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1949 Indianapolis 500

33rd Indianapolis 500
Indy500winningcar1949.JPG
Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Indianapolis 500
Sanctioning body AAA
Date May 30, 1949
Winner Bill Holland
Winning Entrant Lou Moore
Average speed 121.327 mph (195.257 km/h)
Pole position Duke Nalon
Pole speed 132.939 mph (213.945 km/h)
Most laps led Bill Holland (146)
Pre-race
Pace car Oldsmobile 88
Pace car driver Wilbur Shaw
Chronology
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1948 1950

The 33rd International 500-Mile Sweepstakes was an automobile race held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Monday, May 30, 1949.

After two years of failures to his teammate, Bill Holland finally won one for himself, giving car owner Lou Moore his third consecutive Indy victory. Mauri Rose was fired by the team after the race when he again ignored orders and tried to pass Holland, only to see his car fail with 8 laps to go.

The race was carried live on the Mutual Broadcasting System, the precursor to the IMS Radio Network. The broadcast was sponsored by Perfect Circle Piston Rings and Bill Slater served as the anchor. The broadcast feature live coverage of the start, the finish, and live updates throughout the race.

Booth Announcer: Bill Slater
Analyst: Gordon Graham

South turns: Sid Collins
Backstretch: Gene Kelly
North turns: Jim Shelton

The race was carried live for the first time in history on local television on WFBM-TV channel 6 of Indianapolis. The station signed on for the first time race morning May 30, 1949, with a documentary about the race entitled The Crucible of Speed, the covered the race itself. The race broadcast utilized three cameras located along the mainstrech. Earl Townsend, Jr. who had worked previously as a radio reporter, was the first television announcer. Dick Pittenger and Paul Roberts joined Townsend along with engineer Robert Robbins. The telecast reached approximately 3,000 local households.

Announcer: Earl Townsend, Jr.
Color: Dick Pittenger
Color: Paul Roberts


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