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1969 Indianapolis 500

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.[3] 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.[4][5][6][7]

Mario Andretti led 116 laps total and won for car owner Andy Granatelli. With Andretti's finish time of 3:11:14.71, it was the fastest run Indianapolis 500 up to that date, breaking the previous record by nearly five minutes.[8] Andretti's victory capped off an up-and-down month of May. He entered the month as a favorite, but he crashed his primary car, a radical four-wheel-drive Lotus, during practice. Andretti suffered burns but was able to qualify a back-up car in the middle of the front row. Mario Andretti's 1969 Indy 500 win is the lone victory at the race for the storied Andretti racing family. As of 2024, no Andretti has won the Indianapolis 500 since. Likewise, it was a triumphant first victory for owner Granatelli, after a long presence at Indianapolis - and a long string of disappointments, first with Novis, and then with the Turbines.

While Foyt and Andretti qualified 1st-2nd, the most notable story from time trials was the plight of Leon Duray "Jigger" Sirois, whose pit crew inadvisedly waved off his qualifying run on pole day. It would go down in history as one of the most famous gaffes in Indy history.

After five drivers were killed at the Speedway in the decade of the 1960s, the month of May 1969 was relatively clean, with no major injuries. The only injuries for the month were during two practice crashes. Mario Andretti suffered burns to his face, and Sammy Sessions, who suffered a fractured knee cap. Al Unser actually suffered the most serious injury of the month, when he crashed his personal motorcycle in the infield. He suffered a broken leg the night before time trials was to begin, and had to sit out the race. Bud Tingelstad served as his replacement in the Vel's Parnelli Jones Racing entry.

The car in which Andretti won the 1969 Indy 500 is owned by the Smithsonian, while a replica made from the original blueprints sits on display at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum.

Rule changes edit

For 1969, not a single front-engined car managed to qualify for the race, and ultimately, one would never do so again. All 33 cars in the field were rear-engined piston-powered machines. After the famous near-miss failures of the controversial STP Granatelli Turbine machines in 1967 and 1968, USAC imposed additional restrictions that effectively rendered them uncompetitive. The annulus inlet was further reduced from 15.999 in² to 11.999 in², and the Granatelli team abandoned the project. USAC stopped short of an outright ban on turbine cars, and it was not last time one would be entered. However, a turbine car would never manage to qualify for the race again.

By 1969, USAC had slowly begun to relax the rules regarding wings. While bolt-on wings were still not allowed, similar devices such as airfoils and spoilers were permitted, as long as they were an integral part of the bodywork.[9] Several cars arrived at the track with a myriad of aerodynamic devices.[10]

Goodyear arrived at the track in 1969 with a new, low-profile, wider tire.[11]

Race schedule edit

The 1969 race was the most recent Indy 500 scheduled for a Friday; the Uniform Monday Holiday Act was implemented in 1971 and Memorial Day became a three-day holiday weekend (Saturday–Monday) annually. Only one other subsequent year (1973) would the race be scheduled for a weekday. In 1970–1972, the race was scheduled for a Saturday, and beginning in 1974, the race has been scheduled for a Sunday.

Race schedule – May, 1969
Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

 

 

 

 
1
Opening Day
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
Practice
17
Pole Day
18
Time Trials
19
Practice
20
Practice
21
Practice
22
Practice
23
Practice
24
Time Trials
25
Bump Day
26
 
27
 
28
Carb Day
Parade
29
Meeting
30
Indy 500
31
Banquet
Color Notes
Green Practice
Dark Blue Time trials
Silver Race day
Red Rained out*
Blank No track activity

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

Practice and time trials edit

The track opened on May 1 to light activity for the first few days. By Tuesday May 6, activity had picked up, and the top drivers were lapping in the 165 mph range. On Wednesday May 7, A. J. Foyt turned a lap of 169.237 mph, establishing himself as the top driver during the first week of practice.

During the second week of practice, Mario Andretti took over the speed chart. On Monday May 12, he ran a lap of 170.197 mph, then followed it up on Wednesday May 14 with a lap of 171.657 mph. Al Unser was close behind with a lap of 169.141 mph.

On Thursday May 15, A. J. Foyt joined the "170 mph" club with a lap of 170.875 mph. By the end of the week, three drivers were over 170. Roger McCluskey posed a 170.283 mph on Friday May 16, the day before time trials was scheduled to begin. Through two weeks, though, no drivers had topped Joe Leonard's track record of 171.959 mph set in 1968.

Saturday May 17 – Jigger Sirois edit

Pole day was scheduled for Saturday May 17 from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. However, rain threatened to wash out the afternoon. At the time, the qualifying rules were a bit unclear and they did not necessarily provide extensions or provisions in case of a rain delay or a rain stoppage during the pole position round. Only cars that made an attempt before the rains came (and before the track was scheduled to close at 6 o'clock) might be eligible for the pole position. Rookie Leon Duray "Jigger" Sirois drew the #1 spot in the qualifying order.

At 4:12 p.m., the track was dry and finally opened for qualifying. Sirois took to the track for his first (of three allotted) qualifying attempt. He completed his first three laps at:

  • Lap 1 – 161.783 mph
  • Lap 2 – 162.279 mph
  • Lap 3 – 160.542 mph

However, on his fourth and final lap, his pit crew - seemingly dissatisfied with the run thus far - displayed the yellow flag and waved off the run, and it was aborted. Arnie Knepper was the second car in line, and pulled away for his warm up laps. Rain began to fall again before Knepper even saw the green flag. The track closed for the day.

That evening, Al Unser Sr., who had won the season opener at Phoenix, took to the infield to pass the time during the rain delay. He climbed on his motorcycle, and started riding around. In a small jump over a ditch, he toppled and the kickstand came down and pierced his left leg. He suffered a compound fracture to his left tibia, and was taken to the hospital.[12] Unser was put in a cast, and was sidelined for a month and a half.

Sunday May 18 edit

Rain washed out time trials for the second day in a row. It was the first time in modern history that the entire first weekend of time trials was lost due to rain. Pole day was rescheduled for Saturday May 24.

At 1:04 p.m., a few cars make it out on the track for practice, but that lasted for only 18 minutes. Heavy rain and a tornado watch in the area closed the track for the day.

It was quickly noticed by media and fans that had Jigger Sirois' crew not waved off his final lap on Saturday, he would have been the lone qualifier of the weekend and sat on the coveted provisional pole position for at least an entire week.

Saturday May 24 edit

After 23 days of waiting, and two rainouts, the field was finally ready to begin time trials. On Wednesday May 21, pole favorite Mario Andretti suffered a serious crash in turn four during a practice run. He suffered burns to his face, but no other serious injuries. His four-wheel drive Lotus machine was destroyed, and Andretti would have to qualify a back-up car.

A. J. Foyt won the pole position with a speed of 170.568 mph. A total of 25 cars completed runs. After his practice crash, Mario Andretti qualified the Brawner-Hawk for the middle of row one. Due to his facial burns, Mario asked his twin brother Aldo to stand in for him during the traditional front row photo session.

The news of Foyt winning the pole was relayed to the astronauts on Apollo 10.[13]

Sunday May 25 edit

The field was filled to 33 cars with two cars bumped. For the first time in modern history, the field lined up coincidentally by speed from top-to-bottom.

On the second weekend of time trials, Jigger Sirois waved off his second attempt, and also waved off his third and final attempt when his speed was not fast enough. As it ended up, Sirois's first attempt on May 17 would have been fast enough to qualify for the race and possibly, depending on interpretation of the rules, the pole position. Sirois never managed to qualify at Indy in subsequent years, and became a source of popular folklore.

Starting grid edit

(W) = Former Indianapolis 500 winner; (R) = Indianapolis 500 rookie

Row Inside Middle Outside
1 6   A. J. Foyt  W  2   Mario Andretti 1   Bobby Unser  W 
2 66   Mark Donohue  R  12   Gordon Johncock 82   Roger McCluskey
3 38   Jim McElreath 67   LeeRoy Yarbrough 8   Gary Bettenhausen
4 48   Dan Gurney 44   Joe Leonard 40   Art Pollard
5 10   Jim Malloy 59   Sonny Ates  R  84   George Snider
6 45   Ronnie Bucknum 36   Johnny Rutherford 15   Bud Tingelstad
7 22   Wally Dallenbach Sr. 4   Lloyd Ruby 29   Arnie Knepper
8 90   Mike Mosley 11   Sammy Sessions 9   Mel Kenyon
9 42   Denny Hulme 98   Bill Vukovich II 62   George Follmer  R 
10 16   Bruce Walkup  R  95   Jack Brabham 57   Carl Williams
11 21   Larry Dickson 97   Bobby Johns 92   Peter Revson  R 

Alternates edit

Failed to qualify edit

Race recap edit

 
The Eagle driven to 6th place by Joe Leonard

Start edit

On the grid, LeeRoy Yarbrough's car failed to start, and the field pulled away, leaving him behind. On the pace lap, Yarbrough was able to get his car cranked, and frantically charged to catch up to the pack. He jockeyed to find his rightful starting position in row three, but managed only to make it mid-pack as the field took the green flag. Going into turn one, Mario Andretti took the lead from the middle of the front row, with polesitter A. J. Foyt following in second. Bruce Walkup, meanwhile, was out on the first lap with a transmission failure.

First half edit

Andretti led the first five laps, then Foyt took the lead going into turn one. One of the weaknesses of the turbocharged Fords used by Andretti (and several other top drivers) was overheating. So Andretti eased slightly and Foyt took over. Foyt would lead for 66 laps in the first half. The early stages of the race saw heavy attrition and a series of unscheduled pit stops. Several cars were out before lap 30, including Art Pollard, Ronnie Bucknum, Johnny Rutherford, and Jim McElreath, who had a fire as the car went down into turn one. McElreath was able to stop the car in turn 1 and got out uninjured, bringing out the first of only two yellow light periods. Retiring to the pits early was Gordon Johncock and Bobby Unser, as well as Jack Brabham, whose Repco engine would eventually suffer ignition failure.

The second of two yellow light periods came out on 87 when Arnie Knepper broke a suspension piece, causing him to crash in turn 4. He hit the outside wall and came to rest near the entrance to the pit area. Wally Dallenbach spun under the yellow and dropped out with a bad clutch.

On lap 99, A. J. Foyt headed to the pits with a split manifold. He spent over twenty minutes in the pits as the team made repairs. However, he did return to the race. With the Foyt team scrambling to diagnose A.J.'s troubles, the team neglected to signal George Snider to the pits, and Snider ran out of fuel on the track. Snider was eventually pushed back to the pits and rejoined the race, but he lost a considerable number of laps.[16]

In the first half, Andy Granatelli's three-car effort was down to one as both Art Pollard and Carl Williams were out early. Mario Andretti was the only Granatelli car still running. After years of disappointment, including the frustrations of the turbines the past two years, Andretti was still in position to finally give Granatelli his first 500 victory.

Second half edit

After leading ten laps up to that point, Lloyd Ruby went into the pits on lap 105. As the team was refueling the car, Ruby started to pull away too soon, with the hose still attached. A large hole was ruptured in the side of the fuel tank, and all the fuel spilled out onto the pavement. Ruby was out of the race, leaving Mario Andretti alone in front.

On lap 150, Joe Leonard was black-flagged for leaking fluid. He made a long pit stop to replace a punctured radiator, returned to the race, and managed a 6th-place finish. A. J. Foyt, after returning from repairs, was now among the fastest cars on the track. His hard charging second half saw him finish in 8th place.

Mario Andretti dominated the second half, and won comfortably over second place Dan Gurney. But Andretti's race was not without incident. On one occasion, he nearly hit the wall in turn two. On his final pit stop, he knocked over chief mechanic Clint Brawner, and nearly stalled the engine as he was pushed away. His transmission fluid was low, the clutch was reportedly slipping, and despite an extra radiator added by Brawner behind the driver's seat after qualifying, engine temperature was running high.[17] Despite the complications, Andretti maintained over a full-lap lead late in the race and cruised to victory.

Car owner Andy Granatelli, who abandoned the turbine cars after the heartbreaks of 1967 and 1968, planted a famous kiss on Andretti's cheek in victory lane. There were no yellow lights during the second half, and the final 110 laps were run under green. Andretti ran the whole race without changing tires.

In victory lane an emotional happy Mario stated:

"I wanted to win this race so bad that you can't believe it. I will be having to pinch myself for the rest of the night. I am happy for Andy and STP. This is my biggest win and it's awesome."

Box score edit

The top four racers were allowed to complete the entire 500 mile race distance. Eight additional cars were running as of the race finish, but were flagged off the track not having completed the entire distance.[8] Andretti's race completion time of 3:11:14.71 was the fastest ever as of 1969.[8]

Finish Start Car
No.
Name Chassis Engine Qualifying
Speed
Laps Time/Retired
1 2 2   Mario Andretti Brawner Ford 169.851 200 3:11:14.71
2 10 48   Dan Gurney Eagle Ford-Weslake 167.341 200 +2:13.03
3 3 1   Bobby Unser  W  Lola Offenhauser 169.683 200 +3:26.74
4 24 9   Mel Kenyon Gerhardt Offenhauser 165.426 200 +5:53.61
5 33 92   Peter Revson  R  Brabham Repco 160.851 197 Flagged, +3 laps
6 11 44   Joe Leonard Eagle Ford 167.240 193 Flagged, +7 laps
7 4 66   Mark Donohue  R  Lola Offenhauser 168.903 190 Flagged, +10 laps
8 1 6   A. J. Foyt  W  Coyote Ford 170.568 181 Flagged, +19 laps
9 31 21   Larry Dickson Vollstedt Ford 163.014 180 Flagged, +20 laps
10 32 97   Bobby Johns Shrike Offenhauser 160.901 171 Flagged, +29 laps
11 13 10   Jim Malloy Vollstedt Offenhauser 167.092 165 Flagged, +35 laps
12 23 11   Sammy Sessions Finley Offenhauser 165.434 163 Flagged, +37 laps
13 22 90   Mike Mosley Eagle Offenhauser 166.113 162 Piston
14 6 82   Roger McCluskey Coyote Ford 168.350 157 Split Header
15 18 15   Bud Tingelstad Lola Offenhauser 166.597 155 Engine
16 15 84   George Snider Coyote Ford 166.914 152 Flagged
17 14 59   Sonny Ates  R  Brabham Offenhauser 166.968 146 Magneto
18 25 42   Denis Hulme Eagle Ford 165.092 145 Clutch
19 5 12   Gordon Johncock Gerhardt Offenhauser 168.626 137 Piston
20 20 4   Lloyd Ruby Mongoose Offenhauser 166.428 105 Fuel Tank
21 19 22   Wally Dallenbach Sr. Eagle Offenhauser 166.497 82 Clutch
22 21 29   Arnie Knepper Cecil Ford 166.220 82 Crash T4
23 8 67   LeeRoy Yarbrough Vollstedt Ford 168.075 65 Split Header
24 29 95   Jack Brabham Brabham Repco 163.875 58 Ignition
25 30 57   Carl Williams Gerhardt Offenhauser 163.265 50 Clutch
26 9 8   Gary Bettenhausen Gerhardt Offenhauser 167.777 35 Piston
27 27 62   George Follmer  R  Gilbert Ford 164.286 26 Engine
28 7 38   Jim McElreath Brawner Offenhauser 168.224 24 Engine Fire
29 17 36   Johnny Rutherford Eagle Offenhauser 166.628 24 Oil Tank
30 16 45   Ronnie Bucknum Eagle Offenhauser 166.636 16 Piston
31 12 40   Art Pollard Lotus Offenhauser 167.123 7 Drive Line
32 26 98   Bill Vukovich II Mongoose Offenhauser 164.843 1 Rod
33 28 16   Bruce Walkup  R  Gerhardt Offenhauser 163.942 0 Transmission

Race statistics edit

Tire participation chart
Supplier No. of starters
Goodyear 25 
Firestone 8*
* – Denotes race winner

Broadcasting edit

Radio edit

The race was carried live on the IMS Radio Network. Sid Collins served as chief announcer and Len Sutton served as "driver expert." At the conclusion of the race, Lou Palmer reported from victory lane. The broadcast came on-air with a 30-minute pre-race.

The broadcast was carried on over 950 affiliates, including AFN, shortwave to troops in Vietnam, and the CBC. Foreign language translations were made in French, Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese. The broadcast was also carried in Mexico City on XEVIB. The broadcast reached an estimated 100 million listeners.

Among the many visitors to the booth were O. J. Simpson, Oscar Robertson, Earl McCullouch, Irv Fried (Langhorne), Wally Parks, Dale Drake, Sam Hanks, and Duke Nalon. For the second year in a row, Senator Birch Bayh visited the booth, along with his teenage son, future senator Evan Bayh. Later in the race, Senator Vance Hartke also visited, accompanied by Secretary of Transportation John A. Volpe.

Indianapolis Motor Speedway Radio Network
Booth Announcers Turn 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 pits)
Luke Walton (center pits)
Lou Palmer (south pits)

Television edit

The race was carried in the United States on ABC's Wide World of Sports. The broadcast aired on Saturday, June 7. Jim McKay anchored the broadcast with Rodger Ward as analyst and Chris Economaki as pit reporter.

The telecast featured a summary of time trials as well as pre-race interviews. During the race, McKay and Economaki served as roving pit reporters, and their interviews were edited into the final production.

The broadcast has re-aired on ESPN Classic starting in May 2011.

For the fifth year, a live telecast of the race was shown in theaters on a closed-circuit basis; once more, Charlie Brockman called the action.

Gallery edit

Notes edit

References edit

  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. ^ Tarpey, Michael P. (May 31, 1969). "Many Saw None Of Race But They Were Orderly". The Indianapolis Star. p. 15. Retrieved June 2, 2017 – via Newspapers.com. 
  3. ^ 2001 Indianapolis Record Book - Indianapolis Star/News
  4. ^ Taylor, Jim (May 31, 1969). "Andretti wins in Brawner's baby". Toledo Blade. (Ohio). p. 14.
  5. ^ "Andretti wins Indianapolis 500 race". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Associated Press. May 31, 1969. p. 8.
  6. ^ "'Losers' roar to Indy 500 victory". Pittsburgh Press. UPI. May 31, 1969. p. 7.
  7. ^ Chapin, Kim (June 9, 1969). "La Dolce Indy". Sports Illustrated. p. 24.
  8. ^ a b c "Official Speedway Finish". The Indianapolis Star. June 1, 1969. p. 4-2. Retrieved 2017-07-22 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ "Racing Design Had European Accent". The Indianapolis News. May 29, 1969. p. 32. Retrieved January 22, 2020 – via Newspapers.com. 
  10. ^ Pruett, Marshall (December 30, 2019). "First wings at Indy, with Mario Andretti and Bobby Unser". Racer.com. Retrieved January 22, 2020.
  11. ^ "Goodyear Stars Work Again As Soon As '69 Race Ends". The Indianapolis Star. May 30, 1969. p. 40. Retrieved January 22, 2020 – via Newspapers.com. 
  12. ^ Unser's luck bad again at Indianapolis
  13. ^ Corrected Transcript and Commentary, Apollo Flight Journal (March 18, 2019). "Apollo 10 - Day 8 part 32: Housekeeping, navigation and comms tests". 172:53:37 Duke. NASA.gov. Retrieved July 20, 2020.
  14. ^ The Talk of Gasoline Alley - 1070-AM WIBC, May 14, 2004
  15. ^ "1969 International 500 Mile Sweepstakes". ChampCarStats.com. Retrieved 27 June 2015.
  16. ^ "No Board Shown Snider; Boss' Stop Proves Costly". The Indianapolis Star. May 31, 1969. p. 31. Retrieved August 8, 2018 – via Newspapers.com. 
  17. ^ . Racer.com. 2011-02-23. Archived from the original on 2013-09-28. Retrieved 2013-09-25.

Works cited edit


1968 Indianapolis 500
Bobby Unser
1969 Indianapolis 500
Mario Andretti
1970 Indianapolis 500
Al Unser
Preceded by
152.882 mph
(1968 Indianapolis 500)
Record for the fastest average speed
156.867 mph
Succeeded by

1969, indianapolis, 53rd, international, mile, sweepstakes, auto, race, held, indianapolis, motor, speedway, speedway, indiana, friday, 1969, third, round, 1969, usac, championship, season, polesitter, foyt, race, early, stages, looking, become, first, four, t. 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 3 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 4 5 6 7 53rd Indianapolis 500Indianapolis Motor SpeedwayIndianapolis 500Sanctioning bodyUSACSeason1969 USAC seasonDateMay 30 1969WinnerMario AndrettiWinning teamAndy GranatelliAverage speed156 867 mph 252 453 km h Pole positionA J FoytPole speed170 568 mph 274 503 km h Fastest qualifierFoytRookie of the YearMark DonohueMost laps ledMario Andretti 116 Pre race ceremoniesNational anthemPurdue Band Back Home Again in Indiana Mack H ShultzStarting commandTony HulmanPace carChevrolet Camaro SSPace car driverJim RathmannStarterPat Vidan 1 Estimated attendance275 000 2 TV in the United StatesNetworkABC s Wide World of SportsAnnouncersJim McKay Rodger WardChronologyPrevious Next1968 1970Mario Andretti led 116 laps total and won for car owner Andy Granatelli With Andretti s finish time of 3 11 14 71 it was the fastest run Indianapolis 500 up to that date breaking the previous record by nearly five minutes 8 Andretti s victory capped off an up and down month of May He entered the month as a favorite but he crashed his primary car a radical four wheel drive Lotus during practice Andretti suffered burns but was able to qualify a back up car in the middle of the front row Mario Andretti s 1969 Indy 500 win is the lone victory at the race for the storied Andretti racing family As of 2024 no Andretti has won the Indianapolis 500 since Likewise it was a triumphant first victory for owner Granatelli after a long presence at Indianapolis and a long string of disappointments first with Novis and then with the Turbines While Foyt and Andretti qualified 1st 2nd the most notable story from time trials was the plight of Leon Duray Jigger Sirois whose pit crew inadvisedly waved off his qualifying run on pole day It would go down in history as one of the most famous gaffes in Indy history After five drivers were killed at the Speedway in the decade of the 1960s the month of May 1969 was relatively clean with no major injuries The only injuries for the month were during two practice crashes Mario Andretti suffered burns to his face and Sammy Sessions who suffered a fractured knee cap Al Unser actually suffered the most serious injury of the month when he crashed his personal motorcycle in the infield He suffered a broken leg the night before time trials was to begin and had to sit out the race Bud Tingelstad served as his replacement in the Vel s Parnelli Jones Racing entry The car in which Andretti won the 1969 Indy 500 is owned by the Smithsonian while a replica made from the original blueprints sits on display at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum Contents 1 Rule changes 2 Race schedule 3 Practice and time trials 3 1 Saturday May 17 Jigger Sirois 3 2 Sunday May 18 3 3 Saturday May 24 3 4 Sunday May 25 4 Starting grid 4 1 Alternates 4 2 Failed to qualify 5 Race recap 5 1 Start 5 2 First half 5 3 Second half 6 Box score 6 1 Race statistics 7 Broadcasting 7 1 Radio 7 2 Television 8 Gallery 9 Notes 9 1 References 9 2 Works citedRule changes editFor 1969 not a single front engined car managed to qualify for the race and ultimately one would never do so again All 33 cars in the field were rear engined piston powered machines After the famous near miss failures of the controversial STP Granatelli Turbine machines in 1967 and 1968 USAC imposed additional restrictions that effectively rendered them uncompetitive The annulus inlet was further reduced from 15 999 in to 11 999 in and the Granatelli team abandoned the project USAC stopped short of an outright ban on turbine cars and it was not last time one would be entered However a turbine car would never manage to qualify for the race again By 1969 USAC had slowly begun to relax the rules regarding wings While bolt on wings were still not allowed similar devices such as airfoils and spoilers were permitted as long as they were an integral part of the bodywork 9 Several cars arrived at the track with a myriad of aerodynamic devices 10 Goodyear arrived at the track in 1969 with a new low profile wider tire 11 Race schedule editThe 1969 race was the most recent Indy 500 scheduled for a Friday the Uniform Monday Holiday Act was implemented in 1971 and Memorial Day became a three day holiday weekend Saturday Monday annually Only one other subsequent year 1973 would the race be scheduled for a weekday In 1970 1972 the race was scheduled for a Saturday and beginning in 1974 the race has been scheduled for a Sunday Race schedule May 1969Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat 1Opening Day 2Practice 3Practice4Practice 5Practice 6Practice 7Practice 8Practice 9Practice 10Practice11Practice 12Practice 13Practice 14Practice 15Practice 16Practice 17Pole Day18Time Trials 19Practice 20Practice 21Practice 22Practice 23Practice 24Time Trials25Bump Day 26 27 28Carb DayParade 29Meeting 30Indy 500 31Banquet Color NotesGreen PracticeDark Blue Time trialsSilver Race dayRed Rained out Blank No track activity Includes days where trackactivity was significantlylimited due to rainPractice and time trials editThe track opened on May 1 to light activity for the first few days By Tuesday May 6 activity had picked up and the top drivers were lapping in the 165 mph range On Wednesday May 7 A J Foyt turned a lap of 169 237 mph establishing himself as the top driver during the first week of practice During the second week of practice Mario Andretti took over the speed chart On Monday May 12 he ran a lap of 170 197 mph then followed it up on Wednesday May 14 with a lap of 171 657 mph Al Unser was close behind with a lap of 169 141 mph On Thursday May 15 A J Foyt joined the 170 mph club with a lap of 170 875 mph By the end of the week three drivers were over 170 Roger McCluskey posed a 170 283 mph on Friday May 16 the day before time trials was scheduled to begin Through two weeks though no drivers had topped Joe Leonard s track record of 171 959 mph set in 1968 Saturday May 17 Jigger Sirois edit Pole day was scheduled for Saturday May 17 from 11 a m to 6 p m However rain threatened to wash out the afternoon At the time the qualifying rules were a bit unclear and they did not necessarily provide extensions or provisions in case of a rain delay or a rain stoppage during the pole position round Only cars that made an attempt before the rains came and before the track was scheduled to close at 6 o clock might be eligible for the pole position Rookie Leon Duray Jigger Sirois drew the 1 spot in the qualifying order At 4 12 p m the track was dry and finally opened for qualifying Sirois took to the track for his first of three allotted qualifying attempt He completed his first three laps at Lap 1 161 783 mph Lap 2 162 279 mph Lap 3 160 542 mphHowever on his fourth and final lap his pit crew seemingly dissatisfied with the run thus far displayed the yellow flag and waved off the run and it was aborted Arnie Knepper was the second car in line and pulled away for his warm up laps Rain began to fall again before Knepper even saw the green flag The track closed for the day That evening Al Unser Sr who had won the season opener at Phoenix took to the infield to pass the time during the rain delay He climbed on his motorcycle and started riding around In a small jump over a ditch he toppled and the kickstand came down and pierced his left leg He suffered a compound fracture to his left tibia and was taken to the hospital 12 Unser was put in a cast and was sidelined for a month and a half Sunday May 18 edit Rain washed out time trials for the second day in a row It was the first time in modern history that the entire first weekend of time trials was lost due to rain Pole day was rescheduled for Saturday May 24 At 1 04 p m a few cars make it out on the track for practice but that lasted for only 18 minutes Heavy rain and a tornado watch in the area closed the track for the day It was quickly noticed by media and fans that had Jigger Sirois crew not waved off his final lap on Saturday he would have been the lone qualifier of the weekend and sat on the coveted provisional pole position for at least an entire week Saturday May 24 edit After 23 days of waiting and two rainouts the field was finally ready to begin time trials On Wednesday May 21 pole favorite Mario Andretti suffered a serious crash in turn four during a practice run He suffered burns to his face but no other serious injuries His four wheel drive Lotus machine was destroyed and Andretti would have to qualify a back up car A J Foyt won the pole position with a speed of 170 568 mph A total of 25 cars completed runs After his practice crash Mario Andretti qualified the Brawner Hawk for the middle of row one Due to his facial burns Mario asked his twin brother Aldo to stand in for him during the traditional front row photo session The news of Foyt winning the pole was relayed to the astronauts on Apollo 10 13 Sunday May 25 edit The field was filled to 33 cars with two cars bumped For the first time in modern history the field lined up coincidentally by speed from top to bottom On the second weekend of time trials Jigger Sirois waved off his second attempt and also waved off his third and final attempt when his speed was not fast enough As it ended up Sirois s first attempt on May 17 would have been fast enough to qualify for the race and possibly depending on interpretation of the rules the pole position Sirois never managed to qualify at Indy in subsequent years and became a source of popular folklore Starting grid edit W Former Indianapolis 500 winner R Indianapolis 500 rookie Row Inside Middle Outside1 6 nbsp A J Foyt W 2 nbsp Mario Andretti 1 nbsp Bobby Unser W 2 66 nbsp Mark Donohue R 12 nbsp Gordon Johncock 82 nbsp Roger McCluskey3 38 nbsp Jim McElreath 67 nbsp LeeRoy Yarbrough 8 nbsp Gary Bettenhausen4 48 nbsp Dan Gurney 44 nbsp Joe Leonard 40 nbsp Art Pollard5 10 nbsp Jim Malloy 59 nbsp Sonny Ates R 84 nbsp George Snider6 45 nbsp Ronnie Bucknum 36 nbsp Johnny Rutherford 15 nbsp Bud Tingelstad7 22 nbsp Wally Dallenbach Sr 4 nbsp Lloyd Ruby 29 nbsp Arnie Knepper8 90 nbsp Mike Mosley 11 nbsp Sammy Sessions 9 nbsp Mel Kenyon9 42 nbsp Denny Hulme 98 nbsp Bill Vukovich II 62 nbsp George Follmer R 10 16 nbsp Bruce Walkup R 95 nbsp Jack Brabham 57 nbsp Carl Williams11 21 nbsp Larry Dickson 97 nbsp Bobby Johns 92 nbsp Peter Revson R Alternates edit First alternate Rick Muther R 26 14 Failed to qualify edit George Benson R 89 Chuck Booth R 51 Scott Carr R Withdrew during rookie orientation Max Dudley R 61 Cy Fairchild R 51 Charlie Glotzbach R 52 Jerry Grant 17 69 78 96 Bobby Grim 16 71 89 94 Bob Harkey 14 No refresher test Graham Hill 70 Withdrew Jim Hurtubise 56 Dee Jones R 37 51 Al Miller 51 71 72 75 96 Lothar Motschenbacher R Pat O Reilly R 51 Driver declined no license Johnny Parsons R Sam Posey R 94 Jochen Rindt 80 Withdrew injured Les Scott R 34 50 89 Jigger Sirois R 14 Dave Strickland R 34 Al Unser 3 15 Withdrew injured Bob Veith 79 90 Roger West R 75 Denny Zimmerman R 67 68 15 Race recap edit nbsp The Eagle driven to 6th place by Joe LeonardStart edit On the grid LeeRoy Yarbrough s car failed to start and the field pulled away leaving him behind On the pace lap Yarbrough was able to get his car cranked and frantically charged to catch up to the pack He jockeyed to find his rightful starting position in row three but managed only to make it mid pack as the field took the green flag Going into turn one Mario Andretti took the lead from the middle of the front row with polesitter A J Foyt following in second Bruce Walkup meanwhile was out on the first lap with a transmission failure First half edit Andretti led the first five laps then Foyt took the lead going into turn one One of the weaknesses of the turbocharged Fords used by Andretti and several other top drivers was overheating So Andretti eased slightly and Foyt took over Foyt would lead for 66 laps in the first half The early stages of the race saw heavy attrition and a series of unscheduled pit stops Several cars were out before lap 30 including Art Pollard Ronnie Bucknum Johnny Rutherford and Jim McElreath who had a fire as the car went down into turn one McElreath was able to stop the car in turn 1 and got out uninjured bringing out the first of only two yellow light periods Retiring to the pits early was Gordon Johncock and Bobby Unser as well as Jack Brabham whose Repco engine would eventually suffer ignition failure The second of two yellow light periods came out on 87 when Arnie Knepper broke a suspension piece causing him to crash in turn 4 He hit the outside wall and came to rest near the entrance to the pit area Wally Dallenbach spun under the yellow and dropped out with a bad clutch On lap 99 A J Foyt headed to the pits with a split manifold He spent over twenty minutes in the pits as the team made repairs However he did return to the race With the Foyt team scrambling to diagnose A J s troubles the team neglected to signal George Snider to the pits and Snider ran out of fuel on the track Snider was eventually pushed back to the pits and rejoined the race but he lost a considerable number of laps 16 In the first half Andy Granatelli s three car effort was down to one as both Art Pollard and Carl Williams were out early Mario Andretti was the only Granatelli car still running After years of disappointment including the frustrations of the turbines the past two years Andretti was still in position to finally give Granatelli his first 500 victory Second half edit After leading ten laps up to that point Lloyd Ruby went into the pits on lap 105 As the team was refueling the car Ruby started to pull away too soon with the hose still attached A large hole was ruptured in the side of the fuel tank and all the fuel spilled out onto the pavement Ruby was out of the race leaving Mario Andretti alone in front On lap 150 Joe Leonard was black flagged for leaking fluid He made a long pit stop to replace a punctured radiator returned to the race and managed a 6th place finish A J Foyt after returning from repairs was now among the fastest cars on the track His hard charging second half saw him finish in 8th place Mario Andretti dominated the second half and won comfortably over second place Dan Gurney But Andretti s race was not without incident On one occasion he nearly hit the wall in turn two On his final pit stop he knocked over chief mechanic Clint Brawner and nearly stalled the engine as he was pushed away His transmission fluid was low the clutch was reportedly slipping and despite an extra radiator added by Brawner behind the driver s seat after qualifying engine temperature was running high 17 Despite the complications Andretti maintained over a full lap lead late in the race and cruised to victory Car owner Andy Granatelli who abandoned the turbine cars after the heartbreaks of 1967 and 1968 planted a famous kiss on Andretti s cheek in victory lane There were no yellow lights during the second half and the final 110 laps were run under green Andretti ran the whole race without changing tires In victory lane an emotional happy Mario stated I wanted to win this race so bad that you can t believe it I will be having to pinch myself for the rest of the night I am happy for Andy and STP This is my biggest win and it s awesome Box score editThe top four racers were allowed to complete the entire 500 mile race distance Eight additional cars were running as of the race finish but were flagged off the track not having completed the entire distance 8 Andretti s race completion time of 3 11 14 71 was the fastest ever as of 1969 8 Finish Start CarNo Name Chassis Engine QualifyingSpeed Laps Time Retired1 2 2 nbsp Mario Andretti Brawner Ford 169 851 200 3 11 14 712 10 48 nbsp Dan Gurney Eagle Ford Weslake 167 341 200 2 13 033 3 1 nbsp Bobby Unser W Lola Offenhauser 169 683 200 3 26 744 24 9 nbsp Mel Kenyon Gerhardt Offenhauser 165 426 200 5 53 615 33 92 nbsp Peter Revson R Brabham Repco 160 851 197 Flagged 3 laps6 11 44 nbsp Joe Leonard Eagle Ford 167 240 193 Flagged 7 laps7 4 66 nbsp Mark Donohue R Lola Offenhauser 168 903 190 Flagged 10 laps8 1 6 nbsp A J Foyt W Coyote Ford 170 568 181 Flagged 19 laps9 31 21 nbsp Larry Dickson Vollstedt Ford 163 014 180 Flagged 20 laps10 32 97 nbsp Bobby Johns Shrike Offenhauser 160 901 171 Flagged 29 laps11 13 10 nbsp Jim Malloy Vollstedt Offenhauser 167 092 165 Flagged 35 laps12 23 11 nbsp Sammy Sessions Finley Offenhauser 165 434 163 Flagged 37 laps13 22 90 nbsp Mike Mosley Eagle Offenhauser 166 113 162 Piston14 6 82 nbsp Roger McCluskey Coyote Ford 168 350 157 Split Header15 18 15 nbsp Bud Tingelstad Lola Offenhauser 166 597 155 Engine16 15 84 nbsp George Snider Coyote Ford 166 914 152 Flagged17 14 59 nbsp Sonny Ates R Brabham Offenhauser 166 968 146 Magneto18 25 42 nbsp Denis Hulme Eagle Ford 165 092 145 Clutch19 5 12 nbsp Gordon Johncock Gerhardt Offenhauser 168 626 137 Piston20 20 4 nbsp Lloyd Ruby Mongoose Offenhauser 166 428 105 Fuel Tank21 19 22 nbsp Wally Dallenbach Sr Eagle Offenhauser 166 497 82 Clutch22 21 29 nbsp Arnie Knepper Cecil Ford 166 220 82 Crash T423 8 67 nbsp LeeRoy Yarbrough Vollstedt Ford 168 075 65 Split Header24 29 95 nbsp Jack Brabham Brabham Repco 163 875 58 Ignition25 30 57 nbsp Carl Williams Gerhardt Offenhauser 163 265 50 Clutch26 9 8 nbsp Gary Bettenhausen Gerhardt Offenhauser 167 777 35 Piston27 27 62 nbsp George Follmer R Gilbert Ford 164 286 26 Engine28 7 38 nbsp Jim McElreath Brawner Offenhauser 168 224 24 Engine Fire29 17 36 nbsp Johnny Rutherford Eagle Offenhauser 166 628 24 Oil Tank30 16 45 nbsp Ronnie Bucknum Eagle Offenhauser 166 636 16 Piston31 12 40 nbsp Art Pollard Lotus Offenhauser 167 123 7 Drive Line32 26 98 nbsp Bill Vukovich II Mongoose Offenhauser 164 843 1 Rod33 28 16 nbsp Bruce Walkup R Gerhardt Offenhauser 163 942 0 TransmissionRace statistics edit Lap LeadersLaps Leader1 5 Mario Andretti6 51 A J Foyt52 58 Wally Dallenbach59 78 A J Foyt79 86 Lloyd Ruby87 102 Mario Andretti103 105 Lloyd Ruby106 200 Mario Andretti Total laps ledLaps LeaderMario Andretti 116A J Foyt 66Lloyd Ruby 11Wally Dallenbach 7 Yellows 2 for 14 minutesLaps Reason26 31 Jim McElreath engine fire in turn 1 8 minutes 88 93 Arnie Knepper crash 6 minutes Approximate lap counts Tire participation chartSupplier No of startersGoodyear 25 Firestone 8 Denotes race winnerBroadcasting editRadio edit The race was carried live on the IMS Radio Network Sid Collins served as chief announcer and Len Sutton served as driver expert At the conclusion of the race Lou Palmer reported from victory lane The broadcast came on air with a 30 minute pre race The broadcast was carried on over 950 affiliates including AFN shortwave to troops in Vietnam and the CBC Foreign language translations were made in French Italian Spanish and Portuguese The broadcast was also carried in Mexico City on XEVIB The broadcast reached an estimated 100 million listeners Among the many visitors to the booth were O J Simpson Oscar Robertson Earl McCullouch Irv Fried Langhorne Wally Parks Dale Drake Sam Hanks and Duke Nalon For the second year in a row Senator Birch Bayh visited the booth along with his teenage son future senator Evan Bayh Later in the race Senator Vance Hartke also visited accompanied by Secretary of Transportation John A Volpe Indianapolis Motor Speedway Radio NetworkBooth Announcers Turn Reporters Pit garage reportersChief Announcer Sid CollinsDriver expert Len SuttonStatistician John DeCampHistorian Donald Davidson Turn 1 Mike AhernTurn 2 Howdy BellBackstretch Doug ZinkTurn 3 Ron CarrellTurn 4 Jim Shelton Chuck Marlowe north pits Luke Walton center pits Lou Palmer south pits Television edit The race was carried in the United States on ABC s Wide World of Sports The broadcast aired on Saturday June 7 Jim McKay anchored the broadcast with Rodger Ward as analyst and Chris Economaki as pit reporter The telecast featured a summary of time trials as well as pre race interviews During the race McKay and Economaki served as roving pit reporters and their interviews were edited into the final production The broadcast has re aired on ESPN Classic starting in May 2011 For the fifth year a live telecast of the race was shown in theaters on a closed circuit basis once more Charlie Brockman called the action ABC TelevisionBooth Announcers Pit garage reportersAnnouncer Jim McKayColor Rodger Ward Chris EconomakiGallery edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to 1969 Indianapolis 500 nbsp 1969 Camaro pace car replica nbsp Mario Andretti s helmet he wore at the race on display at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum Notes editReferences edit 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 Tarpey Michael P May 31 1969 Many Saw None Of Race But They Were Orderly The Indianapolis Star p 15 Retrieved June 2 2017 via Newspapers com nbsp 2001 Indianapolis Record Book Indianapolis Star News Taylor Jim May 31 1969 Andretti wins in Brawner s baby Toledo Blade Ohio p 14 Andretti wins Indianapolis 500 race Pittsburgh Post Gazette Associated Press May 31 1969 p 8 Losers roar to Indy 500 victory Pittsburgh Press UPI May 31 1969 p 7 Chapin Kim June 9 1969 La Dolce Indy Sports Illustrated p 24 a b c Official Speedway Finish The Indianapolis Star June 1 1969 p 4 2 Retrieved 2017 07 22 via Newspapers com Racing Design Had European Accent The Indianapolis News May 29 1969 p 32 Retrieved January 22 2020 via Newspapers com nbsp Pruett Marshall December 30 2019 First wings at Indy with Mario Andretti and Bobby Unser Racer com Retrieved January 22 2020 Goodyear Stars Work Again As Soon As 69 Race Ends The Indianapolis Star May 30 1969 p 40 Retrieved January 22 2020 via Newspapers com nbsp Unser s luck bad again at Indianapolis Corrected Transcript and Commentary Apollo Flight Journal March 18 2019 Apollo 10 Day 8 part 32 Housekeeping navigation and comms tests 172 53 37 Duke NASA gov Retrieved July 20 2020 The Talk of Gasoline Alley 1070 AM WIBC May 14 2004 1969 International 500 Mile Sweepstakes ChampCarStats com Retrieved 27 June 2015 No Board Shown Snider Boss Stop Proves Costly The Indianapolis Star May 31 1969 p 31 Retrieved August 8 2018 via Newspapers com nbsp Indianapolis 500 Centenary Countdown The One That Didn t Get Away Racer com 2011 02 23 Archived from the original on 2013 09 28 Retrieved 2013 09 25 Works cited edit 1969 Indianapolis 500 Press Information Daily Trackside Summary Indianapolis 500 History Race amp All Time Stats Official Site 1969 Indianapolis 500 Radio Broadcast Indianapolis Motor Speedway Radio Network 1968 Indianapolis 500Bobby Unser 1969 Indianapolis 500Mario Andretti 1970 Indianapolis 500Al UnserPreceded by152 882 mph 1968 Indianapolis 500 Record for the fastest average speed156 867 mph Succeeded by157 735 mph 1971 Indianapolis 500 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title 1969 Indianapolis 500 amp oldid 1193690088, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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