The recently established one- and four-lap qualifying records by pole sitter Eddie Sachs (147.251 mph and 146.952 mph) are obliterated on the final qualifying day by a rookie. Literally "dirt-tracking" his car through the corners, 26-year-old Jim Hurtubise comes within an "eye blink" of the first 150-mph lap on his third circuit, when he turns 149.601 mph. A slight bobble on the final lap drops his speed slightly, but the four-lap average of 149.056 mph has the place in an uproar.
1960: THE GREATEST TWO-MAN BATTLE EVER
Jim Rathmann and defending winner Rodger Ward engage in the greatest sustained two-man battle the race has ever seen. There are a record 29 lead changes, of which 14 are between these two alone during the entire second half. They are never any more than a few feet apart from each other and constantly swapping the lead until a handful of laps from the end, when Ward sees the white cords beginning to show through on his right front tire. Rather than pit, the cagey veteran slows down and nurses his car home to second. Rathmann, already a three-time runner-up, finally wins and raises the 500-Mile Race record to 138.767 mph.
1961: FOYT/SACHS CLASSIC
Another closely contested event sees the lead swapped 20 times among seven drivers. After the third (and presumably final) pit stop, Eddie Sachs is confounded by the fact that A.J. Foyt, with whom he has thus far been evenly matched, is now able to pull away. Unknown to either driver, Foyt's refuelling mechanism has malfunctioned on the recent stop, and he has received no fuel. Running "light," he is able to pull away. Only 16 laps from the end, Foyt comes in for an emergency "splash-and-go" and Sachs finds himself with a 30-second lead. But the effort to try and keep up has placed undue wear on his tires, and with only three laps remaining, Sachs comes in to change the right rear. He takes the chequered flag 8.28 seconds after the 26-year-old Foyt has scored his first of four victories.
1962: PARNELLI BREAKS 150
With the final remaining few hundred yards of bricks on the main straight now covered over with asphalt, Parnelli Jones becomes the first driver to lap in excess of 150 mph. He does it on all four of his qualifying laps, the first being the fastest at 150.729 mph.
1963: SPECTACULAR OPENING LAP
The popular Novi racing cars have not been in the line-up for five years. Now owned by Andy Granatelli, history is made when three Novis are qualified for the first time, Jim Hurtubise starting second. The supercharger is slow to respond at the green flag and he falls to seventh going into the first turn. Coming out of the fourth turn on Lap 1, Hurtubise has moved all the way back up to second behind pole sitter Parnelli Jones, his close friend. The crowd rises to its feet when Hurtubise pulls to the inside, unleashes the power of the Novi and roars past Parnelli to lead Lap 1. The next time around, Parnelli is leading again, but here comes "Herk!" He pulls exactly the same manoeuvre and passes Parnelli once more, but this time not until after crossing the start/finish line. Parnelli regains command soon after, and Jim will eventually drop out. But fans will never forget those opening laps.
1965: NEW LOOK IN VICTORY LANE: ENGINE BEHIND THE DRIVER
Scotland's
Jim Clark leads 190 of the 200 laps in a Ford-powered Lotus and becomes the first driver to win in a rear-engine car. His average speed of 150.686 mph for 500 miles is faster than the Parnelli Jones pole speed of just three years earlier.
1966: THE "WEE SCOT" ALMOST WINS
With a healthy lead, Scottish rookie
Jackie Stewart appears to have the race won when he slows to a halt at the north end of the track with only nine laps remaining. Under the mistaken impression that he can still be classed as a finisher by pushing his car across the line (as is the rule in Europe at the time), he climbs out and begins the task.
