Bill Vuckovich cemented his reputation as the iron man of American racing with his dominating victory in the brutal 1953 Indy 500.

Technically speaking, the title of this film. The Hottest 500, is not really accurate. The 1953 race is not the hottest Indianapolis 500 on record. In 1937 and 2019, for example, the ambient temperature was actually higher than in 1953. But there was something about the conditions in ’53—humidity, poor ventilation in the cars, other factors—that made it probably the most brutally hot 500 in history for the drivers.

Due to the withering heat, at least 10 drivers required relief, and some of the relief drivers required relief as well. Carl Scarborough, a 38 year-old journeyman starting his second 500, climbed out of his car in his pit stall and was taken to the infield hospital, where he died due to heat exposure. Nine more drivers required medical treatment from the extreme heat. Only 12 cars finished the race.

California driver Bill Vukovich, driving Howard Keck’s Kurtis-Offy, was offered a relief driver but refused. Dominating the race, he cemented his reputation as the iron man of Indy car racing, He also demonstrated the clear superiority of the Kurtis roadster over the traditional upright-style chassis of the era. For for the rest of the fifties and into the sixties, roadsters dominated the starting fields at the Speedway. This excellent film, produced in color for Perfect Circle piston rings, captures all the important moments.