WRFH/Radio Free Hillsdale 101.7 FM - Back to the Brickyard: The Rear-Engine Revolution

Episode Date: October 8, 2024

How the Indianapolis 500 drastically changed during the 1960s.

Welcome to Back to the Brickyard, your spot for Indianapolis 500 history here at Radio Free Hillsdale 101.7 FM. I'm Christian Papu. For the first 50 years of the Indy 500, front-engine cars dominated, winning every race. Some rear-engine cars competed in the 1930s and 40s, but none were competitive. That all changed in 1961 when Jack Brabham arrived at the speedway in a small, lightweight Cooper climax. Although he was down on power compared to his front-engine counterparts, his car had superior handling running as high as third and finishing nine, becoming the first rear-engine car to finish the 500 miles. After an uneventful 1962, 1963 was the year that rear-engined cars really began to gain

a foothold. Four out of the 33 cars were rear-engined, including the Lotus Fords of Jim Clark and Dan Gurney. Clark led 28 laps and nearly won the race, just falling short against Parnelli Jones. In 1964, 12 rear-engine cars made up the field. Two-time winner Roger Ward drove a rear-engine car to a second-place finish, but confusion over a fuel mixture valve caused poor mileage and may have cost Ward the win. Instead, A.J. Foyt would go on to be the last driver to win in a front-engine car.

Front-engine cars continued to diminish a number over the next few years. In 1965, only six front-engine cars were in the field, and just two roadsters made it to the top ten, with Gordon John Cook being the highest front-engine finisher in fifth. In 1966, only one front-engine car was in the field, crashing on the first lap and finishing 31st. After no front-engine car competed in 1967, just one competed in 1968 with Jim Herdeby's blowing an engine after nine laps and finishing 30th. In the span of a decade, front-engine cars had gone from historically dominant to completely

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