THE SHORT WAY AROUND

[Music] At the starting line, there is a three-foot strip of red bricks. Sentimental reminders of the days when this place was called the brickyard. The rest of the track is as smooth as modern roadbuilders can make it. But the half ccentury old speed challenge lies in the 90° banking of the turns. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] trying to find a short way around. Ray Harun was the first in 1911. His winning speed was 75 mph. Through the years, the speeds climbed higher until Peter Depollo broke the 100 mph barrier in 1925. I found the short way around here. When I won the race in 1925, yes, my winning race was 40 years ago this year. And I may look a little different than I do in my picture in the museum, but oh, it's a grand feeling to come back and watch the boys roar around. And I only wish for their safety at all times. Sometimes a man has to search a long time for success. That's the way it was for Sam Hanks. I won this race in 1957. It took me 12 long years to learn the short way around. I retired and with the speeds they're running today, I'm glad I did. Another veteran looks back on 14 races and pers the future. Roger Ward, a national champion and two-time winner of the 500. I first found the short way around in 1959 and then again in 1962. As a matter of fact, we've had six exceptionally good years. However, this year we've had a tremendous amount of trouble and that short way around is elusive. I haven't as yet found it. We're still looking. >> When a race driver comes to Indianapolis, he must have demonstrated his skill on other tracks, but he is still on probation until he has passed successfully a series of driving tests. Mario Andredy experiences that once-in-a-lifetime great moment, the removal of the rookie stripes from the tail of his car. >> I've been dreaming about coming to this place since I was 13 years old back in Italy. That's when I started racing and uh well, now I'm here and it certainly is a realization of a dream and I'm qualified. Now, come race day, I'll be looking for the short way around. [Music] Time to go racing. It's the 1st of May and time to begin that annual search for the short way around. [Music] [Music] Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] [Music] On opening day, Sam Hanks renews his friendship with the race car in which he and Jimmy Bryan won the 500 in successive years. Speedway owner Tony Hullman hands the track over to Chief Steward Harlon Fangler, and Len Sutton is first out on the track. But the color of opening day soon gives way to the serious business of getting ready to run a Speed Classic, which has no equal. Rookie drivers like New School Boys are put through their paces under the watchful eyes of officials, mechanics, and other drivers. There's room here for only the best for those who drive this track at 160 mph ride the fine thin line of disaster. [Music] Speeds climb to new records. But in these early days of practice, Parnelli Jones still has time to make the decision on what kind of car he will drive. The majority of the contestants have changed to rear engine cars. So has Parnelli Jones. But back in Gasoline Alley, last year's Bose Seal Fast front engine roadster waits just in case. The trend toward faster rear engine cars has accentuated the need for fast, dependable pit stops. Bose SealFast, makers of the famous 500 line of car care products, supplies a variety of essential safety and performance aids, particularly Bose extra heavyduty brake fluid and Bose radiator stop leak. These essential items were first tested and proven in 500 competition and are used with confidence by race drivers and the motoring public. Brake fluid that is chemically compounded to hold up under extreme heat and cold conditions. Bose brake fluid, the dependable product with a built-in safe stop. Road vibration and adverse weather conditions bring radiator problems. Bose's radiator stop leak fills the needs of race driver and motorists alike. The essential cooling system and engine is protected by an application that takes only a moment at times when speed is essential to the motorist in a hurry or to the race driver anxious to get back into competition. Bose Sealast products trusted and used by the man who stands with his foot on the wall, the racing mechanic. [Music] But the key to speed is sometimes elusive. Roger Ward and AJ Watson have a problem. A sick engine and a car that will not handle. Andy Granitelli listens for the song of the Novi engine, but the music ends abruptly in turn one. [Music] The dream of winning is a little farther out of reach for Bobby Uner. The problems on Ward's car are dealt with in Gasoline Alley. Leader car team mechanics search for mechanical perfection. And Roger Ward waits. Parnelli Jones has found the right combination. So has Mario Andredy. And AJ Po is running as though he'd never had a problem. Bobby Novi is back on the track again. and he continues his search for the short way around. [Applause] Abro spins and with no place to go, Uner hits them square on. Both drivers are okay, but scratched two cars from the 500. Jim Herabies hits the wall on turn four. The car flies apart from the bonejarring impact, but Herbies is only shaken up. [Music] Roger Ward sits on the pit wall as AJ Watson still tries to solve the riddle of the missing speed combination. It's qualifying day and 1963 500 winner Parnelli Jones is ready. [Music] [Applause] Four expertly driven laps give him an average of 158.625. [Music] Car owner JC Agajanian runs to congratulate him. Carnelli has his spot for the race. Veteran drivers and rookies alike get their qualifying instruction from Harlon Fangler. Mario and Drey listens, then wheels onto the track. [Music] His effortless performance amazes the fans. Seldom has a rookie made himself so much at home on this track. With one high lap of 159 mph, Andreddy's average speed of 158.849 is a new track record. And for the moment at least, he holds the pole position. But Jim Clark also has his eye on the pole. He won it last year, but went out during the race with collapsed suspension. [Music] All four laps are in the 160 plus mileph bracket. His average speed of 160.729 mph is another new Indianapolis qualifying record. And it looks like Clark will repeat his performance of last year. [Music] But the day is not over yet. Two-time winner AJ Fo is on the track and running. He takes the checkered flag and the speed is another new qualifying record of 161.233. 233 miles per hour. [Music] Mechanic George Mcnotty shares the honors with AJ for a job well done. Track conditions are bad on Sunday. Don Branson makes the field as his grandson watches from the stands, but teammate Ward's car is pushed back to Gasoline Alley with others to wait for the second week and a new chance. Now the search for the short way around intensifies. There are just 12 starting positions left and twice that many hopefuls. Parnelli Jones makes a check run at high speed. Suddenly he's in trouble. [Music] [Applause] The irony of it all. To have a place already assured in the 500 and a damaged car almost beyond help. His crew must work long hours to repair the damage before race day. Further up Gasoline Alley, another race driver's hopes and dreams are represented by a pile of junk. [Music] But on the second weekend of qualifying, the powerful song of the Novi engine is heard. Jim Herabies has away with these temperamental cars and he makes the field with a speed just under 157 mph. [Music] It seems that the harder he tries, the worse it gets. Roger Ward points out in a very direct way that his car won't handle, and there's only one more day to go. In the stands, the mother of the racing Uner family looks down on her famous brood. Rookie Aluner is qualified. So is Bobby. Louie turns the wrenches and dad offers advice. [Music] Just a few minutes before the end of qualification, Roger Ward takes his last chance. His crew has worked all night to repair the damage and his attempt is tinged with desperation. The heart of the crowd goes out to him as he tries to coax more speed from his jinxed racer. The flag falls and Ward pulls in. The officials get the time. 153.623 mph. Not good enough. Stunned. Roger Ward sits in his car. He can't believe what's happened. Bill Cheeseburg, the slowest qualifier, happily welcomes the 6:00 gun. Qualifications for 1965 are over and a champion walks away. bring you the marching band from Purdue University. [Music] [Music] A moment to plan, to fasten a collar, to try on a new pair of goggles, to listen to the advice of the mechanic, and then the time is all gone. The moment for which they have been preparing is here, and for the next 500 miles, each man will ride alone, doing the thing he knows best, driving a precision racing machine to win. [Applause] I pray [Music] [Music] 33 cars altogether. together. On the surface, one pace lap looks like another, but close examination shows that the face of the 500 is changing. Only four of the starters are roadsters. Two are Novvis. The rest are rear engine cars. >> Here comes the field. >> As the pace car pulls into the pits, Jim Clark moves ahead of Fo and pulls into the lead. [Music] Nervous drivers begin to settle down into driving patterns which each individual man hopes will bring him into victory lane. [Music] [Applause] [Music] But Jim Herdz's dream of finding the short way around ends after the first lap. His transmission is out. [Music] Clark continues his lead, but coming out of the backstretch, AJ Po passes and moves to the front. F tries to press his advantage, but Clark hangs on, determined to reclaim his lead. [Music] Clark recaptures the lead in the third lap. Point goes to second. [Music] Floyd Ruby spins in the north short shoot, recovers in the infield and drives on. Right behind him, Len Sutton loses control and spins in the identical spot, recovers and follows Ruby back into the race. [Music] From the 18th to the 42nd lap, five cars drop from the field. Then Dan Gurnie is out with clutch trouble. A month of work gone. [Music] Clark continues to widen the gap and AJ Foy has to stop thinking about being first before Parnelli Jones engages him in a duel which completely takes his mind off the front running Clark. [Music] Clark gets the fuel sign and pulls in on the 67th lap. [Music] The pit stop takes 21 seconds. Very short considering that under a new ruling, fuel may be added by gravity flow tanks only. [Music] Floyd has the lead, but must soon make a pit stop. He tries to build up space between himself and Clark. Rookie Mario Andradi in the pits on the 68th lap desperately tries to get back to the race. He's been running fourth and is holding his own, matching the 150 mph speed average set by the leaders. [Music] In the 75th lap, AJ point comes in. Another new ruling this year provides for two mandatory pit stops during the race. This does away with the dangerous practice of drivers carrying excessive fuel loads in an attempt to go the distance without stopping. Clark comes down the straightaway and moves back into the lead. [Music] Vo comes out of the pits and takes up his position, but he's now following Jim Clark. Fernelli Jones and Mario and Drey are right behind him. Bobby Uner goes out with engine failure. Both novis are out of the race. At the halfway point, Clark leads. Point hold second. [Music] But 15 laps later, Floyd pulls abruptly into the pits. His transmission has failed and he's disgusted. This 1965 500 could have given him his third win, a record attained by only three men. Louis Meyer, Mari Rose, and Wilbur Shaw. Clark gets the word that FO is out. Some of the pressure is gone, but there is still Parnelli Jones to be reckoned with. In the 119th lap, Bud Tinglest is running fifth behind Andred. He loses a wheel and crashes the wall in turn three. The wheel rolls into the infield. The caution light is on and the race is slow. Tinglest joins a growing list of 18 drivers who have gone out of the race. Taking advantage of the yellow flag, Parnelli Jones makes his second pit stop. The engine coughs and almost dies, but springs to life as a relieved crew cheers him back into second position. [Music] The race roars on at 150 mph average. The record book is being rewritten in this fastest 500. Clark powers into the pits on the 137th lap. His stop is fast and smooth because Clark's mechanic, Dave Lazenby, like other top racing experts, uses Bose's extra heavy duty brake fluid. Clark has a two-minute edge on Parnelli Jones. A comfortable margin, but there's still more than 60 laps left in the race. Walt Hanskin drives through the north infield with a blown engine. Now 20 of 33 starters are out of the race. On his 138th lap, Mario and makes a second stop. He's in third place. Vicky Ruff is fourth. Al Miller is fifth. Lloyd Ruby is sixth. And Gordon Johncock is seventh. Three rookies and four veterans dominate the field. 28 seconds later, he's out of the pits, set to go the distance. At 150 laps, the speed average is 151.138 mph. A new record for this changing 500. Carnelli Jones makes a third pit stop in the 161st lap. The crew really gets with it for Andre is coming up fast from third position. [Music] [Laughter] 27 seconds puts him back in the battle, but the elusive Clark is far ahead. [Music] Carrying a light fuel load, Parnelli gamles on having enough to go the distance. This eliminates an allout bid to catch Clark, who is 2 minutes ahead. Coming down to the end of the race, it's Clark, Jones, and Andredy running together, but traveling in different laps. [Music] There he is. Still holding his record-breaking pace, Jimmy Clark crosses the finish line to become victor of the 1965 Indianapolis 500. >> A tremendous victory today coming out of the number four turn. >> Carnelli Jones finishes a clean second and runs out of fuel. He heads for home, pushing the carictory lane. >> And Jimmy Clark heads for victory lane. And the winner's prize of more than $160,000. The fate of the front engine roadster is settled. The rear engine cars have completely revolutionized the racing picture since their introduction just 5 years ago. Jimmy Clark of Scotland becomes the first foreign driver to win since 1916 and is the ninth consecutive Indianapolis winner to depend on Bose's extra heavy duty brake fluid. >> Here we go. >> Colon Chapman, car owner and crew chief Dave Blazenby are overjoyed. And Clark, he was already a world champion, but winning the 500, that's real special. Just for the record, Parnelli Jones made it back to the pits with lots of help. In a way, everybody won. It was a safe race without injuries and a race which gave car designers a clear-cut picture of the future. But the big surprise story of the 1965 Indianapolis 500 lies with four rookie drivers who finished in the top 10. nice kids who started a race and three hours and 19 minutes later climbed out of their cars as veteran race drivers, successful in their search for the short way around. [Music]