The 57th 500 Mile International Sweepstakes was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana, on Wednesday, May 30, 1973. The race was held over three days because of rain and two major accidents. Three competitors—two drivers and one pit crew member—died from injuries suffered as a result of accidents that occurred during the month. Another driver was critically injured, and over a dozen spectators suffered injuries and/or burns. After 133 of 200 laps were completed (), rain halted the race, and Gordon Johncock was declared the winner, the first of his two Indy triumphs (1973, 1982).
Going into the month, the mood was bright and excitement was high for record speeds. Competitors, media, and fans were eagerly anticipating the possibility of breaking the elusive and daunting barrier during time trials. The month took a tragic turn, however, when driver Art Pollard died in a crash during a practice session on the morning of May 12. Later that same day, Johnny Rutherford set a new track record during time trials. His best lap of fell just short of breaking the highly sought-after speed barrier. Despite Rutherford's headlines on pole day, the mood meanwhile around the garage area was becoming anxious and uncertain. Fears were growing about rising speeds and safety. Inclement weather was also interfering with the scheduled on-track activity.
The race was scheduled for Monday May 28, but was aborted by a red flag because of a major accident collecting multiple cars at the start. Driver David "Salt" Walther was critically injured and numerous spectators in the track boxes and first few rows of the Paddock grandstands suffered burns from a fireball resulting from the accident. Multiple spectators required hospitalization, and some were left in critical condition; with the blast of heat felt as much as 100 yards away. Two vertical stanchions of the outside catchfence were broken, and a lengthy segment of the fence needed to be repaired before any racing could resume. Before the repairs could be completed, rain began to fall, and washed out the rest of the day. Rain also washed out any chance to hold the race on Tuesday May 29. Only a fraction of the typical Indy crowd arrived to watch the race by the time it was run on Wednesday May 30; and in fact since schools were closed in Speedway and within a few miles around west Indianapolis due to traffic, many hundreds of schoolkids and parents were bused in to fill the grandstands for free.
The race on Wednesday suffered two separate fatal accidents. On lap 59, driver David "Swede" Savage suffered a violent and fiery crash coming out of turn four. Savage died from complications of his injuries on July 2. The second fatality involved Armando Teran, a pit crew member for Graham McRae (a teammate to Savage). In the aftermath of Savage's crash, Teran stepped out into the pit lane and was struck by a safety truck going in the opposite direction. Owing to the tragic circumstances, relentless weather problems, rain-shortened finish, and overall glum mood during the month, the 1973 race is widely considered the worst year for the running of the Indianapolis 500. In contemporary accounts, the race had been called "jinxed" by Dan Gurney, Chris Economaki, and Jim McKay.Indy 1973 ABC News Report Statistically, it was the track's deadliest month of May since 1937.
National media opinions, as well as those from team owners and crew, were highly critical in the aftermath of the race, focusing mainly on inadequate safety measures. The circumstances led to sweeping rule changes by USAC, some made effective for the Schaefer 500 at Pocono Raceway four weeks later. Numerous safety improvements were made to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway track itself that were completed for 1974.
Off the track, the Speedway had completed construction of its first VIP Suites outside of turn two. Following in the footsteps of Ontario Motor Speedway, Indianapolis became the second major racing facility to feature luxury boxes.
Race schedule In 1971, the Uniform Monday Holiday Act took effect, moving Memorial Day from the fixed date of May 30 to the final Monday in May. For 1971 and 1972, the race was held on the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend. The Speedway still maintained a policy of not holding the race on a Sunday, and for 1973, the race was scheduled for the Monday Memorial Day holiday itself (May 28). The change was made after requests from spectators, many complaining that it was inconvenient to the many people who had to work on Saturdays.
The 500 Festival Committee had a desire to move their annual parade downtown to either Saturday or Sunday afternoon. Since its inception in 1957, in most years the parade was held at night during the week. For 1973, the parade was held Sunday afternoon, shortly after the public driver's meeting, and the race was scheduled for Monday. This schedule would stay in place for only one year. A decision was made that starting in 1974, the race would permanently move to Sunday.This was mentioned during the IMS Radio Network Broadcast; and was not a response to the tragic circumstances of the 1973 race.
Race schedule — April/May 1973SunMonTueWedThuFriSat22 23 24 25 26 27 28Practice29Practice30Practice 1Practice 2Practice 3Practice 4Practice 5Practice 6Practice 7Practice 8Practice 9Practice10Practice11Practice12Pole Day13Time Trials14Practice15Practice16Practice17Practice18Practice19Time Trials20Bump Day21 22 23 24Carb Day25 26 27MeetingParade28Indy 50011:00 a.m.29Indy 5009:00 a.m.30Indy 5009:00 a.m.31 Color Notes Green Practice Dark Blue Time trials Silver Race day Red Rained out* Blank No track activity * Includes days where trackactivity was significantlylimited due to rain
Practice and time trials
Practice Just one year prior, USAC began allowing bolt-on wings. The increased downforce increased lap speeds nearly in just three years. The dramatic rise went from in 1970, to flirting with the barrier for 1973. During Goodyear tire tests in late March, Gordon Johncock set an unofficial track record of .1973 Daily Trackside Report - #4, 5/1/73 Experts and officials agree that the safety features in the cars were not prepared for the speeds attained. In addition, engine development with the turbocharged version of the venerable I-4 Offenhauser had resulted in horsepower readings in high-boost qualifying trim in excess of . According to Mario Andretti, this was sufficient to induce rear wheelspin on the "short chutes" between turns 1 and 2 and turns 3 and 4—an unnerving sensation for even the bravest, most skilled and experienced of drivers.
The track opened on Saturday April 28 with Gary Bettenhausen earning the honor of first driver on the track. Rain and winds plagued practice during the first week, while drivers started creeping up the speed chart. On Monday April 30, chief steward Harlan Fengler lifted the speed limit and speeds climbed quickly. Gordon Johncock set an unofficial lap of over to set the early pace. Johnny Rutherford was another member of the "190 mph club" with several laps in the mid-190 mph range. On May 5, Swede Savage upped the speed chart to , inching closer to the elusive mark.
On Sunday May 6, three drivers left the grounds to race in the NASCAR Winston 500 at Talladega. A huge crash, described as the worst crash in the history of NASCAR, put Bobby Allison and Gordon Johncock out of that race. Dick Simon, however, escaped the incident, with Simon coming home 7th. All three returned to qualify at Indy.
Rain and high winds kept speeds down in the second week of practice. Mario Andretti turned a lap of on Thursday May 10. The final day of practice before pole day was Friday May 11. From April 28 – May 11, there were only three accidents reported in practice that involved wall contact, none of which caused serious injuries.
By the eve of pole day, no drivers had eclipsed the barrier according to published reports, but conditions were favorable for pole day, and anticipation was high.
Pole Day – Saturday May 12 – Death of Art Pollard
Pole day dawned sunny with high temperatures in the . Brief showers caused officials to turn on the yellow light a few times during the day, but they did not significantly affect the proceedings. An enormous crowd estimated at 250,000 arrived, anticipating the first ever 200 mph lap at Indy. Practice opened promptly at 9:00 a.m., but was quickly marred by the crash of Art Pollard. At 9:37 a.m., Pollard hit the outside wall in turn 1, spun to the inside, then flipped over, coming to a rest in turn two with flames and heavy damage. Pollard's injuries were reported to include pulmonary damage due to flame inhalation, third degree burns on both hands, face and neck, a fractured right arm, a fractured leg, and a severe spinal injury. He was pronounced dead at Methodist Hospital one hour and three minutes after the crash.
Despite the crash, time trials began on time at 11 a.m. Peter Revson was the first driver in the field, with a fast run of . The next car out, Gary Bettenhausen, upped the mark to , just short of the existing track record.
At 12:29 p.m., Swede Savage took to the track, and was the first to set records. His first lap of set a one-lap record, and his four-lap speed of was also a record. The result put him tentatively on the pole.
At 1:37 p.m., Johnny Rutherford took to the track, and electrified the crowd into a frenzy. His third lap of was just 0.21 seconds shy of the elusive barrier. his four-lap average of secured the pole position. Lap 1 – 45.30 seconds, (new 1-lap track record) Lap 2 – 45.49 seconds, Lap 3 – 45.21 seconds, (new 1-lap track record) Lap 4 – 45.44 seconds, Total – 3:01.44, (new 4-lap track record)
Defending race winner Mark Donohue squeezed onto the front row with a run of . In the final hour, Bobby Unser was the last driver of the day with a shot at history. He came close to Rutherford, but his four-lap average of was good enough only for second starting position.
At the end of the day, the field was filled to 24 cars. A. J. Foyt () and Sam Posey () were the two slowest. Foyt, who was over during the week, waved off once, and had to settle for a slow run.
Second day – Sunday May 13 A fairly busy second day of time trials saw six cars added to the field without incident. John Martin () was the fastest of the day. Posey and Foyt were still the two slowest cars in the field.
Third Day – Saturday May 19 Rain kept cars off the track for most of the day. Lightning, hail, and a tornado warning, emptied the grandstands at 3 p.m. In the final ten minutes, two cars (Tom Bigelow and Sammy Sessions) made it out on the track for qualifying attempts, but neither were successful. Bigelow spun on his warm up lap, and Sessions waved off.
Bump Day – Sunday May 20 With three spots left open in the field, the final day of time trials was expected to be busy, but saw only moderate action. Sammy Sessions was the first car out, and completed his run, slightly slower than his run a day earlier. After a down period in the mid-afternoon, the field was filled to 33 cars at 5:37 p.m. Tom Bigelow was on the bubble.
With 15 minutes left in the day. Jim McElreath bumped out Tom Bigelow. Sam Posey was now on the bubble. Next out was Jim Hurtubise, but he was too slow. With one minute left before the 6 o'clock gun, George Snider got in a Foyt backup car. A fast run of bumped Posey, and the field was set.
Starting grid