The 1948 Indianapolis 500, officially the 32nd International 500-Mile Sweepstakes, was held on May 31, 1948, at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway as a points-paying round of the AAA National Championship. The race was contested over 200 laps (500 miles) on the 2.5-mile brick-paved oval. Rex Mays captured the pole position, but race day belonged to Mauri Rose, who drove the Blue Crown Spark Plug Special for car owner Lou Moore. Rose led 81 laps and won decisively, averaging approximately 119.8 mph, finishing nearly 90 seconds ahead of teammate Bill Holland in a dominant one-two finish for the Moore team. The victory marked Rose’s third Indianapolis 500 win (1941, 1947, and 1948), making him one of the race’s most accomplished drivers of the era.
Behind the leading pair, Duke Nalon finished third in the powerful but temperamental Novi-powered car, which at the time represented the best finish ever achieved by a Novi engine at Indianapolis. Ted Horn, en route to his third consecutive AAA National Championship, placed fourth, continuing his extraordinary record of consistency at the Speedway, where he completed nearly every lap in nine consecutive starts. Unlike the controversial finish of the 1947 race, the 1948 running ended cleanly, with Rose clearly in control over the closing stages.
The event, however, was overshadowed by tragedy during the buildup to the race. Ralph Hepburn, a veteran competitor, was killed during practice on May 16, 1948, when his Novi-powered car crashed into the outside wall at high speed. Hepburn’s death cast a somber tone over the month of May, serving as a stark reminder of the dangers faced by drivers in the post-war era. No fatalities occurred during the race itself, but the loss of Hepburn remains an important part of the historical record of the 1948 Indianapolis 500.
