Just six months after Terre Haute, Ind., businessman Tony Hulman Jr. purchased Indianapolis Motor Speedway, sadly neglected through four years of inactivity during World War II, the 500 was revived.

The cars were prewar models pulled out of garages and barns from coast to coast. So it wasn't surprising that only nine cars were still running at the end of a race won by George Robson by 44.04 seconds over rookie Jimmy Jackson. Robson, who had never won a major race, was the victor despite starting 15th.

Ralph Hepburn, 50, beat the one- and four-lap qualifying records by nearly 4 mph. The new records were 133.944 mph for four laps and 134.449 for one.