It seemed like a normal race day at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The skies were gray and overcast and rain was predicted. In Gasoline Alley, thirty-one race teams were making last minute adjustments to their cars. The bomb, which signaled that the gates were open for the estimated 175,000 spectators, went off at 6:00 a.m.

Just before 7 a.m., Ed Wintergust, the Mayor of Gasoline Alley and an employee of Gulf Oil Company, was talking with Billy De Vore, who qualified eighth, about the potential hazards of all the fuel stored in the garages. Lloyd Barnes and Reid Henderson were draining fuel from the racer to be used by George Barringer, who qualified 15^th, into a pail. Some of it spilled on the floor. In a nearby garage, mechanics were doing some welding on the car to be driven by Joel Thorne. Suddenly a spark from the welding set off the fumes from the Barringer garage. With garages loaded with gasoline and other petroleum products, four explosions were heard.

Billy De Vore rushed off to move his racer from his garage while Wintergust moved the tanker to the infield. A soldier bravely climbed atop of the garage to rescue an American flag.

When the fire started, officials closed the gates to the Speedway which further complicated the situation. They called upon the Indianapolis Fire Department for aid. They sent a 650-gallon pumper and two 1,000-gallon pumpers but were delayed by the clogged roads leading to the Speedway. Adding additional delays were the lack of fire hydrants near the garage area and the exit from the garage area was blocked. It took two hours to bring the fire under control.

Each driver used his own combination of fuel such as alcohol, gasoline and other volatile substances. Four drivers had specialty blended fuel and its loss played havoc with their plans for the race. This caused confusion as the drivers attempted to get the correct fuel.  Mechanics and others in the garage area raced to save what they could. Marion Trexler, operator of a wrecker and former race car driver, saved many cars by backing into the garages and pulling the racers away from the flames. Some racing teams lost tires and equipment but others in the field shared the necessary tools.

When the flames were under control, Colonel A. W. Harrington, chairman of the technical committee, ordered all drivers to report to the pits so that they could check on the supplies of each race car. The Speedway wanted for the cars to all start with an equal amount of supplies. Meanwhile, the track, strewn with debris thrown by the explosions, was being cleared by sweeping the track by hand with brooms.

Wilbur Shaw, who won back-to-back Indianapolis 500s in 1939 and 1940, was trying to be the first driver to not only win three consecutive Indianapolis 500s but also to become the first driver to win four Indianapolis 500s. One of his tires stored for the race was used and it had been differentiated with chalk. Water from fire hoses washed away the markings. Shaw, who qualified third, crashed on lap 152 while attempting to pass another car and was taken to Methodist Hospital with a back injury. He had led 107 of the laps and was leading the field by a lap at the time of his crash. Whether the used tired was on the car at the time and a contributing factor to the crash is unknown.

George Barringer’s car the Miller Special #35, a revolutionary six cylinder rear-engine racer, was destroyed. He also lost an engine with which he set three land speed records at the Bonneville Salt Flats. Two other cars were also destroyed but they were not in the race.

The blaze soon consumed 24 of the 30 garages in the south section. When it was extinguished, the only thing remaining of the garage area was the framing. The fire also damaged power lines into the Speedway which affected the electric timing device. Fortunately, only seven people sustained minor injuries.