Formula 1 historical archive

Pat Flaherty won the 1956 Indianapolis 500

Pat Flaherty won the 1956 Indianapolis 500 for Watson, ahead of Sam Hanks and Don Freeland at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

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

Race recap

Winner
Pat Flaherty
Team
Watson
Top listed
Pat Flaherty, Sam Hanks, and Don Freeland
Race date
May 30, 1956
Pole
Pat Flaherty
Fastest lap
Paul Russo
Classified drivers
34
Circuit
Indianapolis Motor Speedway

The decisive result

Pat Flaherty finished first for Watson. Sam Hanks is listed 2 for Kurtis Kraft, with Don Freeland 3 for Phillips.

Grid to finish

Don Freeland from P26 to P3 (+23), Cliff Griffith from P30 to P10 (+20), and Eddie Johnson from P32 to P15 (+17) recorded the largest positive grid-to-finish changes in the classification. Pat Flaherty started from the listed P1 grid position.

Status and fastest lap

The classification lists 10 Finished, 5 Accident, 3 +4 laps, 3 Engine, and 2 +5 laps. Paul Russo holds the fastest-lap entry at 1:02.320 on lap 19. 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
1Pat FlahertyWatson3:53:28.8408
2Sam HanksKurtis Kraft3:53:49.2906
3Don FreelandPhillips3:54:59.0704
4Johnnie ParsonsKuzma3:56:54.5303
5Dick RathmannKurtis Kraft3:57:50.6502
6Bob SweikertKuzma3:59:03.8900
7Bob VeithKurtis Kraft3:59:54.4700
8Rodger WardKurtis Kraft4:00:1.1500
9Jimmy ReeceLesovsky4:00:7.1500
10Cliff GriffithStevens+1 lap0
11Gene HartleyKuzma+4 laps0
12Fred AgabashianKurtis Kraft+4 laps0
13Bob ChristieKurtis Kraft+4 laps0
14Al KellerKurtis Kraft+5 laps0
15Eddie JohnsonKuzma+5 laps0
16Billy GarrettKuzma+6 laps0
17Duke DinsmoreKurtis Kraft+9 laps0
18Pat O'ConnorKurtis Kraft+13 laps0
19Jimmy BryanKuzma+15 laps0
20Jim RathmannKurtis KraftEngine0