30 Days in May Bonus: No. 44, Dick Simon, 1973 TraveLodge Eagle/Foyt

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

Majeske collection

Dick Simon started 27th and finished 14th in the 1973 Indianapolis 500.

I miss guys like Dick Simon around the Speedway. Energetic and enthusiastic, Simon was an outstanding ski jumper and parachutist before he pursued a career in Indy cars. Had the X Games been around in the 1960s, he probably would’ve been a star competitor. 

As for Indianapolis, Simon usually was saddled with marginal equipment that he had to hustle into the show. His 1973 mount was pretty decent though, and Simon ran up front before piston failure sent him to the sidelines for a 14^th-place finish. Toward the end of his career, Simon obtained better cars, which led to better results – he was sixth and ninth in his last two races in 1987 and 1988, respectively. Simon is bald, but he donned a toupee for this ad in the 1973 Indianapolis 500 program. 

#ThisIsMay #Indy500 @IMS @IMSMuseum @IndyCar 

Indianapolis 500 Front Rows of the 1970s: 1977

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

Tom Sneva won his first Indianapolis 500 pole with the first official lap at over 200
mph in qualifications in 1977. Bobby Unser started second and Al Unser third.

1977 front row: Tom Sneva (pole), Bobby Unser, Al Unser

How it started: 4 Indianapolis 500 victories (Bobby Unser 1968, 1975; Al Unser 1970, 1971)

How it ended: 8 Indianapolis 500 victories (Tom Sneva 1983; Bobby Unser 1968, 1975, 1981; Al Unser 1970, 1971, 1978, 1987)

About the 1977 race: With boost limits raised and the eight-cylinder Cosworth now the powerplant of choice among many of the big-name teams, the magic, but still elusive, 200-mph mark was ready to fall. Mario Andretti was the first to unofficially break the barrier in practice, but on Pole Day Tom Sneva was the only one to exceed 200 mph in qualifying. His “New Track Record” for one lap was 200.535 mph in the Norton Spirit McLaren/Cosworth. Sneva dropped to an average of 198.884 mph for his four laps, which topped Johnny Rutherford’s record from 1973.

Bobby Unser, in the Cobre Tire/Clayton Dyno-Tune Lightning/Offy, started next to Sneva. Brother Al Unser was on the outside in the American Racing Parnelli/Cosworth. This was the only time both Unser brothers were on the front row at Indianapolis. 

A.J. Foyt led a star-studded second row joined by Gordon Johncock and Mario Andretti. Career-wise, the top six starters in the 1977 Indianapolis 500 accounted for 15 500 victories. I haven’t done all the research, but I think that’s the most Indianapolis 500 wins over the first two rows ever.

Johncock took control of the second half of the race and seemingly had victory in his grasp when he suffered a broken crankshaft – a comparatively rare failure – after 184 laps. Foyt took it from there and finally had his cherished fourth Indianapolis 500 victory.

Penske Entertainment/Indianapolis Motor Speedway

The 1977 Indianapolis 500 also had what may be the best second row in history:
A.J. Foyt (inside), Gordon Johncock (middle) and Mario Andretti (outside).

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

30 Days in May: No. 17, Willy T. Ribbs, 1991 Cosby/McDonald’s Lola/Buick

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

1991 Indianapolis 500 Yearbook published by Carl Hungness

Willy T. Ribbs made the first of his two Indianapolis 500 starts in 1991.

Willy T. Ribbs had a devil of a time qualifying for his first Indianapolis 500 in 1991 because the ever-temperamental Buick engine would fail after only a handful of laps. In the last hour of qualifying, Ribbs shoved aside the frustration, shelved any jinxes and put his car in the show, bumping Ton Sneva in the process. The mechanical gremlins returned on Race Day, however, and Ribbs lasted only five laps and finished 32^nd.  

Like many others, I highly recommend the documentary “Uppity: The Willy T. Ribbs Story” to learn more about Ribbs’ career. 

#ThisIsMay #Indy500 @IMS @IMSMuseum @IndyCar @WillyRibbs

30 Days in May Bonus: No. 48, Bobby Unser, 1975 Jorgensen Eagle/Offy

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

Majeske collection

Bobby Unser won his second Indianapolis 500 in 1975 after starting third.

After charging to the front early but failing to finish after starting first and second in 1972 and 1973, respectively, Bobby Unser took a more measured approach from his No. 3 starting position in 1975. He stayed with the leaders all day, but led only 11 laps, including the last 10 before the race was halted after Lap 174 following a torrential downpour. This was the first 500 our entire family went to, and it was extremely hot. We drank all of our Shurfine and Faygo pop well before the green flag, then had to suck on the ice cubes from our Skotch Kooler to try to stay cool.

#Indy500 #ThisIsMay @IMS @IMSMuseum @IndyCar

Indianapolis 500 Front Rows of the 1970s: 1976

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.

Majeske collection

In 1976, Johnny Rutherford earned his second pole for the Indianapolis 500 in the
Hy-Gain McLaren/Offy. Starting second for the second straight year was Gordon
Johncock in the Sinmast Wildcat/DGS. Tom Sneva grabbed his first front-row start
at Indianapolis in the Norton Spirit McLaren/Offy.

1976 front row: Johnny Rutherford (pole), Gordon Johncock, Tom Sneva

How it started: 2 Indianapolis 500 victories (Rutherford 1974, Johncock 1973)

How it ended: 6 Indianapolis 500 victories (Rutherford 1974, 1976, 1980; Johncock 1973, 1982; Sneva 1983)

About the 1976 race: Johnny Rutherford, driving the Hy-Gain McLaren/Offy, notched his second pole in three years, but wasn’t the fastest qualifier. That distinction belonged to Mario Andretti, who joined Tom Sneva on the Penske team after four not-great seasons with Parnelli Jones’ operation. As in 1975, Andretti missed the first weekend of time trials due to Formula 1 commitments. 

Johncock again powered a new Sinmast Wildcat/DGS to the second starting spot while Sneva snagged the first of four consecutive front-row starts in the Bicentennial-themed Norton Spirit McLaren/Offy.

What could have again been a fantastic duel between Rutherford and A.J. Foyt was literally washed away as rain stopped the race for the second year in a row – this time after only 102 laps. Rutherford walked to Victory Lane to pick up his second Indianapolis 500 win.

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

30 Days in May: No. 16, Lee Kunzman, 1973 Ayr-Way/Lloyd’s Eagle/Offy

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

Penske Entertainment/Indianapolis Motor Speedway

Lee Kunzman started 25th and finished seventh in the 1973 Indianapolis 500.

Lee Kunzman was a rising star in the USAC ranks before his career was derailed by some serious crashes. In 1973, he joined the Lindsey Hopkins team and moved up from 25^th to finish seventh in the rain-shortened race. This was a very good year for Hopkins as three of his cars were in the top 10: Roger McCluskey was third and Mel Kenyon fourth in addition to Kunzman in seventh. After his driving career, Kunzman was part of Ron Hemelgarn’s operation for many years. 

Majeske collection

#Indy500 @IMS @IMSMuseum @IndyCar

30 Days in May Bonus: No. 93, Johnny Parsons, 1975 Ayr-Way WNAP “Buzzard”

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

Majeske collection

Johnny Parsons started 12th in the 1975 Indianapolis 500 and was running fifth
when the transmission failed after 140 laps. He finished 19th. 

Cars entered in the Indianapolis 500 certainly have had interesting, colorful names. One of my favorites was the Ayr-Way WNAP “Buzzard” from 1975. This name may not make sense today – especially if you’re not from Indianapolis – but it was definitely a product of the times.

Ayr-Way was spun off L.S. Ayres, one of the top fashion stores in Indianapolis. Ayr-Way was a department store similar to Target – in fact, many of the Indianapolis locations became Target stores after Ayr-Way folded in the late 1970s. (Squint hard enough and maybe you can see the old Ayr-Way flower where the Target bull’s eye is now at some stores.)

We often went to the Ayr-Way on Lafayette Road because it had just about everything – even a garden center. WNAP was a hard-rock station teeming with many interesting personalities; the buzzard was the station mascot. It was at 93.1 on the FM dial, so that’s why the car was No. 93. 

Because I was only 7 years old, I didn’t listen to WNAP. My parents were strictly WIBC (1070 AM), which was fine because WIBC covered qualifications and had updates from the track that I would listen to when I got home from school while allegedly doing my homework.

This was very much an Indianapolis-centric team. In addition to the two local sponsors, driver Johnny Parsons lived in central Indiana for many years. He’s the son of 1950 winner Johnnie Parsons (note the different spellings). Johnny was from California but moved to Indiana to jump-start his racing career.

The chief mechanic (remember those?) was Bill Finley, who basically built race cars out of his garage in Eagledale, a subdivision within earshot of the track. (My first house was in Eagledale: 3031 Fuller Drive. Carl Wilde School 79 represent!)

The team also had a second entry: car No. 94, driven by Mike Hiss.

Race day wasn’t the greatest for either driver. Hiss spun out on Lap 39 and finished 29th. Parsons ran as high as fifth before transmission woes sidelined him after 140 laps. He finished 19th.

Ayr-Way heavily promoted its involvement in the 500 with buttons,  glasses, posters, large ads in the Indianapolis papers (there were two of them back then) and even a timing and scoring chart with Parsons’ likeness.

Today, WNAP’s old FM spot is occupied by WIBC.

Majeske collection

#ThisIsMay #Indy500 @IMS @IMSMuseum @IndyCar