In 1912 a young Italian racer named Ralph DePalma led the Indianapolis 500 competition by a huge margin only to be plagued by engine failure with only 3 laps to go. The big grey Mercedes (#4) expired on the last lap, leaving Ralph and his mechanic Rupert Jefffkins the option of pushing the car home, this obviously made the crowd go wild, not only for Joe Dawson who ultimately won the race (#8), but for Depalma’s incredible persistence and sportsmanship. This will be on the cover and inside flap of this years official Indy 500 program with a narrative of the event as well. The original is oil on linen 62″x40.

This was quite a challenging piece to compose.