The late Jack Rhoades of Columbus owned cars that raced in three Indianapolis 500 races.
His best finish as a car owner came in 1981 when Dennis Firestone finished 10th after starting 28th.
Firestone also made the race in 1981 driving Rhoades’ Scientific Drilling/Penske/Cosworth, finishing 16ht. Rhoades’ last entry in the race was in 1982 when rookie Chip Ganassi finished 15th but failed to finish due to an engine failure after completing 147 laps.
May brings thoughts of the Indianapolis 500, even though there will no race this May.
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Another local twist to the 1980 race was that veteran sprint car driver Butch Wilkerson of Columbus was offered a chance to drive a second car for Rhoades, a local aviation pioneer who died in 2015. But Wilkerson was severely injured in a sprint car wreck at Winchester Speedway the preceding October, and recovery time prevented the run.
The 66th Indianapolis 500 was conducted at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Sunday, May 30, 1982. Gordon Johncock, who had previously won the rain-shortened 1973 race, was the winner. Pole sitter Rick Mears finished second by a margin of 0.160 seconds, the closest finish in Indy 500 history to that point.
Many a race car driver would be proud to call setting the fastest rookie qualifying speed for the 1982 Indianapolis 500 and being named IndyCar racing’s Most Improved Driver of the Year the highlights of their career, particularly if the rookie class at Indianapolis that May included Bobby Rahal and Danny Sullivan.
But Ganassi did just that, qualifying 11th fastest at 197.705 miles per hour in the Rhoades Racing/1st Commercial Corporation/Wildcat/Cosworth.
In racing circles, the 1982 race is largely considered one of the best 500s in history. Johncock and Mears dueled over most of the final 40 laps. Johncock pulled out to a sizeable lead after his final pit stop on Lap 184, but Mears dramatically began closing the gap in the waning laps.
Johncock held off Mears on the final lap in a historic victory as the raucous crowd drowned out the loud roar of the engines. The race also is remembered for a controversial crash at the start triggered by Kevin Cogan, which took out Mario Andretti, damaged the car of A.J. Foyt and caused the crash of two other cars.
Among many stories going into the 1982 month of May was the return of Foyt to the cockpit. In July 1981, Foyt had been involved in a serious crash at the inaugural Michigan 500, suffering a compound fracture to his right arm and a puncture wound to his leg. Foyt was sidelined several months.
The two key fixtures from the controversial 1981 race took different paths in 1982. Bobby Unser took a sabbatical from racing and would ultimately retire from the cockpit. Mario Andretti was back with Patrick Racing, this time running a full season in the CART series while scaling back participation in Formula One.
This would be the first time in several years that Andretti spent the entire month in Indianapolis, not traveling back and forth to Europe for Formula One commitments.
Officially, the race was part of the 1981-82 USAC season; however, most entrants took part in the 1982 CART PPG IndyCar World Series. Championship points for the 1982 Indy 500 were not awarded toward the CART title.
For the only time in Indy 500 history, a trio of brothers qualified for the same race. Don, Bill and Dale Whittington made the field with Don finishing a strong sixth. Dale crashed out before the start and never completed a single lap in his career.
Four-time Indy winner A.J. Foyt started on the front row, celebrating his record 25th career Indy 500 start. Though he was caught up in the Cogan incident, his car was hastily repaired, and he led 32 laps.
One major rule change regarding time trials was implemented for 1982. All cars would be allowed only two warmup laps for qualifying, down from three, which had been the rule since 1946.
After two major pit fires in 1981 (Rick Mears at the Indianapolis 500 and Herm Johnson at the Michigan 500), new safety rules were implemented. Pit side fuel tanks were required to be anchored to the ground, while new high-pressure water hoses were installed the length of the pit lane.
Significant improvements also were made to fuel couplings, fuel hoses, vent hoses and “buckeyes” on the cars. Positive shutoff valves on the pit side fuel tanks also were made mandatory. All pit personnel were required to wear fire-resistant clothing, including not only the over-the-wall crew.
Likewise, it became the norm for even pit television and radio reporters to wear specialized fire suits.
In May of 1981, word buzzed around the garage area that USAC was preparing to drastically change the engine formula starting in 1982. The ruling would effectively ban the popular Cosworth DFX V-8, the engine used to win Indy the previous four years (1978 to 1981).
The plan was to craft the rules to require (or heavily favor) production-based, “stock block” engines and reduce turbocharger boost to noncompetitive levels (to discourage their use) or ban turbochargers outright.
During the summer of 1981, however, the decision was changed. The turbocharged OHC V-8 engines would continue to be permitted, only with a smaller turbocharger unit. Teams applauded the decision, and the 1982 race was contested with mostly similar engine specifications as the previous year.
This week in racing history
From 50 years ago in 1970 at Brownstown, Bob Fleetwood won the late model feature race over Jack Owens, Don Hobbs, Dennis Boknecht and Paul Crockett.
Also, from 1970 at Haubstadt, Larry Miller won the sprint car feature race over Rex Mitchell, Richard Jackson, Ed Stines and Cliff Johns.
From 40 years ago this weekend at Brownstown, Paul Crockett won the late model feature over Dick Phillips, Steve Barnett and Bob Fleetwood. Tony Moore won the hobby stock main event over Roger Hehman, Mike Jewell, Rodney Harris and Mike Hauer.
From 40 years ago at Haubstadt, Rickey Hood won the sprint car feature over Larry Goad, Larry Gates, Allen Barr and Dick Gaines.
Also, from 1980 at Twin Cities, Dusty Chapman won the late model feature over Vern LeFevers, Gary Herbert, Russ Petro and Billy Teegarden.
From 30 years ago at Twin Cities, Paul Shafer won the late model feature over Terry Eaglin, John Gill, John Rhoades and Ray Godsey.
From 20 years ago at Brownstown, Mike Jewell won the Lee Fleetwood Memorial Race for late models over Steven Godsey, John Gill, Scott Smith and Richie Hedrick. Tim Clark took the super stock feature over Mike Fields, Trent Niflis, Gregg O’Neill and Brad Cummings. The bomber feature was won by Matt Bex over Ray Godsey Jr., Bubba Woods, John Phelps and Matt Cummings.