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

Episode Date: February 13, 2024

In this episode, we go back to 1961 and the start of the rear engine revolution at Indianapolis.

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 1961 Indianapolis 500 represented the 50th anniversary of the race and a time of great change as rookie Jack Brabham brought his revolutionary rear-engine Cooper Climax to the track. This car was smaller and lighter than the traditional front-engine Offenhauser-powered roadsters all his competitors were using. His car made up for slower, straight-term. line speed with superior cornering ability. Eddie Sachs won the pole with an average speed of

147.481 miles per hour and was joined on the front row by Don Branson and Jim Herdeby's. The first half of the race was a battle between Herdeby's, Sacks, A.J. Foyt, and rookie Parnelly Jones. In the second half, the field had narrowed to a Sacks versus Foyt duel, with Foyt leading 56 to the final 100 laps and Sacks leading 37. Due to a fueling meld, fueling malfunction on his previous stop, Foyt was forced to pit for more fuel on lap 184, surrendering the lead to Sacks. It appeared Sacks would win, but the miles of hard racing had badly worn his right rear tire. Rather than attempting to nurse his car to the finish, Sacks played it safe and pitted

on lap 197, giving the lead to Foyt, who would win his first Indianapolis 500 by eight seconds. Grab him, down on horsepower and his cooper, finished a distant ninth, second to last of the cars that completed the race. The innovations displayed by his car, however, would greatly impact the future of the race. Traditional front-engine roadsters that dominated the 1961 Indianapolis 500 would be obsolete in a few short years. You have been listening to Radio Free Hillsdale 101.7 FM. I'm Christian Papiol, and I'll catch you the next time we go back to the brickyard.