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 

30 Days in May: No. 15, Peter Revson, 1973 Gulf McLaren/Offy

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

Majeske collection

Peter Revson started 10th and finished 31st in the 1973 Indianapolis 500.

A front-row starter the previous two 500s, Peter Revson was the first qualifier for the 1973 race. He wound up starting 10^th and finished 31^st after crashing coming out of Turn 4 after only three laps. That year, I remember my mom taking me to a drug store in the Speedway Shopping Center to meet Revson, who was promoting Rev-Up vitamins, and get an autographed picture, which I still have. 

Majeske photo

It was great to see the Gulf McLaren again a few years ago at Carb Day.

#Indy500 @IMS @IMSMuseum @IndyCar @ArrowMcLarenSP

Majeske photo

I made this tribute a few years ago.

30 Days in May: No. 14, Roger McCluskey, 1972 American Marine Underwriters Antares/Offy

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

Majeske photo

The Antares was one of several brand-new cars for the 1972 Indianapolis 500.

As chronicled in some of our other entries, 1972 was a year of dramatic change at Indianapolis. This change included how cars were built. Antares Engineering, Inc., based in Troy, Michigan (a city where I used to work), jumped into Indy car construction with cars for both the Lindsey Hopkins and Patrick-Michner teams, according to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s 1972 Press/TV/Radio Fact Book.

A supposed advantage of the Antares was that it was purported to be completely designed by computers and telemetry, which was a radically new concept. A key distinguishing feature was the boat-shaped front end to help aerodynamics.

Unfortunately, the Antares performed better in the lab than on the track. Roger McCluskey, a capable veteran, qualified 20^th and finished 24^th, exiting with valve trouble after 92 laps. Trivia time: This was the last time someone other than A.J. Foyt, or a Foyt driver, used the No. 14 at Indianapolis. 

The Hopkins team abandoned the Antares after Indianapolis in favor of a McLaren, which McCluskey drove to victory in that year’s California 500 at Ontario Motor Speedway. McCluskey used a McLaren quite successfully in 1973 as well, winning the USAC national championship. 

The Antares continued to pop up as the alleged chassis in Indianapolis 500 entries for the rest of the decade. In 1979, Eldon Rasmussen heavily reworked an Antares, then called a Manta, and qualified for the race – a tremendous testament to his talent as a builder/fabricator and skill as a driver.

Majeske photo

The Antares had an unusual approach to the front wings and suspension.

#Indy500 @IMS @IMSMuseum @IndyCar

Indianapolis 500 Front Rows of the 1970s: 1975

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 1975, for the first time, the front row was made up of former winners of the
Indianapolis 500. A.J. Foyt was on the pole for the second straight year in his
Gilmore Racing Coyote/Foyt. Starting second was Gordon Johncock in the
Sinmast Wildcat/DGS. Bobby Unser was on the outside in the Jorgensen
Eagle/Offy. Three former winners in three different car/engine combinations. 

1975 front row: A.J. Foyt (pole), Gordon Johncock, Bobby Unser

How it started: 5 Indianapolis 500 victories (3 by Foyt, 1 by Johncock, 1 by Unser)

How it ended: 9 Indianapolis 500 victories (4 by Foyt – 1961, 1964, 1967, 1977; 2 by Johncock – 1973, 1982; 3 by Unser – 1968, 1975, 1981)

About the 1975 race: For the first time ever, former winners made up the front row. Gordon Johncock and A.J. Foyt vied for fast time throughout the first week of practice, leading to a much-anticipated Pole Day. Johncock held the top spot until Foyt made a late run to secure what was then a record-tying fourth pole. 

Johncock’s teammate Wally Dallenbach, also driving a fluorescent red Sinmast Wildcat/DGS (an Offy modified under the direction of George Bignotti), was quick in practice as well, but had mechanical problems on the first day of time trials and was a second-day qualifier. 

As Dallenbach had done the year before, Johncock jumped to the lead at the drop of the green flag from his second starting position, then , also like Dallenbach the year before, fell out early. 

Dallenbach took the lead on Lap 59 and looked to be in good shape for the win before dropping out after 162 laps due to a burned piston, handing the lead to Johnny Rutherford. Rutherford soon pitted, putting Bobby Unser and his Jorgensen Eagle/Offy in front.

And that’s where he finished as a massive rainstorm hit after 174 laps, leaving Rutherford second and A.J. Foyt third in his Coyote/Foyt. 

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