Front rows of the 1970s: 1974

 

Penske Entertainment/Indianapolis Motor Speedway

Pole-sitter A.J. Foyt was joined by Wally Dallenbach and Mike Hiss on the
front row for the 1974 Indianapolis 500.

In addition to the usual Month of May countdown, we’re also looking back at the front rows of the 1970s, which included some of the most accomplished drivers in the history of the Indianapolis 500.

Faithful readers of this space know that this decade is part of my personal golden age at the Speedway. I’m grateful I got to witness much of it first-hand as a boy.

Here’s a statistical look at the front-row drivers of the 1970s:

 

Driver	Indianapolis 500 poles (career)	Indianapolis 500 wins (career)
Al Unser	1	4
Johnny Rutherford	3	3
A.J. Foyt	4	4
Peter Revson	1	0
Mark Donohue	0	1
Bobby Unser	2	3
Wally Dallenbach	0	0
Mike Hiss	0	0
Gordon Johncock	0	2
Tom Sneva	3	1
Danny Ongais	0	0
Rick Mears	6	4
Totals	20	22

 

For each year, we’ll have the front row, how many Indianapolis 500 wins were represented on the front row at the start of the race, the number of Indianapolis 500 wins in the drivers’ respective careers, and a brief recap of practice, qualifying and the race.

1974 front row: A.J. Foyt (pole), Wally Dallenbach, Mike Hiss

How it started: 3 Indianapolis 500 victories (all by Foyt)

How it ended: 4 Indianapolis 500 victories (all by Foyt)

About the 1974 race: In contrast to the 1973 event, the 1974 Indianapolis 500 was rain-free and had only one minor accident that resulted in no serious injuries. A.J. Foyt was the first qualifier in his Gilmore Coyote/Foyt and nailed down the pole right off the bat with an average of 191.632 mph over his four laps. (In an effort to reduce speeds and improve safety, turbocharger boost was curtailed, the size of the wings was decreased and the amount of fuel carried on board was cut about in half. The measures worked.)

Wally Dallenbach went out a bit later in the sharp STP Oil Treatment Eagle/Offy and averaged 189.683 mph, which turned out to be good enough for the second spot.

The rest of qualifying was less straightforward. To try to do its part to help with the energy crunch that year, the Speedway cut the time trials from four days to two days (the middle Saturdays of May) and created four “periods” over those two days. This might have looked OK on paper, but, of course, rain hit both days, meaning that first-day (or “first period”) qualifying stretched into the next week.

Mike Hiss, in Roger Penske’s Norton Spirit (McLaren/Offy) nailed down the outside spot of the front row with an average of 187.490 mph. Hiss is often the stumper when playing the game of “What Penske drivers started on the front row?” Of course, Rick Mears, Helio Castroneves and the three Unsers who won for Penske get shouted out first, then Danny Sullivan, Tom Sneva and other greats. Some even recall Kevin Cogan (mostly for his infamous wreck at the start in 1982). If someone not named Donald Davidson remembers Mike Hiss, you’re matching wits with a real Indianapolis 500 trivia master.

Race Day saw quite a bit of attrition in the early going as potential favorites Gary Bettenhausen, Dallenbach, Mario Andretti and Mike Mosley all were eliminated with mechanical trouble within the first 10 laps. Meanwhile, Johnny Rutherford, in the, uh, McLaren McLaren/Offy, was charging up from his 25^th starting spot. Lone Star J.R. actually had the second-fastest qualifying speed, but wasn’t in the original line and … oh, never mind. He had to qualify later. Let’s just leave it at that.

Anyway, the race soon became a duel between the two Texans, with Foyt and his eight-cylinder engine faster in the straightaways but Rutherford more nimble in the turns. Foyt’s mount expired after 142 laps with a broken oil fitting, leaving Rutherford a much easier path to his first Indianapolis 500 victory. In fact, it was the first time that Rutherford had seen the checkered flag – it took him 10 starts to get there, but it was worth the wait.

 

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