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Majeske photo The Vel's Parnelli Jones "Super Team" got off to a promising start in the 1972
Indianapolis 500. Al Unser finished second, Joe Leonard third and Mario Andretti eighth.
Above is Unser's car, the radical Philippe. |
Fantasy sports makes it possible to assemble a great team to see how It performs.
The 1972 Indianapolis 500 saw a real “Super Team” that boasted accomplishments unmatched before or since. The three-driver lineup consisted of Mario Andretti, Al Unser and Joe Leonard. Entering the 1972 season, they accounted for the last three Indianapolis 500 wins (Andretti in 1969, Unser in 1970 and ‘71) as well as the last three national champions (Andretti in 1969, Unser in 1970 and Leonard in 1971).
The chief mechanic was George Bignotti, mastermind behind five 500 victories to that point. And the owner (along with Vel Miletich) was Parnelli Jones, the 1963 500 champion, almost winner in 1967 and considered by some the most naturally talented American driver of all time.
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From the 1973 Indianapolis 500 program Castrol was a key sponsor for the team. |
This group arrived at a time when advances in Indy racing technology were made on an almost-daily basis. Aerodynamic wings, better tires, unrestricted engines and a crop of skilled drivers combined to push speeds much higher than what might be normally expected in a given year.
The pole speed, for example, generally increased a couple of mph year to year. Bobby Unser, in his Olsonite Eagle, jumped it more than 17 mph to claim the top spot.
In fact, each car that qualified for the 1972 race beat Peter Revson’s pole mark of 1971 of 178-plus mph.
What’s more, a wide diversity of chassis was available. In addition to Unser’s Eagle, there were new McLarens plus several other marques, including Atlanta, Lola, Kingfish and Coyote, as well as older McLarens and Eagles and others that were updated to be competitive.
The “Super Team” had its own chassis – the Phillippe (also called the Parnelli), created by noted designer Maurice Phillippe. They originally debuted at Indianapolis with dihedral wings sprouting from the middle of the chassis.
In theory, they were to provide increased stability in the corners. In practice, they didn’t work quite right and were discarded in favor of a more conventional setup.
In qualifying, Leonard and then Andretti set new one- and four-lap records that were surpassed first by Gary Bettenhausen and then Unser.
On Race Day, the Super Team didn’t have the outright speed of Unser, who sped away before being sidelined early with a broken distributor, or Bettenhausen, who led 138 laps before also falling victim to mechanical failure.
The final results, however, were praiseworthy. Unser was elevated to second after Jerry Grant was dropped to 12th after being penalized for taking fuel from Unser’s tank during a confusing late pit stop. Leonard was third and Andretti wound up eighth after running out of fuel in the closing laps.
Leonard won his second consecutive national championship on the strength of three straight wins – Michigan, Pocono and Milwaukee.
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Majeske collection The 1973 Philippe was a bit problematic for two-time national champion Joe Leonard. |
The Super Team remained intact for 1973 with a new Phillippe that again was as beautiful as it was temperamental – at least for Leonard. At Indianapolis, Andretti and Unser made the field easily while Leonard struggled mightily. For a while it appeared he might be bumped after qualifying on his third and final attempt.
The 1973 race was one of the most troubled and tragic ever, taking three days to complete. At that, it didn’t even go 500 miles. Andretti was an early out, Leonard was never competitive and Unser was sidelined after leading. Gordon Johncock won for Bignotti, who had moved to the Patrick team.
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Majeske photo Mario Andretti started sixth in the 1973 Indianapolis 500, but lasted only four laps
due to a broken piston. |
In terms of the season, after a promising start with Unser winning the season-opener at Texas and Andretti winning at Trenton, the race before Indianapolis, things went downhill. Leonard’s best finish was a fifth in the Trenton race that Andretti won. He wound up a disappointing 15th in the final point standings in his bid for three straight national driving championships.
Looking to rebound for 1974, another Phillippe chassis was created, but it wound up largely unused as the team switched to Eagles early on. Andretti put the new Phillippe on the pole at Trenton, but that proved to be the high point.
The California 500 at Ontario was the season-opener – the first time a 500-mile race had been held before Indianapolis. Leonard crashed violently, due in part to a blown tire, suffering severe, painful injuries to his feet and lower legs. The damage was so debilitating that it abruptly ended his career with six wins and two poles in 98 starts over 10 years. Jan Opperman took his place at Indianapolis, racing the 1973 Parnelli, and also drove at Pocono that year.
Unser and Andretti returned to Vel’s Parnelli for 1975. They raced Eagles at Indianapolis and throughout the season, but also did key development work on what became the Cosworth engine that dominated the last part of the 1970s. It was fitted to a new Formula 1-inspired chassis.
By 1976, the Super Team was down to just Al Unser, as Andretti left for Penske. Unser and Jones stayed together one more year in 1977. Unser finished third at Indianapolis that year, and also won at Ontario to begin a string of four straight 500-mile victories that carried through 1978, which was the last time a Vel’s Parnelli Jones Racing entry appeared. (Unser drove for Jim Hall in 1978.) The 1978 entry was for car No. 21, with no driver listed. It was rumored that Lloyd Ruby would drive it, but the engine intended for the mount was destroyed in a crash by Danny Ongais. By then, Jones was something of an adviser to Ongais on the Interscope Racing team.
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Penske Entertainment/Indianapolis Motor Speedway The "Super Team" had faded away by 1977, when lone driver Al Unser started
third and finished third. |
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