New AAA rules put limits on the amount of gasoline and oil each car could use. It was intended as a safety factor, forcing drivers to moderate speed to conserve fuel, but the 1934 race was neither slower nor safer.

The winner, "Wild" Bill Cummings with mechanic Earl Unversaw, set a speed record of 104.863 mph, and runner up Mauri Rose was not far behind As for safety, driver Pete Kreis and his mechanic, Bob Hahn, were killed in an accident during practice.

Cummings drove for car owner "Umbrella Mike" Boyle, so named because as a Chicago political boss he would leave his umbrella hanging in a public place and expect to find money dropped into it when he came back.