|| *Comments on the 1972 Indianapolis 500:* View the most recent comment <#30> | Post a comment <#post> Tweet 1. RaceFanX posted: 08.20.2010 - 1:00 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Roger Penske scores his first Indy 500 winner as a car owner...it was far, far from his last. This was racing legend Mark Donohue's only Indy 500 victory. He did so largely by keeping his nose clean as his opponents knocked themselves out. A piece of Indy 500 lore begin with this event, this was the first year Jim Nabors sang "Back Home Again in Indiana" before the race. While the Penske/McLaren combination was one of the big favorites for this one was Bobby Unser and his new Dan Gurney-owned Eagle that was wowing them in practice. The white #6 was one of the fastest cars of the month, crushing the pole record by 13 MPH to give Unser the pole. Unser dominated off the start but mechanical woes while leading knocked him out of the race. Peter Revson and his papaya orange #12 started in the middle of the front row and battled Donohue for second early but gearbox issues sidelined his McLaren even before Unser dropped out. Mike Mosley crashed off turn 4 while leading and as his #98 started to catch fire he started to bail out before it even came to a full stop. The wreck sheared the right side of the car off but Mosley was still halfway out of the car when it banged the wall again as it rolled down the frontstretch out of control. As the car slowed to a snail's pace he finally hopped out, suffering some burns. With the others out, Penske ran 1-2 with Gary Bettenhausen out front and Donohue behind him. Then #7 got a pinhole leak in its cooling system and while it was still good at race speeds once a caution came out for debris on lap 172 Bettenhausen knew he was doomed. After he slowed for the yellow his Sunoco speedster overheated and he did not finish. Jerry Grant in the second Eagle took the lead from Bettenhausen but a bad tire forced him to pit leading to a fueling mistake where his team took fuel from his retired teammate Bobby Unser's pits. While Grant re-entered the race and actually crossed the finish line in 2nd place his team was penalized 12 laps for the miscue and officially wound up 12th. Al Unser was attempting to earn the Indy 500's first three-peat victory in this race but the bizare "double dihedral" design of his Parnelli gave him hassles all month. Still, Unser had a very good run coming up just one position short of history after Grant's DQ. Art Pollard's race ended before it began, after qualifying he was injured in a practice crash and replaced by Wally Dallenbach Sr for the race. Dallenbach went on to have a very rough day, his #40 team had a pit fire on all three of their fuel stops. Pollard would be sidelined until September but would race again. On the car side of things, the rules were changed before this 500 to allow bolt-on wings instead of just wings built into the chassis. The new rules resulted in much faster cars, the entire field of 33 qualified faster than the pole speed of the year before. Donohue's winning Sunoco #66 from this race is the only Indy 500-winning Penske car in the Indy 500 Museum. I heard from a volunteer at the Museum that the Captain is, or at least was, interested in requiring the car for his personal collection. Penske apparently offered them a replica of the #66 as well as replicas of his other Indy 500 winners in exchange for it although the museum didn't take him up on it. 2. b4il3y posted: 04.23.2011 - 3:55 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Penske needed to make 200 mile engines...not 180 mile ones...its his own fault.. 3. Schroeder51 posted: 05.13.2011 - 3:13 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Jim Malloy lost his life in a practice crash for this race. 4. RaceFanX posted: 05.17.2011 - 2:56 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) This was the last time the Indy 500 had a full field of American drivers. 5. David posted: 06.22.2011 - 6:06 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Hello, bolt-on wings. Hello, tragedy. The first of two ugly years at the Brickyard. 6. Pacer posted: 07.25.2011 - 11:55 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) The pace car for this 500 was a Hurst/Olds Cutlass convertible. 7. cjs3872 posted: 08.22.2011 - 9:17 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) RaceFanX, you're statement about how much Bobby Unser beat the previous qualifying record is innacurate. You stated it was 13 MPH. In fact, it was 17.244 MPH. He qualified with an average of 195.940 MPH. The previous record, set by Peter Revson in 1971, was 178.696 MPH. In fact all 33 qualifiers, the slowest of which was NASCAR legend Cale Yarborough, bettered Revson's 1971 pole speed. Had Unser's car held up, he would have probably become the only driver ever to lead every lap of the same Indianapolis 500, as by lap 30, when he fell out, he had already nearly lapped the entire field. Also, how Wally Dallenbach ever finished this race is beyond me, since he caught fire on every one of his pit stops in this race. Also, Mario Andretti had a probable fourth place finish go up in smoke when he ran out of fuel on the final lap. He actually ran out of fuel twice during this race. It's also interedting to note that all three of Gene White's cars, which were usually fragile, finished in the top ten. And it's also odd that Lloyd Ruby did not lead them on this day. That distinction belonged to Sam Sessions, who also ran strong in the race in 1975 before dropping out late. Sessions wound up fourth, while Ruby, who had to have his front wing replaced during the race, was sixth, and Yarborough was tenth. The 1972 race was also the only one that Jimmy Caruthers finished, doing so in ninth place. And Sam Posey, who reported on just about every Indianapolis 500 from 1974-'95, was fifth, and was robbed of Rookie of the Year due to racing politics. That award for this race went to Mike Hiss, who was seventh. Hiss was also driving for Andy Granatelli, who's clout in the sport allowed Hiss to win Rookie honors for 1972. By the way, Caruthers died on cancer in October, 1975, while Sessions died in December, 1977 due to a snowmobiling accident. Both would probably have made it very far in the sport if they didn't have such untimely demises. Caruthers even won the Silver Crown championship while dying of cancer. 8. cjs3872 posted: 08.22.2011 - 9:26 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) By the way, 1972 was also the first year that the Indianapolis Motor Speedway used the PACER light system to slow cars down under caution flags, while keeping the spacing between cars. It wouldn't be until 1979 that the pace car would be used to bunch the field during caution periods. Prior to 1972, the field hardly slowed at all during caution periods, unless the passable area of the track was shrunk. And Donohue's margin of victory was nearly four laps over Al Unser, due to the penalty the was assessed to Jerry Grant for his illegal pit stop on lap 189. But Donohue would have probably passed Grant for the win anyway, as he was closing in on him rapidly. Also, there was a potenitally scary incident during the race when, coming out of the pits during a pit stop under the caution for Mike Mosley's crash, Grant and Donohue came out side-by-side, and Grant forced Donohue out wide, and Donohue had to back off, or he would have actually hit the scoring pylon. So the narrow pit road at Indy that everyone complains about today, has actually been a big problem for many years. 9. cjs3872 posted: 11.16.2011 - 3:38 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) By the way, doesn't anyone else find it ironic that the two drivers who had the tragic crashes in the following year's [1973] Indianapolis 500 [Salt Walther ans Swede Savage], were the first two drivers out of this Indianapolis 500? 10. Schroeder51 posted: 10.04.2013 - 4:26 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) A more complete list of drivers who DNQed for this race: #19 Larry Dickson #61 Lee Brayton #35 Merle Bettenhausen #70 Tom Bigelow #10, #10, #73 Wally Dallenbach #25 George Eaton (note: Failed his rookie test) #20, #99 Bob Harkey #83 David Hobbs #49 Parnelli Jones #90 Arnie Knepper #4, #16, #58, #99 Jerry Karl #43 Al Loquasto #16 Jim Malloy (note: Killed in practice crash) #73 Jim McElreath #38 Rick Muther #40 Art Pollard (note: Wally Dallenbach drove his car instead) #91 Bill Puterbaugh #33 Bud Tingelstad #36 Bentley Warren #97 Bruce Walkup #28 Bill Simpson #20, #50, #91, #97 Jigger Sirois 11. Schroeder51 posted: 10.05.2013 - 1:51 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) And some more teams that DNQed... #84 A. J. Foyt #26, #56 Jim Hurtubise #72 Mike Hiss #46 Lee Kunzman #35 Steve Krisiloff #91 John Martin #48 Bobby Unser #32 Billy Vukovich, Jr. #77 Salt Walther #42 Johnny Rutherford #21, #52 Lloyd Ruby #35 George Snider #42 Swede Savage 12. b4il3y posted: 02.27.2015 - 7:00 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) And yes, this is the race that Gary Bett should have taken. 13. Schroeder51 posted: 03.14.2015 - 4:05 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) First Indy 500 starts for Mike Hiss, Jimmy Caruthers, John Martin, Lee Kunzman, John Mahler, Swede Savage, and Salt Walther. Only Indy 500 start for Sam Posey. Last Indy 500 starts for Cale Yarborough, Denny Zimmerman, and Carl Williams. 14. Schroeder51 posted: 03.15.2015 - 2:01 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Add to the DNQs: Jerry Karl, #16 Thermo King (Did not qualify) Lloyd Ruby, #21 Bill Daniels GOP (Did not qualify) Jim Hurtubise, #26 Miller High Life (Did not qualify) Billy Vukovich, Jr., #32 Sugaripe Prune (Did not qualify) Bud Tingelstad, #33 Dayton Steel Wheel (Did not qualify) Steve Krisiloff, #35 Ayr-Way/Lloyds (Did not qualify) Art Pollard, #40 STP Oil Treatment (Withdrew due to injuries, replaced by Wally Dallenbach) Johnny Rutherford, #42 Michner Industries (Did not qualify) Bob Harkey, #20 STP (Did not qualify) Jigger Sirois, #20 STP (Did not qualify) Lee Kunzman, #46 Thermo King (Did not qualify) Bobby Unser, #48 Mystery Eagle (Did not qualify) Parnelli Jones, #49 Firestone/Viceroy (Did not arrive) Lloyd Ruby, #52 Gene White Firestone (Did not qualify) Mike Hiss, #72 Page Racing (Did not qualify) Wally Dallenbach, #73 Gilmore Racing (Did not qualify) Salt Walther, #77 Dayton Steel Wheel (Did not qualify) David Hobbs, #83 Smokey Yunick (Did not arrive) A. J. Foyt, #84 ITT Thompson (Did not qualify) John Martin, #91 Steed (Did not qualify) Jigger Sirois, #91 Steed (Did not qualify) 15. Schroeder51 posted: 04.06.2015 - 2:55 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Yellow flags: 1. Debris, turn 1 (Laps 31-32) 2. #98 Mike Mosley accident, turn 4 (Laps 56-61) 3. #37 Lee Kunzman lost wheel, turn 2 (Laps 147-149) 4. Debris, backstretch (Laps 173-174) 5. #60 Mike Hiss spin (Lap 194) 16. indycar1 posted: 05.08.2015 - 10:27 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) This race had 5 cautions for 20 minutes. 17. Jolly Mean Giant posted: 01.01.2016 - 1:41 am Rate this comment: (3) (0) A bit of a funny story that happened during Bump Day qualifying: Jim Hurtubise, who had already made the race, brought out his obsolete front-engined Mallard that he often brought to Indy throughout the '70s, and put it in the line to attempt to qualify. However, he purposely timed his Mallard's entry into the queue so it would never make it to the front of the line to make a qualifying attempt. When qualifying ended, Hurtubise removed the Mallard's engine cover...to reveal it had NO engine in it at all. Instead, there was a plastic-lined trough inside, filled with ice and packed with five cases of his sponsor's product, Miller High Life beer! Jim then proceeded to share the beer with some other pit crew members and race officials. Hurtubise was definitely quite the colorful character! 18. Jolly Mean Giant posted: 01.30.2016 - 9:39 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Qualifying results: 1. Bobby Unser-195.940 MPH 2. Peter Revson-192.885 MPH 3. Mark Donohue-191.408 MPH 4. Jerry Grant-189.294 MPH 5. Mike Mosley-198.145 MPH 6. A. J. Foyt-188.996 MPH 7. Gary Bettenhausen-188.877 MPH 8. Gordon Johncock-188.511 MPH 9. Mario Andretti-187.617 MPH 10. Joe Leonard-185.223 MPH 11. Billy Vukovich, Jr.-184.814 MPH 12. Sam Posey-184.379 MPH 13. Al Unser-183.617 MPH 14. Johnny Rutherford-183.234 MPH 15. Roger McCluskey-182.686 MPH 16. George Snider-181.855 MPH 17. Swede Savage-181.726 MPH 18. Wally Dallenbach-181.626 MPH (Art Pollard qualified this car, but crashed in practice before the race and broke his leg. He was unable to race and Dallenbach, the first alternate, was given the ride for the 500. Pollard should be added to the DNQs) 19. Steve Krisiloff-181.433 MPH 20. Lloyd Ruby-181.415 MPH 21. Mel Kenyon-181.388 MPH 22. Jim Hurtubise-181.050 MPH 23. Salt Walther-180.542 MPH 24. Carl Williams-180.469 MPH 25. Dick Simon-180.424 MPH 26. Sammy Sessions-180.415 MPH 27. Dennis Zimmerman-180.027 MPH 28. John Martin-179.614 MPH 29. John Mahler-179.497 MPH 30. Lee Kunzman-179.265 MPH 31. Mike Hiss-179.015 MPH 32. Jimmy Caruthers-178.909 MPH 33. Cale Yarborough-178.864 MPH 19. Jolly Mean Giant posted: 03.20.2016 - 3:00 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Withdrew: Art Pollard-#40 STP Oil Treatment Pollard qualified for the race, but suffered a broken leg in a practice accident prior to the race itself, and thus was in no condition to compete in the 500. The team opted to still compete in the race rather than withdrawing the car, and they tabbed Wally Dallenbach (the first alternate) to take Pollard's place in the race itself. 20. Jolly Mean Giant posted: 05.22.2016 - 3:31 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Additional DNQ: Bud Tingelstad, #77 Dayton Disc Brake Tingelstad attempted to qualify a second car for the Walther team, but was unsuccessful (he also ran some practice laps in the #33). This was the veteran competitor's last attempt at Indy. Withdrew: Parnelli Jones, #49 Firestone/Viceroy Jones was listed as the driver of this car, but it was a no-show during the month of May. This would've been Parnelli's first attempt at the 500 as a driver since 1967 (where he came so close to winning in the famous Wooshmobile). 21. Jolly Mean Giant posted: 03.22.2017 - 12:02 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) First alternate: Wally Dallenbach Dallenbach wound up getting a chance to race anyways when Art Pollard, who had originally qualified the Granatelli #40, broke his leg in practice crash. He was tabbed to take Pollard's place in the 500, and wound up 15th, the last car running, after multiple pit fires hampered him. Jim Hurtubise actually completed 171 laps and would have finished 16th if not for the fact that his car had been towed through the infield on lap 94. All his laps afterwards were not counted, and a protest by his car owner to reinstate them was denied. 22. cjs3872 posted: 03.22.2017 - 11:41 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) And the amazing thing about Wally Dallenbach driving the #40 car in the 1972 Indianapolis 500 was that, in the crash that injured Art Pollard, the car itself was virtually destroyed, and ?I believe under the rules at the time, had to be repaired, or it would not have been allowed to race and the 34th-fastest car, would have gotten the 33rd spot, which would have put Dallenbach in the race anyway, with everyone behind Pollard's spot moving up one position in the race line-up. And of course, Dallenbach was available only because of three unsuccessful attempts to bump Cale Yarborough (yes, THAT Cale Yarborough) from the race. And while the car Pollard qualified and Dallenbach drove was repaired well enough to run in the race, the fueling system apparently wasn't completely repaired, because Dallenbach's car caught fire on every one of his pit stops (Sam Posey talked about that during the 1974 race), which was almost certainly a product of the crash Pollard had between qualifying weekends. 23. Jolly Mean Giant posted: 04.06.2017 - 5:04 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I've read conflicting reports on that-I've read a few sources that say the #40 team DID go to a backup car. Don't know if that's true, though. When exactly was the rule put in place that a driver who originally qualified for the race could still start in a backup car, just at the rear of the field? I know it had to be before 1980 because Tom Sneva crashed his qualified primary car in practice, unloaded a backup and started last in the field, and then almost went on to win the 500 in the backup car that year... 24. RaceFanX posted: 05.07.2019 - 10:42 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Cale Yarborough's fourth and final Indianapolis 500 proved to be the only one the NASCAR ace would finish but he bought it home with a top-10 run in a car sponsored by future Colorado Governor candidate, and cable television pioneer, Bill Daniels. This was Yarborough's only Champ Car start of the season and he returned to NASCAR full time for 1973 onward. 25. RaceFanX posted: 05.08.2019 - 9:01 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Jerry Grant and Dan Gurney's #48 had a slick purple-and-white paint scheme as the "Mystery Eagle" for this race as part of a sponsorship deal with Chris Vallo and his company CV Enterprises. Oddly while they put Vallo's marketing tagline of the "You Name It" on the car in a few places the "Mystery Eagle" name was a lot more prominent than the CV Enterprises logo, they only put one logo on it on the rear wing. Maybe the lack of branding was a good thing as the ever-shady Vallo never paid Gurney for the sponsorship; just as he had done with Ray Nichels' NASCAR Cup team the prior year. Nichels was suing Vallo over that at the time. Vallo eventually ended up behind bars as a result of several lawsuits against him. 26. SweetRich posted: 03.07.2020 - 9:55 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) The commentators for the race were Jim McKay and Sir Jackie Stewart with Chris Economaki on pit road. 27. RaceFanX posted: 11.19.2020 - 11:56 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) With his front-engine Mallard being moved into the previously mentioned "beer engine" comedy role Jim Hurtubise qualified a more traditional rear-engine Coyote/Foyt #56 to make his first Indy 500 start since 1968. The big return to the field of 33 for Herk ended in a disqualification for going off course after his white #56 Miller High Life entry ran out of fuel and was towed back to the pit area via the infield. 28. JSPorts posted: 11.19.2020 - 1:37 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Was it towed by series officials? If so, that seems weird that he'd have been DQ'd. 29. Rich posted: 12.25.2020 - 6:56 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Chris Schenkel was the studio host. 30. JollyMeanGiant posted: 03.03.2021 - 1:42 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) 34 cars completed full qualifying runs. Wally Dallenbach in the #10 was 34th fastest and not able to make the field. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *Post a comment:* Your comment may not appear immediately - all comments must be approved by the moderator. Name: Comment: