1970 Indianapolis 500

Last updated

54th Indianapolis 500
Indy500winningcar1970.JPG
Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Indianapolis 500
Sanctioning body USAC
Season 1970 USAC Trail
DateMay 30, 1970
Winner Al Unser, Sr.
Winning team Vel's Parnelli Jones Racing
Average speed155.749 mph (250.654 km/h)
Pole position Al Unser, Sr.
Pole speed170.221 mph (273.944 km/h)
Fastest lap Al Unser, Sr.
Rookie of the Year Donnie Allison
Most laps led Al Unser, Sr. (190)
Pre-race ceremonies
National anthem Al Hirt
"Back Home Again in Indiana" Saverio Saridis
Starting command Tony Hulman
Pace car Oldsmobile 442
Pace car driver Rodger Ward
StarterPat Vidan [1]
Estimated attendance250,000 [2]
TV in the United States
Network ABC's Wide World of Sports
Announcers Jim McKay, Rodger Ward
Chronology
PreviousNext
1969 1971

The 54th 500 Mile International Sweepstakes was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana on Saturday, May 30, 1970. [3] [4] [5] Al Unser Sr. dominated the race, winning the pole position and leading 190 laps (of 200) en route to victory. He joined his brother Bobby as the first duo of brothers to win the Indianapolis 500; [4] it was the first of his four victories at Indianapolis. Car owner Parnelli Jones, who won the race as a driver in 1963, became the second individual (after Pete DePaolo) to win separately as both a driver and as an owner.

Contents

Unser turned 31 a day earlier and took home $271,697 out of a record $1,000,002 purse. For the first time in Indy history, the total prize fund topped a million dollars.

Rain on race morning delayed the start by about thirty minutes. On the pace lap, Jim Malloy smacked the outside wall in turn four, which delayed the start further. [6]

All 33 cars in the field were turbocharged for the first time. This was the final 500 in which the winner celebrated in the old Victory Lane at the south end of the pits; it was relocated nearer the finish line for 1971.

Race schedule

The race start time was scheduled for 12:00 noon local time, a slight departure from the traditional 11:00 am start time that was used during most of the 1960s. With the race scheduled for Saturday May 30, Speedway management announced that Sunday May 31 would be the designated rain date, the first time the race would be permitted to run on a Sunday. However, despite a brief rain delay on race morning, the full 500 miles was completed Saturday, and Sunday was not needed.

This would be the last Indy 500 that was scheduled for the traditional fixed date of May 30. Through 1970, Memorial Day was a fixed date holiday observed on May 30 regardless of the day of the week. For 1970, the date of May 30 fell on a Saturday. From 1911 to 1970, the race was scheduled for May 30, regardless of the day of the week, unless May 30 fell on a Sunday. In those cases, the race would be scheduled for Monday May 31. The Uniform Monday Holiday Act would take effect in 1971, and for 1971 and 1972, the race would be scheduled for the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend. In 1973, it was scheduled for Monday (but rain delayed it until Wednesday). From 1974 onward, it was scheduled for the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend. From 1974 onward, the race would only be held on May 30 if that date fell on a Sunday.

The annual Carburetion Days practice session, along with pit stop practice, on Wednesday May 27 was closed to the public. [7]

Race schedule — May, 1970
SunMonTueWedThuFriSat

 

 

 

 

 
1
Practice
2
Practice
3
Practice
4
Practice
5
Practice
6
Practice
7
Practice
8
Practice
9
Practice
10
Practice
11
Practice
12
Practice
13
Practice
14
Practice
15
Practice
16
Pole Day
17
Time Trials
18
Practice
19
Practice
20
Practice
21
Practice
22
Practice
23
Time Trials
24
Bump Day
25
 
26
 
27
Carb Day
28
Parade
29
Meeting
30
Indy 500
31
Rain date

 

 

 

 

 

 
ColorNotes
GreenPractice
Dark BlueTime trials
SilverRace day
RedRained out*
BlankNo track activity

*Includes days where track
activity was significantly
limited due to rain

Practice and time trials

Al Unser, Sr. set the fastest speed during practice, with a lap of 171.233 mph. Unser led the speed chart on five of the practice days, and was the only driver to crack the 170 mph barrier during the first two weeks. A. J. Foyt (169.173 mph) and Art Pollard (169.1 mph) were close behind.

John Cannon wrecked on Sunday May 10, and was unable to qualify. On Monday May 11, defending race winner Mario Andretti spun and wrecked in turn four. His car hit the inside wall twice, and the car was heavily damaged. Andretti was not injured.

On Tuesday May 12, Dennis Hulme's car caught fire in turn three. He bailed from the moving machine, suffering burns to his hands and feet. He withdrew due to the injuries.

Pole Day – Saturday May 16

Al Unser, Sr. won the pole position over Johnny Rutherford by 0.01 seconds, a record closest margin for the pole position at the time. A. J. Foyt rounded out the "all over 170 mph" front row. Unser's pole speed of 170.221 mph (his fastest single lap was 170.358 mph) was not a record – which marked the first time since the 1940s that two consecutive years went by without track records set during time trials at Indy.

Rain halted pole day qualifying at 3:42 p.m. with 17 cars in the field . A few cars (namely Lloyd Ruby, Gary Bettenhausen, and Peter Revson) were still waiting in line when the rains came. USAC officials closed the track for the day, and those cars were deemed ineligible for the pole round. In subsequent years, the rules would be changed to allow all cars in the original qualifying draw order at least one chance to make an attempt during the pole round, regardless if it extended into an additional calendar day due to rain.

Rookie Tony Adamowicz suffered bad luck during his attempt. On his first qualifying lap, the yellow light was turned on by error. He slowed down, and his first lap was turned in at 160.829 mph. The green light came back on moments later, and he completed the run. Although he had two laps over 166 mph, his first lap pulled his average down to 164.820 mph, and made him the second-slowest car in the field for the day.

PosNo.NameSpeed
(mph)
Notes
12 Al Unser 170.221 
218 Johnny Rutherford 170.213 
37 A. J. Foyt 170.004 
411 Roger McCluskey 169.213 
566 Mark Donohue 168.911 
610 Art Pollard 168.595 
73 Bobby Unser 168.508 
81 Mario Andretti 168.209 
931 Jim Malloy 167.973 
1084 George Snider 167.660 
1148 Dan Gurney 166.860 
129 Mike Mosley 166.651 
1327 LeeRoy Yarbrough 166.613 
1497 Bruce Walkup 166.459 
1538 Rick Muther  R 165.654 
36 Tony Adamowicz  R 164.820Bumped by #58
92 Steve Krisiloff  R 162.448Bumped by #89
5 Gordon Johncock Flagged off
5 Gordon Johncock Waved off
95 Sam Posey  R Blown engine
23 Mel Kenyon Pulled off
76 Kevin Bartlett  R Waved off
94 Bentley Warren  R Pulled off
93 Greg Weld  R Crash
74 Jim McElreath Pulled off

Second Day – Sunday May 17

Three drivers shut out from the pole round came back to qualify on the second day. Peter Revson (167.942 mph) was the 9th-fastest car in the field, but lined up 18th due to being a second day qualifier. Lloyd Ruby went out for his first attempt, but when he raised his hand to signify the intent to start his attempt, the officials did not see it, and inadvertently waved him off. After he persuaded the officials for a do-over, he had a lap of 169.428 mph, but burned a piston on the fourth and final lap. [8] The incident drew the ire of the team, as they felt the officials cost them a chance to be the day's fastest qualifier (for having run the extra laps). Ruby went out again later in the day with a new engine, but waved off after one slow lap.

PosNo.NameSpeed
(mph)
Notes
1673 Peter Revson 167.942 
175 Gordon Johncock 167.015 
1815 Joe Leonard 166.898 
1975 Carl Williams 166.590 
2016 Gary Bettenhausen 166.451 
2120 George Follmer 166.052 
2223 Mel Kenyon 165.906 
2383 Donnie Allison  R 165.662 
2422 Wally Dallenbach Sr. 165.601 
74 Jim McElreath 163.592Bumped by #32
19 Ronnie Bucknum Waved off
12 Lloyd Ruby Blown engine
76 Kevin Bartlett  R Waved off
12 Lloyd Ruby Pulled off
56 Jim Hurtubise  

Third Day – Saturday May 23

After a disappointing first weekend, Lloyd Ruby rebounded to complete his qualifying attempt at 168.895 mph. A busy day saw 14 attempts, and the field was filled to 33 cars. Two drivers (Bentley Warren and Tony Adamowicz) were bumped.

PosNo.NameSpeed
(mph)
Notes
2525 Lloyd Ruby 168.895 
2632 Jack Brabham 166.397Bumped #74
2719 Ronnie Bucknum 166.136 
2893 Greg Weld  R 166.121 
2989 Jerry Grant 165.983Bumped #92
3058 Bill Vukovich II 165.753Bumped #36
3144 Dick Simon  R 165.548Bumped #94
3267 Sammy Sessions 165.373 
77 Kevin Bartlett  R 165.259Bumped by #14
94 Bentley Warren  R 164.805Bumped by #44
56 Jim Hurtubise Incomplete
78 Larry Dickson Pulled off
50 Arnie Knepper Waved off
17 John Cannon  R Waved off

Bump Day – Sunday May 24

Jim McElreath put the fourth Foyt entry in the field, bumping Bartlett. No other cars, however, were able to show enough speed to make the field. Jigger Sirois, infamous for missing the 1969 race, fell far short in Jack Adam's Turbine car.

PosNo.NameSpeed
(mph)
Notes
3314 Jim McElreath 166.821Bumped #77
53 Arnie Knepper 165.320Too slow
54 Jigger Sirois 164.692Too slow
99 Denny Zimmerman 158.912Too slow
8 Larry Dickson 158.479Too slow
21 John Cannon Waved off
95 Sam Posey Crash

Starting grid

RowInsideMiddleOutside
12 Flag of the United States.svg Al Unser 18 Flag of the United States.svg Johnny Rutherford 7 Flag of the United States.svg A. J. Foyt  W 
211 Flag of the United States.svg Roger McCluskey 66 Flag of the United States.svg Mark Donohue 10 Flag of the United States.svg Art Pollard
33 Flag of the United States.svg Bobby Unser  W 1 Flag of the United States.svg Mario Andretti  W 31 Flag of the United States.svg Jim Malloy
484 Flag of the United States.svg George Snider 48 Flag of the United States.svg Dan Gurney 9 Flag of the United States.svg Mike Mosley
527 Flag of the United States.svg LeeRoy Yarbrough 97 Flag of the United States.svg Bruce Walkup 38 Flag of the United States.svg Rick Muther  R 
673 Flag of the United States.svg Peter Revson 5 Flag of the United States.svg Gordon Johncock 15 Flag of the United States.svg Joe Leonard
775 Flag of the United States.svg Carl Williams 16 Flag of the United States.svg Gary Bettenhausen 20 Flag of the United States.svg George Follmer
823 Flag of the United States.svg Mel Kenyon 83 Flag of the United States.svg Donnie Allison  R 22 Flag of the United States.svg Wally Dallenbach Sr.
925 Flag of the United States.svg Lloyd Ruby 32 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Jack Brabham 19 Flag of the United States.svg Ronnie Bucknum
1093 Flag of the United States.svg Greg Weld  R 89 Flag of the United States.svg Jerry Grant 58 Flag of the United States.svg Bill Vukovich II
1144 Flag of the United States.svg Dick Simon  R 67 Flag of the United States.svg Sammy Sessions 14 Flag of the United States.svg Jim McElreath
R Indianapolis 500 rookie
W Indianapolis 500 winner

Alternates

Failed to qualify

Race recap

Start

Rain delayed the start of the race by about 25 minutes. On the final pace lap, the field was coming through turn four to take the green flag. Suddenly, Jim Malloy on the outside of the third row, suffered a rear suspension failure, and smacked the outside wall. His car veered across the track to the inside, but narrowly avoided contact with any other car. The field was halted on the mainstretch under the red flag to clean up the accident. During the delay, teams were permitted to top off their fuel tanks, after burning three laps of methanol.

The field was restarted after the red flag, and 32 cars took the green flag. Johnny Rutherford swept across to take the lead into turn one. Down the backstretch, Al Unser Sr. tucked in behind, and took the lead going into turn three. Unser led the first lap.

Lloyd Ruby, who started 25th, notably passed ten cars on the first lap. By the third lap, Ruby was in the top ten.

First half

The early laps focused on the mad charge of Lloyd Ruby, who was up to 5th place by about lap 28. The yellow flag came out when Art Pollard blew an engine. Under the caution, Mario Andretti was forced to make an unscheduled pit stop to repair loose bodywork. He rejoined the race, but lost many positions.

As the race passed the 100-mile mark, Al Unser Sr. led, with Johnny Rutherford running second, and A. J. Foyt and Lloyd Ruby battling for third.

Al Unser Sr. led the first 48 laps. He gave up the lead to A. J. Foyt during a pit stop on lap 49. One lap later, Foyt entered the pits, giving the lead to Lloyd Ruby. Suddenly Ruby was given the black flag for smoke due to broken drive gears. Ruby's dramatic race was over after completing only 54 laps. Meanwhile, Johnny Rutherford stalled exiting the pits, losing considerable track position.

Unser re-took the lead on lap 54, and led until the halfway point. Mario Andretti once again had to make an unscheduled pit stop, this time to change the right rear tire. Through most of the race, he was experiencing handling issues with the right rear suspension.

Second half

Al Unser moved back to the front on lap 106, and he would not relinquish the lead. Johnny Rutherford, who was a factor in the first half, dropped out after 135 laps due to a broken header.

Roger McCluskey, who had dropped out on lap 62 with suspension damage, relieved Mel Kenyon on lap 112.

On lap 172, Roger McCluskey (driving for Kenyon), spun going into turn three, and crashed hard into the outside wall. Ronnie Bucknum was collected in the crash. Sammy Sessions locked up the brakes and nearly slid into the crashed cars. Sessions gained control, weaved his way through, and continued in the race. Spilled fuel started pouring from one of the crashed cars, and a small fire broke out. As the field approached the scene, several cars got into the fluid and spun. Wally Dallenbach and Jack Brabham spun but continued. Mario Andretti nearly spun out, but he made it through the scene unscathed. The fire was quickly extinguished, but what turned out to be the final yellow light of the race was on for over 14 minutes (lap 172 through lap 181) to clear the track.

Finish

With about 25 laps to go, Al Unser Sr. had lapped the entire field. Unser's crew gave him the "E-Z" sign on his chalkboard, and both Mark Donohue and A. J. Foyt got their lap back.

With Unser leading comfortably, the focus became the battle for second between Mark Donohue and A. J. Foyt. With only a handful of laps left, Foyt suddenly slowed in turn one. He pulled to the apron, but stayed out on the track attempting to nurse the car to the finish line.

Al Unser Sr. led a total of 190 laps en route to his first Indy victory. Unser won by 32.19 seconds over second place Mark Donohue, over three minutes over third place Dan Gurney in his final 500 as a driver. A very slow A. J. Foyt fell to 10th in the final standings.

Box score

FinishStartNoNameChassisEngineTireQualLapsStatus
112 Flag of the United States.svg Al Unser Colt Ford V-8 F 170.221200Running
2566 Flag of the United States.svg Mark Donohue Lola Ford V-8 G 168.911200+32.19
31148 Flag of the United States.svg Dan Gurney Eagle Offenhauser G 166.860200+3:12.21
42383 Flag of the United States.svg Donnie Allison  R  Eagle Ford V-8 G 165.662200+3:44.82
53314 Flag of the United States.svg Jim McElreath Coyote Ford V-8 G 166.821200+4:30.89
681 Flag of the United States.svg Mario Andretti  W McNamara Ford V-8 F 168.209199Flagged
72989 Flag of the United States.svg Jerry Grant Eagle Offenhauser G 165.983198Flagged
81538 Flag of the United States.svg Rick Muther  R  Brawner Offenhauser G 165.654197Flagged
91975 Flag of the United States.svg Carl Williams McLaren Offenhauser G 166.590197Flagged
1037 Flag of the United States.svg A. J. Foyt  W  Coyote Ford V-8 G 170.004195Flagged
1173 Flag of the United States.svg Bobby Unser  W  Eagle Ford V-8 G 168.508192Flagged
123267 Flag of the United States.svg Sammy Sessions Vollstedt Ford V-8 G 165.373190Flagged
132632 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Jack Brabham Brabham Offenhauser G 166.397175Piston
143144 Flag of the United States.svg Dick Simon  R Vollstedt Ford V-8 G 165.548168Flagged
152719 Flag of the United States.svg Ronnie Bucknum Morris Ford V-8 G 166.136162Crash T3
162223 Flag of the United States.svg Mel Kenyon
(Roger McCluskey Laps 112–160)
Coyote Offenhauser G 165.906160Crash T3
172422 Flag of the United States.svg Wally Dallenbach Sr. Eagle Ford V-8 G 165.601143Coil
18218 Flag of the United States.svg Johnny Rutherford Eagle Offenhauser G 170.213135Header
191327 Flag of the United States.svg LeeRoy Yarbrough Vollstedt Ford V-8 G 166.559107Turbo Gear
201084 Flag of the United States.svg George Snider Coyote Ford V-8 G 167.660105Suspension
21129 Flag of the United States.svg Mike Mosley Eagle Offenhauser G 166.65196Radiator
221673 Flag of the United States.svg Peter Revson McLaren Offenhauser G 167.94287Magneto
233058 Flag of the United States.svg Bill Vukovich II Brabham Offenhauser F 165.75378Clutch
241815 Flag of the United States.svg Joe Leonard Colt Ford V-8 F 166.89873Switch
25411 Flag of the United States.svg Roger McCluskey Scorpion Ford V-8 G 169.21362Suspension
262016 Flag of the United States.svg Gary Bettenhausen Gerhardt Offenhauser G 166.45155Valve
272525 Flag of the United States.svg Lloyd Ruby Mongoose Offenhauser F 168.89554Drive Gear
28175 Flag of the United States.svg Gordon Johncock Gerhardt Offenhauser G 167.01545Piston
291497 Flag of the United States.svg Bruce Walkup Mongoose Offenhauser F 166.45944Timing Gear
30610 Flag of the United States.svg Art Pollard Kingfish Offenhauser F 168.59528Piston
312120 Flag of the United States.svg George Follmer Brawner Ford V-8 F 166.05218Oil Gasket
322893 Flag of the United States.svg Greg Weld  R Gerhardt Offenhauser F 166.12112Piston
33931 Flag of the United States.svg Jim Malloy Gerhardt Offenhauser F 167.8950Crash T4

Note: Relief drivers in parentheses [11]

 W  Former Indianapolis 500 winner

 R  Indianapolis 500 Rookie

Race statistics

Tire participation chart [13] [14]
SupplierNo. of starters
Goodyear 23 
Firestone 10*
*Denotes race winner

Broadcasting

Radio

The race was carried live on the IMS Radio Network. Sid Collins served as chief announcer for the 23rd consecutive year. Len Sutton served as "driver expert" for the fifth year. At the conclusion of the race, Lou Palmer reported from victory lane. The entire on-air crew remained mostly consistent from 1966 to 1969. The broadcast came on-air at 11:30 am local time, with a thirty-minute pre-race show scheduled. However, the rain delay increased the pre-race coverage to almost an hour. After the death of Bill Dean, Jack Morrow assumed the role of producer.

The broadcast was carried by over 1,000 affiliates in all fifty states, AFN, the CBC, and reached locations such as Vietnam and had four foreign language translations. The broadcast had an estimated 120 million listeners worldwide.

Among the celebrity interviews Sid Collins conducted in the booth were Edie Adams, Dennis Hulme, Billy Shaw, Chris Economaki (ABC Sports), Larry Bisceglia, Sam Hanks, Pete DePaolo, Bill Holland, Senator Vance Hartke, Tony Hulman, Duke Nalon, Johnnie Parsons, and J. C. Agajanian. Astronaut Pete Conrad, who was a fellow passenger with Tony Hulman in the pace car for the second year in a row, was also interviewed during the pre-race coverage.

Indianapolis Motor Speedway Radio Network
Booth AnnouncersTurn Reporters Pit/garage reporters

Chief Announcer: Sid Collins
Driver expert: Len Sutton
Statistician: John DeCamp
Historian: Donald Davidson

Turn 1: Mike Ahern
Turn 2: Howdy Bell
Backstretch: Doug Zink
Turn 3: Ron Carrell
Turn 4: Jim Shelton

Chuck Marlowe (north)
Luke Walton (center)
Lou Palmer (south)

Television

The race was carried in the United States on ABC's Wide World of Sports . The broadcast aired on Saturday June 6. Jim McKay anchored the broadcast with Rodger Ward and Chris Economaki as analysts. Ward drove the pace car at the start of the race. It was the last time the "500" was not seen on over-the-air television the day of the race.

For the final time, the race was shown live on MCA closed-circuit television in numerous theaters across the United States. Charlie Brockman served as anchor.

The "Wide World Of Sports" broadcast has re-aired on ESPN Classic starting in May 2011.

ABC Television
Booth Announcers Pit/garage reporters

Announcer: Jim McKay
Color: Rodger Ward

Chris Economaki

Notes

See also

References

  1. Fox, Jack C. (1994). The Illustrated History of the Indianapolis 500 1911-1994 (4th ed.). Carl Hungness Publishing. p. 22. ISBN   0-915088-05-3.
  2. Keating, Thomas R. (May 31, 1970). "Tony's Luck Held Again, But Few Doubted It Would". The Indianapolis Star. p. 1. Retrieved June 2, 2017 via Newspapers.com. Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg
  3. "Al Unser joins brother Bobby on list of Indy 500 winners". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. May 31, 1970. p. 1B.
  4. 1 2 Taylor, Jim (May 31, 1970). "Pole-sitter Unser easy Indy winner". Toledo Blade. p. D1.
  5. Jones, Robert F. (June 8, 1970). "Brother Al's turn in the 500". Sports Illustrated. p. 30.
  6. "Rain delays 500; Malloy snaps bar". The Bulletin. (Bend, Oregon). UPI. May 30, 1970. p. 8.
  7. "Pit Pass". The Indianapolis Star. May 27, 1970. p. 31. Retrieved March 7, 2022 via Newspapers.com. Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg
  8. Marquette, Ray (May 18, 1970). "Revson Leads Pack; Ruby Engines 'Blow'". The Indianapolis Star. p. 1. Retrieved May 31, 2018 via Newspapers.com. Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg
  9. The Talk of Gasoline Alley - 1070-AM WIBC, May 14, 2004
  10. "1970 International 500 Mile Sweepstakes". ChampCarStats.com. Retrieved June 27, 2015.
  11. "International 500 Mile Sweepstakes – May 30, 1970". ChampCarStats.com.
  12. "23+ Minutes Of Yellow Light Time". Indianapolis News . June 1, 1970. p. 26. Retrieved August 20, 2024 via Newspapers.com. Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg
  13. "500-Mile Race Scorecard". Indianapolis News . May 29, 1970. p. 19. Retrieved August 10, 2024 via Newspapers.com. Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg
  14. "Race scorecard". The Indianapolis Star . May 30, 1970. p. 1. Retrieved August 10, 2024 via Newspapers.com. Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg

Works cited

1969 Indianapolis 500
Mario Andretti
1970 Indianapolis 500
Al Unser
1971 Indianapolis 500
Al Unser