1961 Indianapolis 500

The 1961 Indianapolis 500, the 45th running, was held on Tuesday, May 30, 1961 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana, American racing driver A. J. Foyt won the race. It was his first Indy 500 victory.

Practice and time trials
Nicknamed the "Tinley Park Express," Tony Bettenhausen, Sr. was killed in a crash during a practice run on May 12. He was testing a car for Paul Russo. It was determined that an anchor bolt fell off the front radius rod support, permitting the front axle to twist and mis-align the front wheels when the brakes were applied. The car plunged into the outside wall, then rode along the top, snapping fence poles and tearing segments of the catch fence. The car came to rest upside-down on top of the outside wall, and Bettenhausen was killed instantly. Before the time trials Bettenhausen had been the favorite to become the first driver to break the 150 mph barrier at the Speedway.

Time trials was scheduled for four days:
 * Saturday May 13 – Pole Day time trials
 * Sunday May 14 – Second day time trials
 * Saturday May 20 – Third day time trials
 * Sunday May 21 – Fourth day time trials

Eddie Sachs sat on the pole with an average speed of 147.481 mph (237.348 km/h).

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Starting grid
(W) = Former Indianapolis 500 winner; (R) = Indianapolis 500 rookie

Alternates

 * First alternate: Paul Russo (#21, #24)

Failed to qualify

 * Chuck Arnold (#62)
 * Harry Beck  (#95) – Entry declined, lack of experience
 * Tony Bettenhausen (#15, #24) – Fatal accident
 * Bert Brooks  (#79)
 * Duane Carter (#61, #64)
 * Bob Cleberg  (#6)
 * Leon Clum  (#77)
 * Russ Congdon  (#69)
 * Ray Crawford (#94)


 * Ronnie Duman  (#43)
 * Jack Ensley  (#84)
 * Cotton Farmer  (#23)
 * Don Freeland (#27, #47)
 * Chuck Hulse  (#37)
 * Danny Jones  (#47)
 * Ralph Ligouri  (#75)
 * Mike Magill (#82)


 * Jim McWithey (#29)
 * Bill Randall  (#95)
 * Chuck Rodee  (#89)
 * Jack Rounds  (#44, #87)
 * Bud Tingelstad (#54)
 * Bob Veith (#23, #25, #44, #85)
 * Bob Wente  (#88)
 * Chuck Weyant (#88)

Television
The race itself was not televised in full. However, ABC Sports showed highlights of time trials and a few minutes of film clips of the race on Wide World of Sports.