1969 Indianapolis 500

The 53rd International 500 Mile Sweepstakes was an auto race held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana on Friday, May 30, 1969. It was the third round of the 1969 USAC Championship Car season. Polesitter A. J. Foyt led the race in the early stages, looking to become the first four-time winner of the 500. Near the halfway point, however, a lengthy pit stop to repair a broken manifold put him many laps down.^[3] Despite a hard-charging run towards the end, he wound up managing only an eighth-place finish, 19 laps down. Lloyd Ruby, a driver with a hard-luck reputation at the Speedway, was leading the race just after the midpoint. During a pit stop, he pulled away with the fueling hose still attached, ripped a hole in the fuel tank, and was out of the race. The incident put Mario Andretti in the lead for rest of the way.^[4][5][6][7]

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

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

After five drivers were

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

Rule changes

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

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

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

Race schedule

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

Practice and time trials

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

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

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

Saturday May 17 – Jigger Sirois

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

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

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

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

That evening,

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

It was quickly noticed by media and fans that had

Saturday May 24

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

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

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

Sunday May 25

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

On the second weekend of time trials,

.

Starting grid

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

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

Alternates

• First alternate: Rick Muther  R  (#26)^[14]

Failed to qualify

Race recap

Start

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

First half

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

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

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

In the first half, Andy Granatelli's three-car effort was down to one as both

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

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

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

In victory lane, an emotional happy Mario stated:

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

Box score

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

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

 W  Former Indianapolis 500 winner

 R  Indianapolis 500 Rookie

Race statistics

Broadcasting

Radio

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

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

Among the many visitors to the booth were

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

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

Gallery

Wikimedia Commons has media related to 1969 Indianapolis 500.

• 
  1969 Camaro pace car replica
• 
  Mario Andretti's helmet he wore at the race on display at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum.

Notes

References