30 Days in May: No. 11, Mario Andretti, 1973 Viceroy Parnelli/Offy

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

Photo credit: Indianapolis Motor Speedway

Mario Andretti qualified a very respectable sixth for the 1973 Indianapolis 500.
Unfortunately, a bad piston eliminated him after just four laps and he finished 30th.

30 Days in May: No. 11, Mario Andretti, 1973 Viceroy Parnelli/Offy. When Mario Andretti joined Al Unser and Joe Leonard at Vel’s Parnelli Jones for the 1972 season, it was expected this “Super Team” would dominate the Indianapolis 500 and the IndyCar circuit.  As it turned out, these years were not a lot of fun for Andretti. In 1973 he started a strong sixth but was out after four laps with a broken piston to finish 30th. 

#Indy500 @IMS @IMSMuseum @IndyCar @marioandretti

30 Days in May: No. 10, Michael Andretti, 1991 Kmart-Havoline Lola/Chevrolet

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

Photo credit: Indianapolis Motor Speedway

Michael Andretti made an incredible move to pass Rick Mears on the outside
going into Turn 1 to lead Lap 187 of the 1991 Indianapolis 500. Mears
did the same thing on the next lap and went on to win.

30 Days in May: No. 10, Michael Andretti, 1991 Kmart-Havoline Lola/Chevrolet. What’s May without an “Andretti almost”? 1991 was the closest Michael came to winning the Indianapolis 500, finishing second to Rick Mears after a breathtaking duel in the late stages. In his Indianapolis 500 career, Michael Andretti led 431 laps, 0 wins. Rick Mears led 429 laps at Indy, 4 wins.  Michael has had great success as a car owner in the Indianapolis 500, though, with five victories with five different drivers: Dan Wheldon (2005), Dario Franchitti (2007), Ryan Hunter-Reay (2014), Alexander Rossi (2016) and Takuma Sato (2017).

#Indy500 @IMS @IMSMuseum @IndyCar @FollowAndretti @michaelandretti @AndrettiAutosport

30 Days in May: No. 9, Scott Dixon, 2008 Target Chip Ganassi Racing Dallara/Honda

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

Photo credit: Dan Helrigel/Indianapolis Motor Speedway

Scott Dixon has had an amazing career, but has won the Indianapolis 500 just once: in 2008.

30 Days in May: No. 9, Scott Dixon, 2008 Target Chip Ganassi Racing Dallara/Honda. Scott Dixon has compiled an amazing IndyCar career that continues to be largely underappreciated outside of hardcore fans. He’s now third all-time in victories, behind only A.J. Foyt and Mario Andretti, and added a sixth championship in 2020, one behind Foyt.

Given all that success, it’s surprising Dixon has only one Indianapolis 500 victory, which came in 2008. He started on the pole and led the most laps on his way to that victory. He’s more than overdue for a second 500 win, and it very well could come this year after falling just short to Takuma Sato in 2020.

Dixon dominated last year’s race, leading 111 laps. That boosted him to third on the all-time laps led list (563) behind Al Unser (644) and Ralph DePalma (612).

Here are some other notable stats from Dixon’s Indianapolis 500 career:

• 18 starts
• 13 races led
• 12 top 10 finishes
• 8 top 5 finishes

#Indy500 @IMS @IMSMuseum @IndyCar @scottdixon9 @CGRTeams

 

30 Days in May Bonus: No. 48, Mike Mosley, 1981 Pepsi Challenger Eagle/Chevrolet

 

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

Photo credit: Indianapolis Motor Speedway

Mike Mosley started in the middle of the front row for the 1981 Indianapolis 500.

30 Days in May Bonus: No. 48, Mike Mosley, 1981 Pepsi Challenger Eagle/Chevrolet. Stunning, 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 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 33^rd. At Milwaukee a couple of weeks later, Mosley won, going from last to first in an incredible driving display. It was the last of his five wins in Indy cars and the last for Gurney in Indy-car competition as well. 

#Indy500 @IMS @IMSMuseum @IndyCar

30 Days in May: No. 8, Bobby Unser, 1973 Olsonite Eagle/Offy

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

Photo credit: Indianapolis Motor Speedway

Bobby Unser just missed winning the pole back to back in 1973.

30 Days in May: No. 8, Bobby Unser, 1973 Olsonite Eagle/Offy. Based on his incredible qualifying performance in 1972, when he increased the pole speed by more than 17 mph to an average of 195.940 mph, Bobby Unser entered 1973 as the favorite to be the first break the magic 200 mph barrier at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Unser fell just a little short, setting for a four-lap average of 198.183 mph, slightly behind pole-sitter Johnny Rutherford. Unser led the first 39 laps, fell behind after a slow pit stop and dropped out after 100 laps with mechanical trouble.

Better days were just ahead as Unser won the national championship in 1974 and added his second Indianapolis 500 win in 1975, all while still driving for Dan Gurney’s All American Racers.

#Indy500 @IMS @IMSMuseum @IndyCar

30 Days in May: No. 7, Gary Bettenhausen, 1972 Sunoco McLaren/Offy

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

Gary Bettenhausen became the third driver to make Tom Carnegie exclaim, "It's a new
track record!" during qualifying in 1972. His one- and four-lap marks were later
topped by Bobby Unser.

30 Days in May: No. 7, Gary Bettenhausen, 1972 Sunoco McLaren/Offy. Roger Penske added Gary Bettenhausen for the 1972 season so his team could benefit from his oval-racing expertise. Bettenhausen repaid the confidence by winning at Trenton and was leading the USAC Championship standings heading into the Month of May. He was probably the other favorite to win after Bobby Unser, who boosted the pole speed by more than 17 mph.

Unser led easily, then went out after just 31 laps with ignition rotor failure. Bettenhausen took over from there and seemed poised for a sure victory until his ignition failed after 182 laps.

Given his family’s legacy and Bettenhausen’s great admiration among fans and competitors alike, this could’ve been one of the most popular victories in Indianapolis 500 history. Instead, Mark Donohue, another popular driver, collected the Borg-Warner for Penske, which was the first of 18 – and counting.

This particular postcard was included in a set that folded out and included photos of several of the top drivers of the day as well as scenes from Gasoline Alley, the old museum and more.

#Indy500 @IMS @IMSMuseum @IndyCar

30 Days in May: No. 6, Roger McCluskey, 1971 Sprite Kuzma/Ford

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

This postcard is a little worse for wear after about 50 years. I taped this on a wall
in my room one May. You can see the results. Oops.

30 Days in May: No. 6, Roger McCluskey, 1971 Sprite Kuzma/Ford. An underrated but respected veteran, Roger McCluskey didn’t have a lot of luck at Indianapolis. His ninth-place finish in 1971 was his first top 10 in 11 tries. His sponsor, Sprite, was quite active in the 500 during this era. In addition to sponsoring cars, the soft drink also awarded a trophy and $6,000 to the pole winner. Together, this was known as the “Sprite and Six” award.

#Indy500 @IMS @IMSMuseum @IndyCar