This 90 Year-Old Footage Shows 'Wild Bill' Cummings Winning 1934 Indy 500

Fuel economy was the subject on the mind of every participant going into the “500,” as each car was restricted to only 45 gallons of fuel for the entire distance. Bill Cummings, who personally never felt his nickname of “Wild Bill” was justified, suggested he should be renamed “Conservative William” after driving a very disciplined race to win by the closest margin up to that time, only 27 seconds over Mauri Rose.

A number of cars fell by the wayside, no doubt due to a short-lived rule which required that cars use the same gear ratios they had for qualifying. In the early stages of the race, two cars completely vaulted over the outer retaining wall in separate accidents, a growing problem at that time which soon would be addressed and remedied.