According to an April 23, 1940 news article in the Indianapolis newspaper, the two rear-engined Gulf cars designed by Harry Miller used regular pump gas and regular oil. This was in stark contrast to the other cars that were burning either specially-blended gasoline or pure alcohol.
R. J. S. Pigott, staff engineer at Gulf Oil explained, "Since the first objective in entering these cars is not to capture the 'pot of gold' that goes to the winner, but instead to study the pereformance of fuels and lubricants under the terrific speeds and punishing heat of the 500-mile race. Many other experimental devices are on the cars. For example, the fuel is blown into the cylinders under extreme pressure by a double inlet centrifugal supeercharger. This is a greatly advanced design over anything ever installed on a passenger car, and its performance will be studied."
Barringer in the garage area in the Bill White Hollywood's Payday No. 6. Standing next to him is Bob Clidinsts, mechanic.
The race started under an overcast and cloudy sky. At the 375-mile mark, rain began falling. Instead of stopping the race, officials put out the yellow flag. This meant no passing with a speed limit of 70 miles per hour. That's the way the last 125 miles were run.
