1947/48 Winner

The second driver/car combination to win the “500” in consecutive years came when Mauri Rose was first home in 1947 and 1948 (the first was Wilbur Shaw in 1939-40 with the Boyle Special Maserati). Rose’s car was one of two Offenhauser-powered, Emil Diedt–built machines commissioned in late 1946 by former driver Lou Moore and underwritten by the Blue Crown Spark Plug Company. The cars sat especially low because they employed front-wheel drive, a feature greatly favored by Moore for slippery track conditions. Rose’s teammate, Bill Holland, finished second to Rose in a twin Blue Crown car both years before capturing the victory in 1949.