|| *Comments on the 1966 Indianapolis 500:* View the most recent comment <#26> | Post a comment <#post> Tweet 1. 18fan posted: 08.27.2010 - 3:38 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) First USAC Champ Car race for Cale Yarborough. 2. Anonymous posted: 01.04.2011 - 9:23 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Graham Hill snaked his way through the pile up at the start and then took advantage of Jackie Stewart's misfortune with 10 laps to go to win his only Indy 500. 3. RaceFanX posted: 01.19.2011 - 11:34 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Hill and Stewart were both rookies in this race, their new Lolas and that of their 500 veteran teammate Rodger Ward actually weren't that fast out of the gate and all three qualifed midpack. Come race day though they were fast and worked their way to the front. Defending 500 champ Jimmy Clark was back, now with STP sponsorship and a day-glo orange paint job to match, and was quick on pole day but denied starting the 500 in the top position by sophomore sensation Mario Andretti who claimed his first pole at Indy. The 50th running of the 500 got off to a wild start with an 11-car wreck on the frontstretch that stopped the race for over an hour. While 1/3 the field was wiped out amazingly only A.J. Foyt suffered an injury, he cut himself escaping from his #2 car. Once the race really got going Andretti pulled out to an early lead before eventually being passed by Clark and sent the sidelines by mechanical problems. It was Andretti's first retirement from Indy but it would be far from his last. With Andretti gone Jimmy Clark began to pull away, until suddenly he spun the STP Lotus / Ford. The orange car would do two 360s, one in each direction, but Clark managed not to hit anything although a pit stop for fresh rubber handed the lead to Lloyd Ruby. Clark's spin set up a good battle between the two that eventually saw Ruby prevail when Clark spun his Lotus again and again had to stop for new tires. Ruby began to pull away but an oil leak with about 50 to go got him black flagged and dropped him from contention for the win and eventually out of the race entirely. With Ruby gone it became a battle of the European racers. Jimmy Stewart was out front in the Lola with Clark back again in the Lotus and Hill in the second Lola right behind him. Stewart's bid for victory ended 10 laps short however when his car died. The Scotsman scored some major cheers for the crowd however when he pushed his car back to the pits afterward. Stewart's retirement handed the lead to his teammate Hill who went on to be the first rookie to win at Indy in 40 years. It would be Hill's only USAC Champ Car victory and it came in his first start in the series. 4. b4il3y posted: 04.19.2011 - 1:24 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) Jimmy Stewart was out front in the Lola with Clark back again in the Lotus and Hill in the second Lola right behind him. A Jimmy Stewert didnt race in this race....you mean Jackie? 5. RaceFanX posted: 05.20.2011 - 11:41 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) Nope. I actually mean Tony...although he's actually still five years from being born at this point. Just kidding, I did mean Jackie and thanks for keeping me honest. 6. Pacer posted: 07.26.2011 - 12:34 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) The pace car for this 500 was a Mercury Comet Cyclone GT. 7. 67fairlaneGTA posted: 04.23.2012 - 3:45 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Dick Atkins I believe missed qualifying by .02 seconds and died in a crash at Ascot later that year 8. Hotdogger posted: 01.02.2013 - 12:46 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Nice write-up, RaceFanX. I need to rewatch the video highlights of this race and relive it. Pretty cool that Mario atleast got to race against Jimmy Clark at Indy, if sadly not on the F1 circuit. 9. Schroeder51 posted: 10.05.2013 - 1:50 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) A more complete list of drivers and teams that DNQed, courtesy of the ChampCarStats website... #79, #99 Bill Cheesbourg #97 Dick Atkins #68 Ronnie Bucknum #17 Ronnie Duman #2 A. J. Foyt #63, #78 Masten Gregory #85 Bob Harkey #36 Bob Hurt #41 Bobby Johns #68 Bruce Jacobi #32 Art Malone #96 Bob Mathouser #85 Mike McGreevy #76 LeeRoy Yarbrough #67 Bob Veith #44 Art Pollard #65, #85 Bob Wente #51 Dempsey Wilson #15, #76 Greg Weld #92 Chuck Rodee (note: Killed in qualifying crash) #87 Red Riegel #11 Chuck Stevenson #38 Sammy Sessions #61 Bob Tattersall Dave Paul #55 Ron Lux Jud Larson #1 Gig Stephens #92 Johnny Rutherford (note: Withdrawn due to injuries) #96 Al Unser #44 Hal Minyard #61 Gary Bettenhausen (note: Entry declined due to lack of experience) Jim Adams (note: Entry declined due to lack of experience) Dick Fries (note: Entry declined due to lack of experience) Dick Guldstand (note: Entry declined due to lack of experience) Billy Wilkerson (note: Entry declined due to lack of experience) Jack Conely Ebb Rose 10. Schroeder51 posted: 03.14.2015 - 3:55 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) First Indy 500 starts for Graham Hill, Mel Kenyon, Jackie Stewart, Carl Williams, Cale Yarborough, and Larry Dickson. Only Indy 500 start for Gary Congdon. Last Indy 500 starts for Eddie Johnson, Rodger Ward, Johnny Boyd, Don Branson, and Billy Foster. 11. Schroeder51 posted: 03.14.2015 - 11:19 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Add to DNQs: Hal Minyard, #44 Compton Motors (Did not qualify) Ron Lux, #55 Barnett Brothers (Did not qualify) Gary Bettenhausen, #61 McManus Bros. (Entry declined, not enough experience) Bob Tattersall, #61 McManus Bros. (Did not qualify) Bill Cheesbourg, #79 "Twin Engine" (Did not qualify) Mike McGreevey, #85 Caves Buick (Did not qualify) Johnny Rutherford, #92 Leader Card (Injured, could not participate) Al Unser, #96 Harrison (Drove #18 instead) Jim Adams (Entry declined, not enough experience) Jack Conely, Conely-McManus (Did not appear) Dick Fries (Entry declined, not enough experience) Dick Guldstrand (Entry declined, not enough experience) Jud Larson (Did not appear) Dave Paul, Paul Enterprises (Did not qualify) Ebb Rose, Racing Associates (Did not appear) Gig Stephens (Did not appear) Billy Wilkerson (Entry declined, not enough experience) 12. Schroeder51 posted: 04.06.2015 - 2:50 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Yellow flags: 1. #2 A. J. Foyt, #4 Don Branson, #27 Billy Foster, #31 Dan Gurney, #34 Larry Dickson, #37 Arnie Knepper, #39 Bobby Grim, #53 Gary Congdon, #66 Cale Yarborough, #75 Al Miller, #96 Ronnie Duman accident, frontstretch (Laps 1-5) 2. #28 Johnny Boyd accident, turn 1 (Laps 6-16) 3. #12 Chuck Hulse, #82 George Snider accident, turn 2 (Laps 22-31) 4. #19 Jimmy Clark spin, turn 4 (Laps 65-68) 5. #19 Jimmy Clark spin, turn 3 (Laps 87-89) 6. #18 Al Unser accident, turn 4 (Laps 161-170) 13. FortiFord posted: 04.09.2015 - 1:34 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) The 50th Indianapolis 500 14. indycar1 posted: 05.08.2015 - 10:17 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) This race had 6 cautions for 41 minutes. 15. rob posted: 05.20.2015 - 9:47 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Rutherford was nearly killed in a sprint car wreck earlier in the year. 16. RaceFanX posted: 05.21.2015 - 10:45 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) This was Rodger Ward's final USAC Champ Car race period. He won the race just prior to the 500. He retired saying racing "wasn't fun for him anymore" and went on to be an announcer for ABC's Wide World of Sports. 17. Anthony posted: 12.24.2015 - 3:32 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Some reckon that Jim Clark won this race. 18. Jolly Mean Giant posted: 01.30.2016 - 8:58 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Qualifying results: 1. Mario Andretti-165.849 MPH 2. Jimmy Clark-164.114 MPH 3. George Snider-162.521 MPH 4. Parnelli Jones-162.484 MPH 5. Lloyd Ruby-162.433 MPH 6. Al Unser-162.372 MPH 7. A. J. Foyt-161.355 MPH 8. Gordon Johncock-161.059 MPH 9. Jim McElreath-160.908 MPH 10. Chuck Hulse-160.844 MPH 11. Dan Gurney-160.499 MPH 12. Don Branson-160.385 MPH 13. Jerry Grant-160.335 MPH 14. Jackie Stewart-159.972 MPH 15. Cale Yarborough-159.794 MPH 16. Carl Williams-159.645 MPH 17. Joe Leonard-159.560 MPH 18. Billy Foster-159.490 MPH 19. Rodger Ward-159.468 MPH 20. Arnie Knepper-159.440 MPH 21. Johnny Boyd-159.348 MPH 22. Roger McCluskey-159.271 MPH 23. Graham Hill-159.243 MPH 24. Jim Hurtubise-159.208 MPH 25. Larry Dickson-159.144 MPH 26. Bud Tingelstad-159.144 MPH 27. Bobby Unser-159.109 MPH 28. Eddie Johnson-158.898 MPH 29. Gary Congdon-158.688 MPH 30. Al Miller-158.681 MPH 31. Ronnie Duman-158.646 MPH 32. Mel Kenyon-158.555 MPH 33. Bobby Grim-158.367 MPH 19. Jolly Mean Giant posted: 03.21.2017 - 11:52 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) First alternate: Dick Atkins 20. Rob posted: 05.23.2017 - 9:53 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Roger Ward actually did some NASCAR races for ABC in 1965. Just guessing that he probably just did Indy cars after this event. 21. Jim4Bill posted: 04.23.2019 - 3:22 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Gordon Johncock actually should have been declared the winner - he was ahead of Hill at the finish. His damaged/repaired car from the incident at the start was forced to join the field from pit lane and that "out lap" after the race started was not scored (as it would be today). If it had been scored correctly he would had lead a number of laps and won. 22. RaceFanX posted: 05.07.2019 - 11:04 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Sponsors: #3 Jim McElreath- Zink-Urschel-Slick Trackburner (I'm going to assume that's a nickname for the car instead of a product, still sweet) #4 Don Branson- Leader Card Racers #27 Billy Foster- Jim Robbins Co. #66 Cale Yarborough- Jim Robbins Co. South Carolina stock car racer Cale Yarborough makes the first of his four Indianapolis 500 starts but lasts less than a lap after the big one takes him out. 23. SweetRich posted: 02.29.2020 - 7:03 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) The sole commentator for the race was Chris Schenkel. 24. Danish_Pie posted: 09.27.2020 - 12:16 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Withdrawal: Jack Conely | 89 Per UltimateRacingHistory & this article (https://www.whmi.com/news/article/brighton-race-car-finally-makes-it-to-indy-500) "to earn enough to make the trip to Indy, he had raced in other events not approved by [USAC] and was disqualified" 25. JollyMeanGiant posted: 02.23.2021 - 7:50 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Additional DNQs according to UltimateRacingHistory: Jud Larson, #9, Lola/Ford (Owner: Michner Racing) Ron Lux, #55 Barnett Brothers, Kuzma/Offy (Owner: Barnett Brothers) Mike McGreevy, #65, Gerhardt/Offy (Owner: Ernest Ruiz) Mike McGreevy, #85 Caves Buick, Gerhardt/Offy (Owner: Myron Caves) Jack Conely, #89 Conely-McManus, Edmunds/Offy (Owner: David McManus) Gig Stephens, #71, Halibrand/Offy (Owner: Gig Stephens) Hal Minyard, #49, Troutman-Barnes/Offy (Owner: Louis Senter) Dave Paul, #23 Paul Enterprises, Hailbrand/Offy (Owner: Dave Paul) 26. RaceFanX posted: 03.09.2021 - 2:04 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) This was the end of the line for the famous Novi engine at Indianapolis. Greg Weld's Novi-powered #15 STP Oil Treatment racer was the all-wheel-drive Granatelli entry Bobby Unser had raced the year before but a crash in qualifying brought a premature end to the last entry at the speedway to feature the motor's famous shriek before the big race even began. The supercharged Novi engine was a staple in Champ Car racing from the 1940s to the 1960s and became an icon of the Speedway despite the fact it never won a single race at the Champ Car level. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *Post a comment:* Your comment may not appear immediately - all comments must be approved by the moderator. Name: Comment: