Formula 1 historical archive

Troy Ruttman won the 1952 Indianapolis 500

Troy Ruttman won the 1952 Indianapolis 500 for Kuzma, ahead of Jim Rathmann and Sam Hanks at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Browse the full classification, related season, driver, team, circuit, and championship history.

Race recap

Winner
Troy Ruttman
Team
Kuzma
Top listed
Troy Ruttman, Jim Rathmann, and Sam Hanks
Race date
May 30, 1952
Pole
Fred Agabashian
Fastest lap
Bill Vukovich
Classified drivers
33
Circuit
Indianapolis Motor Speedway

The decisive result

Troy Ruttman finished first for Kuzma. Jim Rathmann is listed 2 for Kurtis Kraft, with Sam Hanks 3 for Kurtis Kraft.

Grid to finish

Johnnie Parsons from P31 to P10 (+21), Jimmy Reece from P23 to P7 (+16), and Art Cross from P20 to P5 (+15) recorded the largest positive grid-to-finish changes in the classification. Fred Agabashian started from the listed P1 grid position.

Status and fastest lap

The classification lists 14 Finished, 2 +16 laps, 2 Oil pressure, 2 Supercharger, and 1 +13 laps. Bill Vukovich holds the fastest-lap entry at 1:06.600 on lap 8. It records the result without speculating about incidents or strategy.

This summary sticks to the classification and does not speculate about incidents, strategy, weather, or causes. Source: F1DB (CC BY 4.0) · updated Jul 26, 2026.

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Race classification
PosDriverConstructorTime / statusPoints
1Troy RuttmanKuzma3:52:41.8808
2Jim RathmannKurtis Kraft3:56:44.2096
3Sam HanksKurtis Kraft3:58:53.4904
4Duane CarterLesovsky3:59:30.2203
5Art CrossKurtis Kraft4:01:22.0302
6Jimmy BryanKurtis Kraft4:02:06.2000
7Jimmy ReeceKurtis Kraft4:03:17.1200
8George ConnorKurtis Kraft4:04:42.4900
9Cliff GriffithKurtis Kraft4:05:05.6400
10Johnnie ParsonsKurtis Kraft4:06:19.6600
11Jack McGrathKurtis Kraft4:07:03.6000
12Jim RigsbyWatson4:08:46.9810
13Joe JamesKurtis Kraft4:09:37.5300
14Bill SchindlerStevens4:11:30.5400
15George FonderSherman+3 laps0
16Eddie JohnsonTrevis+7 laps0
17Bill VukovichKurtis KraftSteering1
18Chuck StevensonKurtis Kraft+13 laps0
19Henry BanksLesovsky+16 laps0
20Manny AyuloLesovsky+16 laps0