Indy 500 proves worthy

By LARRY GAGE

Special to the PRESS

As I’ve written in these pages before, the history of the Indianapolis 500 is filled with the stories of drivers who seemingly had the race won, only to have victory snatched from them with just a few laps to go.

There was Eddie Sachs who, in 1961, made a pit stop to replace a badly worn rear tire with just three laps to go, allowing A.J. Foyt to claim his first Indy win. Six years later Foyt became a three-time winner of the Memo­rial Day Classic when Andy Granatelli’s turbine-powered car, driven by Parnelli Jones, lost a six-dollar ball bearing in the transmission when Jones was well out in front with four laps left. And in 1912 Ralph DePalma’s big Mercedes en­gine broke a rod just five laps from the end when he had a five-lap lead, and hometown favorite Joe Dawson cruised to the win.

For more on this story, pick up a copy of the June 6 edition of the Port Isabel South Padre Press or check out our E-edition by clicking here.

 

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