Welcome to our monthlong countdown celebrating notable drivers and cars from the history of the Indianapolis 500!
30 Days in May: No. 19, Spike Gehlhausen,
1976 Spirit of Indiana McLaren/Offy. The Spirit of Indiana entries appeared
in the Indianapolis 500 in 1975 and 1976, each with a rookie driver from
Indiana and each with No. 19 because Indiana is the 19th state.
In 1975, short-track star Sheldon Kinser (Bloomington) finished 12th. For 1976, Spike Gehlhausen (Jasper) got the assignment. Spike’s dad, Carl Gehlhausen, was a longtime owner in USAC in the Midget, Sprint, Championship Dirt and Championship divisions. In 1973, an up-and-coming Tom Sneva won several features in the family’s soon-to-be-banned rear-engine sprint car.
Race Day was a tough one as the Offy lost oil pressure before the green flag. Spike (real first name Daniel) competed in four more Indianapolis 500s, with a best finish of 10th in 1979.
We actually featured this car earlier as it is the same McLaren that Peter Revson qualified on the front row in 1972.
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