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.

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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.

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30 Days in May Bonus: No. 71, Rick Mears, 1978 CAM2 Penske PC6/Cosworth

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

Penske Entertainment/Indianapolis Motor Speedway

Rick Mears was on the front row for his first Indianapolis 500 start in 1978.
In his 15 starts at Indianapolis, Mears started on the front row 11 times,
including a record 6 poles.

Despite not qualifying for the 500 as a rookie in 1977, Rick Mears caught the eye of Roger Penske and was offered a ride in races that Mario Andretti could not compete in due to Formula 1 commitments in 1978. Mears eagerly accepted the deal, which included the Indianapolis 500. The Bakersfield, California, native justified Penske’s confidence by grabbing the outside spot on the front row, setting a rookie qualifying record in the process. 

Race day wasn’t great, as Mears forgot to buckle his helmet at the start and then had his engine let go just after halfway and finished 23^rd. Still, the outstanding performance in time trials helped Mears earn Co-Rookie of the Year with Larry Rice. Mears’ number, 71, is rarely used at the Speedway, but I think the reason why Penske used that number is because his other entries were 7 (Andretti) and 1 (Tom Sneva), so maybe he just combined the two. (Dick Simon had 17 that year, in case you were wondering.) 

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30 Days in May: No. 9, Scott Dixon, 2008 Target Chip Ganassi Racing Dallara/Honda

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

Dan Helrigel/Penske Entertainment

Scott Dixon is looking to add another Indianapolis 500 victory to his lone 2008 win,
when started from the pole and led 115 laps.

Scott Dixon has compiled an amazing IndyCar career that continues to be largely underappreciated outside of hardcore fans. He’s now second all-time in victories (59), trailing only A.J. Foyt (67), and added a sixth championship in 2020, one behind Foyt for most all-time.

Given all that success, it’s surprising Dixon has only one Indianapolis 500 victory, which came in 2008. He started on the pole and led the most laps on his way to that victory. He’s more than overdue for a second 500 win. He’s now the all-time leader in laps led with 677, ahead of Al Unser Sr. (644) and Ralph DePalma (612).

Here are some other notable stats from Dixon’s Indianapolis 500 career:

• 23 starts
• 16 races led (most ever)
• 14 top 10 finishes
• 9 top 5 finishes
• 5 poles

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30 Days in May Bonus: No. 8, Jan Opperman, 1976 Routh Meat Packing Eagle/Offy

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

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Jan Opperman started 33rd and finished 16th in the 1976 Indianapolis 500.

Now and then during the 1970s, my dad was able to wrangle a pit or garage pass. In 1976, he was wandering about with his Polaroid camera (!) when Jan Opperman stopped him and asked if he could take his photo for his USAC license. He offered to pay my dad for his time and film. My dad said, no, that’s OK. How about signing an autograph for the kids instead? Jan happily obliged, dad took his photo, Opperman thanked him again, and my dad had an interesting story to tell around the dinner table that night.

The Routh Meat Packing entry originally was No. 75 and assigned to rookie Gary Allbritain. Allbritain, however, crashed twice earlier in the season. USAC officials decided he wasn’t quite ready for the Speedway, and denied him a rookie test.

Opperman, meanwhile, was entered in the No. 42 Don Mergard’s Spirit of Truth Eagle/Offy, which he qualified on the first weekend of qualifications. During this era, it was fairly common for drivers to switch teams (and vice versa) in an attempt to find the right combination to secure a spot in the 33-car field. After being bumped early on the final day of qualifications, Opperman jumped in the Routh car, which had been abandoned by Steve Krisiloff in favor of the No. 92 First National City Travelers Checks Eagle/Offy, which he qualified on the third day of time trials. (Jerry Karl also practiced in the No. 8 on the last day of qualifications.) Opperman warmed up the car at 5:39, didn’t take the green flag, and went back into the qualifying line. He got one more attempt at 5:59 and bumped Eldon Rasmussen.

Altogether, six cars were bumped in 1976, with the “Racing Hippie” providing literally last-minute drama.

The 1976 Indianapolis 500 was the shortest ever, halted by rain and declared official after a paltry 102 laps. Johnny Rutherford was the winner in the Hy-Gain/Goodyear McLaren/Offy. It was the last of the venerable Offenhauser’s 27 victories at Indianapolis.

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I have another sister, Rebecca, but she was still in the garage, so to speak, when
Jan Opperman signed this autograph in May of 1976.

Opperman moved up from dead last to place 16^th when the rains hit. Considering the many challenges for both driver and team, this was a well-earned result.

Sadly, this was Opperman’s final Indianapolis 500. He was badly hurt in the Hoosier Hundred later in 1976, recovered, but then suffered devastating injuries in 1981. He died on September 4, 1997, in the care of his parents. Famed Indianapolis DJs Bob and Tom held a few fund-raisers over the years to try to defray costs for Opperman’s care.

Jan Opperman was an American original, considered by many the first and maybe the best “outlaw” racer. He was a member of the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame’s inaugural class in 1990. To learn more about this legend, I can recommend “Odyssey: Jan Opperman’s Racing Diary.” Also available is “Dialed In: The Jan Opperman Story,” which I’m hoping to read in the near future.

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30 Days in May: No. 8, Tom Sneva, 1977 Norton Spirit McLaren/Cosworth

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

Majeske collection

Tom Sneva was the first (and only) driver to officially exceed 200 mph in qualifying
for the 1977 Indianapolis 500.

In 1977, Tom Sneva was the first to officially lap the Indianapolis Motor Speedway at over 200 mph, with a speed of 200.401 mph on the first lap of his qualifying run, then broke his record on the next lap at 200.535 mph. The four-lap average of 198.884 mph fell a bit short of 200, but was more than enough for Sneva to secure the first of three poles at Indianapolis. Interestingly, each time Sneva sat on the pole (1977, 1978, 1984), he set the track record. In 1977, Sneva was second to A.J. Foyt, who won his historic fourth Indianapolis 500. 

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30 Days in May Bonus: No. 48, Mike Mosley, 1981 Pepsi Challenger Eagle/Chevrolet

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

Majeske collection

Mike Mosley earned a front-row starting position for the 1981 Indianapolis 500
in the Pepsi Challenger Eagle/Chevrolet.

Sharp-looking, fast and loud, 1981 was the only appearance of the Pepsi Challenger at Indianapolis. Always an innovator, Dan Gurney was trying to bring stock-block engines to Indy racing as a lower-cost alternative to the Cosworth engines, which were used by (almost) everyone else. In terms of speed, this car proved his point as Mike Mosley put it in the middle of the front row. 

The sound of this screaming Eagle is almost impossible to describe. It had a distinctive roar – in some ways, perhaps, it was the Novi of its generation. In other words, if you heard it, you never forgot it. The distinctive shape and color of the Eagle made it look like a dart hurtling down the straightaway. 

Consistent with the lousy fortune Mosley endured at Indianapolis, he went out after 16 laps with a radiator issue, placing 33^rd. At Milwaukee a couple of weeks later, Mosley won, going from the back row to first in an incredible driving display. It was the last of his five wins in Indy cars and the last for Gurney in IndyCar competition as well. 

(Mosley was added as a promoter’s option to the back of the field along with Cliff Hucul. Mosley started 25^th, Hucul 26^th. Hucul dropped out before completing a lap, so it could be said that this was a worst-to-first drive for Mosley.)

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30 Days in May: No. 7, Gary Bettenhausen, 1972 Sunoco McLaren/Offy

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

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Gary Bettenhausen started fourth and led 138 laps in the 1972 Indianapolis 500.

For the 1972 season, Roger Penske added Gary Bettenhausen so his team could benefit from his oval-racing expertise. Bettenhausen repaid the confidence by winning at Trenton and was leading the USAC Championship standings heading into the Month of May. Besides Bobby Unser, who boosted the pole speed by more than 17 mph, Bettenhausen was probably the other driver picked most to win the 500.

Unser led easily early, then went out after just 31 laps with ignition rotor failure. Bettenhausen took over from there and seemed poised for a sure victory until his ignition failed after 182 laps. 

Given his family’s legacy and the great admiration and respect fans and competitors alike had for Bettenhausen, this could’ve been one of the most popular victories in Indianapolis 500 history. Instead, Mark Donohue, another popular driver, collected the Borg-Warner for Penske, which was the first of 20 – and counting. 

This postcard was part of a set that folded out and included photos of several of the top drivers of the day, plus scenes from Gasoline Alley, the original museum and more. 

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