|| *Comments on the 1963 Indianapolis 500:* View the most recent comment <#20> | Post a comment <#post> Tweet 1. RaceFanX posted: 01.19.2011 - 1:10 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) Parnelli Jones entered this race in a car nicknamed "Old Calhoun." The old roadster, the very same car Parnelli almost won the 1962 500 in before the brakes failed, pulled the upset and won the race in dominating fashion over Colin Chapman's rear-engined Lotus driven by F1 legend Jimmy Clark. While Jones had the best car at the start he eventually fell behind Clark after a pit stop. Clark led 27 laps but a pit stop that took over 30 seconds handed the lead back to Jones. The Lotus' Ford engine got great mileage but a one-stop approach wasn't enough to put it in victory lane. Jones' car sprung an oil leak late but it wasn't enough to deny him what would be his only Indy 500 win, and his only USAC Champ Car win in 1963. Clark dropped back to avoid the oil but Eddie Sachs did not and spun into the inside wall and out of the race because of it. A black flag was considered but decided against by the race officials (probably because Parnelli was winning) and the #98's oil leak eventually stopped. At the start Jones' biggest rival wasn't Clark but Jim Hurtubise with his powerful new Novi engine. Hurtubise would lead the opening lap but his Novi would eventually drop out just past halfway. One of Hurtubise's teammates for this race was Bobby Unser, making his Indy debut. The future three-time Indy winner's first go at the Brickyard was shortlived, he crashed out on the third lap and finished dead last. NASCAR legend Junior Johnson was to attempt to be the first driver to do the Indy 500/World 600 double in this race. It wasn't to be, the iconic moonshiner-turned-racer DNQed for the 500. He would never race in USAC Champ Cars. 2. RaceFanX posted: 01.19.2011 - 1:11 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Hurtubise's #56 car was owned by Andy Granatelli 3. Pacer posted: 07.26.2011 - 12:52 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) The pace car for this 500 was a Chrysler 300, the last Chrysler to have that honor to date. 4. ii posted: 04.07.2012 - 10:11 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) I believe Allen Crowe died from injuries in a crash a couple days after the 500. The site says he died on June 2nd, and this is only 3 days before. 5. Schroeder51 posted: 10.05.2013 - 2:02 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) A more complete list of drivers and teams that DNQed, courtesy of the ChampCarStats website... #27 Bill Cheesbourg #63 Jimmy Davies #25 Jimmy Daywalt #47 Ray Crawford #15 Ronnie Duman #77 Chuck Engle #62 Don Freeland #72 Cliff Griffith #91 Dan Gurney #82 Masten Gregory #31 Bob Harkey #83 Graham Hill #61 Norm Hall #73 Junior Johnson (note: Did not complete his rookie test) #82 Bill Krause #3 Ralph Ligouri #12 Curtis Turner #44 Jack Turner (note: Retired after a practice crash) #25, #38 Chuck Rodee #46 Ebb Rose #27 Johnny Rutherford #53 Paul Russo #48 Pedro Rodriguez #7, #47 Len Sutton #73 Colby Scroggin #29, #31 Bruce Jacobi #31 Bobby Unser #3 Bob Mathouser Gig Stephens #25 Cotton Farmer Bob Wente #62 Joe Sostillo Keith Rachwitz Gene Hartley (note: Retired) #37 Ed Kostenuk #89 Jack Conely 6. Lee Hulse posted: 11.15.2013 - 1:53 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) II, you are correct. Allen Crowe died at New Bremen driving the Iddings special. he was just coming into his own. He and my dad, (Chuck Hulse) were battling for 2nd behind Mcklusky when he got into turn 3 too hard. My dad was called on the carpet by usac for his involvement and possably for rough driving, but Don Branson Who was running just behind them) came to the meeting an explained to the board it was just good hard clean racing. 7. Schroeder51 posted: 03.14.2015 - 3:48 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) First Indy 500 starts for Jimmy Clark, Al Miller, Johnny Rutherford, Art Malone, and Bobby Unser. Last Indy 500 starts for Dempsey Wilson, Bob Christie, Ebb Rose, Paul Goldsmith, Duane Carter, Jim Rathmann, Allen Crowe, and Elmer George. 8. Schroeder51 posted: 03.14.2015 - 11:07 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Add to DNQs: Bob Mathouser, #3 Schulz Fueling Equipment (Did not qualify) Cotton Farmer, #25 Wynn's Friction Proofing (Withdrew, injured) Bruce Jacobi, #29 Vita Fresh Orange Juice (Wrecked practice) Bobby Unser, #31 American Rubber & Plastic (Did not qualify) Ed Kostenuk, #37 U. S. Equipment (Did not qualify) Joe Sostillo, #62 White Spot (Did not qualify) Colby Scroggin, #73 American Rubber & Plastic (DNS, too slow) Jack Conely, #89 J & E Engineering (Did not qualify) Gig Stephens, Edgar Stone (Did not qualify) Gene Hartley (Retired) Keith Rachwitz (Did not qualify) Bob Wente (Did not qualify) 9. indycar1 posted: 05.08.2015 - 10:12 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) This race ran 49 minutes under caution. 10. Jolly Mean Giant posted: 01.30.2016 - 8:29 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Qualifying results: 1. Parnelli Jones-151.153 MPH 2. A. J. Foyt-150.615 MPH 3. Jim Hurtubise-150.257 MPH 4. Don Branson-150.188 MPH 5. Paul Goldsmith-150.163 MPH 6. Rodger Ward-149.800 MPH 7. Jimmy Clark-149.750 MPH 8. Jim McElreath-149.744 MPH 9. Al Miller-149.613 MPH 10. Eddie Sachs-149.570 MPH 11. Bobby Marshman-149.458 MPH 12. Bobby Unser-149.421 MPH 13. Chuck Hulse-149.340 MPH 14. Dick Rathmann-149.130 MPH 15. Bob Christie-149.123 MPH 16. Lloyd Ruby-149.123 MPH 17. Dan Gurney-149.019 MPH 18. Allen Crowe-148.877 MPH 19. Bobby Grim-148.717 MPH 20. Roger McCluskey-148.680 MPH 21. Ebb Rose-148.545 MPH 22. Eddie Johnson-148.509 MPH 23. Chuck Stevenson-148.386 MPH 24. Troy Ruttman-148.374 MPH 25. Art Malone-148.343 MPH 26. Bob Veith-148.289 MPH 27. Bud Tingelstad-148.227 MPH 28. Johnny Rutherford-148.063 MPH 29. Johnny Boyd-148.038 MPH 30. Duane Carter-148.002 MPH 31. Elmer George-147.893 MPH 32. Jim Rathmann-147.838 MPH 33. Dempsey Wilson-147.832 MPH 11. Jake posted: 03.24.2016 - 12:45 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Is this the first instance of a branded Chevrolet engine making an Indy 500 start? I can't seem to find Chevrolet making a start in any other year pre-1963 though I've read elsewhere that a Chevrolet failed to qualify a few years earlier. This is of course ignoring the possibility that an early Chevrolet could have raced under a different name such as Frontenac (could it have?). 12. Jolly Mean Giant posted: 07.30.2016 - 3:15 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Eddie Sachs actually drove car #9 in this race, not #10 (there are two #10s listed in the running order, only Chuck Hulse actually drove a car with that number). Add to DNQs: Colby Scroggin, #73 American Rubber & Plastic Scroggin attempted to qualify the car that had been entered for Junior Johnson (Johnson never completed his rookie test and did not make a qualifying attempt), but was too slow and did not make the field. 13. Jolly Mean Giant posted: 03.21.2017 - 11:45 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) First alternate: Len Sutton 14. RaceFanX posted: 12.23.2017 - 3:34 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Paul Goldsmith qualifies in the top-10 but ultimately retires just before the three-fourths mark with a mechanical failure. This ended up being Goldsmith's final USAC Champ Car appearance, of his eight starts in the series six were at Indianapolis. 15. RaceFanX posted: 06.09.2018 - 10:29 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Cactus" Jack Turner flipped for the third year in a row at Indianapols during practice for this race, rolling his #44 at least five times near the start of the front stretch off turn 4. He announced his retirement from motorsports competition from his hospital bed afterward. A newsreel at the time deemed his decision "prudent." 16. RaceFanX posted: 11.01.2018 - 11:02 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) The Ford-powered Lotus entries for Jimmy Clark and his teammate Dan Gurney both had carbureted engines while the other 31 cars in the race all had fuel injection. The Lotuses ended up being the last carbureted cars at Indy to date so 1963 was also the last year that the Friday practice's Carb Day name had its intended meaning. 17. RaceFanX posted: 09.05.2019 - 11:13 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Elmer George returns to the Champ Car starting grid for the first time after his bad wreck at Phoenix the prior November. His #21, owned by his wife and future IMS chairperson Mari Hulman George, would retire early on with a handling issue in his last race in the series before he hung up his helmet. 18. RaceFanX posted: 03.29.2020 - 10:05 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Pedro Rodriguez attempts to be the first Mexican racer to compete in the Indy 500 but despite his talent he comes up short. Rodriguez made three attempts at the Brickyard but failed to qualify each time. Jostle Garza eventually became the first Mexican to race in the 500 in 1981. 19. Danish_Pie posted: 09.27.2020 - 12:16 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Additional DNQ: Jack Conely | 89 | J & E Engineering Per this article (https://www.whmi.com/news/article/brighton-race-car-finally-makes-it-to-indy-500) "Upon inspection the car was found to have a fractured part. He was told to replace it but lacked the cash, so he borrowed an engine from a fellow driver. With the borrowed engine slower than his own, he missed qualifying by three spots." 20. JollyMeanGiant posted: 03.03.2021 - 1:30 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) 41 cars completed full runs during qualifying. Masten Gregory in the #82, Ralph Ligouri in the #3, Chuck Rodee in the #38, Ebb Rose in the #46, Pedro Rodriguez in the #48, Len Sutton in the #47, Sutton in the #7 and Colby Scroggin in the #73 were not fast enough to make the field. (Not sure of the exact order they qualified in but Sutton was the first alternate so he was 34th fastest, not sure in which car though) ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *Post a comment:* Your comment may not appear immediately - all comments must be approved by the moderator. Name: Comment: