|| *Comments on the 1964 Indianapolis 500:* View the most recent comment <#35> | Post a comment <#post> Tweet 1. DieselDan posted: 05.24.2010 - 8:33 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Last win for a front engined car. 2. Darrell posted: 05.25.2010 - 5:56 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) This race is more known for the deaths of Eddie Sachs and Dave MacDonald 3. Madison posted: 05.25.2010 - 9:54 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) On the first lap, Eddie Sachs and Dave MacDonald lost their lives in a devistating accident. The accident led to red flags, better driver suits, and fuel bladders. On the last lap, A.J. Foyt had to back it down to 2nd gear, as there was a crash on the front stretch. Smokey Yunick entered a car with a "sidecar" driver's seat. The car didn't make the race, which was probably good since the sidecar offered no protection in the instance of a crash. 4. AutoRockinRacing94 posted: 05.26.2010 - 5:51 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Worst Week in Motorsports until April 29-May 1, 1994. Fireball Roberts had a fatal crash (he would die 39 days later after the crash) that week also. 5. Matthew posted: 08.18.2010 - 1:59 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) On lap 2 of this race,Eddie Sachs & Dave McDonald were killed in a fiery crash.RIP Eddie & Dave! 6. ii posted: 09.06.2010 - 6:32 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Really gruesome race. The '64 Indy 500 was one of the first Indy 500s that had a whole bunch of Offy's 7. awesomegordonfan posted: 09.30.2010 - 6:29 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Also, ii, both McDonald and Fireball Roberts, who died from injuries on the same day, raced in the same race at the Atlanta International Raceway in the 1964 season, but in 1963. Confusing, but true. 8. awesomegordonfan posted: 09.30.2010 - 6:30 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) *Augusta, not Atlanta. I'm too modern. 9. RaceFanX posted: 01.19.2011 - 10:33 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) The rear-engined car starts to take over, 12 of them qualified for this race. It was justified, Jimmy Clark sat on the pole and broke the track record with his Lotus with Bobby Marshman second on the grid in another Lotus. Sachs and MacDonald's wreck caused a red flag for over an hour. The accident resulted in a lot of changes at the Indy, the biggest of which was gasoline being replaced by methanol as a fuel and fuel loads themselves being cut down. The crash happened into the inside retaining wall off turn 4 onto the frontstretch, the same place Swede Savage would have his firey inferno of a fatal crash in 1973, after Indy rookie MacDonald (in his only Champ Car start) and his illhanding entry just lost it. On the restart Marshman put his Lotus out in front of Clark's, he would lead until lap 39 when mechanical woes put the white Lotus on the trailer. Clark retook the lead but his green Lotus didn't last much longer, less than 10 laps later the suspension failed on the British car and his left-rear wheel almost fell off because of it. Both of the leading Lotus were done. With the Lotus cars gone defending 500 champion Parnelli Jones and his roadster took the lead. It would last just seven laps as #98 caught fire in the pits as Jones was leaving his stall to re-enter the race. Parnelli jumped from his burning car before it even came to a stop. With Marshman, Clark and Jones all out of the race 1961 Indy winner A.J. Foyt took the lead and stayed there for the rest of the race. Even with a slight leak in the transmission, the white #1 Watson / Offy was unstopable and Foyt cruised to victory although he admitted the loss of Sachs and MacDonald severely dampened it. Foyt's win was last at Indy for a front-engineed roadster. By 1969 there wouldn't even be any in the field. 10. rob posted: 04.01.2011 - 12:39 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) roberts' accident came one day later. 11. Pacer posted: 07.26.2011 - 12:48 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) The pace car for this 500 was a Ford Mustang, a brand new model pacing the 500 for the first time. 12. Schroeder51 posted: 10.05.2013 - 1:56 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) A more complete list of drivers and teams that DNQed, courtesy of the ChampCarStats website... #33 Bob Christie #71 Chuck Arnold #47, #75 Duane Carter #1 A. J. Foyt #35 Cliff Griffith #21 Elmer George #45 Jerry Grant #82 Masten Gregory #47 Bobby Johns #65 Dee Jones #97 Parnelli Jones #85 Jud Larson #38 Ralph Ligouri #93 Al Miller #8 Dempsey Wilson #81 Chuck Rodee #21 Paul Russo #48 Pedro Rodriguez Don Horvath (note: Passed his rookie test but did not qualify) #7 Chuck Hulse (note: Declined due to injuries) Ed Kostenuk Gig Stephens 13. Anonymous posted: 04.07.2014 - 9:05 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) Smokey Yunick brought a radically different design for Bobby Johns. Johns' cars engine was placed where the driver usually sat, and Johns drove from a sidecar. The car ended up failing to qualify. Here's a picture of the car: http://api.ning.com/files/FmcwEVMqBP6ZZL1D2UKje7w3FW*9wCmwD9oa8Yu9GyjGk0IcePF1ZYzSbXIp*W-MbRXJqZTU0scSvmswdIbLtEsbCEe3CMAymVFx62LjBkI_/bobbyjohnsindy19642.jpg?width=400&height=245 14. JasonB72 posted: 12.26.2014 - 11:40 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Owner Update: #47- Smokey Yunick #82- Mickey Thompson 15. Schroeder51 posted: 03.14.2015 - 3:51 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) First Indy 500 starts for Bob Harkey, Walt Hansgen, and Ronnie Duman. Only Indy 500 starts for Johnny White, Bob Wente, Bob Mathouser, and Dave MacDonald. Last Indy 500 starts for Dick Rathman, Troy Ruttman, Bobby Marshman, Eddie Sachs, and Norm Hall. 16. Schroeder51 posted: 03.14.2015 - 11:09 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Add to DNQs: Chuck Hulse, #7 Dean Van Lines (Driver declined, injury) Duane Carter, #47 Hurst Floor Shift (Did not qualify) Don Horvath, Dean Van Lines (Took rookie test) Ed Kostenuk (Did not qualify) Gig Stephens (Did not qualify) 17. Schroeder51 posted: 04.06.2015 - 2:46 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Yellow flags: 1. #9 Bobby Unser, #25 Eddie Sachs, #26 Norm Hall, #64 Ronnie Duman, #83 Dave MacDonald, #86 Johnny Rutherford, #95 Chuck Stevenson accident, frontstretch (Laps 2-3, red flag was out for nearly two hours) 2. #77 Bob Mathouser spin, turn 3 (Laps 37-41) 3. #6 Jimmy Clark lost wheel, turn 1 (Laps 47-48) 4. #14 Troy Ruttman spin, turn 3 (Laps 109-110) 5. #53 Walt Hansgen, debris (Lap 120) 6. Spin, turn 3 (Lap 165, not sure by who) 18. indycar1 posted: 05.08.2015 - 10:14 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) This race ran 30 minutes under caution. 19. Cornys posted: 09.08.2015 - 8:32 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) This race is a reminder of how dangerous racing was, and still can be today. This race's early double fatal accident and Fireball Roberts' fatal accident in the World 600 just a week earlier (he would die three days after this race, and ten days after his accident) would lead to heightened safety with regard to fuel. Safer and smaller fuel cells were mandated (MacDonald had enough fuel to finish the race on board at the start), and USAC moved to methanol for the 1965 season. USAC mandated that drivers carry a smaller fuel cell, which required them to take fuel in pit stops. 20. Jolly Mean Giant posted: 01.30.2016 - 8:35 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) The Sachs-MacDonald crash was the first time the Indy 500 had EVER been stopped for anything other than inclement weather. Qualifying results: 1. Jimmy Clark-158.828 MPH 2. Bobby Marshman-157.857 MPH 3. Rodger Ward-156.406 MPH 4. Parnelli Jones-155.099 MPH 5. Bobby Unser-154.865 MPH 6. A. J. Foyt-154.672 MPH 7. Dan Gurney-154.487 MPH 8. Lloyd Ruby-153.932 MPH 9. Len Sutton-153.813 MPH 10. Bob Veith-153.381 MPH 11. Eddie Johnson-152.905 MPH 12. Don Branson-152.672 MPH 13. Walt Hansgen-152.581 MPH 14. Jim Hurtubise-152.542 MPH 15. Jack Brabham-152.504 MPH 16. Jim McElreath-152.381 MPH 17. Dick Rathmann-151.860 MPH 18. Johnny Boyd-151.835 MPH 19. Bob Harkey-151.573 MPH 20. Dave MacDonald-151.464 MPH 21. Bob Mathouser-151.451 MPH 22. Eddie Sachs-151.439 MPH 23. Johnny Rutherford-151.400 MPH 24. Troy Ruttman-151.292 MPH 25. Art Malone-151.222 MPH 26. Bud Tingelstad-151.210 MPH 27. Bobby Grim-151.038 MPH 28. Johnny White-150.893 MPH 29. Chuck Stevenson-150.830 MPH 30. Norm Hall-150.094 MPH 31. Bob Wente-149.869 MPH 32. Ronnie Duman-149.744 MPH 33. Bill Cheesbourg-148.711 MPH 21. Mile501 posted: 02.10.2016 - 2:11 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Maybe this is just a mistake, but why is A.J. Foyt, who won the race, listed under the DNQ/withdrew list? 22. Anonymous posted: 02.10.2016 - 2:31 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) The #1 car changed chassis (I think) and Foyt failed to qualify the first time around then qualified after the change. 23. Jolly Mean Giant posted: 07.30.2016 - 3:23 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Add to DNQs: Don Horvath, #37 Dean Van Lines Horvath took a rookie test in a car owned by Ed Kostenuk (and passed it), but did not make an actual qualifying attempt. 24. JLPsnipes posted: 03.10.2017 - 9:02 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Not sure why it says that the winner Foyt is in the DNQ list 25. Archie posted: 03.10.2017 - 9:13 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Foyt failed to qualify the #1 car with its original chassis and then qualified later with the Watson chassis so apparently that technically counts as a DNQ. That kind of thing isn't unheard of in Indy 500 qualifying and I'm sure there are other drivers (but not in 1964) who DNQ'd initially but then made the race with another car. 26. SeanNumber2 posted: 03.10.2017 - 10:10 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) @25 First one that comes to mind is RHR who DNQ'd in 2011 but took over the 2nd Foyt car for the 500. 27. Sean posted: 03.10.2017 - 12:10 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Scott Goodyear twice, both in 1992 and 1994. 28. Jolly Mean Giant posted: 03.21.2017 - 11:47 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) First alternate: Paul Russo 29. Nascar Lead Lap Points posted: 05.26.2017 - 12:22 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Sponsor Updates #99 Demler #23 Chapman https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I6LSJidf91M Owner Update #1 Ansted-Thompson Racing (In the DNQ) 30. Mr.Victory posted: 02.17.2018 - 9:39 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I know most people commented about the deaths of the drivers, but, I'ma talk about the points. 1000 Points for 1st? Must be lucky to win. 31. JoeyTheHDK posted: 02.17.2018 - 9:45 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) That was the USAC scoring rules of the time, which awarded two points per mile for the race winner. USAC kept that scoring system more or less in place until the end of the Gold Crown championship in 1995. 32. OJBRacer posted: 11.07.2020 - 5:17 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Researching this tragedy over decades (my older brother was there at chute between 3 and 4) it is apparent that USAC themselves shame a good portion of the blame. Demanding Mickey Thompson run 15" diameter wheels and not permitting the aerodynamics contributed substantially to the MacDonald car becoming a nightmare. It wasn't the first time USAC xenophobia and prmitivist philosophy caused trouble at The Brickyard. 33. RaceFanX posted: 12.29.2020 - 10:52 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) This was the first year that the legendary Donald Davidson attended the Indianapolis 500 in person and he fast wowed track officials and those in the garage with his inability to recount virtually any statistic regarding the famous race from memory, even getting a cameo on the race's radio broadcast as a result. Davidson would move to the United States in 1965 and become IMS Radio's statistican before later becoming the Indianapolis Motor Speedway's official historian in late 1990s. He fulfilled that role until his retirement at the end of 2020. 34. JollyMeanGiant posted: 02.23.2021 - 7:44 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Additional DNQ according to UltimateRacingHistory: Gig Stephens, #63, Curtis 2/Offy (Owner: Karl Hall) 35. JollyMeanGiant posted: 03.03.2021 - 1:32 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) 39 cars completed full qualifying runs. Bob Christie in the #33, Masten Gregory in the #82, Jud Larson in the #85, Al Miller in the #93, Chuck Rodee in the #81 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: