Monday, December 7, 2009

Indy Journal - 1979

1979

My silver anniversary year at the Speedway was highlighted by increasing controversy during the practice and qualifying periods, my first time of seeing time trials on Sunday, almost not being able to see the time trials in person, the first new race champion in five years, and a precarious gasoline situation.


On Friday, May 4, Dixie was operated on for a ruptured disk in her back. This had been unscheduled until the day before when she had to be taken to the hospital by ambulance, and the doctor decided to operate the following day. She was not released from the hospital until the following Friday morning, my scheduled leaving time for the Speedway. My parents brought her home from the hospital and after I made arrangements with them to check on her while I was gone, she told me everything would be okay and to go on my way.


It was between 10:30 and 10:45 when I left home. I traveled old Route 36 all the way to its intersection with the new Route 36 a few miles west of Decatur, and then followed the old route to the Colonial Kitchen at Chrisman. It was 1:00 when I stopped for a cup of coffee and a grilled cheese sandwich. As usual, there were some farmers sitting at a table and drinking coffee, plus a few other customers.


I left shortly before 1:30 and about 10-15 minutes later, I was in Indiana. When I reached the Route 63 intersection, I had to detour south for a few miles and then east. The detour signs were few and far between, and several times I got upset thinking I might have gotten off the road. Luckily I stayed on the route and it finally ended at the US 231 intersection. From there I stayed on Route 36 until I stopped at the Amoco Service Station at Lynnhurst Drive.


I had the gasoline tank refilled and then drove to 16th St and turned right. The further I drove the heavier the traffic was. Traffic rules prohibited me from turning left into the tunnel, so I went to the Speedway Motel and turned around and went back w3est, paid my $1.00 and went through the tunnel and then to the museum parking lot. It was 4:00 when I turned off the engine and locked the doors.


My first stop was the gift shop, where I spent a few minutes browsing, and then I walked to the Tower Terrace Area, via the hospital and garage area.


Several drivers were participating in the last two hours of practice; including AJ Foyt, Janet Guthrie, Johnny Rutherford, Pancho Carter, Tom Sneva, and several others. Several hundred persons were in the Tower Terrace seats taking in the action.


When the 6:00 gun went off, I left the grounds and stopped at the fried chicken place ½ block west of Georgetown Road on 16th St. They didn’t have what I wanted, so I drove over to the Speedway Shopping Center.


My first stop was the MCL Cafeteria. The line of waiting customers stretched almost to the door, but it moved quickly, and in a short time I was going through the serving line. When I reached the cashier my tray was full, but I was hungry and it cost less than $5.00 so I didn’t mind.


With supper out of the way, I did some window shopping in the shopping center. I was trying to get some ideas about what to get Dixie for Mother’s Day. I finally stopped at a bakery which had many delicious looking items on display.


It was hard trying to choose just one item, but I finally decided on a long cake with white icing and the words “Happy Mother’s Day” and three roses in pink icing. Roses are Dixie’s favorite flower so I thought it would be appropriate. From safekeeping, I put the cake in the car trunk and then went to the Kroger grocery store and bought my box of friend chicken for eating at the Speedway on Saturday.


By now it was almost 8:00 so I thought I’d better be on my way to the motel. I took I-465 north to the I-65 intersection and followed it to the Holiday Inn at Lebanon. My registration at the motel was easy because I had paid for my room at the Holiday Inn East in Springfield in January, and the desk clerk was waiting for me.


My room was on the south side of the motel and was one of the best I’ve ever had. It had two double beds and was very clean throughout. I unpacked some of my belongings and then watched TV for a couple minutes to see how the set worked.


With everything ok in my room, I decided to take a little walk and see what was going on elsewhere in the motel. Business at the Holidome was good, with several people using the swimming pool, slide, shuffleboard, ping pong, and refreshment area. The restaurant, bar, and lobby were also busy.


At 10:00 I watched the news to see what had happened at the Speedway and what kind of weather was predicted for tomorrow. After the news I watched a few minutes of the Tonight Show and a movie, and then did some reading. About 11:00, I got ready for bed, set the alarm clock, turned off the lights, and retired for the night.


It was 5:30 when the alarm sounded and awoke me from my sleep. I got cleaned up and then dressed and walked to the motel restaurant for breakfast. It was shortly after 6:00 when I arrived. The hostess seated me and gave me a menu, and a few minutes later the waitress took my order. I didn’t know it, but the next hour or so was to be quite upsetting for me. I ordered French toast, bacon, coffee, and orange juice, and thought I would be eating in fifteen minutes or so. As it turned out, it was almost an hour before I received my food. I was almost ready to take some action, but the waitress apologized and was quite upset herself. I had my Readers Digest with me, so that helped pass the time.


Feeling better physically, but not emotionally, I went back to my room, brushed my teeth, and got ready to leave for the Speedway. It was about 7:30 when I left the motel and 8:00 when I arrived at the Lion’s Club parking lot at Lynnhurst Drive and Crawfordsville Road.


As I was walking to the Speedway, I felt something terrible hit me – rain. I increased my pace and dashed into the White Castle for some shelter and a filling of my thermos bottle with coffee.


There weren’t many people walking around the Speedway grounds. It wasn’t a heavy rain, but certainly enough to prevent any cars from getting on the track. The rain was a blessing for the gift shop and other vendors. The gift shop could hardly keep up with the business.


I sat in the Paddock area and read my newspapers and Readers Digest, listened to the radio, ate chicken, and visited with some of the fans around me. As the afternoon wore on, the rain eventually stopped, and the track dried out enough to be used. The crowd was getting restless for some action, and at 4:19 it was announced that the track was open for 1 ½ hours of practice.


Shortly thereafter, Danny Ongais lost control coming out of the fourth turn and crashed into the inside wall twice before stopping. It took 22 minutes to extract him from the car, and by the time the debris was cleaned up and the practice period finished, there was no time for qualifying.


It was 6:30 when I arrived back at the parking lot and a few minutes after that, I was at the MCL Cafeteria. I ate a big supper, and then took a little ride through the residential area of Speedway. It was a real quiet and well-maintained neighborhood, and it was the first time I had seen that particular area.


When I arrived at my hotel room, I sat down for a couple minutes to glance at my newspapers. While I was doing so, the telephone rang. I answered and to my surprise, Dixie was on the other end. She had heard on television that the time trials had been washed out and urged me to stay over and see Sunday’s time trials. Since she wasn’t going to work on Monday, I could stay another day and come home Monday morning. I told her I would think about it.


I went down to the front desk to see if I could get a room on Sunday night at the Holiday Inn in Danville, IL. When I got that confirmed, I went back to my room and called Dixie to tell her my plans.


With that important job done, I walked around to see what was happening around the motel. The Holidome, bar, and restaurant were all doing a good business. I returned to my room in time to see the 10:00 news, and then watched a few minutes of a couple movies, did some reading, and around 12:00, I turned in for the night.

Because the time trials didn’t start until 12:00 and I didn’t think a huge crowd would be present, I didn’t set my alarm clock. It was about 6:30 when I woke up, after which I took a bath, brushed my teeth, shaved, and combed my hair. Feeling ready to face the world now, I left about 7:15 for the motel restaurant. For breakfast I had pancakes, bacon, toast, coffee, and orange juice. The service was much better than it was Saturday morning, and that made a better beginning of my day.


I returned to my room to brush my teeth and to pick up my equipment, and then drove to the Standard Service Station about ½ miles north of the motel just off I-65. I was real happy to find the station open and not limiting the amount of gasoline sales to their customers. The gasoline situation throughout the United States was quite precarious at this time, with some stations closing at night and/or Saturday and/or Sunday, or all three. The ominous feeling this situation caused me dissipated when the attendant filled the tank and I saw the needle go to the right side of F. I felt I had enough to drive all the way back home if necessary.


I had already decided to park in the same place I did Saturday, but I was quite surprised when I arrived and found no cars or people there. I asked a state policeman if the place was open for business. He said he didn’t know, but then added I could park there if I wanted to because he would be on duty all day and would watch my car for me.


I stopped at the White Castle to have my thermos bottle filled with coffee, and then proceeded through the main gate.


The size of the crowd was considerably smaller than I had expected, although it was almost three hours before qualifying started. For a change, I sat in the lower deck of Grandstand E and watched most of the practice period from there. The view is somewhat different than that from the Tower Terrace area. You can see the entire front straightaway and south chute, plus all or part of the 1st, 2nd, and 4th turns. Also, the cars are only a few yards from you as they go through the first turn.


About 11:00, I walked over to the Tower Terrace area. My seat was south of the tower and a few feet north of the photographers’ stand. Practice ended at 11:30, and at 12:00, the engine of Joe Saldana’s car was fired up and he was pushed away to try to become the first qualifier for this year’s race. The lady sitting next to me was by herself and a half hour or so later, we started talking to each other. I discovered she knew quite a bit about racing, and eventually found out that she was the wife of Bobby Grim, who drove at the Speedway for several years beginning in 1959. She made a real interesting companion as she told me about many drivers, mechanics, car owners, and Speedway officials, both present and from many years back. Although Bobby doesn’t drive at the Speedway any more, she still maintains her interest in the race because her son-in-law is driver Sheldon Kinser. When Sheldon qualified his car, she excused herself and left to join Sheldon and her daughter, Susan. She seemed to be a real affable and unpretentious person, and I was glad to have been able to talk to her.

The weather was ideal. It was sunny and pleasant, warm but not hot, with little wind. It was just as beautiful as Saturday was ugly.


There were 16 first-day qualifiers, and the front row provided the most excitement. Shortly before 1:00, Al Unser qualified his Pennzoil Chaparral “ground effects” car at 192.503 mph, which was the fastest time until 4:00 when Tom Sneva pleasantly surprised everyone with a 192.998 mph run in his Sugaripe Prune Special.


For half an hour it seemed that he would be the first man in Speedway history to have the pole position three years in a row, but his dream ended when the last “first day” qualifier, Rick Mears, went out in his Gould Charge. His first and fastest lap was a crowd pleasing 194.847 mph, and his four-lap average was 193.736 mph.

Pancho Carter was the only second-day qualifier and his 185.806 average was faster than the slowest three first-day qualifiers. During the last hour or so, there was little activity on the track, and at 6:00, the gun sounded ending the first weekend of qualifying.


I had thought about eating supper at the MCL Cafeteria, but knowing they’re closed on race day night, I didn’t know whether they would be open tonight or not. I was most happy when I arrived at the shopping center and saw it was open. I ate a big supper and then left right away for Danville. I arrived there about 8:45.


My motel room was a letdown after my two nights at Lebanon. The condition of the room, particularly the bathroom facilities, was considerably poorer. I took a bath, shaved, watched TV for a few minutes, and then went to bed.


As I reviewed the day’s activities in my head, I decided I had been a most lucky fellow for several reasons: 1.) I had been able to get a full tank of gasoline at the first station I tried; 2.) I didn’t have to pay to park my car; 3.) I didn’t have to pay to get into the Speedway, because yesterday’s tickets were accepted; 4.) I sat next to a former driver’s wife who was a good racing conversationalist; and 5.) I was able to eat supper at the MCL Cafeteria.


I woke up about 6:30 Monday morning, checked out of the motel, ate breakfast at the Colonial Kitchen, and then drove home. My trip turned out to be quite different than what I had planned when I left Friday morning.

The period between May 13 and race day was one of the most controversial ever at the Speedway. It actually started several months earlier when a group of unhappy USAC car owners broke away and formed their own organization called Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART). Before the track opened for practice on May 5, USAC rejected CART’s race entries because they were “not in good standing with USAC.” CART took its complaint to federal court where the presiding judge said USAC was wrong and ordered it to accept the CART entries.


On May 19, the qualification attempts by Dick Ferguson (a rookie), Tom Bigelow, and Steve Krisiloff were disallowed because their turbochargers had been illegally altered. The following day, rookie Bill Alsup’s qualification run was disallowed because his engine actually belonged in the car of his teammate, Bobby Unser. Seven drivers who were bumped from the 33-car starting field filed protests, saying they were not given a fair chance at qualifying. At first, USAC denied the requests, but on Friday, May 25, it changed its mind and announced that the 33 already qualified cars wouldn’t be bumped, but the following day, the seven protesting drivers would be given one last chance to make the field. Roger McCluskey’s speed of 183.908 mph was the slowest in the field, and anybody qualifying faster than that would start the race behind the other 33 cars. The seven affected drivers were Alsup, Bill Vukovich, George Snider, Al Loquasto, Jerry Karl, Larry Cannon, John Martin, and Duane Carter.


On Saturday, May 26, the day before the race, the unusual qualifying session took place. When it was over, only two of the seven drivers, Vukovich and Snider, had qualified and so for the first time since 1933, more than 33 cars would start the race.


During the morning of this same day, I put all my equipment into my suitcase, said goodbye to Dixie and the boys, and at 11:33, I left and started my two-day trip. I ran into light rain shortly after starting out but it had stopped when I reached Illiopolis. I took old Route 36 all the way to Decatur and arrived there at 12:30. The drive from here to Chrisman was real pleasant, as it usually is and at 2:05, I stopped at the Colonial Kitchen. I had a cup of coffee and a sweet roll, and at 2:28, I left for Danville, where I arrived about 3:00.


Because of the gasoline situation, I decided to get my tank filled before I did anything else. This didn’t happen, however, without my experiencing some anxiety. The Standard station about three blocks north of the motel was closed because they were out of gas. The same was true for the second and third Standard stations I tried. Time was passing quickly and I was getting uneasy, so I finally stopped at an ARCO station and inquired about the station’s gasoline supply. The attendant said they were having no problem getting fuel, so I told him to fill the tank. With a feeling of relief, I drove to the Holiday Inn and checked in. It was about 4:30 now.


I took a bath and then shaved, brushed my teeth, and combed my hair. Now I was ready for supper at the motel cafeteria. The cafeteria was almost empty when I arrived. The waitress took my order right away, and while I waited for it to be cooked, I partook of some selections from the salad bar. The main course consisted of hamburger steak, baked potato, salad, and bean soup. The steak was tender and tasty, and the potato was large enough to cover the length of the plate. It was about 6:00 when I finished eating. When I left, the size of the crowd had increased, although there were several tables still empty.


With supper out of the way and feeling better because of it, I drove to the Famous Recipe chicken place, a few blocks from the motel, and bought my box of chicken for eating at the Speedway tomorrow. I then returned to my room and caught up on some of the reading material I had brought from home. My period of reading was broken by intermittent TV viewing.


Earlier in the evening, it started raining while I was taking a bath and cleaning up, and continued through most of the evening. While it didn’t cancel any of my plans for the evening, I was more concerned about it affecting my plans for tomorrow.


At 10:00, I watched the news which included a report of the day’s time trials, the drivers’ meeting, and a few other items of interest about the race. When that was over, I made sure I had everything packed and ready to go in the morning, and then set my alarm clock for 4:30, turned off the lights, and retired for the night.


When the alarm went off, I lay in bed about a minute, and got up and shaved, combed my hair, and then dressed. It was a couple minutes before 5:00 when I left my room, and the sun had just risen to start another race day. The cafeteria was just opening for business when I arrived, but there were already about a dozen customers ready to eat breakfast and get on their way to the race. My breakfast included pancakes, hash brown potatoes, orange juice, and two cups of coffee. It was a good breakfast, and when I finished I went back to my room, brushed my teeth, and then got my equipment and went to the car. Several of the people I saw in the cafeteria were also leaving. It was 5:38 when I left the motel parking lot.


I drove south about a mile, took the Indianapolis turnoff, and a few seconds later was on I-74 and driving to the race. Almost every car I met looked as if its passengers had the same destination I did. As I drove, I listened to an Indianapolis radio station, whose entire program pertained to the race. It included several weather and traffic reports.


It was 7:00 when the traffic slowed down and it was bumper to bumper then. This started just before reaching the I-465 interchange. The traffic moved slowly, but there were no long, irritating waits, and at 7:33, I ended my trip at the Lion’s Club parking lot on the northwest corner of Crawfordsville Road and Lynhurst Drive, the same place I parked for the time trials. I paid my $6 fee, made sure I had everything and that the car was locked, and then started my walk to the main gate.


Before going to the Speedway, I stopped at White Castle and had my thermos bottle filled with coffee and then stopped at Rosner’s Drug Store for a couple minutes. I looked at my pocket watch and it was 8:15 when I went through the turnstiles. Just a few feet inside the gate, I bought a newspaper and four souvenir programs. Then I took the long walk to the Gate 6 underpass and a few minutes later, I was on the infield.


I stopped briefly at the gift shop, used the men’s room for the last time until after the race, and then started walking to my seat. The traffic was elbow to elbow in places now. When I reached the far north end of the Tower Terrace seats, I handed my ticket to the gateman. He tore off one of the stubs, and I proceeded in. It was 8:50 when I arrived at my seat, the same one I’ve had since 1967 – Section 47, Row J, Seat 5.


It felt good to sit down and get off my feet for a few minutes, and to take in the panorama of sights and sounds around me. After a few minutes’ rest, I took a walk along the pit area fence to see what was happening. There were famous people walking through the pit area and being interviewed on the PA system while the pit crews made last minute checks on their cars. Because there was little for the drivers to do now, almost all the personnel working on the cars were pit crews and car owners. All of this pit activity, plus the sound and color of the numerous marching bands, provided fans on the main straightaway with plenty of action and excitement.

It was 9:40 when I arrived back at my seat. Five minutes later, PA announcer Tom Carnegie directed the pit crews to push their cars onto the track and into starting positions as the Purdue University Band played “On the Banks of the Wabash.”


At 10:00, the parade of celebrities around the track began. Among some of the celebrities this year were Peter Marshall, Kent McChord, and Loni Anderson. While this was happening, my two race companions, Barbara and Malcolm McKean from church, arrived to occupy their seats. We exchanged greetings and talked about the race, etc, and then watched the activity on the track.


At 10:30, USAC officials made an inspection trip of the track and said it was ready for racing. This was especially important this year since it had rained the night before and didn’t stop until 5:00. Luckily the sun came out and stayed out to evaporate the moisture.


At 10:45, the huge crowd rose in unison as the “Star-Spangled Banner” was played. It remained standing for the pronouncement of the invocation and the playing of “Taps”, in keeping with the theme of Memorial Day. It was now time for the last familiar song, as the pre-race excitement was reaching its peak. About a minute later, the bank played “Back Home Again in Indiana” as the spectacle of balloons was released behind the control tower and rose skyward, to the pleasure of the crowd.


Now it was time for the big moment. Tom Carnegie excitedly introduced Mary Hulman, who gave her deceased husband’s famous command “Lady and gentlemen, start your engines!” The roar of the engines filled the air as thousands of spectators, including Malcolm and me, cheered and applauded their approval. One member of each pit crew raised an arm to indicate his car was ready to go. About two minutes later, the black and silver Ford Mustang pace car, driven by former world racing champion Jackie Stewart slowly pulled away, followed by two additional pace cars which ran side by side behind Jackie to create a V-formation. Jim McElreath’s car was the only one that didn’t start and it was still in the pits. It finally started and Jim sped through the pit area to try to catch up with the field. All eyes were on the fourth turn and a loud cheer came from the crowd as the cars went by us to finish the warm-up lap and start the parade lap. As the pace car came through the fourth turn, the two secondary pace cars came through the pit area and left the one car to pace the last lap. With the parade lap completed, the official pace lap began. The 35 cars lined up in their 11 2/3 rows provided a spectacular sight for the fans to see. Malcolm and I nervously cuffed our hands and tapped our feet as we waited out the last few seconds. Another huge cheer came from the crowd as the pace car came though the fourth turn and sped through the pit area. Row by row, the cars came out of the turn and slowly started picking up speed as everybody looked at starter Pat Vidan to see what would happen. When the front row was within a few feet of the start-finish line, Pat waved the green glad and the race was on!


The front row of Mears, Sneva, and Al Unser stayed that way almost all the way to the first turn before Unser swung across to beat the other two there. Sneva was second and Mears third. As they came down to complete the first lap, Al had increased his lead to almost a full second over Sneva. Mears was third and was followed by AJ Foyt, Johnny Rutherford, Bobby Unser, Gordon Johncock, Johnny Parsons, Wally Dallenbach, and Lee Kunzman.


Al increased his speed by about a second on the second lap as the crowd let out a moan. Janet Guthrie was going real slow and was the last car across the starting line. The next time around, she pulled into her pit and was done for the day. The cause of her departure was a broken piston. It was a most stunned and disappointed crowd and pit crew that saw her pushed back to the garage area after only three laps.


Four laps later, George Snider was out with valve trouble. This was George’s 15th race and he was in the race only because there was a fifth qualifying day. Now, after having so much trouble getting in, he was finished after only seven laps.


At ten laps, Al Unser was still leading, and his 187.688 mph average was a new record for that distance. Behind Al were Mears, Sneva, Rutherford, Johncock, Foyt, Bobby Unser, Dallenbach, Parsons, and Kunzman. Johnny Parsons made his first pit stop on lap 15, but ran only two more laps. His car had a burned piston. Also out of the race after 17 laps with a burned piston was Jerry Sneva.


As twenty laps went by, Al Unser was still leading. In fact, his lead over Mears had increased to six seconds. The rest of the top ten behind Al and Rick were Sneva, Johncock, Rutherford, Bobby Unser, Foyt, Dallenbach, Sheldon Kinser, and Mike Mosley. Al pitted on his 25th lap and had hardly gotten back on the track when the first yellow light of the race came out. Cliff Hucul’s car had stalled on the track and needed a tow-in. This yellow period initiated a new race procedure. For the first time ever, a pace car would be used to police the “pack up” rule in which all drivers must close up in single file behind the leader. The pace car was driven by 1960 race winner Jim Rathmann, with USAC registrar Bob Cassidy as his passenger. He waved each car past him until the lead car was directly behind him. Then the other cars followed in single file.


At 30 laps, the top ten were Al Unser, Mears, Sneva, Rutherford, Bobby Unser, Foyt, Johncock, Dallenbach, and Kinser. After three laps, the pace car pulled off the track and the green flag was displayed again. Al Unser gradually increased his lead to 14 seconds at 42 laps, but then the yellow flag came out again. Sheldon Kinser had stalled on the track, which brought out the yellow. A couple laps later, Wally Dallenbach came bouncing through the pit area with his right rear tire missing. His remarkable job of keeping the car under control evoked a large applause from the crowd.


At 50 laps, ¼ of the race, nine cars were out of the race. The first ten positions were held by Al Unser, Rutherford, Bobby Unser, Sneva, Foyt, Mears, Johncock, Mosley, Danny Ongais, and Vern Schuppan. The only change in positions during the next ten laps came when Ongais passed Mosley for eighth place. Al Unser made his third pit stop on his 69th lap and was away in 14 seconds. Bobby Unser was the leader for four laps, and then Mears for three laps until he pitted and Al took the lead again.


With 80 laps gone, Al had set a new record for that distance with a 164.131 mph average. Brother Bobby was second, and they were followed by Rutherford, Mears, Foyt, Sneva, Ongais, Mosley, Schuppan, and Johncock. Shortly past the 90 lap mark, the third yellow light of the day came on when Larry Dickson stalled on the track and required a tow-in. This brought on a real busy period in the pit area. Among those who came in was Foyt. He killed his engine and by the time his crew got it started again and pushed him out, he had fallen from 3rd to 6th position.


Meanwhile, after 66 laps, John Mahler was done for the day. John was the last qualifier on the last regularly scheduled day of qualifying, but his hopes were ended now.


Larry Dickson’s stall was caused by a broken fuel pump belt, and he was credited with 86 laps for 24th position.

On his 90th lap, Eldon Rasmussen had to retire because of a broken exhaust header. Eldon started last among the original 33 starters and was in last place when he retired.


It was about this time that one of the most dramatic events of the race occurred. Al Unser made a routine pit stop, but two laps later, he returned to his pit. Smoke was coming from the right corner of the rear of his car. A couple laps later, a small fire could be seen as he came down the straightaway. The crowd came to its feet and moaned in disbelief as Al’s speed dropped remarkably. Starter Pat Vidan waved the black flag and a couple laps later, he came back to his pit. He sat in the car about a minute, and then was told the car was done for the day. A transmission seal had broken and ignited because of the heat. It was a bitter disappointment to the man who had led almost every lap, except when he was in the pits.


At 100 laps, or half the race, the first ten were Bobby Unser, Mears, Al Unser, Tom Sneva, AJ Foyt, Ongais, Mosley, Johncock, Howdy Holmes, and Pancho Carter.


While Al Unser was still in his pit, the yellow light had come on again. Phil Threshie had stalled on the track and had to be towed in. The green light came on again on lap 107 and Bobby Unser was now the leader. At 110 laps, Bobby was first, with Mears second, and Sneva four seconds behind him.


As the 300 mile mark approached, Phil Threshie was able to get back into competition after a new magneto was put into his car. The standings were now Unser, Mears, Sneva, Foyt, Ongais, Mosley, Johncock, Holmes, Carter, and Vukovich. There was some good racing at the front of the pack and the close competition made the race interesting for the spectators.


Another series of pit stops took place during laps 120-129. Sneva made a real bone-headed move and waited too long to come in. He ran out of fuel and had to coast to his pit. This cost him valuable time, and he was in sixth position when he returned to the track.


Bobby Unser remained ahead but Mears stayed within a couple seconds of him, thus giving Bobby no time to slow down a little bit.


Meanwhile, in the pit area, Vern Schuppan was forced out of the race after 111 laps with a broken transmission, and Pancho Carter had a wheel bearing go bad after 129 laps, ending his hopes for the day.


Unser and Mears continued 1-2, but Mosley, Ongais, and Foyt were putting on a good fight for third. At the 150 lap mark, or 375 miles, Unser was still leading with a new track record of 163.135 mph. He was followed by Mears, Sneva, Ongais, Foyt, Mosley, Johncock, Holmes, Bagley, and Vukovich.


All of the front runners were making pit stops now, but Unser and Mears were the last ones to do so. Just as they were coming into their pits, the yellow light came on, thus preventing anybody from gaining on them. The yellow was caused by Larry Rice, who, while in the second turn, had his car spin into the infield and then spun again and crashed into the wall. Larry was unhurt, but his car was damaged too much to continue. The green light came on again on Unser’s 163rd lap.


At 170 laps, Unser was still leading, but Mears was only 1.8 seconds behind him. Foyt was third, ahead of Ongais and Mosley. The remainder of the top ten included Sneva, Johncock, Holmes, Bagley, and Vukovich.

The close battles among the leaders continued as they neared the 180 lap mark. With less than 20 laps to go, the crowd came to life again when it was noticed that Unser was slowing down. On the 182nd lap, Mears took the lead as Unser lost fourth gear in his car, which caused him to lose about six seconds per lap.


Foyt was averaging almost 190 mph and on the 185th lap, he was 23 second behind Unser as Mears increased his lead to 25 seconds. The three front runners all pitted on the 187th lap, and as 190 laps became history, Foyt passed Unser to take second place.


Then a strange, almost unbelievable event occurred. Foyt started having car trouble. He slowed down considerably going into the first turn as white smoke seemed to be coming from under the rear of the car. Just as this happened, the yellow light came on. On his 189th lap, and in sixth position, Tom Sneva lost the rear wing on his Sugaripe Prune Special as he was going through the third turn. The car spun and crashed into the wall. He was stunned by the impact, but wasn’t injured, although the car was badly damaged. Jim Rathman took the pace car out again and the cars lined up behind it. Four laps later, the track had been cleared enough for the green light to come on. The pace car pulled in with five laps to go.


Because of the bunch-up procedure, Foyt was only six seconds behind Mears. His car still wasn’t running properly, and as Mears took the white flag, he had fallen to twelve seconds behind. About 45 seconds later, Mears came down the straightaway to receive the checkered flag and become the first new race champion since Johnny Rutherford in 1974. As the remaining cars crossed the finish line, they were also given the checkered flag, which ended the race for them.


A few seconds later, everybody started wondering what happened to Foyt. Pretty soon he came through the fourth turn and was hardly moving. As he continued, there was increasing doubt as to whether he would make it to the finish line. When he finally got there, the crowd gave him a tremendous ovation. As he waved in response, Mosley was speeding toward the finish line and arrived there only 2.34 seconds after Foyt. Mears took an extra lap around the track and then came slowly through the pit area on his way to Victory Lane, all the time waving to the fans as they gave him a warm applause.


For the first time in five years, since Johnny Rutherford won his first race in 1974, there was a new face in Victory Lane, and everyone, including me, was most happy about it. He was only the fourth driver in the last fifty years to win the big race on either his first or second attempt.


As the pit crews gather up their equipment and took it back to their garages, the huge crowd started its exit from the Speedway. Since I had eaten hardly anything during the race, I took out my chicken, coffee, and napkin, and enjoyed a late dinner. Barbara and Malcolm had brought some food too, and they likewise enjoyed their late dinner. For the first time since the start of the race, we could relax and enjoy our food and converse with each other without being interrupted by some race action or the roar of the engines.


It was about 2:30 when Barbara and Malcolm decided to leave. We exchanged farewells and then I finished my dinner and put all my equipment into my tote bag. I took one last look at the race track, the pit area, the control tower, and the thousands of spectator seats, and then left. The mob of people heading for the tunnel was almost elbow to elbow, but they moved quickly through the tunnel, and then thinned out somewhat when it reached the back of the grandstands.


When I went through the main gate, I crossed the street and stopped at the White Castle. The place was doing a good business, but I only had to wait a few minutes to receive my order of two hamburgers and a small Coca-Cola. The cold Coca-Cola really felt good. As usual, I had to be careful while walking along Crawfordsville Road to avoid being hit by impatient drivers, stepping on or tripping over beer cans, and slipping on the rocks.


It was between 4:00 and 4:15 when I arrived at the car. Most of the cars were gone but a few hadn’t left yet. I opened all the windows so that the hot air could escape and some new air could circulate. I waited a few more minutes and then at 4:26, I drove onto Lynhurst Drive and joined the crowd waiting to get to the intersection.

The traffic was bumper to bumper for several blocks on both streets, but the policemen finally let the southbound traffic go, and it took only a few seconds to get onto Crawfordsville Road. From there, the traffic moved pretty well, and in a few minutes I was on I-74 and heading for Danville. I turned on the air conditioning and in a couple minutes I was feeling better as I drove along and listened to the radio. It was a couple minutes before 6:00 when I crossed the state line, and at 6:10, my trip ended at the door of my room.


I took my equipment in with me and then I took off my shirt and shoes and lay on my bed for a few minutes. It really felt good to be on the bed in the cool room after being outside almost all day. About 7:00, I walked to the Eisner store and bought some macaroni salad, potato salad, and baked beans from the delicatessen section, and some milk. When I arrived back at my room, I turned on the TV set and watched it as I ate my supper. One of the Indianapolis stations had a program about the 500 Festival Parade, which I found real interesting and watched until 8:00. I wanted to watch the ABC-TV same day telecast of the race, but it wouldn’t come in, so I rushed over to the barroom and watched it there. I had to stand all the time and I couldn’t hear real well because of the talking and laughing but I enjoyed it enough to make it worth watching.


I went back to my room, and at 10:30, one of the Indianapolis stations had a one-half hour program of the day’s activities at the track with Tom Carnegie as the narrator. After the program, I did a little reading, and at 11:30, I turned off the lights and got under the covers, ending my race day in the exact spot it had started nineteen hours earlier.


Between 6:15 and 6:30 the next morning, I awoke and felt quite refreshed. I got up, took a bath, shaved, and washed my teeth, and that made me feel even better. I checked everything in my room to be sure I hadn’t left anything, turned in my room key, and at 7:28, started my trip home.


I stopped at the first Standard station that was open, which was in Georgetown. The attendant said his supply was tight, but didn’t restrict me to a certain amount of gasoline. I felt better with the tank full, knowing for sure I could go all the way home. My next stop was the Colonial Kitchen.


It was 8:12 when I arrived. There were a few other customers there, most of them being farmers having their Monday morning coffee. I ordered pancakes, hashed brown potatoes, orange juice, and coffee. It was a good breakfast, and at 8:45, I left and started the last part of my trip home on Route 36. It was shortly after 10:00 when I reached Decatur, where there were many people making use of Lake Decatur. At 11:28, I pulled into my driveway. My 25th trip to see the big race was over, and like the other 24 before it, it provided me with many memories.


EPILOGUE


On Monday night at the Victory Banquet, the Speedway distributed a record purse of $1,271,954.54, of which $270,401 went to winner Rick Mears. In only his second year, he had what might be called a perfect year, both starting and finishing first.


For maybe the first time in his racing career, AJ Foyt was happy to finish second in a race. His spectacular, creeping finish provided the large crowd with one of its most exciting moments of the race. One thing is certain – if the race had been one lap longer, he would have finished lower than second as he was only 2.34 seconds ahead of Mike Mosley when he crossed the finish line.


After 11 disappointing years, Mike Mosley was finally able to finish a race, and gave an excellent account of himself in doing so. He is a fine driver, but usually had mechanical trouble or chased, thus preventing him from finishing the race.


Danny Ongais deserves special mention. After his crash on the first scheduled day of time trials, it was with some difficulty that he obtained a medical clearance to qualify the second weekend. When this problem was solved, he qualified on the last scheduled day at 188.099 mph and started 25th. He moved up steadily during the race and finished a fine fourth.


Bobby Unser led 88 of the 200 laps, but like brother Al, this was not the year for another Unser victory. Bobby had the 4th fastest qualifying time in his Norton Spirit and appeared to be on his way to his third victory but when trouble struck late in the race, he had to settle for fifth place.


Gordon Johncock finished sixth in his fifteenth race. He drove the North American Van Lines car with master mechanic George Bignotti as his chief mechanic.


Seventh-place finisher Howdy Holmes was the only rookie in this year’s race and for doing such a good job, he was given the Rookie of the Year award.


Bill Vukovich deserves special attention as well for starting in 34th position and rising all the way to eighth place when the red flag came out. The veteran chief mechanic AJ Watson headed the pit crew.


Tom Bagley finished ninth in his second year at the Speedway. He was in that position after 130 laps and remained there for the rest of the race.


Spike Gelhausen finished tenth in his No. 19 Sta-On car. He started in thirty-first position and gradually increased his position during the race.


The practice and qualifications periods were some of the most controversial in Speedway history. The trouble started a week or so before the Speedway opened when USAC officials rejected the entries of six CART teams, involving nineteen cars. An Indianapolis Federal Court judge said USAC couldn’t do this and the CART entries were reinstated.


During the time trials, it was discovered that several teams had modified their turbocharger assemblies to override the allowable boost. This brought about disallowed qualifying runs, leveling of fines, lawsuits, and an additionally qualifying session.


It made everybody unhappy, including the fans whose money keeps racing alive. There were times when I wondered if there would be a 500-mile race this year. The exciting and interesting race made the fans temporarily forget about the pre-race problems; however, the problems remain.


The CART-USAC war shows no signs of easing. Nobody is predicting when, if ever, the two factions will come together again as one group. I hope it is soon. I hope that future races will be much less controversial than this year’s race. In addition to ending the USAC-CART problem, there needs to be a greater application of fair and equal rules to everybody.


The Indianapolis 500 has long been the greatest racing event in the world, and I, along with every other racing fan, hopes it continues that way for a long time.


Pace Car – Ford Mustang

500 Festival Queen – Carol Orem

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Indy Journal - 1978

1978

A first day of qualifying unlike any others I had attended and the contrast in weather of the first scheduled qualifying day and of race day were events to remember about this year.


On Friday, May 12, I left Mark and John, my two children, off at the house of Mrs. Frances Turner, their regular babysitter, and left for Indianapolis about 9:15. I traveled old Route 36 to Decatur and arrived at the Colonial Kitchen about 11:45. For dinner, I had a couple cups of coffee and a sweet roll. The light lunch gave me a lift as I continued on Rt. 36 until I came to the I-465 interchange west of Indianapolis. I went north on I-465 until it intersected with I-65, and then stayed on I-65 until I arrived at the Holiday Inn at Lebanon.


The desk clerk confirmed my reservation, and then I went to my room and got cleaned up. It was about 3:30 when I arrived at the Speedway Museum parking lot. After a cursory tour of the gift shop, I walked over to the Tower Terrace area and watched some of the drivers turn in practice laps.


I ran into a friend of mine from the Post Office, Ron Atkins, who was there with his wife and their two children. He and his wife had passes to the garage area, but since she didn’t want to use her’s right then, she loaned it to me, and Ron and I took a quick tour of the area.


Some good lap speeds were being turned, but the biggest cheer from the crowd came shortly before closing time when Mario Andretti turned a lap at 203+.


The track closed at 6:00, after which I drove to the Speedway Shopping Center where I ate supper at the MCL Cafeteria. Feeling better now with a full stomach, I walked around for a few minutes and did a little shopping before returning to the car. The car was our 1975 Chevrolet Caprice Classic.


About the time I reached the I-465 interchange, the radio station I was listening to started broadcasting the possibility of heavy rain and tornadoes hitting the Indianapolis area. The unwelcome weather was scheduled to arrive about 8:00, which was when I would arrive at the motel. When I reached Lebanon, I stopped at a Standard Service Station for fuel. While I was there, the first drops arrived. I went back directly to the motel and barely got my room door shut when the clouds opened up. As the rain continued, the temperature dropped and the wind increased.


Before settling down for the night, I took a little walk and saw some of the facilities of the motel. The front end had a registration area, restaurant, bar, and dance hall. There was a breezeway that led to the recreation area, which consisted of a children’s play area, a pool table, sauna baths, swimming pool, and snack area.

It was about 8:30 when I returned to my room. I did some newspaper and magazine reading, set the alarm clock for 5:00, and then about 10:00, retired for the night.


In the morning, I woke up, got myself cleaned up, had a pancake and sausage breakfast in the motel restaurant, returned to my room for a few minutes, and then left for the Speedway about 6:45. The weather was generally the same as the night before, although the wind speed had decreased and the rain was a steady, heavy drizzle. The prospects of seeing any activity on the race track were dim, but of course, nothing is certain with the weather.


The traffic around the Speedway was so light that a person hardly knew anything unusual was happening in the area. I parked in the bank parking area at Lynnhurst and Crawfordsville Road and then walked to the main gate. The grandstands had a few people in them, but the uncovered seats were almost entirely empty. The weather precluded any activity on the track, but it provided a gold mine for the gift shops, cafeteria, and anybody else selling anything. I went to the photo shop to buy some batteries for my movie camera, and while I was there, I looked through a large collection of Speedway pictures that were for sale. After that, I did something I had wanted to do for many years. I got a look at the main straightaway from different angles, including the upper deck on the first turn, the upper deck at the start-finish line, and sections H and J. It was an interesting experience, but of course it would have been more so if there had there been race cars on the track.


As the hours slowly passed by, the weather showed no signs of improving, and at 3:15, Chief Steward Tom Binford announced that the track was closing for the day. With three extra hours I hadn’t planned for, I decided to go to the Lafayette Square Shopping Center north of the Speedway on 38th Street. It turned out to be a real pleasant time. I bought Dixie a Mother’s Day gift and some toys for Mark and John. Because of the bad weather, I didn’t expect many people to be there, but to my surprise, they were almost wall to wall everywhere. It was one of the most enjoyable shopping trips I have ever had. I had no children crying or fussing about anything or wanting me to buy them something. I didn’t have to keep one eye on the clock to be sure to be somewhere by a certain time. I could stay until closing time if I wanted and browse at my own leisurely pace.

I ate supper at the MCL Cafeteria in the shopping center between 7:00 and 7:30, and then went back and did some more browsing. It was about 8:00 when I left for the ride back to the motel. The weather hadn’t improved any, and now it was unpleasantly cool and windy. I drove south on Georgetown Road to the three-way intersection at the main entrance to the Speedway, and then turned right onto Crawfordsville Road.


Upon returning to the motel, I took a little walk to see what was happening. The restaurant was pretty quiet, but the bar was doing a good business. The ballroom was occupied by what seemed to be a high school prom. I went back to my room, did some reading, watched TV for a while, took a bath, and then went to bed.

On Sunday morning, I got up, got dressed, checked out of the motel, and started my trip home. I took the same route returning as I did coming, and when I reached the Colonial Kitchen, I stopped for breakfast.


While I was sitting at my table, I looked over and saw two women sitting in one of the booths. They looked familiar to me, but I couldn’t think how I knew them and I was too hesitant to go over and talk to them. Two weeks later, in church, I saw the same two women. This time I went over and talked to them. I explained the situation and they said it was they whom I had seen two weeks earlier. The remembered seeing me and they, too, were too hesitant to come over and talk to me. It was about 12:45 when I arrived home and ended my enjoyable, but unforeseeable, trip.


A few days earlier, I had made my list of equipment to take with me, and on Saturday morning, May 27, I got out one of my suitcases and put everything in it that was on my list. I ate dinner with Dixie and the boys, and then at 1:12, I said goodbye to them and started on my 24th trip to the big race.


Due to sentimentality, I drove on old Route 36 to Decatur, instead of the new four-lane road. As I drove on, I often thought of the many times I had traveled on this road to the big event, particularly with dad and Bobby. It was 3:36 when I reached the Colonial Kitchen and decided to stop for a little break. I had a couple cups of coffee and two dips of vanilla ice cream. The cafeteria was crowded, but there were several farmers at one table having their afternoon coffee break.


At 3:51, I left Route 36 and headed north on Route 1. Traffic was quite heavy in some areas. Many people were enjoying the warm weather and the beginning of the three-day weekend. I reached Danville about 4:30 and it was 4:34 when I arrived at the Holiday Inn Motel. I checked in at the registration desk, and then I went to my room and checked on things. Everything looked good so I took a bath and put on some clean clothes, which made me feel considerably better.


It was about 5:45 when I arrived at the Boston House for supper. The hostess seated me and the waitress handed me a menu for me to look at. I had hoped to have liver and bacon as I had the last two years, but I was disappointed to find a different menu this time – one without the liver and bacon listed on it. I asked the waitress what was happening, and she said she was sorry, but the hostess had made the change. I didn’t see much that appealed to me, but ordered roast beef and all the trimmings. The trimmings included baked potato, coffee, ice cream, and whatever I wanted from the salad bar. The food was good, but I still missed the taste of the liver and bacon.


When I left the restaurant at 6:30, I drove over to the Famous Recipe chicken store and bought a box of chicken to take to the race for my lunch. From there, I went to the Standard Service Station about a block from the motel and had the gas tank filled. With those two important jobs done, I was ready to return to my motel room and retire for the night. I had brought several newspapers and magazines I wanted to read, and with nobody to bother me, this was a good time to do it.


At 10:00, I turned on the TV set to see if there was any race news. All of the Indianapolis stations had stories about the upcoming event, including the drivers meeting and the 500 Festival Parade. It made for interesting viewing. Sometime between 11:00 and 12:00, I turned off the lights for my night’s sleep, although I wasn’t as tired as I normally am at this time of the day.


My alarm clock rang at 4:45. I got dressed, washed my face, shaved, combed my hair, and then walked to the Boston House for breakfast. For breakfast, I had pancakes, sausage, hash brown potatoes, coffee, and orange juice. It was a good beginning of the long day. When I finished I returned to my room to brush my teeth, and then checked to see that I had everything I needed for the long day ahead.


It was 5:56 when I drove out of the motel parking lot to start my trip to the Speedway. The traffic on I-74 was fairly heavy and most of the people looked as if they were going to the big race too. The traffic moved well until I reached the I-465 interchange, and then it seemed to stop almost at once.


From here on the traffic moved slowly, but quite well. Considering the large amount of cars, I thought the police did a good job of moving them. As I approached Lynnhurst Drive, I moved into the left lane, made my turn, paid my $5.00 parking fee, and then was directed to my parking space. It was 7:56 when I turned the engine off, two hours to the minute after I left the motel.


I locked the car, got my tote bag from the trunk, and started my walk to the Speedway. The north side of Crawfordsville Road looked much the same as it had for the past 23 years – empty beer cans, vendors selling their merchandise, people sleeping in trucks, cars, cans, and on the ground, while some of the others were trying to either sell or buy tickets for the race, and everybody looking forward to a big day at the Speedway.


I took a few pictures of the entrance area and then at 8:30, I handed my ticket to one of the ticket-takers and made my entrance on the Speedway grounds. The area behind the straightaway grandstands was bustling with activity as the size of the crowd seemed to increase. At the end of the long walk, I turned right and walked through the tunnel to the infield. I went into the gift shop behind the Control Tower but it was so hot and crowded that I only stayed a couple minutes. The heat was getting bad and there were many cold drinks being consumed.

By now, it was after 9:00 so it was time for me to get to my seat. Before going to my seat, I bought a small cup of Coca-Cola at the concession stand behind the far north end of the Tower Terrace section. It was between 9:15 and 9:30 when I arrived at my seat. I put my equipment under my seat and then sat down for a few minutes. I again had the same row J, and the same seat (5), as I’ve had since 1967, but I was in section 47, instead of 43, as in previous years. Actually all three were the same. Since last year’s race, a new addition had been built on the south end of the Tower Terrace. Consequently, all the old area had its section numbers raised by four.


The main straightaway was aglow with activity. All the cars were in their pit area and being checked over by the pit crews. On the track itself, several bands were performing for the spectators. I took a walk along the fence down to the entrance to Gasoline Alley. There was some last minute work being done in the pit areas. As I was walking back to my seat, the announcement came over the PA system for all cars to be pushed onto the track and into their starting positions.


At 10:00, the caravan of celebrities formed and drew cheers from the Tower Terrace fans as it headed for the track. As the caravan moved, the Purdue University Band played the first of the traditional songs, “On the Banks of the Wabash.” Among the celebrities touring the track was Louis Meyer, who won the race 50 years ago in 1928. He drove the golden Miller Special with which he won the race, and received a warm ovation from everybody. Among the celebrities were U.S. Senator Barry Goldwater, country singer Roy Clark, and TV star Norman Fell.


By now, my two race companions, Malcolm and Barbara McKean, from Central Baptist Church, had joined me for the big race. They are big race fans just as I am.


At 10:30, USAC officials made their final inspection of the track and pronounced it fit for racing. The huge crowd rose in unison at 10:45 for the playing of “The Star-Spangled Banner,” and remained standing for the invocation, which was given by a local minister. A minute later, this was followed by “Taps” in keeping with the true meaning of Memorial Day. It was now time for the final traditional song, “Back Home Again in Indiana,” sung this year by noted singer, Jim Nabors. The prerace excitement reached its climax as the big moment was only a couple minutes away now. There was much speculation about who would give the famous command this year. This, of course, was the first race since the death of Speedway president Tony Hulman in October. There had never been a public announcement about who was to do the honors. At 10:53, the speculation ended as one of the track announcers, Jim Philippe, introduced Tony’s widow, Mary, who gave the command, “LADY AND GENTLEMAN, START YOUR ENGINES!”


The engines came to life and one member from each pit crew raised an arm to indicate his driver was ready to go. In a departure from tradition, there were three paces cars this year instead of one. The Chevrolet Corvette cars were driven by 1960 winner Jim Rathman, astronaut Frank Borman, and Tony Hulman’s grandson Tony George. Rathman was in the lead car with Speedway president Joe Cloutier and was followed by Borman and George, who paralleled with each other and formed an upside-down V with Rathman.


Thirty-two of the cars started right away, but John Mahler, starting in 17th position, had trouble with his car, but finally got started before the field completed the first parade lap.


The black and silver Corvette, along with a multitude of colors on the cars, made a beautiful sight for the fans to behold, and the steady, low roar or the engines in unison added to the pleasure. Before the green flag had flown, Gary Bettenhausen stopped at his pit for a few seconds and then roared away to catch up with the rest of the field. At the end of the second lap, Borman and George got off the track and left Rathman to pace the cars to the start. Everybody on the straightaway stretched their necks to see the field come through the fourth turn. A big roar came from the huge crowd as Jim Rathman pulled off the track and hurried through the pit area. The front row of Tom Sneva, Danny Ongais, and Rick Mears led the field to the starting line, and just before they got there, starter Pat Vidan waved the green flag and the race was on!


Ongais jumped into the lead with Sneva second, but Mears had trouble and fell behind somewhat. As they came down the straightaway to the finish line, Ongais had a big lead over Sneva. The remaining eight in the top ten were Johnny Rutherford, Gordon Johncock, Al Unser, Mears, Johnny Parsons, Wally Dallenbach, Larry Dickson, and Steve Krisiloff.


At the end of the second lap, the yellow light came on, the reason being that Sheldon Kinser had stalled and was in the infield. His car was towed back to his pit, and as Ongais came by to finish lap four, the green light came on again. Along with Kinser in the pits were Gary Bettenhausen and Salt Walther. Kinser’s crew worked on the car for a few seconds and then sent him out again. As this happened, Cliff Hucul came in and was done for the day with a broken oil line. He finished only four laps and was awarded 33rd finishing position. Walther returned to the track after a four-minute stop, while the pit crew of Bettenhausen continued working on his car.


At the end of ten laps, the first five positions were held by Ongais, Sneva, Johncock, Rutherford, and Al Unser. The yellow flag came out for two laps for Kinser and when the green came out again on the 12th lap, Sneva jumped ahead of Ongais. However, within a couple laps, the two positions were reversed again. Kinser and his crew gave up for good after 15 laps and the car was retired with no oil pressure.


Jerry Sneva, starting 32nd, was finished after 18 laps with transmission failure, and rookie Phil Threshie was done after 22 laps with no oil pressure. After 20 laps, the leaders were Ongais, Sneva, Unser, Rutherford, and Johncock.


As the 25-lap mark approached, the pit area became quite busy. Sneva stopped and received fuel in only 13 seconds. Two laps later, Ongais pitted and had luck riding with him. The yellow flag came out again, this time because Spike Gehlhausen crashed in the second turn. Spike was only slightly injured, but the car was pretty badly damaged.


Salt Walther returned to the pits for a third time and finally called it quits after 24 laps with transmission trouble.

At 30 laps, there was a new leader, Steve Krisiloff. He had really been moving and now led Sneva, Ongais, Johncock, and Bobby Unser. One lap after Walther exited the pits, rookie Tom Bagley was through for the day with overheating problems. After 40 laps, or 1/5 of the race, Krisiloff had dropped to 11th place because of a pacer light infraction, and Ongais had regained the lead with Sneva, Johncock, Al Unser, and Bobby Unser behind him.


Between the 40th and 50th laps, almost all of the drivers made their second pit stops. Ongais and Sneva both were able to get in and out without losing their positions. On the 48th lap, the yellow flag was displayed again because there was some debris on the track and officials removed it before it caused any trouble. As Ongais completed his 52nd lap, the green light came on and full speeds resumed.


Danny increased his lead to 3.5 seconds over Sneva and Al Unser passed Johncock for third place. Behind these four were Bobby Unser, Wally Dallenbach, Mears, Krisiloff, Rutherford, and A.J. Foyt. In third place, Al Unser steadily moved up and on the 66th lap, he passed Sneva to take second place.


As the 75-lap mark appeared, so did the third round of pit stops. Ongais was the last of the leaders to stop. As he exited the pit area, Al Unser came charging down the straightaway in pursuit of him. The possibility of seeing a new leader brought the crowd to life. They weren’t disappointed as Al went into the lead and then increased it slightly.


At 80 laps, Al was 1.6 seconds ahead of Danny, and they, along with Sneva and Johncock, were the only drivers on the lead lap. The remainder of the top 10 included Bobby Unser, Mears, Rutherford, Dallenbach, Krisiloff, and Foyt.


Al increased his lead to three seconds and then the yellow light came on again on the 84th lap, again because of debris on the track. Several drivers took advantage of the slowdown and came in to top off their tanks. Two laps later, the green came on again and Al increased his lead to 15 seconds as Sneva and Johncock fall 30 seconds behind. He completed the first 100 laps in 1 hour, 37 minutes and was 21.6 seconds ahead of Ongais. Behind him in the top ten were Ongais, Johncock, Sneva, Bobby Unser, Rutherford, Dallenbach, Krisiloff, Mears, and George Snider.


Meanwhile, back in the pit area, John Mahler had to quit after 47 laps because of a broken timing gear. His pit area was directly in front of me and it was a disappointed crew and driver who had to admit defeat.


After 81 laps, veteran Roger McCluskey had to retire his AMC stock-block Eagle because of clutch failure. This was his 17th race and it was a disappointment to his many fans that he couldn’t have done better.


The next retiree from competition was popular Pancho Carter. Pancho was seriously injured while testing a car at Phoenix last year and was not expected to be racing for a long time. Through exercise and determination, he made a strong comeback, and his 196.829 mph qualifying run was one of the highest in the field. The cause of his trouble was listed as a broken exhaust header.


As the second half of the race began, Ongais started decreasing Unser’s lead, as it had gone from 21 seconds to 15 seconds at 106 laps. On the 108th lap, Al pitted for fuel and was gone after 13.6 seconds. On the next lap, Ongais pitted for 16 seconds, and the first ten at 110 laps were listed as Ongais, Unser, Johncock, Sneva, Dallenbach, Bobby Unser, Krisiloff, Rutherford, Foyt, and Snider.


Meanwhile, some more drivers had been forced from the race. Rookie Rick Mears was out after 104 laps with a blown engine. Rick made a big name for himself in practice and qualifying. He and Tom Sneva were teammates with the Penske cars. He had an outstanding run of 200.078 mph, which enabled him to start in third position and become the first rookie to start in the first row since Eddie Sachs in 1957.


Larry Dickson pulled in after 105 laps and was done for the day when his car lost its oil pressure. This was Larry’s first race since 1971, and he made a fine showing of himself.


Back on the track, Al Unser held a 15-second lead over Ongais. The standings at 120 laps were Unser, Ongais, Sneva, Johncock, Krisiloff, Dallenbach, Bobby Unser, Rutherford, Foyt, and Snider.


(By now, the heat was really making itself felt. Barbara, Malcolm, and I were all sweating and could feel it in our sticky clothes. The cold drink vendors were doing a good business. I had a thermos bottle of ice water, but I had to be careful and stretch it out over the full length of the race.)


Tom Bigelow was finished after 107 laps with a broken connecting rod in his Armstrong Wildcat.


Ongais continued to cut Unser’s lead and at 135 laps, he was less than 2 seconds behind Al. Two laps later, both of them came speeding through the pit area and stopped for fuel. Al got away a few seconds before Danny and increased his lead to six seconds, but Danny started catching up again.


Veteran Jim McElreath left the race after 133 laps with a blown engine. At 50 years of age, Jim was the oldest driver in this year’s race, and this was his 13th race. A few laps later, Dick Simon pulled into his pit area, and got out of his car, which had been disabled by wheel bearing trouble. This was Dick’s ninth race and one of his best finishes.


Ongais had closed the lead to 5.2 seconds when a huge groan quickly built up in the large crowd. Everybody jumped up to see what the trouble was. A few seconds later, the answer became apparent when Danny came through the pit area with grayish-white smoke coming from the rear of his car. His engine had blown and he was done for the day. It was hard to believe because he was moving up on Unser and had sounded fine the last time he went by. Everybody behind Danny gradually moved up a position, as Tom Sneva took over second position, 28 seconds behind Unser.


After 150 laps, there were fifteen cars left in the race. They were Unser, Sneva, Johncock, Krisiloff, Dallenbach, Bobby Unser, Foyt, Snider, Mario Andretti, Janet Guthrie, Larry Rice, Johnny Parsons, Rutherford, Jerry Karl, and Joe Saldana.


Back in the pit area, Mike Mosley was done for the day after 147 laps with gear box failure. This was Mike’s 11th race and he had yet to finish one, although most people agree he has the talent to do better. Two laps later, Gary Bettenhausen was done with a blown engine. He had trouble at the start of the race, but perseverance kept him in the race as he and his pit crew managed to go almost three-fourths of the race.


As the race entered the last quarter, Unser maintained his lead over Sneva and the rest of the field. At 170 laps, the difference between the two leaders was 28.86 seconds. The advent of the 180th lap means the final pit stop for most of the cars. The standings at this point were Sneva, Unser, Johncock, Dallenbach, Krisiloff, Bobby Unser, Snider, Foyt, Guthrie, and Larry Rice. Sneva was given credit for 1st place because he crossed the starting line first while on his way to his pit. Unser had trouble as he overshot his pit and almost ran over the fuel hose.


As the two front runners started their last 20 laps, Sneva started gaining on the leader. Was Al slowing down to save his engine or slowing down to conserve fuel? At 189 laps, the difference was 23.26 seconds and Tom was driving 7 mph faster than Al. The fans were getting a little excited.


On the 193rd lap, Al’s speed was only 177 mph and the difference was 17.1 seconds. At 195 laps, it was 14.6 seconds, which means Tom would have to gain three seconds on each of the remaining laps, a hard task to accomplish. On the 198th lap, Al’s speed was again 177 mph, and Tom was only 10.7 seconds behind him. The next time around, Al took the white flag and 9.9 seconds later, Tom did likewise. The huge crowd was standing now in anticipation of the winner. As he exited the fourth turn, they applauded, cheered, and waved as Al Unser came by and received the checkered flag in victory. Eight seconds later, Tom took the same flag for a fine second place finish.


Start Pat Vidan waved the checkered and red flags together ending the activity on the track. Unser rook an extra lap and pulled into victory lane for the celebration. As the remaining cars returned to their pits and turned off their engines, a strange silence returned to the Speedway.


While the pit crews pushed their cars and equipment back to the garages and Al Unser was driven around the track and interviewed over the PA system, I talked with Barbara and Malcolm and ate some of the fried chicken I had brought with me. Before they left, I went to the concession stand almost right behind section 47 and bought a Coca-Cola to drink with the chicken. Because of the high heat and humidity, cold drinks were being sold faster than they could be chilled, so my warm drink did little to help my dry throat.


While I consumed my chicken and drink, Barbara and Malcolm decided to leave, so we said goodbye until we met again. I took a last look at the almost empty seats along the straightaway and then started my exit from the Speedway.


Before leaving the infield, I went to the gift shop behind the Tower Terrace, but it was so hot and crowded that I only stayed a couple minutes and didn’t buy anything. As I got close to the main entrance, I heard what sounded like live music. I looked to the right and there were four men playing clarinet, trumpet, trombone, and bass violin. They were playing good music and attracting a sizable crowd.


It was hot walking along Crawfordsville Road, so I stopped at the Standard Service Station at Auburn St. and bought a can of Sprite. It wasn’t as cold as I wanted, but it still felt good and relived my dry throat a little bit. The heat and humidity were affecting everybody, as evidenced by the bedraggled appearances and short tempers. It was between 3:30 and 3:45 when I arrived at the car.


My feet were hot and tired, so I thought I would take my shoes off and rest in the car for a few minutes. That rest period lasted only a few seconds because the humidity was so high that my face started sweating profusely. I got out and stood by the car for a few minutes, then got back in, and at 3:55, I started the engine. Then I drove a few feet and started the long job of getting onto Lynnhurst Drive.


It was one of the most physically uncomfortable experiences I’ve ever had. The Lynnhurst traffic wasn’t moving one iota, so I couldn’t get onto the street. During this waiting period, the sweat on my back went through my undershirt, my shirt, and all of them stuck to the back of the seat. The sweat on my face further aggravated the situation. After several minutes, the traffic started moving, and I only had to wait a few seconds before some gentleman let me in the traffic.


It was a long time until I reached Crawfordsville Road, and when I got on it, the traffic was still bumper-to-bumper, but at long last, at 4:30, I reached the I-74 intersection and was on my way back to the motel. It had been an exasperating experience. While I was waiting in the traffic, I heard a radio announcer say it was 90 degrees.


Shortly after getting on I-74, I turned on the air conditioning. In a few minutes, I felt better than I had since early that morning. The car radio kept me entertained with different kinds of music and periodic stories of the race. It was about 5:45 when I crossed the state line and 6:00 when I arrived at the motel.


The first thing I did when I got to my room was to take off my shoes and shirt and rest on the bed for a few minutes. Then I walked over to the Eisner grocery store a half block north of the motel and got some food for supper.


My supper consisted of cold fried chicken, baked beans, macaroni, and a quart of milk. While I was eating, I watched part of the TV program “60 Minutes,” and about the time I finished eating, between 7:30 and 7:45, the telephone rang. It was Dixie. She called to see if everything was okay and how everything had gone at the Speedway. She told me that Springfield had received a heavy rain storm about an hour earlier, and then let me talk to Mark for a couple minutes.


When we finished talking, it was 7:45, fifteen minutes before the ABC-TV telecast of the race. I cleaned up my supper mess and then settled back to watch the race.


Unfortunately, the TV reception was poor. The picture was in and out and the audio portion was also poor. I still got to see portions of the action that occurred at places on the track I couldn’t see, so I was glad I was able to see at least part of the program.


After the network program, I watched another race program on one of the Indianapolis stations, which was narrated by Speedway PA announcer Tom Carnegie. By now, it was 11:00 and the eighteen-hour day was getting to me so I turned off the TV and lights and laid my head down to sleep.


It was about 6:30 when my day after the big day began. I took a bath, cleaned my teeth, shaved, combed my hair, and felt better for having done so. I put everything in the suitcase and carrying bag, checked the room to be sure I hadn’t forgotten anything, took my belongings to the car, and then checked out of the motel. It was 7:37 when I started my trip home.


The streets and highway had only real light traffic on this holiday morning. I stopped at a service station in Georgetown and was the first customer of the day. A few more miles of travel brought me to the Colonial Kitchen where I stopped for breakfast.


There were a few farmers having their early-morning coffee and a few other customers, but it wasn’t crowded. My breakfast consisted of pancakes, hash-brown potatoes, toast, coffee, and orange juice. The food made me feel somewhat better, and it was just about 9:00 when I left and started my western drive on Route 36.

The traffic remained light almost all the way, and it was 11:20 when I arrived home. Another memorable trip to the big race was completed.


EPILOGUE


At the victory banquet on the day after the race, Al Unser received the highest purse ever received by a race winner - $290,363 – out of a record purse of $1,145,225. This was Al’s third 500 victory and he became one of only four drivers to win that many races. It was his 13th race but, ironically, the first for his car owner, Jim Hall

Tom Sneva finished 8.19 seconds behind Unser, which was the second closest finish in the race history. For the second year in a row, Tom set new qualifying records, started on the pole position, and finished second. His qualifying records were 203.620 mph for one lap and 202.156 mph for the four-lap average.


Gordon Johncock made an excellent showing this year. He started sixth, finished third, and was never lower than fifth during the race. His car was tuned by six-time winning chief mechanic, George Bignotti.


In his best finish ever, Steve Krisiloff, a teammate or Johncock, finished in fourth position. Both Johncock and Krisiloff were penalized one lap for rule infractions. Had this not happened, the end of the race might have been even more exciting.


Bobby Unser finished fifth. Because of a misunderstanding with USAC officials, he started 19th, although he had the 8th fastest qualifying time on the first day of time trials. Wayne Leary was the chief mechanic and the car was a Dan Gurney owned Eagle.


Popular Wally Dallenbach finished sixth in his 12th race. His car was a McLaren Cosworth and had Jud Phillips as the chief mechanic.


Last year’s winner, AJ Foyt, had problems this year and was never a serious contender for victory. Like Bobby Unser, he had his problems with USAC officials. His 200.122 mph qualifying speed was second fastest (tied with Danny Ongais), but he started in 20th position because he qualified on the second day. On race day, he got as high as sixth, but on three of his pit stops, his engine died, and this was costly.


Veteran George Snider finished eighth in his 14th race. He was a teammate to Foyt.


Special mention must be made to ninth place finisher, Janet Guthrie. For a long time, it looked like the first lady in Speedway history would not be present this year because of no sponsorship. Texaco Oil came to her rescue and provided her with a car known as the Texaco Star. She started in 15th position and ran a steady, consistent race all day. Her fine showing was popular with the crowd and she received a tremendous ovation when she returned to her pit area at the end of the race. In a post-race interview, it was revealed that she had driven the race with a broken wrist, which she claimed she received two days before the race while playing tennis.


Finishing out the top ten was Johnny Parsons, who started in eighth position in his Lightning/Drake Offy.


In addition to Janet Guthrie, special mention must be made of Mario Andretti. He was considered a contender for the pole position, but both of the first two qualifying days were washouts. This was particularly difficult for Mario because he was scheduled to drive in the Belgian Grand Prix the following weekend. Because of this situation, car-owner Roger Penske had driver Mike Hiss qualify the car. According to USAC rules, Andretti had to start in last place. He moved up several positions during the early part of the race, but was plagued with mechanical problems and two long pit stops, and he eventually finished in 12th position.


Larry Rice and Rick Mears were co-rookies of the year. This was only the second time this ever happened, the other time being in 1961 when Bobby Marshman and Parnelli Jones shared the award. Mears made a name for himself in practice and qualifying, while Rice started in 30th position and drove a steady race to finish 11th, higher than any other rookie.


On April 23, just thirteen days before the Speedway opened for this year, the auto racing world suffered a terrible loss when eight of its top officials lost their lives in an airplane accident. The accident occurred that night about 30 miles southeast of Indianapolis when the officials were returning from the 200-mile championship race at Trenton, New Jersey. Among those killed were Frank Del Roy, USAC technical director; Ray Marquette, VP for Public Affairs; Stanley Warley, registrar; Shim Malone, midget supervisor and championship car flagman; Don Peabody, sprint car supervisor; Judy Phillips, typographist; Ross Teeguarden, deputy technical director; and Dr. Bruce White, USAC physician. They were all highly respected persons and their loss would be felt for a long time.


The 62nd 500-mile race is history now, and, like all other before it, provided many memories by which to remember it. Come next year, on the last Sunday of May, I again plan to be present for the running of the “GREATEST SPECATACLE IN RACING.”


Pace Car – Chevrolet Corvette

500 Festival Queen – Sherri Kallbrier