1963 Indianapolis 500

Did You Know?

• NASCAR driver Junior Johnson practiced but did not qualify.
• Curtis Turner passed a rookie test but crashed in practice.
• The Lotus-Ford machines of Jim Clark and Dan Gurney were the last two cars to race in the Indy 500 using carburetors (Weber); all other cars in the field and since have used fuel injection.

Time trials

Time trials were scheduled for four days. On Saturday, May 18 (Pole Day), a large crowd anticipated speeds above 152 mph, but windy conditions kept times down. Dan Gurney's practice crash forced him to qualify and race the team's spare car. Parnelli Jones qualified third, setting a track record of 151.153 mph with a one-lap record of 151.847 mph, securing the pole.

Jim Hurtubise and Don Branson filled the front row with runs over 150 mph. Jim Clark qualified fifth fastest. Seven cars qualified that day. Sunday, May 19 saw better conditions.

Jack Turner suffered third-degree burns in a practice crash and announced his retirement. A. J. Foyt set the pace at 150.615 mph; Dan Gurney, Eddie Sachs, and Paul Goldsmith also qualified. Duane Carter and Masten Gregory qualified Mickey Thompson's "rollerskate" cars, and Pedro Rodriguez was slowest. Eighteen cars qualified, five over 150 mph.

Saturday, May 25 was busy, with 31 cars in line. Rookie Bobby Unser qualified fastest of the day. Lloyd Ruby, Jim Rathmann, Dick Rathmann, and Len Sutton also qualified. Bud Tingelstad filled the field to 33 cars; Johnny Rutherford bumped Pedro Rodriguez, and Bob Christie bumped Chuck Rodee.

Race details

Parnelli Jones led from the pole at the start. Jim Hurtubise passed him on the backstretch to lead lap 1, but Jones retook the lead on lap 2. On lap 3, Bobby Unser spun and crashed in turn one to avoid Dick Rathmann; the yellow flag stayed out nearly ten minutes for a gasoline spill. Jones led when the green returned on lap 10 and built a large lead.

Hurtubise held second until lap 40, when Roger McCluskey and Bobby Marshman passed him. On lap 46, a yellow came out for Bud Tingelstad's crash in turn two and Allen Crowe losing a wheel in turn one. Under caution on lap 50, Jim McElreath and Bobby Marshman spun in the pit area without contact. Jones made his first pit stop on lap 62.

Jim Clark and Dan Gurney, in rear-engined Lotus-Fords, moved to the front, planning one pit stop versus two or three for the front-engined roadsters. Clark took the lead on lap 68. Jones, despite having pitted, ran third, about 18 seconds behind. The rear-engined cars handled better in corners, but the front-engined roadsters had higher top speed on the straights.

Broadcasting

The IMS Radio Network carried the race live, with Sid Collins as chief announcer and Fred Agabashian as driver expert. Lou Palmer moved from turn three to the pit area, replacing John Peterson, and took over the winner's interview in victory lane. Mike Ahern returned to the broadcast in turn three. This was the last year for Charlie Brockman as statistician and Bernie Herman on the backstretch. The radio affiliate count topped 700 stations worldwide. ABC's "Wide World Of Sports" telecast a few minutes of race highlights for the third year.