Indianapolis Motor Speedway | |||||
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Indianapolis 500 | |||||
Sanctioning body | AAA / World Championship | ||||
Date | May 31, 1954 | ||||
Winner | Bill Vukovich | ||||
Winning Entrant | Howard B. Keck | ||||
Average speed | 130.840 mph (210.567 km/h) | ||||
Pole position | Jack McGrath | ||||
Pole speed | 141.033 mph (226.971 km/h) | ||||
Most laps led | Bill Vukovich (90) | ||||
Pre-race | |||||
Pace car | Dodge Royal 500 | ||||
Pace car driver | W. C. Newberg | ||||
Chronology | |||||
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The 38th International 500-Mile Sweepstakes was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Monday, May 31, 1954. The event was part of the 1954 AAA National Championship Trail, and was included in the 1954 World Drivers Championship.
Bill Vukovich won his second consecutive 500. Vukovich died the following year attempting to win his third consecutive Indy 500. The race reportedly went 110 laps before the first yellow light.
Time trials was scheduled for four days.
The race was carried live flag-to-flag on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Radio Network. It was the second time the race was carried in its entirety. The broadcast was anchored by Sid Collins, his third as chief announcer, and seventh year overall with the crew. Charlie Brockman served as booth analyst and statistician, and also reported from victory lane.
Of note, the network expanded its coverage to include four qualifying wrap-up shows during time trials weekends.
The network expanded to include four qualifying wrap-up shows, and the number of affiliate stations increased to 210. All five major radio stations in Indianapolis carried the broadcast. The 1954 broadcast is notable in that it featured for the first time the famous phrase "Stay tuned for the Greatest Spectacle in Racing." Due to the increased number of affiliates at the time, the network needed a scripted "out-cue" to alert producers when to manually insert local commercials. A young WIBC marketing staff member named Alice Greene (née Bunger) is credited with inventing the phrase, and chief announcer Sid Collins coined it on-air. It has been used ever since, with all of the chief announcers proudly reciting it during their respective tenures.
Chief Announcer: Sid Collins
Color: Charlie Brockman
South Turns: Bill Frosch
Backstretch: Jack Shapiro
North Turns: E. Z. Gwynn
1954 winning car