Welcome to our monthlong countdown celebrating notable drivers and cars from the history of the Indianapolis 500!
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Majeske collection Johnny Rutherford started eighth and finished 27th in the 1972 Indianapolis 500. |
I saw this photo on eBay and, quite frankly, couldn’t resist. As noted in some other entries, the 1972 Indianapolis 500 saw quite a bit change as aerodynamics played an even greater role in car design. Those teams with older cars had to figure out some creative solutions to stay competitive.
This particular car, a Brabham, was only two years old, but was already outdated. Rutherford started a very respectable eighth in this unusual creation, but managed only 55 laps before a rod failure and finished 27th.
This was the last 500 for Rutherford with Patrick (sort of—more on that later) as he left the team shortly after the race and began the 1973 season with McLaren. Interestingly, Gordon Johncock left McLaren for Patrick, so the two essentially swapped rides for 1973. Johncock won the 1973 Indianapolis 500, with Rutherford winning the year after. Now for the “sort of” referenced above. Rutherford was entered in a Patrick car for the 1983 Indianapolis 500 as a teammate to Johncock (which was kind of interesting because the two had a bit of a “disagreement” after the spring Phoenix race in 1977). Unfortunately, Rutherford suffered a couple of crashes in practice, the last of which resulted in a broken left foot and broken right ankle, so he missed the 500 that year.
The other thing I love about the photo is Lone Star J.R.’s cowboy hat. During this era, he often was seen with a classic blue Goodyear cap perched on his head.
Sources: Oldracingcars.com, IndianapolisMotorSpeedway.com
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