Mario Gabriele Andretti is an American former racing driver and businessman, who competed in Formula One from 1968 to 1982, and IndyCar from 1964 to 1994. Andretti won the Formula One World Drivers' Championship in 1978 with Lotus, and won 12 Grands Prix across 14 seasons. In American open-wheel racing, Andretti won four IndyCar National Championship titles and the Indianapolis 500 in 1969; in stock car racing, he won the Daytona 500 in 1967. In endurance racing, Andretti is a three-time winner of the 12 Hours of Sebring.
Alfred Unser was an American automobile racing driver, the younger brother of fellow racing drivers Jerry and Bobby Unser, and father of Al Unser Jr. He was the second of four men to have won the Indianapolis 500 four times, the fourth of six to have won the race in consecutive years, and the winner of the National Championship in 1970, 1983, and 1985. The Unser family has won the Indy 500 a record nine times. He was the only person to have both a sibling (Bobby) and child as fellow Indy 500 winners. Al's nephews Johnny and Robby Unser have also competed in that race. In 1971, he became the only driver to date to win the race on his birthday.
Robert William Unser was an American automobile racer. At his induction into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 1994, he had the fourth most IndyCar Series wins at 35. Unser won the 1968 and 1974 United States Automobile Club (USAC) national championships. He won the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb overall title 10 times.
Vel's Parnelli Jones Racing, commonly referred to simply as Parnelli or VPJ, was a motor racing constructor and team from the United States. The team was formed in 1969 by former USAC racer Parnelli Jones and his business partner Velko "Vel" Miletich. Parnelli was initially solely concerned with USAC racing, where success came quickly; their driver Al Unser won the Indianapolis 500 race in 1970, driving a VPJ Colt, after leading 190 of the 200 racing laps. Unser went on to win the USAC championship. Unser repeated the Indy 500 win in 1971 with a new Colt built without the left side chassis offset that had been made illegal by 1971 rules, ending the season in fourth place in the USAC drivers points while teammate Joe Leonard won the championship.
Rufus Parnell "Parnelli" Jones was an American professional racing driver and racing team owner. He is notable for his accomplishments while competing in the Indianapolis 500 and the Baja 1000 desert race, and the Trans-Am Championship series. In 1962, he became the first driver to qualify over 150 mph (240 km/h). He won the race in 1963, then famously broke down while leading the 1967 race with three laps to go in a turbine car. During his career as an owner, he won the Indy 500 in 1970–1971 with driver Al Unser.
Viceroy is an American brand of cigarettes, currently owned and manufactured by R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company in the United States and British American Tobacco outside of the United States.
Anthony "Andy" Granatelli was an American businessman, most prominent as the CEO of STP as well as a major figure in automobile racing events.
The 53rd International 500 Mile Sweepstakes was an auto race held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana on Friday, May 30, 1969. It was the third round of the 1969 USAC Championship Car season. Polesitter A. J. Foyt led the race in the early stages, looking to become the first four-time winner of the 500. Near the halfway point, however, a lengthy pit stop to repair a broken manifold put him many laps down. Despite a hard-charging run towards the end, he wound up managing only an eighth-place finish, 19 laps down. Lloyd Ruby, a driver with a hard-luck reputation at the Speedway, was leading the race just after the midpoint. During a pit stop, he pulled away with the fueling hose still attached, ripped a hole in the fuel tank, and was out of the race. The incident put Mario Andretti in the lead for rest of the way.
The 65th Indianapolis 500 was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana, on Sunday, May 24, 1981. The race is widely considered one of the most controversial races in Indy history. Bobby Unser took the checkered flag as the winner, with Mario Andretti finishing second. After the conclusion of the race, USAC officials ruled that Unser had passed cars illegally while exiting the pit area during a caution on lap 149. Unser was subsequently issued a one-position penalty. The next morning, the official race results were posted, and Unser was dropped to second place. Andretti was elevated to first place and declared the race winner.
Joseph Paul Leonard was an American professional motorcycle racer and racecar driver.
The Pocono 500 was an IndyCar Series race held at Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pennsylvania, located in the Pocono Mountains. The first Indy car race at Pocono was held in 1971. It was the first major event held at the track, shortly after its completion. The race was sanctioned by USAC from 1971 to 1981, and then by CART from 1982 to 1989, and was known as the Pocono 500. The race was removed from the CART calendar following the 1989 running, due to poor track conditions, as well as poor revenue for the promoter.
The 1972 USAC Championship Car season consisted of ten races, beginning in Avondale, Arizona on March 18 and concluding at the same location on November 4. The USAC National Champion was Joe Leonard and the Indianapolis 500 winner was Mark Donohue. Jim Malloy was killed at Indianapolis in practice; he was 40 years old.
The USAC Stock Car division was the stock car racing class sanctioned by the United States Auto Club (USAC). The division raced nationally; drivers from USAC's open wheel classes like Indy cars, Silver Crown, sprints, and midgets frequently competed in races and won championships. Several NASCAR drivers raced in USAC Stock Cars at various points in their careers.
The Parnelli VPJ4 was a Formula One racing car designed by Maurice Philippe, and used by Vel's Parnelli Jones Racing during the 1974, 1975 and 1976 Formula One seasons.
The Ford-Cosworth Indy V8 engine is a series of mechanically similar, turbocharged, 2.65-liter V-8 engines, designed and developed by Ford in partnership with Cosworth for use in American open-wheel racing. It was produced for over 30 years and was used in the United States Auto Club (USAC) Championship Car series, CART, and Champ Car World Series between 1976 and 2007. The DFX engine was the Indy car version of the highly successful 3-liter Ford-Cosworth DFV Formula One engine developed by former Lotus engineer Keith Duckworth and Colin Chapman backing from Ford for the Lotus 49 to campaign the 1967 season. This engine had 155 wins between 1967 and 1985 in F1. The DFX variant was initially developed for Indy car use by Parnelli Jones in 1976, with Cosworth soon taking over. This engine won the Indianapolis 500 ten consecutive years from 1978 to 1987, as well as winning all USAC and CART championships between 1977 and 1987. It powered 81 consecutive Indy car victories from 1981 to 1986, with 153 Indy car victories total.
The Parnelli VPJ6 is an open-wheel race car, designed by British designer John Barnard for Vel's Parnelli Jones Racing, to compete in U.S.A.C. Championship Car, between 1975 and 1980, as well as in CART, between 1979 and 1980. It was driven by Danny Ongais, Al Unser, George Snider, Bill Whittington, Lee Kunzman, and A. J. Foyt. It notably gave Foyt his last IndyCar championship, in 1979. It was powered by the powerful and successful DFV-derived DFX.
The Parnelli VPJ2 is an open-wheel race car, designed by British designer and engineer Maurice Phillippe for Vel's Parnelli Jones Racing, to compete in U.S.A.C. Championship Car, between 1973 and 1974. It was driven by Jan Opperman, Mario Andretti, and Al Unser. It was powered by an Offenhauser four-cylinder turbo engine, reputed to develop between 800–1,300 hp (600–970 kW), depending on turbo boost pressure levels. It won two races; one for Unser at Texas, and one for Andretti at Trenton.
The March 87C is open-wheel race car, designed and built by March Engineering, to compete in the 1987 CART PPG Indy Car World Series, alongside the 85C and 86C. The results for the 87C were formidable, but slightly less-successful than the results achieved by the 86C a season earlier. The 87C won eight races and six poles and placed second, third, and fourth in the final points standings. It was powered by the Cosworth DFX turbo engine., as well as the Ilmor-Chevrolet, the Brabham-Honda (Judd), and the Buick.
The 1970 California 500, the inaugural running of the event, was held at the Ontario Motor Speedway in Ontario, California, on Sunday, September 6, 1970. The event was race number 12 of 18 in the 1970 USAC Championship Car season. The race was won by Jim McElreath, his final Indy Car victory. The race commenced an 11-year history of the California 500 being a part of IndyCar racing's Triple Crown.
The 1974 California 500, the fifth running of the event, was held at the Ontario Motor Speedway in Ontario, California, on Sunday, March 10, 1974. The event was race number 3 of 14 in the 1974 USAC Championship Car season. The race was won by Bobby Unser, his first California 500 victory.
