30 Days in May: No. 12, Bobby Allison, 1973 Sunoco DX McLaren/Offy

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

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Bobby Allison was part of a three-car effort with Roger Penske's team for the
1973 Indianapolis 500. The NASCAR star joined defending 500 winner
Mark Donohue and open-wheel standout Gary Bettenhausen.

It’s always great when a star driver from another discipline takes on the challenge of the Indianapolis 500. Unfortunately, mechanical problems sidelined Bobby Allison from the get-go and he finished 32^nd after just 1 lap in his debut in 1973. The NASCAR ace returned in 1975, but the results weren’t much better as Allison finished 25^th in that race. On the other hand, Bobby’s brother Donnie did quite well in his two Indianapolis 500 appearances. Donnie Allison finished fourth in 1970 and sixth in 1971, completing 399 out of a possible 400 laps.

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Bobby Allison set a rookie qualifying record during time trials for the 1973
Indianapolis 500.

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

30 Days in May: Remembering the “Super Team”

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. 

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 12^th 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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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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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 15^th 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. 

Penske Entertainment/Indianapolis Motor Speedway

The "Super Team" had faded away by 1977, when lone driver Al Unser started
third and finished third. 

#ThisIsMay #Indy500 @IMS @IMSMuseum @MarioAndretti

30 Days in May: No. 11, Mario Andretti, 1973 Viceroy Parnelli/Offy

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

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Mario Andretti qualified well for the 1973 Indianapolis 500, starting sixth,
but was out after four laps, finishing 30th.

When Mario Andretti joined Al Unser and Joe Leonard at Vel’s Parnelli Jones for the 1972 season, it was expected this “Super Team” would dominate the Indianapolis 500 and the IndyCar circuit. As it turned out, those years were not a lot of fun for Andretti. In 1973 , for example, he started a strong sixth, but was out after four laps with a broken piston to finish 30th.  

#Indy500 @IMS @IMSMuseum @IndyCar @marioandretti

Indianapolis 500 Front Rows of the 1970s: 1974

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

The 1974 Indianapolis 500 had Mike Hiss (outside) and Wally Dallenbach (middle)

on the front row for the first and only times. A.J. Foyt, who was among the slowest
qualifiers in 1973, was on the pole.

1974 front row: A.J. Foyt (pole), Wally Dallenbach, Mike Hiss

How it started: 3 Indianapolis 500 victories (all by Foyt)

How it ended: 4 Indianapolis 500 victories (all by Foyt)

About the 1974 race: In contrast to the 1973 event, the 1974 Indianapolis 500 was rain-free and had only one minor accident that resulted in no serious injuries. A.J. Foyt was the first qualifier in his Gilmore Coyote/Foyt and nailed down the pole right off the bat with an average of 191.632 mph over his four laps. (In an effort to reduce speeds and improve safety, turbocharger boost was curtailed, the size of the wings was decreased and the amount of fuel carried on board was cut about in half. The measures worked.)

Wally Dallenbach went out a bit later in the sharp STP Oil Treatment Eagle/Offy and averaged 189.683 mph, which turned out to be good enough for the second spot.

The rest of qualifying was less straightforward. To try to do its part to help with the energy crunch that year, the Speedway cut the time trials from four days to two days (the middle Saturdays of May) and created four “periods” over those two days. This might have looked OK on paper, but, of course, rain hit both days, meaning that first-day (or “first period”) qualifying stretched into the next week. 

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This could've been the front row for the 1974 Indianapolis 500. Mike Mosley had

the third-fastest qualifying speed after the first Saturday of time trials, but because
of rain, Pole Day extended into the following week. Mosley wound up starting sixth.

Mike Hiss, in Roger Penske’s Norton Spirit (McLaren/Offy) nailed down the outside spot of the front row with an average of 187.490 mph. Hiss is often the stumper when playing the game of “What Penske drivers started on the front row?” Of course, Rick Mears, Helio Castroneves and the three Unsers who won for Penske get shouted out first, then Mark Donohue, Danny Sullivan, Tom Sneva and other greats. Some even recall Kevin Cogan (mostly for his infamous wreck at the start in 1982). If someone not named Donald Davidson remembers Mike Hiss, you’re matching wits with a real Indianapolis 500 trivia master.

Race day saw quite a bit of attrition in the early going as potential favorites Gary Bettenhausen, Dallenbach, Mario Andretti and Mike Mosley all were eliminated with mechanical trouble within the first 10 laps. Meanwhile, Johnny Rutherford, in the, uh, McLaren McLaren/Offy, was charging up from his 25^th starting spot. Lone Star J.R. actually had the second-fastest qualifying speed, but wasn’t in the original line and … oh, never mind. He had to qualify later. Let’s just leave it at that.

Anyway, the race soon became a duel between the two Texans, with Foyt and his eight-cylinder engine faster in the straightaways but Rutherford quicker in the turns. Foyt’s mount expired after 142 laps with a broken oil fitting, leaving Rutherford a much easier path to his first Indianapolis 500 victory. In fact, it was the first time that Rutherford had seen the checkered flag – it took him 10 starts to get there, but it was worth the wait.

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

30 Days in May: No. 10, Michael Andretti, 1991 Kmart-Havoline Lola/Chevrolet

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

Majeske collection

Michael Andretti started fifth and finished second to Rick Mears by a little over
three seconds in the 1991 Indianapolis 500.

What’s May without an “Andretti Almost”? 1991 was the closest Michael came to winning the Indianapolis 500, finishing second to Rick Mears after a breathtaking duel in the late stages. Andretti led a race-high 97 laps in 1991, but leading the 500 was nothing new for him. In his Indianapolis 500 career, Michael Andretti led 431 laps, 0 wins. Rick Mears led 429 laps at Indy, 4 wins. Michael had great success as a car owner in the Indianapolis 500, though, with five victories with five different drivers: Dan Wheldon (2005), Dario Franchitti (2007), Ryan Hunter-Reay (2014), Alexander Rossi (2016) and Takuma Sato (2017).

#ThisIsMay #Indy500 @IMS @IMSMuseum @IndyCar @michaelandretti @AndrettiIndy

Indianapolis 500 Front Rows of the 1970s: 1973

 n 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

For the third straight year, Team McLaren, All American Racers and the Penske team
were on the front row for the Indianapolis 500. Johnny Rutherford, in the Gulf McLaren,
broke Bobby Unser's record to sit on the pole. Bobby Unser was just a little slower in
the Olsonite Eagle, while defending champion Mark Donohue switched to an Eagle
and put his Sunoco car on the outside.

1973 front row: Johnny Rutherford (pole), Bobby Unser, Mark Donohue

How it started: 2 Indianapolis 500 victories – Bobby Unser (1968) and Mark Donohue (1972)

How it ended: 7 Indianapolis 500 victories – Johnny Rutherford (1974, 1976, 1980), Bobby Unser (1968, 1975, 1981), Mark Donohue (1972)

About the 1973 race: The entire Month of May in 1973 was seemingly cursed. Anticipation and excitement for the first 200 mph lap at Indianapolis dominated the early days of practice, though nobody was able to get particularly close to that mark. During the practice session on the first day of qualifications, popular veteran driver Art Pollard was fatally injured in a crash, casting a pall over the day. Johnny Rutherford brightened spirits with a lap tantalizingly close to the magic 200 mph mark at 199.071 mph on this third qualifying lap. His four-lap average was a record 198.413 mph.

For the third straight year, McLaren, All American Racers and Penske were on the front row.

The start of the race, which was on Monday, Memorial Day, was delayed into the afternoon because of rain. Then when the green flag fell, Salt Walther was involved in a multicar crash on the front stretch that severely burned Walther and also injured a number of fans. The rains returned, delaying the race for another day. When it rained again, the 500 was pushed to a third day, which was Wednesday. 

These circumstances allowed me to attend my first Indianapolis 500 because we had tickets left from people who were staying with us for the race, but had to return home and go to work after Monday’s mess. The announcement that the race was happening was a rather hurried and confusing situation – basically if you were tuned to WIBC, you heard they were going to give it a go. So my mother grabbed me, my sister and a few older neighbor girls and we trekked over.

Sadly, Swede Savage lost his life after a terrible crash coming out of Turn 4. Armando Teran, a crewman on the Patrick Racing Team, died after being hit by a fire truck speeding to the site of Savage’s wreck. We left shortly after – that was enough for us.

We listened to the rest of the race at home on the radio. We were happy for Gordon Johncock when he was declared the winner after the race was stopped after 133 laps because of – you guessed it – rain. It was just a very grim event all the way around.

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