|
The 50th International 500-Mile Sweepstakes was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Monday, May 30, 1966. The official program cover for the race celebrated both the 50th running of the race, and sesquicentennial (150th anniversary) of Indiana statehood. Eleven of the 33 starters were eliminated in a first-lap accident right after receiving the green flag on the main stretch. Only A. J. Foyt was injured, hurting his hand scaling the catch fence trying to escape the wreck scene. Only seven cars, the fewest finishers ever, were still running by the end of the race. First-time starter Jackie Stewart led by over a lap late in the race in John Mecom's Lola T90-Ford.〔Kettlewell, p. 2192.〕 However, inside ten laps to go, his oil pressure dropped too low due to a broken scavenge pump. Stewart parked the car, and walked back to the pits. Fellow rookie Graham Hill inherited the lead and led a total of 10 laps to win, the first rookie winner since 1927. Despite parking the car, Stewart was voted the rookie of the year over Hill. Defending race winner Jim Clark spun twice during the race, and finished second. For the second year in a row, the Wood Brothers from the NASCAR Grand National circuit were invited to work pit stops, this time for Dan Gurney. However, the car dropped out of the race in the crash on the opening lap.〔''The Talk of Gasoline Alley'' - 1070-AM WIBC, August 6, 2005〕 ==Practice and Time trials== Three-year veteran Johnny Rutherford was injured in a serious crash on April 3 at Eldora, and was forced to sit out the 1966 race.〔()〕 Practice for the "Golden Anniversary 500" opened on Saturday April 30, but cold temperatures and rainy weather for the first few days kept most cars off the track. Chuck Hulse (149.8 mph) was the fastest car over the first weekend.〔(Indianapolis Gets Off To Slow Start )〕 On Monday May 2, Art Pollard became the first rookie to pass the 145 mph rookie test.〔(Pollard Passes Rookie Test At 500 Track )〕 Jackie Stewart also passed his rookie test. On Tuesday May 10, Mario Andretti turned a practice lap of 164.5 mph during practice, establishing himself as an early favorite for the pole position.〔 Among the others over the 160 mph mark were A. J. Foyt, George Snider, and Dan Gurney. Rain washed out practice on Wednesday May 11.〔(Rain Curtails Indy Practice )〕 On Friday May 13, the final day of practice before time trials, Mario Andretti shattered the unofficial track record by more than 5 mph, running a lap of 167.411 mph. Rain hampered most of the day, but Andretti put together additional laps of 166 mph, and 164 mph. The next-fastest car was Jim Clark, whose best lap was 165.7 mph.〔(Andretti Solid Choice To Win Indy Pole Slot )〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「1966 Indianapolis 500」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|