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The 1942 Indianapolis 500 was scheduled for Saturday May 30, 1942 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. It was to be the 30th annual running of the famous automobile race. The race was cancelled due to the United States involvement in World War II. In total, the Indianapolis 500 was not held from 1942 to 1945. This was the second instance in which the Indianapolis Motor Speedway suspended the annual running of the Indianapolis 500. During World War I the Speedway management voluntarily suspended competition in 1917–1918. However, for WWII, the cancellation of events was part of a four-year nationwide ban on automobile racing. ==Background== Ticket order forms were available for the race in November 1941. Less than a month later, the attack on Pearl Harbor launched the United States into World War II. On December 29, 1941, Speedway president Eddie Rickenbacker announced that the 1942 Indy 500 was cancelled, and the race would remain suspended throughout the duration of the war.〔 Unlike during WWI, all automobile racing under the auspices of the AAA Contest Board was suspended, and furthermore on July 15, 1942, the federal government moved to ban automobile racing, primarily due to rationing.〔〔Rickenbacker 1967, p. 159.〕 The Speedway gates were locked, and the facility was abandoned. The race would not be held from 1942 to 1945. The golf course on the premises, however, did operate for at least some time during the war. During the period in which the track was closed, it fell into a terrible state of disrepair. Grass and weeds overwhelmed the brick racing surface,〔 and the old wooden grandstands became frail and unsuitable and inhospitable. Many former and future Indianapolis 500 drivers were servicemen in the war effort during WWII. Sam Hanks is believed to be the only driver who was in the war, and drove in the race both before and after. Several WWII veterans returned to become Indy drivers, including winners Lee Wallard, Bob Sweikert, and Rodger Ward. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「1942 Indianapolis 500」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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