The first lap of the 1958 Indianapolis 500 was one of the most chaotic and devastating in Indianapolis 500 history and remains among the most controversial.
Dick Rathmann and Ed Elisian battled the entire month of May for top speed honors. When the dust settled after Pole Day qualifying, Rathmann grabbed the Pole with a new four-lap track record, and Elisian lined up second with a one-lap track record.
Observers predicted fireworks when the green flag flew on race day. Unfortunately, their prognosis proved tragically correct.
The turmoil began immediately after Tony Hulman gave the command, “Gentlemen, start your engines.” The 33 cars lined up single file in the new pit lane and were to form into rows of three as they entered the track.
In the process, the front row somehow got ahead of the pace car. The starter gave the field an extra lap to form up. Running at near race speeds, the front row caught up off turn four, and charged through the field down the front stretch, to fall into position just as the green flag waved.
With a full head of steam, Rathmann, Elisian, and Jimmy Reece roared through turn one and down the backstretch. At turn three, Rathmann backed off. Elisian didn’t. The ensuing crash involved 15 cars. Eight were eliminated. Jerry Unser went over the wall and survived. Popular Hoosier, Pat O’Connor, went upside down and didn’t.
As expected, Rathmann and Elisian had opposing versions of what happened. Neither was in the mood to talk to reporters immediately after the incident.
Rathmann told Rick Johnson of the Indianapolis Times, “Please, not now. I feel awful.” In the John Zink garage, Elisian was not as polite. “Get out. Get out and leave me alone,” he shouted angrily. Then he stomped to the Zink pits and sat alone on the team’s fuel tank.
At one point, he left the pits to phone his parents so they would know he was okay, then returned to his perch and watched the remainder of the race. After the checkered flag fell for winner Jimmy Bryan, and back in his garage, Elisian finally agreed to talk. Briefly.
“I saw Rathmann shoot across at the crossover. I knew if he got in front there, he’d be the devil to catch. So, I stayed right on it, thinking there was enough room to make it…then the car started going every which way, and I knew I’d lost it.” (Rumors abounded that Elisian had amassed gambling debts with an unsavory group and he needed the lap prize money to pay them off.) I feel so darned bad about that mess…It sure was a lousy, stinking way to start a race,” moaned Elisian.
It was the next day before Rathmann would talk about the tragic events.
“I told Ed a day or two before the race that we had the best cars and chances we’d ever had and we could both make a lot of money if he’d use his head,” explained Rathmann.
“But sometimes I think the guy’s really using his head, and then… He just didn’t use his head and got carried away. I had my car in the groove, and it was working fine. Ed cut under me, and when he got in front, he started to drift with that heavy load of fuel. Then he lost it. I don’t think he got used to the way that car handled with a fuel load when we practiced Wednesday.”
“I don’t have any hard feelings toward him today,” continued Rathmann. “I know Ed feels bad about Pat. I sure do. He was one of the most likable guys in racing. It’s a terrible shame.”
When asked years later about who she blamed for the accident that took her husband’s life, Analise insisted she didn’t blame either driver. She believed the fault lay with race officials.
“They should’ve never waved the green flag,” she stated. “But they were anxious to keep the race in a tight timeframe. Having to charge around the track to get into position before the green waved had to have then drivers pumped full of adrenaline. That carried over to the start of the race. One more lap behind the pace car might’ve made the difference.”
Speedway owner Tony Hulman was personally devastated by the accident. O’Connor was a close friend, and Hulman had spoken to him about becoming the Speedway’s President. The position had remained open since Wilbur Shaw’s 1955 death, and later Hulman would assume it himself.
