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Each of us have certain moments of the Indianapolis 500 that define what it is about this race that makes it take on such significance. Whether it was the first time you saw the field take the green flag at the start or heard that thunderous roar that soon followed, there are moments that are as much a part of our being as anything.

If you’ve been following this event for a while, each race takes on its own personality as it evolves before our very eyes. What I might consider to be a great race, others may find that particular race to be their least favorite. Such a wide array of opinions is what you get with an event of this magnitude. With that said, these are some of my favorite races of my lifetime. Although I was alive when Rodger Ward won his first 500 in 1959, and when he had his magnificent duel with Jim Rathmann in 1960 – I won’t consider those races, since I have no real recollection of them. The first race I remember was 1964, so any race from that point forward is fair game. Being present at a race is not a requirement. Watching on TV or listening on the radio counts.

1964: As I mentioned last week, the 1964 race was the first race I was aware of at the time. I was five years old and listened to a good part of it on the radio, as I got my first introduction to Sid Collins. I was unaware that day that two drivers had lost their lives early in the race. I didn’t know much about what I was hearing but I wanted Parnelli Jones to win. He didn’t. Some guy named Foyt won. Little did I know…

1965: It was actually a dull race, but it was one of my favorites because it was the first one I attended. I was six years old and probably knew about as much as any other non-Hoosier six year-old in attendance. The memories from that day have stuck with me for the past forty-five years and obviously made a huge impression. My guy (Parnelli Jones) didn’t win, but I had a blast.

1970: This was really the first race where the driver I was pulling for throughout the month, actually won the race. After seeing Al Unser and his Johnny Lightning Special win the pole a couple of weeks earlier, there was no question who I was pulling for. On race day, Unser absolutely dominated. The good-looking car raced as fast as it looked, and I came away happy knowing that my guy had finally won the 500.

1972: There were several subplots that made this an entertaining race; Mark Donohue and Roger Penske each came away with their first win. Also, there was the Jerry Grant foul-up of using fuel from his teammate Bobby Unser’s fuel tank and the controversy that followed; along with Gary Bettenhausen seeing his best 500 shot end early. But what makes it significant to me is the fact that, although I didn’t know it at the time, my father had lost interest and it would be the last time I would attend the 500 for twenty years.

1974: What makes this race stand out for me was that it was the only race of a four-year period that went the distance and wasn’t rained out. Good guy Johnny Rutherford finally broke through for his first Indy 500 win. It would be his first of three over the next seven years. It would also be the last time that Sid Collins would call a full two hundred lap race, since there wouldn’t be another one until 1977 – less than a month after his death.

1977: I was a freshman at college. The University of Tennessee was on the quarter system back then, which meant we didn’t get out of school until mid-June. I lived five hours away and had gone home for Memorial Day weekend but drove back to Knoxville that Sunday. For the entire drive, I got to listen to Paul Page call his first 500 and AJ Foyt win his fourth. It was probably the quickest five-hour drive I’ve ever had. What no one knew at the time was that it would be the last Indianapolis 500 for Speedway owner Tony Hulman. He would pass away in October of 1977.

1982: The start of the race was comical, the late race battle between Rick Mears and Gordon Johncock was unforgettable and both made for great television – even on a delayed basis, as it was in those days. By this time, I had learned to stay away from radio and TV during the day and watch the condensed version on Sunday night without knowing the outcome. The Mears-Johncock battle was epic and stood as the closest finish in Indy history for ten years.

1989: I actually had to be in a wedding on Memorial Day weekend and drove back from Orlando listening to Lou Palmer do the broadcast on the radio. Hearing the last few laps between Emerson Fittipaldi and Al Unser, Jr. was thrilling and frustrating at the same time. I couldn’t wait to get home and see the replay. By this time, the race was televised live on ABC and I had set the VCR. I don’t miss those days. The DVR is a wonderful invention.

1991: Something about this race just captivated me. Maybe it was the front row of Mears, Foyt and Andretti. It had been almost twenty years since I attended the race in person, but I still followed the sport closely. I was now thirty-two and was intrigued that many of the names that were in the first race I attended in 1965 were still there. Shortly after watching the classic Rick Mears – Michael Andretti battle, was when I decided it was time for me to return to the Speedway.

1992: I followed through on my promise to myself and returned to the Speedway after a twenty-year absence. It was freezing and my (then) wife and I weren’t prepared for cold weather. All we had were windbreakers. The smells and sounds were familiar – Tom Carnegie’s voice still boomed over the PA system and names like Foyt, Johncock, Unser, Andretti, Bettenhausen – all names that I grew up with were still on the grid. The race itself was a crash fest and was dominated by Michael Andretti. But when Michael went out on lap 189, we were treated to the famous Little Al – Scott Goodyear duel – which is still the closest finish in Indy 500 history.

1993: This is a sentimental favorite of mine. By this time, I was thirty-four and my father was sixty-six. A friend of a friend worked in the garage area and had gotten me and my wife passes back there for qualifying. I had already planned to attend the race with my father that year, so the friend offered to get us back there on race morning. While all the flurry of activity on race day was taking place, my father just stood in the center of it taking it all in. I remember him saying that he never thought he would ever stand in Gasoline Alley. He and I watched the race from my seats, which were then in turn four, and had a great time. I’m glad that he and I got to have that race together. He passed away a year and a half later.

1995: This race had it all and is still one of my favorites. There was the drama of Marlboro Team Penske not making the race. Then there was the underlying theme of the impending formation of the Indy Racing League, which was scheduled to commence operations the following year, so no one really knew at this point what the future held. Firestone tires had returned after a twenty-year absence. All in all, there were two tire companies (Firestone & Goodyear), two chassis builders (Lola & Reynard) and four engine manufacturers (Ford, Mercedes, Honda and the Menard V-6).

On the track, there was drama from the green flag as Stan Fox ignited a multi-car pileup at the start in the short-chute between turns one and two. The spectacular crash collected many from the fifth row on back. Fox was unconscious for days and suffered brain injuries. Although he recovered physically, those that knew him say he was never the same person. Fox lost his life five years later in a passenger car crash in New Zealand.

Once the race resumed, there were many twists and turns. Jacques Villeneuve was penalized early and went two laps down. Through luck and timing, he actually got those laps back. Through the last fifty laps, it looked as if Jimmy Vasser or Scott Pruett might get their first Indy win, but both crashed out in the late stages – apparently handing the win to Scott Goodyear, who was driving in a second Tasman car. But he passed a very slow moving pace car on the re-start and was black-flagged. Ultimately, it was Villeneuve who came out on top on a very eventful day at the Speedway.

2006: It was eleven more years before the Indianapolis 500 had what I considered to be a very special race. Although it was beastly hot, the race was entertaining throughout the day. I was sitting in my current seats in the Pit Road Terrace behind the second pit stall. I took the opportunity of a caution to make a dash to the restroom, just as the yellow flag flew. By the time I returned, here came the pit stops. Rather than returning to my seats, I decided to walk up behind the Sam Hornish pit to watch his stop – just in time to see fuel spray everywhere. Fortunately, none got on me as I watched utter chaos ensue. His crew got him back out, but it seemed Sam’s day was done.

The last ten laps of that race were some of the most compelling I’ve ever seen. In that span, there were no less than three leaders that included Michael Andretti, his son Marco Andretti and eventual winner Sam Hornish, who passed Marco about two hundred yards before the finish line. In the ninety times the Indianapolis 500 had been run, there had never been a pass for the lead on the last lap – until 2006.

So, there you have my favorites. There were thirteen that I covered. Does that mean I didn’t like the others? Of course, not. I like them all, although you’d be hard-pressed to find the positive in the 1973 race. Many more could have made my list but then I would have probably talked about them all. Hopefully, the race in a couple of weeks will be good enough to add to this list.

George Phillips

This entry was posted on May 13, 2010 at 5:11 am and is filed under Indianapolis 500. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.