My First Track Visit to the Indianapolis 500 Track 1966 Qualifying Pole Day

Saturday 14 May 1966, I was 9 years old and this is my first of many trips to the famed Brickyard. I had listened to the race prior to this trip on the radio with my dad and can remember seeing the Sachs McDonald crash on the news that night in 1964, but when we got out of the car and I saw this huge facility and heard my first Indycar come out of the pits and in to turn 1 I was hooked.

[I took my granddaughter to time trials in 2014 and had the same experience as we got out of the truck just as a car came through turn 1 and her eyes got great big and she yelled what was that, I just replied back "welcome to Indy that was a race car and if you think that was loud wait until get inside".] 

We did and would always sit in turn 1 during time trials. A lot of action would happen there that day and into future years. It was a cloudy cool day and we were seeing the transition from front engine roadsters to the rear engine machines of today.

A.J. Foyt lost control in the short chute and hit the wall just before turn 2. I can remember A.J. getting out of the car car and stuffing his gloves into his helmet. I could tell he was not happy.


And then during the warm-up of his qualification attempt driver Chuck Rodee lost control in turn 1 and hit the wall right in front of us. I can remember that he did not move in the cockpit after coming to a stop. We were sitting in the 3rd row and could see everything during and after the accident. This was my first accident I ever saw in person and can remember all the emergency trucks and people coming around the car. Chuck died during that accident of a ruptured aorta.

Mario Andretti won the pole that day with a four-lap track record of 165.889 mph and I got to see one of my to be favorite drivers Scotland's own Jim Clark who had won the race in 1965. I would become a huge fan of his until his death in 1968. I then favored Mark Donahue who would win in 1972. 

Graham Hill won the race that year and I watched the Victory dinner on television and remembered his funny sayings during the dinner.

Until next time.