Welcome to our monthlong countdown celebrating notable drivers and cars from the Indianapolis 500!
 |
Majeske collection Mike Mosley earned a front-row starting position for the 1981 Indianapolis 500 in the Pepsi Challenger Eagle/Chevrolet. |
Sharp-looking, fast and loud, 1981 was the only appearance of the Pepsi Challenger at Indianapolis. Always an innovator, Dan Gurney was trying to bring stock-block engines to Indy racing as a lower-cost alternative to the Cosworth engines, which were used by (almost) everyone else. In terms of speed, this car proved his point as Mike Mosley put it in the middle of the front row.
The sound of this screaming Eagle is almost impossible to describe. It had a distinctive roar – in some ways, perhaps, it was the Novi of its generation. In other words, if you heard it, you never forgot it. The distinctive shape and color of the Eagle made it look like a dart hurtling down the straightaway.
Consistent with the lousy fortune Mosley endured at Indianapolis, he went out after 16 laps with a radiator issue, placing 33rd. At Milwaukee a couple of weeks later, Mosley won, going from the back row to first in an incredible driving display. It was the last of his five wins in Indy cars and the last for Gurney in IndyCar competition as well.
(Mosley was added as a promoter’s option to the back of the field along with Cliff Hucul. Mosley started 25th, Hucul 26th. Hucul dropped out before completing a lap, so it could be said that this was a worst-to-first drive for Mosley.)
#ThisIsMay #Indy500 @IMS @IMSMuseum @IndyCar
No comments:
Post a Comment