The race was won by the number two car of Wilbur Shaw, who started in the third position, driving a Maserati 8CTF.

[4] In Louis Meyer's final Indy 500, he too would crash at the backstretch at over 100 miles (160 km) an hour, but he walked away unharmed.

With Roberts on lap 109, the car driven by Bob Swanson lost control and went sideways.

The three drivers were taken to hospitals, while it took over 30 minutes to clear the burning wreck of Swanson's car from the track.

[7] George Bailey became the first driver to compete with a rear-engined car in the Indianapolis 500 when he contested the 1939 race in a Gulf-Miller.