Indianapolis 500

Indianapolis Motor Speedway, 29 May 1971

Notes on the cars:

1. Colt 71 [101] (Al Unser): The new 1971 Colt destined for Al Unser was first tested at Indianapolis in March 1971 and returned to the Speedway for its first race in May. Unser only qualified fifth, significantly slower than the leading Offy turbo cars, but in race trim could run with the leaders and took over the lead when Mark Donohue's McLaren M16 retired. He held on to win from Peter Revson in another McLaren. Unser won again at Milwaukee a week later but the Colt was then converted to Offy power for the rest of the season. The car proved unreliable in this form and Unser did not win another race. The car was converted to 1972 form but only raced once in that specification and was then retired. It was soon converted back to its 1971 Indy 500 winning form with Ford engine and used as a show car by Parnelli. Remained in the Vel's Parnelli Collection until the collection was sold to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum in May 2012.
2. McLaren M16A [2] (Peter Revson): McLaren Cars at the 1971 Indy 500 for Peter Revson (#86) and qualified on pole at the Indy 500, finishing second. Probably the #86 car used by Gordon Johncock at Trenton 1972 and the #86 entry that did not arrive at the Indy 500. Then sold to Lindsey Hopkins for Roger McCluskey for the rest of 1972 as the #14 American Marine entry, winning at Ontario. Retained for 1973 as the #3 Hopkins Buick entry and used by McCluskey at Indy and Pocono, before settlig on his newer M16B thereafter. The older M16 was then unused and had been stripped down to a bare monocoque by the time it was sold to John Martin in mid-1975. He used the tub to rebuild the M16B that he had crashed at Milwaukee in June 1975, and the resulting car used the chassis plate and identity of the M16B.
3. Coyote 71 (AJ Foyt): New for AJ Foyt at the 1971 Indy 500, where he finished third. Presumably the car he used for the rest of the season, but it is possible he used the sister car or older cars at short track events. NSSN reported that he used this car when he won at Phoenix in October 1971, his first USAC race win in over two years, when the car had "undergone major chassis changes, including the moving of the radiators to the rear of the chassis, ala McLaren". The car was sold to the MVS team for 1972 and raced by Jim Hurtubise at the Indy 500. MVS also bought an older 1969/70 Coyote for the short ovals. This car was then raced by George Snider as MVS's #29 entry on the longer tracks later in 1972. Although Sessions was reported to be driving the team's 1972 Eagle at all his races in 1973, photographs and race video show him driving the Coyote at least twice. It was bought from MVS in 1975 less engine by the Dewco Construction team of Jack Owens (Indianapolis, IN), and fitted with a stock block Chevrolet. It ran in this form for two years, but only started one race. Then unknown until the early 1980s when it was entered by Robert W. Gaby's B&G Racing for Steve Ball (Osslar, IN) at the 1981 Indy 500. Ball's entry was withdrawn after the team's owner ran into financial issues, but Ball was invited to start the Pocono race a month later as USAC were short of entries. The car was later sold to Chuck Haines, who later sold it to a new owner who took it to Walt Goodwin to be restored.
4. Eagle 70 [805] (Jim Malloy): A new car built later in 1970 to use the Gurney Weslake Ford 318 ci stock block engine. It was entered as #42 as a backup car for Dan Gurney at the California 500, but after he qualified his regular #48 Offy car, the stock block was handed over to Swede Savage, who qualified it but retired. Savage's car was then extensively modified with wide, flat bodywork extending from behind the front wheels all the way to above the rear wheels, to act as a huge spoiler, and tested in this form at the Speedway in early November. Savage then raced this Gurney Weslake car in this form at Phoenix in November, winning the race after passing Roger McCluskey on the final lap. This car was then fitted with an Offy turbo engine for 1971, when it was the team's backup car at the Indy 500, so it is presumably the #42 car that Savage and Lee Roy Yarbrough had used in the Rafaela, Phoenix and Trenton races held prior to the Indy 500. It was entered as the #48 backup car at the Indy 500, but was raced by Jim Malloy as the #42 entry after Yarbrough wrecked his original #42 1971 Eagle and then withdrew. As both 1971 Eagles were damaged at the 500, this 1970 Eagle was then raced by Bobby Unser (as #2) at Milwaukee in June. Subsequent history unresolved.
5. Hayhoe 68 (Billy Vukovich): One of two cars built by Hayhoe Racing Enterprises, this is the car entered as the #59 Cleaver Brooks Spl in 1968. Presumed for now to be the same car used as the #59 on the team's other appearances, but it is possible that the sister car (the #62 at the Indy 500) was used at some events that season. To 3-K Racing Enterprises for 1969 and entered as the #59 Krohne Grain Transport at the Indy 500, but again it is possible that the sister car (the #39 at the Indy 500) was substituted at later short track events. To Jerry O'Connell for 1970 and both cars were entered as Sugaripe Prune Spls at four races that year. Retained for 1971 when Jud Phillips joined as O'Connell's new chief mechanic and run for most of the year with this car now as the #32 Sugaripe Prune entry for Billy Vukovich. Unknown after 1971 but if this was the only survivor, it would be the car raced by Dave Bowling (San Jose, CA) in Northern Auto Racing Club (NARC) Sprint Car Racing in Northern California in 1975. It would also be the basis of his "ecology car", raced in 1977, and probably his rear-engined car in 1974. In 2008 the car was for sale with Chuck Haines (St Louis, MO), restored to its 1971 #32 livery. By 2015, it had been sold to Jim Griggs (Panama City, FL).
6. Coyote 71 (Donnie Allison): New as AJ Foyt's backup car for 1971 and taken over by NASCAR driver Donnie Allison for the Indy 500. Also raced by Allison at Pocono where he hit the wall during the race and as far as can be determined it did not appear again that season. Presumably the car raced by Foyt at Phoenix at the start of 1972. Taken to the 1972 Indy 500 as Foyt's #84 backup car and qualified by George Snider. Raced by Sammy Sessions as Foyt's #84 entry at Michigan, Pocono and Ontario later that season. Subsequent history unknown, but it was in Jim Brucker's Movieworld/"Cars of the Stars" museum at Buena Park, CA at some point. When Brucker's museum closed in 1978, his collection was moved to Santa Paula where it sat in a warehouse until 1993. The Coyote was loaned to the Santa Paula Union Oil Museum for its "Legends of Auto Racing" exhibit in December 1993. It was next seen in 2001 when bought from Jerry Friedrich (also then in Santa Paula, CA) by Bruce Linsmeyer (Orlando, FL) and restored by his Avon Aero between 2001 and 2005 when it was fitted with a non-turbo Ford V8 and was missing its left-hand side radiator. Traded to former single-seat Can-Am racer Chuck 'Rick' Parsons (Inverness, IL) for a 1968 Shelby Turbine Indy car and run by Parsons in The Mitty at Road Atlanta in early May 2011. Sold via Mecum Auctions in May 2011.
7. Hayhoe 68 (Bud Tingelstad): One of two cars built by Hayhoe Racing Enterprises, this is the #62 Cleaver Brooks car in which Bruce Walkup was bumped at the Indy 500 in 1968. This car may have been used as the #59 entry at some point during 1968 but its next definite appearance was at the 1969 Indy 500 when it was the #39 backup car for new owner 3-K Racing Enterprises but did not appear on track. In 1970, the cars had moved to Jerry O'Connell's Sugaripe Prune team and both were raced at selected events that season. Both cars were run again in 1971 and this car was the #58 Sugaripe Prune entry for Bud Tingelstad at the three 500-mile races. Crashed heavily at the Ontario 500 and reportedly destroyed.
8. Vollstedt 66 [8] (Denny Zimmerman): Built for 1966 and raced by Billy Foster as the #27 Jim Robbins entry. Retained for 1967 and intended to be raced by Lucien Bianchi in 1967 but borrowed by Mario Andretti for the opening race of the 1967 season, only to crash it in practice. Bianchi was later bumped at the Indy 500. Raced by Jim Malloy for the rest of 1967 and for occasional races in 1968 and 1969. To Frank J Fiore's Fiore Racing Enterprises for 1970 and raced as the #43 by Bob DeJong and then in 1971 by Denny Zimmerman. Later entered by Fiore as the #43 again for Al Loquasto in 1972, Jerry Karl and Bob Harkey in 1973, and Karl Busson in 1974. Later sold by Fiore and the car passed through several collectors until purchased by the Fiore family in 2001. Fiore died in 2007 but his son Frank Fiore Jr (Dallastown, PA) continued with the car's long-term restoration. The car appeared in public for the first time in 45 years at the Vintage Celebration at Pocono Raceway in August 2017.
9. Kuzma-Kenyon 71 (Roger McCluskey): New for the 1970 Indianapolis 500, and fitted with a turbo Ford engine for Wally Dallenbach to use briefly in practice as Lindsey Hopkins' #6 Sprite entry. Chief mechanic Jack Beckley then left the team, and Don Kenyon took over his role. The #6 Kuzma was then presumably the car driven by Mel Kenyon at Michigan in July, and at Ontario in September. The #6 car then became Roger McCluskey's regular Kuzma-Ford during 1971, finishing third at Michigan in July, and second at Phoenix in October. McCluskey drove it at a few short track races in 1972, and it was also his unused spare car at the 1972 Indy 500.
10. Gerhardt 70 (Gary Bettenhausen): New for Gary Bettenhausen for the 1970 Indy 500 as the Gerhardt team's #16 Thermo-King entry, where he qualified 20th and retired early. He used this car at Milwaukee eight days later, but then used one of his 1969 cars for much of the summer before racing his Indy 500 car again at Ontario in September, Trenton in October and Phoenix in November. He raced it again at Rafaela in February but then used the heavily modified sister car at Phoenix and Trenton. This car was modified along the same lines for Bettenhausen to use at the 1971 500. It was then modified again, this time along McLaren M16 lines, for Bettenhausen to race at Pocono in July, Michigan in August, Ontario in September, and Phoenix in October. It was then Jim Malloy's #16 entry at the start of the 1972 season, then the #46 car at the 1972 Indy 500 that was changed to run as #16 for Jerry Karl after Malloy's crash in the team's new Eagle. Johnny Rutherford then took over the car at Milwaukee in June but consumed in a "fiery and spectacular crash".
11. Mongoose 71 (Lloyd Ruby): New for Lloyd Ruby in 1971 as the Gene White team's #12 car but "abandoned by Ruby after that year's Indy 500", presumably as it was the only year for some time that he had not led the race. Sold to Pat O'Reilly and entered as the #51 Minnesota Serendipity car in 1973 for Dee Jones, John Hubbard and Jigger Sirois. Returned in 1974 as the #53 for John Cannon but failed to qualify for the Indy 500. Raced later in 1974 by Jan Opperman and by Mel Cornett and appeared in 1975 for John Hubbard and Cornett again. Wrecked at Milwaukee in June 1975 and, according to Milwaukee Mile Historian Steve Zautke, was "wiped out".
12. Eagle 71 [7101] (Bobby Unser): New for Bobby Unser to drive at the 1971 Indy 500 as AAR's #2 Olsonite entry. As the sister car was wrecked by Lee Roy Yarbrough at the Speedway, this is likely to be the 1971 Eagle raced by Unser at Pocono, Michigan, Ontario, Trenton and Phoenix. For 1972, the car was sold to a consortium led by James C Rogers that entered it as "The Minnesota Invader" for Larry Dickson (Marietta, Ohio) to drive, with sprint car builder Paul Leffler (St Paul, Indiana) as chief mechanic. It did not qualify after Leffler claimed that the money needed for a new engine did not turn up from "the Minnesota people" and the car was not seen again that season. Leffler and Dickson focused instead on their successful USAC Sprint campaigns. In April 1973, Rogers and his associates sued Leffler who they claimed had retained the Eagle. The car then found its way into the ownership of Greg Hodges (San Francisco, CA). Photographs of the car in 1974 or 1975, show it in virtually identical configuration to when Dickson drove it at Indianapolis. This is presumably rhe 'Eagle' that Hodges raced at Mosport Park in 1976, but photographs of that car remain elusive. Subsequent history unknown but at some point acquired by Gary Schroeder (Burbank, CA) and restored by Phil Reilly & Co. to its original Unser #2 livery. It won Best in Class at the Amelia Island Concours in 2004 and was part of the Victory Lane Historic Champ/Indy Car Showcase at California Speedway in January 2005. By 2010 the car was on display in the NHRA Motorsports Museum. In March 2012, the car was on display in the Riverside International Automotive Museum. By March 2017, it had moved again, and was on display at the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles.
13. Eagle 68 (Mike Mosley): Bobby Unser drove a 1968 Eagle for the Jud Phillips side of the Leader Card team in 1968 and 1969, and had major accidents at Mosport Park in June 1968 and in testing at Riverside in December 1968. Either this car, repaired, or a new car was then raced by Unser on road courses in 1969. In 1970, Mike Mosley drove a car for the AJ Watson side of the Leader Card operation that was identified as the 1968 Unser car, but whether that was the same car as the one Unser had driven in 1969 is unclear, but it assumed here for now that it was. Unser then drove a 1968 Eagle at Continental Divide and Indianapolis Raceway Park in 1970, which has to be a different car to the Mosley car. Its origins are not yet resolved. This was almost certainly the car driven by Steve Krisiloff at Ontario in September 1970 and by Jim McElreath in November. This car was also transferred to the AJ Watson operation and was raced by Mike Mosley at the Indy 500 in 1971 when it was identified in Carl Hungness's Yearbook as a car that had not previously raced at the Indy 500 but had been used "on the trail" by Unser. This car was comprehensively destroyed during the race when Mosley crashed into the outside wall and cannoned across into three retired cars parked against the inside wall. Mosley was hospitalised with a broken leg and elbow as well as serious burns.
14. Vollstedt 67 ['A'] (Dick Simon): New for 1967 and run by Vollstedt Enterprises as the #17 Bryant Heating & Cooling Spl in 1967 and 1968 with a 255 ci Ford quad cam engine. Appeared at Indy in 1969, now with a turbo Ford but still as the #17 Bryant Heating & Cooling Spl. Dick Simon raced this car for the Vollstedt team at a few races late 1969 as the All Seasons Sports car and then acquired the car, which became his #44 entry in 1970 and then his #44 TraveLodge Sleeper backup in 1971. Retained as part of Simon's stable until the end of 1975 when it was sold to Art Sugai (Ontario, OR) and became his #90 Eastside Café entry for Frank Weiss in 1976. Sold in 1978 to Tom Black (Portland, OR) and Bob Ames and restored by them as the #21 ex-Jim Clark car after being incorrectly identified as that car by Rolla Vollstedt. Then to Don Mack and Hank Albers in 1979 and sold a year later via Eoin Young to Peter Briggs and put on display in his York Motor Museum in Western Australia. Offered for sale by Bonhams at Quail Lodge in August 2009 at which point it was correctly identified as the #17 car. Sold to Greg Smith in 2010.
15. Kingfish 70 (George Follmer): Built by Grant King for 1970 and raced by Art Pollard in the early races of the season as his #10 Pollard Car Wash entry. Pollard and King separated after Milwaukee in June, and the car was next seen at Ontario where it was the #41 Grant King entry for Greg Weld. Weld then crashed it in practice at Trenton in October. It returned in 1971, still as the #41 entry, and was driven by Roger McCluskey at Rafaela. George Follmer put it in the race at Indianapolis and it then became the #40 STP entry for Larry Dickson and others later that season, including George Snider. As far as can be determined, this car was Snider's #35 car at the opening race of the 1972 season, and then used by Steve Krisiloff as the #15 at two short track raced later that season. It was then Krisiloff's #24 entry at the opening race of the 1973 season before finally being retired.
16. Mongoose 71 (Cale Yarborough): New for Cale Yarborough to race in 1971 as the Gene White team's #21 car. After 1971, this car remained unused and was dismantled but still in exactly the same livery when in the collection of Bob McConnell (Urbana, OH) in 2010. Sold in August 2013 to Brad Edwards (Plainfield, IN) who started a full restoration with a view to having the car on track by May 2016.
17. McLaren M16A [3] (Denis Hulme): McLaren Cars at the 1971 Indy 500 for Denny Hulme (#85). Raced by Gordon Johncock at Pocono 500 1971. Believed to have been sold to George Walther for his son David "Salt" Walther after the 1972 season and, as far as can be determined, this is the car that Walther was racing when he had his huge accident at the 1973 Indy 500. The wrecked car was kept by Walther, reputedly in his living room, but was sold to the Henry Ford Museum in 2012 to be part of an exhibit on racing safety.
18. Eagle 66 [203] (Johnny Rutherford): A customer car sold to John W. Klug (Newport Beach, CA) of Pacesetter Homes, fitted with a 255ci Ford V8 and entered at the 1966 Indy 500 as the #88 Bardahl-Pacesetter Homes Special for Jerry Grant to drive, with Roy Campbell as chief mechanic. Klug's USAC entry form identifies the car as chassis 203. Grant was dropped by AAR's team of Can-Am Lola T70s at the beginning of October 1966, and set up Friedkin Enterprises Racing Division with financial backing from his old friend Tom Friedkin (San Diego, CA), and with ex-AAR mechanics Larry Stellings and Larry Webb. The new operation had two Eagles, Grant's #88 Indy 500 car chassis 203 which Friedkin acquired from Klug and the former Yamaha #6 car of Joe Leonard, and acquired a new Lola T70 which Grant drove at Riverside in October, entered by Alan Green Chevrolet. Grant drove the #88 Eagle at Phoenix in November as a Bardahl entry and this is presumably the #78 Friedkin Enterprises entry for Grant at the 1967 Indy 500 and at road course events later in the season. It was entered by Friedkin Enterprises as the #76 for Jerry Titus at the 1968 Indy 500. No sign has been found of it racing again in 1968, but photographs show that this was the car used in the Universal Pictures film 'Winning', starring Paul Newman and filmed during the summer of 1968, where it appeared as the #42 car of Robert Wagner's character Luther Lou Erding. It was then sold to Jackson oilman Walt Michner for his Michner Petroleum team, and used by driver Johnny Rutherford as a backup to his 1967 Eagle. The 1966 car was fitted with an Offy turbo for 1969 and entered as the #36 Patrick Petroleum car for Rutherford throughout the season. Retained by Michner for Rutherford during the 1970 and 1971 seasons still in partnership with Michner's 1967 Eagle as the #18 entry. The 1966 car was nicknamed "Geraldine" during this time and the 1967 car "Old Shep". Then to Marvin Webster (who had previously owned 'the AAR/Leonard car') and on the entry list at Ontario in 1972 for Don Brown. Next seen in practice at the 1973 Indy 500, entered by Webster as the #76, and later at Ontario in September 1973 where John Cannon raced it. Advertised by Webster in December 1973 with a 1968 Eagle. Unknown until owned by Anthony Seibert (Boulder, CO) in May 1983. Reappeared when sold by Joseph D Lhotka, Trustee, Shawn S Trust (Westminster, CO) to Centennial Import Motor Co (Boulder, CO) in April 1987, and then sold almost immediately to Chuck Haines (Manchester, MO). Retained by Haines until 2005, when sold to Aaron Lewis (Cessnock, NSW, Australia) and restored to Rutherford #36 livery. Run at the Phillip Island Classic 2011 by Lewis, and displayed car at Indianapolis in 2017 and 2018. Sold to Bobby Rahal (Chicago, IL) in October 2018.
19. Colt 71 [115] (Joe Leonard): Joe Leonard's 1971 Colt was also ready for the Indy 500, where he retired after the turbocharger failed. Leonard also drove this car at Pocono in July; at Milwaukee in August, where it failed during his qualifying run; at Ontario in September, which he won; and at at Trenton and Phoenix in October. The car was used once more in 1972 specification at Phoenix in March 1972 and was then retired. It remained in storage until 2000, when it was restored by Phil Reilly. Remained in the Vel's Parnelli Collection until the collection was sold to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum in May 2012.
20. Lola T153 2WD [SL153/6] (David Hobbs): New to Roger Penske, and raced by Mark Donohue at the 1970 Indy 500 as the #66 Sunoco entry, finishing second, and at Ontario in September, where Donohue was an early retirement. Raced by Donohue at Phoenix and Trenton in early 1971 and then qualified by David Hobbs for the Indy 500, but crashed in the race. The "demolished" car was bought from Penske by Leonard Faas, who wanted the Ford engine to fit in a Lola T150 he had bought from The Vel's Parnelli team. The T153 was repaired and entered in the Ontario 500-mile race by Agajanian-Faas as #97 for John Martin to drive, but he was bumped from the grid after initially qualifying. Faas then entered the Lola as #112 at Phoenix in October, where Martin was too slow to qualify. It remained with Faas until sold to Chuck Haines in 1985. To John Darlington in June 2003, and restored. It ran in a demo at the Indy 500 in 2004, and at the Goodwood Festival of Speed later that year.
21. Hawk I (65) (Rick Muther): The first Hawk appeared at the 1965 Indianapolis 500 as the #12 Dean Van Lines entry for Mario Andretti. Andretti used this car for seven other races in 1965, and also used it with great success in 1966, taking pole position nine times and winning seven times from ten race starts. The car was rebuilt for the 1967 season along the lines of the new 1967 Hawk but was damaged in practice at Phoenix. It was then Andretti's #64 backup car at the Indy 500, and then became the regular road racing car, being used by Andretti at Mosport Park in July, Mont-Tremblant in August, where it won both races, Hanford in October, Riverside in November, and finally Las Vegas in March 1968. It was entered at Indy again in 1968, this time as the #57, but did not appear on track. When the second 1968 Hawk was complete, the 1965 car was redundant, and its final appearance in Andretti's hands was at the Pikes Peak Hill Climb at the end of June. It was then sold to aircraft dealer Jack Adams, and it was raced as the #38 by Jim McElreath at four races from August onwards. It was entered by Adams for McElreath at the 1969 Indy 500 and although he qualified it, he retired early due to an engine fire. McElreath then left the Adams team and his replacements focused on the team's 1967 Lola, and the Hawk was not seen again until Indy the following May, when it was one of the team's three entries and had been rebuilt with wedge-shaped bodywork. Rick Muther qualified the car and went on to a most impressive eighth place. The Adams team by now was focused on a turbine car, but the Hawk was raced at Michigan and Ontario later in 1970. It returned yet again to the Indy 500 in 1971 and as the team's turbine car was again unable to get up to speed, Muther climbed into the ancient Hawk, now wearing inelegant bodywork crafted by chief mechanic Howard Millican, and qualified for its fifth Indy 500 in its seventh season of racing. Muther crashed out on this occasion. The car was still in Millican's workshop in February 1972 and it was sold for 1973 to Fred Graves (Hastings, NY) to be used as a Supermodified at Oswego and Lancaster Speedways in northern New York State in 1973, still wearing the 1971 Millican bodywork. Graves crashed while leading at Lancaster on 25 July 1973 and the car was very badly damaged in the ensuing fire. The history of the car is then unknown for 16 years until 1990, when Steve Forristall (Houston, TX) was reported to own its remains. Nearly 25 years later it was acquired by Ray Evernham in 2014 in a very dilapidated condition and with many of its original components long gone. Evernham was aware that a replica that had been built by Tom Brawner, nephew of the late Clint Brawner, which he had created using the template from the long-abandoned Brabham BT12 frame and had completed using all the redundant parts found in his uncle's workshop. Evernham bought this replica and took both the heavily modified ex-Supermodified car and the replica to the Hawk's original mechanic Jim McGee and Steve Panarites of Steve's Auto Fab (Jamestown, IN) for restoration. They carefully restored the original 1965 frame and built up the car using the original parts taken from the replica. It reappeared in early 2016 at the Amelia Island Concours where it took first in class, was driven at the Speedway by Andretti in May 2017, and was at the 2017 Pinehurst Concours and the 2018 Pebble Beach Concours. Sold by Evernham at the Mecum Auction in May 2022 to Ray Skillman (Greenwood, IN).
22. Gerhardt 68 (Bob Harkey): A new 1968 Gerhardt built for Mel Kenyon after his City of Lebanon 1967 Gerhardt was wrecked at Milwaukee in June 1968. This car had the same overall shape as the early-season 1968 cars but had outboard front suspension. Entered as the #15 in 1968, becoming #9 Krohne Grain Transport Spl at the 1969 Indy 500 where Kenyon finished in a fine fourth place. Driven by Sonny Ates as the #59 at Trenton later that year and by Kenyon at both Milwaukee races. This car then became Joseph B. Hunt's #99 'Joe Hunt Magneto Spl' from the start of 1970. Denny Zimmerman failed to qualify it for the 1970 Indy 500 but Bob Harkey put it in the 1971 Indy 500. It was then replaced by an ex-Bettenhausen 1968 Gerhardt, but may have continued in use as a short track car. Hunt died in June 1985, and about a year later both Gerhardts were sold by his widow Mary to Jack Thompson (Doylestown, PA).
23. Eagle 66 [201] (Bentley Warren): The first 1966 Eagle, chassis 201, was fitted with a 255ci Ford V8 and was Dan Gurney's #31 AAR entry at the 1966 Indy 500. Then fitted with the 303 ci Gurney Weslake Ford V8 stock block engine, and raced by Jochen Rindt as the #48 AAR entry at the 1967 Indy 500. Used by Gurney to win at Riverside in November 1967, and at Las Vegas in March 1968. Sold to Lothar Motschenbacher (Beverly Hills, CA) later in the year, fitted with a Chevrolet V8 and repainted red with Leader Card Racers signwriting. Motschenbacher intended to take part in the Rverside race in December, but did not take part. Then sold to Jerry Hansen (Long Lake, MN) for the Brainerd, Seattle and Riverside Indy road races in 1969. Then to the Tassi Vatis team, and was the team's #95 entry for Sam Posey at the 1970 Indy 500 but failed to qualify. It was the #95 entry again at the 1971 500, this time raced by Bentley Warren. Warren and later Carl Williams raced it in other events later in 1971 and Williams qualified it for the 500 in 1972. According to a later auction catalogue, it was sold to Bob Johnson and then to Jim Mann in 1978 before passing via Bob and Don Tarwaki to collector Bob Sutherland. It was restored for Sutherland by Jim Robbins then sold to Joe MacPherson (Tustin, CA). After MacPherson's death, it was sold at auction in 2008 to Riverside International Automotive Museum's Doug Magnon. The car was on display in the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum in May 2015, replacing the Museum's own 1966 car which had been on display earlier in the month.
24. Kuzma-Kenyon 71 (Wally Dallenbach): New for the 1970 Indianapolis 500, and fitted with a turbo Offy engine for Wally Dallenbach to use as Lindsey Hopkins' #22 Sprite entry. After the car blew three engines due to what was believed to be an oil plumbing issue, Dallenbach swapped to an older Eagle for qualifying and the race. The #22 car was used by Dallenbach at Trenton in October 1970, and was then his regular car in 1971, finishing second at Trenton in April, and finishing fourth twice. He crashed the car heavily in practice at Pocono in July, but it was repaired, now in orange paintwork, in time for Milwaukee in August. He then crashed the car again during practice at Phoenix in October 1971, and this time it was "badly damaged". Not seen again.
25. McLaren M16A [1] (Mark Donohue): To Roger Penske at the 1971 Indy 500 for Mark Donohue (#66 Sunoco). Donohue retired from the Indy 500 but his car was later "destroyed" when Mike Mosley crashed his Eagle into it. It was said that nothing was salvageable and a new car (M16-4) was built in time for Pocono. However, detailed study of photographs establishes that M16-1 was rebuilt and was raced by Gary Bettenhausen for Penske at short-track races in the first half of 1972. Sold to Roy Woods Racing for John Mahler (#74) at Ontario 1972 but wrecked in the race. Not seen again until entered by Roy Woods for David Hobbs (#73) at Ontario September 1973 then for Mahler (#74) at the 1974 Indy 500 but DNQ. It had been updated to M16C form during this time. Sold to Al Loquasto, replacing the M16B he had previously raced, and used from 1975 to 1978 as Loquasto's #86 Frostie Root Beer entry. Loquasto may have used his M16B at some tracks, but no photographic evidence has yet been found for that. Sold by Loquasto to Robert W. LaWarre Sr. (Titusville, FL) for Tony Bettenhausen II (#86 Tilton) late 1979. History then unknown until the M16 was bought from someone in Florida by Joe Baird (Shelbyville, IN) and a partner in the 1990s, when the car still had Loquasto and LaWarre bodywork. Sold via Jim Mann and Steve Truchan to former Formula Atlantic driver Glen A. Smith (Rockwall, TX) and retained by Smith until his death in 2008, after which his wife sold it to Bob Boyce (Michigan City, Indiana).
26. Scorpion 70 ['1'] (Art Pollard): Clint Brawner's original Scorpion was driven by Roger McCluskey at Indy in 1970 and was the #64 backup car for Art Pollard at the 1971 Indy 500 (Hungness 1971). In between these races, it is hard to speculate to its history as Brawner had a second Scorpion for Pollard to drive alongside McCluskey at the 1970 California 500 and then Pollard wrecked a Scorpion at Phoenix at the start of 1971. Jimmy Caruthers had driven the #64 car in practice for the 1971 Indy 500 and it is presumed that this is the same car he ran as the #64 second car at Milwaukee and Pocono.
27. Colt-Lola T150 [SL150/2] (Sammy Sessions): New to Al Retzloff for his Retzloff Racing Team, prepared by George Bignotti and entered at the 1968 Indianapolis 500 as the #5 Retzloff Chemical car. The car was in two-wheel drive specification for this race, with lead driver Al Unser also having SL150/1 available in 4WD specification as the team's #24 entry. Unser damaged SL150/2 in practice, and raced SL150/1, leaving teammate Carl Williams out of a drive. The car was returned to England for repairs, and was returned in time for the twin races at Indianapolis Raceway Park, both of which Unser won, with the car now in 4WD specification. He also raced it in the twin races at Mont-Tremblant two weeks later, but crashed in the second race and severely damaged the rear suspension. Unser raced it several more times that season. The team was transferred to Parnelli Jones and Vel Miletich's Vel's Parnelli Jones Ford team (Torrance, CA) for 1969, including both Unser and Bignotti, and this car was Bud Tingelstad's #15 drive at the 1969 Indy 500. It was then raced by Jim Malloy and Unser later that season, but its exact usage in 1969 is still to be resolved. In 1970, it was retained by the team, modified along the lines of Bignotti's new Colts, and was raced by Unser on road courses, winning at Indianapolis Raceway Park in July. For 1971, it was sold to Agajanian Faas Racers, and raced as the team's #98 entry by Sammy Sessions. When Agajanian and partner Leonard Faas separated, Faas kept the car and it became his #11 King O'Lawn Special later that season. In 1978, it was sold to Milt Jenson, and in 2000 he sold it to Michael & Danna Huntley-Lashmett. They sold it to Harvey Cluxton in 2002, and it was then sold to a Nevada car museum which closed in 2007. It was then sold to Bill "Speedy" Smith for his Speedway Motors Museum in Lincoln, NE.
28. Kingfish 71 (Larry Dickson): Built new by Grant King for 1971 but to the same basic design as the 1970 Kingfish. First appeared at the 1971 Indy 500 as the #45 Spirit of Indianapolis entry for Larry Dickson, who qualified. The team was then taken over by Andy Granatelli and the 1971 car became the #20 entry for Granatelli's regular driver Steve Krisiloff for the rest of the season. This may have been Krisiloff's #15 entry at Trenton in April 1972, and was then brought out of retirement for Greg Weld to drive as the #35 at Pocono, after one of the team's 1972 cars had been destroyed. The car then remained at King's workshop until his death in a road accident in December 1999. Shortly after this, the car was sold to Bruce Weatherston (Chicago, IL). It remains in his collection, still in unrestored original condition.
29. McLaren M15A [3] (Gordon Johncock): Chris Amon's planned car for the 1970 Indy 500 was taken over by Carl Williams when Amon withdrew. It was sold to Gordy Johncock after the 500 and became his main car after M15/2 was wrecked at Michigan. Sold to Rolla Vollstedt for 1971 and raced for him by Johncock and Denny Zimmerman in 1971 and 1972. This car was later acquired by Tom Black (Portland, OR) and sold by him to the UK. Believed to be the car acquired from collector Nick Mason by McLaren International, restored and put on display in the Donington Collection.
30. McNamara T501 ['2'] (Mario Andretti): New for Mario Andretti as the #5 STP entry at the 1971 Indy 500. Andretti qualified ninth with a speed of 172.612 mph. The car was damaged during the race when Andretti spun on oil and hit the barrier but was rebuilt extensively by chief mechanic Jim McGee in time for Pocono in July. Andretti qualified fifth and finished fourth at Pocono, then also raced this car at Michigan two weeks later, where he qualified third but retired, and at Milwaukee in August. Andretti used a newer long-chassis car produced by McGee at Ontario, but returned to the Pocono car for the Trenton race in October. He took second place at Trenton, the best result by this model of McNamara, but then drove the Ontario car at Phoenix. It is possible that this Pocono car was the intended #20 for Steve Krisiloff at Phoenix, which he crashed in pre-race testing. The 1971 McNamaras were not used again, and McNamara prepared for the 1972 Indy 500 was a 1970 car. Subsequent history unknown.
31. McNamara T501 ['3'] (Steve Krisiloff): This car was put together quickly for Steve Krisiloff to drive at the 1971 Indy 500 as the #20 STP entry after his Hawk was wrecked at Trenton. Krisiloff's chief mechanic Vince Granatelli Jr, Andy Granatelli's son, built up the car in time for the first day of qualifying, and although Krisiloff practiced, there was no time for a qualifying attempt. Krisiloff practiced at over 171 mph over the next week but crashed on the Saturday of the last weekend of qualifying. The car was rapidly rebuilt in just five hours and he qualified 27th with a speed of 169.835 mph, making it Vince Jr's first Indy 500 as a chief mechanic. Krisiloff was eliminated from the race when the McNamara's engine blew and deposited oil on the track, which unfortunately caused his teammate to spin into the wall. Krisiloff's car was parked on the infield and was later badly damaged when it was hit by Mike Mosley's Eagle. On 22 June, Andy Granatelli announced that this car could not be repaired, and that he had bought Grant King's two 1970/71 Kingfish for Krisiloff and George Follmer to drive for the rest of the season. This car's surviving componentry may have been used in the new longer McNamara built by Jim McGee and his team that appeared at Ontario.
32. Kuzma-Kenyon 71 (Mel Kenyon): New for the 1971 Indianapolis 500, and fitted with a turbo Ford engine for Mel Kenyon to use as Lindsey Hopkins' #23 Sprite entry. Kenyon was assisting his brother Don prepare Hopkins' other entries for Wally Dallenbach and Roger McCluskey, and only had time to prepare his own car after the first qualifying weekend. He qualified on the second weekend on the back row of the grid. On the 11th lap of the race, the engine of Steve Krisiloff's McNamara blew, depositing oil on the track. Kenyon hit the oil and skated into the wall. He started to get out of the car but saw Gordon Johncock's McLaren heading straight for him, so ducked back down into the cockpit just as the McLaren was launched right over the Kuzma. Kenyon had tyre marks on his helmet, but his only injury was where the fire extinguisher nozzle and gear lever were forced into his leg. The Kuzma chassis was not repairable and the Kenyons acquired a 1970 Kuzma-built Coyote chassis to replace it.
33. Eagle 68 [402] (George Snider): Sold new to the Leader Card team and prepared by Jud Phillips and Tom 'Red' Herrmann for Bobby Unser to race in 1968 as the #3 Rislone entry. He won the Indy 500, but just two weeks later "wiped out" his 500 winner in an accident on only the third lap at Mosport Park. Unser used his two 1967 Eagles after that, and also in early 1969 until his new Lola T152 was ready. After the Lola was badly damaged at Milwaukee in June, Unser appeared in a 1968 Eagle at Continental Divide in July and at other road course events later in the season. At Riverside on 5 December 1969 his car was described as "the actual Indy winner". This car was transferred to the AJ Watson half of the Leader Card operation and was raced by Mike Mosley at the Indy 500 and at Ontario in 1970 as the #9 G. C. Murphy entry. For 1971, Watson acquired a second '68 Eagle, but Mosley wrecked this at the Indy 500. George Snider drove the original ex-Unser car at the Indy 500, and also drove it for the team later in the season, while Mosley was recovering from his accident. Photographs show that this was the car used by Mosley in the first two races of 1972, but the team had also bought the ex-Dan Gurney '68 Eagle from the Jim Robbins team, and it was that car that Mosley raced in the Indy 500. After his crash in the Indy 500, Mosley was again out of racing for some months, and Rick Muther drove the team's original ex-Unser car in four races in the summer of 1972. Mosley returned again in time for the Ontario 500, at which he raced his repaired Indy 500 mount. Photographs show that the ex-Robbins car was used at Ontario in 1972, and at Ontario in 1973, so it is assumed here that it was also used in the intervening races. The last race for the ex-Unser car was therefore at Milwaukee in August 1972. In January 1973, it was sold to the Indianapolis Speedway Museum, and by May 1973, it was on display as Bobby Unser's 1968 Indy 500 winning car. It has remained on display ever since, and still carries the 402 chassis plate.
34. Morris 70 (unknown): According to Bob Sawicki who talked with Jeff Walther at the Walther Auction, the Walthers bought a car from George Morris for the 1970 season, and then had two more built for the 1971 season. The 1970 car appeared at the 1970 Indy 500 where Kevin Bartlett narrowly failed to qualify. Whether this was the second 1969 car or a new 1970 car is not clear. Photographs of the car at Indy in 1970 show a car very similar to the 1969 Morris used by MVS. It was raced for the rest of the 1970 season as the #77. Again according to Jeff Walther, this 1970 car was the #55 entry at Indy in 1971 and was then wrecked by Salt Walther during Indy testing in the fall of 1971.
35. Vollstedt 67 ['A'] (John Mahler): New for 1967 and run by Vollstedt Enterprises as the #17 Bryant Heating & Cooling Spl in 1967 and 1968 with a 255 ci Ford quad cam engine. Appeared at Indy in 1969, now with a turbo Ford but still as the #17 Bryant Heating & Cooling Spl. Dick Simon raced this car for the Vollstedt team at a few races late 1969 as the All Seasons Sports car and then acquired the car, which became his #44 entry in 1970 and then his #44 TraveLodge Sleeper backup in 1971. Retained as part of Simon's stable until the end of 1975 when it was sold to Art Sugai (Ontario, OR) and became his #90 Eastside Café entry for Frank Weiss in 1976. Sold in 1978 to Tom Black (Portland, OR) and Bob Ames and restored by them as the #21 ex-Jim Clark car after being incorrectly identified as that car by Rolla Vollstedt. Then to Don Mack and Hank Albers in 1979 and sold a year later via Eoin Young to Peter Briggs and put on display in his York Motor Museum in Western Australia. Offered for sale by Bonhams at Quail Lodge in August 2009 at which point it was correctly identified as the #17 car. Sold to Greg Smith in 2010.
36. Eagle 71 [7102] (Lee Roy Yarbrough): New for Lee Roy Yarbrough to drive at the 1971 Indy 500 as the #42 Olsonite factory entry, but wrecked on Sunday 9 May in a practice accident. The car was described as "severely damaged", and a later interview with Dan Gurney implies that it was not rebuilt. It has been suggested that this 1971 car may have survived, as the 1972 Hungness Yearbook said that Jerry O'Connell had a spare 1971 Eagle for Billy Vukovich. This was a rare error in Hungness, as O'Connell had two 1972 Eagles, not a '72 and a '71. It has also been suggested that the Page Racing team had a '71 Eagle as well as a '70 Eagle, but no evidence has been found to support that. This 1971 Eagle is therefore believed to have been destroyed in Yarbrough's accident.
37. Coyote 69 ['69-1'?] (Donnie Allison): AJ Foyt took pole position at the 1969 Indy 500 in a new #6 Sheraton-Thompson Coyote, presumably brand new for that race. Exactly how it was used for the rest of the season is not yet known, but it is likely that he used one of his older cars on short tracks, and also had a car set up for the road races at Continental Divide, IRP, Brainerd and Riverside. In 1970, this may well have been Foyt's early-season car. It was driven by George Snider at Indy in 1970 as the #84 Sheraton-Thompson entry, and was Foyt's road racing car at Continental Divide and IRP later that year. In 1971, it was Donnie Allison's #83 Purolator entry at the Indy 500 and presumably the #83 he drove a week later at Milwaukee. How else it was used that year is not yet known. For 1972, the car was sold to Lee Brayton (Coldwater, MI) and was the blue #61 Eisenhour Racing Coyote that he crashed during practice on 11 May. It was replaced by a 1970 Coyote and was not rebuilt. Brayton kept the damaged car in storage for many years until it was reported to have been sold some time around 2008. In 2016, it emerged that Bob Donahue (Indianapolis, IN) was the new owner.
38. Scorpion 71 (Art Pollard): The Scorpion that was Art Pollard's intended #8 car at the 1971 Indy 500 was then Jimmy Caruthers' car at the 1972 Indy 500 (although Hungness 1972 allocates Pollard's start to it). It seems likely that this would then be Pollard's #8 car after the 1971 Indy 500 at least up to the crash at Michigan. It is also presumed to be Caruthers #11 car after the 1972 Indy 500 up to his major accident at the Pocono 500. Caruthers crashed into the outside wall at turn 3, and was taken to hospital with burns and contusions. The team did not appear again. The Pocono wreck was later repaired and was owned by Doug Winslow (Westlake, Ohio) in June 2015.
39. Lola T152 2WD [SL150/3?] (Dick Simon): New to Roger Penske, in December 1968 according to Lola records, although it has been claimed that Penske's car was a rebuild of a car that raced some time in 1968. The car would be driven by Mark Donohue, who was also driving Penske's Lola T70 in sports car racing, and both Lolas used Chevrolet engines. The T150 did not run at the Indy 500, where Donohue used a brand new T152 instead, and was a non-starter at IRP in July. Donohue was seventh and fourth in two races at Brainerd in September, but retired at Seattle and Riverside. The car was fitted with a turbo Ford for testing at the start of 1970, but used a Chevrolet engine when raced at Sears Point and IRP. Sold to Dick Simon for 1971, and raced with a turbo Ford engine as the #10 TraveLodge Sleeper entry. Also used at Milwaukee in August 1972, when Simon focused on his new 1972 Peat-Lola, and possibly at other short track events. The car reappeared in 1976 when Greg Hodges (Indianapolis, IN) attempted to qualify it for several short-track Indycar races, without success. The car then had a Chevrolet engine, and still had the bulbous sidetanks seen when Simon had raced it in 1971. Subsequent history unknown, but some time around 1982 the car was in the collection of Dieter Holterbosch (Cove Neck, NY), a well-known collector of cars who died in July 2016 age 95. It was for sale from the collection at the time for $12,000.
40. Coyote 70 ['69-2'] (Jim McElreath): Roger McCluskey's Foyt team car at the 1969 Indy 500 was described as a new car, but it may not be a coincidence that one of the 1968 cars disappears just as this car appears. Raced by McCluskey as the #82 G. C. Murphy entry during 1969, but it is possible that McCluskey drove an older car from the Foyt stable at short track races. Entered for the 1970 Indy 500 as the #14 Greer-Foyt car for Jim McElreath. This car was described in Hungness as new but looked strikingly similar to the '1969' Coyote that Roger McCluskey had raced in 1969. Drilled holes in the screen suggest that this may be the car AJ Foyt drove in short track events through the summer of 1970 but its next certain appearance is for McElreath again at the California 500 at Ontario in September which he won. McElreath's win was only the fifth by a Coyote and the only time anyone other that Foyt ever won a race in a Coyote. Probably the '1970' Coyote in which McElreath was bumped at the 1971 Indy 500. Then sold to MVS as a backup car to their 1971 Coyote and used on short tracks by Jim Hurtubise and George Snider in 1972. It also appeared at Indy in 1973 as Snider's backup car. The car became part of the collection of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum at some point during the 1970s, and was on display at a Ford-themed auto show at Indiana State Fairgrounds in November 1981. It has remained in the collection ever since.
41. Eagle 67 [212] (Bill Simpson): The #74 AAR entry for Dan Gurney at the 1967 Indy 500, fitted with a Ford V8 and with support from Wagner Lockheed. Sold after the race to AJ Foyt and photographs show that it was the car raced by Joe Leonard at Mosport Park in July 1967, still in works livery. The history of the car over the next three years remains unknown but according to the Hungness Yearbook, it reappeared at the 1970 Indy 500 still as part of the Foyt team but now equipped with a turbo Ford and entered as the #83 Greer car for Donnie Allison, who finished fourth. Then sold to Bill Simpson (Los Angeles, CA), fitted with a 203 ci Chevrolet turbo engine built by Bruce Crower, and raced by Simpson at two late-1970 races. Fitted with an Offy turbo for Simpson in 1971 and 1972. Sold to Marv Carman (Union City, Michigan) and turned into a supermodified, but at some point the car was very badly damaged in a workshop fire. The remains of the car were acquired by Richard Bible and they were stored until 2008, when bought by Indycar collector Bill Wiswedel (Holland, Michigan). In 2012, Wiswedel sold the fire-damaged tub and its surviving components to Justin Gurney, son of Dan Gurney and then CEO of AAR. He sent the tub to John Mueller and Jerry Wise of Entrepreneur's Motor Sports (Fresno, CA), who built a completely new car to take its place, there being no part of the damaged tub that was usable. Joe Boghosian built a quad-cam Ford engine for it. The new car was unveiled on Dan Gurney's 84th birthday in April 2015, when Autoweek quoted Mueller saying that "every piece on that car is new except uprights, the hubs and the transmission".
42. Gerhardt 70 (Jim McElreath): As well as his #16 primary car, Gary Bettenhausen also had a second brand new car entered as the Gerhardt team's #78 Thermo-King entry at the 1970 Indy 500. This car was driven in practice by Larry Dickson, whose qualifying run had to be aborted, and Tony Adamowicz, who brushed the wall just before the start of final qualifying. As far as can be determined (so far), this car was not used again in 1970 as Bettenhausen had his primary 1970 car and also one of the 1969 cars to use. It is presumably the modified car that he drove at Phoenix and Trenton in early 1971, and was then his #46 backup car at the 1971 Indy 500, which was qualified by Jimmy McElreath but bumped. Later on in the season it was Bettenhausen's regular short-track car, being used at both Milwaukee races. It was then used by Jimmy Caruthers as the team's #46 entry at Ontario, by Bettenhausen as the #16 at Trenton in October, and by Caruthers as the #46 again at Phoenix. After Johnny Rutherford destroyed the sister car at Milwaukee in June 1972, this is likely to be the car he raced at Michigan in July and Milwaukee in August. Subsequent history unknown, but possibly the car that Bruce Crower used for his Dodge Hemi project in 1973, although it remains more likely that Crower had a 1969 car.
43. Morris Marauder (71) (Carl Williams): According to Bob Sawicki who talked with Jeff Walther at the Walther Auction, the Walthers bought a car from George Morris for the 1970 season, and then had two more built for the 1971 season. The main 1971 car was the #77 entry at the 1971 Indy 500 and it is assumed that this car was used for the rest of 1971 and in early 1972. This car, still unrestored and carrying USAC tag "#C-71 177", was sold at auction at Auburn in June 2012 to Doug Winslow (Cleveland, OH). Sold in July 2015 to Mark Klingerman (Bourbon, IN) and Gary Berkey (Warsaw, IN). Restored and appeared at the Historic Indycar Exhibition in May 2016 and in May 2017.
44. Eagle 68 [403] (Sam Posey): Jerry Grant drove for Tom Friedkin (Houston, TX) at Indy from 1967 to 1969, getting new Eagles in 1967 and 1968. Having driven for Marvin Webster for much of 1969, Grant returned to the 1968 ex-Friedkin Eagle for 1970, when he qualified it at Indy in Nelson Iron Works colours, with John Gorman and Gary Duff (both from Seattle) as his mechanics. Grant set up his own team for 1971, Jerry Grant Racing Enterprises, with the 1968 Eagle and again employing Gorman and Duff. He entered the car for the 1971 Indy 500 as the #78 Farrell's Ice Cream car, but it was driven by Sam Posey after Grant was employed by Shelby-Dowd to race a newer Eagle. Posey qualified but was later bumped. It was used by Jerry Grant a few times later in 1971, including at the USAC Road Racing event at Seattle. It then joined Marv Webster's stable and was still with him in 1973, awaiting a rebuild. Subsequent history unknown, but according to Chris Wilke, scion of the Leader Cards family, this was chassis 403 and has now been restored as Bobby Unser's Indy 500 winner and is the car on display in the Unser Racing Museum (Albuquerque, NM). The car still carries its original '403' chassis plate. This may be the yellow 1968 Indy Eagle that Joe Baird (Shelbyville, Indiana) acquired from Bob LaWarre in Florida as part of a package of cars in the 1990s. Baird sold the Eagle to Al Unser.
45. Eagle 69 [701] (Jerry Grant): New for Dan Gurney to race at the 1969 Indianapolis 500 as the #48 Olsonite entry, fitted with a 318 ci Gurney Weslake Ford stock block V8. Finished 2nd at Indy and presumably the car in which Gurney finished 2nd at Continental Divide, 1st at Indianapolis Raceway Park, 1st and 2nd at Brainerd and 1st at Sears Point at the start of the 1970 season. It was also presumably the Eagle, still with Gurney Weslake Ford engine, that Swede Save raced at Continental Divide and Indianapolis Raceway Park later in 1970. At the end of the year the car was sold to Shelby-Dowd, a new team set up by Carroll Shelby and Al Dowd, based in the old Shelby headquarters in Venice, CA, and with Carroll Smith as crew chief. Drag racing champion Danny Ongais was the intended driver but he stepped down after crashing the car during practice at Phoenix in March. Jerry Grant took over the drive and qualified the car at Indy, only to be bumped from the field. It was raced by Jim Malloy at two races later in 1971, and advertised by Al Dowd in December. Apparently not used again as the name of sponsor Norris Industries was still visible on the unrestored car in Walter Goodwin's workshop in 2014.
46. Vollstedt 67 ['B'] (Jerry Grant): New for 1967 and run by Vollstedt Enterprises as the #21 Bryant Heating & Cooling Spl in 1967 and 1968 with a 255 ci Ford quad cam engine. Driven by Jim Clark as the #21 Sperex entry at Riverside in November 1967. Acquired a turbo engine in late 1968 and continued to run as the #21 Bryant Heating & Cooling Spl in 1969 and then as Vollstedt Enterprises' #21 car in 1970 and 1971. Raced by Gordon Johncock as the #7 on some occasions in 1971, and last seen with the team at Phoenix in November 1971 when it was raced by Wally Dallenbach. Sold to Art Sugai (Ontario, OR) and entered at Phoenix in November 1972 as the #17 East Side Special for Kenny Hamilton, but he slid into guard rail during practice and the car was heavily damaged. The remains went to local car builders Tom Fox and Ron Yurich in 1976 who intended to use it to build a Super Modified but it remained with them, still unrepaired, until 2007 when purchased from Yurich's son John by Michael McKinney (Kennewick WA) together with friends Ron Hjaltalin and Marc Prentice. The car was restored over the next few years and was run at Indianapolis in May 2011.
47. Morris Marauder (71) (Dick Simon): According to Bob Sawicki who talked with Jeff Walther at the Walther Auction, the Walthers bought a car from George Morris for the 1970 season, and then had two more built for the 1971 season. The second of the two 1971 cars, the #33 was a late arrival at the 1971 Indy 500. It looked virtually identical to the #77 car except for the placement of stickers. It is not known whether this car was raced later in 1971 or remained as a backup. For now, it is assumed to have remained as a backup. This is believed to be the dark blue car at the 1972 Indy 500 where Salt Walther used it for his Rookie test. If so, then this is the dark blue #77 car offered at the George Walther Estate auction in Dayton, Ohio, on 19 October 2002, and then the partly restored dark blue car that was sold at auction at Auburn in June 2012 to Doug Winslow (Cleveland, OH).
48. Finley 69 (Bruce Walkup): The Finley-Offy TC used by Bentley Warren, Carl Williams, Bob Harkey and Johnny Parsons in 1971 and 1972 is a puzzle. Bill Finley had run Huffakers for Tassi Vatis in 1966, 1967 and 1968 before producing a pair of 'Valvoline Wedge' cars in 1969. These cars were described as new (Autoweek 31 May 1969 p23) but the tube frame construction and 'hydroelastic' suspension paralleled the 64 Huffakers. In 1970, a single 'Finley' had been entered for Warren with a 1966 Eagle appearing as a second car at Indy for Sam Posey. This Eagle continues as a Vatis entry in 1971, suggesting the single 'Finley' is still descended from the 1969 cars. More research is required.
49. Cecil 69 (Arnie Knepper): Probably built late in 1969, but not known to have raced until 1970. Raced by Ronnie Bucknum in 1970 as the #19 MVS Special with stock block Ford or turbo Ford engines. Retained for 1971, again as the #19, when it was used by Arnie Knepper at the Indy 500, but he did not make a qualifying attempt. Bud Tingelstad failed to qualify it at Milwaukee in June, then Bon Harkey drove in practice at Pocono before being asked to step aside for Bob Harkey, who qualified, but retired early in the race. The car was not seen in 1972 but was then sold to Lloyd Gifford (Ft Wayne, IN) to replace an ancient Gerhardt and entered for Benny Rapp from Michigan 1973 to 1975 or 1976. At least one entry list in 1975 described it as a "Brabham". About 1985, it was bought from Gifford by Jim Mann who sold it directly to collector Bill Wiswedel (Holland, Michigan). It was retained in Bill's collection still in its red-and-blue Gifford livery until he sold it to Mark Klingerman (Bourbon, IN) in August 2014.
50. Gerhardt 68 (Al Loquasto): Arthur W. 'Buzz' Harvey's Bulldog Stables Inc (Hardwick, Mass) entered what was later claimed to be a new Gerhardt turbo Offy as their #26 entry at the 1969 Indy 500 for Rick Muther, who narrowly failed to qualify the car. It was the same shape as Gerhardt's own #16 entry, with the same outboard front suspension. After 1969, it was then sold to Al Loquasto (Manchester, PA), who ran it in 1970 and 1971 as the very popular Indy-On-A-Shoestring #26 Gerhardt turbo Offy. The car was entered by Bob Raines (New York, NY) and filmmaker Judd Maze at the 1970 Indy 500 with Frank Curtis as crew chief, but blew two engines during practice and then damaged its front suspension when the throttle on its sole remaining engine stuck open, so could not qualify. Loquasto started at Michigan and Trenton later in 1970, and had another attempt to qualify for the 500 in 1971. On this occasion he crashed again during practice, on 23 May, and the car was extensively damaged. Repaired and sold to Carl Gehlhausen (Jasper, IN) and Jim Masson (Kansas City, KS), and entered for Jerry Karl (Manchester, PA) in 1972, with Eddie Baue (Sparta, IL) as chief mechanic. After Karl was released, it was driven by Tom Bigelow later in the season. The team acquired a 1972 Kingfish for 1973, and the subsequent history of the Gerhardt is unknown.
51. Morris 69 (Jim Malloy): New to the MVS team, fitted with a Ford turbo engine and entered at the 1969 Indy 500 for Arnie Knepper to drive as the #29 MVS Special. The new car went very well during the practice month and Knepper qualified comfortably, but crashed out of the race. After four more races in the Morris-Ford, Knepper was replaced by Sam Sessions, who finished fourth at Trenton in September. The Morris was largely a backup in 1970, but was raced regularly during 1971, by Jim Malloy early in the season and by Bill Puterbaugh later on. Subsequent history unknown.
52. Morris 69 (Arnie Knepper): New to the MVS team, fitted with a Ford turbo engine and entered at the 1969 Indy 500 for Arnie Knepper to drive as the #29 MVS Special. The new car went very well during the practice month and Knepper qualified comfortably, but crashed out of the race. After four more races in the Morris-Ford, Knepper was replaced by Sam Sessions, who finished fourth at Trenton in September. The Morris was largely a backup in 1970, but was raced regularly during 1971, by Jim Malloy early in the season and by Bill Puterbaugh later on. Subsequent history unknown.
53. Gerhardt 67 (Bill Puterbaugh): A new car in 1967 for Walter Weir (Webster Groves, MO) and fitted with a DOHC Ford. Entered at the Indy 500 for F1 driver Lorenzo Bandini but when the Italian died after a crash at the Monaco GP, the Gerhardt was driven in the 500 by Al Miller. Weir returned to the Indy 500 with the car in 1968 and 1969 but it did not qualify for either race. Weir died in a motor accident in February 1970 and the Gerhardt was bought five months later by Dudley Higginson (St Louis, MO). He entered for the 1971 Indy 500 as the #30 St Louis Special, by which time it had been reconfigured into a "wedge" and fitted with a turbo Offy. Bill Puterbaugh got the drive but he put it in the wall in practice and it was "extensively damaged. It must have been repaired, as Higginson entered it again in 1972 but it did not arrive. Chuck Haines (St Louis, MO) later found it in Missouri and sold it to Charles S. Hayes (Elkhart, Indiana) in the early 1990s. Bought from Hayes by Jimmy Brokensha (Nth Vancouver, BC, Canada) and Pete Schomer, and restored by them to 1967 spec. Bought by Mike Canepa (Grants Pass, OR) in the spring of 2000 for vintage racing but not used and advertised in 2014 before being sold to Jack Murray (San Diego, CA).
54. Gerhardt 68/69 (Greg Weld): A late-1968-style Gerhardt that first appeared as part of the Federal Automotive team at the 1969 Indy 500 as the #31 Federal Engineering entry for Bobby Johns. Johns did not qualify and Bud Tingelstad took over the #31 for the rest of 1969. This car returned to Indy in 1970 as Federal's #31 Stearns Transi-Tread entry with Paul Brooks as chief crew for driver Jim Malloy who qualified. The 1969 car is presumed to be the #31 car from then until the team disappears at the end of 1971. Subsequent history unknown until Hurricane Charley in August 2004 damaged a building in Florida, revealing the little-known car collection of real estate developer Walter Medlin. The #31 Gerhardt, in apparently original condition, was visible in pictures of the damaged building. In April 2007, the car was pictured on an open transporter on Interstate 65 heading north of Nashville, TN. With it were the 1979 Cicada and an unidentified #99 car. Rumoured to be in a private museum in Indianapolis (and the I-65 through Nashville is exactly on the route from Florida to Indianapolis).
55. Gerhardt 68/69 (Sammy Sessions): A late-1968-style Gerhardt that first appeared as part of the Federal Automotive team at the 1969 Indy 500 as the #31 Federal Engineering entry for Bobby Johns. Johns did not qualify and Bud Tingelstad took over the #31 for the rest of 1969. This car returned to Indy in 1970 as Federal's #31 Stearns Transi-Tread entry with Paul Brooks as chief crew for driver Jim Malloy who qualified. The 1969 car is presumed to be the #31 car from then until the team disappears at the end of 1971. Subsequent history unknown until Hurricane Charley in August 2004 damaged a building in Florida, revealing the little-known car collection of real estate developer Walter Medlin. The #31 Gerhardt, in apparently original condition, was visible in pictures of the damaged building. In April 2007, the car was pictured on an open transporter on Interstate 65 heading north of Nashville, TN. With it were the 1979 Cicada and an unidentified #99 car. Rumoured to be in a private museum in Indianapolis (and the I-65 through Nashville is exactly on the route from Florida to Indianapolis).
56. Gerhardt 67 (Greg Weld): Dan Levine's Federal Engineering acquired two new Gerhardts for the 1967 season, one with Dzus-fastened sides which was fitted with a supercharged Offy engine, and this fully-rivetted car which was fitted with a Ford engine. This was the #10 Federal Engineering entry for Bud Tingelstad at the 1967 Indy 500 and was his car at most races that season. It was fitted with a turbo Offy for 1968, and was again Tingelstad car at the Indy 500 and most races. It is thought to have been Bobby John's #35 Federal Engineering Special at Indy in 1969, a car that had outboard front springs. It continued in use alongside the team's newer 1968-type Gerhardt in 1970 and also had a handful of outings in 1971, being driven by Eldon Rasmussen at the last two races of the season. History then unknown until a car with outboard springs seen fully restored to Tingelstad's #10 livery at Indianapolis in May 2011 when it was driven by Parnelli Jones. Prepared then by Greg Elliff of G.E. Autosports (Avon, IN).
57. Gerhardt 67 (Bob Harkey): Dan Levine's Federal Engineering acquired two new Gerhardts for the 1967 season, one with Dzus-fastened sides which was fitted with a supercharged Offy engine, and this fully-rivetted car which was fitted with a Ford engine. This was the #10 Federal Engineering entry for Bud Tingelstad at the 1967 Indy 500 and was his car at most races that season. It was fitted with a turbo Offy for 1968, and was again Tingelstad car at the Indy 500 and most races. It is thought to have been Bobby John's #35 Federal Engineering Special at Indy in 1969, a car that had outboard front springs. It continued in use alongside the team's newer 1968-type Gerhardt in 1970 and also had a handful of outings in 1971, being driven by Eldon Rasmussen at the last two races of the season. History then unknown until a car with outboard springs seen fully restored to Tingelstad's #10 livery at Indianapolis in May 2011 when it was driven by Parnelli Jones. Prepared then by Greg Elliff of G.E. Autosports (Avon, IN).
58. Philipp 64 (Larry Cannon): This car was originally built by Bob "Rocky" Phillip in Culver City, CA as the Rose Trucking Co.'s #10 rear-engined Offy entry for the 1964 Indy 500 to be driven by Ebb Rose. It was used in practice by Johnny Rutherford, running as a Racing Associates entry, but no attempt was made to qualify it. It was raced by Rutherford at Sacramento in October with a Chevrolet engine and then again at Phoenix (as the #24) at the start of 1965 with an Offy again. Rose drove it in practice for the 1965 Indy 500 where it was the #79 but crashed during practice. What happened next is unknown, but an article in the Decatur Daily Review in April 1970 revealed that the car had been bought by Richard 'Unk' Blacker (Champaign, IL) and repaired. Blacker then fitted a Chevrolet engine and entered it for supermodified driver Larry 'Boom Boom' Cannon (Danville, IL) in 1970 Indy racing as the #47 Autotron Photoelectric 'Blacker-Chevrolet'. After two failures to start a race early in the 1970 season, Cannon then crashed the car during practice for the Indy 500. He qualified for a couple of short track events later in 1970, and then joined the trip out to Argentina for the Rafaela race in early 1971. After two more failures to qualify later in 1971, the car was not seen again. Blacker, a former owner of Unk's Tavern in Champaign, died in 2002, aged 82. Cannon died in 1995. Nothing more is known of the history of their car.
59. Watson 64 (Les Scott): Built new by AJ Watson for Rodger Ward to race in 1964 for the Leader Card team as the #2 Kaiser Aluminum entry. Fitted with a Ford V8. Finished second at Indy that year and had two other second places later in the season. Taken by Leader Card to Indy again in 1965 as the #15 backup and used in practice by Jud Larson but wrecked and did not start. Brought back out later in the 1965 season for Bob Mathouser, and again for the same driver once at the start of 1966. Sold to Norm Hall over the 1966/67 close season who linked up with Barney Navarro to use the 199 ci 6-cylinder AMC Rambler turbo engine that Navarro had been developing. Appeared from 1967 to 1972 but, as a general rule, failed to qualify or failed to start. It appeared at Rafaela 1971 - only its fourth actual race start - driven by Dave Strickland and in practice at Indy that year by Les Scott. Jigger Sirois made another unsuccessful attempt to qualify the #50 Navarro-Rambler at the 1972 Indy 500. It was later acquired from Navarro by Rodger Ward and restored to its 1964 specification in the late 1980s. Subsequent history unknown until part of a display of Indycars at Monterey in August 2007 when it was owned by Tom Malloy and said to be "s/n 001" and then at Fontana in March 2008 alongside the Branson sister car.
60. Watson 64 (Dave Strickland): Built new by AJ Watson for Rodger Ward to race in 1964 for the Leader Card team as the #2 Kaiser Aluminum entry. Fitted with a Ford V8. Finished second at Indy that year and had two other second places later in the season. Taken by Leader Card to Indy again in 1965 as the #15 backup and used in practice by Jud Larson but wrecked and did not start. Brought back out later in the 1965 season for Bob Mathouser, and again for the same driver once at the start of 1966. Sold to Norm Hall over the 1966/67 close season who linked up with Barney Navarro to use the 199 ci 6-cylinder AMC Rambler turbo engine that Navarro had been developing. Appeared from 1967 to 1972 but, as a general rule, failed to qualify or failed to start. It appeared at Rafaela 1971 - only its fourth actual race start - driven by Dave Strickland and in practice at Indy that year by Les Scott. Jigger Sirois made another unsuccessful attempt to qualify the #50 Navarro-Rambler at the 1972 Indy 500. It was later acquired from Navarro by Rodger Ward and restored to its 1964 specification in the late 1980s. Subsequent history unknown until part of a display of Indycars at Monterey in August 2007 when it was owned by Tom Malloy and said to be "s/n 001" and then at Fontana in March 2008 alongside the Branson sister car.
61. Watson 65 (Dee Jones): Built new by AJ Watson for Don Branson to race in 1965 for the Leader Card team as the #4 Wynn's entry. Fitted with a Ford V8 with Jud Phillips as chief mechanic. "Written off while tyre testing at the Speedway" (Wallen p309) in late June or early July 1965 but evidently survived as sold to Walter J. Flynn and entered for Ralph Liguori as the #35 Enterprise Machine Spl in 1966 and 1967. Unknown in 1968 but returned in 1969 owned by John Gavin (Winona, Minnesota), Patrick O'Reilly (Lake Crystal, Minnesota) and Mike DeMulling (St Paul, Minnesota) and entered as the Minnesota Serendipity. Appeared with ever decreasing regularity over the next four seasons, and last seen for sure at Milwaukee in August 1972, after which O'Reilly bought a 1971 Mongoose. The Watson was used to test an engine built by Ted Blair (North Hampton, MA) in 1973 and then sold to Blair. Passed on to his sons until sold to Don Danville (Storrs Mansfield, CT) in late 1977 and stored by him until 1990. To Walter Turell (North Easton, MA) 1990, then Harry Woodward (Camilla, GA) 1991 and Thomas W. Acker (Dunnellon, FL). Cleaned up by Acker and stored until sold to William Davis (Ortonville, MI) in 2000. Fully restored by William & Sharon Davis up to 2010 and appeared at the 2011 Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance. Appeared at a parade at the Pocono 500 in July 2014.
62. Gerhardt 66 (Rick Muther): New to Myron Caves, originally from Madison, Wisconsin and by 1966 a long-established Buick dealer in Gerhardt's home town of Fresno, CA. Fitted with a supercharged Offy and run for Mike McGreevy as the #85 Caves Buick Co. entry at the start of the season and also at Indy but despite the efforts of three drivers, it did not qualify. Presumably the same #85 Caves Buick Gerhardt-Offy SC driven principally by Al Miller through to the end of 1966, and at Phoenix in April 1967, where it was wrecked. Caves had a new Gerhardt for the 1967 Indy 500, but this 1966 car may have been repaired and retained as a short track car in 1967, 1968 and even 1969. Next seen when sold to Jack Adams who had entered a car at Indy in 1969 with a Bryant chassis and Allison helicopter turbine engine. The Gerhardt was rebuilt by chief crew Howard Millican to take the turbine and was practiced at Indy in 1970 by Jigger Sirois but could not find the speed to qualify. Raced by Rick Muther later in 1970, finishing eighth at Trenton, and in 1971. The chassis was sold to Mark Stainbrook in 1971 and he later sold it to Gary Bettenhausen. Subsequent history unknown.
63. Gerhardt 65 (Jigger Sirois): Ernest L. Ruiz (Modesto, CA) bought a new Gerhardt for 1965 and ran it as the #65 Travelon Trailer car. It was fitted with a 252 ci Offenhauser engine and Ernie Ruiz continued to run it in this form until 1971, although it may well have acquired a turbocharger by the end of this period. Dennis Johansen recalls the car being very heavily damaged at Phoenix in March 1970 when Johnny Anderson triggered a six-car accident while trying to avoid a spinning Nick Dioguardi. However, the car seen in pictures on track at the Speedway in the 1971 Hungness Yearbook appears to be a pre-66 car, so it must have survived. Unknown after Indianapolis May 1971 until June 2015, when a car restored in the #65 Travelon Trailer livery was on display at Brands Hatch's American SpeedFest III. This car then run by Robin Ward at the Goodwood Festival of Speed a month later.
64. Gerhardt 65 (Arnie Knepper): Ernest L. Ruiz (Modesto, CA) bought a new Gerhardt for 1965 and ran it as the #65 Travelon Trailer car. It was fitted with a 252 ci Offenhauser engine and Ernie Ruiz continued to run it in this form until 1971, although it may well have acquired a turbocharger by the end of this period. Dennis Johansen recalls the car being very heavily damaged at Phoenix in March 1970 when Johnny Anderson triggered a six-car accident while trying to avoid a spinning Nick Dioguardi. However, the car seen in pictures on track at the Speedway in the 1971 Hungness Yearbook appears to be a pre-66 car, so it must have survived. Unknown after Indianapolis May 1971 until June 2015, when a car restored in the #65 Travelon Trailer livery was on display at Brands Hatch's American SpeedFest III. This car then run by Robin Ward at the Goodwood Festival of Speed a month later.
65. Brabham BT25 [2] (John Martin): Masten Gregory's #95 Brabham did not qualify for the 1968 Indy 500 but was qualified for the 1969 race by Jack Brabham. Peter Revson then used it to win the IRP race in July 1969 and it was retained as an unused spare for the 1970 "500" after which it was sold to John Martin. Martin raced it in 1971 and 1972 before acquiring a newer McLaren M16. The car's last race was when leased to Bill Simpson for the race at Ontario Motor Speedway in March 1974 and was then retained by Martin until he restored it in the early 1990s. In 1993, hearing of the restoration, Simpson bought the car and it was displayed at Simpson World in North Carolina until bought by Aaron Lewis (Cessnock, NSW, Australia) in April 2008. In 2014, or shortly afterwards, Lewis sold the car to the ROFGO Collection.
66. Gerhardt 66 (Bruce Jacobi): The Leader Card Racers team of Bob Wilke and Jud Phillips acquired two new 1966 Ford-engined Gerhardts and ran them for Don Branson with numbers #4 and #91. Assuming there was no number swapping, the #4 was Don Branson's first choice car during 1966 and was then taken over by Bobby Unser, who crashed it in practice at Trenton in September. It was retained as a backup for 1967 when it was raced by Unser in the two opening races, was his #86 backup car at the Indy 500, and his mount at Langhorne in June and in July. Then sold to Gordy Johncock, fitted with a turbo Offy, raced at Phoenix in November 1967, and used to win at Hanford in early 1968. Sold after the 1968 Indy 500 to Boyce Holt, and entered as the #44 Gerhardt-Chev towards the end of the 1968 season. It returned for a few races in 1969 as the #71 Boyce Holt Muffler entry, but was crashed by Bruce Walkup at Milwaukee August 1969, and then sold to Lloyd W. Gifford (Ft Wayne, IN) who rebuilt it with a 302ci Ford stock block engine and ran it in 1970, 1971 and 1972. By 1990, a car wearing #71 was with collector Bob McConnell (Urbana, OH) but said to be a 1968 car. Not mentioned in recent descriptions of McConnell's collection.
67. Wolverine 70 (Ronnie Bucknum): New for Bill Vukovich at the 1970 Indy 500, entered by Agajanian-Faas Racers as the #98 Wynn's Spitfire. Vukovich did not exceed 161.5 mph at any point, and left the team prior to final qualifying. The team continued with the car, but at the California 500 at Ontario in September, it was wrecked by Bruce Walkup, repaired, and then wrecked again by Bill Puterbaugh. The car continued into 1971 as the team's No 2 car, but despite a succession of drivers during Indy practice month, no attempt was made to qualify. Subsequent history unknown.
68. Wolverine 70 (Bruce Walkup): New for Bill Vukovich at the 1970 Indy 500, entered by Agajanian-Faas Racers as the #98 Wynn's Spitfire. Vukovich did not exceed 161.5 mph at any point, and left the team prior to final qualifying. The team continued with the car, but at the California 500 at Ontario in September, it was wrecked by Bruce Walkup, repaired, and then wrecked again by Bill Puterbaugh. The car continued into 1971 as the team's No 2 car, but despite a succession of drivers during Indy practice month, no attempt was made to qualify. Subsequent history unknown.
69. Wolverine 70 (Bobby Johns): New for Bill Vukovich at the 1970 Indy 500, entered by Agajanian-Faas Racers as the #98 Wynn's Spitfire. Vukovich did not exceed 161.5 mph at any point, and left the team prior to final qualifying. The team continued with the car, but at the California 500 at Ontario in September, it was wrecked by Bruce Walkup, repaired, and then wrecked again by Bill Puterbaugh. The car continued into 1971 as the team's No 2 car, but despite a succession of drivers during Indy practice month, no attempt was made to qualify. Subsequent history unknown.
70. Vollstedt 67 ['B'] (Tony Adamowicz): New for 1967 and run by Vollstedt Enterprises as the #21 Bryant Heating & Cooling Spl in 1967 and 1968 with a 255 ci Ford quad cam engine. Driven by Jim Clark as the #21 Sperex entry at Riverside in November 1967. Acquired a turbo engine in late 1968 and continued to run as the #21 Bryant Heating & Cooling Spl in 1969 and then as Vollstedt Enterprises' #21 car in 1970 and 1971. Raced by Gordon Johncock as the #7 on some occasions in 1971, and last seen with the team at Phoenix in November 1971 when it was raced by Wally Dallenbach. Sold to Art Sugai (Ontario, OR) and entered at Phoenix in November 1972 as the #17 East Side Special for Kenny Hamilton, but he slid into guard rail during practice and the car was heavily damaged. The remains went to local car builders Tom Fox and Ron Yurich in 1976 who intended to use it to build a Super Modified but it remained with them, still unrepaired, until 2007 when purchased from Yurich's son John by Michael McKinney (Kennewick WA) together with friends Ron Hjaltalin and Marc Prentice. The car was restored over the next few years and was run at Indianapolis in May 2011.
71. Vollstedt 67 ['B'] (Ronnie Bucknum): New for 1967 and run by Vollstedt Enterprises as the #21 Bryant Heating & Cooling Spl in 1967 and 1968 with a 255 ci Ford quad cam engine. Driven by Jim Clark as the #21 Sperex entry at Riverside in November 1967. Acquired a turbo engine in late 1968 and continued to run as the #21 Bryant Heating & Cooling Spl in 1969 and then as Vollstedt Enterprises' #21 car in 1970 and 1971. Raced by Gordon Johncock as the #7 on some occasions in 1971, and last seen with the team at Phoenix in November 1971 when it was raced by Wally Dallenbach. Sold to Art Sugai (Ontario, OR) and entered at Phoenix in November 1972 as the #17 East Side Special for Kenny Hamilton, but he slid into guard rail during practice and the car was heavily damaged. The remains went to local car builders Tom Fox and Ron Yurich in 1976 who intended to use it to build a Super Modified but it remained with them, still unrepaired, until 2007 when purchased from Yurich's son John by Michael McKinney (Kennewick WA) together with friends Ron Hjaltalin and Marc Prentice. The car was restored over the next few years and was run at Indianapolis in May 2011.
72. Gerhardt 67 (Arnie Knepper): A new car in 1967 for Walter Weir (Webster Groves, MO) and fitted with a DOHC Ford. Entered at the Indy 500 for F1 driver Lorenzo Bandini but when the Italian died after a crash at the Monaco GP, the Gerhardt was driven in the 500 by Al Miller. Weir returned to the Indy 500 with the car in 1968 and 1969 but it did not qualify for either race. Weir died in a motor accident in February 1970 and the Gerhardt was bought five months later by Dudley Higginson (St Louis, MO). He entered for the 1971 Indy 500 as the #30 St Louis Special, by which time it had been reconfigured into a "wedge" and fitted with a turbo Offy. Bill Puterbaugh got the drive but he put it in the wall in practice and it was "extensively damaged. It must have been repaired, as Higginson entered it again in 1972 but it did not arrive. Chuck Haines (St Louis, MO) later found it in Missouri and sold it to Charles S. Hayes (Elkhart, Indiana) in the early 1990s. Bought from Hayes by Jimmy Brokensha (Nth Vancouver, BC, Canada) and Pete Schomer, and restored by them to 1967 spec. Bought by Mike Canepa (Grants Pass, OR) in the spring of 2000 for vintage racing but not used and advertised in 2014 before being sold to Jack Murray (San Diego, CA).
73. Gerhardt 70 (Gary Bettenhausen): As well as his #16 primary car, Gary Bettenhausen also had a second brand new car entered as the Gerhardt team's #78 Thermo-King entry at the 1970 Indy 500. This car was driven in practice by Larry Dickson, whose qualifying run had to be aborted, and Tony Adamowicz, who brushed the wall just before the start of final qualifying. As far as can be determined (so far), this car was not used again in 1970 as Bettenhausen had his primary 1970 car and also one of the 1969 cars to use. It is presumably the modified car that he drove at Phoenix and Trenton in early 1971, and was then his #46 backup car at the 1971 Indy 500, which was qualified by Jimmy McElreath but bumped. Later on in the season it was Bettenhausen's regular short-track car, being used at both Milwaukee races. It was then used by Jimmy Caruthers as the team's #46 entry at Ontario, by Bettenhausen as the #16 at Trenton in October, and by Caruthers as the #46 again at Phoenix. After Johnny Rutherford destroyed the sister car at Milwaukee in June 1972, this is likely to be the car he raced at Michigan in July and Milwaukee in August. Subsequent history unknown, but possibly the car that Bruce Crower used for his Dodge Hemi project in 1973, although it remains more likely that Crower had a 1969 car.
74. Scorpion 70 ['1'] (Jimmy Caruthers): Clint Brawner's original Scorpion was driven by Roger McCluskey at Indy in 1970 and was the #64 backup car for Art Pollard at the 1971 Indy 500 (Hungness 1971). In between these races, it is hard to speculate to its history as Brawner had a second Scorpion for Pollard to drive alongside McCluskey at the 1970 California 500 and then Pollard wrecked a Scorpion at Phoenix at the start of 1971. Jimmy Caruthers had driven the #64 car in practice for the 1971 Indy 500 and it is presumed that this is the same car he ran as the #64 second car at Milwaukee and Pocono.
75. Gerhardt 66 (Jerry Karl): The Leader Card Racers team of Bob Wilke and Jud Phillips acquired two new 1966 Ford-engined Gerhardts and ran them for Don Branson with numbers #4 and #91. Assuming there was no number swapping, the #4 was Don Branson's first choice car during 1966 and was then taken over by Bobby Unser, who crashed it in practice at Trenton in September. It was retained as a backup for 1967 when it was raced by Unser in the two opening races, was his #86 backup car at the Indy 500, and his mount at Langhorne in June and in July. Then sold to Gordy Johncock, fitted with a turbo Offy, raced at Phoenix in November 1967, and used to win at Hanford in early 1968. Sold after the 1968 Indy 500 to Boyce Holt, and entered as the #44 Gerhardt-Chev towards the end of the 1968 season. It returned for a few races in 1969 as the #71 Boyce Holt Muffler entry, but was crashed by Bruce Walkup at Milwaukee August 1969, and then sold to Lloyd W. Gifford (Ft Wayne, IN) who rebuilt it with a 302ci Ford stock block engine and ran it in 1970, 1971 and 1972. By 1990, a car wearing #71 was with collector Bob McConnell (Urbana, OH) but said to be a 1968 car. Not mentioned in recent descriptions of McConnell's collection.
76. Morris Marauder (71) (John Martin): According to Bob Sawicki who talked with Jeff Walther at the Walther Auction, the Walthers bought a car from George Morris for the 1970 season, and then had two more built for the 1971 season. The main 1971 car was the #77 entry at the 1971 Indy 500 and it is assumed that this car was used for the rest of 1971 and in early 1972. This car, still unrestored and carrying USAC tag "#C-71 177", was sold at auction at Auburn in June 2012 to Doug Winslow (Cleveland, OH). Sold in July 2015 to Mark Klingerman (Bourbon, IN) and Gary Berkey (Warsaw, IN). Restored and appeared at the Historic Indycar Exhibition in May 2016 and in May 2017.
77. Morris Marauder (71) (David "Salt" Walther): According to Bob Sawicki who talked with Jeff Walther at the Walther Auction, the Walthers bought a car from George Morris for the 1970 season, and then had two more built for the 1971 season. The main 1971 car was the #77 entry at the 1971 Indy 500 and it is assumed that this car was used for the rest of 1971 and in early 1972. This car, still unrestored and carrying USAC tag "#C-71 177", was sold at auction at Auburn in June 2012 to Doug Winslow (Cleveland, OH). Sold in July 2015 to Mark Klingerman (Bourbon, IN) and Gary Berkey (Warsaw, IN). Restored and appeared at the Historic Indycar Exhibition in May 2016 and in May 2017.
78. Eagle 68 [403] (Jerry Grant): Jerry Grant drove for Tom Friedkin (Houston, TX) at Indy from 1967 to 1969, getting new Eagles in 1967 and 1968. Having driven for Marvin Webster for much of 1969, Grant returned to the 1968 ex-Friedkin Eagle for 1970, when he qualified it at Indy in Nelson Iron Works colours, with John Gorman and Gary Duff (both from Seattle) as his mechanics. Grant set up his own team for 1971, Jerry Grant Racing Enterprises, with the 1968 Eagle and again employing Gorman and Duff. He entered the car for the 1971 Indy 500 as the #78 Farrell's Ice Cream car, but it was driven by Sam Posey after Grant was employed by Shelby-Dowd to race a newer Eagle. Posey qualified but was later bumped. It was used by Jerry Grant a few times later in 1971, including at the USAC Road Racing event at Seattle. It then joined Marv Webster's stable and was still with him in 1973, awaiting a rebuild. Subsequent history unknown, but according to Chris Wilke, scion of the Leader Cards family, this was chassis 403 and has now been restored as Bobby Unser's Indy 500 winner and is the car on display in the Unser Racing Museum (Albuquerque, NM). The car still carries its original '403' chassis plate. This may be the yellow 1968 Indy Eagle that Joe Baird (Shelbyville, Indiana) acquired from Bob LaWarre in Florida as part of a package of cars in the 1990s. Baird sold the Eagle to Al Unser.
79. Finley 69 (Bentley Warren): The Finley-Offy TC used by Bentley Warren, Carl Williams, Bob Harkey and Johnny Parsons in 1971 and 1972 is a puzzle. Bill Finley had run Huffakers for Tassi Vatis in 1966, 1967 and 1968 before producing a pair of 'Valvoline Wedge' cars in 1969. These cars were described as new (Autoweek 31 May 1969 p23) but the tube frame construction and 'hydroelastic' suspension paralleled the 64 Huffakers. In 1970, a single 'Finley' had been entered for Warren with a 1966 Eagle appearing as a second car at Indy for Sam Posey. This Eagle continues as a Vatis entry in 1971, suggesting the single 'Finley' is still descended from the 1969 cars. More research is required.
80. Mongoose 70 (Lloyd Ruby): One of two new cars built by the Gene White team for 1970, both of which were raced by Lloyd Ruby during the season. Both the #12 and #25 cars were acquired by Robert B. McConnell (Urbana, OH) and this #25 car was restored between 2002 and 2007, emerging for the 2007 Ault Park Concours d'Elegance in Cincinnati, Ohio, where it won Best in Class. Also at the Amelia Island concours in 2009. Still in the McConnell Collection in 2014.
81. Eagle 68 [402] (Mike Mosley): Sold new to the Leader Card team and prepared by Jud Phillips and Tom 'Red' Herrmann for Bobby Unser to race in 1968 as the #3 Rislone entry. He won the Indy 500, but just two weeks later "wiped out" his 500 winner in an accident on only the third lap at Mosport Park. Unser used his two 1967 Eagles after that, and also in early 1969 until his new Lola T152 was ready. After the Lola was badly damaged at Milwaukee in June, Unser appeared in a 1968 Eagle at Continental Divide in July and at other road course events later in the season. At Riverside on 5 December 1969 his car was described as "the actual Indy winner". This car was transferred to the AJ Watson half of the Leader Card operation and was raced by Mike Mosley at the Indy 500 and at Ontario in 1970 as the #9 G. C. Murphy entry. For 1971, Watson acquired a second '68 Eagle, but Mosley wrecked this at the Indy 500. George Snider drove the original ex-Unser car at the Indy 500, and also drove it for the team later in the season, while Mosley was recovering from his accident. Photographs show that this was the car used by Mosley in the first two races of 1972, but the team had also bought the ex-Dan Gurney '68 Eagle from the Jim Robbins team, and it was that car that Mosley raced in the Indy 500. After his crash in the Indy 500, Mosley was again out of racing for some months, and Rick Muther drove the team's original ex-Unser car in four races in the summer of 1972. Mosley returned again in time for the Ontario 500, at which he raced his repaired Indy 500 mount. Photographs show that the ex-Robbins car was used at Ontario in 1972, and at Ontario in 1973, so it is assumed here that it was also used in the intervening races. The last race for the ex-Unser car was therefore at Milwaukee in August 1972. In January 1973, it was sold to the Indianapolis Speedway Museum, and by May 1973, it was on display as Bobby Unser's 1968 Indy 500 winning car. It has remained on display ever since, and still carries the 402 chassis plate.
82. Eagle 70 [804] (TBA): Jim Robbins (Troy, MI), of auto parts manufacturer Jim Robbins Co. entered a number of cars during the 1950s and 1960s up to his death in a plane accident in September 1966. His son Jim Marshall Robbins took over the team and for 1970 bought a brand new Eagle, to be prepared by crew chief Bill Spangler. It was entered at Indy for Sammy Sessions as the #67 car and finished 12th. It was also entered later that season at Ontario but Larry Dickson could not qualify it. At this point Robbins Jnr took up racing himself, competing in SCCA racing and progressing later to Trans-Am but was obliged by his father's will to continue to enter a car at the Indianapolis 500. The team's 1968 Eagle was sold but the 1970 car continued to be entered up to 1975, looking increasingly forlorn at each appearance. At that point the Robbins cars were for sale, but a year later the Eagle was back at Indy, now with a 305 ci Chevrolet engine in it, used by Robbins as a protest at the costs of running a car. It was next seen in August or September of 1989 when Canadian racing car dealer Jack Boxstrom purchased the car from someone in Indianapolis, and Steve Kaping went to Indianapolis to pick it up and bring it to Canada. Kaping checked over the car and gave it a brief test at a nearby airport. History then unknown until bought by David Morrison (Long Beach, CA) from Fantasy Junction in February 2004, when it was fitted with a 350 ci Chevrolet engine and Hewland LG500 gearbox. Morrison ran the car in the Victory Lane Historic Champ/Indy Car Showcase in June 2005.
83. Eagle 67 [214] (TBA): New to Walt Michner's Michner Petroleum team and described as a new 1968 Eagle for the 1968 Indy 500, but photographs show that it was a 1966/67-type Eagle. Assigned to Mike Mosley, then Rick Muther, then Ronnie Duran, and finally to Bill Cheesbourg, who qualified it but was bumped. Norm Brown then took over the drive but was badly injured at Milwaukee in the accident that took the life of Ronnie Duman and destroyed the Michner Lola T80. Michner then recruited Johnny Rutherford and he drove this car, and a 1966 sister car, in 1969, 1970 and 1971, by which time the team had become Patrick Racing. This 1967 car, nicknamed "Old Shep", appears to have been the road racing car in 1969, and was then the car qualified by Tony Adamowicz for the 1970 Indy 500, but bumped, while Rutherford raced the sister car, known as "Geraldine". In July 1971, the 1967 car was the first of the pair to be fitted with McLaren M16-style wings instead of the wedge bodywork used on "Geraldine" at the 1971 Indy 500. Sold to Bentley Warren for 1972 as his #36 Bay State Racing entry. Retained for 1973 and 1974, after which the car remained in his garage. In the early 2000s, Warren sold the car to a consortium "Eagle Partners", who rebuilt the car to the 1971 wedge-sided configuration used on the sister car, "Geraldine". In 2006, the restored car appeared at the Amelia Island Concours, and in 2007 it was sold at auction by Kruse (Auburn, IN) to Chuck Haines. In 2008, Haines sold it to Jim Vieira, and it appeared at an Indianapolis historic event in 2009. By early 2011, it was at John Mueller of Entrepreneur’s Motor Sports (Fresno, CA), to be restored to Richie Ginther's 1967 #42 livery. In this form, it was sold in 2013 to Rob Dyson (Millbrook, NY). See full history: the Michner Eagle.
84. Eisert 69 (TBA): Jerry Eisert's own entry at the 1969 Indy 500, entered by "City of Seattle" and using a stock block Chevrolet engine. The car was yellow, and entered as #96. Al Miller was unable to qualify, and Jerry Grant and Bud Tingelstad also used it during practice. It was next seen a year later, still yellow and entered as #96 but with slightly modified modywork and fitted with a 202 ci turbo Chevrolet for Arnie Knepper to attempt to qualify for the 1970 Indy 500, failing again. Kevin Bartlett also failed in his attempt to qualify the car for the California 500 at Ontario in September 1970, when it looked much as it has at Indianapolis. It was on the entry list for the 1971 Indy 500 but did not arrive.

Sources

Note that the identification of individual cars in these results is based on the material presented elsewhere in this site and may in some cases contradict the organisers' published results.

The foundation for this research is the work done by the late Phil Harms collating the results of all AAA, USAC and CART races, including the period covered here. His data was refined by Michael Ferner who added more information before making it available to OldRacingCars.com. Since the start of the USAC project on OldRacingCars.com in 2004, a wealth of further information has been gleaned from the Carl Hungness and Donald Davidson Yearbooks, Formula and On Track magazines, USAC News, National Speed Sport News and other published sources. Gerry Measures has also provided much information from his files as have others on TNF and Trackforum. Since 2009, the work of Simmo Iskül and others identifying cars from period photographs has has moved this research forward significantly.

All comments, clarifications, corrections and additions are most welcome. Please email Allen (allen@oldracingcars.com) if you can help in any way with our research.

Individual sources for this event

Qualifying times have been added by Don Capps using information in the Indy 500 Daily Reports. The other non-qualifying entries have been added using Fox (kindly provided by Gerry Meaures) and the Daily Reports.