(Originally published May 10, 2013) The 1970s marked a beginning of a change in Indianapolis 500 Pace Cars. As the ’70s unfolded, the undertaking of supplying a Pace Car, along with all of the other vehicles used in connection with the race, would become more and more a duty of General Motors. Still, the early 70s certainly provided its own kind of variety, as well as the most famous (infamous?) Pace Car of them all.
Oldsmobile was back at the track for 1970, its first Pace Car duty in a decade. But instead of a big Ninety Eight convertible, the car of choice would be a 442. The Pace Car would use the W-30 version of the big 455, a TurboHydramatic 400 transmission, and heavy-duty suspension. The front disc brakes were stock units, but the rear drum brakes were from a Vista Cruiser.
Roger Ward drove the Olds on Pace duty. There is an interesting story at Hemmings (here) in which the actual Pace Car was apparently found after many years, and restored by its current owner.
1971 brought the most infamous Pace Car ever: the Ceramic Red Dodge Challenger convertible. In a change of pace (so to speak), none of the manufacturers elected to supply a Pace Car for the race. Indianapolis Dodge Dealer Eldon Palmer linked up with the other three Dodge dealers in the metro area and themselves supplied enough Challenger convertibles for race activities (50, according to most sources). Palmer himself drove the actual Pace Car, which he actually owned. This car was likely the very last showroom-stock vehicle used as a Pace Car – possibly because of how things went with this one.
Photo source: caranddriver.com
The reason for the car’s infamy is well known: when flying into pit road, Palmer lost control of the car and slammed into a press box, causing several serious injuries. There were several lawsuits that came out of this, and I knew one of the lawyers involved. As the testimony was related to me, Palmer had practiced many, many hours at the track. Because the car would exit the track and enter the pits at well over 100 mph, it was critical to get on the brakes at the right time. Too soon, and he could cause an accident on the track. Too late, and – well, you know.
Palmer had planted a brightly colored plastic flag in the grass as his signal to begin braking. Unfortunately, the morning of the race, track personnel had, unknown to Palmer, removed the flag during some routine trash pickup. During the race, Palmer blasted onto pit road as he was supposed to, and looked for his flag. By the time he realized that it was gone, he was still hurtling along at about 150 feet per second, and it was too late to get stopped. Speedway President Tony Hulman, former astronaut John Glenn and ABC sportscaster Chris Schenkel were passengers for the wildest Pace Car ride in race history. Press reports cited nineteen injuries, but fortunately there were no deaths. Sources report that the car’s brakes were four wheel drums. Would front discs have helped? A question for debate.
Because the Challenger belonged to Palmer, he kept the car for many years. It was eventually repaired and restored, and is currently in an Indianapolis-area collection, as reported a couple of years ago at Hemmings Daily. There was some fallout from the incident, including that starting in 1972, it would be quite a few years when only former race drivers would be behind the wheel of a Pace Car. Allpar provides some additional background (here), including that the actual Pace Car and a backup were powered by a 4 bbl 383. There was also at least one 340 and quite a few 318-powered cars used as Festival vehicles.
1972 brought Olds back to the Speedway. This time, instead of a stock 442, the car was jointly prepared by Hurst Performance Products, and was referred to as the Hurst/Olds. The car used a 300 horsepower 455 Rocket V8, and former race driver Jim Rathmann was behind the wheel. Fifty Delta 88 convertibles were used as Festival cars. There were 130 convertibles and 499 hardtops built as replicas. The cars not actually pacing the race used a 270 horse 455 instead of the actual Pace Car’s more powerful mill.
Photo source: Hurst/Olds Club
The pictures of the car with the gigantic Hurst shifter are quite interesting, but I am certain that these were for promo laps only.
Photo source: Indianapolis Motor Speedway
The actual car, when photographed during its pacing duties, did its thing with only the shifter inside the car.
I remember one of the replica convertibles being on the premises of Collins Oldsmobile in Fort Wayne, Indiana the summer that my mother was looking at a new ’72 Cutlass. I knew that she would never go for a Pace Car replica with all of the decals, so I tried to sell her on the Viking Blue Cutlass Supreme convertible with the white bucket seats that was on the showroom floor. No sale, but she did drive out in a green 2 door hardtop. Oldsmobile would discontinue a convertible at the end of the 1972 model year.
Photo source: Favcars.com
1973 would mark the final time for a full-out luxury convertible to pace the race, twenty seven years after the ’46 Lincoln Continental did so. The ’73 Cadillac Eldorado would be the first Cadillac to pace the race since 1931 (unless we count the 1937 LaSalle) and the first front wheel drive car to do so since the 1930 Cord L-29. Two cars were built for actual Pace Car duty, and these used specially modified 500 cubic inch (8.2 L) engines that were reportedly putting out nearly five hundred horsepower. The actual Pace Cars lacked air conditioning and used hood pins to be sure that the long hood stayed put at high speed.
Cadillac also supplied 53 Festival cars and an additional 513 replicas, which came with a decal set which the owner could have applied to the car. Jim Rathmann drove the Pace Car again this year. However, race winner Gordon Johncock received one of the Festival cars rather than the high performance Pace Cars. It is reported that Cadillac retrofitted the two Pace Cars for street use and sold them to the public.
One of the replicas was featured in a 2012 episode of the Discovery Network show Fast N Loud, which I happened to watch the evening before writing this. The CC effect at work?
1974 would be a sort-of repeat, with another Hurst/Olds pacing the race. However, this would be a completely different car than the one from 1972. Because there was no convertible offered after 1972, the actual Pace Cars were modified by removal of the roof and adding a roll bar. Two roof panels were fabricated in case of bad weather. Both Pace Cars used a Rocket 455 built to 1970 W-30 specifications, therefore not street-legal.
There is some very interesting history on these two cars, both of which seem to have survived, at the Hurst/Olds Page (here). As he did the previous two years, Jim Rathmann was the wheelman.
As per recent practice, Oldsmobile supplied numerous Delta 88 convertibles as parade cars. However, 1,800 replicas of the Hurst/Olds were offered for sale. 380 were reportedly built with the W-30 package, which were powered by the 455. The rest were called the Y77 package and were powered by Oldsmobile’s 350. After providing Pace Cars for the third time in five years, Olds would be back again later in the decade.
Photo source: Rocket100.com
Within this five year period, we saw a significant transition from Pace Cars that were virtually stock (though perhaps specially prepared) to cars that were purpose-built for Pace Car duty and thus not street-legal. We also saw a transition from Pace Car honors being spread all around the industry to to an era where with rare exceptions, it would become a General Motors event. We will be back with more 1970s Pace Car action next time.
A sight that will likely never be seen again!
Dig Linda Vaughn on the back of that Hurst Olds!
My first accident I was driving my dad Buick Electra 225. It was homecoming at my high school. My friends father owned a dealership in Fort Wayne Indiana and had purchased that years actual pace car the 442 hurst olds as well as a relica. The original 442 hurst kids convertible with flags was driven by my friend in the homecoming celebration at the football game. After the game stupid teenager driving he rear endeared me in my dads buick. My first wreck invollved the pace car. This was back in 1973.
Someone call Boss Hogg, they stole his Caddy and took the horns off the hood.
That Challenger his some very nice proportions that just didn’t translate into the new one. Hopefully, if they ever do a restyle the stubby hood and thick hips are fixed.
Agreed on the new Challenger. I know it goes against the grain of new car fads but if the overhangs were stretched 3″ on both ends it would look so much better proportioned.
1973 would mark the final time for a full-out luxury convertible to pace the race
Ahem…..
This thing had a twin turbocharged 350hp 4.1 too……sadly, not intended for production
The Allante could even count as a luxury convertible too…..
Yep, forgot the Allante’!
Dig the RWL whitewalls on the Eldo!
The Challenger is a rather restrained shade of red by early 70s standards!I still want a moulin rouge/panther pink A,E or Superbee.Barbie’s muscle cars rock!
Allowing a car dealer to drive the pacecar could be seen as really stupid in most circles, allowing car manufacturers to build such poorly designed cars is luckily a thing of the past even in the US. Chrysler had a habit of this though when the E38 performance package was available on Aussie Valiants power assisted brakes were not included but of course for roundy racing you dont need to brake for turns as there arent any like on a real race track.
Well, all the manufacturers gave it a miss (which sounds like there’s a story in there, too), so whomever was in charge of getting a pace car for the race was probably scrambling for anything, and the best they could do were four grungy, local Dodge dealers to scrounge up something to use. I’m sure part of the deal was, “We’ll supply the cars, but I get to drive the car, too”. Beggars can’t be choosers.
Then, this was 1971. People forget that in the ‘good ole musclecar days’, everything was all about acceleration, and very little effort was put into slowing those missiles down. Big horsepower numbers sold cars, not short stopping distances. It was really just an accident waiting to happen.
From what I read, the manufacturers were trying to back away from racing. Indianapolis was a pretty tight-knit community, and someone on the planning committee probably was a friend of Don Palmer. The dealers probably saw this as a boon for relatively free publicity and, frankly, a chance for some prestige.
Nobody probably expected any problems, as almost all of the cars had been showroom stock forever. Any cars that had special factory prep was probably seen as something done for PR reasons and to coax a little extra power out of the car, not for safety. However, I don’t think folks factored in how much race speeds had increased by 1971, which put much more stress on a Pace Car and on its driver.
As an aside, Palmer Dodge remained a fixture in Indianapolis until Chrysler’s dealer-cull of a few years ago, when they lost their franchise.
But when front discs were available, you have to wonder at someone ordering a 383 with no discs though.
There’s an assumption here that disc brake equipped cars would naturally stop faster than drum brake equipped cars…not necessarily true. Buick, especially, was known for mastering the drum brake, and, IIRC, still installed very effective drum brakes on their 70 Rivieras (besides being one of the last makers to have front discs readily available.) I remember seeing a Hemi Charger at a car show years ago, all stock, with 4 wheel drum brakes…not saying that was smart, but it was not uncommon. Famous race mechanic Smokey Yunich was also a big believer in drum brakes. They can be and often were, plenty good enough.
Ignoring the many short ovals where brakes get hot enough to melt tire beads, anyone that can get around Indy at competitive speeds without using their brakes could get around Monaco without using their brakes. It’s four straightaways and four ninety degree corners.
You did a great job bringing me into the pictures of the hysterical scene that must have been when he went screeching sideways towards the press box. I was right there with them. Thank you for bringing me there with your way of words.
He almost killed John Glenn American Hero. The passengers must have been petrified.
I Loved Those red leather ElDorado convertibles. olds must have been the hometown favorite in those years.
the 74 year looks hastily put together on the cheap . not ideal.
I was at Indy the year Palmer hit the press box. We were on the infield so we couldn’t really see anything and didn’t know exactly what was going on.
Whats extra cool is that Oldsmobile provided matching Vista Cruisers for the track doctor in 1970 and 72.
Cadillac also provided a handful of matching white over red DeVilles and at least one Fleetwood Brougham for track officials too.
Yet another car that is in my ultimate dream car garage. I love the look of these Vista Cruisers.
Now that IS cool!
I didn’t know there were Delta 88 Festival cars in 1972. What gorgeous cars those must have been!
Buick supplied convertible Lesabre “Festival” Cars in 1975 too, with decals and everything.
I’m feeling dumber by-the-post: never knew that either….
Thanks for this series JP. I’ve learned a lot of things I never knew about the pace cars, especially through these years, which were just before my time. The next installments will cover the cars that I have more experience with. 🙂
How were the 1971 lawsuits resolved?
Over cigarettes and scotch…..
If justice system was like it is today, Chrysler Corp would have gotten sued up the rear end, and had a massive recall to add disc brakes to all their cars, etc, etc.
But also, the crash shows how highly overated the Mopar E bodies are in general. Sure, they look great, but accident prone. This is why muscle car insurance rates in 1971, went sky high, and etc, etc.
Wow, I don’t think I’d ever seen footage of that crash, looks like Palmer hauled ass all the way to the start/finish line. He is obviously not braking as he passes the one camera even though he’s well into the pit lane.
I don’t know how this shows Mopar E bodies are overrated, is there really a rating system for stopping in short distances from 100mph when the driver has obviously screwed up?
I had a 1972 442; not a W-30 or a Hurst, just a Rocket motored small block with a TH350. A solid chunk of car, it could handle most anything I could throw at it. One of the ones you realize you never should have sold off…
I lusted after the Hurst versions of these cars, but it’s never happened that I’ve had the opportunity to find one. Maybe I will have to trundle down to Indy and go through the museum. At least I can see one there…
Looking at that 1970 442 ad, it is obvious that only the engine counted for the civilian version. 3-on-the-floor? 9.5 inch drum brakes? Yikes! At least there were suspension and tire upgrades from a standard F-85.
In the ‘good old days’ brakes and stopping were an afterthought, or not thought out at all! Older drivers hated the feeling of power brakes, so Big 3 didn’t want to offend them, and kept the antiquated all wheel drums. [Just my opinion, I remember hearling older relative complain about them]
Also, seat belts? “Who needed them”, as some still quote “better to get thrown from car!”*
* Of course this is a fallacy, I’m just quoting what was once called common sense. It was “bad luck” to even talk about possibility of car wrecks in the ‘simpler times’.
Only for General Motors. Chrysler had larger brakes standard (even most A-bodies used 10″ drums), and good-sized (11″) discs a common option…and frequently standard on high-power models. (IIRC, all 6-bbl cars had front discs with, I recall, 4-piston calipers.)
Extra Care In Engineering was not just a slogan!
Dr. Olds and his crew.
I need a framed print of that. Back when advertising was actually memorable.
This is a great series, much appreciated. Very nicely done.
I went to my first Indy 500 in ’69, and have attended many of the years since.
Styling is certainly subjective, and to each their own, but the ’71 Challenger is a great looking car to me.
Interesting write-up about the pit road accident. IIRC, the race winner that year, Al Unser Sr., got a yellow Charger instead of a Challenger.
What wheels are on the Challenger when it had the accident? The pic of it when it hit the photographers stand definitely aren’t the slot mags in the beauty shot but don’t look like stock rallye wheels either???
They appear to be Motor Wheel Corp. “Exciter” polycast wheels.
Ah, that definitely looks like them! I never knew about those, I was actually thinking they were wheel covers.
My AMR wheels must have copied that center cap haha
Interesting about the wheels. Another pic…
Agree that it’s an interesting tidbit on the ’71 Pace Car’s wheels. At first, I thought they might have been the infamous recall wheels, but those had been taken off the market two years prior.
But I do wonder why they went with an aftermarket style. Surely, Chrysler’s factory wheel sizes would have been up to the task, even if they were using a different size tire.
My guess is since the car was supplied showroom stock by the dealers they may have wanted to throw on some better tires on a set of mags at a bare minimum.
Wow, after many looks at these pictures I never even noticed the wheels. With the hodgepodge of cars pulled together by the local Dodge dealers for pace car duty, it is not surprising that Palmer would have used some special wheels for actual pace duty. And with the wrecked car’s provenance so well established it is easy to tell the parade cars or replicas now.
Love this entire series on the pace cars. It should not surprise me at this point, but I always come away from this website knowing a heck of a lot more than I thought I did. I too was a bit curious about the wheels on the Challenger. The crash pic. has (or at least appears to have) different wheels than the publicity shot at the top of the article.
It is rather amazing nobody died as a result of the ’71 pace car crash; the shots taken from the press box just prior to impact are harrowing:
cjiguy,
Is there any chance you know who took the picture you uploaded?
Max, this is an old piece and cjiguy may not see it. This picture shows up online but it is unclear who took it. The first one I see is credited to Motor Week, but the link does not seem to include it. The car crashed into the press box so there were undoubtedly quite a few photographers there.
What car did they give to Al Unser Sr for winning the ’71 race given that the pace car was wrecked?
^ The answer is posted above ^ ?
My daughter just sent me a picture of the current fleet of pace/festival cars for this years race. A line of white Chevy Impalas. They look more like a fleet of Avis rental cars, instead of Indy pace cars.
Your comment left me confused. Earlier in the season I saw a Camaro Convertible in 2017 Indy livery. I wish I had gotten a picture of it. I thought Camaro was the pace car again this year and saw an announcement or two to this effect. Then a Corvette was announced. It appears that Camaro convertibles are the festival cars. Perhaps the Impalas are the fleet for use by track officials for background grunt duty, like the old station wagons used to be supplied.
I found a picture of the 101 festival cars that got delivered to the speedway recently.
In 1973 after our homecoming football game, I had my first accident. I was driving my father Buick Electra 225. My classmates father owned a car dealership in Fort Wayne in. They had purchased a replica and the original hurst olds 442 pacecar. Stupid teenage boys we were resulting in him following me at high speed resulting in him (in the pace car) rear ending me causing significant damage to the pace car
I would question whether your friend’s father bought the actual 72 pace car. Those were generally awarded to the race winner as part of the prize package.
I don’t know if anyone has traced the path of the actual car, although I would be surprised if nobody has. It is possible that the race winner sold it to a dealer or that a dealer could have bought the backup car.
Does anyone know about a white trans am with the blue bird on the hood as a pace car between 1970 to 1976? Or as a backup pace car?
There was no such thing at Indy. Pontiac was not involved in the Indy pace car programs in those years. Any “backup” pace car was essentially a duplicate of the main one and parade cars would have been either been the same model as the pace car or something else built for the purpose from the same manufacturer/division.
There was a white Trans Am used at Indy in 1980 but the bird was black/gray and not blue. Whether some other racing series used such a pace car, I do not know.
I remember the Cadillacs in 1973, I was there. My father, younger brother and me were there for my 10th birthday! It rained and I got to see trucks run aroung the track to dry it.