1923 Indianapolis 500

In January 1923, about four months before the race, the Indiana Legislature passed a bill prohibiting commercialized sporting events, including the Indianapolis 500, from being held on Memorial Day.^[6] At the time, Memorial Day was a fixed-date holiday (May 30). Some veterans groups, and proponents of the measure, led by senator Robert L. Moorhead, were displeased with the way the holiday had become "...a day for games, races, and revelry, instead of a day of memory and tears".^[7] The bill sparked a heated debate, whereby the local American Legion issued a public proclamation opposing the law, on the grounds of free expression, and being "un-American" in principle.^[8]

The issue created a potential schedule shake-up, which could have moved the race to the proceeding Saturday (May 26), or forced an outright cancellation.^[9][10] Speedway management was leery about permanently moving the race to a Saturday, since many spectators worked on Saturdays, and they preferred to have the race on a holiday. Racing on Sunday was also strongly opposed by management at the time. Officials in the city of Indianapolis even proposed making the Saturday before Memorial Day a city holiday, to ensure the race was held on a holiday. On March 5, after consulting legal experts, Governor Warren T. McCray vetoed the bill, calling it "class legislation" and therefore unconstitutional.^[11]

In subsequent years, the Indianapolis 500 would be held on Memorial Day (May 30) regardless of the day of the week through 1970. The only exceptions were when May 30 fell on a Sunday. In those cases, the race was held on Monday May 31 (the observed holiday). Memorial Day ceased to be a fixed-date holiday after the passage of the Uniform Monday Holiday Act, which took effect in 1971. The race moved permanently to Sunday starting in 1974.

Four-lap (10 mile) qualifying runs were utilized. Tommy Milton won the pole with a record speed of over 108 mph. Five cars qualified with average speeds of over 100 mph.

More information Finish, Start ...

Finish	Start	No	Name	Entrant	Car	Qual	Rank	Laps	Status
1	1	1	Tommy Milton  W  (Howdy Wilcox Laps 103–151)	H.C.S. Motor Company	Miller	108.170	1	200	90.955 mph
2	2	7	Harry Hartz	R. Cliff Durant	Miller	103.700	3	200	+3:15.73
3	9	5	Jimmy Murphy  W	R. Cliff Durant	Miller	104.050	2	200	+10:46.47
4	14	6	Eddie Hearne (Earl Cooper 88–200)	R. Cliff Durant	Miller	97.300	9	200	+16:24.06
5	7	23	L. L. Corum	Barber-Warnock	Fronty-Ford T	86.650	23	200	+33:26.64
6	16	31	Frank Elliott (Dave Lewis Laps 109–138)	R. Cliff Durant	Miller	93.250	12	200	+35:02.70
7	10	8	Cliff Durant (Eddie Hearne Laps 98–116) (Eddie Hearne Laps 149–200)	R. Cliff Durant	Miller	102.650	4	200	+35:16.13
8	20	15	Max Sailer  R  (Karl Sailer Laps 73–200)	Daimler Motoren Gesellschaft	Mercedes	90.550	18	200	+41:59.43
9	22	19	Prince de Cystria  R	Prince de Cystria	Bugatti	88.900	21	200	+56:34.61
10	24	34	Wade Morton  R  (Jerry Wunderlich Laps 30–53) (Thane Houser) (Phil Shafer Laps 65–87) (Jerry Wunderlich Laps 88–100) (Ora Haibe Laps 101–160) (Phil Shafer Laps 172–200)	Duesenberg Brothers	Duesenberg	88.000	22	200	+1:10:14.81
11	15	16	Christian Werner  R  (Max Sailer Laps 84–87) (Max Sailer Laps 112–126) (Christian Lautenschlager)	Daimler Motoren Gesellschaft	Mercedes	95.200	11	200	+1:12:00.34
12	6	18	Pierre de Vizcaya  R	Martín de Álzaga	Bugatti	90.300	19	165[12]	Rod
13	21	28	Leon Duray (Lou Wilson Laps 133–136)	R. Cliff Durant	Miller	89.900	20	136	Rod
14	3	3	Dario Resta  W  (Ernie Ansterburg Laps 71–80) (Joe Boyer Laps 81–88)	Packard Motor Car Company	Packard	98.020	8	88	Differential
15	11	2	Ralph DePalma  W  (Ernie Ansterburg)	Packard Motor Car Company	Packard	100.420	5	69	Head gasket
16	19	26	Harlan Fengler  R  (Lou Wilson Laps 46–69)	R. Cliff Durant	Miller	90.750	17	69	Gas tank
17	8	25	Howdy Wilcox  W	H.C.S. Motor Company	Miller	81.000	24	60	Clutch
18	13	4	Joe Boyer	Packard Motor Car Company	Packard	98.800	7	59	Differential
19	18	35	Bennett Hill (Martín de Álzaga Laps 30–44)	Harry A. Miller	Miller	91.200	16	44	Crankshaft
20	5	27	Louis Zborowski  R	Count L. Zborowski	Bugatti	91.800	15	41	Rod
21	12	29	Earl Cooper (Tom Alley Laps 2–21)	R. Cliff Durant	Miller	99.400	6	21	Crash BS
22	23	22	Raúl Riganti  R	Martín de Álzaga	Bugatti	95.300	10	19	Gas line
23	17	14	Christian Lautenschlager  R	Daimler Motoren Gesellschaft	Mercedes	93.200	13	14	Crash T1
24	4	21	Martín de Álzaga  R	Martín de Álzaga	Bugatti	92.900	14	6	Rod
[13][14][15]

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Note: Relief drivers in parentheses^[16]

 W  Former Indianapolis 500 winner

 R  Indianapolis 500 Rookie

• For 1923, riding mechanics were made optional.^[17] Only one team (the Mercedes of Christian Lautenschlager) utilized one.
• First alternate: none^[18]