Thanks to the IndyCar Series, here’s an awesome newsreel report on the 1932 Indianapolis 500 that includes some great action both on and off the track.

Few organizations are as in tune with their traditions as the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the IndyCar Series, and we can thank their efforts for this wonderfully preserved newsreel feature on the 1932 Indianapolis 500. Or as the race was officially titled that year, “The 20th Annual 500 Mile Sweepstakes.”  The film’s original title card, wonderfully enough, reads “Auto Leaps Wall as Speed Kings Defy Death to Set Record!”

There’s plenty of action packed into the choice three-minute newsreel, including some now-famous spins and crashes, along with the convincing victory by Fred Frame and riding mechanic Jerry Houck. Starting from 27th place, they led 58 of the final 75 laps and won by a margin of 44 seconds in a fierce battle of attrition that saw a number of contenders forced to drop out. Their distinctive front wheel-drive Hartz-Miller Special, powered by a 183 CID Miller straight eight, remains on display at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum to this day.

There’s another memorable scene at the very top of the film, as track owner Eddie Rickenbacker introduces driver Tony Gulotta to Henry Ford and family, including son Edsel Ford and grandsons Henry Ford II (then a husky 15 year-old) and Benson Ford. Edsel was on hand that year to drive the pace car, a stunning Lincoln KB Murphy Sport Roadster, and here we watch as he gives a brief word to the enormous crowd before the start. It’s the moments like these that make these old films so special. Video follows.