|| *Comments on the 1961 Indianapolis 500:* View the most recent comment <#15> | Post a comment <#post> Tweet 1. ii posted: 09.29.2010 - 4:47 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Jack Brabham, the only non-American in the field, raced a rear-engine Climax in this race. He was the only driver to race in the slow yet light engine. This sparked the change to rear-engine cars. 2. awesomegordonfan posted: 11.01.2010 - 7:43 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Tony Bettenhausen died qualifying for the 500. 3. RaceFanX posted: 01.19.2011 - 12:14 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Indy celebrates its 50th anniversary. Fittingly this was the final Indy 500 with the frontstretch still fully paved with bricks. Everyone in qualifying was trying to break the 150 MPH barrier but nobody could. Eddie Sachs won the pole at 147+ miles per hour. The race itself proved to be a great battle between two drivers who had never won the 500 before, Sachs and A.J. Foyt. Sachs had a great car late in the race itself and indeed could of and perhaps even should have won it. But late in the race his tires started to wear out. Sachs had to make a risky decision, go for the win but possibly blow it and crash or play it safe and live to race another day. He chose the latter, the fan favorite lost this day. The fact he was so close only makes his death in the 1964 Indy 500 all the more tragic. Foyt had to overcome an issue in the pits that resulted in his team being unable to put fuel in the car during a late stop. It somewhat played into their favor, they didn't tell Foyt about the issue and since his car was lighter without the heavy fuel load of the day he was running faster after the stop and Sachs running hard to keep up probably played in a big role in his tire issues. It was a pit stop by Foyt to get fuel, using a rig borrowed from a team that had already retired, that put Sachs in the position to win. But once Sachs was out of the way A.J. cruised to the first of his four Indy wins. Using another team's fuel rig to fuel your car, like A.J.'s team did, was ban at Indy after this race. Jim Hurtubise had the car to beat at the start of the race. His #99 jumped out to the lead on the opening lap and held it for 35 laps. He eventually faded and the Demler Special fell out just past halfway with mechanical problems. A single car spin by Don Davis turned into a massive crash when his dark blue #83 roadster came to rest in the middle of the frontstretch near turn 1. Several drivers lost control trying to miss the empty car (Davis jumped out and ran to the pits) and the wreck eventually took out five cars including the #45 of Jack Turner who rolled twice times after colliding with the outside wall. Parnelli Jones makes a strong Indy debut and leads 27 laps, he shares top rookie honors with Bobby Marshman. This was the first 500 not to count for points in the F1 World Championship since that series' 1950 formation. 4. Matthew posted: 02.16.2011 - 8:17 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) RIP Tony. 5. Mike posted: 02.24.2011 - 11:30 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Bettenhausen didn't die qualifying, but rather while testing a car for a friend (Paul Russo?), who has having problems and Tony had volunteered to take a few laps to see if he could diagnose the problem. 6. Pacer posted: 07.26.2011 - 1:01 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) The pace car for this 500 was a Ford Thunderbird. 7. Schroeder51 posted: 10.05.2013 - 2:10 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) A more complete list of drivers and teams that DNQed, courtesy of the ChampCarStats website... #79 Bert Brooks #6 Bob Cleberg #62 Chuck Arnold #85 Don Davis #61, #94 Duane Carter #77 Leon Clum #94 Ray Crawford #43 Ronnie Duman #69 Russ Congdon #15, #24 Tony Bettenhausen (note: Killed in practice crash) #84 Jack Ensley #23 Cotton Farmer #27, #47 Don Freeland #37 Chuck Hulse #88, #92 Norm Hall #47 Danny Jones #29 Jim McWithey #82 Mike Magill #23, #25, #44, #85 Bob Veith #54 Bud Tingelstad #88 Chuck Weyant #95 Bill Randall #89 Chuck Rodee #75 Dick Rathman #44, #87 Jack Rounds #9 Lloyd Ruby #21, #24 Paul Russo #88 Bob Wente #75 Ralph Ligouri #95 Harry Beck (note: Entry was declined due to lack of experience) 8. Schroeder51 posted: 03.14.2015 - 3:42 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) First Indy 500 starts for Bobby Marshman, Jack Brabham, Norm Hall, Parnelli Jones, Ebb Rose, Roger McCluskey, and Don Davis. Only Indy 500 start for A. J. Shepherd. Last Indy 500 starts for Al Keller, Wayne Weiler, and Cliff Griffith. 9. Schroeder51 posted: 03.14.2015 - 10:53 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Add to DNQs: Tony Bettenhuasen, #15 Coral Harbor (Did not qualify) Paul Russo, #24 Stearly Motor Freight (Did not qualify) Ralph Ligouri, #75 Paxton Products (Did not qualify) Bob Wente, #88 Drewry's (Did not qualify) Harry Beck, #95 Safety Auto Glass (Entry declined, lack of experience) Bill Randall, #95 Safety Auto Glass (Did not qualify) 10. indycar1 posted: 05.08.2015 - 10:09 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) This race ran 33 minutes under caution. 11. RaceFanX posted: 01.07.2016 - 1:18 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Foyt's win here was his fifth in USAC Champ Car competition but his first on a paved track. What a way to do it. 12. Jolly Mean Giant posted: 01.30.2016 - 8:07 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Qualifying results: 1. Eddie Sachs-147.481 MPH 2. Lloyd Ruby-146.909 MPH 3. Don Branson-146.843 MPH 4. Jim Hurtubise-146.306 MPH 5. Rodger Ward-146.187 MPH 6. Al Keller-146.157 MPH 7. Parnelli Jones-146.080 MPH 8. Dick Rathmann-146.033 MPH 9. A. J. Foyt-145.903 MPH 10. Len Sutton-145.897 MPH 11. Bill Cheesbourg-145.873 MPH 12. Eddie Johnson-145.843 MPH 13. Jim Rathmann-145.413 MPH 14. Wayne Weiler-145.349 MPH 15. Don Davis-145.349 MPH 16. Chuck Stevenson-145.191 MPH 17. Jack Brabham-145.144 MPH 18. Roger McCluskey-145.068 MPH 19. Cliff Griffith-145.038 MPH 20. A. J. Shepherd-144.954 MPH 21. Jack Turner-144.904 MPH 22. Gene Hartley-144.817 MPH 23. Troy Ruttman-144.799 MPH 24. Bob Christie-144.782 MPH 25. Paul Goldsmith-144.741 MPH 26. Norm Hall-144.555 MPH 27. Shorty Templeman-144.341 MPH 28. Ebb Rose-144.338 MPH 29. Bobby Marshman-144.293 MPH 30. Jimmy Daywalt-144.219 MPH 31. Dempsey Wilson-144.202 MPH 32. Johnny Boyd-144.092 MPH 33. Bobby Grim-144.029 MPH 13. Jolly Mean Giant posted: 03.21.2017 - 11:44 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) First alternate: Paul Russo 14. JollyMeanGiant posted: 02.23.2021 - 7:42 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Additional DNQs according to UltimateRacingHistory: Don Schisler, #0, Snowberger/Offy (Owner: Carol Horton) Johnny Mantz, #94 McCullogh, Elder/Offy (Owner: Ray Crawford) Elmer George, #21 Bryant Heating and Cooling, Kuzma 9/Offy (Owner: Mari Hulman George) Bill Randall, #95 Safety Auto Glass, Kurtis 500C/Offy (Owner: James Shreve) 15. JollyMeanGiant posted: 03.03.2021 - 1:26 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) 40 cars completed full qualifying runs. Bert Brooks in the #79, Bob Cleberg in the #6, Don Freeland in the #47, Norm Hall in the #92, Bob Veith in the #23, Veith in the #25 and Paul Russo in the #21 were not fast enough to make the field. (Not sure of the exact order they qualified in but Russo was the first alternate so he was 34th fastest) ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *Post a comment:* Your comment may not appear immediately - all comments must be approved by the moderator. Name: Comment: