The 41st International 500-Mile Sweepstakes was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Thursday, May 30, 1957. The event was part of the 1957 USAC National Championship Trail and it was race 3 of 8 in the 1957 World Championship of Drivers.

Sam Hanks won the Indianapolis 500 in his thirteenth attempt (the most such by any 500 winner). He retired from competition at Indy in victory lane.^[3] Contrary to popular belief, Hanks did not completely retire from racing until the end of the year. He skipped the Race of Two Worlds when his entrant withdrew,^[4] but competed in USAC Stock Car events later in the year, winning the event at Trenton,^[5] and finished third in points championships for 1957.

Hanks received a record $103,844 purse, the first driver to win a $100,000 single-race payday. The total race purse was also a record, over $300,000 for the first time.

Hanks won the race in George Salih's "Lay-down Offy". The Offenhauser engine was mounted on its side and shifted off-center. This was done in order to lower the center of gravity, reduce frontal area, and counterbalance the body roll in the turns. The car that Hanks drove for the win in 1957 would win back-to-back Indy 500s, with Jimmy Bryan piloting the very same chassis to victory again in 1958.

For 1957, the Speedway introduced a new state-of-the-art pit lane and brand new Master Control Tower to house broadcasting as well as timing and scoring. For the first time, the pit area was separated from the mainstretch by an inside wall. The pit lane was paved in concrete (the mainstretch remained brick), while a grass strip went the length of the pit road to accommodate pit crew sign board men. Flagging duties would be done from a station on the grass strip at the start/finish line, and eventually a small wooden platform would be constructed for the flagman to stand atop. USAC officials also stationed themselves on the new grass parapet (which would be removed after the 1993 race when the parapet was narrowed and paved with concrete, and pit road become asphalt except for the pit boxes).

For the 1957 race, the field lined up in the pit area single-file, rather than the traditional eleven rows of three on the racing surface. On the pace lap, the field assembled into position, and was aligned for the green flag. By 1957, the field was now being taken around for two warm-up laps (one "parade" lap, and one "pace" lap), an increase over the single lap used previously. This single-file grid practice would eventually lead to confusion, and was utilized for only two years.

Time trials was scheduled for four days, but the second day was rained out. Rain affected practice days as well.^[6]

Giuseppe Farina was the only European driver on the entry list for the race, however, he did not attempt to qualify. Farina had difficulty getting his car up to speed, and had experienced handling problems. On May 15, his teammate Keith Andrews stepped into his car for a test run, but crashed. Down the frontstretch, Andrews began to slide, and when he attempted to correct, the car backed into the inside wall separating the pit area. Andrews was crushed to death between the cowl and the fuel tank, but no fire broke out.^[7] Farina withdrew after Andrews was killed, with no backup car to use.^[8]

More information Pos, Grid ...

Pos	Grid	No	Driver	Chassis	Engine	Laps	Time/Status	F1 Points	USAC Points
1	13	9	Sam Hanks	Salih	Offenhauser	200	3:41:14.25	8	1000
2	32	26	Jim Rathmann	Epperly	Offenhauser	200	+21.46	71	800
3	15	1	Jimmy Bryan	Kuzma R	Offenhauser	200	+2:13.97	4	700
4	10	54	Paul Russo	Kurtis 500F	Novi SC	200	+2:56.86	3	600
5	12	73	Andy Linden	Kurtis 500G	Offenhauser	200	+3:14.27	2	500
6	5	6	Johnny Boyd	Kurtis 500G	Offenhauser	200	+4:35.27		400
7	28	48	Marshall Teague	Kurtis 500C	Offenhauser	200	+4:45.58		300
8	1	12	Pat O'Connor	Kurtis 500G	Offenhauser	200	+5:33.15		250
9	16	7	Bob Veith	Phillips	Offenhauser	200	+6:17.11		200
10	14	22	Gene Hartley	Lesovsky	Offenhauser	200	+7:10.12		150
11	19	19	Jack Turner	Kurtis 500G	Offenhauser	200	+7:56.07		100
12	11	10	Johnny Thomson	Kuzma	Offenhauser	199	-1 Lap		50
13	33	95	Bob Christie	Kurtis 500C	Offenhauser	197	-3 Laps
14	25	82	Chuck Weyant	Kurtis 500C	Offenhauser	196	-4 Laps
15	22	27	Tony Bettenhausen	Kurtis 500F	Novi SC	195	-5 Laps
16	17	18	Johnnie Parsons  W	Kurtis 500G	Offenhauser	195	-5 Laps
17	21	3	Don Freeland	Kurtis 500D	Offenhauser	192	-8 Laps
18	6	5	Jimmy Reece	Kurtis 500C	Offenhauser	182	Throttle
19	27	92	Don Edmunds  R	Kurtis 500G	Offenhauser	170	Spun Off
20	31	28	Johnnie Tolan	Kuzma	Offenhauser	138	Clutch
21	30	89	Al Herman	Dunn	Offenhauser	111	Accident
22	4	14	Fred Agabashian	Kurtis 500G	Offenhauser	107	Fuel Leak
23	2	88	Eddie Sachs  R	Kuzma	Offenhauser	105	Fuel Leak
24	18	77	Mike Magill  R	Kurtis 500G	Offenhauser	101	Accident
25	20	43	Eddie Johnson	Kurtis 500G	Offenhauser	93	Wheel Bearing
26	23	31	Bill Cheesbourg  R	Kurtis 500G	Offenhauser	81	Fuel Leak
27	8	16	Al Keller	Kurtis 500G	Offenhauser	75	Accident
28	29	57	Jimmy Daywalt	Kurtis 500C	Offenhauser	53	Accident
29	7	83	Ed Elisian	Kurtis 500C	Offenhauser	51	Timing gear
30	24	8	Rodger Ward	Lesovsky	Offenhauser SC	27	Supercharger
31	3	52	Troy Ruttman  W	Watson	Offenhauser	13	Oil leak
32	26	55	Eddie Russo	Kurtis 500C	Offenhauser	0	Accident
33	9	23	Elmer George  R	Kurtis 500B	Offenhauser	0	Accident
Sources:[18][19]

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 W  Former Indianapolis 500 winner

 R  Indianapolis 500 Rookie

All entrants utilized Firestone tires.

^1 – Includes 1 point for fastest lead lap.

The Indianapolis 500 was included in the FIA World Championship of Drivers from 1950 through 1960. The race was sanctioned by AAA through 1955, and then by USAC beginning in 1956. At the time the new world championship was announced and first organized by the CSI, the United States did not yet have a Grand Prix. Indianapolis Motor Speedway vice president and general manager Theodore E. "Pop" Meyers lobbied that the Indianapolis 500 be selected as the race to represent the country and to pay points towards the world championship.^[24][25]

Drivers competing at the Indianapolis 500 in 1950 through 1960 were credited with participation in and earned points towards the World Championship of Drivers.^[26] However, the machines competing at Indianapolis were not necessarily run to Formula One specifications and regulations.^[27] The drivers also earned separate points (on a different scale) towards the respective AAA or USAC national championships. No points, however, were awarded by the FIA towards the World Constructors Championship.

The 1957 Indianapolis 500 was round 3 of 8 on the 1957 World Championship. The event, however, failed to attract interest from any of the regular competitors on the Grand Prix circuit. Race winner Sam Hanks earned 8 points towards the World Championship. Despite not competing in any of the other World Championship events, he finished eighth in the final season standings.

World Drivers Championship standings after the race

More information Pos, Driver ...

	Pos	Driver	Points
	1	Juan Manuel Fangio	17
28	2	Sam Hanks	8
27	3	Jim Rathmann	7
2	4	Jean Behra	6
2	5	Tony Brooks	6
Source:[28]

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• Note: Only the top five positions are included.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to 1957 Indianapolis 500.

• 1957 pace car