Here’s an awesome 13-minute film summary of the 1954 Indianapolis 500 with an extra treat: It’s in color.   

Color movies from the early years of the Indianapolis 500 are relatively rare, and still photos in color aren’t so terribly common, either. So when we found this excellent color film review of the 1954 May classic, we had to share.The ’54 race is typically recalled as the one in which Bill Vukovich, driving Howard Keck’s Fuel Injection Special, the trend-setting Kurtis-Offy roadster prepared by Jim Travers and Frank Coon, won convincingly for the second straight year.

Today, Vuky is regarded as one of the all-time greats at the Speedway, and the Fuel Injection Special is considered pretty special as well. One of the first batch of five Kurtis-Kraft KK500A roadsters constructed by Frank Kurtis, the car led 150 laps in its first visit to Indy in ’52 before the steering failed. The following year, Vukovich won the pole and then ran away from the field with the gray roadster. In 1954, Vukovich started 19th but soon took control of the race, battling with Jimmy Bryan much of the day and then ultimately lapping Bryan on his way to victory. By the way, the historic roadster is still around, and you can see it on display at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum.  Enjoy the race.