SWC75
Bored Historian
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- Aug 26, 2011
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This was Mark Donahue’s year at Indy and the first of Penske’s 15 winners. It was also a year of technical innovation as the cars all adopted Bruce McLaren’s “wings” which produced the down force that allowed the car to handle better at higher speeds. The impact was such that the 33rd qualifier would have won the pole the previous year. Also they came up with a system of controlling speeds during caution laps: they had electronic signs giving a count-down as the cars circled. If you were going at the limit of “only” 100 miles an hour, you should see the same number at any check point as you rounded the circuit. What will they think of next?
Mike Mosley crashes again and jerry grant, in his one big chance to win at Indy, is the victim of a foul-up in the pits. He’s directed to teammate Bobby Unser’s pit and they refuel him from there. That’s a no-no! He comes across the finish line first but loses because he fueled from the wrong pit. What a way to lose!
Poor AJ Foyt’s car wouldn’t start but he later did get it going and finished 25th. Can you imagine how mad he was when they had to push him to the pits?
Jim Malloy’s fatal accident in practice:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M2de1TxcDlg
This was the first year Jim Nabors sang “Back Home In Indiana” before the race. This is from 2009:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8FQEgTQbnTo
Here are the persons, (not too many at this point), not previously mentioned in the posts on the 1970 and 1971 Indy 500’s.
- Gary Bettenhausen was the son of Tony Bettenahusen, who has won the national championship, (it was sponsored by AAA then, later USAC, then CART) twice in the 1950’s but never won at Indy, dying there in a practice crash in 1961. I still remember this SI article on Gary and Billy Vukovich, trying to regain the glory of their fathers, who had died at Indianapolis:
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1081108/index.htm
Gary was a regular at Indy from 1968-1994 but like his father could never break through to win the race. 1972 was his best finish, 4th.
- Cale Yarborough and his brother Leroy were top NASCAR drivers who also competed at Indy, a rarity in those days, (as now). This was the last of his four runs at Indy, and his best finish, 10th. I know NASCAR does an even at Indy, the Brickyard 400. But I wish they would schedule around the main event and allow their drivers to compete there against the best open-wheel racers.
- Salt Walther got his nickname racing hydroplanes. His primary source of fame is his fiery crash at the start of the 1973 Indy 500. He became addicted to painkillers and entered a lifetime of drug and legal troubles as a result. Here he spins out and finishes 33rd in a field of 33. In 11 Indy 500’s his best finish was 9th in 1976.
Again, there is no “full race” on U-Tube. Here are a couple of posts showi9ng the beginning and end of the race but not ABC’s coverage.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k6eaEVz1xnQ
and
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JaetzR36yjM
