To celebrate the 100th running of the Indianapolis 500 this year, we will profile all the British, and British born drivers who have taken on the speedway since 1911, looking at their time at IMS, results and in some cases interviews with some of the drivers. In our final part, we look back at the careers of three drivers whose names have become synonymous with British success at the Indianapolis 500 with six combined victories.
Jim Clark
When you look back at the career of Jim Clark, it is apparent that he was one of the best, not just Formula One, not just at Indy, everything he turned his hand, and wheel too. Victorious in 1965 but that was not the whole story.
The British invasion did not only come in the form of the Beatles, but on the track too in the form a team, Lotus, with a new way of thinking to run at Indianapolis, a rear engine car, and some drivers who would go down in history, messes Clark, Hill and Stewart.
Jim Clark was a runner up in his debut year behind Parnelli Jones in 1963. Engineers and competitors remarked at the time that no matter what the equipment Clark had, he looked, and drove perfectly. Clark took pole position in 1964 with a then record speed of 158.828 mph, before retiring with broken suspension placing 24th.
But 1965 was his year, starting in second, Clark would put in one of the most dominating performances seen in history at the Speedway with his Lotus leading 190 of 200 laps, and a winners purse of over $166,000. The story of the race is told below.
Jim Clark was a runner up in his debut year behind Parnelli Jones in 1963. Engineers and competitors remarked at the time that no matter what the equipment Clark had, he looked, and drove perfectly. Clark took pole position in 1964 with a then record speed of 158.828 mph, before retiring with broken suspension placing 24th.
But 1965 was his year, starting in second, Clark would put in one of the most dominating performances seen in history at the Speedway with his Lotus leading 190 of 200 laps, and a winners purse of over $166,000. The story of the race is told below.
Another front row start in '66 resulted in a runners up place behind Graham Hill (along some may dispute this with timing as the scoring maybe being 'mis-aligned'). In his first four 500 races, Clark would lead laps in everyone. His final 500 race would be in 1967, his worst qualifying saw him start down in 16th place and matched with his worst finish of 31st, retiring with a broken piston on lap 35. In 1968 Jim Clark was scheduled to run the Pratt & Whitney Turbine 'Wedge' in a Lotus before he tragically lost his life at Hockenhiem the month prior.
At Indianapolis this May, I had the chance to talk with Dario Franchitti about Jim Clark and what made him so special.
At Indianapolis this May, I had the chance to talk with Dario Franchitti about Jim Clark and what made him so special.
When the home grown legends of Indianapolis look back at his time on track, what he achieved and say he was one of the best, he truly was.
Dan Wheldon
Twice a victor, twice a runner up with two further top fives, Dan Wheldon just clicked with the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
He made his first start in 2003 starting in an impressive fifth before a solo crash in turn four, flipping his car in the process. 2004 started in the middle of the front row and claimed a podium finish in third. By the time the following season came round, Dan had a brilliant start to the season with three victories in the opening four races, so would enter Indy in a confident mood, he qualified down in 16th, but we will let this video tell the rest of the story...
After winning the championship that year with Andretti, a switch of teams to Ganassi came in 2006 and the success continued with another high finish in fourth, followed by a retirement in 2007 after being involved in the crash that took out Marco Andretti and Buddy Rice on lap 162. Dan qualified well again in 2008 in the middle of the front row for a final run with Ganassi and a twelve place finish was the result.
Wheldon moved teams to Panther which returned with a pair of eighteenth place qualifying efforts and a pair of runner up results missing out to Castroneves in 2009 and Franchitti in 2010, in a run of four runner up finishes in a row for the team, Panther.
Out of a drive in 2011 Wheldon announced that he would be entering the Indy 500 as a one off entry with former team mate Bryan Herta (Autosport) who were at the time an established Indy Lights team with aspirations to move into Indycar full time. Starting the race in sixth, people were respectful of his efforts, but not expectant. The race was dominated for the most part by Dixon and Franchitti but a late yellow and a change to the fuel strategy left teams trying to eek out every last drop of fuel, various drivers led but had to give up the lead, Bertrand Baguette led, but pitted, the rest they say is history...
Wheldon moved teams to Panther which returned with a pair of eighteenth place qualifying efforts and a pair of runner up results missing out to Castroneves in 2009 and Franchitti in 2010, in a run of four runner up finishes in a row for the team, Panther.
Out of a drive in 2011 Wheldon announced that he would be entering the Indy 500 as a one off entry with former team mate Bryan Herta (Autosport) who were at the time an established Indy Lights team with aspirations to move into Indycar full time. Starting the race in sixth, people were respectful of his efforts, but not expectant. The race was dominated for the most part by Dixon and Franchitti but a late yellow and a change to the fuel strategy left teams trying to eek out every last drop of fuel, various drivers led but had to give up the lead, Bertrand Baguette led, but pitted, the rest they say is history...
Dan Wheldon only led one lap, well, maybe the last hundred feet, but it gave him his second Indianapolis 500 victory, becoming the 18th driver to win two or more. Sadly, Dan would not return to the grounds that he loved, he passed away after a multiple car crash on the 16th October at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The new Indycar introduced for the 2012 season, built by Dallara, and tested by Wheldon during 2011 would be named the DW-12 ensuring his legacy would live on.
His record at Indianapolis was remarkable, twice a winner, and runner up with a third and fourth to add, shows he really was at one with the Speedway, but what else was it about the man himself that made him such a great racer, and a person, in May I spoke with his team mate and friend Dario Franchitti.
What was Dan like away from the track, the brother, the family man, I had the chance to speak with Holly Wheldon about Dan at Sonoma, reflecting on him as a racer and as a brother.
Five years on from his passing, he is still revered, remembered, and talked about around the paddock and grandstands, the mark of a true champion and gentleman.
Dario Franchitti
Only three men have four Indy 500 victories to their name, Dario Franchitti retired in 2013 with three.
Starting his motorsport career in Europe, karting, Formula Vauxhall, then Lotus before F3, but that was to be the end of the single-seaters, for a couple years at least, a move to the German Touring Car series with Mercedes followed for the 1996/7 seasons.
During this time Franchitti had the chance to test for Hogan Racing in CART, an option he took up full time in 1998. A switch to Team Green followed in 1999 winning his first race at Road America. Nine further victories followed including his first on an oval came at Rockingham in 2002 before joining the movement that saw a number of the teams and drivers moving to the IRL. This gave Dario his chance to compete at Indy in 2002 as part of an effort with Team Green, it was a tough debut, qualifying 28th, finishing three laps down in 19th. Sitting out 2003 due to injuries sustained in a motorbike accident. He returned in 2004 with Andretti-Green starting on the front row, finishing in 14th. Two top ten finishes would be scored in the next two years before he finally took home a victory, under tricky conditions.
Dario took the lead for the first time on lap 74, giving up the lead on 89 when pitting. The race was red flagged due to rain on lap 113, the restart came just after 6pm. On lap 151, Marty Roth crashed, some pitted, some stayed out, including Franchitti. Two further incidents caused yellow flags, during the final caution, before all the cars could be cleared, a deluge from the sky fell and on lap 166 the chequered flag fell and Franchitti notched up number one. To date, this was the last Indy 500 to not reach the full 200 lap race distance.
Starting his motorsport career in Europe, karting, Formula Vauxhall, then Lotus before F3, but that was to be the end of the single-seaters, for a couple years at least, a move to the German Touring Car series with Mercedes followed for the 1996/7 seasons.
During this time Franchitti had the chance to test for Hogan Racing in CART, an option he took up full time in 1998. A switch to Team Green followed in 1999 winning his first race at Road America. Nine further victories followed including his first on an oval came at Rockingham in 2002 before joining the movement that saw a number of the teams and drivers moving to the IRL. This gave Dario his chance to compete at Indy in 2002 as part of an effort with Team Green, it was a tough debut, qualifying 28th, finishing three laps down in 19th. Sitting out 2003 due to injuries sustained in a motorbike accident. He returned in 2004 with Andretti-Green starting on the front row, finishing in 14th. Two top ten finishes would be scored in the next two years before he finally took home a victory, under tricky conditions.
Dario took the lead for the first time on lap 74, giving up the lead on 89 when pitting. The race was red flagged due to rain on lap 113, the restart came just after 6pm. On lap 151, Marty Roth crashed, some pitted, some stayed out, including Franchitti. Two further incidents caused yellow flags, during the final caution, before all the cars could be cleared, a deluge from the sky fell and on lap 166 the chequered flag fell and Franchitti notched up number one. To date, this was the last Indy 500 to not reach the full 200 lap race distance.
Missing 2008 due to competing in NASCAR, Dario returned in 2009 with Ganassi, replacing Dan Wheldon in the #10. a front row start resulted in a seventh place finish despite leading 50 laps.
Victory number two came in 2010. Qualifying again on the front row, for the fourth time in third, taking the lead by the time the yellow flag came out for Davey Hamilton who crashed out on the back straight. Franchitti would be a dominant force throughout the race, with only pit stops and the odd over take allowing another driver to lead the race (he would lead 155 laps). After a spell in the mid pack after a late race caution and subsequent pit stop, Dario would take the lead back on lap 192 and lead all the way despite some serious fuel saving to the chequered flag ahead of a hard charging Dan Wheldon. The race ended under yellow due to a crash involving Mike Conway and Ryan Hunter-Reay on their penultimate lap.
2011 saw Franchitti in a prime position to claim a front row start, but he ran out of fuel on the final lap of his qualifying run and had to settle for ninth. The race itself would see Franchitti take the lead though various segments in the middle of the race, leading 51 laps in total. Dario was in contention for a win until late on when fuel conservation saw him drop back from the leaders and eventually pitting for fuel leaving him in twelfth place.
A new car for 2012 and a new number, 50, to celebrate the fiftieth year of main sponsor Target opening for business in the US. Qualifying in 16th place, Dario would work his way through the field, eventually taking the lead for the first time on lap 153, trading places with team mate Scott Dixon before Tony Kanaan entered the fray in the closing laps, as did a Japanese driver...
Victory number two came in 2010. Qualifying again on the front row, for the fourth time in third, taking the lead by the time the yellow flag came out for Davey Hamilton who crashed out on the back straight. Franchitti would be a dominant force throughout the race, with only pit stops and the odd over take allowing another driver to lead the race (he would lead 155 laps). After a spell in the mid pack after a late race caution and subsequent pit stop, Dario would take the lead back on lap 192 and lead all the way despite some serious fuel saving to the chequered flag ahead of a hard charging Dan Wheldon. The race ended under yellow due to a crash involving Mike Conway and Ryan Hunter-Reay on their penultimate lap.
2011 saw Franchitti in a prime position to claim a front row start, but he ran out of fuel on the final lap of his qualifying run and had to settle for ninth. The race itself would see Franchitti take the lead though various segments in the middle of the race, leading 51 laps in total. Dario was in contention for a win until late on when fuel conservation saw him drop back from the leaders and eventually pitting for fuel leaving him in twelfth place.
A new car for 2012 and a new number, 50, to celebrate the fiftieth year of main sponsor Target opening for business in the US. Qualifying in 16th place, Dario would work his way through the field, eventually taking the lead for the first time on lap 153, trading places with team mate Scott Dixon before Tony Kanaan entered the fray in the closing laps, as did a Japanese driver...
A final time at Indianapolis came in 2013, again qualified in the mid pack, and was running in the top ten at the time of what would be the final restart on lap 197, would hit the wall in turn one.
Back in May I spoke with Dario about his time at Indianapolis, his victories, life after and what Indy means to him.
Back in May I spoke with Dario about his time at Indianapolis, his victories, life after and what Indy means to him.
Donald Davidson tells the story of Dario sitting on the yard of bricks at Indianapolis in 2007 after the victory banquet, in the dark, to take in the the atmosphere of the empty track, as it could have been his last time at the Indianapolis 500. It could well have been had the NASCAR switch worked out, thankfully though, he came back.
Previous Chapters in our feature of 'A British 500'
Part One - Hughes, Hill & Taylor
Part Two - Eldridge, Crawford & Jakes
Part Three - Duff, Wilson & Conway
Part Four - Moss, Ward & Legge
Part Five - Jenkins, Mansell & Lloyd
Bump Day Special - Ten Drivers who Tried to Qualify
Part Six - Resta, Stewart & Hawksworth
Part Seven - van Raalte, Banks & Plowman
Part Eight - Zborowski, Robson, Manning & Mann
Part Nine - W Douglas Hawks, David Hobbs & Jay Howard
Part One - Hughes, Hill & Taylor
Part Two - Eldridge, Crawford & Jakes
Part Three - Duff, Wilson & Conway
Part Four - Moss, Ward & Legge
Part Five - Jenkins, Mansell & Lloyd
Bump Day Special - Ten Drivers who Tried to Qualify
Part Six - Resta, Stewart & Hawksworth
Part Seven - van Raalte, Banks & Plowman
Part Eight - Zborowski, Robson, Manning & Mann
Part Nine - W Douglas Hawks, David Hobbs & Jay Howard