Tommy Milton became the first two-time winner, though now he was driving a Stutz HCS Special. This was the first year since 1911 that riding mechanics were not required and most of the entrants were now one-seaters. It was the most competitive race to date, with six drivers swapping the lead 28 times, a record that would not be broken until 1960.

Milton's pit crew had to get creative after the car's gas tank cap was lost. They wrapped tape around an orange and stuffed it in the cap's place.

It was also the first year a spectator was killed. Relief driver Tom Alley crashed through a backstretch fence, killing a boy who had been watching the race through a knothole.