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| Jerry Grant after qualifying "The Mystery Eagle" for the 1972 Indianapolis 500. |
This May, we’ll likely see several tributes to Dan Gurney
recounting his achievements and contributions to the Indianapolis 500 (and to
auto racing in general) as a driver, car designer and team manager. And rightly
so, because the Big Eagle was a key figure in IndyCar racing starting in the
early 1960s.
His first All American Racers Eagle appeared at the Speedway
in 1966, and the marque was a serious contender for victory in the 500 for the
next decade-plus. Much like A.J. Foyt did with No. 14, Gurney made the No. 48
famous, and his name and team always will be associated with that number – at
least among us Indy old-timers.
In 1972, All American Racers brought a new Eagle that outclassed
everything but the new McLarens by a wide margin. Lead driver Bobby Unser upped
the pole speed by more than 17 mph, a feat unlikely to ever be matched.
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| The driver of the Mystery Eagle is a mystery. |
Unser’s teammate was Jerry Grant, whose association with
Gurney dated to 1965 when he co-drove with him in the Daytona Continental.
While Gurney might have had Grant in mind for the assignment at Indianapolis,
it wasn’t official until well into the month – Grant wasn’t listed as the
nominated driver in either the program or the “names and numbers” list you used
to be able to buy at the track for one thin dime.
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| Still a mystery. Parnelli Jones is entered? |
Grant quickly made up for lost time. As a second-weekend
qualifier, he started 15th, but his overall speed rank was an
impressive fourth. The Mystery Eagle, with its purple livery, was as striking
as it was fast. You didn’t see many purple cars at the Speedway, but then
again, this was the 1970s. (Incidentally, the color worked out just fine for
Buddy Lazier in 1996.)
Part of the reason Gurney ran a second car was because he
had backing from a fellow named Chris Vallo and his CV Enterprises. (Apparently,
that is. More on that later.)
The 1972 500, when Jim Nabors first sang “Back Home Again in
Indiana,” saw Unser jump to a commanding lead before falling out with
mechanical failure after 31 laps. His 30th-place finish was by far
the worst finish for the pole-sitter in the 1970s.
Gary Bettenhausen led most of the race before being
sidelined in the late stages with ignition woes.This opened the door for
Grant, who led for 16 laps. On Lap 188, Grant made a surprise pit stop,
motioning at his right front wheel.
Directed into Unser’s pit stall, the crew hooked up the fuel
hose from Unser’s tank. Oops. Grant seemingly trailed Mark Donohue to the
checkered to take second place, but officials later determined that taking on
fuel from another tank was illegal. So Grant’s final 12 laps were discounted,
dropping him from second to 12th.
This decision cost All American Racers about $72,000 in
prize money. Gurney’s wallet then took another hit as Vallo disappeared soon
after the race. My good friend Bill LaDow has graciously allowed me to link to
a couple of stories related to Vallo’s skullduggery. You can read more on his
site “Speedway Sightings.” The links are here
and here.
For Grant, despite the sour ending, the 1972 Indianapolis
500 in many ways represented his best performance at the Brickyard. He competed
in the next four 500s, but never led again and his best finish in that span was
10th.
He was, however, the first IndyCar driver to officially turn
a lap above 200 mph – 201.414 mph in qualifying for the 1972 500-mile race at
the now-defunct Ontario Motor Speedway.
After his driving career, Grant was often seen at the
Speedway as a representative for Champion Spark Plugs. He died Aug. 13, 2012,
at 77.
