1965 Indianapolis 500

49th Indianapolis 500

Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Indianapolis 500
Sanctioning body	USAC
Season	1965 USAC season
Date	May 31, 1965
Winner	Jim Clark
Winning team	Team Lotus
Average speed	150.686 mph (242.506 km/h)
Pole position	A. J. Foyt
Pole speed	161.233 mph (259.479 km/h)
Fastest qualifier	A. J. Foyt
Rookie of the Year	Mario Andretti
Most laps led	Jim Clark (190)
Pre-race ceremonies
National anthem	Purdue Band
Back Home Again in Indiana	Johnny Desmond
Starting Command	Tony Hulman
Pace car	Plymouth Sport Fury
Pace car driver	P.M. Buckminster
Attendance	250,000 (estimated)
TV in the United States
Network	ABC's Wide World of Sports
Announcers	Charlie Brockman Rodger Ward
Chronology
Previous Next 1964 1966

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

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

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

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

Rule changes

Following the tragic 1964 race, this race was run relatively clean with no major incidents. Contrary to some popular belief, gasoline was not banned for the 1965 race. Instead, USAC officials cleverly crafted several rule changes that effectively encouraged teams to use methanol in order to be competitive.^[1]

For 1965, all cars were required to make a minimum of two pit stops. On-board fuel tank capacity was reduced to 75 gallons, and pressurized fueling rigs were outlawed. Conventional "pump" gasoline registered better fuel mileage than methanol, but the methanol-powered engines were expected to produce more horsepower. Since cars were required to make two fuel stops, the advantage to using gasoline was diminished, or outright lost.

While most teams switched to methanol, the Agajanian team decided to utilize a methanol/gasoline blend. Chief mechanic Johnny Pulson and driver Parnelli Jones determined that they were effectively down on power, finished second, and attributed the fuel blend as what cost them a chance to win the race.^[1]

Practice and time trials

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

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

Pole Day - Saturday May 15

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

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

A day after his crash during practice, Bobby Unser got in a year-old Novi back up car to qualify 8th. Nineteen cars qualified on pole day.^[2]

Second day - Sunday May 16

Strong winds kept most cars off the track. Only two cars (Don Branson and Arnie Knepper) qualified.^[3] At the end of the first weekend of time trials, the field was filled to 19 cars.

Third day - Saturday May 22

Jim Hurtubise, who was seriously burned in a crash at Milwaukee in 1964, completed his comeback by qualifying one of the Novi machines at 156.860 mph. He was the fastest of the day, which saw 11 cars complete qualifying runs.^[4]

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

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

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

Bump day - Sunday May 23

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

Bob Mathouser was the final driver in Indy history to attempt to qualify in a front-wheel drive machine, but the engine blew and he did not make the field.^[5]

Race recap

The Wood Brothers from the NASCAR Grand National circuit, were invited to work the pit stops for Team Lotus (drivers Jim Clark and Bobby Johns).^[6] Their appearance at the Speedway was recognized and much reported, and it took them only a short time to acclimate themselves to the open wheel championship cars' equipment. They were well known for their rapid pit stop work in NASCAR, and their presence immediately created a stir in the garage area. Their contributions to the victory, however, have been considered overstated by media and others alike.^[7][8] Historians agree that Clark's Lotus-Ford was capable of winning the race handily with or without the added help of the Wood Brothers. In fact, the only work done on the cars was routine refueling, as they did not need to change tires during the race. Clark made only two stops all day.

First half

A. J. Foyt started on the pole, but Jim Clark led the first lap. Jim Hurtubise dropped out with a broken transmission on the first lap. Foyt takes the lead on lap two, and the early laps appear to be developing into a duel. However, Clark re-takes the lead on lap 3, and pulls away.

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

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

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

Second half

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

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

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

Rookie Mario Andretti, who ran no lower than 6th all afternoon, came home third, and won the Rookie of the Year.

Box score

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

Alternates

• First alternate: Rodger Ward^[9]

Broadcasting

Radio

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

After visiting the broadcast booth in 1964 for an interview, Donald Davidson returned, joining the crew full-time as race historian. Also new for 1965 was Ron Carrell, who reported from the backstretch.

Charlie Brockman, who had served on the broadcast crew since 1952, left to anchor the MCA closed-circuit television telecasts. Also absent from the crew was Jack Shapiro, who died the previous summer.

The broadcast was carried by over 800 affiliates and was heard by an estimated 100 million listeners. The broadcast was carried by Armed Forces Network, as well as Radio New York Worldwide, and featured language rebroadcasts in Spanish, Portuguese, French, and Italian.

Television

The race was carried in the United States on ABC's Wide World of Sports. The broadcast aired on Saturday June 5. Charlie Brockman anchored the telecast, ABC's first coverage of Indy on race day.

The race was shown live on MCA closed-circuit television in various theaters across the United States. Charlie Brockman served as anchor and analyst was Rodger Ward, Ward sat out the 1965 race, but returned in 1966.

Notes

Wikimedia Commons has media related to 1965 Indianapolis 500.

References

Works cited

• Indianapolis 500 History: Race & All-Time Stats - Official Site
• 1965 Indianapolis 500 Radio Broadcast, Indianapolis Motor Speedway Radio Network