30 Days In May: No. 1 Joe Leonard, 1973 Samsonite Parnelli/Offy

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

 

Joe Leonard was a two-time USAC national champion as well as a
three-time national motorcycle champion.

30 Days In May: No. 1 Joe Leonard, 1973 Samsonite Parnelli/Offy. For 1973, Joe Leonard had a brand-new Parnelli chassis designed by Maurice Philippe as well as the same sponsor (Samsonite) and number (1, for winning the 1972 national championship) he had the previous year. For whatever reason, unlike in 1972, Leonard had a tough time getting up to a comfortable speed in qualifying. He waved off twice, then accepted a somewhat precarious 189.954 mph average on his third strike on the second day of time trials.

A.J. Foyt found himself in a similar predicament as his four-lap average of 188.927 was the 29^th fastest of the 30 cars qualified after the first weekend. (Leonard was 28^th.)

Fortunately, each had a backup car and started working up to speed during the next week of practice, Foyt in the No. 84 Gilmore Racing Coyote (which was handed over to George Snider at literally the last minute) and Leonard in the No. 41 Samsonite Parnelli.

Photo credit: Majeske collection

Joe Leonard drives down the pits during qualifications in 1973. You
can tell it's a qualifying day because Pat Vidan has his flags ready.
This was the last year that  Vidan flagged trackside. He was
up on a platform for 1974.

As it turned out, enough cars qualified a bit slower to give Leonard and Foyt a little breathing room.

On Race Day, Leonard was able to dodge the melee created by Salt Walther’s horrendous crash on the first lap. When the race finally resumed two days later after persistent rain, Leonard overcame a spin but was sidelined by a bad hub after 91 laps and finished 18^th.

Sadly, the 1973 500 was Leonard’s last race at Indianapolis. He suffered devastating foot and ankle injuries during the 1974 California 500 at Ontario Motor Speedway and never raced again. His injury also signaled the end of the Vel’s Parnelli Jones “Super Team” with Al Unser and Mario Andretti. Expected to dominate USAC racing starting in 1972, Leonard’s national championship that year was one of the few major highlights.

Jan Opperman replaced Leonard at Indianapolis and Pocono in 1974, but essentially the operation became a two-driver team that started to dwindle even further. Unser and Andretti were together for 1975’s three 500-mile races, but then it was down to just Unser for 1976 with sponsorship from American Racing Wheels. For 1976, Andretti joined Roger Penske’s team, running some USAC races while he pursued a World Championship in Formula One.

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