1965 Indianapolis 500

After suffering a terrible crash in January at the Motor Trend 500 at Riverside, A. J. Foyt was back behind the wheel in time for the 500. Foyt had suffered a broken back, crushed sternum, and a concussion^[3] after he lost his brakes, hit an embankment, and flipped violently in a stock car.

There would be considerable turnaround in the starting lineup, with eleven rookies making the race, the most since 1951 (12). The rookie class of 1965 was historically notable, including such drivers as Mario Andretti, Al Unser Sr., Gordon Johncock, Joe Leonard, and George Snider.

Following the tragic 1964 race, this race was run relatively clean with no major accidents. Contrary to some popular belief, gasoline was not banned for the 1965 race. Instead, USAC officials crafted several calculated rule changes to effectively encourage teams to use methanol in order to be competitive.^[4] In addition, a new minimum car weight of 1,250 pounds was also established.

For 1965, all cars were required to make a minimum of two pit stops. A pit stop was generally defined as coming to a complete stop in the respective pit box, and hooking up the fueling mechanism. Tire changes were not specifically required, and some teams in fact changed zero tires on all day. On-board fuel tank capacity was reduced to 75 gallons, which also included requirements that they contain rubber bladders inside. Fuel tanks were required to be behind the driver on the left side of each car, and fuel crossover tubes were prohibited ahead of the driver. Pressurized fueling rigs were outlawed. All fueling rigs from 1965 onward had to be gravity fed, a rule that still is in effect as of 2024.

Conventional "pump" gasoline registered better fuel mileage than methanol, and could go a longer distance before needing to refuel. The methanol-powered engines had worse fuel mileage, but were expected to produce more horsepower and effectively race faster. Since cars were required to make a minimum of two fuel stops, the advantage to using gasoline (i.e., fewer pit stops and better resulting track position) was diminished, or outright lost.^[5]

While most teams switched to methanol, the Agajanian team decided to utilize a methanol/gasoline blend. Chief mechanic Johnny Pulson and driver Parnelli Jones determined that they were effectively down on power, finished second, and attributed the fuel blend as what cost them a chance to win the race.^[4] Jones had to make a third pit stop, and was experiencing poor fuel mileage. In the final five laps, Jones was running low on fuel, and had to nurse the car to the finish line. He held off Mario Andretti for second place by just five seconds, then ran out of fuel on his cool down lap. He stalled on the backstretch, and had to be towed back to the pit area.^[6]

One other major change was implemented for time trials. The evening before pole day time trials, a new blind draw was to be used to establish the qualifying order (namely for Pole Day). Prior to 1965, no draw was used, and the qualifying order was a "first-come, first-served" line-up, queued down the pit lane and usually stretching into the garage area. Some teams would even claim their spots in line the night before. The unorganized scramble to roll the cars into a queue had often led to heated exchanges, collisions, and unfair situations.

Each entry would still be allowed up to three attempts to qualify (across all four scheduled days). Once the original qualifying draw order had been exhausted on Pole Day, if there was still time left in the day (prior to the traditional 6 o'clock gun), the track was open for qualifying on a first-come, first-served basis. A proposal to charge cars with an attempt if they got to the front of the line but elected not to go out, or went out and did not take the green flag to start the run, was rejected.^[7] Despite the addition of a qualifying draw, each car in the order was not yet guaranteed the opportunity to make an attempt during the pole round. If rain were to delay or interrupt the qualifying line on Pole Day, any cars left in the original qualifying order at the time the track closed (due to rain or at the 6 o'clock gun) were simply out of luck, and had to qualify on the next round. This technicality would be corrected in 1971.

• The 500 Festival Open Invitation golf tournament was held May 24–27.

The track opened for practice on Saturday May 1. On Monday May 3, Jim Clark turned a lap of 150.779 mph, the first driver over 150 mph for the month.^[8] On Tuesday May 4, chief steward Harlan Fengler lifted the speed limits, and A. J. Foyt upped his practice speed to 155 mph.

On Wednesday May 5, A. J. Foyt's Lotus-Ford wrecked on the backstretch when a magnesium hub carrier snapped. The next day, all of the Lotus-Fords and Lola cars were parked by USAC for a few days until tests and improvements could be made to the magnesium parts.^[9] Thursday's practice was cut short due to rain.

On Monday May 10, after adequate improvements, the Lotus-Fords were authorized to return to the track. Both Foyt and Clark turned laps over 158 mph.^[10] Foyt and Clark continued to top the speed charts during the week,^[11] and on Thursday, Foyt blistered the track with a new unofficial track record of 161.146 mph.^[12]

On the day before pole day, Ebb Rose spun in turn one in front of Bobby Unser, collecting him in the crash. Unser was driving the brand new four-wheel drive Novi car entered by Andy Granatelli. Unser's car t-boned Rose's car, and spun wildly into the outside wall. Rose was not hurt. Unser was sent to the hospital for x-rays, but was not seriously injured.

Pole day was a record-setting day, as drivers officially broke the 160 mph barrier. Rookie Mario Andretti was one of the first drivers to set the pace, putting in a lap of 159.406 mph, and a four-lap average of 158.849 mph. Later, Jim Clark in the Lotus 38, became the first driver to break the 160 mph barrier. His first two laps of 160.772 mph and 160.973 mph set one-lap records. His record four-lap average of 160.729 mph tentatively put him on the pole.

Defending race winner A. J. Foyt ended up as the fastest of the day, with three laps in the 161 mph range. His first lap of 161.958 mph established the new one-lap track record. His record four-lap average of 161.233 secured the pole position, his first pole at Indy.

A day after his crash during practice, Bobby Unser got in a year-old Novi back up car to qualify 8th. Nineteen cars qualified on pole day.^[13]

Strong winds kept most cars off the track. Only two drivers (Don Branson and Arnie Knepper) qualified.^[14] At the end of the first weekend of time trials, the field was filled to 21 cars.

Jim Hurtubise, who was seriously burned in a crash at Milwaukee in 1964, completed his comeback by qualifying a Novi at 156.860 mph (252.442 km/h), the fastest of eleven qualifiers that day.^[15]

Two drivers crashed during the day, Rodger Ward and Lloyd Ruby. Ruby wrecked his already-qualified machine, but Ward was still struggling to get up to speed. Masten Gregory and Al Unser both blew engines, but were able to keep the cars off the wall.

Bobby Johns, a NASCAR regular, skipped the World 600 and entered as a teammate to Jim Clark in another Lotus. He qualified for 22nd position, third fastest of the afternoon.

At the end of the day, there was only one spot left open in the field.

Former winner Rodger Ward failed to qualify. He suffered a crash and three blown engines during the month. He got onto the track in the final 15 minutes, but his qualifying attempt was too slow to make the field.

Bob Mathouser was the final driver in Indy history to attempt to qualify in a front-wheel drive machine, but the engine blew and he did not make the field.^[16]

Row	Inside		Middle		Outside
1	1	A. J. Foyt  W	82	Jim Clark	17	Dan Gurney
2	12	Mario Andretti  R	98	Parnelli Jones  W	66	Billy Foster  R
3	74	Al Miller	9	Bobby Unser	7	Lloyd Ruby
4	54	Bob Veith	24	Johnny Rutherford	16	Len Sutton
5	52	Jim McElreath	76	Gordon Johncock  R	81	Mickey Rupp  R
6	94	George Snider  R	48	Jerry Grant  R	4	Don Branson
7	18	Arnie Knepper  R	59	Jim Hurtubise	53	Walt Hansgen
8	83	Bobby Johns  R	25	Roger McCluskey	5	Bud Tingelstad
9	65	Ronnie Duman	88	Chuck Stevenson	29	Joe Leonard  R
10	23	Eddie Johnson	14	Johnny Boyd	19	Chuck Rodee
11	41	Masten Gregory  R	45	Al Unser  R	47	Bill Cheesbourg

• First alternate: Rodger Ward  W  (#2) ^[17]

The Wood Brothers from the NASCAR Grand National circuit, were invited by Ford Motor Company to work the pit stops for Team Lotus (drivers Jim Clark and Bobby Johns).^[19] Their arrival at the Speedway was quickly recognized and much reported. They were well known for their rapid pit stop work in NASCAR, and their presence immediately created a stir in the garage area. It took them only a short time to acclimatize to the open wheel championship cars' equipment.

Their contributions to the victory, however, have been considered overstated in some cases.^[20][21][22] Historians agree that Clark's Lotus-Ford was capable of winning the race handily without the added help of the Wood Brothers. In fact, the only work done on the cars was routine refueling, as they did not need to change tires during the race.^[23] Clark made only two stops all day, and the quickness of the refueling process was largely attributed to a specially-designed gravity fueling rig with a venturi tube. One of the things they did ahead of time was to "break in" the new fueling hose nozzles by simply working them in and out of the coupling for a period of time.

A. J. Foyt started on the pole, but Jim Clark led the first lap. Jim Hurtubise dropped out with a broken transmission on the first lap. Foyt took the lead on lap two, and at first glance, the early laps appeared as if they were going to develop into a duel. However, Clark re-took the lead on lap 3, and pulled away.

Heavy attrition saw 17 cars drop out with engine or mechanical trouble before reaching the halfway point.

Lloyd Ruby spun, but was able to continue. He went to the pits for new tires, but the heavily flat-spotted tires required a minute and a half to change.

Clark led until lap 65, giving up the lead for a pit stop. A. J. Foyt led from lap 66-74. On lap 75, Clark regained the lead of the race.

Jim Clark still led at the halfway point, and would not relinquish the lead for the remainder of the race. Early contender A. J. Foyt dropped out after 115 laps with a broken gearbox.

The lone accident of the day involved Bud Tingelstad, who lost a wheel and spun into the outside wall in turn three.

Scotland's Jim Clark became the first non-American winner of the Indianapolis 500 since 1920. Clark led three times for a total of 190 laps. Only eleven cars were running at the finish. Second place Parnelli Jones ran out of fuel on the final lap, and pushed his car back to the pits.

Rookie Mario Andretti, who ran no lower than 6th all afternoon, came home third, and won the Rookie of the Year award. Despite rapidly becoming obsolete, two front-engined roadsters still finished in the top ten. Rookie Gordon Johncock finished 5th, and Eddie Johnson came home 10th. Johncock was locked in a duel with Al Miller in the late stages of the race.

The race was slowed by only three yellow lights for a total of 13 minutes.

Finish	Start	No	Name	Chassis	Engine	Tire	Qual	Laps	Status
1	2	82	Jim Clark	Lotus	Ford	F	160.729	200	Running
2	5	98	Parnelli Jones  W	Kuzma-Lotus	Ford	F	158.625	200	+1:59.98
3	4	12	Mario Andretti  R	Brawner	Ford	F	158.849	200	+2:05.36
4	7	74	Al Miller	Lotus	Ford	F	157.805	200	+5:34.53
5	14	76	Gordon Johncock  R	Watson	Offenhauser	F	155.012	200	+5:48.28
6	15	81	Mickey Rupp  R	Gerhardt	Offenhauser	F	154.839	198	Flagged
7	22	83	Bobby Johns  R	Lotus	Ford	F	155.481	197	Flagged
8	18	4	Don Branson	Watson	Ford	G	155.501	197	Flagged
9	32	45	Al Unser  R	Lotus	Ford	G	154.440	196	Flagged
10	28	23	Eddie Johnson	Watson	Offenhauser	F	153.998	195	Flagged
11	9	7	Lloyd Ruby	Halibrand	Ford	G	157.246	184	Blown Engine
12	12	16	Len Sutton	Vollstedt	Ford	F	156.121	177	Flagged
13	29	14	Johnny Boyd	BRP	Ford	F	155.172	140	Gearbox
14	21	53	Walt Hansgen	Huffaker	Offenhauser	F	155.662	117	Overheating
15	1	1	A. J. Foyt  W	Lotus	Ford	G	161.233	115	Gearbox
16	24	5	Bud Tingelstad	Lola	Ford	F	154.672	115	Crash T3
17	6	66	Billy Foster  R	Vollstedt	Offenhauser	G	158.416	85	Water manifold
18	19	18	Arnie Knepper  R	Kurtis Kraft	Offenhauser	F	154.513	80	Cylinder
19	8	9	Bobby Unser	Ferguson	Novi	F	157.467	69	Oil Fitting
20	13	52	Jim McElreath	Brabham	Offenhauser	F	155.878	66	Rear End
21	16	94	George Snider  R	Gerhardt	Offenhauser	F	154.825	64	Rear End
22	25	65	Ronnie Duman	Gerhardt	Offenhauser	F	154.533	62	Rear End
23	31	41	Masten Gregory  R	BRP	Ford	F	154.540	59	Oil Pressure
24	10	54	Bob Veith	Huffaker	Offenhauser	G	156.427	58	Piston
25	26	88	Chuck Stevenson	Kuzma	Offenhauser	F	154.275	50	Piston
26	3	17	Dan Gurney	Lotus	Ford	G	158.898	42	Timing Gears
27	17	48	Jerry Grant  R	Halibrand	Offenhauser	G	154.606	30	Magneto
28	30	19	Chuck Rodee	Halibrand	Offenhauser	F	154.546	28	Rear End
29	27	29	Joe Leonard  R	Halibrand	Ford	G	154.268	27	Oil Leak
30	23	25	Roger McCluskey	Halibrand	Ford	G	155.186	18	Clutch
31	11	24	Johnny Rutherford	Halibrand	Ford	G	156.291	15	Rear End
32	33	47	Bill Cheesbourg	Gerhardt	Offenhauser	G	153.774	14	Magneto
33	20	59	Jim Hurtubise	Kurtis Kraft	Novi	F	156.863	1	Transmission
Sources:[24][25][26]

 W  Former Indianapolis 500 winner

 R  Indianapolis 500 Rookie

The race was carried live on the IMS Radio Network. Sid Collins served as chief announcer for the 14th year, and 18th year overall with the crew. Fred Agabashian served as "driver expert," and Rodger Ward (who failed to qualify), joined the pre-race coverage briefly to offer commentary. The four and a half hour broadcast opened with a 30-minute pre-race segment.

The broadcast was carried by over 800 affiliates and was heard by an estimated 100 million listeners worldwide. The broadcast was carried by Armed Forces Network, as well as Radio New York Worldwide. Foreign translation rebroadcasts in Spanish, Portuguese, French, and Italian were heard in Central and South America and elsewhere.

After visiting the broadcast booth in 1964 for an interview, Donald Davidson returned, joining the crew full-time as race historian. Also new for 1965 was Ron Carrell, who reported from the backstretch. Other guests that visited the booth included Gus Grissom, Senator Birch Bayh, Assistant Postmaster General Tyler Able, Wally Parks, Peter DePaolo, J. C. Agajanian, 500 Festival Chairperson Margaret Clark and 500 Festival Queen Suzanne Devine Sams.

Absent from the crew was nine-year veteran Jack Shapiro, who died the previous summer at the age of 37.^[29]

The race was shown live on MCA closed-circuit television in approximately 180 theaters and venues across the United States. Charlie Brockman served as anchor.^[30][31]

The following weekend on June 5, the race was carried in the United States on ABC's Wide World of Sports. It was ABC's first exclusive network coverage of the Indianapolis 500 on race day. Charlie Brockman anchored the telecast, as he did during the closed-circuit broadcast. The Wide World of Sports broadcast was an edited tape of the closed-circuit broadcast, and driver Rodger Ward served as analyst. Ward sat out the 1965 race, having failed to qualify, but returned in 1966.

 

Wikimedia Commons has media related to 1965 Indianapolis 500.

• Indianapolis 500 History: Race & All-Time Stats - Official Site
• 1965 Indianapolis 500 Radio Broadcast, Indianapolis Motor Speedway Radio Network