywalt 0 + Turner 0 + Andrews 0 + Linden 0 + Herman 0 + Crawford 0 + Boyd 0 + Ruttman 0	Hanks 6 + Parsons 3 + Rathmann 2 + Russo 1 + Veith 0 + Ward 0 + Agabashian 0 + Christie 0 + Keller 0 + Dinsmore 0 + O'Connor 0 + Rathmann 0 + Tolan 0 + Bettenhausen 0 + Russo 0 + Elisian 0 + Daywalt 0 + Turner 0 + Andrews 0 + Linden 0 + Herman 0 + Crawford 0 + Boyd 0 + Ruttman 0	12
2	Watson Flaherty 8	Flaherty 8	8
3	Phillips Freeland 4	Freeland 4	4
4	Kuzma Sweikert 0 + Hartley 0 + Johnson 0 + Garrett 0 + Bryan 0 + Thomson 0	Sweikert 0 + Hartley 0 + Johnson 0 + Garrett 0 + Bryan 0 + Thomson 0	0
5	Lesovsky Reece 0	Reece 0	0
6	Stevens Griffith 0	Griffith 0	0

Race Result

Pos	Driver	Team	Race time / Gap	Laps	Stops	Pts
1	Pat Flaherty Watson	Watson	3:53:28.840	200	—	8
2	Sam Hanks Kurtis Kraft	Kurtis Kraft	+20.450s	200	—	6
3	Don Freeland Phillips	Phillips	+1:30.230	200	—	4
4	Johnnie Parsons Kurtis Kraft	Kurtis Kraft	+3:25.690	200	—	3
5	Dick Rathmann Kurtis Kraft	Kurtis Kraft	+4:21.810	200	—	2
6	Bob Sweikert Kuzma	Kuzma	+5:35.050	200	—	—
7	Bob Veith Kurtis Kraft	Kurtis Kraft	+6:25.630	200	—	—
8	Rodger Ward Kurtis Kraft	Kurtis Kraft	+6:32.310	200	—	—
9	Jimmy Reece Lesovsky	Lesovsky	+6:38.310	200	—	—
10	Cliff Griffith Stevens	Stevens	+1 Lap	199	—	—
11	Gene Hartley Kuzma	Kuzma	+4 Laps	196	—	—
12	Fred Agabashian Kurtis Kraft	Kurtis Kraft	+4 Laps	196	—	—
13	Bob Christie Kurtis Kraft	Kurtis Kraft	+4 Laps	196	—	—
14	Al Keller Kurtis Kraft	Kurtis Kraft	+5 Laps	195	—	—
15	Eddie Johnson Kuzma	Kuzma	+5 Laps	195	—	—
16	Billy Garrett Kuzma	Kuzma	+6 Laps	194	—	—
17	Duke Dinsmore Kurtis Kraft	Kurtis Kraft	+9 Laps	191	—	—
18	Pat O'Connor Kurtis Kraft	Kurtis Kraft	+13 Laps	187	—	—
19	Jimmy Bryan Kuzma	Kuzma	+15 Laps	185	—	—
DNF	Jim Rathmann Kurtis Kraft	Kurtis Kraft	DNF Engine	175	—	—
DNF	Johnnie Tolan Kurtis Kraft	Kurtis Kraft	DNF Engine	173	—	—
DNF	Tony Bettenhausen Kurtis Kraft	Kurtis Kraft	DNF Accident	160	—	—
DNF	Eddie Russo Kurtis Kraft	Kurtis Kraft	DNF Brakes	160	—	—
DNF	Ed Elisian Kurtis Kraft	Kurtis Kraft	DNF Brakes	160	—	—
DNF	Jimmy Daywalt Kurtis Kraft	Kurtis Kraft	DNF Accident	134	—	—
DNF	Jack Turner Kurtis Kraft	Kurtis Kraft	DNF Engine	131	—	—
DNF	Keith Andrews Kurtis Kraft	Kurtis Kraft	DNF Transmission	94	—	—
DNF	Andy Linden Kurtis Kraft	Kurtis Kraft	DNF Oil leak	90	—	—
DNF	Al Herman Kurtis Kraft	Kurtis Kraft	DNF Accident	74	—	—
DNF	Ray Crawford Kurtis Kraft	Kurtis Kraft	DNF Accident	49	—	—
DNF	Johnny Boyd Kurtis Kraft	Kurtis Kraft	DNF Oil leak	35	—	—
DNF	Troy Ruttman Kurtis Kraft	Kurtis Kraft	DNF Spun off	22	—	—
DNF	Johnny Thomson Kuzma	Kuzma	DNF Spun off	22	—	—
DNF	Paul Russo Kurtis Kraft	Kurtis Kraft	DNF Accident	21	—	1

Biggest MoverP26 → P3

Biggest LoserP3 → P18

Pos

Team

Points Breakdown

Pts

Kurtis Kraft

Hanks 6 + Parsons 3 + Rathmann 2 + Russo 1 + Veith 0 + Ward 0 + Agabashian 0 + Christie 0 + Keller 0 + Dinsmore 0 + O'Connor 0 + Rathmann 0 + Tolan 0 + Bettenhausen 0 + Russo 0 + Elisian 0 + Daywalt 0 + Turner 0 + Andrews 0 + Linden 0 + Herman 0 + Crawford 0 + Boyd 0 + Ruttman 0

Watson

Flaherty 8

Phillips

Freeland 4

Kuzma

Sweikert 0 + Hartley 0 + Johnson 0 + Garrett 0 + Bryan 0 + Thomson 0

Lesovsky

Reece 0

Stevens

Griffith 0

Pos

Driver