Wikipedia

1962 Indianapolis 500

The 46th International 500-Mile Sweepstakes was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana on Wednesday, May 30, 1962.

46th Indianapolis 500
Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Indianapolis 500
Sanctioning bodyUSAC
Season1962 USAC season
DateMay 30, 1962
WinnerRodger Ward
Winning teamLeader Cards
Average speed140.293 mph (225.780 km/h)
Pole positionParnelli Jones
Pole speed150.370 mph (241.997 km/h)
Fastest qualifierParnelli Jones
Rookie of the YearJim McElreath
Most laps ledParnelli Jones (120)
Pre-race ceremonies
National anthemPurdue Band
"Back Home Again in Indiana"C. David Cochard
Starting commandTony Hulman
Pace carStudebaker Lark Daytona Convertible
Pace car driverSam Hanks
StarterPat Vidan[1]
Honorary refereeRobert A. Stranahan, Jr.[1]
Estimated attendance230,000[2]
TV in the United States
NetworkN/A
AnnouncersN/A
Nielsen ratingsN/A / N/A
Chronology
Previous Next
1961 1963

A historic pole day saw Parnelli Jones break the 150 mph (240 km/h) barrier in qualifying. Rodger Ward and Len Sutton finished 1st-2nd for Leader Cards Racing.

The 1962 Indy 500 marked the final 500 wherein the entire 33-car field consisted of U.S.-born participants. It was also the first race held with the track surface paved entirely in asphalt, with just the ceremonial single yard of bricks exposed at the start/finish line.[citation needed]

Race schedule

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For 1962, the Opening Day of practice was shifted back to Saturday April 28. Time trials were held on the second and third weekends of May, allowing the 500 Festival Open Invitation golf tournament the entire fourth weekend of May. Bump Day was held May 20, ten days prior to the race. Carburetion Day, the final day of practice was held Monday May 28, along with the 500 Festival Parade later that evening.

Race schedule — April/May 1962
Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat
22
  		23
  		24
  		25
  		26
  		27
  		28
Practice
29
Practice 		30
Practice 		1
Practice 		2
Practice 		3
Practice 		4
Practice 		5
Practice
6
Practice 		7
Practice 		8
Practice 		9
Practice 		10
Practice 		11
Practice 		12
Pole Day
13
Time Trials 		14
Practice 		15
Practice 		16
Practice 		17
Practice 		18
Practice 		19
Time Trials
20
Bump Day 		21
  		22
  		23
Pro-Am 		24
500 Open 		25
500 Open 		26
500 Open
27
500 Open 		28
Carb Day 		29
Meeting 		30
Indy 500 		31
Banquet 		   
Color Notes
Green Practice
Dark Blue Time trials
Silver Race day
Blank No track activity

Time trials

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Time trials were scheduled for four days.

  • Saturday May 12 – Pole Day time trials
    • Len Sutton was the first driver to make an assault on the track record. His fourth lap of 149.900 mph was a new one-lap track record.
    • Parnelli Jones became the first driver to break the 150 mph barrier. His first lap was run at 150.729 mph, a new all-time one-lap track record. All four of his laps were over 150 mph, and his four-lap average came in at 150.370 mph. Jones was rewarded by having 150 silver dollars poured into his helmet by Phil Hedback of Bryant Heating & Cooling.[3]
  • Sunday May 13 – Second day time trials
    • The 13th proved to be an unlucky day for Norm Hall, whose previous crash in car #25 left him unscathed, but today, he spun the #41 Forbes Special on the Southwest Turn, hit the wall backwards and was severely injured, including a fractured left leg and possible skull fracture. Jim Rathmann and Troy Ruttman both were flagged off by their crews after they failed to get sufficient speed to qualify. Eddie Sachs could not reach an acceptable speed and a new engine was ordered for his Dean-Autolite Special machine. Dan Gurney left for Holland to compete in the Holland Grand Prix. Qualifiers this day were Eddie Johnson #32 at 146.592 and Bob Veith #96 at 146.157.
  • Saturday May 19 – Third day time trials
  • Sunday May 20 – Fourth day time trials

Starting grid

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Row Inside Middle Outside
1 98   Parnelli Jones 3   Rodger Ward  W  54   Bobby Marshman
2 7   Len Sutton 1   A. J. Foyt  W  4   Shorty Templeman
3 15   Jim McElreath  R  34   Dan Gurney  R  17   Roger McCluskey
4 5   Bud Tingelstad 14   Don Branson 27   Don Davis
5 9   Dick Rathmann 62   Paul Russo 18   Bobby Grim
6 19   Chuck Hulse  R  21   Elmer George 32   Eddie Johnson
7 96   Bob Veith 88   Gene Hartley 67   Chuck Rodee  R 
8 83   Allen Crowe  R  44   Jim Rathmann  W  12   Lloyd Ruby
9 45   Jack Turner 53   Paul Goldsmith 2   Eddie Sachs
10 38   Johnny Boyd 91   Jim Hurtubise 26   Troy Ruttman  W 
11 29   Bob Christie 86   Ebb Rose 79   Jimmy Daywalt
R Indianapolis 500 rookie
W Indianapolis 500 winner

Alternates

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Failed to qualify

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Race recap

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First half

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Parnelli Jones took the lead at the start, and led the first 59 laps. The first incident on the track occurred on lap 17. A four-car crash in turn four involved Jack Turner, Bob Christie, Allen Crowe, and Chuck Rodee. A lengthy yellow light period was needed to clean up the incident.

Second half

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Rodger Ward led the final 31 laps en route to victory. It was his second 500 win, after winning also in 1959. His Leader Cards teammate Len Sutton finished second, accomplishing the first team "sweep" of 1st-2nd since the Blue Crown team did it in 1947 and 1948.

After dominating much of the early race, Parnelli Jones, who started on the pole and led 120 laps, finished 7th. Jones chances for victory faded around the lap 125 mark when he lost his brakes. Unable to easily bring his car to a halt during pit stops, his crew put out tires so he could bump up against them or ride over them in order to help stop the car.

Box score

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Finish Start No Name Chassis Engine Qual Laps Status
1 2 3   Rodger Ward  W  Watson Offenhauser 149.371 200 Running
2 4 7   Len Sutton Watson Offenhauser 149.328 200 Running
3 27 2   Eddie Sachs Ewing Offenhauser 146.431 200 Running
4 12 27   Don Davis Lesovsky Offenhauser 147.209 200 Running
5 3 54   Bobby Marshman Epperly Offenhauser 149.347 200 Running
6 7 15   Jim McElreath  R  Kurtis Kraft Offenhauser 149.025 200 Running
7 1 98   Parnelli Jones Watson Offenhauser 150.370 200 Running
8 24 12   Lloyd Ruby Watson Offenhauser 146.520 200 Running
9 23 44   Jim Rathmann  W  Watson Offenhauser 146.610 200 Running
10 28 38   Johnny Boyd Epperly Offenhauser 147.047 200 Running
11 6 4   Shorty Templeman Watson Offenhauser 149.050 200 Running
12 11 14   Don Branson Epperly Offenhauser 147.312 200 Running
13 29 91   Jim Hurtubise Watson Offenhauser 146.963 200 Running
14 32 86   Ebb Rose Porter Offenhauser 146.336 200 Running
15 10 5   Bud Tingelstad Phillips Offenhauser 147.753 200 Running
16 9 17   Roger McCluskey Watson Offenhauser 147.759 168 Spun T2
17 17 21   Elmer George
(Paul Russo Laps 53–126)
(A. J. Foyt Laps 127–147) 		Lesovsky Offenhauser 146.092 147 Engine
18 30 26   Troy Ruttman  W  Kuzma Offenhauser 146.765 140 Piston
19 15 18   Bobby Grim Trevis Offenhauser 146.604 96 Oil Leak
20 8 34   Dan Gurney  R  Thompson Buick 147.886 92 Rear End
21 16 19   Chuck Hulse  R  Kurtis Kraft Offenhauser 146.377 91 Fuel Pump
22 33 79   Jimmy Daywalt Kurtis Kraft Offenhauser 146.318 74 Transmission
23 5 1   A. J. Foyt  W  Trevis Offenhauser 149.074 69 Lost wheel
24 13 9   Dick Rathmann Watson Offenhauser 147.161 51 Magneto
25 18 32   Eddie Johnson Trevis Offenhauser 146.592 38 Magneto
26 26 53   Paul Goldsmith Epperly Offenhauser 146.437 26 Magneto
27 20 88   Gene Hartley
(Bill Cheesbourg Laps 21–23) 		Watson Offenhauser 146.969 23 Steering
28 14 62   Paul Russo Watson Offenhauser 146.687 20 Piston
29 25 45   Jack Turner Kurtis Kraft Offenhauser 146.496 17 Crash FS
30 31 29   Bob Christie Kurtis Kraft Offenhauser 146.341 17 Crash FS
31 22 83   Allen Crowe  R  Watson Offenhauser 146.831 17 Crash FS
32 21 67   Chuck Rodee  R  Christensen Offenhauser 146.969 17 Crash FS
33 19 96   Bob Veith Elder Offenhauser 146.157 12 Engine
Sources:[7][8][9]

Note: Relief drivers in parentheses[10]

 W  Former Indianapolis 500 winner

 R  Indianapolis 500 Rookie

All entrants utilized Firestone tires.

Race statistics

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Broadcasting

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Radio

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The race was carried live on the IMS Radio Network. Sid Collins served as chief announcer. Fred Agabashian served as "driver expert." Newcomer Howdy Bell joined the crew, serving as a turn reporter. It was his first of over 40 years with the network. Turn reporter Mike Ahern, who debuted on the radio crew a year earlier, missed the 1962 race due to being in the Army.[11] He would return in 1963.

Indianapolis Motor Speedway Radio Network
Booth Announcers Turn Reporters Pit/garage reporters

Chief Announcer: Sid Collins
Driver expert: Fred Agabashian
Statistician: Charlie Brockman

Turn 1: Bill Frosh
Turn 2: Howdy Bell  R 
Backstretch: Bernie Herman
Turn 3: Lou Palmer
Turn 4: Jim Shelton

 Jack Shapiro (north)
Luke Walton (center)
John Peterson (south)

Television

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Highlights of the time trials were shown on ABC's "Wide World Of Sports".

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Wikimedia Commons has media related to 1962 Indianapolis 500.
  •  
    1962 winning car (Ward)
  •  
    1962 pole position winning car (Jones)

Notes

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References

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  1. ^ a b Fox, Jack C. (1994). The Illustrated History of the Indianapolis 500 1911-1994 (4th ed.). Carl Hungness Publishing. p. 22. ISBN 0-915088-05-3.
  2. ^ Campbell, Don G. (May 31, 1962). "500 Crowd is Star Of Own Show". The Indianapolis Star. p. 1. Retrieved June 2, 2017 – via Newspapers.com. 
  3. ^ The Talk of Gasoline Alley. May 19, 2006. Network Indiana.
  4. ^ The Talk of Gasoline Alley - 1070-AM WIBC, May 14, 2004
  5. ^ The Talk of Gasoline Alley. May 8, 2011. WFNI.
  6. ^ "1962 International 500 Mile Sweepstakes". ChampCarStats.com. Retrieved 26 June 2015.
  7. ^ Davidson, Donald; Shaffer, Rick (2013). Autocourse Official History of the Indianapolis 500 (Second ed.). Malvern, Worcestershire, England: Icon Publishing. p. 374. ISBN 978-1-905334-82-7 – via Internet Archive.
  8. ^ Popely, Rick; Riggs, L. Spencer (1998). Indianapolis 500 Chronicle. Lincolnwood, Illinois: Publications International. p. 167. ISBN 0-7853-2798-3 – via Internet Archive.
  9. ^ "1962 Indianapolis 500". Racing-Reference. Archived from the original on April 28, 2021. Retrieved August 8, 2021.
  10. ^ "International 500 Mile Sweepstakes – May 30, 1962". ChampCarStats.com.
  11. ^ The Talk of Gasoline Alley. September 6, 2018. WFNI.

Works cited

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1961 Indianapolis 500
A. J. Foyt 		1962 Indianapolis 500
Rodger Ward 		1963 Indianapolis 500
Parnelli Jones
Preceded by
139.130 mph
(1961 Indianapolis 500)
 Record for the fastest average speed
140.293 mph 		Succeeded by
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=1962_Indianapolis_500&oldid=1239692590"
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