Brought back lots of memories from being there 50 years ago... Mark Donohue was my favorite driver and was thrilled when he passed Leonard for the lead.
That winning Sunoco McLaren M16 was a machine of beauty, where its streamlined design was something to behold; of all the Indy/Champ cars I'm familiar with, it is my favorite.
Those in the know about NASCAR back then, will note the Donnie Allison name in this field. Since the Daytona Firecracker 400 held on July 4th back in that era, Donnie competed in that race the following day, where he held the pole position, to finish 5th.
I recall when this race was televised on the same day by an independent network, where I'm certain it was not live. I heard the results on the radio, then an hour or so later, watched it on TV.
Absolutely! The Great Roger Ward was extremely influential in the design of the Pocono Speedway. Old interview tapes of Doc Mattioli says the same thing. He was an Indy Car fan from the Get-Go.
@@IanTheMotorsportsMan_YT Maybe an upgrade to the catch fence (ala, Robert Wickens). But that can be said about many American Ovals. With the drivers safely "cocooned" in the tub by the Aero Screen and 6 point harness, I don't see why they couldn't or shouldn't return and IndyCar could work on a third Superspeedway and have a return to "The Triple Crown." Edit: also, the Mattioli's dis -assembled the boiler plate out side "wall" and replaced it with concrete. They must've lined it with the "SAFER" barrier, no? And they put in a tall catch fence on the back straight after Kasey Kane (almost?) went out of the park in his Cup Series NASCAR where the outside was lined with trees, which were beautiful to look at but, potentially deadly all the same. It's not like Doc's family did nothing to upgrade in the interest of driver and spectator safety.
According to "racing-reference.info" website, there were 12 cars running at the finish. I suspect the rhythm of running on Pocono's tri-oval played a part with the high-attrition. Those were well-engineered machines back then, but the metallurgy and synthetics (plastics/rubbers/gaskets), for the parts and pieces on the cars, just weren't as durable back then as they are nowadays . . . where the attrition with modern day race cars is significantly less. In a way I miss those days of races with cars of moderate failure rates, as it definitely heightened the suspense of uncertainty in the races.
@@bloqk16 I totally agree with you. As well as the cars of that day were built, their unpredictability added a heightened sense of dramatic anticipation to every race. Especially the 500 milers. And, most of all The Indianapolis 500 Mile Race!!!
Good watch.I didn't realize it was that close.I think Leonard just took advantage of a slip by Donohue on Lap 191 but there is no doubt who had the fastest car.
That's because McLaren found a way around the old rule USAC had about aerodynamic devices. Back then, any aerodynamic device had to be an integral part of the body of the car, a rule that had been in place for several years. But in 1971, McLaren discovered a way to mold front and rear wings into the body so that they became an integral part of the body, which resulted in about a 3-5 MPH over everyone else, and which also resulted in the rule change that forever changed IndyCar racing in 1972, which allowed teams to bolt on front and rear wings. The result was a huge jump in speeds that would see the 200 MPH barrier threatened at Indy and surpassed at Ontario Motor Speedway, Michigan International Speedway, and the Texas World Speedway.
@@cjs83172 As I recall in 1972 Bobby Unser Broke the existing track record at IMS by 17 miles per hour. That was "light Years" comparatively to the previous record from 1970.
@@timford3599 Right, and that, combined with the jump in speeds that occurred in 1971 when McLaren and a couple of other teams got around the rule stipulating any aerodynamic device had to be an integral part of the body of the car, resulted in the lap record at Indy, which had actually been set by Joe Leonard in 1968, jumped about 25 MPH in 2 years, and sadly, what would happen in 1973 was largely a result of that (as well as 3 MPH jump in speeds from 1972).
Thank you for sharing! It was a great season. I have the old Avalon Hill biard game (USAC Auto Racing) and I would like to replay the entire season with the game. Anyone still playing this wonderful game? All the championship races were run on ovals, correct? First 2 races of the series in Argentina.
Did you try the USAC game, Randy? The game was created for oval racing but you can adapt the game to road/street track as well. 1971-78 seasons had 99% oval track races in the schedule so it's ok for the time. Maybe one could create a bull ring type of track for races like Millwaukee and Phoenix.
Jim Qualified 33rd beating George Follmer Tony Adamowicz,,,,in the only Roadster entered. my friend, so USAC did not just let him run. Cheers from Italy.
This game is a lot better! I would call it a semi-statistical game. If you send me a private message with your e-mail I will send you all the information you need to get the game (or even I could send all you need to print-out the game by yourself!). I would love to partly pay off for your great work on YT!
Hey that's Ken Squier on the PA system. Would recognize that voice from anywhere.
You are correct, sir. Ken was the lead announcer for MRN radio at the time (he started with the network at its inception in 1970).
Brought back lots of memories from being there 50 years ago...
Mark Donohue was my favorite driver and was thrilled when he passed Leonard for the lead.
Those cars going full speed down pit road and coming to a stop is something else.
that is very interesting that this is the first IndyCar race to feature a safety car during the yellows
Best looking indy cars of all time
That winning Sunoco McLaren M16 was a machine of beauty, where its streamlined design was something to behold; of all the Indy/Champ cars I'm familiar with, it is my favorite.
Joe Leonard won championship on motorcycle then in indycar badass
mark donahue's winning Indy 500 car in 1972 was the prettiest car of all time!
IndyCar doesn’t seem to realize how important this race is culturally… one of the few crossover events in American motorsports.
Those in the know about NASCAR back then, will note the Donnie Allison name in this field. Since the Daytona Firecracker 400 held on July 4th back in that era, Donnie competed in that race the following day, where he held the pole position, to finish 5th.
I recall when this race was televised on the same day by an independent network, where I'm certain it was not live. I heard the results on the radio, then an hour or so later, watched it on TV.
Pocono will always be built for IndyCar
Absolutely! The Great Roger Ward was extremely influential in the design of the Pocono Speedway. Old interview tapes of Doc Mattioli says the same thing. He was an Indy Car fan from the Get-Go.
@@timford3599 people forgot the history or don’t wanna accept it cuz “pocono scary”
@@IanTheMotorsportsMan_YT So very true. It seems that most fans these days suffer from "Recency Bias." Thanks for your comment Ian, I appreciate it!
@@timford3599 we have the Aeroscreen. Not sure what else is holding them back besides needing some safety upgrades at Pocono
@@IanTheMotorsportsMan_YT Maybe an upgrade to the catch fence (ala, Robert Wickens). But that can be said about many American Ovals. With the drivers safely "cocooned" in the tub by the Aero Screen and 6 point harness, I don't see why they couldn't or shouldn't return and IndyCar could work on a third Superspeedway and have a return to "The Triple Crown." Edit: also, the Mattioli's dis -assembled the boiler plate out side "wall" and replaced it with concrete. They must've lined it with the "SAFER" barrier, no? And they put in a tall catch fence on the back straight after Kasey Kane (almost?) went out of the park in his Cup Series NASCAR where the outside was lined with trees, which were beautiful to look at but, potentially deadly all the same. It's not like Doc's family did nothing to upgrade in the interest of driver and spectator safety.
This is when 🇺🇸
Was great 👍
thank you for uploading,!!cheers from italy,,!!
Despite such finely tuned and engineered machines. The attrition rate is amazing.
According to "racing-reference.info" website, there were 12 cars running at the finish. I suspect the rhythm of running on Pocono's tri-oval played a part with the high-attrition. Those were well-engineered machines back then, but the metallurgy and synthetics (plastics/rubbers/gaskets), for the parts and pieces on the cars, just weren't as durable back then as they are nowadays . . . where the attrition with modern day race cars is significantly less. In a way I miss those days of races with cars of moderate failure rates, as it definitely heightened the suspense of uncertainty in the races.
@@bloqk16 I totally agree with you. As well as the cars of that day were built, their unpredictability added a heightened sense of dramatic anticipation to every race. Especially the 500 milers. And, most of all The Indianapolis 500 Mile Race!!!
Good watch.I didn't realize it was that close.I think Leonard just took advantage of a slip by Donohue on Lap 191 but there is no doubt who had the fastest car.
That's because McLaren found a way around the old rule USAC had about aerodynamic devices. Back then, any aerodynamic device had to be an integral part of the body of the car, a rule that had been in place for several years. But in 1971, McLaren discovered a way to mold front and rear wings into the body so that they became an integral part of the body, which resulted in about a 3-5 MPH over everyone else, and which also resulted in the rule change that forever changed IndyCar racing in 1972, which allowed teams to bolt on front and rear wings. The result was a huge jump in speeds that would see the 200 MPH barrier threatened at Indy and surpassed at Ontario Motor Speedway, Michigan International Speedway, and the Texas World Speedway.
@@cjs83172 As I recall in 1972 Bobby Unser Broke the existing track record at IMS by 17 miles per hour. That was "light Years" comparatively to the previous record from 1970.
@@timford3599 Right, and that, combined with the jump in speeds that occurred in 1971 when McLaren and a couple of other teams got around the rule stipulating any aerodynamic device had to be an integral part of the body of the car, resulted in the lap record at Indy, which had actually been set by Joe Leonard in 1968, jumped about 25 MPH in 2 years, and sadly, what would happen in 1973 was largely a result of that (as well as 3 MPH jump in speeds from 1972).
Thank you for sharing! It was a great season.
I have the old Avalon Hill biard game (USAC Auto Racing) and I would like to replay the entire season with the game.
Anyone still playing this wonderful game?
All the championship races were run on ovals, correct?
First 2 races of the series in Argentina.
I had a board game based on the Le Mans race course on one side and Monaco on the other. As I recall it was also made by Avalon-Hill.
Cale Yarborough in the 1971 Schaefer 500 - he would win in NASCAR's 500s at Pocono in 1979 and 1984.
More fun to watch than 2019 races. They stink now. Of course, no more Indy at Pocono, it looks like.
Did you try the USAC game, Randy?
The game was created for oval racing but you can adapt the game to road/street track as well. 1971-78 seasons had 99% oval track races in the schedule so it's ok for the time.
Maybe one could create a bull ring type of track for races like Millwaukee and Phoenix.
At the 6:40 mark you can Jim Hurtubise in what a appears to be a front engine roadster. I guess they needed cars for this one so USAC let it run.
#56😎
Jim Qualified 33rd beating George Follmer
Tony Adamowicz,,,,in the only Roadster entered. my friend, so USAC did not just let him run. Cheers from Italy.
This game is a lot better! I would call it a semi-statistical game.
If you send me a private message with your e-mail I will send you all the information you need to get the game (or even I could send all you need to print-out the game by yourself!).
I would love to partly pay off for your great work on YT!
was it a dice roll board game with stat cards for each driver,,,,,,,
This is when
USA 🇺🇸
Was
Great 👍
This is when the
USA 🇺🇸
Was
Cool 😎
And free of
Woke
I couldn't have said it any better, Robert!