30 Days in May: No. 5, Lloyd Ruby, 1972 Wynn’s Atlanta/Foyt

Welcome to our monthlong countdown celebrating notable drivers and cars from the Indianapolis 500!

Penske Entertainment/Indianapolis Motor Speedway

Lloyd Ruby was sixth in the 1972 Indianapolis 500 in his McLaren-like Atlanta.

30 Days in May: No. 5, Lloyd Ruby, 1972 Wynn’s Atlanta/Foyt. The Atlanta car was so named because it was built there in a facility adjoining Gene White Racing. The men behind the effort included two former Team McLaren employees, and the McLaren influence is apparent. Early on, they were dubbed “Scarlett O’Hara McLarens.”

A total of three Atlantas were built for 1972 – two going to the Gene White team for Lloyd Ruby and Cale Yarborough, with the other intended for A.J. Foyt.

Ruby practiced in both the Atlanta and a Lola, which eventually was qualified by Sam Sessions.

The 1972 race ended up being one of the better results for “Hard-Luck Lloyd” as he finished sixth, two spots behind Sessions. Yarborough was 10^th to cap a very successful day for the Gene White team.

The Atlantas soldiered on for a few more seasons. Jim McElreath practiced in the Foyt Atlanta in 1973, which was then qualified by George Snider for the 1974 Indianapolis 500. This Atlanta was distinguished by its flat nose that was similar to the 1972 Lola.

According to oldracingcars.com, this particular Atlanta eventually morphed into the Boyd-Robeson entry that several drivers tried unsuccessfully to qualify for the 1977 500.

Eldon Rasmussen bought at least one Atlanta for the 1973 season and reworked it into his Ras-Car, which he continuously updated and campaigned for several years.

Larry McCoy also drove a Ras-Car/Atlanta at the Speedway. He and Rasmussen made their Indy debuts in the 1975 500.

The Atlanta was one of 12 marques in the 1972 Indianapolis 500, which seems rather mind-boggling today. Perhaps even more unbelievable is that eight of those chasses were brand-new.

So thanks to Mike Underwood, Eamon Fullalove and Graeme Bartils for bringing us the Atlanta during a time when innovation ruled the Speedway.

 

#ThisIsMay #Indy500 @IMS @IMSMuseum @IndyCar

30 Days in May Bonus: No. 55, Josele Garza, 1981 Psachie Garza Esso Penske/Cosworth

Welcome to our monthlong countdown celebrating notable drivers and cars from the Indianapolis 500!

Majeske Collection

Josele Garza was a popular driver as a rookie in 1981. He led 13 laps
and was named Rookie of the Year.

30 Days in May Bonus: No. 55, Josele Garza, 1981 Psachie Garza Esso Penske/Cosworth. Although probably forgotten by most race fans today, Josele Garza was something of a sensation at Indianapolis in 1981. A rookie with only one previous IndyCar start, Garza grabbed headlines with his easygoing and friendly style, colorful cars, and a smooth, fast qualifying effort that landed him on the outside of the second row. The Mexico City native headed a three-car team that also included fellow newcomer Geoff Brabham and veteran Steve Krisiloff. Each made the field easily, which was quite an accomplishment that year as there were 105 entries (!) and 12 (!!) bumps (plus another car that qualified too slow). Think about that for a moment and compare that with recent years when just getting to 34 entries has been a struggle.

Even though Garza’s license listed him as 22, he actually was only 19. On Race Day, he led 13 laps before crashing on Lap 138 due to a mechanical failure and finished 23rd. Despite the low finish, his qualifying and race performances were enough to earn him Rookie of the Year. Incidentally, the highest-finishing rookie was Kevin Cogan in fourth, one spot ahead of Brabham. Krisiloff was eighth to round out an impressive debut for the team.

The 1981 Indianapolis 500 race was basically Garza’s high point at the Brickyard. He was in every 500 through 1987, with a best finish of 10th in 1984, then disappeared almost as fast as he arrived. Garza sought a ride in Formula 1 and did some testing for various teams, but nothing concrete materialized. His best finish in a CART race came in the 1986 Michigan 500, when he finished second to Johnny Rutherford.

 

#ThisIsMay #Indy500 @IMS @IMSMuseum @IndyCar

30 Days in May: No. 5, Danny Sullivan, 1985 Miller American March/Cosworth

Welcome to our monthlong countdown celebrating notable drivers and cars from the Indianapolis 500!

 

Majeske Collection

In 1985, Danny Sullivan became the first to win from the eighth starting position.

30 Days in May: No. 5, Danny Sullivan, 1985 Miller American March/Cosworth. As someone who grew up in the 1980s, the fact that 2025 marks 40 years since Danny Sullivan’s Indianapolis 500 victory is a bit distressing and means I might be getting old. No matter. Sullivan’s win is one of the more famous in the 100-plus years of the race because of his spin in front of Mario Andretti in Turn 1 on Lap 120 after passing him for the lead. The fact that neither one of them hit the wall nor each other is incredible. After gathering up the car (and, likely, other things), Sullivan pitted for new tires, charged back up through the field, passed Andretti again Lap 140, and led the rest of the way. Andretti actually led the most laps (107 to Sullivan’s 67), but had to settle for second place, 2.477 seconds back.

The “Spin and Win” vaulted Sullivan into the mainstream. He even was a guest star on an episode of “Miami Vice,” one of the most popular TV shows, in early 1986. Sullivan played a racing driver (naturally) who is accused of murder in “Florence Italy.” The Fat Boys also run afoul of Crockett and Tubbs in this one, which we watch each May.

In addition to his victory, Sullivan had three other top 10s in the 500: ninth in 1986, fifth in 1992 and ninth in his last race in 1995.

#Indy500 @IMS @IMSMuseum @IndyCar @SpinToWin85 @TeamPenske

30 Days in May Bonus: No. 66, Mark Donohue 1973 Sunoco Eagle/Offy

Welcome to our monthlong countdown celebrating notable drivers and cars from the history of the Indianapolis 500!

Majeske Collection

Defending Indianapolis 500 winner Mark Donohue switched to an Eagle
for the 1973 race. 

30 Days in May Bonus: No. 66, Mark Donohue 1973 Sunoco Eagle/Offy. Mark Donohue changed marques in 1973 as he attempted to defend his Indianapolis 500 title. While teammates Gary Bettenhausen and Bobby Allison (doing a one-off from his NASCAR duties) drove McLarens, which Donohue won with in 1972, Donohue tried to unlock the secret of Dan Gurney’s Eagle.

This proved to be an exercise in frustration as Donohue struggled to get the Eagle to respond. It had been purchased, at Donohue’s behest, by Roger Penske (always one to cover all his bases) because of the Eagle’s fantastic speed in the hands of Bobby Unser the year before.

Patrick Racing also bought Eagles, with Swede Savage topping the early practice periods in May in his No. 40 STP Oil Treatment, and Gordon Johncock just behind in the No. 20 STP Double Oil Filter. (Rookie teammate Graham McRae traded in a 1972 Lola for an Eagle and also did well in it.) According to oldracingcars.com, Patrick and Penske each had 1972 Eagles. Bobby Unser and Jerry Grant had 1973 Eagles for the 1973 Indianapolis 500.

For Donohue, progress came slowly. The following are Donohue’s words from his book “The Unfair Advantage”:

(The issue) was some kind of an aerodynamic “ground effect,” where the nose would “lock down” at some height and stay there. But if it was up, it could stay there, too, and begin to “fly the nose,” as they say.

To his credit, Donohue eventually figured out the Eagle well enough to qualify at 197.412 mph, good for the outside spot of the front row – his same starting position in 1972.

Race Day was vexing as he dropped out after 92 laps with piston failure and finished 15th. Sadly, this was Donohue’s last appearance as a driver at Indianapolis. He retired from IndyCar competition at the end of 1973, served as team manager for Penske in 1974, then was fatally injured in practice for the Austrian Grand Prix in August of 1975.

As a final note to illustrate just how remarkably talented and insightful Donohue was, it wasn’t until several years later that “ground effect” became part of the IndyCar vocabulary. But here he was describing it in 1973!

#ThisIsMay #Indy500 @IMS @IMSMuseum @IndyCar @Team_Penske

30 Days in May: No. 4, Johnny Rutherford, 1980 Pennzoil Chaparral/Cosworth

Welcome to our monthlong countdown celebrating notable drivers and cars from the Indianapolis 500!

 

Majeske Collection

Few drivers dominated the Month of May like Johnny Rutherford did
in 1980 in the Pennzoil Chaparral.

30 Days in May: No. 4, Johnny Rutherford, 1980 Pennzoil Chaparral/Cosworth. Each year, someone is tabbed as the favorite for that year’s Indianapolis 500. In 1980, Johnny Rutherford was the overwhelming pick. A two-time 500 winner for McLaren, Rutherford found himself out of a job at the end of the 1979 season when the team discontinued its IndyCar operation to concentrate on Formula 1.

Meanwhile, Jim Hall’s outfit was looking for a driver after Al Unser departed. Unser had the 1979 Indianapolis 500 in the bag before a faulty transmission seal sidelined him after 104 laps.

With the bugs presumably worked out of the futuristic Chaparral, which introduced the ground-effects concept to IndyCar racing, Rutherford and Hall looked to be unbeatable at Indianapolis.

And they were. Rutherford was fastest in practice nearly every day, won the pole and led the most laps on his way to an easy victory to cap a dominating Month of May.

 

#ThisIsMay #Indy500 @IMS @IMSMuseum @IndyCar

Indianapolis 500 Front Rows of the 1970s: 1971

In addition to the Month of May countdown, we’re also looking back at the front rows of the 1970s, which included some of the most accomplished drivers in the history of the Indianapolis 500.

Faithful readers of this space know that this decade is part of my personal golden age at the Speedway. I’m grateful I got to witness much of it first-hand as a boy.

Here’s a statistical look at the front-row drivers of the 1970s:

 

Driver	Indianapolis 500 poles (career)	Indianapolis 500 wins (career)
Al Unser	1	4
Johnny Rutherford	3	3
A.J. Foyt	4	4
Peter Revson	1	0
Mark Donohue	0	1
Bobby Unser	2	3
Wally Dallenbach	0	0
Mike Hiss	0	0
Gordon Johncock	0	2
Tom Sneva	3	1
Danny Ongais	0	0
Rick Mears	6	4
Totals	20	22

For each year, we’ll have the front row, how many Indianapolis 500 wins were represented on the front row at the start of the race, the number of Indianapolis 500 wins in the drivers’ respective careers, and a brief recap of practice, qualifying and the race.

 

Penske Entertainment/Indianapolis Motor Speedway

Peter Revson was the surprise pole-winner for the 1971 Indianapolis 500, edging
Mark Donohue. Bobby Unser was on the outside.

1971 front row: Peter Revson (pole), Mark Donohue, Bobby Unser

How it started: 1 Indianapolis 500 victory. Bobby Unser’s triumph in 1968 accounted for the only 500 win before Pat Vidan’s green flag that year.

How it ended: 4 Indianapolis 500 victories. Bobby Unser became the first to win the Indianapolis 500 in three different decades (and with three different teams) when he splashed to victory in Dan Gurney’s Jorgensen Eagle in the rain-shortened 1975 event and won in Roger Penske’s Norton Spirit in 1981 in what turned out to be his final 500 start. That meant Unser was last in his first 500 and first in his last 500. (His win in 1968 came with Leader Card.) Donohue, expected to dominate the 1971 race, got his redemption the following year, earning Penske’s first of 20 (and counting) Indianapolis 500 victories.

About the 1971 race: Before getting to the race, let’s recap practice and qualifying. Donohue’s performance in practice was literally off the charts as he consistently lapped above 180 mph – a speed that wasn’t on at least some of the lap time-and-speed conversions. In qualifying, Donohue did shatter the one- and four-lap qualifications marks (178.607 mph and 177.087 mph, respectively) in his Sunoco McLaren, but fell short of the 180 everyone expected him to hit.

Revson, also in a McLaren (part of the McLaren works team with Denis Hulme), topped Donohue’s marks with 179.354 mph and 178.696 mph. Some sources indicate that Donohue was not happy with how his car was set up and either willingly or off-handedly provided McLaren’s Teddy Mayer some insight on what went wrong and how to correct it. Other sources say that Penske, always one for taking the long view, willingly offered setup information to Team McLaren to remain in its good graces.

Of course, a great setup works only if you have a talented driver, and certainly Revson must be given credit for doing an outstanding job to edge Donohue for the pole. This gave him a bit of retribution as Revson felt that his performance in 1969 merited Rookie of the Year honors instead of Donohue. (Revson started 33^rd and finished fifth, two spots better than Donohue, who had started fourth.)

On Race Day, Donohue shot away from the field and dominated before dropping out after 66 laps with a shattered gearbox. Revson stayed in the fight most of the race, while Bobby Unser was eliminated when he crashed trying to avoid Mike Mosley, who hit the wall coming out of Turn 4 on Lap 164.

That left it to Al Unser to take home the Borg-Warner Trophy for the second straight year. In typical Al Unser fashion, he stayed near the front all day, drove a heady, steady race and beat Revson to the checkered flag by 22.48 seconds.

 

#Indy500 #ThisIsMay @Team_Penske @IMS @IndyCar @IMSMuseum @ArrowMcLaren

30 Days in May: No. 3, Bobby Unser, 1981 Norton Spirit Penske/Cosworth

 

Welcome to our monthlong countdown celebrating notable drivers and cars from the history of the Indianapolis 500!

 

Majeske Collection

Bobby Unser won his second pole in qualifying for the 1981 Indianapolis 500.

30 Days in May: No. 3, Bobby Unser, 1981 Norton Spirit Penske/Cosworth. In 1981, Bobby Unser started from the pole and was victorious in what would be his final Indianapolis 500, becoming the first driver to win in three different decades. Another bit of trivia: Bobby Unser finished last in his first Indianapolis 500 and finished first in his last Indianapolis 500. Just to give you an idea of how outstanding a qualifier Bobby Unser was, he ranked in the top 10 in terms of speed in 17 of his 19 races, with nine front-row starts.

#ThisIsMay #Indy500 @IMS @IMSMuseum @IndyCar @Team_Penske