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The 53rd International 500 Mile Sweepstakes was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Friday, May 30, 1969. Mario Andretti led 116 laps and won for car owner Andy Granatelli. Hard luck driver Lloyd Ruby was leading the race just after the midpoint, but during a pit stop, pulled away with the fueling hose still attached. He ripped a hole in the fuel tank, and was out of the race. The incident put Mario Andretti in the lead for rest of the way. Polesitter A. J. Foyt led the race in the early stages, looking to become the first four-time winner of the 500. Near the halfway point, however, a lengthy pit stop to repair a broken manifold put him many laps down.〔2001 Indianapolis Record Book - Indianapolis Star/News〕 Despite a hard-charging run towards the end, he wound up managing only an eighth place finish, 19 laps down. For 1969 not a single front-engined car managed to qualify for the race, and ultimately, one would never do so again. All 33 cars in the field were rear-engined, piston-powered, machines. After the historic failures of the controversial STP Granatelli Turbine machines in 1967 and 1968, USAC imposed additional restrictions that effectively rendered them uncompetitive. The annulus inlet was further reduced from 15.999 in² to 11.999 in², and the Granatelli team parked them forever. After five drivers were killed at the Speedway in the decade of the 1960s, the month of May 1969 was run relatively clean, with no major injuries. The only injuries for the month were during two practice crashes. Mario Andretti suffered burns to his face, and Sammy Sessions, who suffered a fractured knee cap. Al Unser, Sr. actually suffered the most serious injury of the month, when he crashed his personal motorcycle in the infield. He suffered a broken leg the night before time trials was to begin, and had to sit out the race. Bud Tingelstad served as his replacement in the Vel's Parnelli Jones Racing entry. The car in which Andretti won the 1969 Indy 500 is owned by the Smithsonian, while a replica made from the original blueprints sits on display at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame Museum. ==Race schedule== * activity was significantly limited due to rain |} |} 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「1969 Indianapolis 500」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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