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  1.   RaceFanX posted:
  08.20.2010 - 12:42 am
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Mario's only Indy 500 victory...
Mario started the month with a brand-new and very quick AWD Lotus/Ford.
He then crashed and destroyed it in practice, forcing the team to switch
to an older Hawk chassis. Andretti suffered some facial burns in the crash.

At the start the 500 became a battle of Indy icons as Mario battled A.J.
Foyt for the lead. The battle lasted until both pitted on lap 51 and
handed the point off to Lloyd Ruby.

Just before halfway Foyt was knocked out of contention by manifold problems.

Ruby was enjoying his second stint out in front of the day on lap 105
when he pitted. The fuel hose wasn't removed from his car before it
started to move and it ripped free and took a small chunk of the Wynn's
Spit-Fire with it. With a hole in his car and a resulting fuel leak Ruby
was done.

With Foyt and Ruby gone it was clear sailing for Andretti although he
hit Clint Brawner, one of his mechanics, during a pit stop. Brawner was
okay. After holding off a brief charge from Dan Gurney the Andretti was
able to drive away and win his only 500.

The win was the first for Andretti's car owner Andy Granatelli.
Granatelli famously kissed Mario in victory lane after the race

1969 Daytona 500 winner LeeRoy Yarbrough becomes one of the few drivers
to win Daytona and run Indy in the year. Although he was scheduled to
start 8th and was fresh off another big NASCAR win in the World 600, it
was a rough day for Yarbrough. His car didn't fire at first and the
field had already completed the first lap by the time his team got the
#67 running. The NASCAR driver came back to run as high as 9th but
eventually dropped out before the 3/8ths point of the race.

Gurney's second matched his best finish in the 500. His teammate F1 and
Can-Am champ Denny Hulme ran with the leaders for over half the race but
eventually was sidelined by mechanical woes.

Virtually unknown Indy rookie Jigger Sirois almost won the pole for this
race. He was the first one out to attempt a pole run and was on pace to
post a speed fast enough to qualify for the race when his owner had him
wave off believing the speed would be too slow. After the run the skies
opened up and pole day was washed out, since Sirois would have been the
only first day qualifier had he completed his run and his average speed
to that point was fast enough not to have been bumped it would have have
given the Shelby, Indiana driver the pole position on a technicality.
Sirois made two further attempts to qualify that year but was unable to
find the speed needed to get into the field of 33. He would also attempt
the next six Indy 500s but would never be able to make the field.

Mario's 200-winning car was donated and on display at the Smithsonian's
Museum of American History for a long time (displayed alongside Richard
Petty's 200th win NASCAR Pontiac) although I belive it has been taken
off display since the museum was remodeled.


  2.   Pacer posted:
  07.26.2011 - 12:28 am
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The pace car for this 500 was a Chevrolet Camaro SS.


  3.   cjs3872 posted:
  03.28.2013 - 8:05 pm
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Actually RaceFanX, Mario's problem in practice also led to Granatelli
and Colin Chapman withdrawing the 4WD Lotuses of Graham Hill and Jochen
Rindt becase they figured that Hill and/or Rindt would have the same
problem, and neither driver got a car, so they missed this race, and
neither Hill, Rindt, or Chapman's Lotus team ever would go to Indy
again. And that incident in practce was nearly a double blow for
Granatelli, because not only did Andretti crash, but Art Pollard, in yet
another one of Granatelli's cars, spun and barely missed the wall himself.

Also, second place seemed to be a curse in this race for whatever
reason. Ruby's pit miscue happened when he was running second to
Andretti (he had inherted the lead whe Andretti pitted the lap before),
then after that, Joe Leonard got into second, but he had mechanical
problems that caused a long pit stop. And later in the race, Dennis
Hulme moved into second, but he was knocked out of the race by
mechanical problems, putting Dan Gurney into second, but he was being
troubled by a faulty gearbox, which made it impossible for him to
pressure Andretti, who was having overheating problems of his own.

And also, you menton LeeRoy Yarbrough having problems before the race
officially started, and climbing back to ninth before dropping out. You
forget one thing. In those day, if a driver had to come into the pits,
if he was able to catch the field prior to the green flag and they were
still in their 11 rows of 3 formation, he got his original startng
position back and could go back to where he was originally gridded, and
LeeRoy qualified eighth. And in 1974, Gordon Johncock qualified fourth,
but made a pit stop after the warm-up lap prior to the pace lap, but
since the field had not yet taken the green flag, Johncock was legally
able to reclaim his starting position of fourth, inside row 2, instead
of having to take the green flag from the rear of the field.

Also, this race is remmbered for two things. The first, of course, is
the fact that this still the only Indianapolis 500 won by a member of
the Andretti family. The other is that it was the first Indianapolis 500
for Roger Penske, as Mark Donohue qualified fourth and finished seventh,
taking Rookie of the Year honors, though not without controversy, as
fellow Indy rookie Peter Revson started last and finished fifth.


  4.   Schroeder51 posted:
  10.05.2013 - 1:23 pm
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A more complete list of drivers and teams that DNQed, courtesy of the
ChampCarStats website...

#16, #89 Gary Bettenhausen
#89 George Benson
#2 Mario Andretti
#61 Max Dudley
Scott Carr (note: Withdrew after rookie orientation)
#62 Sonny Ates
#44 A. J. Foyt
#51 Cy Fairchild
#28 George Follmer
#16, #71, #89, #94 Bobby Grim
#52 Charlie Glotzbach
#42 Dan Gurney
#17, #69, #78, #96 Jerry Grant
#14 Bob Harkey
#70 Graham Hill
#56 Jim Hurtubise
#31, #35 Bobby Johns
#37, #51 Dee Jones
#3 Joe Leonard
#51, #71, #72, #75, #96 Al Miller
#71, #72 Jim McElreath
Lothar Motschenbacher
#50 Mike Mosley
#26 Rick Muther
#3, #15 Al Unser (note-Withdrew due to injuries)
#67, #68 Dennis Zimmerman
#27 LeeRoy Yarbrough
#79, #90 Bob Veith
#20, #57 Art Pollard
Johnny Parsons
#94 Sam Posey
#3, #96 Bud Tingelstad
#75 Roger West
#80 Jochen Rindt
#25 Lloyd Ruby
#95 Peter Revson
#34 Dave Strickland
#14 Jigger Sirois
#34, #50, #89 Les Scott
#51 Chuck Booth
#51 Pat O'Reilly (note: Driver declined; no license)


  5.   Schroeder51 posted:
  03.14.2015 - 4:00 pm
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First Indy 500 starts for Peter Revson, Mark Donohue, George Follmer,
and Bruce Walkup.

Only Indy 500 start for Sonny Ates.

Last Indy 500 starts for Bobby Johns and Arnie Knepper.


  6.   Schroeder51 posted:
  03.15.2015 - 12:09 am
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Add to the DNQs:
Joe Leonard, #3 Vel's Parnelli Ford (Did not qualify)
Bud Tingelstadd, #3 Vel's Parnelli Ford (Did not qualify)
Al Unser, #3 Vel's Parnelli Ford (Withdrew, injured)
Bob Harkey, #14 Quaker State Oil (No refresher test)
Al Unser, #15 Vel's Parnelli Ford (Withdrew, injured)
Gary Bettenhausen, #16 Thermo King Auto Air Conditioning (Did not qualify)
Bobby Grim, #16 Thermo King Auto Air Conditioning (Did not qualify)
Lloyd Ruby, #25 Wynn's Spit-Fire (Wrecked practice)
Les Scott, #34 Speedy's Chicken Broasted (Did not qualify)
Dan Gurney, #42 Olsonite (Did not qualify)
A. J. Foyt, #44 City of Daytona Beach (Did not qualify)
Mike Mosley, #50 Navarro Engineering (Did not qualify)
Chuck Booth, #51 Minnesota Serendipity (Did not qualify)
Dee Jones, #51 Minnesota Serendipity (Failed refresher test)
Al Miller, #51 Minnesota Serendipity (Did not qualify)
Pat O'Reilly, #51 Minnesota Serendipity (Driver declined, no license)
Art Pollard, #57 STP Gas Treatment (Wrecked practice)
Sonny Ates, #62 Retzloff Chemical (Did not qualify)
Dennis Zimmerman, #67 Jim Robbins (Did not qualify)
Jerry Grant, #69 Friedkin/Green Racing (Did not qualify)
Jim McElreath, #71 Jack Adams (Did not qualify)
Al Miller, #71 Jack Adams (Did not qualify)
Jim McElreath, #72 Jack Adams (Did not qualify)
Al Miller, #75 Marathon (Did not qualify)
Gary Bettenhausen, #89 Maxon (Did not qualify)
Bobby Grim, #89 Maxon (Did not qualify)
Bob Veith, #90 Zecol-Lubaid (Did not qualify)
Peter Revson, #95 Repco-Brabham (Did not qualify)
Scott Carr, Safety Car Corp. (Withdrew, rookie orientation)
Lothar Motschenbacher (Did not qualify)
Johnny Parsons (Did not qualify)


  7.   Schroeder51 posted:
  04.05.2015 - 11:45 pm
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Yellow flags:
1. #38 Jim McElreath engine fire, turn 1 (Laps 24-28)
2. #29 Arnie Knepper accident, turn 4/frontstretch (Laps 87-90)


  8.   indycar1 posted:
  05.08.2015 - 10:22 am
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This race had 2 cautions for 14 minutes.


  9.   Jolly Mean Giant posted:
  01.30.2016 - 9:17 pm
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Qualifying results:
1. A. J. Foyt-170.568 MPH
2. Mario Andretti-169.851 MPH
3. Bobby Unser-169.683 MPH
4. Mark Donohue-168.903 MPH
5. Gordon Johncock-168.626 MPH
6. Roger McCluskey-168.350 MPH
7. Jim McElreath-168.224 MPH
8. LeeRoy Yarbrough-168.075 MPH
9. Gary Bettenhausen-167.777 MPH
10. Dan Gurney-167.341 MPH
11. Joe Leonard-167.240 MPH
12. Art Pollard-167.123 MPH
13. Jim Malloy-167.092 MPH
14. Sonny Ates-166.968 MPH
15. George Sniders-166.914 MPH
16. Ronnie Bucknum-166.636 MPH
17. Johnny Rutherford-166.628 MPH
18. Bud Tingelstad-166.597 MPH
19. Wally Dallenbach-166.497 MPH
20. Lloyd Ruby-166.428 MPH
21. Arnie Knepper-166.220 MPH
22. Mike Mosley-166.113 MPH
23. Sammy Sessions-165.434 MPH
24. Mel Kenyon-165.426 MPH
25. Denny Hulme-165.092 MPH
26. Billy Vukovich, Jr.-164.843 MPH
27. George Follmer-164.286 MPH
28. Bruce Walkup-163.942 MPH
29. Jack Brabham-163.875 MPH
30. Carl Williams-163.265 MPH
31. Larry Dickson-163.014 MPH
32. Bobby Johns-160.901 MPH
33. Peter Revson-160.851 MPH


  10.   RaceFanX posted:
  12.01.2016 - 1:00 pm
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Andy Granatelli parked his turbine cars after 1968 but despite new rules
restrictions designed to idle them there was still another
turbine-powered entry for this race. Jack Adams entered a slender,
missile-like Glen Bryant-designed #72 for Al Miller in this race
equipped with a Allison helicopter turbine engine. The restrictions keep
the car off the pace all month but Miller did briefly manage to bump it
in on the last day of qualifying before he himself was bumped out. The
car ultimately missed the field by about four miles per hour.


  11.   Jolly Mean Giant posted:
  03.21.2017 - 11:56 pm
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First alternate: Rick Muther


  12.   RaceFanX posted:
  03.22.2017 - 12:15 pm
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Andretti's victory at here was the first time he had finished better
than 17th in the 500 since his rookie year back in 1965.


  13.   RaceFanX posted:
  02.21.2019 - 1:47 pm
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Joe Leonard had a sharp-looking entry for this race as he started from
row 4 in a gold-and-black #44, his Ford-powered Eagle coming from the
shop of iconic NASCAR mechanic Smokey Yunick. Leonard ran as high as
second before the car developed turbocharger issues and had to pit for
several extended pit stops in an effort to fix them. The #44 came home
seven laps down but Leonard savaged a sixth-place finish.


  14.   SweetRich posted:
  02.26.2020 - 1:55 pm
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The Commentators For The Race Were Jim McKay And Rodger Ward With The
Sole Pit Road Reporter Being Chris Economaki.


  15.   Tarheel posted:
  02.26.2020 - 4:44 pm
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Rich please stop capitalizing every word.


  16.   Timothy_Eklund posted:
  02.26.2020 - 5:06 pm
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@15 I believe "sweetrich" is actually Sandy, which would make sense
because Sandy would capitalize every word too.


  17.   SweetRich posted:
  02.26.2020 - 5:37 pm
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yes, Tarheel, sorry for that.


  18.   SweetRich posted:
  02.26.2020 - 5:37 pm
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No, I am not Sandy. I do agree with Tarheel that I would capitalize
every word for no reason. It was getting out of control. I will tone it
down.


  19.   Jimmie4life posted:
  02.26.2020 - 5:54 pm
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@18 That used to happen to me, though, before I started commenting here.
I always thought it was a habit, or it helped to see, but "Typing
Comments Like This" was really distracting. It's fine, just a minor habit.


  20.   Tarheel posted:
  02.26.2020 - 7:04 pm
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Thanks Rich


  21.   Sector posted:
  02.26.2020 - 7:24 pm
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#19 Do folks type that slow in order to click "SHIFT" before every word?
I don't think I have the patience to stop typing just to hit shift after
every time I hit space lol!


  22.   Timothy_Eklund posted:
  02.26.2020 - 7:41 pm
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^ I feel the same way, I have no idea how they do it lol.


  23.   SweetRich posted:
  02.29.2020 - 7:07 pm
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You Are Welcome, Tarheel. Sorry For The Confusion.


  24.   MSportRev posted:
  03.01.2020 - 5:02 pm
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DNQ updates:

Rick Muther was in a Gerhardt/Offenhauser owned by Buzz Harvey

Jigger Sirois was in a Gerhardt/Offenhauser owned by Myron Caves

Jim Hurtubise was in a Mallard/Offenhauser he owned.

Bob Veith was in a Watson/Offenhauser owned by Robert Wilke

Source: Ultimate Racing History


  25.   JollyMeanGiant posted:
  02.23.2021 - 8:02 pm
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Additional DNQ according to UltimateRacingHistory:
Bob Wente, #3 Vel's Parnelli Ford, Lotus/Ford (Owner: Parnelli Jones)


  26.   JollyMeanGiant posted:
  03.03.2021 - 1:38 am
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35 cars completed full qualifying runs. Rick Muther in the #26 (34th)
and Al Miller in the #72 (35th) were not fast enough to make the field.


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