In the 1927 indianapolis 500 did not only go in the history books as one with many car failures.
There were three serious accidents; Jules Ellingboe, Henri Kohlert and Norman batten were injured; some seriously.
Text and jpegs by courtesy of hathitrust.org www.hathitrust.org, compiled by motorracinghistory.com
Motor Age, Vol. LI, 51, No. 22, June 2, 1927
Mechanical Troubles Plentiful at Speedway
By PAUL DUMAS
INDIANAPOLIS, May 30-The very high average speed of the leader during the first 200 miles, combined with the bumpy condition of the track, was responsible for the abnormally large Number of mechanical troubles encountered by the 33 cars which started in the fifteenth Indianapolis race on Memorial Day.
The very things that have produced the speed ability of the 91½ cu. in. cars were chiefly responsible for failures.
Of the 21 cars that were eliminated, four were put out of commission by definite failure of the supercharger drive mechanism. Two other cars, Schneider’s Miller and Hartz’s Erskine-Miller, were forced out by broken timing gears and a broken crankshaft key respectively, and it is probable that, in at least one of these two cases, the supercharger drive assembly was indirectly responsible.
Next to supercharger and timing gear troubles, which took a toll of five cars, came failure of the rear axle and driveshaft parts. Four cars were eliminated by failure at these points, one of them being No. 24 Perfect Circle Duesenberg, which was forced out by broken axle drive gears, when five miles from the finish and in second position. The Miller Special driven by Bauman was forced out by similar trouble at a time while holding the lead.
The condition of the track played a large part in sending three cars permanently to the pits with leaking gasoline tanks. Two of these cars, the Millers of Batten and Duray were set afire from this cause, Batten narrowly escaped by jumping.
Lockhart led until eliminated at the 300-mile mark by a broken connecting rod. This and Shattuck’s broken valve were the only mechanical failures attributable to the engine proper.
Aside from frequent replacement of plugs, there was no ignition trouble. Lap It is apparent that chassis parts, especially those of the front axle and power transmitting mechanism, need Lap greater factors of safety to withstand high speeds on tracks of this type.
A more thorough study of the problem of a reliable supercharger drive, able to withstand frequent decelerations, is also imperative. In the past there have been some failures of the supercharger impeller, but the recent use of ribbed and heavier casings of bronze instead of aluminum, has almost entirely eliminated trouble at this point. The new casings and impellers have made it possible to raise the pressures at the engine inlet to as high as 28 lb. per sq. in., absolute.
Cars finishing in the money and not troubled with blower failure in most cases were fitted with balanced step-up assemblies having gears of wider face than last year.
Of the 33 cars starting, 21 were eliminated either by driving accidents Lap or by mechanical troubles. There were a total of 110 pit stops, and the unusual number of 49 reliefs were made, these 49 being confined to 18 cars.
The following gives the chronological order of the eliminations, their causes and the name of the driver at the time the cars were put out of commission:
Lap 21-No. 7 Miller, Lewis, broken spring pad on front axle.
Lap 22-No. 22 Boyle Valve Special, Petticord, broken supercharger.
Lap 24-No. 8 Miller Special, Batten, car caught fire.
Lap 25-No. 18 Cooper Special, Ellingboe, hit wall on north turn.
Lap 26-No. 12 Perfect Circle Miller, Duray, broken gas tank, caught fire.
Lap 26-No. 4 Cooper Special, Hill, frozen shackle bolt.
Lap 31-No. 3 Perfect Circle Miller, DePaolo, broken supercharger gears.
Lap 38-No. 1 Erskine-Miller, Hartz, broken crankshaft key.
Lap 40-No. 19 Boyle Valve Special, Hepburn, leaking gas tank.
Lap 48-No. 23 Elgin Piston Pin Special, Kohlert, hit wall at south turn.
Lap 83-No. 17 Miller Special, Shattuck, broken valve and cylinder.
Lap 87-No. 35 Elcar Special, Burbach, broken universal joint.
Lap 91-No. 26 Miller, Bauman, broken pinion shaft.
Lap 108-No. 15-Boyle Valve Specral, Woodbury, broken supercharger.
Lap 120-No. 2 Perfect Circle Miller, Lockhart, broken connecting rod.
Lap 123-No. 9 Cooper Special, Kries, broken front axle.
Lap 137-No. 43 Miller Special, Bauman, broken timing gears.
Lap 145-No. 44 Miller Special, Lecklider, broken supercharger.
Lap 151-No. 41 Thompson Valve Duesenberg, Winnai, hit wall, caught fire.
Lap 198-No. 24 Perfect Circle Duesenberg, Stapp, broken rear axle drive gears.
Hurt Racers Will Recover
INDIANAPOLIS, May 31 – Hope is held for recovery of all three drivers injured in yesterday’s race. Jules Ellingboe suffered a crushed chest and broken bones and is in a serious condition. Henry Kohlert’s skull was fractured. Norman Batten’s burns were not as serious as at first thought.