Wednesday, July 16, 2008

Indy Journal - 1968

1968

Record qualification runs by two turbine cars, a large amount of rain, fine showings by several rookies, and a three way battle for the race lead were among the highlights of this year’s activity at the Speedway.

On Saturday, May 18, Bobby Dad, wife Dixie, and I dove over in our 1967 Chevrolet, to see the first day of the time trials. It was somewhat different from the two previous times we had gone. The crowd was the largest ever for a qualifying day, and as a result, we had a hard time finding seats, as did many other people. After much walking, we finally sat in Grandstand C. It was a warm, sunny day and we were in the open, whereas the other two years, it was cold and windy and we were under a roof.

We sat down just as the practice period ended and we were hardly settled when Graham Hill went out in the No. 70 turbine car and set a new qualifying record of 171.208. He was also the first driver to ever turn a lap over 170 mph. Several other drivers qualified and then Joe Leonard went out in the No. 60 turbine car and broke Hill’s record with a four-lap average of 171.559 and a one-lap average of 171.953. Art Pollard qualified the other turbine car at 166.297 to make the day a memorable one for Andy Granatelli and his crew. Fifteen cars qualified for the race and at 6:00, the gun sounded and track activity was completed for the day.

The heavy traffic made it difficult to get going, but we finally made it. We stopped at Chrisman for a good supper and arrived home shortly after 11:00, to complete a day that had begun at 3:30 that morning for me.

The morning of Wednesday, May 29, was dark, windy, and cool, with rain threatening to come down at any moment. It was about 11:45 when I arrived to pick up Dad and Bobby. I ate a quick dinner while dad and Bobby got everything packed into the car.

We just barely got away from the house when rain drops started falling. I stopped at the Lincoln Center to buy film for the camera and then we were on our way. The rain was coming harder and harder and after going through Dawson, we were forced to slow down because of poor visibility. It didn’t rain in Decatur but started again a couple miles out of town. It rained lightly, off and on, until we stopped at Chrisman. The large amount of land under water along the way was an indication of what the weather had been like. At Chrisman, we had a sweet roll and a cup of coffee, used the restroom, and then resumed our trip. We ran into an occasional shower in Indiana, but nothing real heavy.

We stopped at the filling station for gas and arrived at Kramer’s at 4:30. The traffic on Lynnhurst Drive had been quite heavy. We talked with Mr. Kramer for a few minutes and then walked down to the speedway museum and went through it. There was a long line of people, but it moved pretty well. There are always a few changes in the displays and this year was no exception. It’s always interesting to see the old race cars.

There was plenty of food for supper and we were full when we finished. Our meal included hamburgers, potato chips, bananas, salad, sweet rolls, and other goodies. As we were eating, we noticed that some of the people around us were eating too and that the crowd was getting larger.

When we finished eating, we cleaned up our mess and then read some of the newspapers we had. I wanted to go take a walk down 16th Street to see what was happening, but dad and Bobby remained at the car. They thought it would be too wet and cool for walking around.

Many people were wrapped up in blankets, trying to keep warm, while others kept warm by bonfires. The dirt sidewalk along 16th Street was wet and muddy, and that left little room for walking.

The high school and college students were making big fools of themselves as they always do with their drinking and reckless driving. It’s an unpleasant situation that mars a good time for other people. I walked down to the Firestone Building and crossed the street. The traffic was bumper to bumper and the sound of squealing tires was quite common due to the sudden stops caused by the traffic. There were a couple rear-end collisions, but they were minor.

I shopped around in the drug store at 16th and Main Streets for some newspapers and something to take home to Dixie, but I didn’t have much luck. I tried a couple other drug stores, but they didn’t have much either.

I lived dangerously and managed to get back across Crawfordsville Road and onto Georgetown Road. Because the traffic was so bad and there was so much mud and water, I walked only a short distance and turned around and started back to the car.

As I neared a filling station, I heard pleasant organ music coming from somewhere. I looked around and saw it was coming from the service area of the filling station. They had set up an organ there and a young girl was doing a good job of playing it. There were a dozen or so onlookers and as she played, they sang the words. Everyone had a good time and I stayed there about half an hour, when the girl quit playing. Then I walked on back to the car.

The car was locked so I had to wake Bobby so that she could give me the keys. I got the cot out of the trunk and then retuned the keys and locked the car. I put one blanket under me and two on top of me, enough to protect me from the cool weather, cover my head, and shut out a little noise. I slept behind the car.

To our right, there were some men having a beer party, and the noise they made made sleeping a hard job. In addition to that noise, I couldn’t go to sleep also because of my “night before the 500” excitement. The fact that I was trying to sleep made no difference to the men.

I lay for a long time with my eyes closed but I couldn’t shut out the noise. A couple times the men quieted down for a minute or so, but then they would start over again. Somehow I managed to get 2-3 hours of sleep, but that was all. I looked at my watch and it read 4:30, so I knew my sleep was probably over for the night. I sat up and looked around a little bit. There were people sleeping in cars and on the ground, and there were also those were very much awake and were letting everybody know it. At 5:00, the opening bomb from the Speedway went off, ended our sleep for the night and opening the gates of the Speedway to the thousands of cars and fans.

The bomb awoke Bobby and dad, and when that happened, I joined them in the car. We turned the radio on to hear the weather prediction and any reports there might be from the Speedway. Good weather was predicted for the race, but we had our doubts.

The traffic on Crawfordsville Road was bumper to bumper past us and it was several minutes before it started moving. A popular form of transportation this year was buses. Because of the muddy infield many people who usually drive into the infield did not do so and took a bus instead to the speedway.

About 5:30, Bobby and I walked down to the Speedway to watch the cars go through gate 6 onto the infield. It also gave Bobby a change to stop at a filling station and use the restroom. We watched the long line until about 6:30 and then went back to the car.

Breakfast was the next order of business so we got the food and equipment out. When dad got the oven ready for use, Bobby put the eggs and bacon on to fry. The sound and smell of food cooking on a cool morning made me hungrier than I had been. Bobby had brought quite a bit of food and when we finished eating, we were full. I think it also woke us up a little and made us feel better. As we ate, we listened to the radio and a large portion of the news was concerned with the race. This included helicopter reports, weather information, and other reports concerned with the days activities. We also read the newspapers and commented to each other about interesting articles we read.

Little by little, the people around us were waking up, getting themselves cleaned up, eating breakfast, and leaving for the race. Some of them cooked their breakfast just as we did.

We got our breakfast mess cleaned up, straightened up the interior of the car, made sure we had everything we needed, checked again, locked the car, and started for the Speedway. We stopped at the filling station and were disappointed to find out the people were not selling coffee as they had always done. We were looking forward to drinking a cup of coffee to warm us up and we were unhappy at being unable to get some. Bobby used the restroom and then we continued on our way. The Disabled veterans were selling their poppies and as we neared the main gate, we were approached by other vendors trying to sell us something.

The huge crowd waiting outside the main gate to get in thinned out quite a bit when it got past the ticket takers, as they spread out in several directions. I bought three souvenir programs and then dad and I used the restroom for the last time until the race was over.

The further we walked, the heavier the traffic became and by the time we reached the passageway to the underground tunnel, we were being crushed on all sides. The walk through the tunnel was slow but it kept moving and didn’t stop once. At last, we reached the end and saw daylight again. We kept walking until we came to the underpass for the north end of the track. There was water in the underpass but we got by okay. We walked up the steps and then turned left to go to our seats.

The entrance on the north end of the Tower Terrace was our entrance so we gave the ticket taker our tickets and walked on in. I stepped up to the retaining fence and a big smile spread across my face as I looked up and down the track and saw the crowd and heard the cars being fired up. It was a wonderful feeling. We found Section 43 and walked up to Row J and over to seats 5, 6, and 7. It took a few seconds to get ourselves and our equipment situated, but we managed.

Pit crews were busy making final checks on their cars as photographers, reporters, USAC officials, and hundreds of other people observed the action. The pit area was a busy place as the zero hour neared. The Purdue University and some other bands were putting on a fine show as they paraded on the front straightaway. The sound of the music and the many pretty colors of the band uniforms were big hits with the audience. The three of us made comments to each other about the cars, drivers, officials, celebrities, and other activities taking place. The temperature had risen considerably and we took off our jackets to be more comfortable. The sun hadn’t appeared yet.

Some of the pit crews within our view included Larry Dickson, George Snider, Bobby Grim, Bill Vukovich, and Gary Bettenhausen. At 10:00, the Purdue Band played “On the Banks of the Wabash” and then Chief Steward Harlan Fengler told the pit crews to push their cars to their starting position on the track. Only one hour remained. When the cars were on the track, the parade of 500 Festival Princesses and entertainment celebrities got under way. They were driven around the track in Ford Torino official cars.

Between 10:00 and 11:00, many drivers, former drivers, officials, and celebrities were interviewed over the PA system. About 10:30, USAC officials made their track inspection as the tension increased with each passing minute.

At 10:40, the huge crowd stood for the playing of the “Star-Spangled Banner” and at 10:45, a moment of slience was observed as “Taps” was playing in keeping with the meaning of Memorial Day.

The track had been cleared of all but essential personnel and then suddenly the sun broke through the clouds, bringing a big cheer from the crowd. The mood went from one of solemnity to one of gaiety and tenseness as the final song, “Back Home Again in Indiana” was played. The tension was peaking. Only a minute or so remained until the big moment.

The PA announcer introduced Speedway president Tony Hulman and Tony distinctly announce those four electrifying words, “GENTLEMEN, START YOUR ENGINES!!” Within seconds, the air was filled with the roar of racing engines and the loud cheers of the crowd. Pit crews fanned away the gas fumes from the exhausts while the chief mechanic held up one hand to indicate his car was ready to go. A few seconds later, the pace car started moving and one by one, the cars were pushed away. All cars got away okay and that brought a cheer from everybody. Everybody was standing and listening to the field tour the track and also looking at the fourth turn to see them. It seemed like a long time but pretty soon, the Ford Torino Pace Car appeared and, one by one, the rows behind it. The sound and color of the cars coming down the straightaway was beautiful and they were well applauded as they went by. Now, the official pace lap was underway, and once again we followed the sound around the track and watched the fourth turn. The noise increased as the field moved into the turn and picked up speed for the start. William Ford drove the pace car into the pit area, Pat Vidan waved the green flag, and the race was on!

Pole man Joe Leonard in the No. 60 turbine car was the first one into the turn, followed by Unser, Andretti, Ruby, Al Unser, and Graham Hill. As the first lap was completed, Andretti and Unser had changed positions.

A big grown came from the crowd on the next lap as Andretti pulled into his pit area. His car was smoking and was out of the race. It was a bad break for one of the Speedway’s most popular drivers.

Jocken Rindt, George Snider, and Jim Hurtubise soon joined Andretti on the sidelines. Hurtubise was driving the only roadster in the race and both it and Hurtubise were big favorites of the fans.

Leonard was still leading but not by as much as he was expected to. Bobby Unser and Ruby were close behind him. After 20 laps, Unser moved to the front, to the delight of the crowd. Roger McCluskey, Larry Dickson, and Gordon Johncock were the next three drivers out of the race. With 1/8 of the race completed, seven cars were out. Mario Andretti tried to get Dickson’s car back into the race, but he had rotten luck also.

The standings now were Bobby Unser, Leonard, Ruby, and Hill. On the 41st lap, the yellow flag came out for the first time when Al Unser lost his right front tire and hit the wall in the first turn. Al was unhurt, but parts of his car were thrown on the track and Arnie Knepper, running along behind, ran over a tire and wheel and this caused him to leave the race. Another part of Unser’s car cut Gary Bettnhausen’s foot and he was forced to retire for the day.

As the laps went by, pit stops became more numerous. Ruby woked his way into the lead by the 90th lap. Unser moved to the front and stayed there until lap 113 when Leonard took over again. At the 100 lap mark, Jerry Grant, Jim Malloy, Ronnie Bucknam, and three time winner A.J. Foyt were also out of the race.

One the 111th lap, Graham Hill, in the No. 70 turbine car, crashed in the south straightaway. The car hadn’t been running right and was never in the first for the lead.

The batter for the lead continued and at 120 laps, Unser was leading again. Ruby passed Unser but then Lloyd had to make an unscheduled pit stop which, in the end, prevented him from winning.

Johnny Rutherford, Wally Dallenbach, and Bud Tingelstad were the next three drivers out of competition, leaving fifteen cars in the race.

One the 164th lap, Carl Williams crashed on the back straightaway and then brought out the yellow flag for a long time. Jim McElreath retired after 179 laps because of front end damage caused by hitting another car.

When Ruby made his unscheduled pit stop, Leonard took the lead and Unser moved into second. The yellow light was on and it looked like a sure victory for Leonard and his unlucky car owner, Andy Granatelli, as cars are required to maintain their positions during caution periods.

The fans were getting irritated at the long caution period and were anxious to see the green flag again. Finally, on the 191st lap, just as Leonard reached the starting line, Pat Vidan waved the green flag as a loud cheer came from the crowd.

I had my eyes on Leonard’s car as the green flag was displayed and, like all the other fans, could hardly believe what I saw. Leonard was pulling off the track alongside the inner retaining wall. Everybody was going wild. I grabbed dad’s arm and screamed in his face, “Leonard’s out of the race.” He looked at me in disbelief and immediately turned on the radio. Leonard’s crew ran to his car, but they were too late. The engine was dead and the car was through for the day. While the front straightaway fans were watching Leonard, those on the backstretch were watching the same misfortune occur to Art Pollard in the remaining turbine. It seemed unbelievable, but it was true.

Everybody was wild with elation as Unser took charge again. If lady luck was present, there was no way he could lose. I was one of those happy fans and each time Bobby completed another lap, a big smile came across my face as victory came closer and closer. As Bobby completed his 200th lap to win the race, he received an ovation from the crowd and made a safety lap around the track. As he came slowly down the straightaway and into the pit area on his way to Victory Lane, he was given a standing ovation. He was a popular winner and he had just won the biggest race in his life.

Dan Gurney, always a favorite with the fans, drove his finest race and finished second. Dan is one of the best drivers in the world, but only once before had he been able to finish in the first ten at Indy.

Mel Kenyon also drove a fine race and finished third. He has only one hand but in his three Indy races, he has a 5th and a 3rd.

Last year’s “Rookie of the Year”, Dennis Hulme, finished fourth again this year.

Despite his unfortunate pit stop, Lloyd Ruby finished fifth. Lloyd certainly drove one of his best Indy races ever and with just a little bit more good luck could have won the big money. He has been in the first ten several times and certainly deserves to win.

Ronnie Duman has had real bad luck every year he’s been at the speedway but this year the luck finally changed, and he took sixth place.

Seventh place went to Bill Vukovich, a rookie this year, and son of a former Speedway immortal, the 1953 and 1954 winner, Bill Vukovich. Bill gave the fans some uneasy moments about half way through the race when he spun in the fourth turn. Johnny Rutherfod and Mike Mosley also spun but fortunately, there were no bad results. Bill’s pit area was right in front of us and it was pleasing to see him do so well in the race. His crew gave him a warm welcome when he pulled in after finished the race.

Rookies Mike Mosley and Sam Sessions finished eighth and ninth. Sessions came all the way up from the 31st starting position.

Veteran Bobby Grim, whose pit was also within our view, finished tenth. Bobby drove a good steady race and only the red flag stopped him from going the 200 laps.

When the last car pulled off the track, everybody began the big job of getting out of the Speedway. We remained in our seats a few minutes to hear the drivers on the PA system and get our paraphernalia together and ten we started our long walk back to the car.

We followed the same route we took in getting to our seats. The traffic through the tunnel moved very slowly and it was good to see light again. Instead of walking behind the grandstand, we walked down Georgetown Road, and I was sorry we did. There was only a small gate to the street and it took a long time to get through it. There was a little more room on the street but soon we came upon more trouble. All the buses going to the Speedway in the morning were trying to leave. With horns blasting and motors racing, they moved out. They had no regard for the thousands of persons around them. They didn’t wait for the traffic to thin out, and if anybody got in their way, it was too bad. The noise of the engines and the smell of the exhaust made everybody quite angry. At long last, we reached Crawfordsville Road and then turned right. There were cars coming from the side streets and the parking lots, but they weren’t as bothersome as the buses were. As usual, the cars were bumper to bumper and some of them were impatient to get moving. It had taken us quite a while, but we finally reached the car.

It was good to set down on a soft seat and rest a while. I took off my shoes and turned on the radio. The stations were alive with race news and traffic information. Most of the people around us were doing likewise. Looking at the traffic gave us little hope of leaving soon. I walked around in my stocking feet and it felt good. I also took some pictures and at a little of our food. Mrs. Kramer was on the scene and chatted about the day’s activities.

We waited quite a while for a break in the traffic but it didn’t come. In other years it had let up a little by this time, but this time it wasn’t even moving. There was something definitely wrong somewhere, and everybody was impatiently waiting to go. The situation didn’t improve, so we decided to leave anyway. At 5:10, about an hour later then usual, we made a final check and I tuned the key.

We moved a few feet to Fischer Street and then stopped. I slowly squeezed into the line and then had to do the same thing on Crawfordsville Road. Then we sat for a long time without moving. This was about the worst we could remember it ever being. Several minutes passed before we moved and then we had no trouble getting onto Lynnhurst Drive. The traffic moved slowly but much better than it had been moving. When we got onto the highway, it moved pretty well and that was certainly a relief.

The scenery along the highway and in the cities was the same as in other years, but I still enjoy it. Shortly before 7:00, we crossed the state line and at 7:10, we stopped at the Colonial Kitchen.

We used the restroom first and then got ourselves a good, hot meal. Looking around at the other people and hearing them talk, we could tell a lot of them had come from the race. We took our time in eating and ate until we were full. It made us feel better to eat something and get out of the car for a while. When we finished eating, we used the restroom, paid the bill, and prepared to start the last part of our trip. It was 7:55 pm when we left, and we had stopped for 45 minutes.

Traffic was normal for Memorial Day night and soon we reached the big chemical plant at Tuscola and commented, as we always do, about its huge size. The miles rode by as darkness descended and we talked about the race and listened to the radio. Shortly after 9:00, we drove through Decatur, the largest city on the trip, and then at almost 10:00 sharp, we arrived at dad and Bobby’s house. They checked to see that they had everything of theirs and then I went on home, arrive there about 10:15.

Our 1968 trip to the big race was over for another year and once again, we arrived home safe and sound. We had seen a fine race, and there would be much to talk about for 1968 besides the race.

EPILOGUE

Each year at Indianapolis is different from every other year and 1968 was no exception. The rain caused trouble all month long. On the second day of time trials, one car qualified, and the last day ended with the starting lineup still incomplete. It was filled the next day. Strangely enough, the first and third days were fine.

Parnelli Jones made the news when he announced he would not compete for this year’s race. He was dissatisfied with the power reduction of the turbines and felt they didn’t have a chance.

It was another bad year for the turbines. During the practice period, rookie Mike Spence was killed instantly when his turbine crashed into the car in the first turn. Also during practice, Joe Leonard hit the wall with the No. 40 turbine that Parnelli Jones drove last year. The car was too damaged to be repaired in time and owner Andy Granatelli announced it was being permanently retired. The excellent qualification runs of Leonard and Graham Hill renewed hope for the silent cars, but when Leonard retired with only nine laps to go in the race, the bad luck continued. The turbines have caused much controversy and there is much doubt whether they’ll ever race again at Indy.

This was the most exciting race in several races, due to the small amount of caution time and the three way battle for the lead.

The race continues to be as popular as ever as attested to by the fact that the speedway management continues to build more permanent seats each year and the following year every seat is filled.

Another year has come and gone, and this one had its share of frustration, disappointment, excitement, and happiness, but come May 1969, it will be repeated again in connection with the greatest single day sports event in the world – the Indianapolis 500-mile race.

Pace Car – Ford Torino
500 Festival Queen – Marice Littlejohn

Monday, July 7, 2008

Indy Journal - 1967

1967

The prerace activities of Mario Andretti, the performance of the turbine car during the race, and the inclement weather were the main highlights of this year’s 500-mile race.

Although we ordered our tickets in July, 1966, we did not receive them until the following May. We were apprehensive as to when we would receive them, but on Friday, May 5th, our worries ended.

On Saturday, May 13th, Bobby, dad, my girlfriend, Dixie Mohr, and I saw the first day of time trials. We left Springfield at 5:05 Saturday morning and traveled in my 1965 Chevrolet. We stopped at Chrisman for breakfast and at 9:05, exactly four hours to the minute after leaving our house, we stopped at our usual refilling place for gasoline. We arrived at the Speedway between 9:30 and 10:00. The weather was similar to that of last year, quite cold, cloudy, and windy. Our seats were a couple sections north of where we sat last year.

It rained slightly before we arrived and this caused a delay in opening the track for practice. About noon, the officials decided the track had dried sufficiently for practice and the green lights were turned on. For some reason, several drivers had trouble controlling their cars and for quite a while, the yellow light was on as much as the green light was. Everything finally got straightened out but the drivers got only about one half hour of good practice time before the trials started.

The trials got off to a dismal start but by the time 6:00 arrived, the fans had had enough excitement for all four days of trails. Mario Andretti’s year-old record of 165.899 was broken by six drivers, including Andretti himself. Joe Leonard was the first driver to break the old record with a four-lap average of 166.098. Dan Gurney brought a tremendous roar from the audience when he qualified with an amazing average of 167.224 mph. Gurney hadn’t arrived at his pit yet when Andretti went out for his qualifying. The crowd was wild with excitement. Mario didn’t disappoint. His first lap was 168 plus, the second 169 plus, and then the third was 169.799, and the entire Speedway ground was almost shaking from the noise of the crowd. Everybody was thinking the same thing – could the next one be 170? It wasn’t. Somewhere he slid slightly and his fourth lap speeded dropped a little. His four-lap average was an unbelievable 168.982 and when he drove to his pit, he received a standing ovation which left my ears ringing and my body shaking for several minutes afterwards. Andretti’s run made the remainder of the qualifying runs anti-climatic, although A.J. Foyt had a 166,289 and Parnelli Jones qualified the controversial turbine car at 166.075. Defending race champion Graham Hill made an attempt just seconds before the closing gun went off, but was too slow and pulled in before taking any laps.

It was the end of a day that everybody who was there would remember for a long time. With Andretti, Gurney, Foyt, and Jones starting in the first two rows, the start of the race promised to be interesting and exciting.

We left for home about 6:15, stopped at the Colonial Kitchen at Chrisman for supper, and arrived home at 11:15.

Despite my optimistic prediction of perfect weather, a new attendance record, and one of the best races in history, Monday, May 29th, was a bad day, weather-wise, and was an omen of what was to follow. On Saturday, I wrote my yearly list of items to be taken on our trip, and on Monday morning, we assembled all of them for the trip. As usual, it looked like a lot of equipment for such a short time, but we used about everything we had. Bobby handled the food, drinks, silverware, and table service, while dad and I tended to the cots, blankets, coats, etc.

We finished eating dinner about 12:30 and then packed the car. The weather was not improving and by now, a light sprinkle was coming down. We checked to see if we had everything we were supposed to have, and then at 12:55 we said good-bye and started off, in my car, for Indianapolis.

I thought the weather might clear off after we left Springfield, but it didn’t. When we arrived at Decatur, about 1:45, everything seemed normal, except the weather. Because I couldn’t open the windows for getting wet, I used the air-conditioner frequently to provide us with fresh air. I kept it on low and it made the trip more pleasant. At 3:05, we arrived in Chrisman and stopped for a few minutes. It had taken us ten minutes longer than it had when we come over for the time trials, but the inclement weather was responsible for the slowdown. A cup of coffee and a little bit to eat refreshed us somewhat and at 3:25, we resumed our trip. The weather in Indiana was no better than it was in Illinois. At 5:05, we arrived at Lynnhurst Drive and stopped at the Standard station for refueling. Traffic on Lynnhurst Drive was heavy, as usual, but about 5:30, we arrived at Kramer’s safe and sound.

We talked with Mr. Kramer for a while and then sat in the car and watched the activity around us. I still thought the rain would go away and race day weather would be good. There were several pickup trucks with young people and they already appeared to have had too much to drink. It was supper time so we got everything out and fixed ours. Dad got the stove warmed up and Bobby put the beans on. While they were cooking, we got the other equipment out. Bobby had provided a variety of food and we ate some of all of it. The hot coffee felt good in the cool weather. The radio was on during supper and the weather predictions were sounding better and better.

When we had eaten all we could, we cleaned up the mess and put everything away. We listened to the radio and talked for a while and decided to walk down by the Speedway. The ditches along the street we filled with cars and most of them had occupants who were eating, sleeping, or trying to keep warm.

Our plans of touring the Speedway museum were squashed when we saw the line of people extended quite a ways back from the entrance. We walked east on the north side of 16th Street and saw the back of the new South Vista Grandstand. As we passed Gate 2, I saw the new Chevrolet Camper which had been given to Larry Bisceglia, the first person in line every year on the first day of time trials. After we walked under the railroad tracks and came to the stop sign, we crossed the street and walked back west. The high school and college students, who are always present in large numbers, as usual made fools of themselves by their drinking and unpopular behavior. Some of them had no consideration for anybody, and we had to be careful to stay out of their way. As we were nearing Georgetown Road, we heard a loud crash and looked to our right where one car had run into the rear of the one in front of it. The driver of the car in the rear looked like one of the college students. He was yelling and showing off in his open convertible. The driver of the other car was a quiet citizen minding his own business.

When we reached Georgetown Road, Bobby and dad decided to return to the car but I wanted to shop in a couple drug stores. I wanted to buy some souvenirs for Dixie Mohr but neither store had much selection to choose from. Last year they had a large selection. Even the selection of newspapers, usually so wide, was small. I bought what few items I could find and then took a walk down Georgetown Road.

This walked turned out to be one of the most memorable, thought unpleasant, events of this year’s trip. Somewhere between Gates 5 and 6, my eyes started to itch and I immediately recognized the smell of tear gas. It had been almost six years since I had smelled tear gas, during my Air Force basic training, but one whiff of it and I had no doubt as to what it was. As I continued walking, the smell became more pronounced and there seemed to be more noise than usual. As I neared Gate 6, I realized that a near riot was taking place. I saw state police jeeps with their red lights revolving and state troopers standing beside the jeeps. Almost all of the troopers had German Shepherd dogs with them. A crowd of unruly youths were tormenting the troopers and dogs by throwing various objects at them and shouting insulting and profane remarks. The police were wearing gas masks and riot helmets and were carrying large clubs. Some of the dogs were snapping at the trouble makers and the over-all scene was frightening. It was another example of drunken college students making fools of themselves and life unpleasant for everybody. I stayed a few minutes and it was apparent that a riot was imminent. The situation didn’t seem to be improving so I decided it would be best if I turned around and went back to the car before I became involved in the trouble.

I walked back to Crawfordsville Road and then back to the car. Everybody was trying to keep warm, either by wrapping themselves in blankets or by building fires and sitting around them. There were several all-night street parties going on, replete with beer drinking, group singing, and warm fires.

I arrived at the car but found it locked and had to wake Bobby in order to get in. I took one of the cots from the trunk, then put one blanket on the cot and wrapped another one around me. I also put two more under the car in case I needed them. All the noise around us, plus my usual excitement the night before the race, prevented me from going to sleep right away. It was not raining when I lay down, but shortly after that, I felt a few drops coming down. I put a blanket over my head, a move which kept the rain out, but not all the noise around us. Most of the noise was provided by several noisy boys on the other side of the street. It was quite a while before I could go to sleep and the rain continued to fall, although only lightly. Once I fell asleep, I didn’t awake until 4:30. Dad woke up, and seeing that it was raining, opened the car and said I should get in out of the rain. I wasn’t wet but got in the car anyway. I tried to sleep some more but was unable to do so and at 5:00, the opening bomb went off.

I was already awake and a couple minutes later, Bobby and dad ended their intermittent sleeping. It had been a cold, wet, windy night, but despite the elements, I thought I had slept more than I usually do. Dad and I used the restroom and when we returned, Bobby walked down to the service station to use the ladies’ room. When she returned, the three of us read our newspapers and listened to the radio. The weather report still didn’t sound good, but it was as good as any we’d heard so far.

Shortly before 6:00, Bobby and I decided to walk down to Gate 6 and watch the cars go into the infield. Dad wanted to sleep some more, so just the two of us went. The cool weather hadn’t diminished the size of the crowd. The two lanes of traffic on the south side of Crawfordsville Road were bumper to bumper from the Speedway to a point beyond my range of vision. The same state policeman who has been at Gate 6 for several years was at his same post this year. There is always somebody who tries to sneak in from the north and he must contend with those people as well as all the other people who are going in correctly. There is a wide variety in the age of the cars as well as the passengers in them. At times, it seems as if they’ll never stop coming, but after two or three hours, it decreased a little. As we stood watching the cars, we could hear the Speedway P.A. announcer testing the P.A. system and some of the bands performing on the track. It was a wonderful sound. About 7:30, we decided we’d better go back to the car and eat breakfast.

We had to fight our way through the huge mass of cars and humanity but we finally got back to the car. Dad looked fully awake and was reading the newspapers and listening to the radio. Bobby got the food out and ready to use while dad got the oven ready. The sound and smell of eggs and bacon cooking on an outdoor grill on this cold and rainy morning was very pleasing to the senses. Besides bacon and eggs, we had coffee, sweet rolls, bananas, potato chips, cookies, and a few other items. Bobby and I sat in the front seats while dad used the back seat. The food was savory and as we ate, we listened to the radio and watched the people around us. The main news items in connections with the race were the possibility of rain for the race and the small disturbance at Gate 6 the night before. The news reports said scores of unruly revelers had been arrested and placed in paddy wagons, some of them in such bad condition that they were almost naked. The authorities had decided that the lawbreakers would spend Memorial Day in jail instead of at the Speedway. In my opinion, the authorities had taken the correct course of action.

When we finished our hearty breakfast, we cleaned up our mess and straightened things up somewhat in the trunk of the car. It was nearing 9:00 now so we decided it was time to leave for the Speedway. We gathered up our paraphernalia to take to the Speedway and then double checked to see if we had everything and that the car was locked. The amount of equipment we carried was small in comparison with those persons who were carrying large coolers filled with beer, soda pop, and food.

The crowd at Gate 1 was large and we were almost pushed though the entrance gate. I bought three souvenir programs right inside the gate and a little further on, we made our last use of a restroom until the race was over. As we approached the tunnel going under the track and to the infield, the size of the crowd increased immensely. By the time we came within a few feet of the entrance, we were being crushed by the huge mob of people. We were almost separated but when we started walking downward, we were still together. Traffic in the tunnel was heavy but it moved right along. When we arrived on the infield, we walked through the first gate and on northward until we arrived at the back of Section 43 of the Tower Terrace Section. The gateman tore off a section of our tickets and we went on. Our seats were Row J and were numbers 5, 6, and 7. Because of the unsettled weather, most people had brought blankets and raincoats.

The Purdue University Band, along with several other bands, was parading on the main straightaway. Pit crews were giving their cars a final check and the public address announcer was interviewing drivers, mechanics, car owners, and celebrities from the entertainment world.

At 10:00, the P.U. Band played “On the Banks of the Wabash” as pit crews were given the directive to push their cars onto the track and into their starting positions. The pre-race tension and excitement was beginning to build. Between 10:00 and 10:30, the many celebrities were driven around the track in official Chevrolet Camaro cars. At 10:30, USAC officials made their final inspection trip of the track. At 10:40, the enormous crowd stood en masse as the “Star-Spangled Banner” was played, and five minutes later, a solemn moment of silence was observed as “Taps” was played in keeping with the meaning of Memorial Day. A loud, steady buzz pervaded the Speedway as the pre-race excitement neared its apex. I could not sit still nor keep my arms and legs from shaking. Bobby and dad were excited too. At 10:50, the last song, “Back Home Again in Indiana” was sung. This was it. Drivers were situated in their cars and ready to go, starters had been inserted into the cars and were ready to be turned on. The pace car was in its place. Pit crew members patted their drivers on the back and wished him the best of luck. At 10:52, Speedway president Tony Hulmam said, loudly and clearly, “Gentleman, start your engines!”

A huge explosion of noise filled the air as the engines came to life. We were seated across from the last four rows. One member of each crew held on of his arms in the air to indicate his driver was ready to go. While the drivers were revving up their engines and waiting to go, I noticed that the crew of Graham Hill, starting in the 31st position, seemed to be having trouble and the car wasn’t running.

The pace car moved out and one by one, so did the race cars, but sure enough, Graham Hill wasn’t moving. His car wouldn’t start and after a minute or so, his crew was ordered to move it off the track so that it would be out of the way of the other cars. It seemed like a long time, but finally I saw the pace car move onto the straightaway with the thundering 32 cars behind it. It was a beautiful sight as they went by us and started the official pace lap. Graham Hill’s car finally came to life and he got into position before the race started. Everybody’s eyes were stationed on the northwest turn and a few seconds later, the pace car appeared and headed for the pit apron. As the field approached the starting line, starter Pan Vidan waved the green flag and the 500-mile race was on!

Mario Andretti immediately jumped into the lead as they headed for the first turn. As they left the backstretch, Parnelli Jones, in the STP turbine car, took the lead. The field completed the first lap with Jones leading by a couple car lengths over Andretti. Rookie Wally Dallenbach’s car was smoking before the race started and continued to worsen. Jones continued in first as Andretti began having car trouble and lost ground. Gurney and Foyt moved into second and third positions. Lloyd Ruby had the unhappy distinction of being the first car out of the race. Mechanical trouble wrote the end to his 1967 race as his car was pushed to the garage area.

While he was in the pits, the crowd was saddened by the sight of Andretti coming into his pits. His crew went to work to find the malfunction and Jones continued to lead.

While the leaders were on their 17th lap, the red flag came out, indicating the race was stopped. For a while, nobody knew what had happened, but then the P.A. announcer said it was raining on the backstretch and was heading westward. A few seconds later, we felt the first drops on us and the sky opened up. The cars came creeping down the track and braked to a stop as the reached the starting line. Pit crews rushed out to put plastic covers on the car as the drivers turned off the engines and activity on the track came to a halt.

For the first time in my thirteen races, it had rained on race day. Tony Hulman’s luck with the weatherman had run out. Everybody was dejected but there was nothing anybody could do except wait and hope it ended real soon so that the show could get on the road again. The rain continued and pretty soon, many fans took out their box lunches and ate their dinners. The three of us had a couple sandwiches and some coffee. We spread a blanket over our legs and put on the rain coats we had brought with us. It was unpleasant sitting in the rain but there was nothing we could do. Some of the fans left to find overhead shelter, but most of them sat it out in the rain. After an hour or so, Speedway maintenance trucks drove around the track in an attempt to dry it out, but their efforts were futile as the rain continued. After about two hours, dad decided it wasn’t going to stop raining for a while so he and Bobby gathered up most of the equipment and went back to the car. I remained in my seat a little longer and then walked down to the entrance to Gasoline Alley. Mel Kenyon was still sitting in his car but had a covering over him to keep the rain out of the cockpit.

At the south end of this section of the Tower Terrace, there was a large crowd of people gathered and when I arrived there, I saw that it was Andretti’s pit. The crew had the back end of the car jacked up so that they could replace the faulty part that was causing the trouble. Andretti was standing on the sidelines and using his charm and sense of humor on everybody he talked to. He has a magnetic personality and is always surrounded by people, all of whom seem to enjoy his company. He was thankful for the rain, because if the race hadn’t been stopped, he would have been out of it. Now he still had a chance.

I watched Andretti and his pit crew work on the car for awhile and then I took a walk up to the northwest area of the Speedway, an area I had not seen before. The infield was filled with cars which were filled with race fans who were sleeping, eating, or just sitting with unhappy looks on their faces. The large area was a quagmire and my shoes, stockings, and the bottom of my pants were thoroughly soaked. I watched the cars entering and exiting through Gate 8 and the traffic was fairly heavy.

Walking back to the Tower Terrace section was a wet, dirty job. The rain continued as everybody’s frustration grew. In addition to the rain, the fans were also upset because USAC officials wouldn’t make up their minds as to what they would do. The rain showed no signs of stopping and it was obvious that, even if it did, it would be a long time before the track was dry enough to race on. I took another walk behind the pit area to see what was going on and activity was just about nil. Race officials and members of the news media were huddled in front of the control tower, but there was still no announcement as to what actions would be taken. I waited awhile longer and then decided it would be impossible to do any more racing, so I sadly started my trip back to the car. It is always sad for me to take that last look up and down the straightaway and realize I won’t see it again for a year, and this year I had the same feeling.

It was about 3:45 when I arrived at the car. I thought maybe dad and Bobby would be angry because I hadn’t returned earlier, but they didn’t seem to be. They were listening to the radio to see what would happened, but USAC officials still hadn’t made up their minds. We read our newspapers, ate a modicum of food, and talked about the activity of the day.

Finally, at 4:30, Sid Collins, chief announcer for the broadcast of the race, came on the air and said that race officials had called the race off for the day and it would be resumed tomorrow, Wednesday, at 10:00. This was the news everybody was waiting for, because now they could decide whether to stay for the continuation of the race or pack up and go home. We were among those people.

I had Wednesday off from work and dad and Bobby had all week off, so that was one problem eliminated. Dad, however, thought we should return home because of our accommodations. He and I didn’t have any way of shaving and if we stayed, we’d really look bad. We also faced another night without sleep which was an unpleasant thought. The weatherman was predicting continued rain until late Wednesday. We talked it over for a few minutes and decided to go home, although we really wanted to see the remainder of the race.

We checked to see that we had everything and then, shortly after 4:30, started the trip home. We had trouble getting onto Crawfordsville Road, but when we did we took the first turnoff to the left and didn’t have any trouble getting onto Lynnhurst Drive. The traffic was heavy all the way to Route 36, but it moved quite well. After a few miles, the traffic diminished but the rain became heavier. This was the first time I could remember it raining like this as we were just starting home. The downpour continued until we crossed the state line and then it gradually stopped. When we reached the Colonial Kitchen, it had stopped but the sky was very black and the possibility of more rain seemed imminent.

Our smorgasbord supper tasted good and we partook heartily. Because of the cool, wet weather, we weren’t as hot, tired, and sweaty as we normally were. There were several other race fans there, and I heard several of them express their frustration with the weather. When we had eaten all we could eat, we used the restrooms, paid the bill, and then resumed our trip home.

The sky was still very black and we had hardly started when I noticed rain drops hitting the windshield. It rained the rest of the way to Springfield, but I had one important factor working for me – I didn’t get sleepy. I was surprised to be feeling that way. Every other year, I was quite sleepy by the time I arrived home, but this year I was as alert and awake all the way home as I was going over. It was a tremendous help to me because, with the rain, it was much harder to see the road and drive. If I had been sleepy, as I was coming home from the time trials, our trip may have ended in disaster.

We arrived home at 9:15 and mother had a look of disappointment and frustration when she met us. She had heard the broadcast of the race so she knew what had happened. I left everything in the car and decided to do the unpacking the next day.

Thus ended a trip which was certainly unlike any of the other we had taken. We have had many experiences in our thirteen trips to Indianapolis, but this was the first time a race had ever been stopped because of rain. We had had to contend with rain before, but not as much as we had this year or during the race. Strong disappointment prevailed among the three of us, but Mother Nature had intervened with our plans and we would just have to wait until next year.

EPILOGUE

On Wednesday, May 31st, and 10:00 am, the race was resumed from where it was stopped on Tuesday – the 18th lap. Parnelli Jones maintained his lead as the rest of the field tried vainly to catch him. Mario Andretti’s car was running properly again and he was making progress in making up lost time and positions when he lost his left front tire. He safely guided the car into the infield on the south short straightaway and was finished for the day.

Graham Hill and Jim Clark, the two previous race winners, were plagued with troubles and left the race early.

There were several spinouts and the yellow light was on quite a bit, but there were no injuries.

Roger McCluskey and Jackie Stewart were near the front of the field for a long time, but both of them were stopped by mechanical trouble.

Jones’ dominance of the race made the first place battle almost nil. A.J. Foyt was the only other driver to lead the race and that was only during Jones’ pit stops. With the race nearing its end and Jones making a runaway of it, it was just a question of who would finish in the other positions. Then suddenly, without any warning, the action started. Some people had noticed that it was taking a long time for Jones to complete his 197th lap. The red number 40 came down the main straightaway very slowly. Something was wrong as it headed for the pit area instead of on down the straightaway. Everybody was startled into numbness. Andy Granatelli didn’t know what to do. At the same time, Foyt’s crew went wild with joy and rushed out to cheer their driver onto victory. As attention was focused on Jones’ misfortune, suddenly there was action further up the track. On Foyt’s 200th lap, there was a mishap at the north end of the main straightaway involving Carl Williams, Bob Veith, Bobby Grim, Bud Tinglestad, and Larry Dickson. All the cars were damaged but the drivers were okay. The track was so littered with debris that USAC officials waved the red flag just as Foyt completed the race. Foyt himself had to drive into the infield on the fourth turn to avoid the pileup.

There was more excitement in the last four laps than there had been in the other 196 combined.

The first ten finishers were A.J. Foyt, Al Unser, Joe Leonard, Dennis Hulme, Jim McElreath, Parnelli Jones, Chuck Hulse, Art Pollard, Bobby Unser, and Carl Williams.

Dad, Bobby, and I listened to the race on the radio and wished we were there in person, as the sun came out and everything went off fine.

The big news at this year’s race was Jones’ turbine car and what its future at the Speedway will be. Only a broken ball bearing prevented it from making a rout of this year’s race. Car owners and drivers complained that their piston engine cars could not compete successfully with it. Since then, USAC has made rules restricting it, against Andy Granatelli’s protest, but the results of the rules will have to wait until next year.

The rain made 1967 a rather disappointing year, but I’m happy I went and saw what I could. The inclement weather didn’t dampen my love one iota for the greatest sporting event in the world – the Indianapolis 500.

Pace Car – Chevrolet Camaro
500 Festival Queen – Janice Cruise

Wednesday, July 2, 2008

Indy Journal - 1966

1966

The month of May, 1966, at Indianapolis was highlighted by my first trip to the time trials, the activities of Mario Andretti, cool weather, and one of the oddest and most frustrating races in history.

I, along with Bobby, dad, and my girlfriend, Dixie Mohr, saw the first day of time trials on Saturday, May 14th. We went in my 1960 Chevrolet, leaving Springfield at 5:00 that morning and arriving home at 11:15 that night. It was a cool, windy day and we struggled all day long to keep warm. As was expected, Mario Andretti won the pole position with a record four lap average of 165.899 mph. The day was saddened somewhat by the death of driver Chuck Rodee. Chuck was on the second lap of his trial run when he lost control of his car and crashed into the outer wall on the southwest turn. He died shortly afterwards of head injuries. At 6:00, activity ended and the front row was made up of Mario Andretti, Jim Clark, and George Snider.

On the evening of May 28th, dad gave me the bad news that he wouldn’t be able to go to the race because mother was sick and he didn’t want to leave her here by herself when she felt that way. I couldn’t picture myself going to the race without him and he later said he might be able to make it after all. It all depended on how mother felt when we were ready to leave on Sunday.

On Sunday, mother felt better and dad decided that he would be able to go. That really made me feel a lot better. We ate a good dinner and then put our usual large amount of supplies into the car. This was the first time that we used dad’s 1963 Chevrolet, which he had bought just a couple weeks before. We checked to make sure we had everything we needed and at 1:40, we started on our annual Memorial Day trip

As always, we took Route 36 and arrived at Chrisman at 3:40. We ate at a new establishment called the Colonial Kitchen. The four of us had eaten breakfast and supper there two weeks before when we went to the time trials and were pleased with the food. This time we had just a cup of coffee and I had a dish of orange sherbet ice cream.

At 4:10, we started the second part of our trip. I always enjoy seeing the pretty green trees along the highway in Indiana and this year was no exception. We stopped at the Standard Service Station at Route 36 and Lynnhurst Drive and had the gas tank filled and then continued on our way. We arrived at Kramer’s at Crawfordsville Road and Fisher Street at 6:00 pm. Once again, we had made the trip over without any trouble.

We talked to Mr. Kramer for a few minutes and then decided to eat a little bit of the food we had brought. It seemed quite cool and windy and dad remarked that if this continued, it was going to be a cold night. His prediction was right. One of the first things I noticed was a beer party of several young couples a little to our right. They seemed to have a pretty good start on getting drunk and I become concerned for fear of what they would be like later in the evening. All of the other people in our parking lot were quiet and well behaved. Although we had eaten a big dinner just before we left and had a snack at Chrisman, the food still tasted real good. When we finished eating, we cleaned up and put everything away and then got ready to take a walk down by the Speedway.

The view on Crawfordsville Road was different than that of two years ago. There were no long lines of cars stretching for several blocks, although there were several cars parked in the ditches by the road. When we reached the intersection of Crawfordsville Road, 16th Street, and Georgetown Road, the traffic was quite heavy. We managed to reach the sidewalk leading to the museum. There was a long line of people but the line moved well and before too long we had gotten inside the museum.

The contents of the museum looked about the same as usual, although I noticed a few changes. I always enjoy looking at the old cars and all the other displays. I bought a couple postcards at the sales counter. The ticket office was open and there were several people either trying to buy or sell tickets for the race. When we left there was still a long line of people waiting to get into the museum.

As we walked back to the car, we noticed that the crowd was becoming larger and larger and it was looking more and more like the night before the 500. Among the scenes were the usual beer parties, musical jamborees, and high school and college students making fools of themselves.

We arrived back at the car and got ready to eat supper. Our meal consisted of baked beans, bacon, salad and dressing, bananas, potato chips, with coffee and milk to drink. It was a good meal and it was enough to last me until breakfast the next morning. We washed the dishes, put everything away, and got ready to take a walk down by the Speedway. The Standard station, just a block from our car, was doing a good coffee business due to the cool weather. When we reached the Speedway, we continued walking east of the north side of 16th Street. The drunkards, rowdies, and other undesirables were out in full force now. The Speedway Motel looked as if it was doing a good business. We went under the viaduct, stopped at the stop light, and then crossed over to the south side of the street. As we started walking the other way, I noticed that the traffic was bumper to bumper in every lane and that many of the people in the cars were behaving just as badly as many of those on feet. Fire crackers were going off all over and beer bottles and cans were being thrown everywhere. The sober pedestrians had to be real careful about where they were walking and be constantly on the lookout for pickpockets, etc.

As we approached the Holiday Inn, I noticed a large amount of white smoke rising in the air. A car had stopped at a filling station and it was overheated and losing its water. The huge amount of smoke had attracted a large crowd and the car was so hot that the crowd had to stand several feet away to avoid the heat.

As we continued walking, we observed the many concession standing selling cold drinks, hot dogs, hamburgers, hats, sweaters, toy race cars, and several other items. One item which we couldn’t remember from previous years was the outdoor toilets. It was necessary for me to use one and while I did get a feeling of relief, they left much to be desired in the way of cleanliness and smell.

When we reached Crawfordsville Road, dad and Bobby decided to return to the car and went their separate way, while I took a walk down Georgetown Road. After I walked quite a while, I decided I’d seen enough of the drunkards and walked back. I walked west to Main Street, which I crossed, and then went into the drugstore on the corner.

I wanted to buy Dixie Mohr some souvenirs and thought this would be a good place to find some. I bought a change and cosmetic purse, a head scarf, and a yellow pennant, all with pictures of race cars, drivers, the Speedway, and the state of Indiana on them.

I walked a short distance down Main Street but there was nothing going on so I headed back to where I started. I walked west on 16th Street but there wasn’t much activity there either. When I reached Crawfordsville Road, I decided to return to the car.

It was rather quiet in the area of the car, but the noise from a short distance away was plainly audible. I didn’t want to wake dad and Bobby, but the noise of the door opening and the bright light did wake them. I took of my shoes, put one blanket under me and one around me, and tried to go to sleep. In addition to the nose and the cramped quarters, we had the cold weather to contend with in trying to sleep.

I slept off and on until 4:00 when I woke up and couldn’t go back to sleep. I made the best of the uncomfortable situation, but I just couldn’t sleep. At 5:00, with the brighter part of the day just beginning, the opening bomb went off and the Speedway officially opened for race day. In a couple minutes, Bobby and dad ended their brief sleep as well.

I got out of the car to loosen up a bit and noticed that the cold weather was still with us. Most of the people around us were still trying to sleep and looked just as cold as we were. I had bought several newspapers so we turned on the radio to hear what was going on in the world and read the newspapers at the same time. A majority of the news in the newspapers pertained to the race and the radio stations were giving periodic reports of traffic conditions at the Speedway.

About 5:30, Bobby and I decided to take our walk down to Gate 6 and watch the cars go into the infield parking lot. Dad wanted to get some more sleep so he didn’t go with us. We stopped at the Standard Station so that Bobby could use the restroom. While she was in there, I had a cup of coffee and a doughnut. Every year the station sells coffee and with the cold weather this year, the coffee business was real good. By the time Bobby got out of the restroom, I was ready for my second cup, so I bought two cups and we drank them as we continued walking toward the Speedway. We turned onto Georgetown Road and walked the long distance to Gate 6. The same policeman was directing the traffic into the infield as had been doing it for the past several years. At one time, the traffic got held up quite a ways back and the policeman, unhappy with the proceedings, took a walk to find the cause of trouble. For several minutes, the traffic didn’t move, but we didn’t know why. After a long time, the trooper returned and they traffic moved again. By 7:00, the biggest rush was over and the traffic thinned out a little. When this happened, we walked back to the car and got ready for breakfast.

Dad and I helped set up the outdoor oven while Bobby selected the food we were to eat. The smell of eggs and bacon cooking on an outdoor grill increased my appetite and made the food more enjoyable. In addition to the eggs and bacon, we had coffee, bananas, potato chips, salad, sweet rolls, and a couple other items. The cold weather must have made us hungrier than usual because we ate everything we cooked and quite a bit of the other food. When we felt we had had enough, we cleaned up our mess. Bobby had brought some liquid soap so she used that plus water from the faucet on the side of the house to wash the dishes. It was a little confusing trying to arrange the oven, blankets, cots, pillows, and picnic baskets neatly but we managed to do so and have room for everything.

With that big job done, we started on the next job of rounding up everything we were taking to the Speedway. Our equipment included the camera, film for the camera, field glasses, sun glasses, a thermos jug of coffee, a few sandwiches, and most important of all – the tickets. We wore our head gear and jackets. We double-checked to make sure we had everything, then locked the car and started walking to the Speedway.

If we thought we were loaded down with equipment, it was almost nothing compared to what many of the people had with them. Some of them would not be hungry or thirsty for a long time. As we got closer to the three-way intersection, there seemed to be a larger number of people trying to sell and buy tickets than any year I could remember. We got into the crushing mob of people, presented our tickets to the gateman, and walked inside the Speedway grounds.

I bought three speedway souvenir programs and then we resumed our walking. Dad and Bobby used the first restroom we came to while I watched our equipment and when they finished, we switched jobs. Because of the cold weather, the many concession stands along the way were doing a good coffee business and a poor cold drink business. As I observed the thousands of people along the way, I wondered how those who were wearing shorts could wear them on such a cold day. At the end of our long walk, we reached the viaduct, turned right, and walked underneath the track to the infield. The traffic moving through the viaduct moved right along, which it hadn’t always done in previous years. We walked up into daylight again and turned left to go to our seats.

It was at this time that dad made a horrible discovery. He reached in his back pocket for his billfold and discovered it wasn’t there. He checked the ground in the immediate vicinity but didn’t find anything. Neither Bobby nor I had it and dad thought maybe he had left it in the car, although he knew of no reason why he would do so. He told us to go on to our seats and he would try to find somebody who could help him. He talked to a speedway patrolman who in turn gave dad’s name and address to the speedway office. They told dad they would notify him if they learned anything about his billfold but that was the last he heard about it.

While dad went to report his billfold, Bobby and I found our seats in the Tower Terrace Extension, Section 1, Row R, Seats 11, 12, and 13. They were the last three seats on the left end of our row. The weather was still uncertain. It was still cool and windy and the sun broke through only occasionally.

Pit crews were busy working on their cars as the time slowly ran out. Some of the engines were being run. Some of the drivers who had pits near us included Eddie Johnson, Larry Dickson, Bobby Unser, Jim Hurtubise, and Mel Kenyon. A look up and down the main straightaway presented a panorama of humanity, beauty, and sights unmatched anywhere. Many high school and college bands were parading on the straightaway.

At 10:00, the Purdue University band played “On the Banks of the Wabash.” This was an indication that there was only one hour left before the start of the race and the time had come for the cars to be lined up. As the cars were pushed back through the pit area entrance and forward to their starting positions, a big smile came across my face as it does every year at this time.

While all of this was happening, the many entertainment celebrities were being driven around the track in official Mercury cars. Among the famous people were astronaut Frank Borman, newscaster Walter Cronkite, Miss U.S.A. Susan Downey, 500 Festival Queen Suzi Harrison, singer Ed Ames, and TV actress Barbara Eden.

At 10:30, chief steward Harlan Fengler and other USAC officials made their final inspection trip of the track. The band played the “Star-Spangled Banner” at 10:40 and at 10:45, the purpose of Memorial Day was remembered as the band played the solemn “Taps”. At the end of “Taps”, the speedway announcer paid tribute to those past 500-mile race winners who had died while racing. The enormous crowd of 300,000 persons rose to its feet against at 10:50 as the band played “Back Home Again in Indiana.”

As the band finished playing, the tension reached its peak as everybody knew it was only a matter of seconds until the big roar. The first series of balloons was released from a tent behind the tower as the speedway announcer announced that it was time for Speedway president Tony Hulman to say those four famous words. Tony pulled the mike to his mouth and said loud and clear “GENTLEMEN, START YOUR ENGINES!” A huge roar came from the crowd as the thirty-three engines came to life. The smell of gasoline and the roar of the engines filled the air with excitement. The drivers continued to rev up their engines and then the Mercury Comet pace car, with Benson Ford driving and Tony Hulman accompanying him, slowly started moving.

One by one, the cars moved out until only one was left. That one was rookie Carl Williams, whose car wouldn’t start. His crew borrowed a starter from another car and within seconds, his engine had turned over. When he was pushed away, he received a big ovation from the crowd and then had to hurry to get into his 25th starting position.

Everybody was standing and nervously waiting for the field to come out of the 4th turn and down the straightaway. As usual, it seemed like ages until it did and when the pace car appeared, a big cheer went up from the crowd. Within a few seconds, the eleven rows of three each were moving by us and starting the official pace lap. The chatter of the crowd increased as the last row went by. The field disappeared into the first turn and then the announcer followed them around the track. About two minutes later, the pace car sped out of the fourth turn and headed for the pit area. The roar of both the crowd and the cars increased as the field approached the starting line. As the first few rows zoomed by us, starter Pat Vidan waved the green flag and the race was on.

Mario Andretti took the lead, but had hardly reached the first turn when one of the biggest pileups in the history of the Speedway occurred. We could see smoke, fire, tires flying through the air, and many cars spinning wildly. The yellow flag came out immediately and about a minute or so later, the red flag was displayed. For the second time in three years, the race was stopped before it had hardly started. Early reports said the mess started when Billy Foster’s car made contact with that of Gordon Johncock. Forster may have been trying to advance too quickly.

The drivers eliminated from the race by the pileup included A.J. Foyt, Dan Gurney, Billy Foster, Arnold Knepper, Cale Yarborough, Bobby Grim, Al Miller, Larry Dickson, Don Branson, Ronnie Duman, and Gary Congdon. Gordon Johncock, Joe Leonard, Carl Williams, Bud Tingelstad, and Mel Kenyon had their cars damaged, but not enough to be eliminated from the race. They returned to their pits and had their cars repaired. Al Miller’s car caught on fire, but he was already out of it. Foyt’s car hit the outside car but he was out of it before it stopped and jumped into a front row grandstand seat for protection. Miraculously, he was the only driver injured, and that included only a cut finger and bruised knee.

The track maintenance crew went to work immediately and spread lime over the area of the mishap. It was a horrible sight to see and I was frightened by the thought of what could have happened. Andretti was the first one out of the fourth turn and had his left arm raised high to indicate he was aware of what had happened. He stopped at the starting line, turned the engine off, and got out of the car. Those drivers behind him did likewise. The race had gotten off to a horrible start and the reaction of the crowd was a mixture of fright, frustrations, and restlessness. The restlessness was caused by not having anything to do during the hour and fifteen minutes it took to clean up the track. At 12:07, USAC officials took an inspection tour of the track and at 12:17, the remaining cars were started. They were lined up in single file and the race was restarted after one pace lap under the yellow flag.

The yellow flag remained out until the fire fighting powder had settled. When the officials were convinced that everything was alright, the green flag came out. One his first lap under the green flag, Johnny Boyd slid in the first turn, hit the outside wall, lost two wheels, and was out of the race.

Following Boyd’s accident, Jim Hurtubise was black-flagged and Bud Tingelstad left the race with radiator trouble. Hurtubise left his pit but returned later and left the race after 27 laps.

The race had hardly restarted when smoke started coming out of the rear of Andretti’s car. He was in the lead but dropped to second behind Jim Clark and left the race after 27 laps. It was a big disappointment to the fans. He had put on a one-man show all month long but had failed when it counted the most.

Before Andretti left the race, Chuck Hulse and George Snider tangled with each other in the southeast corner and both of them were out of the race.

At the end of 40 laps, 100 miles, the first ten were Clark, Ruby, Jones, McElreath, Ward, McCluskey, Grant, Hill, Kenyon, and Stewart.

Clark came into the pits on the 64th laps and Lloyd Ruby became the leader. Ruby pitted on the 74th lap and Clark regained the lead. A few laps later, Ruby took the lead from Clark and at the half-way mark, it was Ruby, Clark, Stewart, McCluskey, McElreath, Al Unser, Hill, Eddie Johnson, Kenyon, and Johncock.

After 150 laps, Carl Williams, Rodger Ward, Parnelli Jones, and Roger McCluskey had left the race with mechanical problems and only twelve cars were left. Any driver whose car held up was certain to finish high in the standings.

Gordon Johncock and Al Unser had been running side by side for a good part of the race, but near the end of the race, Unser crashed into the outer wall as he was coming down the main straightaway and was out of the race. He lost a tire and it started rolling down the track. A couple drivers hit the tire and almost lost control of their cars. Luckily, the tired landed up against the outer wall and didn’t cause any more trouble.

On his 166th lap, Ruby joined those who had to leave the race. Lloyd led several laps of the race but was unable to go all the way.

Later on, Joe Leonard and Eddie Johnson departed from the activity with faulty running cars. Eddie’s car had been running badly for several laps but he couldn’t go any further.

As the 190th lap approached, it looked as if the first three finishers were going to be foreigners. Rookie Jackie Stewart was leading with Graham Hill and Jimmy Clark in second and third places. Then it was noticed that Stewart was late in completing his next lap. A few seconds later, he coasted to a stop in the northwest turn, got out of the car, and walked down the straightaway to his pit. It was a tough break, but he had made an excellent showing in his first 500-mile race.

Graham Hill took the lead and was able to stay ahead of Jim Clark for ten laps to win the race. When Hill received the checkered flag, it did not end the confusion of the race. Clark thought he was the winner and upon receiving the checkered flag, he drove down the pit apron to Victory Lane. It was, of course, already occupied, so his pit crew pushed him back to his pit.

By this time, Jim McElreath had finished third and Gordon Johncock fourth. Hill, Clark, McElreath, and Johncock were the only drivers to go the complete 500 miles. Mel Kenyon was fifth but did not get to run his last two laps. Bobby Unser was Jerry Grant were the only other drivers still running, but they were too far behind to complete the 200 laps and were given the red flag. Jackie Stewart was awarded sixth place, Eddie Johnson seventh, Bobby Unser eighth, Joe Leonard ninth, and Jerry Grant tenth.

By the time the last car pulled off the track, many of the fans were already leaving. Dad went to check on his billfold again and Bobby left for the car, but I stayed a few minutes longer. We agreed to meet at the car.

When the Victory Lane ceremony was finished, Graham Hill was driven around the Speedway in the Mercury Comet pace car for the acclamation of the fans. By the time he returned to the pit area, the other cars were being pushed to the garage area, so I gathered up my belongings, looked up and down the straightaway, and said goodbye to the track for another year.

I left the Speedway the same way I entered it. I was pleasantly surprised at how fast the traffic moved through the viaduct. My joy ended when I left the viaduct and arrived behind the grandstands. For some reason, the crowd stopped moving and it became a crushing mass of humanity. For some reason, nobody moved at all. Already tired, upset, and frustrated by the race, several people lost their patience and profanity become prevalent. I, too, was becoming impatient and was wondering if dad and Bobby were worrying about me. The exodus from the race is always bad, but this was the first time I could remember the people not being able to move for such a long time. A few climbed over the fence that parallels Georgetown Road. The long frustrating wait finally ended and the crowd started moving again. I don’t know what the bottleneck was, but I was real happy when it was removed and I could walk again.

From this point on, the traffic moved real well. Before leaving the Speedway grounds, I bought a copy of The Indianapolis News. It was the latest edition and had the story of Graham Hill’s victory, in addition to several other good stories about the race. I fought the usual battle with the auto traffic on Crawfordsville Road and finally managed to get back to the car.

The first thing I did was explain to dad and Bobby why I was so late. Then I took off my shoes and relaxed my hot, tired feet. We read some of our newspapers, listened to the radio, and ate some of the food we had left. I hadn’t eaten much since breakfast and it really tasted good. We were waiting for bumper-to-bumper traffic to thin out so that we could get started home, but it wasn’t doing so. Usually, by this time after the race, the traffic has let up, but not this year. We finally decided we’d have to get going and just inch our way through it if necessary.

We made sure we hadn’t left anything behind, locked all the doors, and then I started the car. The traffic on Fisher Street was also real heavy, so my first job was getting into it. Inch by inch, I finally got into it and then had a hard time getting onto Crawfordsville Road. The policemen were directing the traffic going west, but were ignoring the cars trying to get onto the main road. Several minutes passed until I got into the westbound traffic. Then, somehow, I had to get into the left-hand lane so that I could turn. One driver was courteous and let me in, but then I made a mistake and turned too soon. I realized what I had done, but it was too late to turn back, so I just kept going. We were going in the right direction and the traffic moved real well. When we reached 10th Street, I turned right and went back to Lynnhurst Drive. I turned left and we were on the right road again. The traffic the rest of the way to Route 36 was bad but no worse than it usually is. At the intersection, we turned right and were on the road home.

The traffic from here on moved faster than it normally does. It had thinned out considerably and we were hitting most of the green lights at stop lights. We were pleasantly surprised at how well the traffic moved all through Indiana. We crossed the state line shortly after 7:15 and about 10 minutes later arrived at the Colonial Kitchen.

It felt good to walk around a little bit, sit in an air-conditioned building, and eat a good supper. We went through the serving line and picked out as much as we thought we could eat, and then sat down. There were several other people there who had been to the race too. They were easy to identify. The food was real good and we ate until we couldn’t eat anymore. Before we left, we used the restrooms and then we decided to be on our way. It was between 7:55 and 8:00 when we left.

As we continued on Route 36, we saw some of the same sights we see every year coming home – a few farmers still working in their fields, children playing among themselves, and some people sitting on their porches or in their yards watching the traffic go by. The traffic became heavier and the lights brighter as we approached Decatur. We arrived in the city shortly after 9:00. There is always much activity there. The traffic moved well and within a few minutes, we left the city and were on the last stretch of the drive home. We covered the distance in 30-45 minutes and arrived at the back door to our house at precisely 10:00. It took us two hours to get from Chrisman to Springfield, which is several minutes less than it usually takes.

We didn’t feel like unpacking everything right then so, since it was unnecessary, we left everything in the car and unpacked it the next day. We came on in the house and Bobby and dad talked to mother and Susie about the activity of the last two days and I got washed up and prepared to go see Dixie Mohr. The big event was finished for another year.

EPILOGUE

The 1966 500-mile race is history now, but many events happened this year which will cause it to be remembered for a long time. Two drivers, Mario Andretti and Graham Hill, were the big names this year. From the day the track opened until race day, Andretti dominated the scene. His speed was consistently higher than anybody else’s and his record qualifying speed labeled him the man to win the race on Memorial Day. Unfortunately, Lady Luck was absent when Mario needed her the most and he finished a disappointing 18th. Whether he would have done better if the first lap pileup hadn’t occurred is a debatable subject.

Graham Hill made big news not only because he won the race, but also because he was a foreign driver and was the first rookie to win the race since 1927. He led only ten laps of the race, but he was in front on the important 200th lap. If Jackie Stewart had remained in the race, the first three finished would have been foreigners.

The first lap pileup is the most talked about feature of this year’s race. At first, Billy Foster was blamed for it, but now there seems to be the opinion that no one driver was responsible. Graham Hill suggested that a new method of starting the race might help. I don’t think that is necessary. They have used this kind of start in every other race and I think they can continue to do so.

Another disappointing feature of the race was the large number of cars forced to leave the race because of mechanical trouble. There are always some cars that break down but this year it was irritating to see one car after another drop out.

On the personal side, there were reasons that made this year one to remember. The possibility of dad not going to the race put a damper on everything before we even started packing. It was hard for me to picture myself going to the race without dad. On my dates with Dixie Mohr on Saturday night and Sunday morning, that unpleasant thought was hanging over me and it was with great relief that I came home Sunday afternoon and found dad packing some of his belongings into the car. I was so relieved that I called Dixie and gave her the good news.

The weather was another factor that made us uneasy this year. The threat of rain existed from the time we left home through the end of the race. The cool air and the steady breeze made it a cool trip. I put my jacket on when I got out of the car upon arriving at Kramer’s and didn’t take it off until we left for home. I slept in it and wore it through the entire race. The sun was in and out of the clouds all day Monday and I kept hoping that if it was going to rain, it would wait until the race was finished.

The loss of dad’s billfold was another unpleasant feature of this year’s trip. I think from now on, he will follow my practice of keeping his billfold in one of his front pockets.

Despite the several unpleasant events that occurred this year, I’m still glad we went. The unpleasantries weren’t great enough to prevent us from having a good time as we always do. The 500-mile race still has a unique atmosphere of beauty and excitement that cause thousands of persons to return to it year after year. It is an atmosphere unlike anything else in the world and I am one of those thousands of persons who return year after year. I plan to continue doing so.

Pace Car – Mercury Comet
500 Festival Queen – Suzy Harrison

Tuesday, July 1, 2008

Indy Journal - 1964

1964


A.J. Foyt and Eddie Sachs, the big names in the 1961 500-mile race, were, along with Dave McDonald, the big names in the 1964 race. Foyt repeated his first place finish of 1961 while Sachs and McDonald were killed in the second lap fire which some people claim was the worst wreck in 500-mile race history.

We received our tickets on May 5. In February, dad mailed his annual request for our tickets in the Tower Terrace section. A few days later, he received a letter informing him that due to an unusual request for tickets for this year’s race, all Tower Terrace tickets were already all sold out. The letter also stated what tickets were available, so dad immediately mailed his second ticket request, and on May 5, we received our tickets in the Tower Terrace Extension, Row B, seats 6,7, and 8.

For the third consecutive year, I came home from George Air Force Base in California to see the big race, arriving home on Saturday, May 23.

Friday morning, May 29, our house was its usual madhouse as Bobby, dad, and I got ready for the big event. Bobby prepared the food and dad and I gathered up all the other paraphernalia and got it ready to put into the car. We had blankets, pillows, sunglasses, camera, film, medicine pills, cooking utensils, plus all of the food that Bobby prepared.

Shortly before 12:00, I backed the car out of the garage and parked it in front of the back entrance to our house. Dad starting putting our equipment in the trunk while I went upstairs and brought some of Bobby’s food preparations down to the car. We put as much as we could, comfortably, into the trunk and then put the rest on the back seat.

We checked to make sure we hadn’t forgotten anything and I checked the glove compartment to make sure we had the most important item of all – the tickets. Assuring ourselves that we had everything, the three of us got into the car. At the last minute, dad decided to change the seating pattern of the three previous years by sitting in the back instead of the front seat. With me driving, Bobby on my right, and dad occupying the right rear seat, I turned on the ignition, we waved good-bye to mother, and at 12:15, we left on our annual journey to the Indiana capital.
We went north on 3rd St. to North Grand Ave., east on N. Grand to 5th St., north on 5th St. to Sangamon Ave., and then east on Sangamon.

When we crossed by-pass 66, we came upon Interstate 55 highway. Not being real familiar with the new highway, dad mistakenly directed me to turn left, which was Route 54 going to Chicago. I was rather confused and, although I knew I was going the wrong way, turned left anyway. I told dad we were on the wrong road and then he realized what he had done. I turned back at the first chance I had, and pretty soon we were on the right road again.

In about five minutes, we reached Route 36 on the outskirts of Riverton. We went through Dawson, Buffalo, Lanesville, and around Illiopolis, Niantic, and Harristown. When we reached the four-lane highway, I knew we were getting near Decatur. The traffic seemed about the same as it was every other May 29th afternoon. About 1:15, we passed the sign saying “Indianapolis – 150” and a short time later, we passed over Lake Decatur – on the open highway once again.

The first towns after Decatur were Long Creek and Casner, and from then on until just a few miles from the state line, the road was absolutely straight. As we traveled, the three of us talked about many things – the farmers plowing their fields, the condition of the crops, the small towns we passed through, the people we saw in the towns, the nature of the towns, how many miles we had traveled, and most certainly the big race we were going to see.

About 1:45, we arrived at Tuscola. It’s easy to remember Tuscola because of the big chemical factory on Route 36 just west of the city. I’ve always been intrigued by the size of this factory and always enjoy driving by and seeing it. When we were clear of the chemical factory, we resumed our normal highway speed of 60-70 mph.

As always, when we passed through Hume, I was reminded of that first year I went to Indianapolis, 1954. That was the first and only year we stopped there. I could tell by the time and the mileage on the car that we were getting close to Chrisman, our usual rest stop. When we went under the famous viaduct about a mile or so west of the junction of Routes 36, 150, and 1, I knew the first half of our trip was about over. A short distance later, I discovered the restaurant on our left and started easing up on the accelerator. I turned left at the intersection, drove a few feet to the first turnoff, and then came back to the restaurant. There is a Standard Service Station immediately adjacent to the restaurant, so dad said to stop there first and get the gas tank filled up and the windshield washed. When we stopped at the pump, I looked at my watch and it read 2:21. It had taken us 2 hrs. and 6 min. from the time we pulled out of the driveway until the time we stopped at the gas pump.

While I sat in the car and waited for the attendant to fill the tank, dad used the restroom and Bobby waited outside for her chance to do likewise. Dad returned to pay for the gas and then I drove the car into the parking lot in front of the restaurant. I got out, locked the car, stretched a little, and made use of the restroom while dad and Bobby went on in into the restaurant. With that important job completed, I went in and joined Bobby and dad.

We sat in a booth at one end of the restaurant. Dad ordered coffee and a hamburger, Bobby decided on a dish of salad and a cup of coffee, and I had a cheeseburger, french fries, and coffee. Our waitress wasn’t real speedy, but the best part, or maybe I should say worst, was yet to come. I sat on one side of the booth while Bobby sat directly in front of me, with dad to her right. When the waitress brought Bobby her coffee, I immediately noticed there was a fly in it. When I asked Bobby if she was going to drink her coffee like that, she gave me a funny look and said, “huh?” When she looked at her coffee she saw what I was talking about. Dad asked the waitress to exchange it for a good cup. She did so but was indifferent about what had happened. When we finished eating, we felt better and decided to be on our way again.

We took the same seats we had before we stopped, and at 2:55, I turned the ignition key and once again we were on our way. Our rest stop took up 34 minutes of our time, which was longer than we usually stop.

At 3:04, we left Illinois and entered Indiana. As usual, the pretty green trees provided attractive scenery as we traveled through the west central part of the Hoosier State. The straight highway we had in Illinois soon became a series of hills and curves and the yellow centerline became a common site. As we drove through the towns of Hillsdale, Montezuma, Rockville, Bainbridge, Danville, and Avon, we observed the same tranquil life of Indiana that we had noticed in Illinois. As we traveled through the Wabash Valley and over the famous river, I commented about how pretty and cool it always was when we traveled through here.

A few miles from Avon the traffic started getting heavier, so we knew we were getting close to our destination. As appears true every year, the western outskirts of Indianapolis seemed more modern than it did last year. Dad remarked about how modern and attractive this part of the city always looks every year when we go through it. We came to the intersection of Route 36 and Lyndhurst Drive and turned left. The traffic on Lyndhurst Drive wasn’t heavy until we reached 10th St., the first stoplight. From then on, it was quite heavy. We crossed 16th St., then the railroad tracks, and stopped at the stop sign. We turned right and went about four or five blocks to Fisher St. and turned left. I stopped and backed into our temporary home.
When we stopped and got out of the car, the owner of the house whose property we were on, Mr. Kramer, came out and extended his annual welcome to us. He asked me if I could drive the car up and park it more to the right, which I did. When I shut off the engine the first time, I checked the time and it was 4:37. It had taken us 1 hour and 42 minutes to go from Chrisman to Crawfordsville and Fisher. The entire trip took 4 hours and 22 minutes. It had taken us six more minutes of traveling time than it did last year, but for the eleventh consecutive year, we had made the trip without a wreck and without car trouble.

We talked to Mr. Kramer for a few minutes and then decided to take our initial walk down to the speedway. The scenery was similar to that of the past years. There was the heavy traffic, cars parked on the shoulder of the road on both sides, people sitting and eating in their cars, and the overall carnival atmosphere that prevailed. When we reached the speedway museum, we talked about taking a tour through the building, but decided that since the crowd was so large and we were getting hungry for supper, we would skip the tour for this year.

As we started walking back to the car, I bought a couple of newspapers. As always, most of the news in the papers was about the big race. The intersection of 16th St., Georgetown Road, and Crawfordsville Road was real busy with the 5:00 traffic plus all the traffic going into and coming out of the speedway. A person really has to keep his eyes and ears open to avoid being caught in the traffic. When we managed to get across the busy intersection, we continued on our way back to the car. As we were walking, we remarked to each other that despite the many years we had seen this same scene, we still are amused by it. Although it was about 5:30 in the afternoon, some people were already full of liquor and showing it. The many outdoor grills being utilized, the enormous amount of beer cans and bottles, many people sleeping in the cars, and the thousands of people all together in the same place having such a good time, is something I see only once a year.

When we arrived back at the car, we glanced at our newspapers and then got our supper ready. Dad got the cooking grill assembled and working while Bobby got the hamburgers out and ready to put into the skillet. When we started out from home, it looked as if Bobby had prepared enough food for us to stay for a week. While the hamburgers were cooking, we got the rest of our equipment out, including plates, cups, glasses, silverware, and napkins. In addition to hamburgers we ate backed beans, potato chips, cookies, deviled eggs, salad, and bananas. We drank coffee to help wash everything down. A nutritionist might have said that we weren’t eating a well-balanced meal, but our meal had some nutrition in it and it tasted real good. As we sat in our car and ate our supper, we sat and watched and talked about everybody and everything around us. At the same time, we listened to the radio. Every newscast on every station mentioned something about the 500-mile race tomorrow. The drivers’ meting that afternoon, the 500 festival parade the night before, and the weather prediction for tomorrow were the big stories. When we felt we had enough supper in our stomachs, we cleaned up our mess. We washed our silverware, plates, cups, and glasses, and put all of our scraps into a paper sack for later disposal.

With the supper dishes done, we sat in the car for a little while and relaxed. While listening to the radio, we read our newspapers and pointed out articles of interest concerning the race to each other. There is so much variety of activity connected with the 500-mile race that it takes a long time to read and talk about it.
When it became too dark to do any more reading, we decided to take our usual nightly stroll down to the 16th St. and the surrounding area to take in the activity that makes up “The Night Before the 500.” The “Night Before the 500” was somewhat different this year than it had been in years past. The many long lines of cars extending back several miles on 16th St. and Main St. were absent this year. Under a new ordinance, all the cars which in past years would have been parked on these streets, were directed to park in the parking lot at the north end of the speedway. Although this new law took the cars off the streets, it still left all of the pedestrians with all the noise that they make.

We walked along the south end of the speedway and took in everything that was going on. We passed one of the few remaining wooden grandstands, grandstand D, and a little farther down, grandstand G. At the southwest turn, we saw the speedway motel and clubhouse. Business seemed to be good at the motel. We crossed the street, walked by the Firestone Tire and Rubber Company race headquarters, walked under the viaduct, and stopped at the first intersection. The traffic was bumper to bumper on this night, and the drivers were most unpredictable, but somehow we managed to get across to the other side of the street without getting hit or causing any crackups. The first person we saw was a drunk who had had more than just one too many drinks. As we continued walking west, we saw more and more of the high school and college kids that we see every year. As usual, they were drinking their beer, taking up more than their share of the sidewalk, and by their noise, letting everyone know they were around. The shopping center parkway was empty but the Holiday Inn was alive with activity. The concession stands were receiving a lot of attention from the hundreds of people walking by them. They were selling hot dogs, soda pop, pennants, model racecars, and several other items. A couple of minutes later, we came to the intersection of Main St. and 16th St. With the help of a policeman we crossed the street and went into the drugstore on the corner. The place was crowded as it is every May 29th evening. We walked around for a few minutes and bought a newspaper before we left. We noticed that the traffic on Main St. was almost nil compared to previous years, but little by little it was getting heavier. Now there were four lanes lined up back to the next intersection. We continued walking for another block, but everything seemed pretty quiet, so we turned around and walked back.

Bobby and Dad decided they wanted to go back to the car and try to get some sleep, but to me that night was still young and there was a lot I hadn’t seen yet. I turned left and walked west on 16th St. The traffic, like that on Main St., was small compared to previous years, but it was beginning to get heavier. The usual large amount of cars was missing but as usual the street was infested with college kids drinking beer and having a jolly, good time. I continued walking for three more blocks, then crossed the street and walked towards the speedway. I somehow managed to get across the three-way intersection without getting hit or causing an accident and then took a walk down Georgetown Road. It was just as lively as it had been in other years. It was about midnight now and all the activity was really in high gear. One has to stay awake to avoid the drunks, the crazy drivers, and the empty beer cans and bottles all at the same time.

Shortly before reaching Gate 6, an Indiana State Police jeep with two officers in it approached me and suddenly stopped a few feet in front of me. They sprung from their jeep and immediately stopped two boys who were drinking beer. The policemen asked them for proper identification of their ages. When the boys replied that they didn’t have any identification, they were immediately escorted into the jeep and hauled away.
When I reached Gate 7, I turned around and started walking back. The light coming from the huge beacon behind grandstand C could be seen a long distance from the speedway. Parking lots and concession stands all along the road were vociferously advertising their presence. When I reached Crawfordsville Road, I turned right and headed toward Fisher St. The pre-dawn activities were going full blast. At 1:00 in the morning, some of the amateur cooks were applying their culinary skills. The aroma some of the food emitted was very pleasing to my sense of smell. In addition to the cooking, there were several small dance parties enlivening the scene. In some cases, there were several people in one car, those people had a little fire going and were singing and playing their banjos around the fire. Despite all of the noise around them, there were still many people sleeping in their cars or in sleeping bags on the ground.

I reached Fisher St. about 1:00. When I got to the car, I found dad sleeping on the cot by the right rear tire and Bobby sleeping in the back seat. As quietly and carefully as I could, I opened and closed the door, took of my shoes, shirt, and watch, pulled a blanket over me, and tried to go to sleep.

As usual, I was too excited to be sleepy so I just lay on the seat for a while and thought to myself and listened to all of the noise around us. I was quite cramped and kept moving around to get comfortable, but somewhere around 2:00, I dozed off for a while. When I awakened I looked at my watch and it read 3:15. The revelers were still going strong with their merriment. I wanted to go watch them but thought the noise of the car door might disturb what little sleep Bobby and dad were getting, so I moved around some more and finally managed to doze off again. The next time I woke up, it was 4:30, so I decided that was the end of my sleeping. I put on my shirt, shoes, and watch, and went out and walked along Crawfordsville Road for a short distance. The cool morning air made me shiver a little, but it wasn’t cold enough to keep me from watching all the activity in the area. There was quite a bit of giggling, especially from those cars with both boys and girls in them. The dancing and drinking hadn’t stopped yet. About 4:50, I went back to the car and lay down again.

At 5:00, the big explosion occurred. The traditional opening bomb had gone off and Memorial Day at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway was underway for 1964. A minute or so later, Bobby woke up and then sat up in her seat to see what was going on. Dad gave the impression of being still asleep so Bobby and I watched and talked about the activity around us. The cars lined up on Crawfordsville Road hadn’t begun to move yet, but one by one the people in the cars were waking up. It wasn’t very long until some nit-wit in the line started honking his horn in an apparent attempt to get the traffic moving. As Bobby and I were talking, dad woke up, folded his blankets and cot, and then put them in the trunk of the car. When I knew for sure that dad was awake, I got out to get some fresh air and stretch my arms and legs. Most of the people around us were still trying to sleep so the three of us tried not to disturb them.

About 5:30, we started our annual early morning walk down the Gate 6 to see the many hundreds of cars go under the track and into the infield. We stopped at the Standard Service Station a block from the car and got us a good hot cup of coffee. It was still pretty cool so the coffee felt real good. The closer we got to the Speedway, the better the traffic was moving, and by the time we reached Georgetown Road, all three lanes were moving. The scenery along the road was the same as it had been at 12:30, except that the traffic was all moving in the same direction now. About the time we reached the bridge, we saw our first ticket seller. A couple minutes later, we reached our destination. One thing I noticed this year was that the same Indiana State Policeman and Speedway Patrolman were working here at Gate 6 as had been working here for the past several years. We stood a few feet from the street and watched the activity. As we were watching the passenger cars, every once in a while we could hear the loud crackling roar of the engine of one of the race cars as its pit crew was testing it out to see if it would start. It was a wonderful sound.

If a person ever wanted to see every make of car there is, all at the same time and place, he should stand where we do, at Gate 6, for a few minutes. We see just about any make and year of car a person could think of. The policemen have no trouble with most of the people, but there are always a few who stand up in or sit on the back of convertibles. These people are not allowed to go through the gate until they are seated in their cars as they’re supposed to be. After watching all the cars for a while, you begin to wonder where in the world they’re all coming from. I’ve never tried to count all of them, but I’m sure we see several hundred cars and people pass through this gate every year. It’s a lot of work for the law enforcement officials, but they always do a real good job of directing the traffic.

About 7:00, the bumper to bumper traffic began to diminish slightly, so we started walking back to the car. When we reached Crawfordsville Road, the traffic between the intersection and Fischer Street had thinned out considerably. We arrived back at the car shortly before 7:30 and got all of our cooking utensils out. Dad got the cooking grill assembled and ready to use while Bobby got out the cups, coffee, silverware, plates, eggs, bacon, and a few other items. A few minutes later, the bacon and eggs were sizzling, the coffee was boiling, and we were ready to eat breakfast. In addition to the bacon and eggs, we had fruit salad, oranges, bananas, cookies, and sweet rolls to eat. Some people may not have liked the way we were cooking and eating our food, but the food was good, we were having a good time, and we didn’t care about what anybody else thought. When we felt as if we had eaten enough, we cleaned up our mess and washed the plates, silverware, glasses and cups.

It was shortly after 8:00, so we decided it was time for us to leave for the speedway. We took all of the equipment we would need out of the car, which included camera, film, field glasses, transistor radios, sunglasses, jackets, and most important of all, the race tickets. I gave the tickets to dad and then locked and checked the car. The pedestrian traffic between Fischer Street and the Speedway was heavy now. Many people were carrying sack lunches, seat cushions, and small coolers full of beer and other cold drinks. As we passed the Standard Service Station, we noticed that the two restrooms and the coffee counter were all doing a real good business. If a person’s bladder isn’t ready to rupture, he would save money and much time by waiting until he arrived at the Speedway, where the use of restroom facilities is free. About halfway during the walk, we met some people we see every year at the same location – members of the VFW selling their little pins for whatever donation you wished to give them. We always give them a donation so that they’ll quit pestering us. A short distance later, we arrived at the entrance to the Speedway. The pedestrian traffic was really heavy now. Dad took the tickets out of his pocket, gave them to the ticket-taker as we entered the speedway and the ticket-taker returned part of the tickets to us A few feet inside the gate, I bought three official souvenir programs, selling for seventy-five cents each. Now came the long walk to the viaduct which leads to the inside of the track. All along the way, there were concession stands selling soda pop, coffee, hot dogs, Floyd Clymer yearbooks, plastic model racing cars, speedway pennants, and other items. The enormous mass of people was making it difficult to walk comfortably and we were beginning to wonder if we had missed our turning off point, but I knew from previous experience that we hadn’t arrived there yet. Shortly thereafter, we saw the sign directing us to go under the viaduct and onto the infield. When we left the viaduct on the infield, we turned right toward the garage area. One of the first things we did was to make use of the restrooms. Then we walked a little farther down to Gasoline Alley. All of the cars were in their pits, so all we could see were some of the pit crews milling around and waiting out the last couple of hours.

It was after 9:00 now and since we weren’t sure just how to get to our seats, we decided we’d better do so. We walked down a flight of steps, under one of the roads going through the infield, and up another flight of steps. We went a few steps farther and then entered a gate behind the Terrance Extension seats. An usher led us to our seats, which were in Section 4, Row 3, seats 4, 5, and 6. We were seated right at the entrance to the pit area, which gave us an excellent view of the cars as they came into the pit area. We also could see the north most three or four pit areas. The seats were not as comfortable as those we’ve had in the Tower Terrace Section. The bottom was narrower and they didn’t have any back. The rows were closer to each other which made it hard to move around. As we looked up and down the straightaway, we noticed that the seats were rapidly filling up, and I thought to myself that by the time the race started, there wouldn’t be an empty seat in sight.

At 10:00, the P.A. announcer, Tom Carnegie, announced to all pit crews that they were to line up their cars in their respective starting positions. Only one hour remained until the green flag fell. Tom Carnegie had to make the second announcement before the pit crews went to work. As I watched the cars being pushed out of the pit area and into their starting positions, I got that tense and excited feeling I get every year during the last hour or so before the start of the race.

As the cars were being lined up, the Speedway turned the clock back fifty years when a 1914 Stutz and Delage made a one lap tour around the track. Former driver Earl Cooper drove the Stutz, which started out right in front of us.

As usual, there were several movie and television stars in attendance who rode around the track for the acclamation of the crowd. Among those who were there this year were Art Linkletter, Vic Damone, Marilyn Maxwell, Keely Smith, and Phil Harris. Marilyn Maxwell received a big applause for her presence from the men in the audience. In addition to all of these people, the 500 Festival Queen, Donna McKinley, and her court each rode around the track in separate automobiles.

At 10:05, the Purdue University band played the first of the traditional yearly songs, “On the Banks of the Wabash.” The Purdue University band was doing its usual excellent job of marching up and down the straightaway. To the men, of course, the main attraction was the glittering golden girl, who marched in front of the band. At 10:30, Sam Hanks, and Harlan Fengler, chief steward for the race, made the final inspection tour of the track. At 10:40, the massive crowd rose to its feet as the band played the second of the traditional songs, “The Star-Spangled Banner.” Five minute later, the crowd paid its respects to those former 500-mile race winners who lost their lives while racing as the band played “Taps.” At 10:50, the song that sends chills of excitement up everybody’s back, “Back Home Again in Indiana” was played as the pre-race ceremonies reached their climax. While the band was playing, thousands of colored balloons were released skyward from behind the Control Tower.
While the crowd was watching the balloons, Tom Carnegie announced loud and clear that the big moment had come. Drivers were seated in their cars and ready to go, the portable starters had been inserted and were ready to go to work, and pit crews were ready. Tom turned the microphone over to Speedway president, Tony Hulman, who pronounced slowly and distinctly those four famous words – “GENTLEMEN, START YOUR ENGINES.” A big roar arose from the audience, but that cheer was soon drowned out by the tremendous road of the thirty-three engines all being charged up at the same time. The sweet sound of those thirty-three engines brought a big, wide smile to our faces. The chief mechanic of each pit crew raised his hand to indicate that his car and driver were ready to go. About a minute later, the Mustang pace car slowly started moving, with Benson Ford doing the driving and Tony Hulman sitting in the right front seat. The front row of Jim Clark, Bobby Marshman, and Rodger Ward moved out and the other ten rows followed behind them. Tom Carnegie announced that all thirty-three cars had started and were moving, which evoked a big cheer from the audience. I’m always happy when nobody has any trouble starting.

The field moved through the first and second turns, and then onto the back straightaway as the drivers moved into their eleven rows of three each behind the pace car. The deep, low roar of the engines could be heard from where we were as the field moved toward the number three turn. Everybody seated on the front straightaway was standing and stretching their necks to catch sight of the field as they came through the number four turn and down the front straightaway. It seemed like a long wait, but a few seconds later the pace car was coming toward us as the buzz of the crowd turned into another cheer. The pace car and the eleven rows behind it presented a breath-taking sight of beauty and precision as they moved down the straightaway and past us. Whistling and arm waving erupted as the thirty-three cars moved by us. Many of the drivers waved back to the audience as they went by. As they crossed the start-finish line, the parade lap ended and the official pace lap started. The cars disappeared into the southwest turn as once again the long wait started. Many of the people kept track of the cars by listening to the broadcast of the race with their transistor radios right by their ears. Again attention focused on the northwest turn as necks and eyes were stretched to catch sight of the pace car. We could hear the field moving down the backstretch and then into the short north chute. A few seconds later, a big cheer went up from the crowd as the pace car came out of the turn, moved down the straightaway and headed for the pit area. The roar of the crowd increased as the thirty-three drivers increased their speed and waited for Pat Vidan to wave the green flag. As the front row went by us, Pat dropped the green flag and the big race was on!

Pole position man Jim Clark jumped into the lead. As he went through the first turn, he was followed by Parnelli Jones, Bobby Marshman and A.J. Foyt. The noise of the crowd diminished somewhat but started rising several seconds later when the cars came out of the fourth turn and came down the straightaway to complete the first lap. As they crossed the line, it was Clark, Marshman, Ward, Foyt, and Jones. Clark had set a new first lap record with a speed of 149.775 mph. The race was off to a fast start. As they completed the second lap, it was Clark, Marshman, Ward, Dan Gurney, and Foyt. And then it happened…

As Clark crossed the starting line and began his third lap, rookie Dave McDonald came out of the fourth turn and went into a long slide. He fought to gain control of the car but it continued sliding and hit the inside retaining wall, and on contact with the wall, it exploded into a huge inferno. The car was sliding across to the outside wall when it was hit on the left side by Eddie Sachs in the American Red Ball Special. Like McDonald’s car, Sachs’ car immediately exploded into a huge fire. The two fires together, plus the black smoke from the fires, created an enormous horrible site that could be seen several miles from the track. Sachs was killed instantly although it hasn’t been established whether the fire killed him or he was killed when he was crushed inside his car. His car made such a terrific impact with McDonald’s car and the outer wall that it pushed the front end of the car heavily against his chest. Because the fire was so large and hot and because the cockpit was squeezed so hard, it took rescue workers a long time to reach him, and by the time they did, he was dead. A white sheet was put over his body. When his body was finally extricated from the car, it was wrapped in the white sheet and taken to the Speedway funeral home. When McDonald was pulled from his car, his entire body was burned badly. Much of his uniform was burned off and as he was taken in an ambulance to the infield hospital, his arms, legs, and head dangled loosely. From the infield hospital, he was flown to Methodist Hospital of Indianapolis, where he died at 1:20 pm.

The approximate location of the holocaust was the extreme northern end of the Terrace Extension Seats. Needless to say, it was one of the worst crashed in the history of the 500-mile race. As I looked to my right and saw what had and was happening, I was overcome with a feeling that I’ve never experience before. I could feel my face flushing as my moth fell open and the rest of my body started shaking. Everybody was standing up, but Bobby was so shaken by what was happening that for a long time, she couldn’t look at what was happening. Dad had the look of death on his face as he immediately turned the radio on and put it to his ear. I was panic-stricken, but I don’t know if either one of them noticed it. Dad didn’t say anything for several minutes.

Besides Sachs and McDonald, other drivers involved in the mess were Chuck Stevenson, Norm Hall, Bobby Unser, Johnny Rutherford, and Ronnie Duman. The cars of Stevenson and Hall were damaged enough to have to leave the race, but neither driver was hurt. Unser’s car was hit in the rear by either Sachs or McDonald. He lost control of his car and spun around several times before crashing into the outer wall, directly across from us. The car was damaged considerably, but Bobby immediately jumped out of the car and walked around and waved his hands to show everybody he was unhurt. Rutherford was riding behind Sachs when McDonald’s car hit the wall and exploded. He tried to steer clear of the wreck but went over McDonald’s engine and came down with his car on fire. He kept going and the wind put the fire out. His only injury was a burn on the back of the neck. Before Rutherford went over McDonald’s car, he was hit by Ronnie Duman. Duman’s car caught on fire and crashed into the inner wall, as I watched the horrible event. It was facing north and was a mass of twisted, burned metal, beyond repair. Duman got out of his car and climbed over the wall to safety, but not before receiving extensive burns. He was taken to the infield hospital and then transferred to Methodist Hospital for care of his injuries.

One of the tires on Sach’s car caught on fire and came off the car. The ball of fire sailed high into the air, over the fence, and landed in front of Grandstand H. In addition to the tire, there were other parts of cars all over the place. Large puddles of oil also covered the track.

Immediately upon seeing what had happened, chief steward Harlan Fengler directed starter Pat Vidan to display the red flag, which he did. For the first time in the history of the race, it was stopped because of an accident. The wreckage covered the entire width of the track. It was impossible for the other drivers to get through. When the remaining drivers reached the fourth turn, they were notified that the race had been stopped. One of the questions that kept running through my mind while the wreckage was being clear was “How in the world did they manage to stop all of those cars before they ran into the wreckage?” I couldn’t see beyond the fire and therefore was unable to see the cars stop. Ambulances, trucks, and people with fire extinguishers immediately started running toward the fire. Fire extinguishers from every pit crew were rushed to the scene. When the fire was finally put out, one of the tow trucks picked up McDonald’s car and drove through the pit area to the garage area. As the trucked passed in front of us, the race fans stared and moaned in disbelief at the remains of what was once No. 83, the MT Sears Allstate Special. I don’t think any of them had ever seen such a horrible mess.

While the fire was being fought, several of the drivers walked back to their pits. At this time, we were uncertain just what and how many drivers had been hurt, so each driver we saw was one more who wasn’t involved in the accident. Don Branson and Rodger Ward walked down the pit apron together talking about what had happened. Other drivers we were able to identify were Len Sutton, Bob Veith, Jack Brabham, and Jim Clark. There were all ashen faced. There was nothing funny to laugh or smile about. All of them had seen death before in an auto race, but they were all shaken to the bone by this wreck. Clark appeared to have a bandage on his nose and this aroused fear that he had been in the wreck. This fear was later proved groundless.
The huge fire eventually was put out, the damaged cars were removed from the track, and the track maintenance crew cleaned up the pieces of race cars scattered all over the track and then went to work on getting rid of all of the oil on the track.
There was nothing for the spectators, drivers, pit crews, and race officials to do except to wait until the mess was cleaned up. During this long waiting period, I wondered what would happen when the mess was finally cleaned up. Would they start from where they stopped? Would they start the race from the beginning again with what cars were left? Would they start from the position they were in at the end of the second lap? Or would they call of the race altogether? The huge crowd was very quiet as it watched the cleanup operation and wondered what would happen when that was finished.

The silence of the Speedway was broken when the P.A. announcer said, “Ladies and gentlemen, it is with deepest regret that we make this announcement. Driver Eddie Sachs was fatally injured in the accident on the main straightaway.” The audience was stunned into unbelievable, deathly silence. One of the trumpet players in the Purdue University Band played “Tap” as the crowd stood in quiet reverence. After “Taps” was finished, everybody remained standing for one minute in honor of the man who had just given his life to auto racing. It was astonishing how quiet everything became. There was not a sound heard from anywhere – just absolute, deathly silence. One of auto racing’s biggest names no was gone forever. My and Bobby’s eyes were both filled with tears as I tried desperately to refrain from coughing and crying. A day which started out to be one of my happiest ever now had become a horrible nightmare come true. When the crowd was seated again, I said to myself silently, “Let’s call this race off. This is too much. I’ve had enough for one day.”

The question of what to do about the 26 remaining cars was still unanswered. USAC officials finally decided that the cars would line up at the starting line in single file in the position they were in at the end of two laps. The race would be restarted beginning with the third lap. Bobby Grim and Bill Cheesbourg were both in the pits during the long wait. Both of them had skidded to a sudden stop to avoid the wreckage, and in doing so had ruined one of their tires. This necessitated their pit stops, but the USAC officials said no mechanic could do a thing until the green flag fell. Harlan Fengler announced the lineup for the restart of the race by the numbers on the cars. The pit crews pushed their cars to their starting positions as the maintenance crew put some white powder on the track to dry up what remaining oil spots there might be.

Harlan Fengler directed the engines of the cars to be started and once again, Benson Ford and Tony Hulman led the field on its way. They went around the track in single file for one lap and then Pat Vidan dropped the green flag. It had taken an hour and 45 minutes to get the wreckage cleaned up and the race was started again. As soon as the green flag fell, the pit crews of Bill Cheesbourg and Bobby Grim changed the damaged tires on their cars and the two drivers were back in the race.
At the drop of the green flag, Jim Clark again took the lead and Bobby Marshman was right behind him. Clark led until the 7th lap when Marshman and his Pure Oil Firebrand Special overtook Clark. After ten laps, Marshman led Clark by four seconds with Gurney third, Ward fourth, Jones fifth, Foyt sixth, and Walt Hansgen seventh. Eddie Johnson was the first driver to leave the race after it was restarted. He ran six laps. Engine trouble was the cause of his exodus from the race.
With twenty laps completed, Marshman had a fourteen second lead over Clark. Marshman’s fifteenth lap speed was 157.646 mph, fastest ever run in the 500-mile race. Ward moved into third when Gurney made a pit stop on his fourteenth lap. Bob Veith, driving one of the MG Liquid Suspension Specials, had moved up from 11th to 8th position.

At 30 laps, Marshman had increased his lead over Clark to 26 seconds, but when he went through the second turn on his 36th lap, he went too low and the under part of his engine was ripped, spilling oil and water onto the track. He continued for three more laps and then came to a slow stop in the fourth turn. He got out and joined the other drivers who had been sidelined.

With Marshman out, Clark again was the leader, but his luck, like Marshman’s, was about to turn sour. Jim led for eight laps until his left rear tire started chunking, which caused vibrations to rip the universal joints to pieces. When this happened, the bottom of the wheel sprung out to the left and almost came off as Jim came down the main straightaway. He kept it under control and drove it into the infield on the first turn.

Jones, who had been second behind Clark, was now in first place and led Foyt by 1.06 seconds. For the next seven laps, these two drivers put on the most exciting battles of the entire race. During these seven laps, they drove wheel to wheel with each other and there was never more than a few feet separating them. Jones made a pit stop on his 56th lap and as he started to leave the pits, his car caught on fire. He was unaware of what was happening, but several persons in the pits ahead of him waved frantically to him and he finally felt the heat. He steered the car into the pit wall and at the same time, jumped out of the right side of the car onto the concrete. He rolled over several times trying to extinguish his uniform, and then was taken to the infield hospital and then to Methodist Hospital where he was treated for burns on the arms and legs and then released. With the race less than one-third completed, three of the first four starters were finished for the day.

Foyt was now the leader. Ward had made pit stops on laps 40, 55, and 60, but was still second behind Foyt. Bob Veith was eight seconds behind Ward, and he was followed by Don Branson, Jim Hurtubise, Lloyd Ruby, and Len Sutton. Rookie Johnny White was running well in 9th position. On lap 77, rookie Bob Mathouser had brake failure, Jim McElreath had mechanical failure, and Jack Brabham had a leaking gas tank, as all three of them departed from the race. At 80 laps, Hurtubise was running third after starting in the 11th position. Veith was four seconds behind in fourth, and was followed by Sutton, Gurney, Ruby, Branson, White, and Johnny Boyd.
On the 88th lap, Veith’s luck turned rotten when one of his pistons burned out and he was sent to the sidelines. Ten laps later, 1952 winner Troy Ruttman ran over something on the backstretch and developed a leak in one of his tires. Troy kept the car under control and steered it into the grass on the third turn.

At the half-way point, 100 laps, or 250 miles, Foyt was still leading the pack in his Sheraton-Thompson Special. Ward was second and trailing Foyt by only 11 seconds. The standings at 100 laps were Foyt, Ward, Hurtubise, Sutton, Ruby, Branson, Boyd, White, Bud Tingelstad, Gurney, Dick Rathman, Bob Harkey, Art Malone, Grim, Bob Wente, Cheesbourg, and Walt Hansgen.

On the 106th lap, Ward made his fourth pit stop. By now it was evident that the reason for his many pit stops was the poor gas mileage he was receiving from his Ford-powered car. Wente, Harkey, Malone, and Grim were right together with each other. This four car battle continued for several laps as they shuffled between positions 11 through 14.

Art Malone was the only Novi car left in the race. All three cars had started, but Bobby Unser was involved in the second lap mishap and Jim McElreath had gone out after 88 laps because of mechanical trouble.

On lap 110, Gurney was called into his pit by his crew when a Dunlap Tire Company representative decided the tires were unsafe. The tires on both Gurney’s and Clark’s car had been performing badly all day long. From our seats we could see pieces of rubber on the track that had come from the two cars. Both Lotus-Fords were out of the race now.

The next driver to be forced to retire to the sidelines was Bill Cheesbourg. Bill’s Apache Airlines Special developed trouble on the 131st lap and was finished for the day.

Ward, only 11 seconds behind at 100 laps, was now 49 seconds behind Foyt. Hurtubise was still third with Branson fourth and Ruby fifth. Len Sutton, driving the Bryant Heating and Cooling Special, was sixth, but had to drop out after 140 laps because his fuel pump stopped working. On the next lap, Hurtubise pulled into his pit. His Tombstone Life Special had developed mechanical problems and was out of the race.
At 150 laps, three-fourths of the race, Foyt led Ward by 56 seconds. Branson was third with Ruby fourth, White fifth and Boyd sixth. After 160 laps, Ruby was only 19 seconds behind Branson. Only 14 seconds separated Harkey, Grim, and Wente. A few laps later, Wente passed Grim to take over 10th place behind Harkey.

Branson’s Wynn’s Friction Proofing Special was misbehaving and on the 188th lap, while running very slowly, Don had to retire from the race. On the same lap, Ward made his fifth and final pit stop for fuel.

The crowd was on its feet now as it awaited the end of the race. Unless something unusual happened real quickly, Foyt would be the winner. As Foyt finished his 199th lap, he was given the white flag by starter Pat Vidan, indicating he had one more lap to go. The next time around, Pat waived the checkered flag. Foyt made one more lap around the track and then drove into Victory Lane. There he was greeted by his wife, Lucy, 500 Festival Queen, Donna McKinley, and his crew.

Ward finished second, one minutes and twenty-five seconds behind Foyt. He undoubtedly would have finished closer had it not been for his excessive amount of pit stops.
Lloyd Ruby drove the Forbes Racing Team Special to the third place finish. Lloyd did an outstanding job and wasn’t out of the top ten during the entire race. This was his fifth race and four out of those five times, he had finished in the first ten.
Rookie Johnny White did another outstanding driving job. He started in 21st position, was 10th by lap 50, 5th at 150 laps, and finished fourth. Johnny’s pit was a short distance south of us and he received a big applause from the fans around us as he pulled into his pit, having driven one of the best races of his career. For his outstanding performance, he was awarded the “Rookie of the Years” award.

Veteran Johnny Boyd, piloting the Vita Fresh Orange Juice Special, drove one of his best races to finish fifth. Johnny started thirteenth, dropped to 18th position by lap 30, was 10th at 80 laps, and kept advancing until he was fifth at the finish. He was the last driver to go the complete 500 miles.

Bud Tingelstad, in the Federal Engineering Special, had his best year at the Speedway this year and finished sixth. Dick Rathman finished seventh, Bob Harkey eights, Bob Wente ninth, Bobby Grim tenth, Art Malone eleventh, Don Branson twelfth, and Walt Hansgen thirteenth.

Although Foyt was happy with his victory, he was painfully aware of the second lap tragedy. He knew Eddie Sachs was dead, but the announcement about Dave McDonald’s death was not made until after the race had been restarted. The winner, along with his wife and pit crew, was driven around the track in the Mustang Pace Car to receive the applause of the huge crowd. When Foyt returned to Victory Lane, it ended all activity on the track. The pit crews gather up all the paraphernalia and took it back to the garage area. Likewise, we gathered up everything we had and started our trip back to the car.

In going from our seats to the main gate, we followed almost the same route we had taken in getting to our seats. The mammoth crowd, which a few hours ago had pushed and shoved its way into the Speedway, now was doing likewise in getting gout of the Speedway. The people were much more somber than after last year’s exciting race. The stunning second lap mishap was still on everybody’s mind. We decided not to visit the garage area this year and instead went directly back to the car. When we reached the driveway behind the grandstands, I bought an Indianapolis newspaper which told about the race. A short distance later, I bought another newspaper with the headlines, “Foyt Winner in 500, Sachs, McDonald Die”. A couple minutes later, we passed through the turnstiles and left the Speedway grounds. We turned right and started our walk down Crawfordsville Road. The traffic was bumper to bumper as everybody was in a hurry to get on the road and get home.

When we arrived at the car, we opened the doors and windows so that the hot, stuffy air could escape. Then we sat down and took off our jackets and shoes. We didn’t realize until now that we had sat through the whole race with our jackets on. There were probably three reasons why we didn’t take our jackets off – 1.) The weather wasn’t hot enough for us to be really uncomfortable with them on, 2.) We had no place to put them except our laps, if he had taken them off, and 3.) Our minds were on the second lap tragedy so much that we may not have paid any attention to them.
When we felt rested a little, we decided to eat some of the food we hadn’t eaten yet. We still had some baked beans, potato chips, salad, sweet rolls, and cookies to eat. While we ate our food, we sat in the car and watched the traffic on Crawfordsville Road. It hadn’t let up any since we had gotten back to the car. While we were eating, Mr. Kramer came out and talked to us for a few minutes. He had listened to the race on the radio so was aware of the bad news. We talked about the race for a while and then Mr. Kramer told us good-bye until we saw him again. The heavy traffic deterred us from starting our trip home, so in the meantime, I took a few more pictures to complete the roll I had started. It felt real good to walk around in the grass in my stocking feet. Eventually, the traffic began thinning out somewhat so we put everything away and got ready to go.

Due to the long delay of the race caused by the second lap tragedy, everything was running about two hours behind time. I put my shoes back on and then we got seated and ready to go. Bobby sat on the left rear and I on the right front seat, and Dad did the driving. With everything and everybody ready to go, Dad turned the key and the engine came to life. He let the engine idle for a few seconds and then at 6:08 pm, we started our journey back to Springfield.

We turned right to Crawfordsville, right on Crawfordsville to Lynnhurst Drive, and left on Lynnhurst. The traffic on Lynnhurst was heavy, but there was a policeman directing traffic at 16th Street and also one further down at 10th Street. Beginning at 10th Street, the traffic moved in spurts. At various spots along the road, there were boys selling newspapers. We were becoming angry and frustrated at spending so much time in the traffic and getting almost nowhere, but at last we reach the intersection of Lynnhurst Drive and Route 36. We turned right onto Route 36 and headed toward Springfield. The traffic was moving a little better now, but it was still quite heavy. Right away, we ran into the slow drivers who impede the flow of traffic. We, along with most of the people, wanted to move faster than we were, but we couldn’t because of the slow drivers and the heavy traffic coming from the other directions. Along with the slow traffic, we were hitting almost all the stop lights just as they were turning red. The farther we traveled, the thinner the traffic became, but then we ran into the problem of hills, curves, and no passing zones. When we reached Danville, there were still boys standing in the streets and selling Indianapolis newspapers. The traffic, most of which was race fans, was moving bumper to bumper.

At 7:45, we left Indiana and entered our home state. Another 10 miles were registered on the odometer and at 7:54, we stopped at Chrisman for supper. Dad and Bobby used the restroom while I had the car filled with gas. With the tank filled, I parked the car in front of the restaurant and then got out and stretched a little. Business was good and we got the last booth available. 8:00 was rather late to be eating supper, but this was not an ordinary day. I looked the menu over and ordered meat loaf, potatoes, corns, and coffee. I could tell by looking at the other people that most of them were on their way home from the race. They looked tired and dirty, just as we did, and many of them were wearing white, straw caps which seem to be a trademark of the 500-mile race. The hot, cooked food felt good to all of us. When we had eaten all we had, we paid the bill and at 8:43, we started traveling again.

It was dark now and for the first time in our eleven years, we drove part of the way in the dark. Unlike previous years, we couldn’t see the farmers working in their fields. While we passed the miles away, I nibbled away on the potato chips and cookies that were still left. Shortly before 10:00, we began seeing light in the distance and a few minutes later, we crossed over Lake Decatur and entered Decatur. Ten to fifteen minutes later, we were on the other side of town and on the last leg of our trip home. It seemed different to be driving in complete darkness. The towns of Illiopolis, Lanesville, Buffalo, and Dawson were soon behind us, and then we saw the sign directing us to Camp Butler Cemetery. We turned right and drove until we came to the intersection at Interstate 55. Dad wasn’t familiar with all the new roads here and after stopping, started out again. A sure collision was averted when I yelled “STOP” and the oncoming car honked its horn. Dad hit the brakes just in time. I said to myself, “We’ve had enough tragedy today without getting killed this close to home.” We proceeded on to the bypass, crossed it, and went on into town on Sangamon Ave. We turned left onto 5th Street, right onto North Grand, and then left onto 3rd Street to home. When we stopped at the back door, it was 10:50. It had taken us 4 hours and 42 minutes to go from Kramer’s to home. It was by far the latest we had ever gotten home.

Susie was asleep but mother came into the kitchen to greet us. She had listened to the race on the radio so she knew why we were so late in getting home. We took everything out of the car and into the house and then I put the car away. We were too tired to put everything away so we waited until Sunday to do that. Our big event was finished for this year.

POSTSCRIPT
It is unfortunate that the memory most people have of this year’s race is probably the second lap mishap. This was supposed to be the year the rear-engine cars outclassed the traditional Offenhauser roadsters and pushed the roadsters into obsolescence, but this certainly didn’t happen. Roger Ward drove a wonderful race to finish second, but his was still the only rear-engine car to finish in the first ten. Jim Clark started out as if he was going to run a race of his own, but apparently there was something wrong with the chassis of his car. It seemed strange to me that Clark and Dan Gurney had tires that performed so poorly. Another unusual feature of this year’s race was that of the first ten finishers, three of them were rookies. They were Johnny White, Bob Harkey, and Bob Wente.

There has been much discussion about what to do in the future to prevent another accident such as that that happened on the second lap. Among the solutions suggested have been those of increasing the speeds during the rookies’ drivers’ test, requiring gas tanks to be only partially filled, and requiring a specified number of pit stops for every car. It’s difficult to say if McDonald would have crashed if he had had more experience at the Speedway. A veteran driver may have done the same thing. It was fortunate that there weren’t more cars involved than there were.
The deaths of Eddie Sachs and Dave McDonald put a damper on this year’s race, but it hasn’t dampened my enthusiasm for the race. The 500 Festival, with more activities this year for more people, was bigger than ever. The 500-mile race gets bigger and better with each passing year and I hope to be a fan of it for a long time to come.

Pace Car – Ford Mustang
500 Festival Queen – Donna McKinley