1965 Indianapolis 500

The 49th International 500-Mile Sweepstakes was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana on Monday, May 31, 1965.

49th Indianapolis 500
Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Indianapolis 500
Sanctioning bodyUSAC
Season1965 USAC season
DateMay 31, 1965
WinnerJim Clark
Winning teamTeam Lotus
Average speed150.686 mph (242.506 km/h)
Pole positionA. J. Foyt
Pole speed161.233 mph (259.479 km/h)
Fastest qualifierA. J. Foyt
Rookie of the YearMario Andretti
Most laps ledJim Clark (190)
Pre-race ceremonies
National anthemPurdue Band
"Back Home Again in Indiana"Johnny Desmond
Starting commandTony Hulman
Pace carPlymouth Sport Fury
Pace car driverP.M. Buckminster
StarterPat Vidan[1]
Honorary refereeRaymond Firestone[1]
Estimated attendance250,000[2]
TV in the United States
NetworkABC's Wide World of Sports
AnnouncersCharlie Brockman Rodger Ward
Chronology
Previous Next
1964 1966

The five-year-old "British Invasion" finally broke through as Jim Clark and Colin Chapman triumphed in dominating fashion with the first rear-engined Indy-winning car, a Lotus 38 powered by Ford. With only six of the 33 cars in the field having front engines, it was the first 500 in history to have a majority of cars as rear-engined machines.

Clark, of Scotland, started from the front row, and led 190 laps, the most since Bill Vukovich (195) in 1953. He became the first non-American winner of the Indianapolis 500 since 1916. Clark would go on to win the 1965 World Championship (which Indianapolis was not part of any longer). He is the only driver in history to win the Indy 500 and Formula One World Championship in the same year. Clark actually chose to skip Monaco to compete at Indy.

ABC Sports covered the race for the first time on Wide World of Sports. Charlie Brockman anchored the broadcast along with Rodger Ward.

Rule changes

Following the tragic 1964 race, this race was run relatively clean with no major accidents. Contrary to some popular belief, gasoline was not banned for the 1965 race. Instead, USAC officials crafted several calculated rule changes to effectively encourage teams to use methanol in order to be competitive.[3] In addition, a new minimum car weight of 1,250 pounds was also established.

For 1965, all cars were required to make a minimum of two pit stops. A pit stop was generally defined as coming to a complete stop in the respective pit box, and hooking up the fueling mechanism. Tire changes were not specifically required, and some cars in fact changed zero tires all day. On-board fuel tank capacity was reduced to 75 gallons, which also included requirements that they contain rubber bladders inside, and were required to be behind the driver on the left side of each car. Crossover tubes were no longer allowed ahead of the driver as well. Pressurized fueling rigs were also outlawed. All fueling rigs from 1965 onward had to be gravity feed, a rule that still is in effect as of 2020.

Conventional "pump" gasoline registered better fuel mileage than methanol, and could go a longer distance before needing to refuel. The methanol-powered engines had worse fuel mileage, but were expected to produce more horsepower and effectively race faster. Since cars were required to make a minimum of two fuel stops, the advantage to using gasoline (i.e., fewer pit stops and better resulting track position) was diminished, or outright lost.

While most teams switched to methanol, the Agajanian team decided to utilize a methanol/gasoline blend. Chief mechanic Johnny Pulson and driver Parnelli Jones determined that they were effectively down on power, finished second, and attributed the fuel blend as what cost them a chance to win the race.[3]

Time trials

One other major change was implemented for time trials. The evening before pole day time trials, a new blind draw was to be used to establish the qualifying order. Prior to 1965, no draw was used, and the qualifying order was a "first-come, first-served" line-up, queued down the pit lane and usually stretching into the garage area. Some teams would even claim their spots in line the night before. The unorganized scramble to roll the cars into a queue had often led to heated exchanges, collisions, and unfair situations. Each entry would still be allowed up to three attempts to qualify. Once the original qualifying draw order had been exhausted, if there was still time left in the day, the track was open for qualifying on a first-come, first-served basis. A proposal to charge cars with an attempt if they got to the front of the line but elected not to go out, or went out and did not take the green flag to start the run, was rejected.[4]

Race schedule
Race schedule — April/May 1965
Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat
25
Trenton		 26
 		 27
 		 28
 		 29
 		 30
 		 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
Pole Day
16
Time Trials		 17
Practice		 18
Practice		 19
Practice		 20
Practice		 21
Practice		 22
Time Trials
23
Bump Day		 24
500 Open		 25
500 Open		 26
500 Open		 27
Carb Day		 28
 		 29
Parade
30
Meeting		 31
Indy 500		          
Color Notes
Green Practice
Dark Blue Time trials
Silver Race day
Blank No track activity

Background

After suffering a terrible crash in January at the Motor Trend 500 at Riverside, A. J. Foyt was back behind the wheel in time for the 500. Foyt had suffered a broken back, crushed sternum, and a concussion[5] after he lost his brakes, hit an embankment, and flipped violently in a stock car.

There would be considerable turnaround in the starting lineup, with eleven rookies making the race, the most since 1951 (12). The rookie class of 1965 was historically notable, including such drivers as Mario Andretti, Al Unser Sr., Gordon Johncock, Joe Leonard, and George Snider.

Practice

The track opened for practice on Saturday May 1. On Monday May 3, Jim Clark turned a lap of 150.779 mph, the first driver over 150 mph for the month.[6] On Tuesday May 4, chief steward Harlan Fengler lifted the speed limits, and A. J. Foyt upped his practice speed to 155 mph.

On Wednesday May 5, A. J. Foyt's Lotus-Ford wrecked on the backstretch when a magnesium hub carrier snapped. The next day, all of the Lotus-Fords and Lola cars were parked by USAC for a few days until tests and improvements could be made to the magnesium parts.[7] Thursday's practice was cut short due to rain.

On Monday May 10, after adequate improvements, the Lotus-Fords were authorized to return to the track. Both Foyt and Clark turned laps over 158 mph.[8] Foyt and Clark continued to top the speed charts during the week,[9] and on Thursday, Foyt blistered the track with a new unofficial track record of 161.146 mph.[10]

On the day before pole day, Ebb Rose spun in turn one in front of Bobby Unser, collecting him in the crash. Unser was driving the brand new four-wheel drive Novi car entered by Andy Granatelli. Unser's car t-boned Rose's car, and spun wildly into the outside wall. Rose was not hurt. Unser was sent to the hospital for x-rays, but was not seriously injured.

Time trials

Pole Day – Saturday May 15

Pole day was a record-setting day, as drivers officially broke the 160 mph barrier. Rookie Mario Andretti was one of the first drivers to set the pace, putting in a lap of 159.406 mph, and a four-lap average of 158.849 mph. Later, Jim Clark in the Lotus 38, became the first driver to break the 160 mph barrier. His first two laps of 160.772 mph and 160.973 mph set one-lap records. His record four-lap average of 160.729 mph tentatively put him on the pole.

Defending race winner A. J. Foyt ended up as the fastest of the day, with three laps in the 161 mph range. His first lap of 161.958 mph established the new one-lap track record. His record four-lap average of 161.233 secured the pole position, his first pole at Indy.

A day after his crash during practice, Bobby Unser got in a year-old Novi back up car to qualify 8th. Nineteen cars qualified on pole day.[11]

Second day – Sunday May 16

Strong winds kept most cars off the track. Only two drivers (Don Branson and Arnie Knepper) qualified.[12] At the end of the first weekend of time trials, the field was filled to 21 cars.

Third day – Saturday May 22

Jim Hurtubise, who was seriously burned in a crash at Milwaukee in 1964, completed his comeback by qualifying a Novi at 156.860 mph (252.442 km/h), the fastest of eleven qualifiers that day.[13]

Two drivers crashed during the day, Rodger Ward and Lloyd Ruby. Ruby wrecked his already-qualified machine, but Ward was still struggling to get up to speed. Masten Gregory and Al Unser both blew engines, but were able to keep the cars off the wall.

Bobby Johns, a NASCAR regular, skipped the World 600 and entered as a teammate to Jim Clark in another Lotus. He qualified for 22nd position, third fastest of the afternoon.

At the end of the day, there was only one spot left open in the field.

Bump day – Sunday May 23

Former winner Rodger Ward failed to qualify. He suffered a crash and three blown engines during the month. He got onto the track in the final 15 minutes, but his qualifying attempt was too slow to make the field.

Bob Mathouser was the final driver in Indy history to attempt to qualify in a front-wheel drive machine, but the engine blew and he did not make the field.[14]

Race recap

The Wood Brothers from the NASCAR Grand National circuit, were invited by Ford Motor Company to work the pit stops for Team Lotus (drivers Jim Clark and Bobby Johns).[15] Their arrival at the Speedway was quickly recognized and much reported. They were well known for their rapid pit stop work in NASCAR, and their presence immediately created a stir in the garage area. It took them only a short time to acclimatize to the open wheel championship cars' equipment.

Their contributions to the victory, however, have been considered overstated in some cases.[16][17][18] Historians agree that Clark's Lotus-Ford was capable of winning the race handily without the added help of the Wood Brothers. In fact, the only work done on the cars was routine refueling, as they did not need to change tires during the race.[19] Clark made only two stops all day, and the quickness of the refueling process was largely attributed to a specially-designed gravity fueling rig with a venturi tube. One of the things they did ahead of time was to "break in" the new fueling hose nozzles by simply working them in and out of the coupling for a period of time.

First half

A. J. Foyt started on the pole, but Jim Clark led the first lap. Jim Hurtubise dropped out with a broken transmission on the first lap. Foyt took the lead on lap two, and at first glance, the early laps appeared as if they were going to develop into a duel. However, Clark re-took the lead on lap 3, and pulled away.

Heavy attrition saw 17 cars drop out with engine or mechanical trouble before reaching the halfway point.

Lloyd Ruby spun, but was able to continue. He went to the pits for new tires, but the heavily flat-spotted tires required a minute and a half to change.

Clark led until lap 65, giving up the lead for a pit stop. A. J. Foyt led from lap 66-74. On lap 75, Clark regained the lead of the race.

Second half

Jim Clark still led at the halfway point, and would not relinquish the lead for the remainder of the race. Early contender A. J. Foyt dropped out after 115 laps with a broken gearbox.

The lone accident of the day involved Bud Tingelstad, who lost a wheel and spun into the outside wall in turn three.

Scotland's Jim Clark became the first non-American winner of the Indianapolis 500 since 1916. Clark led three times for a total of 190 laps. Only eleven cars were running at the finish. Second place Parnelli Jones ran out of fuel on the final lap, and pushed his car back to the pits.

Rookie Mario Andretti, who ran no lower than 6th all afternoon, came home third, and won the Rookie of the Year award. Despite rapidly becoming obsolete, two front-engined roadsters still finished in the top ten. Rookie Gordon Johncock finished 5th, and Eddie Johnson came home 10th. Johncock was locked in a duel with Al Miller in the late stages of the race.

The race was slowed by only three yellow lights for a total of 13 minutes.

Box score
Finish Start No Name Qual Rank Laps Led Status
1 2 82 Jim Clark 160.729 2 200 190 Running
2 5 98 Parnelli Jones  W  158.625 5 200 0 Running
3 4 12 Mario Andretti  R  158.849 4 200 0 Running
4 7 74 Al Miller 157.805 7 200 0 Running
5 14 76 Gordon Johncock  R  155.012 20 200 0 Running
6 15 81 Mickey Rupp  R  154.839 21 198 0 Flagged
7 22 83 Bobby Johns  R  155.481 17 197 0 Flagged
8 18 4 Don Branson 155.501 16 197 0 Flagged
9 32 45 Al Unser  R  154.440 29 196 0 Flagged
10 28 23 Eddie Johnson 153.998 32 195 0 Flagged
11 9 7 Lloyd Ruby 157.246 9 184 0 Blown Engine
12 12 16 Len Sutton 156.121 13 177 0 Flagged
13 29 14 Johnny Boyd 155.172 19 140 0 Gearbox
14 21 53 Walt Hansgen 155.662 15 117 0 Overheating
15 1 1 A. J. Foyt  W  161.233 1 115 10 Gearbox
16 24 5 Bud Tingelstad 154.672 23 115 0 Crash T3
17 6 66 Billy Foster  R  158.416 6 85 0 Water manifold
18 19 18 Arnie Knepper  R  154.513 28 80 0 Cylinder
19 8 9 Bobby Unser 157.467 8 69 0 Oil Fitting
20 13 52 Jim McElreath 155.878 14 66 0 Rear End
21 16 94 George Snider  R  154.825 22 64 0 Rear End
22 25 65 Ronnie Duman 154.533 27 62 0 Rear End
23 31 41 Masten Gregory  R  154.540 26 59 0 Oil Pressure
24 10 54 Bob Veith 156.427 11 58 0 Piston
25 26 88 Chuck Stevenson 154.275 30 50 0 Piston
26 3 17 Dan Gurney 158.898 3 42 0 Timing Gears
27 17 48 Jerry Grant  R  154.606 24 30 0 Magneto
28 30 19 Chuck Rodee 154.546 25 28 0 Rear End
29 27 29 Joe Leonard  R  154.268 31 27 0 Oil Leak
30 23 25 Roger McCluskey 155.186 18 18 0 Clutch
31 11 24 Johnny Rutherford 156.291 12 15 0 Rear End
32 33 47 Bill Cheesbourg 153.774 33 14 0 Magneto
33 20 59 Jim Hurtubise 156.863 10 1 0 Transmission

Alternates

Failed to qualify

Race statistics
Tire participation chart
Supplier No. of starters
Goodyear12 
Firestone21*
* – Denotes race winner

Broadcasting

Radio

The race was carried live on the IMS Radio Network. Sid Collins served as chief announcer for the 14th year, and 18th year overall with the crew. Fred Agabashian served as "driver expert," and Rodger Ward (who failed to qualify), joined the pre-race coverage briefly to offer commentary. The four and a half hour broadcast opened with a 30-minute pre-race segment.

The broadcast was carried by over 800 affiliates and was heard by an estimated 100 million listeners worldwide. The broadcast was carried by Armed Forces Network, as well as Radio New York Worldwide. Foreign translation rebroadcasts in Spanish, Portuguese, French, and Italian were heard in Central and South America and elsewhere.

After visiting the broadcast booth in 1964 for an interview, Donald Davidson returned, joining the crew full-time as race historian. Also new for 1965 was Ron Carrell, who reported from the backstretch. Other guests that visited the booth included Gus Grissom, Senator Birch Bayh, Assistant Postmaster General Tyler Able, Wally Parks, Peter DePaolo, J. C. Agajanian, 500 Festival Chairperson Margaret Clark and 500 Festival Queen Suzanne Devine Sams.

Absent from the crew was nine-year veteran Jack Shapiro, who died the previous summer at the age of 37.[22]

Indianapolis Motor Speedway Radio Network
Booth AnnouncersTurn ReportersPit/garage reporters

Chief Announcer: Sid Collins
Driver expert: Fred Agabashian
Statistician: John DeCamp

Turn 1: Bill Frosh
Turn 2: Howdy Bell
Backstretch: Ron Carrell
Turn 3: Mike Ahern
Turn 4: Jim Shelton

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

Television

The race was shown live on MCA closed-circuit television in approximately 180 theaters and venues across the United States. Charlie Brockman served as anchor.[23][24]

The following weekend on June 5, the race was carried in the United States on ABC's Wide World of Sports. It was ABC's first exclusive network coverage of the Indianapolis 500 on race day. Charlie Brockman anchored the telecast, as he did during the closed-circuit broadcast. The Wide World of Sports broadcast was an edited tape of the closed-circuit broadcast, and driver Rodger Ward served as analyst. Ward sat out the 1965 race, having failed to qualify, but returned in 1966.

Notes

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. Overpeck, Dave (June 1, 1965). "First Foreigner To Score Since '16; Parnelli 2d". The Indianapolis Star. p. 1. Retrieved June 2, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. The Talk of Gasoline Alley - 1070-AM WIBC, May 15, 2007
  4. "Drawing Will Decide Qualifying Positions". The Indianapolis Star. May 14, 1965. p. 26. Retrieved April 5, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. Hinton, Ed (May 27, 2011). "The last ride of A.J. Foyt". ESPN. Retrieved September 22, 2014.
  6. "Clark Turns 150.779 Lap In Practice". The Anderson Herald. May 4, 1965. p. 8. Retrieved March 27, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. "Lotus-Ford Kept Off Track Pending Tests". The Anderson Herald. May 7, 1965. p. 22. Retrieved March 27, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. "Little Lotus-Ford To Resume Assault On Track Records". The Anderson Herald. May 11, 1965. p. 7. Retrieved March 27, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. "Rear-Engined Cars Continue To Set Pace". The Anderson Herald. May 13, 1965. p. 10. Retrieved March 27, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. Indianapolis 500: Chronicle, page 180
  11. Foyt Gets Mark at Indy Action
  12. "Only Two Brave Strong Winds to Qualify". The Daytona Beach News-Journal. 1965-05-17. Retrieved 2012-07-11.
  13. "Hurtubise In Fastest Lap In Qualifying". The Daytona Beach News-Journal. 1965-05-23. Retrieved 2012-07-11.
  14. "Ward Fails to Qualify". St. Joseph Gazette. 1965-05-24. Retrieved 2012-07-11.
  15. "Jim Clark, Wood Brothers Win 1965 Indianapolis 500 with Innovative Lotus-Ford 38/". Racing in America. 2011-05-25. Archived from the original on 2012-04-01. Retrieved 2012-05-07.
  16. "The Talk of Gasoline Alley," WFNI: May 9, 2012
  17. The History of the 500 - WFNI/WIBC: Episode 10, 2013
  18. The Talk of Gasoline Alley - 1070-AM WIBC, August 6, 2005
  19. Spencer, Lee (May 25, 2014). "Nearly a half-century later, Wood Brothers fondly remember Jim Clark's dominant Indy 500 win". Motorsport.com. Retrieved September 23, 2014.
  20. The Talk of Gasoline Alley - 1070-AM WIBC, May 14, 2004
  21. "1965 International 500 Mile Sweepstakes". ChampCarStats.com. Retrieved 26 June 2015.
  22. The Talk of Gasoline Alley. May 16, 2009. WFNI.
  23. "Closed-Circuit Setup Elaborate". The Indianapolis Star. May 31, 1965. p. 45. Retrieved March 21, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
  24. "180 new grandstands". The Indianapolis Star. May 31, 1965. p. 37. Retrieved March 21, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.

Works cited
1964 Indianapolis 500
A. J. Foyt		 1965 Indianapolis 500
Jim Clark		 1966 Indianapolis 500
Graham Hill
Preceded by
147.350 mph
(1964 Indianapolis 500)		 Record for the fastest average speed
150.686 mph		 Succeeded by
151.207 mph
(1967 Indianapolis 500)
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