1971 INDIANAPOLIS 500

The 55th 500 Mile International Sweepstakes was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana on Saturday, May 29, 1971. Al Unser, Sr. won for the second consecutive year, dominating most of the race. The race was marred by a crash involving the pace car at the start. Eldon Palmer, a local Indianapolis-area Dodge dealer, lost control of the Dodge Challenger pace car at the south end of the pit area, and it crashed into a photographers' stand, injuring 29 people, two seriously.
Peter Revson started on the pole with a speed of over 178 miles per hour, more than a mile per hour faster than any other qualifier, with defending champ Al Unser in the middle of the second row. Mark Donohue, who qualified in the middle of the front row, took the lead at the start of the race and led the first 50 laps. A mechanical issue ended his day after just 66 laps, and Unser assumed the lead. He and Joe Leonard swapped the lead several times during the middle portion of the race, but Unser led for the final 83 laps, giving him a win for the second year in a row.
Unser (born on May 29, 1939) became the first and only driver to date to win the race on his birthday. It was his second of an eventual four Indy victories. Unser also became the first winner to celebrate in the new victory lane. The new winner's area, now featuring black and white checkered ramps, was moved from the south end of the pits to the "horseshoe" area immediately below the Master Control Tower, near the start/finish line.
The 1971 Indy 500 was part of the newly re-organized USAC Marlboro Championship Trail, in which dirt tracks were separated from the paved ovals and road courses. From then on, the Gold Crown championship schedule would consist solely of paved tracks (both ovals and road courses), giving the national championship a decidedly new look for the 1970s and beyond. In addition, with 500-mile races at Ontario and Pocono now on the schedule, Indy car racing formed its first "triple crown."
The city of Indianapolis celebrated its Sesquicentennial in 1971, and the occasion was reflected on the bronze and silver pit badges for the month of May.^[1] During the week leading up to the race, Indianapolis was also the site of 1971 NATO International Conference of Cities. Taken from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1971_Indianapolis_500

Starting Lineup

Row 1	Peter Revson	Mark Donohue	Bobby Unser
Row 2	Denis Hulme	Al Unser	A.J. Foyt
Row 3	Lloyd Ruby	Joe Leonard	Mario Andretti
Row 4	Jim Malloy	Bill Vukovich II	Gordon Johncock
Row 5	Gary Bettenhausen	Cale Yarborough	Bentley Warren
Row 6	David Hobbs	Bud Tingelstad	Rick Muther
Row 7	Mike Mosley	Donnie Allison	George Snider
Row 8	Roger McCluskey	Wally Dallenbach	Johnny Rutherford
Row 9	Sam Sessions	Larry Dickson	Steve Krisiloff
Row 10	Denny Zimmerman	George Follmer	Mel Kenyon
Row 11	Art Pollard	Bob Harkey	Dick Simon
Other Drivers on Entry List:
Al Loquasto
Arnie Knepper
Bill Puterbaugh
Bill Simpson
Bobby Johns
Bruce Jacobi
Bruce Walkup
Carl Williams
Dave Strickland
Dee Jones
Greg Weld
Jerry Grant
Jerry Karl
Jigger Sirois
Jim Hurtubise
Jim McElreath
Jimmy Caruthers
John Mahler
John Martin
Larry Cannon
Lee Roy Yarbrough
Les Scott
Ronnie Bucknum
Salt Walther
Sam Posey
Tony Adamowicz
Race Results:
Finish	Driver	Laps	Status	Prize Money
1	Al Unser	200	157.735	$238,454
2	Peter Revson	200	157.419	$103,198
3	A.J. Foyt	200	156.069	$64,753
4	Jim Malloy	200	154.577	$38,669
5	Bill Vukovich II	200	154.563	$32,447
6	Donnie Allison	199	Running	$30,093
7	Bud Tingelstad	198	Running	$28,206
8	Denny Zimmerman	189	Running	$27,658
9	Roger McCluskey	188	Running	$22,980
10	Gary Bettenhausen	178	Running	$24,419
11	Lloyd Ruby	174	Gears	$21,866
12	Bobby Unser	164	Accident	$24,842
13	Mike Mosley	159	Accident	$20,345
14	Dick Simon	151	Running	$18,870
15	George Follmer	147	Piston	$18,281
16	Cale Yarborough	140	Cam cover	$17,370
17	Denis Hulme	137	Valve	$17,887
18	Johnny Rutherford	128	Running	$16,682
19	Joe Leonard	123	Turbocharger	$19,906
20	David Hobbs	107	Accident	$16,009
21	Rick Muther	85	Accident	$16,190
22	Bob Harkey	77	Gears	$15,399
23	Bentley Warren	76	Gears	$14,486
24	Wally Dallenbach	69	Valve	$14,602
25	Mark Donohue	66	Gears	$26,697
26	Art Pollard	45	Valve	$14,770
27	Sam Sessions	43	Valve	$13,721
28	Larry Dickson	33	Engine failure	$13,600
29	Gordon Johncock	11	Accident	$13,458
30	Mario Andretti	11	Accident	$13,245
31	Steve Krisiloff	10	Oil-Spun out	$13,260
32	Mel Kenyon	10	Accident	$14,153
33	George Snider	6	Stalled	$13,974
Lap Leaders:
1 50	Mark Donohue
51-52	Joe Leonard
53-64	Bobby Unser
65-66	Mark Donohue
67-72	Al Unser
73-82	Joe Leonard
83-87	Al Unser
88-94	Joe Leonard
95-98	Al Unser
99-101	Lloyd Ruby
102-110	Bobby Unser
111-115	Al Unser
116-117	Joe Leonard
118-200	Al Unser