The 46th International 500-Mile Sweepstakes was held at the

Indianapolis Motor Speedway The Indianapolis Motor Speedway is an automobile racing circuit located in Speedway, Indiana, an enclave suburb of Indianapolis, Indiana. It is the home of the Indianapolis 500 and the Verizon 200, and and formerly the home of the United State ...

Speedway, Indiana Speedway is a town in Wayne Township, Marion County, Indiana, United States. The population was 11,812 at the 2010 U.S. Census. Speedway, which is an enclave of Indianapolis, is the home of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. History Speedway was ...

on Wednesday, May 30, 1962. A historic pole day saw

Parnelli Jones Rufus Parnell Jones (born August 12, 1933) is an American former professional racing driver and racing team owner. He is notable for his accomplishments while competing in the Indianapolis 500 and the Baja 1000 desert race. In 1962, he became the ...

break the 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. The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

-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.

Race schedule

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 The 500 Festival Open Invitation was a professional golf tournament on the PGA Tour, played during the 1960s in Indianapolis, Indiana. It was sponsored by The 500 Festival, a not-for-profit volunteer organization created in 1957 to organize civic ...

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.

Time trials

Time trials were scheduled for four days. *Saturday May 12 – Pole Day time trials **

Len Sutton Len Sutton (August 9, 1925 – December 3, 2006) was an American racecar driver. He is best known for finishing second at the 1962 Indianapolis 500.

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. **

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. *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

Race recap

First half

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

Rodger Ward Rodger M. Ward (January 10, 1921 – July 5, 2004) was a World War II P-38 aviator in the United States Army Air Forces, and an American race driver with 26 victories in top echelon open-wheel racing in North America, two Indianapolis 500 v ...

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 Len Sutton (August 9, 1925 – December 3, 2006) was an American racecar driver. He is best known for finishing second at the 1962 Indianapolis 500.

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,

, 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

Alternates

*First alternate:

Dempsey Wilson Dempsey Cothrin Wilson (March 11, 1927 – April 23, 1971) was an American racecar driver. Wilson was born in Los Angeles, California. He began his racing career on Southern California short tracks, racing roadsters, then midgets and stock ca ...

(#31) *Second alternate:

Ronnie Duman Ronald B. Duman (February 12, 1929 – June 9, 1968), was an American racing driver who competed in the USAC Championship Car series and the Indianapolis 500. Duman was an accomplished driver in sprints and midgets, and won the prestigious L ...

(#28)

Failed to qualify

Chuck Arnold Charles "Chuck" Russell Arnold (May 30, 1926, Stamford, Connecticut – September 4, 1997, Santa Ana, California) was an American racecar driver. Arnold drove sporadically in the USAC Championship Car series, racing between 1959 and 1968, with ...

(#23, #37, #46, #47, #77) *

Duane Carter Duane Carter (May 5, 1913 – March 7, 1993) was an American racecar driver. He raced midget cars, sprint cars, and IndyCars.Bill Cheesbourg William Bernard Cheesbourg (June 12, 1927 Tucson, Arizona – November 6, 1995 Tucson, Arizona) was an American racecar driver who participated in six Indianapolis 500 races. Biography He was born on June 12, 1927 in Tucson, Arizona. Cheesbo ...

(#35, #59, #88) * Leon Clum (#6, #23) * Jack Conely (#89) *

Russ Congdon Russ is a masculine given name, often a short form of Russell (given name), Russell, and also a surname. People Given name or nickname * Russ Abbot (born 1947), British musician, comedian and actor * Russ Adams (born 1980), American retired bas ...

* Tommy Copp (#58) * Johnny Coy (#68, #92) *

Chuck Daigh Chuck Daigh (November 29, 1923 – April 29, 2008) was an American racing car driver. He broke into Grand Prix racing through Lance Reventlow's Scarab team, through the virtue of being one of the resident engineers. Born in Long Beach, California ...

(#35) * Jack Ensley (#95) *

Jack Fairman Jack Fairman (15 March 1913 – 7 February 2002) was a British racing driver from England. He participated in 13 Formula One Grands Prix, making his debut on 18 July 1953. He scored a total of five championship points, all of which came in ...

(#32, #78) *

Don Freeland Don Freeland (March 25, 1925 – November 2, 2007) was an American racecar driver who is best known for competing in the Indianapolis 500 eight times. Born in Los Angeles, California, Freeland served in the Navy as a mechanic during World War II. ...

(#36) * Roy Graham (#55) *

Norm Hall Norm Hall (May 14, 1926 – March 11, 1992), was an American racecar driver. Born in San Francisco, California, Hall died in Pittsboro, Indiana. He drove in the USAC Championship Car series, racing in the 1961, 1964, and 1965 seasons, with 17 ...

(#25, #41) * Jim Hemmings (#65, #94) * Herb Hill (#69) – Entry declined * Bruce Jacobi (#22) * Ed Kostenuk (#37) * Ralph Ligouri (#68) * Bob Mathouser (#43) * Mike McGreevey (#46) * Al Miller (#64) *

Keith Rachwitz Keith may refer to: People and fictional characters * Keith (given name), includes a list of people and fictional characters * Keith (surname) * Keith (singer), American singer James Keefer (born 1949) * Baron Keith, a line of Scottish barons ...

(#33) * Gig Stephens (#61) *

Chuck Stevenson Charles Stevenson (October 15, 1919 – August 21, 1995) was an American racecar driver. AAA and USAC Championship Car series Stevenson drove in the AAA and USAC Championship Car series, racing in the 1949–1954, 1960–1961, and 1963–1965 ...

(#16) * Chuck Weyant

Race statistics

Broadcasting

Radio

The race was carried live on the

IMS Radio Network The Indianapolis Motor Speedway Radio Network (known typically as the IMS Radio Network or the INDYCAR Radio Network), is an in-house radio syndication arrangement which broadcasts the Indianapolis 500, the NTT IndyCar Series, and Indy Lights to ...

Sid Collins Sid Collins (born Sidney Cahn Jr.) (July 17, 1922 – May 2, 1977) was an American broadcaster best known as the radio voice of the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Radio Network from 1952–1976. Collins coined th ...

served as chief announcer.

Fred Agabashian Levon "Fred" Agabashian (August 21, 1913 – October 13, 1989) was an American racer of midget cars and Indy cars. Career Midget car racing Agabashian competed in his first midget car race in his teens. His first championship was the 1937 ...

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. He would return in 1963.

Television

A few minutes of highlights were shown on ABC's "Wide World Of Sports".

Gallery

File:Indy500winningcar1962.JPG, 1962 winning car (Ward) File:Indy500winningcar1963.JPG, 1962 pole position winning car (Jones)

Notes

References

Works cited

Indianapolis 500 History: Race & All-Time Stats
- Official Site
1962 Indianapolis 500 at RacingReference.info
(Relief driver statistics) *1962 Indianapolis 500 Radio Broadcast,

Indianapolis Motor Speedway Radio Network The Indianapolis Motor Speedway Radio Network (known typically as the IMS Radio Network or the INDYCAR Radio Network), is an in-house radio syndication arrangement which broadcasts the Indianapolis 500, the NTT IndyCar Series, and Indy Lights to ...

{{Indy 500 Indianapolis 500 races

Indianapolis 500 The Indianapolis 500, formally known as the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, and commonly called the Indy 500, is an annual automobile race held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of Indi ...

1962 in American motorsport May 1962 sports events in the United States