WRFH/Radio Free Hillsdale 101.7 FM - Back to the Brickyard: 1981

Episode Date: January 8, 2025

The story of one of the most controversial races in Indy 500 history.

Welcome to Back to the Brickyard, your spot for Indianapolis 500 history here at Radio Free Hillsdale 101.7 FM. I'm Christian Papillon. The 1981 Indy 500 was won overshadowed by the controversy surrounding two drivers, Mario Andretti and Bobby Unser. Unser took the pole with a qualification speed of 200.546 miles per hour and led the first 21 laps. The lead shuffled in the first half of the race between Unser, Johnny Rutherford, Tom Seneva, at Gordon Johncock. The moment of controversy happened on lap 149. During a caution period, both drivers pulled into the pits. Upon exiting, Unser passed several cars before blending into the rest of the field. After Unser won the race by five seconds over Andretti, the

Andretti team filed a protest saying that Unser had committed a rules infraction. The next day, the standings were reversed, giving Andretti the win and relegating Unser to second place. Andretti participated in the victory photo shoot that day. Unser's team filed a counter protest, complaining that the penalty should have been applied at the moment of infraction rather than after the race. They said that Unser would have been able to make up the time on track had the penalty been applied that way. The battle raged on for months until finally on October 9th, 1981, an appeals board voted 2 to 1 to reinstate Unser as the winner of the 1981 Indy 500. The controversy soured the friendship between Unser and Andretti. Up to Unser's death in 2021, both drivers insisted that they were the rightful winner of the race.

You have been listening to Radio Free Hillsdale 101.7 FM. I'm Christian Papillon, and I'll catch you the next time we go back to the brickyard.