Wild to think that seemingly unimportant news correspondent talking to Mario Andretti would eventually be an Indycar team owner alongside Bobby Rahal after retiring from a very successful tv career
You can tell Jackie Stewart isn't quite comfortable with the whole TV thing yet, but Jim McKay does a good job making him feel at ease and actually got him joking a bit as the broadcast went on.
This reminds me I'm so old! I was 12 and saw this race live from a parking spot outside the back straight. I remember being frustrated that no one was able to make a challenge to Al Unser late in the race because Reveson was running 5+ MPH faster all month. Something odd I was surprised to see was that Vel's Parnelli Jones Racing was still running knock-off wheel nuts on their cars. It must have been the last time an Indy winner used them! I sat and watched this and it took over my mind and when it was done I had to remind myself today was Tuesday because I had mentally gone to a different time and place for a while. By the way- Eldon Palmer was a leading local Dodge dealer who had lead the campaign to get Dodge to do the Indy 500 pace car and that was why he got to drive. He had practiced the maneuver many times but on raceday someone had removed the flag on pit lane that he used for his braking point and it was too late when he recognized it was missing and hit the brakes.
The 60s and early 70s are my favorite in racing history, granted all these cars are absolute death traps, but they all have an incredible visual allure and each year the progression of technology was incredible
These old races are so interesting for some reason, it’s like the history aspect of them combined with how wild races were back then just makes them twice as interesting
For me it's completely different than any other sport in terms of watching a classic replay / re-broadcast: It's obvious on an old hockey, baseball, or football game that the pace of those games has changed -- some enthusiasts will watch them, to be sure, but an old Formula 1 or Indy 500 race replay packs the same excitement as a modern day race 40-50 years on. Motorsport truly is timeless.
Also, back then, all the cars looked different. Nowadays, they are chips off the old block. Nascar, Indy? They all look the same. I'd rather watch a large puddle of water evaporate.
1) Keith Jackson, Jim McKay, Chris Economaki, Sam Posey, Bobby Unser, Jackie Stewart and so on, were good announcers. 2a) ABC was late for the show and should have established itself much earlier since they already covered P. Hill's 1961 WDC and Monaco GP from the early 1960's. 2b) Then in 1982 ABC Fked up and slipped a gear by show-casing the wives of Johncock and Mears during the dramatic last laps of the race. Ever since then some bonehead producer at ABC (Absolute BS Coverage) decided that was a good idea.... 2c) ABC also launched the over-hyped introduction of the drivers walking out of the garage area in threes representative of their row on the grid, _INSTEAD_ of simply showing a small picture of the driver in the upper corner of the animated car grid that showed the color of the cars - to help get an idea of knowing who would be there near the front row, mixing it up when the green fell. 2d) that course led up to the Danica-love-fest overexposure that irritated traditional fans because the pre-race coverage was _always_ about her, then maybe a few minutes with the favorites in the race and that was it. *Nothing about race strategy from anyone beyond the 3rd row, nothing about teams that struggled to get on the grid, nothing about other back in pack drivers and their stories of how they made it...* just Danica mostly. Which is mildly amusing since they never provided that amount of exposure to Janet Guthrie and Lynn St. James (1992 Rookie Of The Year). 3) as someone pointed out already the cars were different in designs and shapes, unlike the cloned cars that have afflicted AOWR (American Open Wheel Racing), NASCAR and inevitably F1. 4) for a while there was a wide scale of competition that stood capable of winning the 500. Even when Penske was ratcheting things up during the 1980's. 5) the (in effect date) 1996 _'Civil War'_ IRL/CART split didn't help. And it immediately showed that year at both the Indianapolis 500 and the contending _'US 500'_ (Michigan) where both events suffered early lap catastrophes. 6) the absence of long time familiar names of Mario, Foyt, Mears, Rutherford, Bettenhausen at around that time also had an effect on the 500 as well, as far as the normally appealing nature of the event goes. Different times... different personalities (made known that is)... different cars/designs... different broadcasting *quality* .... all made the 500 better in those times. Or more appealing I should say. 7) oh yeah I almost forgot, the qualifying on one weekend is BS too. Not to mention that it's never a good idea to broadcast that on a cable channel only. But then again the 500 hasn't been broadcasted on the radio for well over a decade. If they keep limiting the exposure of this (once?) major motor sport event then it won't be too long to lose whatever support it has from younger generations. I couldn't blame them either with all this superficial coverage of the 500, combined with the fact that a SIM would be just as suitable for entertainment.
Very well stated. I had no idea about the lace car when I clicked this video and I saw it screaming down the pit lane I was amazed he was going so fast and boom he crashed!?! Insane I find it fascinating
I used to love the races back in the 70's. I was born in 1967 so this particular race I was only 3 years old for. So I was too young to have seen or remember it. Those older races the cars had unique looks, meaning they weren't all "clones" of one another. Plus you had some of the most iconic and legendary drivers. Mario Andretti, Bobby and Al Unser, Gordon Johncock, and so many more. I used to have my Hot Wheels and Matchbox cars out and I'd be racing my own races. Basically this is when I fell in love with auto racing 🏁 🏎, both Indy and Nascar.
I wasn't alive at this time, but I did get to go the 1993 Indy 5oo and got to see one of my all time favorites Emerson Fittipaldi win his second Indy 5oo, also Nigel Mansell was a rookie that race. That was my first time ever at the Brickyard, and I'll never forget it, been to many Indycar races but nothing will ever match that day in May 1993
Little did anyone know a future winning owner of a Indy 500 car would be working this telecast as a reporter. That was David Letterman, who of course also was a highly successful late-night talk show host for many years.
I remember being at this race with my dad when I was 9 years old. A policeman let me stand on his car at the start of the race, and 50 years later I still can see the pace car crashing into a makeshift scaffolding like stand with cameramen falling off of it. We were watching from the infield right at front of the fenced area.
@@Kurt95630 Eldon Palmer, an Indianapolis-area car dealer, crashed the pace car into the photographers stand. With him in the 1971 Dodge Challenger were Speedway owner Tony Hulman Jr., astronaut John Glenn (!!) and ABC broadcaster Chris Schenkel. Palmer had practiced the start maneuver, which included slowing down on pit road when he passed a certain marker. Apparently, on race day the marker had been removed, so he missed the signal to slow down. By the time he got to the end of the pit road he realized he was running out of room, locked the brakes and swerved into the grandstand at an estimated 60mph.
@@richardmorris7063 Teaching kids something you don't agree with is NOT indoctrination. Teaching kids ONLY what you agree with is the VERY DEFINITION of indoctrination.
Knowing that the Unser family is from my hometown of Albuquerque and watching these races years later and watching them win (arguably) the most iconic race in history is awesome to me.
I loved the Indy 500. It was on tape delay on Sunday night but the next day was a holiday so you could stay up and watch it and it mean school was about a week away from ending for the summer.
This race was actually on a Saturday as even after Memorial Day became a three day weekend Indy had a “Never On Sunday” policy. That ended with the 1974 race.
Indy was so big for me for all of those reasons. 1972 was the first Indy race that I remember watching. Back then, my favorite days of the year were Christmas, my birthday, the Indy 500, and the last day of school.
@@paulsonj72 I wonder if Indiana had Blue Laws on the books back then. I seem to recall that as a kid in South Bend, many stores were closed on Sundays.
@@8avexp That was in most of the country and continued into the '70s until changes in the workforce forced changes in that regard. I believe Indy originally wanted to start with racing on Sunday in 1973 (and possibly as early as '71 with the change in the Memorial Day date) but Churches already had events planned for that Sunday and that was why they didn't go to Sunday before 1974. In those days, Churches had far greater say in how things were done as I remember.
01:39:11 - Al Unser and his interviewer marveled at the advanced technology of an in-car "radio" that allowed him to talk to his pit crew without hand signals.
Some of my best memories are going to Indy in the 1960,s with my parents we had a F250 with a camper and camped on the infield.It was a big party. plus great racing
Wow! This was priceless for nothing more than seeing Jackie Stewart's hair. Classic! On a more real note, it is interesting to see how much the track and the backstretch, along with safety protocols have evolved over the decades, particularly the track backstretch. Like F1, safety protocols began to change dramatically in the 1970s and more so the 1980s. Jackie Stewart was heavily involved in the evolution of motorsports safety. Lastly, to have Lloyd Ruby there...Jack I am sure was looking down proudly on his brother; someone to carry-on the family name!😉
I found out recently that you don't need to try too much to win in that game. You can drive along the walls and win every mission and every race 🙄 You'll never lose any speed!
20:52 A very young "Dave" Letterman doing trackside interviews. I knew Dave has love of motorsports and it is cool to see part of probably why that is.
Dave is originally from Indianapolis, so his interest in Indy is easy to understand. It was about this point in his career that he guest-starred on the Mary Tyler Moore show, too. Interesting career.
Gotta love the classics. I live in Albuquerque and from 1968 to 1978, an Unser, Either Bobby or Al won the 500 five times. I was a little girl back then but I was a huge fan and we had some real home town heros to root for. When Jr. won in 92 I was so excited I jumped off my couch, hit my head on the ceiling fan and then sprained my ankle when I came down. lol Does that count as a fan injury??? It's really nice to be able to come back and watch these races again. I am playing them on a big 48" TV and having a great time. Thank You Indianapolis Motor Speedway for making these so easy to watch!!!!
@15:20 How many guys can say they've been into space, been a senator, and had been in the "Indy Pace Car" during a crash? One. John Glenn! Talk about living a life! And, Cadillac ambulances back in the day! Talk about different times! I remember seeing those in regular service back when I was little, and also rounded body International Travelall trucks as ambulances as well in my city. But yeehaw! The Cadillac wagons were the tits!
Jackie worked so hard on track safety over the years. He raced in a time when Formula One would lose a couple of drivers per season killed. I remember when Dan Weldon was killed in Las Vegas in 2011 Jackie was absolutely irate at the amount of cars that entered that race and the speeds at which they were going when he was subsequently killed in a big pile up.
The Wee Scotsman one of the smoothest if not the smoothest driver on a wet track back in his time. His results in the rain tell the story, as aggressive steering/brakes/throttle don't get it done, but his finesse did! Smart racing mind that guy.
Jackie didn't go for the daredevil/death defying romanticism about the speed like some guys did. ...the 'if I die,I die' attitude, if you will. Jackie Stewart saved many lives with his concern and effort. He realized there was no heroic status to burning to death on a race track.
After his miserable experience at Spa (1966) where the safety "crew" was composed of Graham Hill, Bob Bonderant and a few nearby spectators; it's understandable that he would launch a campaign of better safety standards in the sport.
Unbelievable that stalled race cars were parked beside concrete walls back then , Thankful the safer barriers came along as well as changing that pit road entrance.
@@Habs8691 Letterman tells the story that while doing the interview he remembered that in the production meeting they talked about the condition of the track. Thus the question about the condition of the track.
A couple of notes. Although it's mentioned near the end of the broadcast that Billy Vukovich II finished fourth, he actually got passed right at the end by Jim Malloy, who drove Dan Gurney's second car in this race. That likely happened between the checkered flag came out and when the race was flagged about 5 minutes (or 6 laps, given the speeds run that year) later. In those days, after the winner took the checkered flag, the race continued for another 5 minutes to allow as many cars to complete the race (or at least more laps) before the race was flagged and everyone brought in. Also, this would sadly be the final appearance in the race for both Malloy and Art Pollard, who would be killed in practice runs in 1972 and '73 respectively. Pollard did qualify for the race in '72, but was injured in a crash between the two weekends of qualifying, and while Pollard's mangled car was repaired, Pollard was injured to the point where car owner Andy Granatelli had to replace him in the race with Wally Dallenbach, who had been bumped and then unsuccessfully tried to bump Cale Yarborough out of the field two or three times before qualifying came to an end that year.
In fact, ALL 33 cars that qualified for the 1972 race, the slowest of which was driven by NASCAR superstar Cale Yarborough, qualified faster than Peter Revson did to take the pole for the 1971 race, with Bobby Unser adding 17.244 MPH to the qualifying record.
Yes, but in spite of that, the Indianapolis 500 track record went up by about 8 imph in one year in the 1971 Indy 500 qualifying, the qualification for the race in this video. From about 171+ mph-(1968 Joe Leonard-Lotus Type 56 STP Turbine) to 179+ MPH (1971 Peter Revson-McLaren M-16”A” with integral body rear wing and front nose winglets). Only 1 year later, the track record would jump a record 17 mph to 196+ mph, by Bobby Unser in the Dan Gurney Eagle chassis with full size, bolt on rear wing, the first year that those large rear wings were allowed.
Yeah… slow compared to now. But I’ll bet many of today’s drivers would be scared to poopy pants if they had to race these machines flat out without the safety equipment they are so familiar with now.
@@mercoid As evidenced by the fact that at least four drivers in this race would be killed in race cars by the summer of 1975. Jim Malloy, who finished fourth in this race, was killed during a practice run at Indy the following year. Art Pollard would lose his life under similar circumstances in 1973. And of course, the top two qualifiers in this race, Peter Revson and Mark Donohue, would both lose their lives in crashes while racing on the F1 circuit. The cruel irony of that being that Revson had been chosen by roger Penske to replace Donohue for the 1974 Indianapolis 500, but lost his life in South Africa that spring. Then a week after setting a world's closed course speed record at Talladega in August of 1975, Donohue would lose his life in Austria on the same tragic weekend that 1963 Daytona 500 winner Tiny Lund lost his life at Talladega. Two other top-tier drivers in this race, Joe Leonard and Donnie Allison, would also see their careers end as a result of crashes.
I am so thankful that there are channels that preserve these older events. I never knew about the tragedy that occurred with the Pace car and the photography stand. I've been to a couple of Nascar races live, but I only sort of got to see Indy cars once and they fly! But to have the Pace Car involved in a serious accident is unheard-of. ABC used to do a phenomenal job covering these events and being able to see this now, gives those of us who never saw this or even heard about it a chance to see and hear what happened. I'm only 18:10 into the race and it's already been a wild and pretty scary event. I also remember hearing people say I only watch these races for the crashes? As a kid you don't understand the magnitude of that. You only see the crash and the clean up. You never know about what the drivers went through or endured. It is a huge eye opener when you see it happen live, or you learn about the actual damages and suffering so many people go through. When Dale Earnhardt crashed and passed away, initially the crash didn't seem to be that bad, but after hearing the speed, the level of impact, and everything that happened with the car, the wall, and Dale himself, I can't imagine how anyone would ever be a fan of the crashes? I don't watch football to see guys get hurt, or ANY OTHER sport for that matter. These are cars traveling at speeds that range from 150 to over 200mph. Being in an Indy car, basically FLYING down the track at 150mph+ you have no roof, yes there are safety precautions and safety measures in place, but with those speeds, your basically flying in a metal missile. I personally was not a fan of the crashes. I preferred to see a great race, but I also understood that when you have 20-30+ cars again flying at speeds that can hit 200mph on a variety of tracks, crashes are inevitable. That said I have never ever considered that the Pace car could be involved in a potentially deadly crash. This was a very unique circumstance to have occurred during a race and again I'm glad that they were able to preserve this and give us who hadn't seen it a chance to learn what happened. I hope that everyone who was involved in this horrific accident was okay. I can't imagine what they went through. As I said I haven't seen many races live. The one Nascar event I was lucky enough to attend was the Chicagoland Motor Speedway? Or something like that. Dale Earnhardt Jr. won the race, but our seats were pretty good. We were down by the first turn I believe, halfway down, or in the middle of the bleachers or seating. First it was so loud. I hadn't been to one so I didn't bring ear muffs, but I was able to make some make-shift earplugs. Watching those stock cars fly by was beyond intense! You could feel the power of the engines vibration in your chest, your feet, and your legs. As a pack would race by, the engines would scream by you one after another. Nascar lost it's allure with me after the 1996. A lot of things did, I lost both of my parents, in 1993 and 1996. But when a friend got tickets to the Chicagoland race I went and it brought back my love of racing. I occasionally watched it but after being at that race I was back! While I do still watch Nascar and Indy nowadays, I still love and prefer those classic races from the 1970's and 1980's. I'd really love to see some 1960's or even 1950's races if thats a remote possibility. Especially the 1969. I think that's the year when the Dodge Daytona/Super-Bird car was used by Richard Petty #43!? I want to thank all of these channels for helping to preserve these memories, these classic moments, iconic races, sporting events, and have given people who never saw them a chance to see them. You also have allowed kids nowadays a chance to see events that happened when their Dad's were young. Maybe giving Dad's a chance to bond with their kids, or Mom's as well. Thank you! And God Bless you all.
Well said and nicely detailed. With regards to three items you mentioned: 1) _"people like to racing only because of the crashes"...._ which I have corrected people on (in person) stating "No, there are motorsports fans like myself that are interested in the teams, cars, drivers and the various circuits that they perform on." - "Not to mention the incredible out-braking & passing maneuvers that are involved." 2) indeed there is nothing like attending a live event. My best experience came from attending the 1988 German GP at Hockenheim. That was back when drivers were engaging gears manually and NOT with a paddle-shifter on the steering wheel. Which fans can thank Ferrari for that nonsense since they introduced the semi-auto transmission in 1989 - anyways listening to those drivers shift so rapidly (live) presented a greater appreciation than hearing it subdued on TV. 3) yes it's nice that this channel in particular IMS (Indianapolis Motor Speedway), is willing to share such historical events. Now if only the FIA & FOM (Formula One Management) would get their act together and provide the same - or at least stop making selfish requests to RU-vid to have F1 events (full GP coverages) removed from the platform. Just some of the few GPs we lost on here because of those two organizations mentioned above: 1965 Monaco GP 1967 German GP 1969 British GP 1969 German GP 1970 Spanish 1970 Monaco GP 1970 German GP (first time at Hockenheim) 1971 Monaco GP... and the ever so classic... 1971 Italian GP The list goes well into the 1970s, 80s and so on... And if you are interested in F1 and or sports car events from the bygone era - and you come across a full-coverage event?... You should watch it then. Because in a month or so it will be removed from the site. Cheers! 🏆🏁💨
The reason this telecast began with a live shot of the Indianapolis Speedway was that the commentary Jim McKay and Jackie Stewart did during the middle if the race was delivered while the edited tape was being broadcast. The commentary of the start, the first few laps, the last few laps, and the finish was recorded at the time they occurred. This was a pattern ABC would follow all fifteen times (1971-85) that they broadcast an edited tape of the race the same day that it was held.
Considering the post-production crew worked with analog video editing equipment, it must have been a pressured and monumental effort, on that same day, to take a 3+ hour event and condense it down to a primetime two hour TV show.
That was his national television debut, he was a completely unknown kid fresh out of Ball State University and lo and behold that little appearance would probably change his life forever
Watching this now makes me think what if when it comes to Donohue and Revson. It's a shame that they both died at relatively young ages. I pretty much feel that if they had lived they would have been owners after their racing careers were over.
'73 would be Revson & Donohue's last Indy appearance, both would pursue & die respectably in Formula One in '74 & '75, Roger Penske was asked 18 yrs ago of all his great drivers over the years who was his best? He simply said They were all great! Mark could drive & race anything,
Although it isn't related here,Peter Revson was actually gaining on Al Unser at the finish but simply ran out of time.There was a hectic battle for the lead between Al Unser and Joe Leonard around Laps 70-90 shortly after Mark Donohue dropped out.This was largely missed by the ABC crew.
Love that Sir Jackie is commentating. That's like having Lewis Hamilton commentate for this years race! I would love to see more F1 drivers give the 500 a go, or even some of the Formula E guys live Vergne, di Grassi, da Costa, Bird etc.
What F1 should do is move Monaco back and make that weekend an open date for F1 and working with Indy to make the 500 BOTH an F1 AND IndyCar race (using IndyCars of course).
Was there on main straight with late dad, uncle and cousin, I was 14....I wanted Lloyd Ruby to win. It was Donahue’s race to lose tho. Haven’t been to Indy since.
No, not sad. Can’t fix stupid. It doesn’t take much common sense to slow the f down as soon as you clear the pack. He was supposed to start braking the pace car at a certain marker. Is that all it takes to drive a car, especially at a motor sport event. Dunce, I would have slapped that driver for stupidity’s sake…
The lack of concern for safety (@55:29) in pre-1974 days was absolutely shocking, with people running around ohickens with their heads cut off while cars were still flying around the track. If there was ever a situation that called for a red flag, this was it.
