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 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 Wednesday, May 30, 1962. A historic pole day saw Parnelli Jones 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.-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 civi ...

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 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. ** Parnelli Jones 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

Parnelli Jones 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 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, Parnelli Jones, 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 (#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 11 ...

(#23, #37, #46, #47, #77) * Duane Carter (#72) * Bill Cheesbourg (#35, #59, #88) *

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 ...

(#6, #23) * Jack Conely (#89) *

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 ...

* Tommy Copp (#58) *

Johnny Coy Johnny is an English language personal name. It is usually an affectionate diminutive of the masculine given name John, but from the 16th century it has sometimes been a given name in its own right for males and, less commonly, females. Varian ...

(#68, #92) * Chuck Daigh (#35) * Jack Ensley (#95) * Jack Fairman (#32, #78) * Don Freeland (#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 Harold "Bruce" Jacobi (June 23, 1935 – February 4, 1987) was an American race car driver. In 1987, Jacobi, 51, died of head injuries sustained in a NASCAR race crash at the Daytona International Speedway in 1983. He had 37 USAC Champ Car start ...

(#22) *

Ed Kostenuk Ed Kostenuk (October 12, 1925 in Victoria, British Columbia – September 2, 1997) is a former USAC IndyCar racecar driver. He made six starts from 1962 to 1964 with a best finish of eleventh place. He failed to qualify for the 1962 Indianapolis ...

(#37) *

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 ...

(#68) *

Bob Mathouser Bob Mathouser (March 15, 1926 – November 15, 1980), was an American racecar driver. Born in Omaha, Nebraska, Mathouser died in Los Angeles, California. He drove in the USAC Championship Car series, racing in the 1961-1966 seasons, with 30 ...

(#43) * Mike McGreevey (#46) * Al Miller (#64) * Keith Rachwitz (#33) * Gig Stephens (#61) * Chuck Stevenson (#16) *

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 ...

Race statistics

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. Fred Agabashian 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 {{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