1971 Indianapolis 500

55th Indianapolis 500

Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Indianapolis 500
Sanctioning body	USAC
Season	1971 USAC Trail
Date	May 29, 1971
Winner	Al Unser, Sr.
Winning team	Vel's Parnelli Jones Racing
Average speed	157.735 mph (253.850 km/h)
Pole position	Peter Revson
Pole speed	178.696 mph (287.583 km/h)
Fastest qualifier	Peter Revson
Rookie of the Year	Denny Zimmerman
Most laps led	Al Unser, Sr. (105)
Pre-race ceremonies
National anthem	Purdue Band
Back Home Again in Indiana	Peter DePaolo
Starting Command	Tony Hulman
Pace car	Dodge Challenger
Pace car driver	Eldon Palmer
Honorary starter	None
Attendance	300,000 (estimated)
TV in the United States
Network	ABC
Announcers	Jim McKay, Jackie Stewart
Nielsen Ratings
Chronology
Previous	Next
1970	1972

The 55th 500 Mile International Sweepstakes was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Saturday, May 29, 1971. Al Unser, Sr. won for the second consecutive year, dominating most of the race. The race was marred by a crash involving the pace car at the start. Pace car driver Eldon Palmer, a local Indianapolis-area Dodge dealer, lost control of the pace car at the south end of the pit area, and it crashed into a photographers' stand, injuring 29 people, two seriously.

Peter Revson started on the pole with a speed of over 178 miles per hour, more than a mile per hour faster than any other qualifier, with defending champ Al Unser in the middle of the second row. However, Mark Donohue, who qualified in the middle of the front row, took the lead at the start of the race and led the first 50 laps. A mechanical issue ended his day after just 66 laps, and Unser took the lead. He and Joe Leonard swapped the lead several times during the middle portion of the race, but Unser led for the final 83 laps, giving him a win for the second year in a row.

Race schedule

Pace car crash

For 1971, none of the Big Three auto manufacturers chose to supply pace cars for the Indianapolis 500, as the muscle car market had dried up and marketing efforts were shifted elsewhere. Four local Indianapolis-area Dodge dealers, spearheaded by Eldon Palmer, stepped up to supply the fleet of pace cars. The vehicle chosen was the Dodge Challenger 383-4V.^[1] Palmer was chosen to drive the pace car at the start of the race.

In preparation for the race, Palmer set up an orange flag (sometimes reported as a traffic cone) in the pit lane to provide himself with a braking reference point. During the parade and pace lap, Tony Hulman, ABC broadcaster Chris Schenkel, and John Glenn served as passengers in the car. Palmer practiced the run the day before the race.

As the field came down the mainstretch for the start, Palmer pulled into the pits and accelerated down the pit lane. However, his reference flag (or cone) had been removed and he missed his planned braking spot. Moving upwards of perhaps 125 mph, Palmer realized he was going too fast, and rather than perilously veering back on to the racing surface, he stood on the brakes (the car was equipped with drum brakes) and lost control. The car swerved and skidded to the end of the pit lane, and crashed into a photographers' stand.^[2] The stand collapsed, injuring 29 people, however, no people were killed. Dr. Vicente Alvarez, a freelance photographer from Argentina, was one of two on the stand who were seriously injured. Alvarez survived, and died in the late 1990s.^[3] Tony Hulman suffered a sprained ankle, and a shaken Schenkle sat out the remainder of the ABC broadcast.

Palmer maintained possession of the car, and eventually it was repaired and restored. In 2006, it was sold to a collector.^[4]

Race results

Finish	Start	No	Name	Qual	Rank	Laps	Led	Status
1	5	1	Al Unser	174.621	5	200	103	Running
2	1	86	Peter Revson	178.695	1	200	0	Running
3	6	9	A.J. Foyt	174.317	6	200	0	Running
4	10	42	Jim Malloy	171.838	11	200	0	Running
5	11	32	Bill Vukovich II	171.674	12	200	0	Running
6	20	84	Donnie Allison	171.903	10	199	0	Flagged
7	17	58	Bud Tingelstad	170.156	24	198	0	Flagged
8	28	43	Denny Zimmerman	169.755	27	189	0	Flagged
9	22	6	Roger McCluskey	171.241	15	188	0	Flagged
10	13	16	Gary Bettenhausen	171.233	16	178	0	Flagged
11	7	12	Lloyd Ruby	173.821	7	174	3	Gears
12	3	2	Bobby Unser	175.816	3	164	21	Crash T4
13	19	4	Mike Mosley	169.579	29	159	0	Crash T4
14	33	44	Dick Simon	170.165	23	151	0	Flagged
15	29	41	George Follmer	169.205	32	147	0	Piston
16	14	21	Cale Yarborough	170.770	19	140	0	Cam Cover
17	4	85	Denis Hulme	174.910	4	137	0	Valve
18	24	18	Johnny Rutherford	171.152	18	128	0	Flagged
19	8	15	Joe Leonard	172.761	8	123	21	Turbocharger
20	16	68	David Hobbs	169.571	30	107	0	Crash FS
21	18	38	Rick Muther	169.972	25	85	0	Crash FS
22	32	99	Bob Harkey	169.197	33	77	0	Gears
23	15	95	Bentley Warren	169.627	28	76	0	Gears
24	23	22	Wally Dallenbach, Sr.	171.159	17	69	0	Valve
25	2	66	Mark Donohue	177.087	2	66	52	Gears
26	31	64	Art Pollard	169.499	31	45	0	Valve
27	25	98	Sammy Sessions	170.357	20	43	0	Valve
28	26	45	Larry Dickson	170.285	21	33	0	Engine
29	12	7	Gordon Johncock	171.388	14	11	0	Crash T3
30	9	5	Mario Andretti	172.612	9	11	0	Crash T3
31	27	20	Steve Krisiloff	169.835	26	10	0	Oil Leak
32	30	23	Mel Kenyon	170.205	22	10	0	Crash T3
33	21	80	George Snider	171.600	13	6	0	Stalled

Qualifying chronology

See also

• 1971 USAC Championship Car season

Notes

References

Works cited

• 1971 Indianapolis 500 Press Information - Daily Trackside Summary
• Indianapolis 500 History: Race & All-Time Stats - Official Site