Indy 500 driver-changes after qualifying

Hello!

In the 2009 Indy 500 Conquest changed the drivers: Junqueira who could qualify the Conques Dallara Honda is replaced by his teammate Alex Tagliani.

Was something already happen in the past?

Lots of times. In the 1970s Mario Andretti was too busy winning Grands Prix to qualify for the Indy 500 so he got Mike Hiss to do so for him. Dick Simon's sponsor paid for him to take team-mate John Mahler's place in about 1972. Tim Richmond was bumped in 1981 so he took over George Snider's car. And Scott Goodyear took over Mike Groff's car in 1992 when he missed the race. He had to start from 33rd - and missed out on winning by a couple of hundredths of a second. Had he qualified himself, or had Groff raced the car, perhaps the winner would have been different...

Nah, you can't say that with the amount of yellows in an average Indy 500, especially that year.

I'm sure someone has done it this decade. I'm thinking Giaffone or someone like that. In fact the one I have in my head is Giaffone in the second Mo Nunn/Hollywood car as Kanaan's teammate.

Partially correctl. It was Giaffone, it was a Hollywood car, but it was 2001 and he was at Treadway. Boesel got the second car in, Giaffone got bumped, Giaffone made the secondary entry his primary.

http://www.theautoch.../21/021376.html

Edited by Ross Stonefeld, 18 May 2009 - 19:38.

Lots of times. In the 1970s Mario Andretti was too busy winning Grands Prix to qualify for the Indy 500 so he got Mike Hiss to do so for him. Dick Simon's sponsor paid for him to take team-mate John Mahler's place in about 1972. Tim Richmond was bumped in 1981 so he took over George Snider's car. And Scott Goodyear took over Mike Groff's car in 1992 when he missed the race. He had to start from 33rd - and missed out on winning by a couple of hundredths of a second. Had he qualified himself, or had Groff raced the car, perhaps the winner would have been different...

Nice synopsis.

Thank you very much!
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Scott Goodyear been bumped and re-inserted back in the field twice. 1992 was one and the other was 1994 driving for Kenny Bernstein. Davy Jones qualified the car.

And there was one occasion - 1960 - where Jimmy Daywalt flat-out refused to drive a car he had qualified on the basis it nearly killed him to do so. Dempsey Wilson gladly took over and was the first car out of the race.

I think when Michael Andretti and Paul Tracy were team mates at Newman Haas, Andretti qualified a second car for the race in case Tracy didn't make it in. Tracy made it in though and the car was withdrawn.

Johnnie Parsons' 1957 ride was qualified by Dick Rathmann, who picked up an eye injury and had to step aside.

So Mario isn't even the first former winner to make the field this way (btw the year Hiss qualified for him was 1978 - the whole first weekend was rained out and there was the small matter of the Monaco GP awaiting on the secong weekend)

When Danny Ongais took over for Scott Brayton did he start at the tail of the field by choice?

When Danny Ongais took over for Scott Brayton did he start at the tail of the field by choice?

No - there was talk of a missing man formation which I think they should have done.

So the IRL moved him to the rear?

So the IRL moved him to the rear?

Well USAC did.

Gotcha, thank you.

Happened very often in the early days. From memory, Joe Boyer qualified at least three cars that were driven by other drivers in the race, and ironically won the '500' in a car that was qualified (and started) by someone else!

Thank you very much!
Hop reading more...

1971 or was it 1970?

John Mahler qualified a Dick Simon entered car, Dick failed to qualify.
Sponsor obligations required Dick to drive a car in the 500 so Mahler was put aside and Dick started the race.

To his credit, Dick didn't do the same in 1986 when he was 34th fastest and teammate Boesel still in the field.
A carb day incident wiepd out Dennis Firestonés car so Dick was permitted to start as 1st alternate.


1981:

Tim Richmond had failed to qualify for the race, George Snider had qualified a A.J. Foyt backup car, a Parnelli-Cosworth (non ground effects car) A.J. had a ground effects Coyote
Richmond's sponsors waved with a lot of money and Snider was sold out of the seat so Richmond started the race.


Henri

Snider only drove about 7 laps all month. He had an amazing ability to nail a set-up and get a car in the field. Unless it was AJ's nitrous bottle trick, of course.

Thank you all for posting!

No - there was talk of a missing man formation which I think they should have done.

I agree, but then they wouldn't have had Tony boy on the pole...like they wanted, and as they resented Brayton for outqualifying "the chosen one"...

And every time it's "reported" since, Stewart won the pole for Indy in '96. Which, of course, is not correct...

Nice to erase someone else entirely to boost your charge. A pattern that reached it's worst with that.

I agree, but then they wouldn't have had Tony boy on the pole...like they wanted, and as they resented Brayton for outqualifying "the chosen one"...

And every time it's "reported" since, Stewart won the pole for Indy in '96. Which, of course, is not correct...

Nice to erase someone else entirely to boost your charge. A pattern that reached it's worst with that.

Boy, does this all ring so true... Scott was a family friend; one of my best friends, Mark McComb grew up with Scott. Scott is buried next to Mark's grandfather - I was just telling Mark last night how on Pole Day the big screen at IMS is showing Mario, Mears, Foyt, etc. talking of great Pole Day memories. Up comes Tony Stewart talking of his Pole "win" in his rookie year and how it meant so much, blah, blah, blah... not one word about Scott Brayton (his "teammate" mind you). I was livid. It is bad enough to have lost him. It is almost criminal in my mind how they try to forget him. Yes, they have a nice award that is given each year to the driver best reflecting the wonderful spirit that was Scott. For God's sake - give him his due for his last hurrah - Pole Winner for the 1996 Indianapolis 500.

Brian Brown

Boy, does this all ring so true... Scott was a family friend; one of my best friends, Mark McComb grew up with Scott. Scott is buried next to Mark's grandfather - I was just telling Mark last night how on Pole Day the big screen at IMS is showing Mario, Mears, Foyt, etc. talking of great Pole Day memories. Up comes Tony Stewart talking of his Pole "win" in his rookie year and how it meant so much, blah, blah, blah... not one word about Scott Brayton (his "teammate" mind you). I was livid. It is bad enough to have lost him. It is almost criminal in my mind how they try to forget him. Yes, they have a nice award that is given each year to the driver best reflecting the wonderful spirit that was Scott. For God's sake - give him his due for his last hurrah - Pole Winner for the 1996 Indianapolis 500.

By any chance was this something taken directly from Versus? (I ask because I didn't see the full day).

By any chance was this something taken directly from Versus? (I ask because I didn't see the full day).

I think that it was an IMS production. I saw no Versus coverage of Pole Day, as I was at the track.

Brian

And, of course, during the race for a number of years it was not uncommon to replace the driver with one and sometimes multiple relief drivers.

I think something which may or may not make this driver change a bit different from the past is that the driver is being replaced by a rookie driver. I don't know if that has been done before but someone here will surely know.

Perhaps after a driver passes his or her rookie test they are treated by the rules the same as any other driver.


Among the many things that I don't know is much about Ziggy Snider. My memory is that usually on Bump Day he would take a few practice laps in one of Foyt's cars and put it in the show. Did he ever have a first class ride for the Race?

Enjoy this



http://www.foytracin...ses/index.shtml

Among the many things that I don't know is much about Ziggy Snider. My memory is that usually on Bump Day he would take a few practice laps in one of Foyt's cars and put it in the show. Did he ever have a first class ride for the Race?

Off the top of my head, he started 3rd in the 1966 race in the second Foyt entry. Crashed out early, though not in the big one at the start.

Brian

I think that it was an IMS production. I saw no Versus coverage of Pole Day, as I was at the track.

I am curious for a reason and wonder if it was shared. If so, it would explain a lot as Lingner Enterprises was the production company behind the promotion of Stewart and Gordon (and are the producers of the Versus coverage).

Sounds like their work.