Saturday, February 21, 2009

Indy Journal - 1974

1974

The first year of my third decade at the Speedway was quite different from any of the twenty years that preceded it. There were changes not only at the Speedway and in the race, but also in some of my own personal habits.

Because of last year’s tragic race, there were many changes made to the physical plant of the Speedway. The outer retaining wall and the inner wall along the main straightaway were raised to a uniform height of 32 inches. In connection with this wall project, about 1,800 chair seats in front of the Paddock and Grandstand A were removed. These two projects were done in an attempt to prevent a recurrence of Salt Walther’s fiery crash of last year.

The pit area was extended 856 feet northward and this gives each pit crew about 35% more working area than they had previously. A new and wider pit entrance was also constructed just south of the fourth turn.

An observation stand was built on the outside of the track at the start-finish line. It is a two-level stand with the starter on the lower level and the chief steward on the upper level. This was done to give both of these officials a better view of the action on the main straightaway, particularly for the start of the race.

This was the first year in the history of the race that it was held on a Sunday. In previous years, when the race was on May 30th and that day came on Sunday, it was held on Monday, the 31st. I didn’t think the race would ever be run on Sunday, but now it has been and it may be the permanent day for the race. Next year’s race will be run on the last Sunday of May, also.

From a personal viewpoint, there were three changes that made this year different than any previous year. This was the first year I didn’t see the first day of time trials since I started seeing them in 1966. There were two reasons why I didn’t go – 1.) I didn’t want to use any annual leave at work, which I would have to have done and 2.) The cost of lodging for two nights was too much, particularly since I would be doing the same thing again in two weeks.

This was the first time I came home the day after the race instead of race day night. I decided I was tired of fighting the terrible traffic after the race and feeling worn out when I arrived home and also decided there was no reason why I had to tolerate these conditions.

The third big personal change this year was driving over and back by myself. After twenty years of seeing the race, Dad decided that because of his poor health, it would be better if he stayed home. Bobby also decided that it had become too much of a strain on her and it was time to stay home.

On Friday, the 24th, I packed as much of my equipment as possible and on Saturday, I finished the job. I decided to use our 1973 Chevrolet Malibu and it was the first time it had been to Indianapolis. On Saturday morning, I did a few little jobs around the house, got myself ready, ate dinner, put my equipment in the car, and at 1:35, I said goodbye to Dixie and started my trip.

I stopped at the Standard Station for gasoline, but they didn’t have any regular gasoline so I had to go to another Standard Station and this time I was able to get regular gasoline.

From the service station, located at Jefferson and McArthur Streets, I went north on McArthur to North Grand Ave., east on North Grand to 8th Street, north on 8th Street to Sangamon Ave., and then east on Sangamon Ave. until I left the city.

This was the first year of the 55 mph speed limit and it was aggravating not to be able to go 65 mph as I had done in the past. One sight I observed as soon as I left Springfield and noticed all the way to Indianapolis was the enormous amount of farm land under water. It was certainly distressing to see and I hope that I wouldn’t see any rain at least until after the race.

It was 2:30 when I arrived at Decatur, where everything looked about the same as it had in other years. I continued on my way and saw the same sights which I never tire of seeing. The Cardinals-Cubs baseball game was my listening entertainment as I traveled and then at 3:55, I arrived at the Colonial Kitchen at the 36-1-150 intersection.

There was scarcely anybody in the place and I sat at a table and had a cup of coffee and a dish of orange sherbet. The refreshments tasted good and after using the restroom I paid my bill and at 4:15, I resumed my trip.

For the first time since 1968, I continued on Route 36 instead of going north to I-74. I thought with the uniform 55 mph speed limit that there wouldn’t be much difference in the time. Also, I still enjoy seeing the little Indiana towns on the route and the pretty green scenery that is so prevalent at this time of the year in Indiana.

It was 4:25 when I crossed the state line and I encountered almost no heavy traffic the remainder of my trip. It was about 5:45 when I reached the I-465 intersection and saw the sign saying “SPEEDWAY” pointing to the right. I followed the road and went north a couple miles until I saw the “U.S. 136 EAST” sign and took it. A few seconds later, I was on Crawfordsville Road and stopped at the Standard Station across the road from Mario Andretti’s tire store. This station was also out of regular gasoline so I bought the low-lead type. I was really amazed when it only took 7.4 gallons to fill the tank. That averaged out to an incredible 25.6 miles per gallon. With the good feeling of having a full gasoline tank, I continued on my way and at 6:10, I arrived at Mrs. Bray’s house.

Mrs. Bray was happy to see me and said she thought I would be there earlier, but I told her I didn’t leave home as soon as I had planned and therefore I was late in arriving. We talked for a few minutes and then I took some of my equipment out of the car and carried it to the upstairs room, which was my home for about 1.5 days. I didn’t want to eat supper this early so I stayed for a few minutes in my room and read the newest edition of “National Speed Sport News”.

About 7:30, after I finished my reading, I decided it was time for supper, so I got in my car and went to the MCL Cafeteria, about a mile from Mrs. Bray’s house. There were several persons in the cafeteria but the line of customers moved right along and it didn’t take long to receive my meal. My supper was Swiss steak, baked potato, corn, rolls, and coffee. All of the food tasted good and I was fortunate to have a quiet, pleasant area in which to eat.

When I left the cafeteria, I did some window shopping at some of the sores in the shopping center and left about 9:00 because the stores were closing for the day. My stomach still didn’t feel quite full so I stopped at the Dunkin Donuts shop next to the Standard Service Station and bought four donuts, which I ate on my way back to the house.

Mrs. Bray had the television set on when I went into the house and highlights of Saturday afternoon’s 500 Festival Parade were being shown, so I watched that for about an hour and then went to bed. It wasn’t real late yet but I knew I’d be getting up early in the morning, so I decided I’d better go now and get a good night’s sleep.

It was about 5:30 when I opened my eyes and when I looked out the window, I was pleased with the weather. The sky was mostly blue with mo hint of rain. I lay in bed for a couple minutes and then got dressed and went downstairs to use the bathroom. It was a pleasant surprise when I found neither anybody in the bathroom nor anybody waiting to use it. I washed my teeth, shaved, combed my hair, and then took my cosmetics upstairs and put them away.

The next order of business was breakfast so I went downstairs and found an empty table and sat down. One of the ladies helping Mrs. Bray brought me a cup of coffee to drink while I was waiting for my food and a couple minutes later, she brought my food. Breakfast was two fried eggs, four pieces of bacon, two pieces of toast, and a second cup of coffee. It was a good breakfast and I felt better when I was finished. I sat and talked to another couple at the table for a couple minutes, then paid my $2.00 and returned to my room.

A few minutes before 8:00, I went to the car and gathered my belongings to take to the Speedway. These items included the movie camera, still camera, film for each camera, field glasses, thermos bottle, cupcakes from home, sunglasses, cap, and most important of all, my ticket. Somehow I managed to get all these items arranged in my carrying bag and at 8:00, I started my walk to the Speedway. Before I crossed Georgetown Road, I stopped at the White Castle eating place and had my thermos bottle filled with coffee.

There was a large crowd of people going through the entrances but the lines moved steadily and within a minute or so I was inside the Speedway grounds. My first stop was just a few feet inside the gate where I bought four souvenir programs. Just a short distance from where I bought the souvenir programs was an attraction which interested me and several other persons. It was an F-104 fighter plane. I recognized it immediately because I had seen them several times when I was stationed at George Air Force Base. I don’t know how it happened to be on display here, but it was a popular attraction. A few minutes later, I arrived at the tunnel by the starting line and walked under the track and up into the infield.

Instead of going straight to my seat, I decided to see what was happening in the area behind the control tower. There were a lot of people looking through the fence surrounding the garage area, although the cars were already in their pits. As I was walking toward the garage area, I happened to look to my left and just a few feet from me stood Tony Hulman, the president of the Speedway. He was talking to a couple men and signing his autograph for anybody who wanted it. He greeted everybody warmly and was popular with the fans.

Another attraction was the Scottish marching band. They were rehearsing their marching routine before they went onto the race track and were attracting a large audience which enjoyed their entertainment. The two Scottish dogs at the front of the parade were a popular subject for persons with cameras, including me. The band stopped for a rest period and the two dogs were surrounded with persons who wanted to pet them and take their picture. The dogs seemed to enjoy the humans as well as the humans enjoyed their company. After its break, the band practiced a few more minutes and then went onto the race track.

When the band left, I decided to go to the Tower Terrace area and see what was going on in the pit area and on the track. Instead of going to my seat first, as I had done in the past, I decided to do my sightseeing first and then go to my seat to stay for the rest of the day.

The pit area was abuzz with activity as the marching units paraded on the track and pit crews made final repairs and checks on their cars. I recognized several drivers, both former and present ones. Among the former ones I recognized were Sam Hanks, Duke Nalon, and Mark Donohue. The many famous celebrities, drivers, officials, cars, and marching units were popular subjects of camera fans. I watched the activity for quite a while and then about 9:15, I went to my seat.

This was the first time I met my two race companions. Since dad and Bobby did not attend the race this year, they asked my cousin, Ted Coy, and his wife, Margaret, if they would like to use their tickets. Ted and Margaret were real happy with the offer and bought the tickets within a few days. Because they left Springfield later than I did on Saturday and did not know where their lodging would be, I decided it would be easier for all of us if we met at our seats. Ted had gone to a refreshment stand to get some cold drinks for him and Margaret, so she and I talked for a few minutes until Ted returned.

Ted was a real interesting person to sit with and talk to, both before and during the race. He was thoroughly familiar with the cars and drivers, plus all the activity that had been going on at the Speedway up to race day. This made it real easy for the two of us to talk to each other.

Between 9:45 and 10:00, the P.A. announcer directed the pit crews to push their cars onto the track and into their starting positions. For those pit crews who were located near the center of the pit area, it was a long push to either end because of the increased length of the area this year.

The various celebrities from different areas of life were introduced to the fans and then driven around in Hurst/Olds official cars for everybody to see. Most of the names were ones I wasn’t familiar with.

The traditional first song played by the Purdue University Band, “On the Banks of the Wabash,” was played at 10:00 as the cars were being lined up on the track. At 10:30, the new chief steward, Tom Binford, and some other USAC officials took a final inspection trip of the track and pronounced it in excellent condition for racing.

A few minutes after the USAC officials returned to the starting line, the PU band played “The Star-Spangled Banner” and then a new pre-race ritual was initiated. A minister from one of the Speedway churches gave the invocation. Although I don’t know for sure, I assume this was done in observance of the race being held on Sunday.

To regress a little bit, at 10:30, the pit crews were allowed to start their engines and run them for a couple minutes. This was another new practice which was initiated this year. It was done in the hope that it might prevent any car from not starting at the regular starting time.

After the invocation was given, “Taps” was played in keeping with the true meaning of Memorial Day and then about 10:50, Jim Nabors sang the familiar “Back Home Again in Indiana.”

The long wait for the big moment was just about over. The crowd was noisy and restless as it waited out the last few seconds of quietude. Those few seconds passed quickly and then the P.A. announcer, Tom Carnegie, introduced Speedway president Tony Hulman, who pronounced those four famous words loudly and distinctly, “GENTLEMEN, START YOUR ENGINES!”

A couple seconds later, that wonderful sound of the engines pervaded the air to the pleasure of everybody. I immensely enjoyed just standing at my seat and listening to the drivers race their engines. This is the only time this can be done and I always enjoy it to the utmost.

One member of each pit crew help up one of his arms to indicate his car and driver were ready to go. A couple minutes later, the Hurst/Olds pace car, driven by 1960 winner, Jim Rathmann, slowly pulled away and one by one the cars were pushed away to start the parade lap. As is usually true, there was one car that wouldn’t start, and this year that unwanted honor went to Rick Muther, who started in the 24th position. His car was pushed to the inside retaining wall where his crew worked on it while the other 32 drivers lined up for the start. Rick finally got started as the field came into the fourth turn, and his crew immediately pushed him away.

As the field came down the main straightaway for the start of the pace lap, fourth place starter Gordon Johncock came through the pit area and stopped for a quick talk with his pit crew. A few seconds later he was back on the track. At about the same time, Rick Muter came flying down the straightaway in an attempt to get into position before the start.

A couple minutes later, the pace car appeared in the fourth turn and turned off into the pit area. Now it was up to pole position driver A.J. Foyt to pace the field to the starting line. The drivers had been told at the drivers meeting on Saturday that the end of the pace lap would not automatically be the start of the race. The field would have to be in correct formation or it would keep going until it was aligned correctly. As they approached the starting line, the drivers kept their good formation and just before the front row reached the line, starter Pat Vidan waved the green flag and the race was on.

Most of the fans were surprised when second place starter Wally Dallenbach jumped into the lead ahead of Foyt. Sharing equal concern with who took the lead was the question of whether everybody got through the first turn okay. When the P.A. announcer announced that everybody had gotten through the first two turns without any trouble, a big sigh of relief went through the crowd. If there had been a fiery mishap such as happened at the start of last year’s race, it would have cast a cloud of gloom over the remainder of the race and perhaps over any future race.

At the end of the first lap, Dallenbach held a big lead over Foyt and seemed to be pulling away from everybody else. His glory was brief, however, and on his third lap, he came slowly through the pit area and was finished for the day with a cracked valve.

At the same time, Dick Simon, Mario Andretti, and Gary Bettenhausen came into the pits and were finished before the race hardly started. Simon had a cracked valve, Bettenhausen had a broken valve, and Andretti had a burned piston. It was certainly disappointing to lose these drivers so soon.

Shortly after these four left the race, Mike Mosley had a blown engine after six laps, George Snider had valve trouble after seven laps, and on his eleventh lap, Rick Muther was finished with piston trouble.

When Dallenbach left, Foyt took the lead and maintained it through the 24th lap. He lost it on his first pit stop for two laps but then regained it when he returned to the race track.

Johnny Rutherford had started in 25th position, but was not fighting Foyt and Bobby Unser for the lead.

Foyt was in the lead from laps 27-49 and then Unser for laps 50-52.

In the meantime, Johnny Parsons, Jim Hurtubise, Larry Cannon, and Jimmy Caruthers had left the race. Cannon’s car stalled and this brought out the first caution flag of the day on the leaders’ 62nd lap. This was as far as anybody could remember the race going before the yellow flag was shown and was a good indication of how safe this year’s race was compared to last year.

There were several times after this when the yellow flag was shown, but none of the incidents were of a serious nature, and only one involved personal injury. On his 115th lap, Jerry Karl crashed into the wall in the third turn and suffered only a slight leg injury.

By now, Rutherford and Foyt were fighting for the lead with Foyt staying only a few seconds ahead of Rutherford. This battle continued for several laps and was a big crowd pleaser. On his 65th lap, Rutherford took the lead for the first time and held it through the 126th lap.

During this same time, Steve Krisiloff, Jan Opperman, Tom Sneva, and Jerry Karl had left the race.

Pit stops were more numerous this year than in any previous race. Each car was allotted a limit of 285 gallons of fuel, which meant the cars had to average at least 1.8 miles per gallon. This reduction in fuel also resulted in a reduction in speed.

On the 127th lap, Foyt regained the lead and maintained it for ten laps and then Rutherford led for one lap. About this time, smoke started coming from the engine of Foyt’s car, to the great disappointment of many fans. He was black-flagged and a couple laps later came into his pit. His crew worked on the car for a while and then sent him back onto the track, but the problem wasn’t solved. He was again black-flagged, and this time he went straight to the garage area and quit for the day. His problem was later determined to be a broken oil line in the turbo scavenger pump.

Rutherford regained the lead and I wondered if Lady Luck would finally smile on him and he could maintain the lead for the rest of the race.

In addition to Foyt, Al Unser, Salt Walther, and Roger McCluskey had made their exit from the race. Al had worked his way up to third position. It was real pleasing to see Walther go 141 laps after finishing less than one lap in each of his other two races, and particularly after his wonderful comeback from his fiery crash in last year’s race.

Rutherford’s good luck continued during the last ¼ of the race. Bobby Unser made a good effort at catching Johnny, but the fuel situation and the smooth operation of Johnny’s car prevented Bobby from getting into first place. Johnny was the first driver to cross the finish line and Bobby was 22.32 seconds behind him. The winner took an extra lap and then drove to Victory Lane and the audience gave him a tremendous ovation.

Finishing in third position was Bill Vukovich and last year’s winner, Gordon Johncock, took fourth place honors.

David Hobbs finished fifth, which is his best finish at the Speedway. He was the only foreign driver in the race and drove a good, steady race all day.

Jim McElreath came from 30th starting position to finish sixth, and Duane Carter Jr. finished seventh, which earned him the “Rookie of the Year” award.

Bob Harkey started 31st, in the last row, and moved up little by little to finish eighth.

Ninth position went to the hard luck driver of the Speedway and my perennial favorite, Lloyd Ruby. Once more Lloyd’s hopes were frustrated by bad luck. He started 18th and steadily moved up and at one time was third. His car ran smoothly all day and he appeared to have fourth position locked up until he pitted on his 188th lap with a dry fuel tank and no more fuel to put into it. His pit was directly in front of me and when he stopped and shut off his engine, he had to put his arms on the steering wheel to prevent his head from falling down with dejection. He sat like a statue for a long time and his eyes stared into space. His pit crew felt bad because they were helpless to do anything for him. When I realized what had happened, I couldn’t believe it. Eventually Lloyd got out of his car and helplessly watched his certain fourth place finish drop to ninth.

Jerry Grant finished in tenth place and completed 175 laps. Jerry had a sick engine for a long time and had to drive next to the inside wall in order to stay out of everybody’s way.

A few minutes after Johnny Rutherford was given the checkered flag, the remainder of the cars were given the red flag which meant the race was finished. Since speed and timing were no longer important, the drivers came slowly to their pit area and then lingered around for a while and talked to their pit crews. The tension and worry were over now and the name of the game now was relaxation.

Ted and Margaret stayed for a couple minutes and then decided to leave because they wanted to get on the road and started for home. I had really enjoyed having them for race companions.

The winner and his wife were driven around the track in the pace car for everybody to see and then he was interviewed by the press at the starting line. After this was done, I walked south along the pit area fence to the control tower and then went back to the garage area.

I had heard and read several times that the garage area restrictions are lifted after the race and anybody who wants to do so may go through the area. For many years, I had wanted to see this area but hadn’t been able to do so. Now my chance was here. There were several hundred other fans that had the same idea and the guards were only letting a limited number in so I waited a while and took in what action I could from behind the fence.

About an hour later, the crowd had decreased considerably and finally the guards decided to let in anybody who desired to do so. I took advantage of the situation and enjoyed it immensely. Several of the drivers had already changed into their street clothes and were visiting with the fans. I toured several garages and recognized several drivers, among whom were Bill Vukovich, Lloyd Ruby, John Martin, Jim Hurtubise, Bob Harkey, Dick Simon, Gordon Johncock, Duane Carter, and Wally Dallenbach. Jim Hurtubise and Lloyd Ruby were the most popular attractions and were kept busy signing autographs and talking about their bad luck in the race. Lloyd was still the same picture of dejection he was when he pulled into his pit after 187 laps with an empty fuel tank, but this didn’t diminish his popularity with the fans, including me. I was one of several fans who received his autograph on their souvenir programs.

By 5:00, the grounds were quite devoid of people, so I decided to take a couple more pictures and then leave. For the first time in all of my years at the Speedway, I was able to enter the pit area. Although there were no cars or equipment in the pits and the seats were almost empty, it was still a thrill to stand in the area and look north to the fourth turn and pretend there were cars coming down the straightaway. I took a picture of that scene and then returned to the infield where I took a picture of the high amount of trash on the inside of the first turn. It was between 5:00 and 5:30 now and I felt I had seen all I could see so I went back to the tunnel by the start-finish line and started my walk to the main gate.

It was a much quicker walk than any of my other post-race walks to the exit. There were almost no people and only a couple Speedway maintenance trucks along the way. The traffic on Georgetown Road to Auburn St. was heavy but not as heavy as it would have been immediately after the race.

When I arrived at Mrs. Bray’s house, I talked to Mrs. Bray for a few minutes and then went to my room and rested for a few minutes. I did a little reading and then dozed for a couple minutes. Shortly after 7:00, I was feeling hungry and decided it was time for supper.

On my way back to Mrs. Bray’s house, I passed the Bonanza Steakhouse and thought it would be a good place to eat since the MCL Cafeteria was closed. From the minute I walked in the door, I wished I had gone elsewhere to eat. The waiting line extended back to the entrance and I had to wait thirty minutes before I reached the serving line. When I arrived there, I discovered the baked potatoes were gone and everybody had to eat french fries. The serving line moved no faster than the waiting line. Some of the employees didn’t seem to know what they were doing, and this added more fuel to my frustration. When I reached the end of the line, I was told to take a seat and my meal would be brought to me. After a few minutes wait, I received the food and the meat was not cooked the way I ordered it. It was partly raw and rather tough. There were about a dozen youths seated in booths across from me and their opinion of the food was the same as mine, but they were more vocal in their opinion than I was. I ate all the food on my plate and then left to return to Mrs. Bray’s house.

I wasn’t full so I drove to the Dunkin Donuts shop and bought four donuts and ate them while I was returning to the house. Now I felt I could last until morning without getting hungry.

Mrs. Bray, her son, and I were the only persons left at the house and we spend the evening talking about race day activity and watching their new color TV set. We watched “Mannix”, “Barnaby Jones”, a telecast of the previous night’s 500 Festival Parade, the 10:00 news, and a half-hour program on the race. After that, we decided it had been a long day for all of us and it was time to go to bed, so we said goodnight and went our separate ways.

When I awakened on Monday morning, my watch said about 7:30. I lay in bed for a few minutes and then got up and used the bathroom. With a clean and freshly shaven face and clean teeth and mouth, I felt fine and was ready to face the day. I made my bed, got my equipment together, and then paid Mrs. Bray for my two nights’ lodging. As I was leaving, she said she hoped I would return next year. I assured her I planned to do so. It gave me a good feeling to know she enjoyed having me and wanted me back again.

It was 8:35 when I left the Bray house and drove to the Speedway. The main gate parking lot was almost full with tourists’ cars, so I parked in front of the drugstore at 16th and Main Streets. The ticket office didn’t open until 9:00 so I shopped in the drug store for a few minutes. I took a real quick trip through the museum and then checked at the office to see about having the name on our tickets changed from dad’s name to my name. The lady who waited on me said that could be done, but dad would have to write a letter to them and ask for the change.

I walked back to the drug store and tried to buy an Indianapolis newspaper, but they didn’t have any. I got into my car and drove east on 16th Street in search of a newspaper, but it proved to be a wasted trip. I stopped at the Holiday Inn, the shopping center, and a few other places, and then turned around and started back. The Speedway Motel seemed a sure bet for a newspaper, but they didn’t have any either. As I approached the entrance, I saw a familiar racing personality coming toward me. It was A.J. Watson. He was with another man but I didn’t notice where they were going.

One of the things I wanted to be sure to do before I left for home was to visit with Bud and Helen Kramer. On Saturday and Sunday nights, I didn’t have time to see them so this would be my last chance. I parked in their driveway and knocked on the back door. Bud answered the door and was real happy to see me. The three of us talked for about thirty minutes. They asked about dad and Bobby and said it had been a long time since they hadn’t come to the race. They were real pleased I stopped be see them and that made me happy to have done so. They are really two fine people.

I left Kramers at 10:15 and drove west to the shopping center where I stopped to check again on buying a newspaper. Because it was a holiday, almost every business was closed, but there was a grocery store that was open for business, so I decided to see if they had any newspapers for sale. I walked through the entire store but found nothing in the way of a newspaper. In frustration and puzzlement, I returned to the car. It was certainly puzzling as to why there were no newspapers anywhere. The only answer I could come up with was that there was no newspaper published because of the holiday.

I fastened my seatbelt and at 10:30 left the shopping center, turned right, and about a minute later was on I-74 going west. It was a fine day for driving. There was hardly a cloud in the sky and the sun was shining, but it wasn’t bright enough to be distracting while I was driving. I encountered no problems along the way and at 11:53, I crossed the state line and returned to Illinois.

When I reached the 150-1 intersection, I changed my usual route and went north into Danville instead of south to Chrisman. The reason for my going into Danville was to find a telephone and make a call to Clyde and Judy Simpson in Milford, which is a few miles north of Danville on Route 1. My effort was to end in frustration. I tried three times to call the operator and tell her what I wanted, but for some reason the operators and I couldn’t communicate with each other, so I decided to forget about the idea. I thought about driving up to Milford, but then remembered the day was a holiday and the Simpsons might be gone for the long weekend and I would have wasted a lot of time and money. I was disappointed that I didn’t get to see or talk to the Simpsons, but I figured I had done what I could and so decided to continue on my way home.

I turned around and drove south on Route 1 and a couple minutes later came to the I-74 intersection and then I was on a familiar road. About halfway to Chrisman, I decided to play it safe and stopped at a Standard Station in Westville and had the gasoline tank filled. It was with a feeling of relief that I left that station with the needle resting on ‘F’. I continued on south and at 1:23, I stopped at the Colonial Kitchen for dinner.

I had been looking forward to having a nice hot dinner, but my hopes plummeted when I saw the price of $3.95. I didn’t expect the dinner to be that high and was rather disappointed, so I changed my plan and ordered a pork tenderloin sandwich and french fries from the menu. Although not as filling as a complete meal, the food tasted good and it was enough to satiate my hunger until I arrived home. Before leaving, I used the restroom and then at 1:50, I drove out of the parking lot and started the last approximately 110 miles of my trip.

Because of the large amount of water in the fields along the highway, there was almost no work being done in them by the farmers. It was a sunny, pleasant drive all the way. I was in Decatur from about 3:00 to 3:15, and at 4:15, I drove into my driveway at home. Another fine and enjoyable trip to the big race had been made safely.

EPILOGUE

I forgot to mention that after returning to Mrs. Bray’s house after eating supper Saturday night, I took a walk down by the Speedway. Since last year’s race, I had met a fellow postal employee who follows the race as closely as I do. His name is Ron Atkins and he and his wife are president of the Bobby Unser fan club. The club was having a meeting on Georgetown Road across from Gate 8 of the Speedway, and he had invited me to stop by and see him.

I had no trouble finding the location. The members were viewing movie films of previous Indy 500 races. I found Ron and he asked me to sit down and watch the movies with him and the other club members. One of the films was of the 1964 race and it was one of the best race films I’ve ever seen. I stayed there for about an hour and then started back to the house.

The crowd of young people on Georgetown Road was rather wild and I was glad when I could get away from them. Firecrackers were being tossed all around me and the street was littered with beer cans. Police patrol cars were cruising the street and were being heckled by some of the obnoxious and intoxicated young persons. The scene here and on 16th Street and Crawfordsville Road was the same as it is every year, and I was certainly thankful I had a house to sleep in and wouldn’t be kept awake by all the noise.

As I mentioned earlier in this story, this year was certainly different from any of the previous twenty years. The many physical changes at the Speedway, the decreased allotment of fuel for each car, the first race on Sunday, the 55 mph highway speed limit, going to the race without dad and Bobby, and coming home the day after the race were all factors that made it a unique year.

The race was certainly one of the safest in history. I think this was very helpful in restoring the status and reputation of this race as the greatest spectacle in racing, which was seriously damaged after last year’s trouble-plagued race. I hope there will never be a replay of that race. Some people have said it was a dull race, particularly after A.J. Foyt left and Johnny Rutherford led the race the rest of the way. I disagree with this opinion and thought it was an interesting race from start to finish.

Although there was little criticism of the race itself, the story of the time trials was much different. They were plagued with trouble and controversy from beginning to end. The persistently inclement weather was the main offender. It was an unusually rainy month and it rained every day of the time trials. Because of the fuel situation, there were only two, instead of four, qualifying days, and those were the second and third Saturdays.

When the trials ended, there were several cars and drivers which had not been given even one qualification attempt. Naturally this made the affected drivers, car owners, etc. very upset. Because of the chief steward’s strict, literal interpretation of the rules, the cars were ruled ineligible because another car made a second qualification attempt without a protest being made about it.

The car owners were so enraged that they sued the Speedway and USAC in court. In their suit, they even tried to prevent the race from being run unless they were given a chance to qualify. Unfortunately for them, the court ruled in favor of the defendants. The cars were not allowed to qualify and the race was held as scheduled, but the bitter feelings and unhappiness remained. It really cast a pall over the pre-race activities and is certainly one area of activity that needs much improvement before next year’s race.

Another race has come and gone, and like all its predecessors, it will be remembered for different reasons by different people. It will certainly be a memorable one for me. When Tony Hulman issues his famous edict “GENTLEMEN, START YOUR ENGINES” next year, I plan to be there and I predict that, as has happened in all the past 21 years, the years will flow from my eyes as I once again get ready to watch “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing.”

Pace Car – Hurst/Olds
500 Festival Queen – Andrea McCall

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Indy Journal - 1973

1973

This, my twentieth year of seeing the 500 mile race, was certainly unlike any of the other nineteen years. It was, unfortunately, one of those years that will be remembered with sorrow and frustration. The death of drivers Art Pollard and Swede Savage and pit crew member Amrando Teran and the persistently inclement weather combined to make it a year that most persons would like to erase from their minds, but can’t.


For me, there were two other events which made this an unusual year. It was the first time I ever made a trip to the Speedway by myself and secondly, it was the first time the three of us slept in a private home and not in our car or in a garage.


After last year’s trips to the time trials and the race, I decided that some changed had to be made. Getting up at 2:00 am and not getting to bed until about 12:00 midnight made a too long of a day. It was particularly bad for me because I did the driving. On a few occasions, I had almost gone to sleep at the wheel, sometimes going over there and sometimes on the return trip. I talked to Dixie and Bobby about the subject, and both of them agreed that a better way had to be found.


I finally came up with the idea of asking Mr. and Mrs. Kramer if they knew of some of their neighbors who might have room for us in their home. They gave us the name, address, and telephone number of a neighbor who they thought might be of help to us. Her name was Mrs. Vivian Bray and she lived at 1804 North Auburn Street, a block east of Kramers and the first house north of Crawfordsville Road.


We received Kramer’s letter in early April and on the first Sunday after receiving the letter, Dixie called Mrs. Bray to inquire about our getting a room for the race. She said Kramers had talked to her about us and that she had a room for us if we wanted it. Dixie said that was fine and asked her to reserve it for the three of us.


The trip to the first day of time trials had two unusual features about it. It was the first time I went to the Speedway by myself, and it was the first time I had ever not made the trip over and back in the same day.


As I mentioned earlier, I had decided that the one day trip was too strenuous. I went over on Friday morning and returned Sunday afternoon.


Bobby and Dixie both had social functions to attend on Friday night and dad decided he didn’t care to go to the time trials this year, so I was left to make the trip alone.


About two weeks earlier, I had written to Mrs. Bray and asked her if I could stay at her house on Friday and Saturday nights. She replied that that would be fine.


I left house about 9:20 Friday morning, May 11, in our 1967 Chevrolet and drove to Tuscola where I stopped for a snack in a pizza parlor about 11:00. When I left Tuscola, I took I-57 north to Champaign. I had decided earlier to take a different route for part of the way and get out of the old routine for once. I drove north on I-57 until it intersected with I-74 at Champaign and then took I-74 to Indianapolis.


It was about 1:30 when I arrived at Mrs. Bray’s house. I introduced myself to her and she seemed like a real fine person. I took my suitcase to my upstairs room and then she showed me the rest of her house. We talked to each other for about thirty minutes and then I left for the Speedway.


This was another feature about this year which was different from any of my other years at the Speedway. It was the first time I was there on a practice day. I paid my $1.00 admission fee and went into Grandstand E. It was the first time I had ever seen cars going around the track from a seat other than the Paddock or Tower Terrace Sections. There were several hundred other persons in attendance including a large crowd of frolicking youths on the southwest turn infield.


I sat in Grandstand E for several minutes and then walked east behind the bleacher seats on the south side of the Speedway. I discovered that it takes much walking to go just a short distance in the Speedway area, in this case from the first to the second turn. I sat in various seats and got several views of the main stretch, back stretch, and short south chute. It was interesting to observe the race cars from a viewpoint other than the main straightaway. There weren’t many persons in the Southwest Vista, Grandstand G, or Southeast Vista, and almost all of them were trying to protect themselves from the strong winds which had started just since I arrived at the Speedway.


I walked as far eastward at I could and then walked back to the Speedway Gift Shop located behind Grandstand A. There were many items on display but all I bought was a $1.00 pillow cover. From the gift shop, I walked back to the Gate 2 viaduct and walked under the track and headed for the garage area.


There were a few cars in the garage area and some of them were having their engines tested prior to being pushed onto the track. The roar of the engines attracted a large crowd of people


From the garage area, I walked to the Tower Terrace section and observed the activity from various seats and then walked south to the front of the Control Tower. There were several cars practicing on the track, but there were also several in the pit area. The race fans, pit crew members, and race officials made a large crowd of people.


I stayed in the pit area about half an hour and then walked north and got a view of the scenery from the Terrace Extension and then the North Terrace. Our race seats were in the Terrace Extension seats in 1964 and 1966, but this was the first time I had been in the North Terrace. From here, I could see the cars on the north chute and all the way down the main straightaway. Both of these bleacher sections were in great need of repainting and general repair. It was shortly after 5:30 when I left the North Terrace and went back to the Tower Terrace and pit area.


The 6:00 deadline was approaching rapidly and the pit area was abuzz with activity. Many drivers were sitting in their cars with the engines running and were eager to get onto the track. Some of them were still sitting when the 6:00 whistle blew, ending all practice on the track for the day.


Right after the whistle blew, the drawing for the order of qualifications on Saturday was held in front of the Control Tower by the fence behind the pit area. Among the drivers I recognized were A.J Foyt, Al Unser, and Peter Revson.


When the drawing was finished, I went back to Mrs. Bray’s house. It was about 7:00 when I got back to the house and I was ready for a good supper. As I was coming into Indianapolis, I noticed, to my left, in the shopping center about a mile west of the Speedway, a cafeteria. I kept it in mind and now decided to see what it had to offer. The name of it was MCL Cafeteria and it had a pleasant but not necessarily expensive appearance. I went on in and had a big supper. I hadn’t eaten much since breakfast and now I was going to make up for that. The food, service, and atmosphere were all good, and I left feeling better than when I arrived.


Since I didn’t have anything definite to do for the rest of the evening, I decided to do some window shopping in some of the stores in the shopping center. I did this until about 9:00 when the stores closed and then I went back to my temporary home. Mrs. Bray said I could watch her television if I wanted to, so I watched “Mission Impossible” and the 10:00 news. There was quite a bit of news about the activity at the Speedway. Because I planned to get up early in the morning, I went to bed when the newscast was finished.


Saturday started unpleasantly. About 5:45, Mrs. Bray called to awaken me and tell me that the Speedway city police were starting to tow my car away. I immediately got dressed and rushed out to the car. The tow truck driver was raising the back wheels off the street and a policeman was writing a ticket to me for parking in a no-parking zone. The policeman said the signs had been installed Friday night, but I hadn’t seen them when I returned from eating supper. He was a polite gentleman and let me retrieve my car, but still issued me a $2.00 ticket for parking in the no-parking zone. I felt lucky to get off so easily, and owed much gratitude to Mrs. Bray and the friendly policeman for saving me from a possibly embarrassing situation. I parked the car in front of Mrs. Bray’s garage.


With that incident settled, I was awake now and went back to get cleaned up and dressed. Mrs. Bray told me on Friday that she would cook breakfast for me if I wanted her to, so I told her yes, knowing I wouldn’t get a good breakfast anywhere else very close. It was a good breakfast of eggs, bacon, coffee, and milk.


It was about 7:30 when I gathered up all my equipment and left for the Speedway. Although it wasn’t 8:00 yet, the ticket lines were almost back to 16th Street, and it seemed like an eternity before I got my tickets, but I finally made it and got to my seat about 8:00. My seat was in the Paddock section, less than a yard south of the start-finish line. While I waited for the practice period to start at 9:00, I read the newspaper, listened to the radio, and observed the activity occurring around me.


Shortly after 9:00, the track was opened for practice and several cars and drivers went out for practice runs. It was between 9:30 and 9:45 when tragedy struck. Art Pollard was among those drivers taking practice laps. As he was going through the first turn, his car got out of control, spun and hit the retaining wall, flipped several times, and slid upside down for several feet towards the second turn. Art was removed from his car in critical condition, taken to the track hospital, and then transferred to an Indianapolis hospital. News of the accident was not announced over the P.A. system for quite some time after it happened, and it was around noon when the sad news of Art’s death was announced. It was unfortunate that the day had to start so tragically.


The demolished car and the debris it left on the track had to be removed and that took quite some time. The practice period ended at 10:30 and was followed by several marching bands and other pre-qualifying activities.


At 11:00, the track was opened for qualifying and Peter Revson was the first driver to qualify for this year’s race. Several other drivers made good qualifying runs and Swede Savage brought cheers from the crowd when he became the first driver to break Bobby Unser’s qualifying record of 1972.


The biggest news of the day came when Johnny Rutherford made his qualifying run. The crowd went wild when his third lap speed of 199.071 mph was announced. That was only about ¾ of a second under the 200 mph mark. His fourth lap was slightly slower and his four lap average was 198.413 mph. He received a standing, cheering ovation when he returned to his pit area.


Several other drivers made their qualifying runs and by 6:00, four drivers (Rutherford, Bobby Unser, Mark Donohue, and Savage) had broken the qualification record.


I arrived back at Mrs. Bray’s home about 6:45 and talked for a while with a woman who had been at the Speedway and was lodging at Mrs. Bray’s house. It was the first time I had seen her and she and her husband had arrived after I went to bed on Friday night and were leaving for their home in Davenport, Iowa, on Sunday afternoon.


I left at 8:00 and had a good supper at the MCL Cafeteria. After that, I stopped at a doughnut shop for a couple doughnuts and drove around Speedway for a few minutes. It was about 10:00 when I returned to Mrs. Bray’s house and I watched the 10:00 news on television.


Most of the newscast concerned the activity at the Speedway, and much of it was about Art Pollard and Johnny Rutherford. After the race news was over at 11:00, I went to my room and retired for the day.


On Sunday, I ate breakfast at Mrs. Bray’s house and left for home about 9:30. I stopped for gasoline on Lynnhurst Road just before reaching Route 36 and then took Route 36 all the way back to Springfield. I stopped at the Colonial Kitchen for a few minutes, but it was too crowded so I went on my way and arrived home shortly before 2:00.


At 1:28 pm on Sunday, May 27, Bobby dad and I left from Bobby and dad’s house in Bobby’s 1969 Chevrolet. The drive from Springfield to Decatur was ideal with a pleasant temperature and cloudless skies. A few miles east of Decatur, the good weather ended for the remainder of the trip. The sky suddenly darkened and we were caught in a heavy downpour. It lasted only a couple minutes and then the sun shone brightly again. Pretty soon, it became dark again and we had to go through another downpour. It was 3:33 when we arrived at the Colonial Kitchen for our break. Each of us had a cup of coffee and a little snack to eat and used the restroom before we left.


It was 3:57 when we started the second part of our trip and at 4:32, we entered Indiana. We encountered intermittent showers all the way to Indianapolis. Because of the gasoline shortage and the possibility of being unable to get gasoline at Indianapolis, we stopped at Brownsburg and were able to get a full tank of gasoline. That ended our worry of not being able to get back to Springfield when we wanted to.


When we got into the heavy traffic on the outskirts of Indianapolis, we decided to go ahead and eat supper before going to Mrs. Bray’s house. It was about 6:00 when we arrived at the MCL Cafeteria. There was a fairly long line of customers, but it moved well and pretty soon we had our food and were seated. Before I ate, I called Mrs. Bray to let her know we had arrived and would be at her house in about half an hour. Our food tasted good and it was definitely the best meal we had ever eaten at Indianapolis.


We left and drove east on Crawfordsville Road. It seemed strange not to turn on Fischer Street and be at Kramers’. As soon as we got out of the car, a loud siren started blowing. I introduced Mrs. Bray to Bobby and dad and the four of us talked for a few minutes. She told us the siren was a tornado warning and that tornadoes were predicted all around central Indiana. The weather was certainly unsettled and the prediction for race day wasn’t good.


We unpacked some of our belongings and then walked over to Mr. and Mrs. Kramer’s house and visited with them for a few minutes. They were happy to see us and showed no resentment over losing us as customers after eighteen years.


The Speedway museum was our next destination and it was a popular attraction. Although we had seen most of the exhibits before, we enjoyed seeing them again. We didn’t know it at that time but we had chosen just the right time to tour the museum. While we were there, another shower passed over the area, but it was okay when we left the museum.


When we arrived back at the house, it was a busy place. The back yard was full of tents and some men were playing cards in the garage. Inside, several persons were talking to each other and Mrs. Bray was watching television, so we joined her for a while. It was about 11:00 when we retired for the day, and we hoped to get the first decent night of sleep we ever had on the night before the big race.


Although there was a lot of loud, unpleasant noise outside, it was many times quieter than sleeping outdoors or in the car. Once we got to sleep, we didn’t awaken until about 5:30. I got dressed immediately and went downstairs to wait my turn in line for the restroom. Having only one bathroom in the house made it uncomfortable for everybody, but by 7:00 the three of us had used the bathroom, gotten dressed, and were ready for breakfast.


Mrs. Bray did most of the cooking but she had two other ladies who did most of the serving. We ate in the dining room and were served eggs, bacon, toast, coffee, and milk. It smelled and tasted real good and provided a good beginning for the day. When we finished, we got our equipment together and about 8:00 started walking to the Speedway.


Before crossing Georgetown Road, we stopped at the White Castle hamburger shop and had our two thermos bottles filled with coffee. Business was good but we didn’t have to wait long to be served.


The lines of race fans in line to get through the turnstiles were long, but they moved steadily and at 8:35, we entered the Speedway grounds. I bought two souvenir programs and then we made use of the first restroom we saw.


The size of the crowd seemed about the same as that of other years but when we reached the tunnel entrance, we did not have to endure the extreme congestion of many other years. The traffic moved slowly but steadily, and it didn’t stop once. We were now on the infield and a minute or so later we were behind the Tower Terrace section. By 9:00, we were in our seats.


We got our equipment situated and then sat down and rested our feet for a few minutes. I told Bobby and dad I was going to walk behind the pit area to get some pictures and then proceeded to do so. Just about every car was having last minute work done on it by its pit crew and the roar of the engines sounded good.


At 9:30, everything seemed to be going fine when I felt something hit me. I didn’t want to believe it, but there was no escaping the fact that it was rain. Although nobody knew it at the time, this was the beginning of one of the most frustrating, miserable, depressing, and saddest days in the history of the Speedway.


It was not a hard rain at first, but after a couple minutes, pit crew members were covering their cars and the spectators used their umbrellas and plastic lap covers. I was getting ready to return to my seat, so I didn’t linger any and got back in time without getting soaked.


After a few minutes, the rain stopped and the sun came out, brightening everybody’s spirit and raising hopes that the race would still start on time. These hopes, however, proved to be only dreams. Unlike the steady, all day rain of 1967, there were intermittent periods of rain and sunshine. At first, the showers were light but after a couple hours, they became regular downpours. After almost every shower, the sun would appear and almost have the track dried out, when suddenly it would disappear and those cool breezes, dark clouds, and rain showers would appear again.


The 11:00 starting time came and went with no indication of when the race would start. With each shower, frustration increased and tempers became shorter. It was highly frustrating for everybody and nobody could do anything about it Pit crew members sat dejectedly by their cars while the spectators tried to keep dry with umbrellas, rain coats, and lap covers. Many of them listened to their radios and consumed the food and drinks they had with them.


Before 11:00, during one of the brief dry periods, the caravan of celebrities was driven around the track for the fans to see. Among the celebrities this year were Joey Bishop, Jim Nabors, Chad Everett, Jackie Cooper, Hank Stram, Burgess Meredith, Lucy Arnez, and Miss Teenage America.


At 2:30, after five hours of great frustration and disappointment, chief steward Harlan Fengler gave the order for the cars to be pushed to their starting positions. A huge cheer and applause came from the crowd. Although the sun wasn’t shining, the track was dry, which was unusual.


In quite rapid succession, the Purdue University Band played “On the Banks of the Wabash”, “Star-Spangled Banner”, “Taps”, and then was joined by singer Jim Nabors for the singing and playing of “Back Home Again in Indiana.” The multitude of balloons was released from behind the Control Tower and a couple minutes later, Tony Hulman once again gave his yearly command, “Gentlemen, start your engines!” The roar of the engines elicited a huge applause and approval from the frustrated, but now happy, crowd. Little did anybody know that was to be the happiest moment of the day for everybody.


After a minute or so, the cars were pushed away and the pit crews returned to their pit area. Bob Harkey’s car, in 31st starting position, wouldn’t start and was pushed off the track for the time being. 1960 race winner Jim Rathmann drove the Cadillac pace car and the roar of the engines could be heard as the field moved through the two south turns and down the backstretch. A few seconds later, the cars moved through the fourth turn and down the mainstretch to the applause of the fans. They were now on the official pace lap and about two minutes later, the roar of the crowd increased as the pace car entered the main straightaway and headed for the pit entrance. It flashed through the pit area, the green flag was displayed, and the race was on.


I yelled “Unser took it” to indicate Bobby Unser beat Johnny Rutherford into the first turn, and at the same instant, it looked like the start of the 1966 race. I screamed in terror as I saw cars going in every direction. I also saw several parts from some of the cars flying through the air, and then I saw fire. It was really a mess.


The race was immediately red flagged and rescue equipment was on the scene almost before the cars and debris had come to a rest. Panic seemed to break out everywhere in the stands, in the pit area, with race officials, and of course at the accident scene. The rescue squad went to work immediately and little by little, it was discovered who was in the wreck. The P.A. announcer said the following drivers and cars were involved: John Martin, Jim McElreath, Mike Mosley, Wally Dallenbach, Mike Hiss, Salt Walther, Dick Simon, David Hobbs, and Lee Kunzman. A few minutes later, it was determined that the main car in the wreck was that of Salt Walther. His car had gone out of control, hit a couple other cars, got airborne, landed upside down, skidd a long distance, and then caught fire. It was a miracle that Salt escaped with his life, but he was taken to a hospital and his condition was described as serious but stable. Some of the other drivers also had injuries, but only minor ones. Thirteen spectators were also injured by flying debris from Walther’s car.


As the crowd sat or stood and waited in shocked disbelief, dark clouds appeared again and a couple minutes later, another heavy ran covered the area. This was the coup de grace to a miserable day and sent thousands of the spectators heading for the exits as they knew the chances of seeing any more racing for the day were nil. It continued raining steadily as the debris was being cleared from the track.


Bobby and dad packed some of our equipment and went back to the house, but I stayed to see if there were any further developments. It was about half an hour later when I decided I might as well leave. As I walked behind the pit area, I looked up and down the straightway, and it was a sad scene. There was only a trickle of people left, both in the stands and in the pit area, and that, along with the constant rain and bad start of the race, caused a feeling of pensiveness to come over me.


The traffic going through the tunnel was not moving so I walked south to the end of the Tower Terrace section and was able to walk across the track to the area between Grandstands A and B. This was the area of the wreck and there were visible marks on both the outer and inner walls. I took some movie and still pictures of the straightaway and then continued on my way.


It was about 4:30 when I arrived at Bray’s. We visited with Mrs. Bray for a while and then put our equipment in the car and got ready to leave. It was about 5:00 when we left Brays. I was tired of waiting in the long line of cars on Crawfordsville Road as we had done every year, so this year I decided to try a different and hopefully quicker way of leaving the city. I drove north on Auburn Street for several blocks until I came to a street that had one way traffic going west. I moved into the flow of traffic and it moved quite well for several blocks and then slowed somewhat. It was faster than Crawfordsville Road and gave us some new scenery to see. We arrived back at Crawfordsville Road at the end of the shopping center and the traffic moved a little faster than in usually does. A few minutes later, we reached I-74 and started getting somewhere.


It was 7:45 when we reached the U.S. 36 junction at Chrisman. We stopped at the Colonial Kitchen for a good supper. There were several other frustrated race fans there and I’m sure the good hot supper tasted good to all of us. We hadn’t eaten a meal since 7:00 in the morning so we were ready for a big supper. We ate all we wanted and took our time doing it, and when we left at 8:30, we felt much better.


We arrived in Decatur about 9:45 and, as it is every Memorial Day night, Eldorado Street was alive with activity. It always seems to be a speedway for the young crowd. Not quite an hour later, we arrived at Dalbey’s. I helped Bobby and dad unload their equipment and then drove home.


It was the most frustrating and disappointing of all my trips and certainly a sad way to celebrate my twentieth year at the Speedway. I would have to wait another year and hope that everything would be better.


EPILOGUE


On Monday afternoon, the race was rescheduled for 9:00 Tuesday morning. 9:00 came and so did the rain. It wasn’t until 10:15 that Tony Hulman again gave the signal “Gentlemen, Start Your Engines.” Before the cars could get through the third turn of the pace lap, rain began falling again and by the time they reached the front straightaway, the red flag was out to stop the cars. It was about 2:00 when Harlan Fengler announced that the race had been postponed until 9:00 Wednesday morning. It was the first time in the history of the race that it had been postponed for two consecutive days by rain.


At 2:10 Wednesday, the race started again. I listened to it in the living room of my house. I was home recuperating from a chiropractic treatment I had received a couple hours earlier. Rain had delayed the start until afternoon. Many of the big-name drivers were out of the race before it was half finished. This included Mario Andretti, Lloyd Ruby, A.J. Foyt, Al Unser, Mark Donohue, and Bobby Unser.


On his 59th lap, Swede Savage was involved in one of the worst crashes in the history of the Speedway. As he was coming through the fourth turn, the car somehow got out of control, crashed almost head-on into the inside retaining wall, and exploded into dozens of pieces which were thrown as far as 300 yards from the point of contact with the wall. It was an impossible sight to believe, even to those persons who have seen many wrecks in many years at the Speedway. The race was stopped immediately and rescue equipment was at the scene in a few seconds. Swede was taken to Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis immediately and was still conscious but in critical condition. Once again, this year the race had been plagued by tragedy.


Within seconds after the crash, one of Swede’s pit crew members stepped onto the pit apron to see the crash scene and was struck from behind by a rescue truck rushing to the accident. He was rushed to a hospital and died less than an hour after he was hit.


It took about an hour to clean the debris from the wreck scene and make the track usable again.


Swede Savage remained in critical condition for four weeks, although at times he seemed to be improving slightly. During the fifth week, his kidneys began malfunctioning and on Monday, July 2, he died from the malfunctioning and the complications of his other injuries.


Al Unser was leading the race at the time it was stopped and continued to lead when it was resumed. He led until the 73rd lap when Gordon Johncock took over the lead. Gordon maintained the lead until the 131st lap when, once again, rain started coming down. Two laps later, Chief Steward Harlan Fengler ended the race as the rain gave no indication of stopping and it was now after 5:30.


Johncock was declared the winner and the remaining first ten positions went to Bill Vukovich, Roger McCluskey, Mel Kenyon, Gary Bettenhausen, Steve Krisiloff, Lee Kunzman, John Martin, Johnny Rutherford, and Mike Mosley. Gordon completed 133 laps for 332.5 miles at an average speed of 159.020. It was the shortest “500” ever run at the Speedway.


When starter Pat Vidan waved the red flag to end the race, it signaled the end of the most frustrating, disappointing, and certainly one of the most tragic years in the history of the race. It was one of those years that many persons would like to forget and erase from the record books, but of course that can’t be done.


The combination of the deaths of two popular drivers and a pit crew member and the troubles caused by the uncooperative weather were almost too much for many persons to incur in one year.


As was to be expected, there was much controversy and discussion about what caused all the trouble and what should be done to prevent its recurrence in future years. During the summer, the length of the rear wings on the cars was reduced and the gas tank capacities were also reduced. There were also changes made to the race track. The outside retaining wall was raised fourteen inches, the pit area was extended further northward, and the inside retaining wall on the fourth turn was removed. Nobody will know until next year whether these changes will be beneficial.


Another subject that will be discussed is whether Gordon Johncock could have maintained his lead for the remaining 67 laps if the race had gone its full distance. This is impossible to know because there are many situations that could have developed to change the course of the race. Auto racing is one of the most unpredictable activities in the world and this race is an excellent example of that statement.


This will be a year to remember for several reasons. It was the first year I went to the Speedway by myself, it was the first time at a house other than Kramers, and it was the first time I subscribed to an Indianapolis newspaper during May.


As I look to the future, I hope that my third decade at the Speedway will begin much better than the second on ended…


Pace Car – Cadillac Eldorado

500 Festival Queen – Cynthia Foster


Monday, February 9, 2009

Indy Journal - 1972

1972


Probably the biggest news at the speedway this year was the tremendous speed increase from last year. There was an increase of 17 mph between Peter Revson’s pole position speed of last year and Bobby Unser’s 195.940 mph pole speed of this year. This is the largest single-year increase in speed in the history of the speedway. Another qualifying record was established when the slowest car in the starting field qualified faster than the fastest car in last year’s race. Other memorable features of this year were the death of Jim Malloy in a practice run on May 14th and the confusing start and finish of the race.


Dad, Bobby, Dixie, and I saw the first day of time trials on Saturday, May 13. We left Springfield at 3:00, stopped at the Colonial Kitchen for breakfast, and arrived at the speedway about 7:30. It rained over half the time going over and it was coming down quite hard at the speedway. We were lucky enough to get seats in the Paddock section by the start-finish line and under a roof.


It was a long, frustrating day. The rain came down almost all day long, and the sun didn’t shine until about 4:00. It wasn’t until 5:00 that the track was declared in racing condition and the cars were allowed to practice. The caution light came on several times, and it wasn’t until after 5:30 that any qualification attempt was made. A couple drivers started their trial runs but came in and didn’t finish. A few minutes before 6:00, the crowd received its biggest thrill of the day when A.J. Foyt took the green flag and started his four lap run. That thrill was short-lived, however, when a few seconds later, the P.A. announcer said that Foyt’s car had blown its engine and was coasting into the infield on the backstretch. Before another car could get onto the track, the 6:00 deadline whistle blew, eliminating any qualification attempt and ending a frustrating day. On the way home, we stopped at the Colonial Kitchen for supper and arrived home about 11:30.


On Friday, May 26, I ate dinner at Dalbey’s and after eating, we loaded Bobby’s car and got everything ready to go. I transferred all of my equipment to Bobby’s car and then put my car in her space in the garage. We checked to be sure we had everything we intended to take and at 12:42, we said goodbye to mother and started on our trip. I drove and Bobby sat in the front seat and Dad behind her. I took the same streets we usually take, North Grand, 6th Street, 5th Street, and Sangamon Ave., and shortly, we were leaving town. It was a warm, sunny day and there wasn’t enough traffic on the highway to make driving unpleasant. We arrived in Decatur about 1:30 and the traffic was about the same as it usually is. The traffic remained fairly light and about 2:15, we passed through Tuscola.


About 10 minutes after we left Tuscola, I noticed a strange sight ahead of us and a few seconds later, we realized there was a wreck ahead of us and we would have to slow down. We were the second car coming from the west so apparently we just missed by a few seconds being in the wreck. I realized we might be there for a while so I stopped, turned the engine off, and got out to investigate.


It looked as if three cars were involved in the mess. One car was going west and one car and a semi-trailer truck were going east. The truck looked as it if had jackknifed to the right and into the utility pole by the truck, knocking the pole partly over. The car going east was parked a few feet to the left of the truck. The car going west was in the worst condition. It was in two pieces on the north side of the road, with the truck in one place and the remainder of the car several feet west of the truck, lying upside down.


There were two men at the overturned part and when I arrived there, I discovered there was a woman in the car and the men were trying to free her. The car was so smashed in that the men had to loosen the seat and open the door before they could get the woman out. The woman was groaning quite a bit so we thought she might be in bad condition. We finally got the car opened and the seat pushed back so that we could pull her out. There was a blanket by the car so I spread it out and the two men placed her on it. The woman had blood over a large portion of her body and small pieces of glass stuck in her skin in several places. She was in considerable pain and particularly so in her left thigh, which she thought might be broken. Despite her bad condition, she was conscious and wanted us to try to free her friend from the car.


The other woman’s head and neck seemed to be out of position and we were fearful some damage had been done to them. We managed to get her out of the car and laid her down by the other woman. An ambulance had been called so while we waited for it, I surveyed the scene. The damaged car was a Chevrolet and it had really been damaged. There were pieces of glass and metal scattered over a wide area. There was a bean field several feet from the highway and a trench between the field and the highway. The trench was loaded with broken car pieces and some pieces had even gotten into the bean field. In my survey, I also discovered several primary education books scatted about, so I thought maybe at least one of them was an elementary school teacher.

By now, a few other cars had stopped, although most of them continued on their way without stopping. Although there were several people on the scene, nobody seemed to know just what had happened or any of the details. Fortunately, it had happened right in front of a house located on the highway, so it didn’t take long to get to a telephone.


While we were waiting for the ambulance, I took Bobby’s snow sweeper from the car and swept some of the metal, glass, rocks, and other debris from the highway. It was a small broom for such a big job but it cleared a lot of the debris off the highway. In a few minutes, the ambulance and the local sheriff arrived and the women were taken to a nearby hospital. One of the men on the scene before we arrived directed traffic while I continued sweeping the highway.


After a while, I decided there was no need to stay around any longer so we decided to continue on our way. Just as we were ready to leave, a state trooper arrived on the scene. I thought he might want to talk to us so I waited a minute or so, but he didn’t come over to the car so we went on. It was 2:55 now so we had spent thirty minutes at the accident scene. All three of us were shaken up by the accident and we talked about it as we continued on to Chrisman.


It was 3:18 when we arrived at the Colonial Kitchen. There were two customers when we arrived but a few more came after we did. We each had a cup of coffee and Bobby and dad had a piece of pie and I had a dish or orange sherbet. The refreshments felt good and when we finished, we used the restrooms, paid the bill, and continued on our way. It was 3:44 when we left.


We drove north on highway 150/1 and at 4:13, we got onto I-74 south of Danville. Five minutes later, we crossed the Indiana line, and from there on, it was smooth sailing until we arrived at the Route 136 & I-74 intersection on the west side of Indianapolis. The traffic was heavy but it was moving and in a couple minutes, we arrived at the Standard Station and had the gasoline tank filled while we used the restrooms. We continued east on Crawfordsville Road and at 5:25, we arrived at Kramer’s.


Mr. Kramer is usually on the scene and directs all the traffic as it comes into his yard. This time, however, he wasn’t there, so we backed in at about the location we wanted to park. A couple minutes later, a woman came over and introduced herself and said Mr. Kramer had just left to go downtown but should be back any minute. The four of us talked for a few minutes and then she excused herself to go talk to some other customers. We wanted to park in front of the front porch but didn’t want to do so without Mr. Kramer’s approval, so we stayed where we were and got out lawn chairs out and sat on them for a few minutes. There were a few customers who arrived before us, but most of the yard was still empty.


A few minutes before 6:00, Mr. Kramer arrived home and started getting his customers located. When he arrived at our car, he gave us a warm greeting and said he was glad to have us back again. We asked him about parking in front of his porch and he said that would be fine with him, so I backed the car into our spot and parked it. Bobby asked dad and me if we wanted to eat now or later, and we decided to walk down by the speedway and then come back and eat.


The pedestrian traffic wasn’t real heavy until we arrived at the Speedway Museum, and then it increased considerably. There was a line of people extending outside the museum waiting to get in, but the patrolman at the door kept the line moving right along, so we didn’t have long to wait. Many of the cars on display we had seen before, but there were a couple new displays sponsored by accessory companies which made for interesting viewing. We spent about half an hour in the museum and then walked back to the car. It was about 7:00 now.

By now, we were rather hungry. Dad and I got the stove out and set it up while Bobby got the food out and prepared it for cooking. For supper, we had hamburgers, baked beans, potato chips, salad, and coffee. It tasted real good and the weather provided an excellent atmosphere for eating. It hadn’t gotten dark yet, there was only a slight breeze, and the temperature was just right. Bobby had brought along quite a bit of food, but we ate almost everything she cooked. When we finished eating, we cleaned out our equipment and put it back in the car. I had bought a newspaper shortly after we arrived so we sat in our chairs and read it while it was still light enough to see.


When I finished reading the newspaper, I told Bobby and dad I was going to take a walk and see what was going on closer to the speedway. They said they didn’t feel like going, so I went by myself. The traffic, both auto and pedestrian, had increased considerably in the last few hours. There was still a line of people waiting to go through the museum and there were several persons who either wanted to buy or to sell race tickets. I walked east on the north side of 16th Street and it looked about the same as it does every year. The cars were bumper to bumper for several blocks in both directions and many of the cars were convertibles with young, loud, offensive people in them. It always disturbs me to realize how foolish these people are, both in their drinking and their reckless driving.


As I continued on, I approached the Speedway Motel and noticed a few other walkers walking toward it. I had always wanted to see the motel, but thought there would be policemen or other security personnel to keep me from doing so. This time I decided to attempt it. If I couldn’t get in somebody would tell me and I would leave. There were two policemen directing the cars entering and leaving the motel parking lot, but they didn’t say anything to me when I walked by the, so I continued on my way.


When I entered the lobby, I heard an organ being played and somebody singing. I turned to the left and came upon the bar room. A middle-aged woman was doing both the playing and the singing and she seemed to be quite happy doing it. There was a large crowd present, most of whom were drinking and a few of whom were singing along with the music. I stepped inside and took a look around the room and then stepped back out of the way so that I wouldn’t be in the way. I listened to the music for a few minutes and then walked around and saw another room, the dining room. From there I went outside and walked around the grounds. The sidewalk by the lobby led to the rear of the motel and there I could see the outside wall of the southeast turn of the race track and some of the outside wall of the back straightaway. In the distance, I could see the control tower. Also in the rear of the motel was a large, revolving floodlight. I turned back and walked west across the front sections of the motel. There were several guests either leaving or entering their rooms. When I reached the end of the motel, I turned around and went back to the lobby. There was still a lot of noise coming from the bar room so I decided to check it out again. The crowd was making quite a bit of noise, but I was able to shut them out enough so that I could hear the music. I listened for several minutes and then decided it was time to leave. As I walked back to 16th St, the policemen were still directing traffic, but they didn’t stop me so I went on.


I wanted to cross the street and walk back on the other side, but the traffic was so heavy, and the drivers so wild, that I decided it would be best if I stayed where I was. When I reached Georgetown Road, I used the pedestrian crosswalk and got across when the light changed to green. I continued walking west and went into the drug store at the intersection of 16th and Main Streets. I wanted to buy another Indianapolis newspaper but the only ones for sale were copies of the edition I already had. With no luck there, I went south on Main St. another block and went into the next drug store. They didn’t have any newspapers either. The other drugstore was filled with customers but there was almost nobody in this one. My feet were aching from all my walking so I sat down on the fountain stool and ordered a Coca-Cola. It felt good to get off my feet and to have a cold drink. There was only one other customer at the fountain when I sat down, but while I was there, a young couple came in and sat down a couple seats from me. I took my time drinking my soda so that I could rest a little while and then I paid my bill and left.


From the drugstore, I walked north on Georgetown Road to Gate 6. There was a large crowd of pedestrians, mostly young, wild, drinking people, but mobile police wagons prevented any trouble from getting out of hand. From here, I went back to the car, but on the way I stopped at the discotheque place to see what was happening. It is located next door and to the rear of the White Castle hamburger shop. Last year, I could stand in the doorway and watch the go-go girls for nothing, but this year everybody had to pay before entering the building, so I decided not to go in. I stood outside and listened to the music for a few minutes and then went back to the car.


It was about 11:15 now. I opened the car trunk to get my sleeping bag and pillow and was real careful in so doing so that I wouldn’t wake Bobby. I decided I would try sleeping on the ground this year because of the noise in the garage caused by men talking as they came in to use the restroom. Unfortunately, my plan didn’t work so well. Across the street from the garage was a group of boys who were drinking and yelling and racing the motor of their car. This continued for a long time and precluded any sleep.


The main problem, however, in my being unable to sleep was my stopped-up nose. Every year, around the end of May and the first part of June, something gets into my nose and causes it to get stopped-up. I am constantly blowing my nose and have trouble sleeping because I can’t breathe. I lay on the west side of the garage and every time I would almost get to sleep, I would wake up because I couldn’t breathe. I tried sleeping in the garage and by the car, but it didn’t do any good. I had to remain standing because when I lay down, my nose would become stopped-up and I couldn’t breathe. The condition also caused my eyes to water and I spent a good part of the night getting rid of my tears and blowing my nose so that I could breathe easier. I didn’t get much sleep.

At 5:00, I heard the opening bomb and decided to give up on sleeping. I got up and walked around and found most of Mr. Kramer’s customers still asleep, some in cars, come in sleeping bags, and some on the ground. I got up and walked around a little bit. The cars were lined up on Crawfordsville Road, but weren’t moving very fast. On my way back to the sleeping bag, I ran into dad. He had awoken and was standing by the garage trying to get some fresh air and wake up. The two of us talked for a few minutes about the terrible noise we heard all during the night and how it kept us from sleeping. I went back and folded up my sleeping bag while he folded up his cot and blanket, and then we took them to the car to put them away.


Bobby was awake, but not very much. When she got out of the car, she said she had to use a restroom but didn’t want to go to the filling station because she didn’t want to have to stand in line. She wondered if she could use Kramer’s restroom and when I asked Mr. Kramer about it, he said that would be fine. That was really a lucky break for Bobby. When she returned, we got our thermos bottles and took them to the filling station to be filled. The filling station, however, wasn’t selling coffee this year, so we had to walk to the White Castle restaurant and have them filled there.


It was about 7:00 when we arrived back at the car. By now, we were hungry for breakfast, so dad and I got the stove ready to use while Bobby got out the food and eating equipment. While Bobby was cooking, Dad and I read our newspapers and listened to the radio. The aroma of bacon frying in the pan was real pleasant to our noses and made us hungrier than we were previously. Bobby cooked quite a bit of bacon but we ate all of it she cooked plus the scrambled eggs and coffee. When I finished, I felt fuller and more awake. When we finished eating, we cleaned our equipment and stacked everything neatly in the trunk.


It was about 8:00 now and we sat in the car a few minutes and listened to the radio and commented on the activity around us. The pedestrian traffic going to the Speedway was getting heavier but the automobile traffic was not as heavy as it had been a couple hours ago. Almost everybody in Kramer’s yard was awake now and getting ready for breakfast or to go to the Speedway. We straightened things up in the car and then got all of our equipment gathered up and ready to go. We checked to see if we had the most important item, the tickets, and then locked the car and started on our way.


Although we had several items to carry, our load was light compared to that of some of the other race fans, particularly those carrying ice chests. We saw several groups of persons who had to stop and rest because of the weight of the coolers.


Every year on our way to the Speedway, we come upon a member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars who wants everybody to donate a quarter and buy a VFW pen. Sometimes they get almost demanding, but we always ignore them and keep walking. I noticed that most of the other fans were doing the same thing.


When we reached the White Castle restaurant, Bobby and dad remained outside and watched our equipment while I went in and had the thermos bottles refilled. There were four persons in front of me but the line moved fast and in a couple minutes, I had the bottles filled and was ready to go again. While we were arranging everything, we decided to take an individual ticket so that, in case we got lost in the mob, we would be able to get into the grounds and to our seats.


There was a huge crowd waiting to get into the main gate but the ticket takers were doing their job well, and in a few minutes, we were inside the gate. We bought two official programs from the first vendor we saw and then walked on. It was getting harder to walk because of the large crowd and the ice chests, but pretty soon, we came to the sign directing us through the tunnel under the track. The traffic here moved real well, and in a couple minutes, we were on the infield and in daylight again. We continued walking in the same direction and in another minute or so walked through the subway and then came back to the rear of the Tower Terrace and turned and went right to our entrance.


The ticket take took our tickets and we walked up the incline for our first view of all the activity on the straightaway. Pit crews were making final checks on their cars, the bands were parading on the track, the pit area was filled with visitors, and the overall picture was really something to see and hear. We found our seats in Section 43, Row J, Seats 5, 6, and 7, put our equipment under our seats, and sat down and rested for a few minutes. It was now 9:00.


For a few minutes, we just sat and watched the activity and commented about the bands, people, cars, etc. We checked our programs to see what cars were stationed within our view. When I felt rested, I took both the still and the movie cameras and walked along the pit area from the north end to the entrance to Gasoline Alley. This is always interesting to me and there were many other persons doing the same thing. It is really a thrill to get almost within touching distance of some of the drivers, cars, pit crew members, and any famous celebrities who might be walking through the pit area. Among the drivers I recognized were Mel Kenyon, A.J. Foyt, and Mario Andretti. I took both still and motion pictures of them as did many other camera fans. The pit crews were working feverishly in this last hour of preparation for the race. Many of the car engines were running and some pit crew members were still running back to the garage area of supplies. The combination of noise from the engines and the sight of the thousands of persons in their seats along the straightaway and the sight and sound of the bands marching on the straightaway easily brought a smile to my face and tears to my eyes. It was really magnificent. I stayed in this area until about 9:45 and then walked back to my seat.


At 10:00, the chief steward, Harlan Fengler, told the pit crew members to line their cars up on the track for the start of the race. Within the next few minutes, more than a dozen cars were being pushed north through the pit area and out the entrance and then forward on the track to their starting positions. While this was going on, the many celebrities were driven around the track for all the fans to see. Among the celebrities this year were the recording artists, the Osmond Brothers, Colonel Sanders of fried chicken fame, singer Phil Harris, and TV personality Dick Clark.


At 10:30, Harlan Fengler and a couple other USAC officials made their final inspection of the track. Only thirty minutes remained and the tension was increasing. Almost every seat in view was filled. At 10:40, the Purdue University Band played the “Star-Spangled Banner” as the crowd rose to its feet, and a couple minutes later, at 10:45, the band played “Taps” in honor of those servicemen who had died in the service of the country. By now, most of the drivers were in their seats and everybody but the pit crews were off the track.


At 10:50, the last song, “Back Home Again in Indiana” was played while the pit crews inserted their starters into the cars and the huge display of balloons was released behind the Tower Terrace section. When the band finished playing, a huge cheer went up from the crowd as the big moment was only seconds away. The loud buzz of the crowd was broken when the PA announcer said the big moment had come and then introduced Speedway President Tony Hulman. Tony, in a loud clear voice, said those four famous words that always send the fans wild, “GENTLEMEN, START YOUR ENGINES!!” The roar of thirty-three engines came into the air and in a few seconds, one member of each pit crew put one of his arms up in the air to indicate his car and driver were ready to go. About a minute later, the Hurst/Olds Pace Car slowly pulled away. Former race winner Jim Rathmann was the driver and his passengers were Tony Hulman, Robert Draper, astronaut Pete Conrad, and Mrs. Dolly Cole, wife of the president and chief officer of General Motors Corporation. She was the first woman ever to ride in a pace car.


Thirty-two cars moved out for the start. The one exception was none other than A.J. Foyt, who started in the middle of the sixth row. A huge moan went up from the audience when the announcement was made. His crew worked desperately to solve the problem while the field continued on its way. As the field came through the fourth turn, Harlen Fengler almost screamed over the PA system for the crew to get the car to the inside wall immediately, which they did. The field presented a beautiful sight as it went by and received the cheers and applause of the crowd as it finished the parade lap and started the pace lap. Everybody was looking to the fourth turn now as the big roar was only a minute or so away. As the pace car came out of the turn and headed for the pit area, Foyt’s car still hadn’t started. There was the possibility of another trip around the track, so the field wasn’t moving too fast, but then, at the last second, starter Pat Vidan waved the green flag for the confused start. It was confusing because the yellow caution lights were on all around the track at the same time the green flag was waved. Whether the track condition was green or yellow, the field took off and the race was on.

Bobby Unser jumped into the lead from his pole position and put a considerable distance between him and the other cars. Revson, Donahue, Bettenhausen, and the other front starters fought among themselves in a battle to catch Bobby.


The first car out of the race was rookie Salt Walther, whose car coasted to a stop in the second turn on his fourth lap. On his 10th lap, another rookie, Swede Savage, left the race with a broken rod bearing.


After seven laps, Mike Mosley had moved from 14th to eighth position, and Bobby Unser had started lapping the tail end cars. He led Mark Donohue by seventeen seconds and Gary Bettenhausen was third.


On the 18th lap, both Bettenhausen and Peter Revson caught Donohue and passed him. Meanwhile, Johnny Rutherford had pitted twice in the first twelve laps, but continued in the race.


An unpleasant surprised occurred on the 23 lap when Reveson pulled into the infield between the first and second turn with a broken gear box and was out of the race.


The standings at twenty laps were Unser, Revson, Bettenhausen, Donohue, Mosley, Jerry Grant, Mario Andretti, Sam Posey, Bill Vukovich, and Foyt. The average speed was 179.901 mph.


After 28 laps, Unser led second place Bettenhausen by 24 seconds, and only four other cars were on the same lap with them. This situation, however, was about to change.


On the 30th lap, much to everybody’s surprise, Unser very slowly came into the pit area and was hardly able to make it to his own pit area. His crew tried to fix the car, but it was no use. An ignition rotor had broken and he was out of the race. His car had been the fastest one all month long, but now with the race less than ¼ completed, he was out of the running, and the nature of the race changed tremendously.


While Bobby was in the pits, Mel Kenyon, Dick Simon, and Carl Williams made pit stops. The first yellow flag of the race came out during this period but only for a couple laps and then the green flag came out again. At 35 laps, the first five were Bettenhausen, Mosley, Grant, Donohue, and Vukovich.


At 40 laps, or 100 miles, the standings were Bettenhausen, Donohue, Grant, Vukovich, Andretti, Mosley, Al Unser, Lloyd Ruby, Gordon Johncock, and Roger McCluskey.


Bettenhausen pitted for the first time on his 42nd lap, and so did Andretti. A big moan came from the fans as Andretti very slowly entered the pit area. His engine wasn’t even running and everybody feared the worst but fortunately, as it was learned later, he was only out of fuel.


Meanwhile, Johnny Rutherford and Roger McCluskey had left the race and Carl Williams had to come into his pit twice because of being blackflagged.


Bill Vukovich’s good luck also ended early. He was in fifth position when he pulled into the south chute grass area on his 55th lap. On the 56th lap, Foyt returned to the race after a long pit stop to install a new turbocharger.

On the 55th lap, Mosley passed Bettenhausen for the lead, but his luck was about to go sour, too. As he came through the fourth turn on his 57th laps, he crashed into the outside wall, slid across the track nearly hitting the inside wall, and then slid back and hit the outside wall again, and slid backward against the wall down the track.. The car caught on fire and Mike was out of the car and rolling around on the track trying to extinguish his burning clothes before the car had hardly stopped. The caution lights came on and firemen were on the scene immediately. He had second and third degree burns on his legs and minor burns on his hands and face. This was almost the exact spot where Mike crashed last year with Bobby Unser, and his injuries were the same as last year. Pieces of his car went flying in every direction and Gary Bettenhausen, running second behind Mike, just barely missed crashing into the mess.


With Mosley out of the race, Bettenhausen moved back into the lead, and at 60 laps, the first ten were Bettenhausen, Grant, Donohue, Johncock, Al Unser, Roger McCluskey, Jim Hurtubise, Sam Sessions, and Mel Kenyon. Grant moved into second position and after seventy-three laps was less than five seconds behind Bettenhausen.


Grant and Bettenhausen both pitted a few laps later and Donohue took the lead, but he also pitted and that put Bettenhausen in front again.


Carl Williams was blackflagged again and this time his crew pushed the car to the garage area. At the same time, Foyt’s car was also pushed back to the garage area.


At the halfway mark, the standings were Bettenhausen, Grant, Donohue, Johncock, Unser, Leonard, Andretti, Hurtubise, Sessions, and Ruby. The average speed was 162.112 mph.


Jim Hurtubise’s car rolled to a stop on the backstretch after going 99 laps, and at 120 laps, Johncock was forced out of the race with a broken piston. John Mahler and Steve Krisiloff also dropped out with mechanical problems.


Bettenhausen, Grant, and Donohue continued to lead the field as new speed records were set and other cars dropped out of the running. Denny Zimmerman, Mel Kenyon, and Lee Kunzman left the race for different reasons as the race approached the ¾ mark.


Wally Dallenbach was the next driver to leave the race. Wally started in last place and on two of his pit stops, his car caught on fire. Now he was finished for the day.


Bettenhausen, Grant, and Donohue, continued to hold the first three positions, but then somewhere around the 180 lap mark, Gary’s car started misbehaving. It had been running perfectly but all of a sudden, it sounded terrible and he slowed down considerably. His change of luck evoked a great moan from the audience and a few laps later, Jerry Grant caught him and took the lead, although Gary stayed in the race.


Although it was getting late in the race, there was still much excitement left. Grant’s crew, headed by former driver Dan Gurney, was naturally happy with the change of events, but their joy was to be quite brief. Jerry was in front and he seemed to be headed for victory, but then, with less than 15 laps to go, he had to make a pit stop for a new tire and fuel. It was here that the race was lost for Jerry. For some reason, his pit crew refueled the car from Bobby Unser’s regular tank. It was a mistake which nobody probably will ever forget.


While Jerry was in his pit, Donohue passed him and took the lead. With only about ten laps to go, there was plenty of action. The Sunoco-McLaren crew, who were brooding over Gary Bettnehausen’s car, now made an about face as victory seemed imminent to Gary’s teammate, Mark Donohue. Mark received the message from his crew and raised his hand in acknowledgment.


By the time Grant returned to the race track, there was too little time left for him to regain the lead, so he had to settle for second position behind Donohue, who finished the remaining few laps and received the checkered flag. Mark took two extra laps around the track and then slowly drove through the pit area on his way to Victory Lane. A few seconds later, Grant pulled into his pit area for the last time this year. He had driven a tremendous race and received a big applause from the crowd. Only a change of luck beyond his control had kept him from winning the big prize. Little did he, or anybody else, know that in the next 24 hours, he would be involved in a big controversy over the finish of the race.


After Donohue and Grant, the remaining cars either finished the 500 miles or were red flagged to their finish.

Behind Grant, in third position, was Al Unser. Al had gone almost unnoticed in the race because of the battle between Donohue and Grant, but at the end, he was right behind them. His car had not performed as well as expected all month long, but it did excellently when it counted the most.


One of Al’s two teammates, Joe Leonard, also did real well and was near the front of the field during most of the race. His steady driving brought him fourth position.


Sam Sessions made his best showing at the Speedway by finishing fifth.


Finishing in sixth position was rookie Sam Posey. Sam was the fastest rookie qualifier this year at 184.379 mph and started in 7th position. He made an excellent showing of himself.


Seventh position went to the old pro and sentimental favorite to win the race, Lloyd Ruby. This was Lloyd’s 13th race and his bad luck at the Speedway is one of the best known stories in auto racing. Although he was in the first ten positions during the last half of the race, he didn’t lead the race at any time, unlike his last four races. With each passing year, Lloyd becomes more and more the sentimental favorite to take the big prize, but Lady Luck has yet to say yes. He certainly deserves to win this race. If he ever does, there will be a huge multitude of very happy race fans.


Mike Hiss, another rookie, whom many people expect to be a future star, made a good showing of himself in his initial 500 mile race and finished 8th.


In ninth position was Al Unser’s other teammate, Mario Andretti. Mario had an excellent qualifying speed of 187.617 mph and started in fifth position. He twice ran out of fuel before he reached the pit area and this probably cost him a few positions in the standings.


Another rookie, Jimmy Caruthers, made a good showing and finished tenth. He had the second slowest qualifying time and started in the last row, but he moved up steadily to his final position.


Other cars still going when the red flag was displayed were those of Cale Yarborough, George Snider, and Dick Simon.


The pits of Sessions, Ruby, and Yarborough were in front of us, so we were able to see quite a lot of pit action this year.


When the last car pulled off the track, Bobby and dad decided they would go back to the car and rest for a few minutes, but I stayed and watched the activity for a while. Mark Donohue was driven around the track in the pace car so that everybody could see him, and then held an impromptu press conference at the starting line. He answered questions from newspapers, magazines, radio, and television personnel over the Speedway’s PA system.


Lloyd Ruby and Sam Sessions were helped out of their cars by their pit crews. Their uniforms were thoroughly wet and their faces were covered with grease, oil, and dirt, but they used a rag to get most of the mess off their faces. Lloyd sat on the back of his seat and talked to his pit crew while Sam walked around and stretched his arms and legs.


When all the cars had been pushed back to the garage area, I gathered up my equipment. As I was walking behind the pit area fence, I looked up and down the straightaway and at the thousands of seats for the last time until next May. Since I was by myself, I decided to go over to the garage area and see if I could see anything. I hadn’t done this for several years and since I didn’t have to be at the car at any specific time, I took advantage of the situation and joined several hundred other fans who wanted a close-up view of the cars. There were only a few cars to see and the mob of humanity behind the fence was several rows deep, so it was hard to get a close view of the car. I walked around for several minutes with hopes of seeing one of the drivers, but I didn’t see any, so I left and started my walk to the car.


The traffic moved right along through the tunnel and a couple minutes later, I was on the outside of the track. I turned around and took my last look at the Control Tower for this year. As I was walking behind the Paddock Section to the main gate, I heard some loud noise coming from Georgetown Road. I looked to my right and saw two men, apparently under the control of liquor, having a shoving and shouting match. Their language was unpleasant and a few seconds later, they started to throw punches at each other. A couple race fans entered the scene and physically restrained the men, although they continued to shout at each other. They finally went their separate ways, but not before making a nuisance of themselves with fans who were offended by the fighting and profanity.


As I neared the main gate, I bought a copy of the Flash Final Edition of The Indianapolis News. Its headline was “Donohue Wins 500.” At the same time I heard some music in the distance. Pretty soon, I saw a crowd gathered in a circle. I stopped to see what the attraction was. A quartet of musicians was providing post race entertainment for the fans. There were a drummer, a clarinetist, trombonist, and a trumpeter. They could play their instruments real well, and the race fans really enjoyed their music. I stood for several minutes and watched them and then continued on my way.


The traffic on Crawfordsville Road was bumper to bumper with hot, tired, dirty race fans eager to get on the open road. Some of the people in the cars were asleep, while the other waited, some patiently and some impatiently, for the traffic to move. I managed to avoid getting hit by either a car or a pedestrian, and a few minutes later, I arrived at Kramer’s.


Bobby and dad were sitting in their lawn chairs by the car and watching the cars and people go by. I put my equipment in the car and then got my chair out of the car and took my shoes off. Most of Mr. Kramer’s customers had already left, but there were a few left, including two young couples sleeping on the ground in front of our car.


It really felt good to have my shoes off and to sit in my chair for a few minutes. I told Bobby and dad about visiting the garage area, witnessing the fight between the two drunks, and listening to the musicians. Bobby said there was some food and coffee still left and that I could have them if I wanted them. The food consisted of a couple sandwiches and some potato chips. I had eaten a couple sandwiches during the race, but I still had room for a couple more.


About 4:30, we decided to start our trip home. We got all the equipment packed into the trunk and back seat and then had to awaken the two sleeping couples in front of the car so that they could move out of our way. Mr. Kramer was in his yard so we said goodbye to him and started our trip. I drove out of the yard right onto the highway and was real lucky to meet a polite driver right away who let us get in front of him. The next hour was one of great frustration as we moved very slowly and only in occasional spurts. It took us almost an hour to reach the I-74 intersection and we were really glad to get on it. The traffic was no problem now and about 6:30, we crossed the state line and a few minutes later took route 150/1 south from Danville. It took us a little longer on this road but we still didn’t encounter any unusual problems and about 7:00, we reached the route 36 junction and pulled into the Colonial Kitchen parking lot. There wasn’t a parking space anywhere, so we knew there were a lot of people there. I had to make a space behind the restaurant and pulled off far enough to the side to allow traffic to go through.


We thought we might have a long wait ahead of us, but happily we didn’t. There was a big party going on in the east room and that accounted for most of the cars in the parking lot. The regular dining room wasn’t crowded and we got to serve ourselves right away. I put my plate on our table and then went to the restroom to wash my hands. When I returned, Bobby had ordered ice tea for all of us. I don’t like tea, but I guess Bobby didn’t know this and I didn’t have the nerve to tell her, so I drank it. I didn’t like the tea, but the cold ice really felt good in my mouth. I liked almost everything there was to eat and I really stuffed myself, and dad and Bobby did likewise to themselves. We took our time in eating and when we finished, we used the restrooms, paid the bill, and left. I bought a Paris, Illinois newspaper as we were leaving because I wanted to see if it had information on the wreck we had seen yesterday. When I got to the car, I discovered it was Friday’s newspaper, so I just wasted a dime.

Feeling quite a bit better than when we stopped, we started the second part of our trip home and headed west on Route 36. When we reached the scene of yesterday’s wreck, I slowed down so that we could survey the area a little bit. The debris had been cleared from the road, but the two parts of the car on the north side of the highway were still in the same place they were yesterday when we left the accident area. We arrived in Decatur shortly before 9:00 and the city was filled with people having their Saturday night outing. This made the traffic quite heavy, but we still managed to get through the city in about fifteen minutes. It was a few minutes before 10:00 when we arrived at the Dalbey’s house.


I stayed for a few minutes and then put all of my equipment into my car and headed for home. It was a couple minutes shy of 10:30 when I arrived home. I brought my equipment in but didn’t put any of it away. Unlike many other years, I didn’t feel dirty and tired, but I decided to go to bed anyway. Once again, our yearly sojourn to the 500 mile race had been a safe one without any accidents. Now, it was time to read and listen to all the stories that would be told about this year’s race.


EPILOGUE

I think this will be one of those years when a driver, other than the winner, received the most publicity. The other drivers and years that come to my mind are Bill Vukovich in 1955, Eddie Sachs and Dave McDonald in 1964, and Parnelli Jones in 1967. The driver this year was, of course, Jerry Grant. When the record purse of $1,039,242.31 was distributed at the Victory Dinner the following night, he was probably the most frustrated and disappointed driver there.


After the race, George Bignotti, crew chief for the team of Al Unser, Joe Leonard, and Mario Andretti, filed a protest with race officials. In his protest, Bignotti claimed that when Jerry made his pit stop on his 188th lap, he was refueled from the tank of his teammate, Bobby Unser, instead of from his own fuel tank. This is an illegal practice and when race officials checked into the matter, they discovered that Bignotti was right. The following morning, the officials made public the announcement that Jerry had been refueled from his teammate’s tank, that this is an illegal procedure, and that therefore he was dropped from second to twelfth position because his last twelve laps did not count and this is where he would have finished if he had gone out of the race at that time. It was certainly a cruel blow to Jerry, and even more so because he had nothing to do with it. His pit crew chief, Dan Gurney, admitted that it was his fault, but that didn’t regain Jerry any of the $71,423.04 he lost by being dropped from second to twelfth position in the standings.


The incident received much attention and publicity during the next several days, and then general opinion seemed to be “Why did Gurney do it?” This is a question for which I do not have the answer. Maybe, in his haste to get Jerry back on the track as quickly as possible in hope of retaining the lead, he forgot about the refueling law. Maybe he was aware of the refueling law, but thought maybe he would take a chance and hope no USAC officials or other pit crew member would notice it. Dan is considered a smart and knowledgeable person in the field of auto racing, and this makes the question even harder to answer. Whatever the reason, Dan got caught doing it, and Jerry Grant paid a terrible price for his error.


In view of all that I have said about Jerry Grant, I, in no way, mean to discredit the performance of Mark Donohue. Mark drove a good race and was, undisputedly, the winner, but I think if one looks at the record, he will have to admit that Mark won the race largely, if not mostly, on good luck. He was in the right place at the right time. By that, I mean he was in second position when the leader had to make his unscheduled pit stop. If misfortune hadn’t struck Jerry Grant, in the form of a pit stop or any other situation in the remaining twelve laps of the race, Mark would have finished in second position.


This, however, is another example of a “Breaks of the Game” situation, and that game can be auto racing, baseball, football, politics, driving a car, or any of a multitude of other situations. I have seen many cases where an individual or a team had a certain victory for sure, only to have some unforeseen misfortune strike at the last minute and turn victory into defeat. This was certainly true in the case of Jerry Grant this year.


Although it was Jerry Grant who was the newsmaker after the race, it was Bobby Unser who stole the speed show up until race day. His Olsonite-Eagle was in a class by itself all month, and he was the overwhelming favorite to not only win, but run away with, the race. His 195.940 mph qualifying speed was far above what anybody had thought possible. The 17 mph increase over Peter Revson’s 179 mph record of last year was almost impossible for anybody to believe. Peter, himself, came closest to Bobby’s qualifying mark, and his speed was more than three miles per hour below that of Bobby’s speed.


Bobby, however, proved one point during the race that many other drivers have also proven in previous years. That point is that although a driver may be far and away the fastest driver during the practice period and time trials, in no way does that guarantee that he will be the first one to receive the checkered flag. Bobby certainly had the race to himself while he was in it, but then before anybody hardly knew what was happening, he was out of it.


As a result of the Jerry Grant decision, all positions from third through twelfth were moved up one; therefore, the finishing positions I listed earlier in this story are incorrect and should be one position higher than I have them listed. This includes the position of Al Unser through George Snider.


Mark Donohue’s winning speed average was 163.465 mph. This is almost six miles per hour faster than Al Unser’s record 1971 speed of 157.735 mph.


Unlike last year, my movie camera worked fine this year and I took two good reels of the race and one of the first day of time trials.


I hope next year’s race will be as exciting and interesting as this year’s race. I plan to be there once again to see one of the world’s greatest shows – the Indianapolis 500 – the greatest spectacle in racing.


Note: This paragraph should have been part of the epilogue, but it was inadvertently omitted. When we arrived home and I gathered up my equipment to put in my car, I couldn’t find my pillow. I thoroughly checked Bobby’s car and everywhere in the house I had been, but couldn’t find it. Luckily, when I arrived home, Dixie told me it was an old pillow and it didn’t matter if I had lost it. I was quite angry at myself. A couple days later, I wrote to Mrs. Kramer and explained the situation and asked her if she had found it and if she could return it to me. I was doubtful if I would ever hear anything about it. Two weeks later, I received the pillow well packed in a cardboard box and with a note from Mrs. Kramer. She said she found it in the back yard by the garage and hoped somebody would write and claim it. I was very happy to get the pillow back and wrote a letter of appreciation and sent the money for the postage to Mrs. Kramer.


Pace Car – Hurst/Olds

500 Festival Queen – Elaine Scher