1970 Indianapolis 500

54th running of the Indianapolis 500

The 54th 500 Mile International Sweepstakes was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana on Saturday, May 30, 1970. Al Unser, Sr. dominated the race, winning the pole position and leading 190 laps en route to victory. He joined his brother Bobby as the first duo of brothers to win the Indianapolis 500; it was the first of his four victories at Indianapolis. Car owner Parnelli Jones, who won the race as a driver in 1963, became the second individual (after Pete DePaolo) to win separately as both a driver and as an owner. Unser turned 31 a day earlier and took home $271,697 out of a record $1,000,002 purse. For the first time in Indy history, the total prize fund topped a million dollars. Rain on race morning delayed the start by about thirty minutes. On the pace lap, Jim Malloy smacked the outside wall in turn four, which delayed the start further. All 33 cars in the field were turbocharged for the first time. This was the final 500 in which the winner celebrated in the old Victory Lane at the south end of the pits; it was relocated nearer the finish line for 1971.

Al Unser, Sr. set the fastest speed during practice, with a lap of 171.233 mph. Unser led the speed chart on five of the practice days, and was the only driver to crack the 170 mph barrier during the first two weeks. A. J. Foyt (169.173 mph) and Art Pollard (169.1 mph) were close behind. John Cannon wrecked on Sunday May 10, and was unable to qualify. On Monday May 11, defending race winner Mario Andretti spun and wrecked in turn four. His car hit the inside wall twice, and the car was heavily damaged. Andretti was not injured. On Tuesday May 12, Dennis Hulme's car caught fire in turn three. He bailed from the moving machine, suffering burns to his hands and feet. He withdrew due to the injuries.

Al Unser, Sr. won the pole position over Johnny Rutherford by 0.01 seconds, a record closest margin for the pole position at the time. A. J. Foyt rounded out the "all over 170 mph" front row. Unser's pole speed of 170.221 mph (his fastest single lap was 170.358 mph) was not a record – which marked the first time since the 1940s that two consecutive years went by without track records set during time trials at Indy. Rain halted pole day qualifying at 3:42 p. m. with 17 cars in the field A few cars (namely Lloyd Ruby, Gary Bettenhausen, and Peter Revson) were still waiting in line when the rains came. USAC officials closed the track for the day, and those cars were deemed ineligible for the pole round. In subsequent years, the rules would be changed to allow all cars in the original qualifying draw order at least one chance to make an attempt during the pole round, regardless if it extended into an additional calendar day due to rain. Rookie Tony Adamowicz suffered bad luck during his attempt. On his first qualifying lap, the yellow light was turned on by error. He slowed down, and his first lap was turned in at 160.829 mph. The green light came back on moments later, and he completed the run. Although he had two laps over 166 mph, his first lap pulled his average down to 164.820 mph, and made him the second slowest car in the field for the day. Pos (Position) No. (Car Number) Name Speed(mph) Notes12Al Unser170.221 218Johnny Rutherford170.213 37A. J. Foyt170.004 411Roger McCluskey169.213 566Mark Donohue168.911 610Art Pollard168.595 73Bobby Unser168.508 81Mario Andretti168.209 931Jim Malloy167.973 1084George Snider167.660 1148Dan Gurney166.860 129Mike Mosley166.651 1327LeeRoy Yarbrough166.613 1497Bruce Walkup166.459 1538Rick Muther 165.654 —36Tony Adamowicz 164.820Bumped by #58—92Steve Krisiloff 162.448Bumped by #89—5Gordon Johncock—Flagged off—5Gordon Johncock—Waved off—95Sam Posey —Blown engine—23Mel Kenyon—Pulled off—76Kevin Bartlett —Waved off—94Bentley Warren —Pulled off—93Greg Weld —Crash—74Jim McElreath—Pulled off

Three drivers shut out from the pole round came back to qualify on the second day. Peter Revson (167.942 mph) was the 9th fastest car in the field, but lined up 18th due to being a second day qualifier. Lloyd Ruby went out for his first attempt, but when he raised his hand to signify the intent to start his attempt, the officials did not see it, and inadvertently waved him off. After he persuaded the officials for a do over, he had a lap of 169.428 mph, but burned a piston on the fourth and final lap. The incident drew the ire of the team, as they felt the officials cost them a chance to be the day's fastest qualifier (for having run the extra laps). Ruby went out again later in the day with a new engine, but waved off after one slow lap. Pos (Position) No. (Car Number) Name Speed(mph) Notes1673Peter Revson167.942 175Gordon Johncock167.015 1815Joe Leonard166.898 1975Carl Williams166.590 2016Gary Bettenhausen166.451 2120George Follmer166.052 2223Mel Kenyon165.906 2383Donnie Allison 165.662 2422Wally Dallenbach Sr.165.601 —74Jim McElreath163.592Bumped by #32—19Ronnie Bucknum—Waved off—12Lloyd Ruby—Blown engine—76Kevin Bartlett —Waved off—12Lloyd Ruby—Pulled off—56Jim Hurtubise—

After a disappointing first weekend, Lloyd Ruby rebounded to complete his qualifying attempt at 168.895 mph. A busy day saw 14 attempts, and the field was filled to 33 cars. Two drivers (Bentley Warren and Tony Adamowicz) were bumped. Pos (Position) No. (Car Number) Name Speed(mph) Notes 2525Lloyd Ruby168.895  2632Jack Brabham166.397Bumped #74 2719Ronnie Bucknum166.136  2893Greg Weld 166.121  2989Jerry Grant165.983Bumped #92 3058Bill Vukovich II165.753Bumped #36 3144Dick Simon 165.548Bumped #94 3267Sammy Sessions165.373  —77Kevin Bartlett 165.259Bumped by #14—94Bentley Warren 164.805Bumped by #44—56Jim Hurtubise—Incomplete —78Larry Dickson—Pulled off—50Arnie Knepper—Waved off —17John Cannon —Waved off

Jim McElreath put the fourth Foyt entry in the field, bumping Bartlett. No other cars, however, were able to show enough speed to make the field. Jigger Sirois, infamous for missing the 1969 race, fell far short in Jack Adam's Turbine car. Pos (Position) No. (Car Number) Name Speed(mph) Notes3314Jim McElreath166.821Bumped #77—53Arnie Knepper165.320Too slow—54Jigger Sirois164.692Too slow—99Denny Zimmerman158.912Too slow—8Larry Dickson158.479Too slow—21John Cannon—Waved off—95Sam Posey—Crash

RowInsideMiddleOutside 12 Al Unser18 Johnny Rutherford7 A. J. Foyt 211 Roger McCluskey66 Mark Donohue10 Art Pollard 33 Bobby Unser 1 Mario Andretti 31 Jim Malloy 484 George Snider48 Dan Gurney9 Mike Mosley 527 Lee Roy Yarbrough97 Bruce Walkup38 Rick Muther 673 Peter Revson5 Gordon Johncock15 Joe Leonard 775 Carl Williams16 Gary Bettenhausen20 George Follmer 823 Mel Kenyon83 Donnie Allison 22 Wally Dallenbach Sr. 925 Lloyd Ruby32 Jack Brabham19 Ronnie Bucknum 1093 Greg Weld 89 Jerry Grant58 Bill Vukovich II 1144 Dick Simon 67 Sammy Sessions14 Jim McElreath

Rain delayed the start of the race by about 25 minutes. On the final pace lap, the field was coming through turn four to take the green flag. Suddenly, Jim Malloy on the outside of the third row, suffered a rear suspension failure, and smacked the outside wall. His car veered across the track to the inside, but narrowly avoided contact with any other car. The field was halted on the mainstretch under the red flag to clean up the accident. During the delay, teams were permitted to top off their fuel tanks, after burning three laps of methanol. The field was restarted after the red flag, and 32 cars took the green flag. Johnny Rutherford swept across to take the lead into turn one. Down the backstretch, Al Unser, Sr. tucked in behind, and took the lead going into turn three. Unser led the first lap. Lloyd Ruby, who started 25th, notably passed ten cars on the first lap. By the third lap, Ruby was in the top ten.

The early laps focused on the mad charge of Lloyd Ruby, who was up to 5th place by about lap 28. The yellow flag came out when Art Pollard blew an engine. Under the caution, Mario Andretti was forced to make an unscheduled pit stop to repair loose bodywork. He rejoined the race, but lost many positions. As the race passed the 100 mile mark, Al Unser, Sr. led, with Johnny Rutherford running second, and A. J. Foyt and Lloyd Ruby battling for third. Al Unser, Sr. led the first 48 laps. He gave up the lead to A. J. Foyt during a pit stop on lap 49. One lap later, Foyt entered the pits, giving the lead to Lloyd Ruby. Suddenly Ruby was given the black flag for smoke due to broken drive gears. Ruby's dramatic race was over after completing only 54 laps. Meanwhile, Johnny Rutherford stalled exiting the pits, losing considerable track position. Unser re took the lead on lap 54, and led until the halfway point. Mario Andretti once again had to make an unscheduled pit stop, this time to change the right rear tire. Through most of the race, he was experiencing handling issues with the right rear suspension.

Al Unser moved back to the front on lap 106, and he would not relinquish the lead. Johnny Rutherford, who was a factor in the first half, dropped out after 135 laps due to a broken header. Roger McCluskey, who had dropped out on lap 62 with suspension damage, relieved Mel Kenyon on lap 112. On lap 172, Roger McCluskey (driving for Kenyon), spun going into turn three, and crashed hard into the outside wall. Ronnie Bucknum was collected in the crash. Sammy Sessions locked up the brakes and nearly slid into the crashed cars. Sessions gained control, weaved his way through, and continued in the race. Spilled fuel started pouring from one of the crashed cars, and a small fire broke out. As the field approached the scene, several cars got into the fluid and spun. Wally Dallenbach and Jack Brabham spun but continued. Mario Andretti nearly spun out, but he made it through the scene unscathed. The fire was quickly extinguished, but what turned out to be the final yellow light of the race was on for over 14 minutes (lap 172 through lap 181) to clear the track.

With about 25 laps to go, Al Unser, Sr. had lapped the entire field. Unser's crew gave him the "E Z" sign on his chalkboard, and both Mark Donohue and A. J. Foyt got their lap back. With Unser leading comfortably, the focus became the battle for second between Mark Donohue and A. J. Foyt. With only a handful of laps left, Foyt suddenly slowed in turn one. He pulled to the apron, but stayed out on the track attempting to nurse the car to the finish line. Al Unser, Sr. led a total of 190 laps en route to his first Indy victory. Unser won by 32.19 seconds over second place Mark Donohue, over three minutes over third place Dan Gurney in his final 500 a driver. A very slow A. J. Foyt fell to 10th in the final standings.