Indy cars of the early 1970s have a
few attributes I really like. First, the design is simple, clean and
uncluttered. Not a bunch of stuff hanging off here and there. Second, there
were different makes – McLarens and Eagles, shown here, as well as Coyotes,
Parnellis, a Kingfish and others in the 1973 Indianapolis 500. Third, I liked
the solid paint schemes. Almost every car that year was ONE color. It made it
easier to identify cars as they came out of the fourth turn down the main
straightaway.
From 1971 through 1973, the same
teams and almost the same drivers were in the front row. In 1971 it was Peter
Revson on the pole for Team McLaren, with Mark Donohue, in a Sunoco McLaren
next (Donohue was all but conceded the pole; it was a big upset when Revson snagged
it from him) and Bobby Unser outside in his Olsonite Eagle.
In 1972 it was Unser, Revson and
Donohue on the front row again. Johnny Rutherford crashed the party in 1973
with his pole-winning run in the Gulf McLaren, followed by Unser and Donohue,
who switched to an Eagle.
The Eagle proved to be a vexing
machine for Donohue, as he struggled most of the month trying to figure it out.
(For more, see “The Unfair Advantage.”) It’s a testament to his great ability
he put it on the front row. Rutherford just missed becoming the first driver to
turn a qualifying lap at 200 mph (his best lap was 199.071 mph).
Because in part of the energy crisis
and oil embargo, 1973 was the last year for Gulf and Sunoco as major sponsors
at Indianapolis, though Sunoco returned a few years ago as the official fuel of
the IZOD IndyCar Series.
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