The 45th 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 Sta ...

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 Tuesday, May 30, 1961. For the first time since 1949, the

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 ...

was not recognized on the World Championship calendar. The race celebrated the 50th anniversary of the first Indy 500 in

1911 A notable ongoing event was the race for the South Pole. Events January * January 1 – A decade after federation, the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory are added to the Commonwealth of Australia. * ...

. Eddie Sachs and

A. J. Foyt Anthony Joseph Foyt Jr. (born January 16, 1935) is an American retired auto racing driver who has raced in numerous genres of motorsports. His open wheel racing includes United States Automobile Club Champ cars, sprint cars, and midget cars. H ...

were battling for 1st-2nd in the latter stages of the race. On Foyt's final scheduled pit stop, his crew was unable to properly engage the fuel mechanism, and his car did not take on a full load of fuel. Foyt returned to the track, and was pulling away from Sachs. Foyt's car was running faster due to the light fuel load, but his crew signaled him that he would be unable to make it to the finish without another pit stop. The crew borrowed a fuel feed mechanism from Len Sutton's team, and signaled Foyt to the pits. Foyt gave up the lead on lap 184 for a splash-and-go. That handed the lead to Sachs, who was now leading by 25 seconds. With three laps to go, the warning tread showed on Sachs' rear tire and Sachs decided to play it safe. Rather than nurse the car around, he pitted to replace the worn tire on lap 197. Foyt took the lead with three laps to go and won his first (of four) Indy 500 victories by a margin of 8.28 seconds. A notable story included the appearance of two-time defending

Formula One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...

World Champion A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

Jack Brabham Sir John Arthur Brabham (2 April 1926 – 19 May 2014) was an Australian racing driver who was Formula One World Champion in , , and . He was a founder of the Brabham racing team and race car constructor that bore his name. Brabham was a R ...

from

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

, who drove the race in a low-slung, British built

Cooper Cooper, Cooper's, Coopers and similar may refer to: * Cooper (profession), a maker of wooden casks and other staved vessels Arts and entertainment * Cooper (producers), alias of Dutch producers Klubbheads * Cooper (video game character), in ...

Coventry Climax Coventry Climax was a British forklift truck, fire pump, racing, and other specialty engine manufacturer. History Pre WW1 The company was started in 1903 as Lee Stroyer, but two years later, following the departure of Stroyer, it was reloca ...

engine. Dubbed the "British Invasion," it would be the first notable post-war appearance of a rear-engined car, and within five years the rear-engined revolution would take over the Speedway. The venerable front-engined roadsters with their larger and more powerful engines were much faster down the long straights, but the superior handling of Brabham's Cooper in the corners kept his car competitive. Brabham qualified 17th at 145.144 mp/h and drove the car to a respectable 9th-place finish, completing all 200 laps. He had planned to run conservatively and make only two pit stops, but tire wear and fuel consumption forced him to make a 3rd stop, negating his strategy. Had he driven more aggressively with three pit stops, he might have been much closer to the lead serial. Five months after the race in October 1961, the front straight of the track was paved over with asphalt, and thus the entire track was now paved in asphalt and only a single yard of bricks at the start/finish line was left exposed from the original 1909 brick surface. The remainder of the original 3,200,000 bricks now lie underneath the asphalt surface. This meant that the 1961 race was the last 500 in which cars raced on the original bricks other than those at the start/finish line.

Practice and time trials

Nicknamed the "Tinley Park Express," Tony Bettenhausen, Sr. was killed in a crash during a practice run on May 12. He was testing a car for Paul Russo. It was determined that an anchor bolt fell off the front radius rod support, permitting the front axle to twist and mis-align the front wheels when the brakes were applied. The car plunged into the outside wall, then rode along the top, snapping fence poles and tearing segments of the catch fence. The car came to rest upside-down on top of the outside wall, and Bettenhausen was killed instantly. Before the time trials Bettenhausen had been the favorite to become the first driver to break the 150 mph barrier at the Speedway. Time trials was scheduled for four days: *Saturday May 13 – Pole Day time trials *Sunday May 14 – Second day time trials *Saturday May 20 – Third day time trials *Sunday May 21 – Fourth day time trials Eddie Sachs sat on the pole with an average speed of 147.481 mph (237.348 km/h).

Box score

Alternates

*First alternate: Paul Russo (#21, #24)

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 11 ...

(#62) *

Harry Beck Henry Charles Beck (4 June 190218 September 1974) was an English technical draughtsman who created the present London Underground Tube map in 1931. Beck drew the diagram after being fired at the London Metro Signal Office. Although his design ...

(#95) – Entry declined, lack of experience * Tony Bettenhausen (#15, #24) – Fatal accident * Bert Brooks (#79) * Duane Carter (#61, #64) * Bob Cleberg (#6) *

Leon Clum Leon, Léon (French) or León (Spanish) may refer to: Places Europe * León, Spain, capital city of the Province of León * Province of León, Spain * Kingdom of León, an independent state in the Iberian Peninsula from 910 to 1230 and again fro ...

(#77) *

Russ Congdon Russ is a masculine given name, often a short form of 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 baseball player * Russ B ...

(#69) *

Ray Crawford Ray Crawford (October 26, 1915 – February 1, 1996) was an American fighter ace, test pilot, race-car driver and businessman. Biography Born in Roswell, New Mexico, Crawford served as a U.S. Army Air Corps fighter pilot and flew the P-38 ...

(#94) * Ronnie Duman (#43) * Jack Ensley (#84) * Cotton Farmer (#23) *

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. ...

(#27, #47) *

Chuck Hulse Chuck Hulse (October 3, 1927 – July 13, 2020) was an American racecar driver. Hulse raced in the USAC Championship Car series in the 1959-1964 and 1966-1968 seasons, with 60 career starts, including the Indianapolis 500 races in 1962, 1963, 19 ...

(#37) *

Danny Jones Daniel Alan David Jones''Births, Marriages & Deaths Index of England & Wales, 1984–2005'' (born 12 March 1986) is an English singer-songwriter and musician who is one of the lead vocalists and the lead guitarist for pop-rock band McFly. Jone ...

(#47) *

Ralph Ligouri Ralph Liguori (October 10, 1926 – July 21, 2020) was an American racing driver from New York City. Indycar career He competed in the United States Auto Club, USAC Championship Car series from 1957 to 1971 making 61 starts. His best finish was ...

(#75) * Mike Magill (#82) *

Jim McWithey Jim McWithey (July 4, 1927 – February 1, 2009) was an American racecar driver. He was born in Grammer, Indiana. McWithey raced in the USAC Championship Car series in the 1956, 1957, 1959 and 1960 seasons, with 20 career starts, includin ...

(#29) * Bill Randall (#95) * Chuck Rodee (#89) *

Jack Rounds Jack may refer to: Places * Jack, Alabama, US, an unincorporated community * Jack, Missouri, US, an unincorporated community * Jack County, Texas, a county in Texas, USA People and fictional characters * Jack (given name), a male given name, ...

(#44, #87) * Bud Tingelstad (#54) *

Bob Veith Bob Veith (November 1, 1924 – March 29, 2006) was an American racecar driver. Veith drove in the AAA and USAC Championship Car series, racing from 1955 to 1968 with 63 starts. He finished in the top ten 37 times, with a best finish of 2 ...

(#23, #25, #44, #85) * Bob Wente (#88) *

Chuck Weyant Chuck Weyant (April 3, 1923 – January 24, 2017) was an American racecar driver. He was born in St. Mary's, Ohio. Until his death, Weyant was the oldest living Indianapolis 500 veteran. He died on January 24, 2017, at the age of 93. Midget cars ...

(#88)

Race statistics

Track worker fatality

John Masariu, 38 father of 6, of

Danville, Indiana Danville is a town in and the county seat of Hendricks County, Indiana, United States. The population was 9,001 at the 2010 census, up from 6,418 at the 2000 census. In 2019 the estimated population was 10,126. History Danville was founded in 18 ...

was serving as a member of the fire/safety crew. On the 127th lap of the race, driver Eddie Johnson spun out in turn 4, but did not suffer significant damage and he was not injured. A small fire broke out on the car. A safety fire truck went to his aid. John Masariu, who was the principal of Ben Davis Junior High and was serving as a safety worker, fell or jumped off the back of the fire truck. A moment later, the truck driven by James (Johnny) Williams accidentally backed over him, and he was injured fatally.

Broadcasting

Radio

The race was carried live on the IMS Radio Network.

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 t ...

served as chief announcer with Fred Agabashian serving as "driver expert" The broadcast represented the 10th anniversary of the network, which was formed in 1952. This was Mike Ahern's first year on the network. This was Ahern's only year in Turn 2. The broadcast was heard on over 450 affiliates, including Armed Forces Radio. The broadcast reached all 50 U.S. states. The race reached approximately 100 million listeners worldwide.

Television

The race itself was not televised in full. However,

ABC Sports ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Televisi ...

showed highlights of time trials and a few minutes of film clips of the race on '' Wide World of Sports''.

Gallery

File:Indy500winningcar1961.JPG, 1961 winning car Image:Cooper indy 1961.jpg, Replica of

's 1961 Cooper-Climax T54

Notes

References

Works cited

Indianapolis 500 History: Race & All-Time Stats
- Official Site *1961 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

Indiana Hoosiers Indiana 1961 in American motorsport May 1961 sports events in the United States