30 Days in May: No. 25, Danny Ongais, 1978 Interscope Racing Parnelli/Cosworth

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

Photo credit: Majeske post card collection

Danny Ongais started on the front row for the 1978 Indianapolis 500.

30 Days in May: No. 25, Danny Ongais, 1978 Interscope Racing Parnelli/Cosworth. Some cars and drivers just sum up an era at Indianapolis and are indelibly linked. While not a legend of the Brickyard like, say, A.J. Foyt or Rick Mears, if you went to the track in the late 1970s to mid-1980s, you remember Danny Ongais and the black Interscope No. 25.

Danny On the Gas was fast, fearless and spectacular. When Tom Carnegie or John Totten piped up on the PA system that Ongais was on the track, you paused from munching your Sno-Cone and gave the 2 ½-mile oval your undivided attention.

In 1978, the Flying Hawaiian started second and led 71 laps before the engine blew. Ongais wound up 18^th with 145 laps to his credit.