1975 California 500

American auto race February 2025 United States California 500 1975 California 500 program cover.jpg March 9 1975 1975 California 500 3 13 USAC Championship Car Ontario Motor Speedway, Ontario, California, United States Permanent racing facility 2.500 4.023 200 500.000 804.672 USA A. J. Foyt A. J. Foyt Racing 196.549 mph km/h on USA A. J. Foyt A. J. Foyt Racing USA Bobby Unser All American Racers USA Steve Krisiloff Ralph Wilke The 1975 California 500, the sixth running of the event, was held at the Ontario Motor Speedway in Ontario, California, on Sunday, March 9, 1975. The event was race number 3 of 13 in the 1975 USAC Championship Car season. The race was won by A. J. Foyt, his first California 500 victory. Background On December 11, 1973, Lee Kunzman suffered a critical head injury while testing at Ontario. His car began to spin in turn one, hit the wall head-on, and then impacted the wall with the left-rear.https://www.newspapers.com/article/danville-register-and-bee-1973-ontario-k/132032565/ Danville Register and Bee Virginia Associated Press Race Driver Lee Kunzman Critically Hurt in Crash December 12, 1973 5 Kunzman was in a coma for two weeks. He returned to racing in early 1975 at the California 500.https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-indianapolis-news-1973-lee-kunzman-c/132033103/ Indianapolis News Indiana Associated Press Lee Kunzman Will Be Watching May 17, 1975 18 Jimmy Caruthers was diagnosed with a cancer in early January. Despite undergoing cobalt treatment five days a week, he still entered the California 500.https://www.newspapers.com/article/independent-1975-california-500-practice/132031639/ Independent California Associated Press Countdown to Cal 500 Starts Today February 21, 1975 40 Joe Leonard attempted to make a comeback at Ontario. During the 1974 California 500, Leonard blew a left-front tire on the frontstretch. The car instantly veered to the left and impacted the inside pit wall. Leonard suffered a compound fracture to his left leg and a shattered left ankle.https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-indianapolis-star-1974-joe-leonard/132111858/ Indianapolis Star Indiana Associated Press Leonard to Miss 500 1st Time Since 65 May 9, 1974 70 He was in a full leg cast for eight months. A. J. Foyt offered Leonard a car for the California 500 but the former champion failed a physical due to weakness in his left foot. Shortly after the California 500, Leonard filed a lawsuit against Firestone seeking loss of pay compensation, alleging an engineer admitted the tire was defective and separated.https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-indianapolis-star-1975-joe-leonard-l/132111980/ Indianapolis Star Indiana Associated Press Joe Leonard Sues Firestone March 19, 1975 45 Leonard never raced in IndyCar again. Practice and Time Trials Practice began on Saturday, February 22, with a special session for Mario Andretti before he left to compete in the 1975 South African Grand Prix. Andretti ran a fast speed of 182.6 mph on Saturday. On Sunday, Andretti ran a two-lap average of 185.128 mph to qualify for the race. He then took a helicopter to Los Angeles International Airport where a plane flew him to South Africa. Practice for the rest of the teams began on Tuesday. Al Unser was fastest with a speed of 188.282 mph.https://www.newspapers.com/article/independent-1975-california-500-tues-pra/132031904/ Independent California Associated Press Al Unser Hits 189 in Tuneup February 26, 1975 25 On Wednesday, Bobby Unser was fastest at 191.391 mph.https://www.newspapers.com/article/press-telegram-1975-california-500-wed-p/132031972/ Press-Telegram California Associated Press Bob Unser Spins 191 at Ontario February 27, 1975 47 A. J. Foyt arrived on Thursday for practice and backed up his speed the year prior with a top speed of 196.687 mph. One lap after posting that speed, Foyt blew an engine on the backstretch.https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-los-angeles-times-1975-california-50/132032011/ Los Angeles Times California Associated Press A.J. Arrives - 196.6 MPH February 28, 1975 46 Pole Day - Saturday March 1 As was done in the past two years, pole qualifying would set the front row for the California 500 and the starting lineup for two heat races held on Sunday. A. J. Foyt won the pole with a two-lap average speed of 196.549 mph. Bobby Unser was second at 194.553 mph, with two laps at the exact same speed. Completing the front row was Al Unser with an average speed of 192.864 mph.https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-los-angeles-times-1975-california-50/132032178/ Los Angeles Times California Associated Press Foyt Wins the Pole, Twice March 2, 1975 37 Mario Andretti's speed from six days earlier put him 18th fastest. Heat Races The starting positions for the California 500 were set in part by a pair of 100-mile, 40-lap Heat Races on Sunday. Odd starting positions were in Heat One and even starting positions were in Heat Two. Each race paid 200 points towards the championship for the winner and paid money. Race 1 From the start of the race, A. J. Foyt was unchallenged. It was said he was capable of running two or three seconds a lap faster than the competition. Foyt led every lap and lapped the field. With three laps to go, John Martin blew an engine and brought out a race-ending caution flag. Only 4 of the 13 cars finished the race.https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-los-angeles-times-1975-cal-500-heats/132032287/ Los Angeles Times California Associated Press Foyt Shows Up Field With Blistering 177 March 3, 1975 31 Heat one result FinishGridNo Car numberNameEntrantChassisEngineLapsTime/StatusLed Laps ledPoints 1 1 14 USA A. J. Foyt A. J. Foyt Enterprises Coyote Foyt 40 0:33:52.920 40 200 2 4 11 USA Pancho Carter Fletcher Racing Team Eagle Offenhauser 39 Flagged 0 160 3 10 55 USA Lee Kunzman Fletcher Racing Team Eagle Offenhauser 39 Flagged 0 140 4 11 76 USA Billy Scott Webster Racing Eagle Offenhauser 38 Flagged 0 120 5 5 20 USA Gordon Johncock Patrick Racing Wildcat DGS 36 Lost power 0 100 6 9 89 USA John Martin Automotive Technology McLaren M16B Offenhauser 36 Engine 0 80 7 2 4 USA Al Unser Vel's Parnelli Jones Racing Eagle Offenhauser 35 Fuel pump 0 60 8 8 15 USA Roger McCluskey Lindsey Hopkins Racing Riley Offenhauser 34 Engine 0 50 9 3 68 USA Tom Sneva Penske Racing McLaren M16C Offenhauser 29 Vent cap 0 40 10 6 12 USA Mike Mosley Jerry O'Connell Racing Eagle Offenhauser 3 Valve 0 30 11 12 45 USA Gary Bettenhausen Don Gerhardt Eagle Offenhauser 2 Engine 0 20 12 7 94 USA Johnny Parsons Vatis Enterprises Finley Offenhauser 0 Did not start 0 0 13 13 97 USA George Snider Leader Card Racers Eagle Offenhauser 0 Did not start 0 0 Source:1975 Ontario Heat 11975 Ontario Indycars Race 2 From his position on the pole, Bobby Unser led the first 14 laps, but retired with a burnt piston. Wally Dallenbach took the lead and held it until his pit stop on lap 24. Salt Walther ran out of fuel and brought out a caution on lap 25. On the restart on lap 31, Dallenbach passed Steve Krisiloff to retake the lead. Dallenbach held a slim lead over Johnny Rutherford when George Follmer crashed with three laps to go and brought out the race-ending caution flag.https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-los-angeles-times-1975-cal-500-heat/132032319/ Los Angeles Times California Associated Press Foyt Hides From Race Field March 3, 1975 34 Follmer's car was unable to be repaired and withdrawn from the California 500. Heat two result FinishGridNo Car numberNameEntrantChassisEngineLapsTime/StatusLed Laps ledPoints 1 3 40 USA Wally Dallenbach Patrick Racing Eagle 75 Offenhauser 40 39:55.130 19 200 2 2 2 USA Johnny Rutherford Team McLaren McLaren M16D Offenhauser 40 Running 0 160 3 4 98 USA Steve Krisiloff Leader Card Racers Eagle Offenhauser 40 Running 5 140 4 6 6 USA Bill Vukovich II Fletcher Racing Team Eagle Offenhauser 40 Running 2 120 5 5 78 USA Jimmy Caruthers Alex Morales Motorsports Eagle Offenhauser 40 Running 0 100 6 8 16 USA Bobby Allison Penske Racing McLaren M16C Offenhauser 40 Running 0 0 7 15 58 CAN Eldon Rasmussen Rasmussen Racing Rascar Foyt 36 In pits 0 60 8 12 28 USA George Follmer American Kids Racers Eagle Offenhauser 34 Crash 0 0 9 10 38 USA Jerry Karl Carl Gehlhausen King Offenhauser 29 Out of fuel 0 40 10 1 48 USA Bobby Unser All American Racers Eagle Offenhauser 24 Piston 14 30 11 11 27 USA Tom Bigelow Vollstedt Enterprises Vollstedt Offenhauser 24 Lost power 0 20 12 7 77 USA Salt Walther Dayton-Walther McLaren M16C/D Offenhauser 23 Lost power 0 10 13 16 44 USA Dick Simon Dick Simon Racing Eagle Foyt 21 Universal joint 0 0 14 13 29 USA Lee Brayton Eisenhour-Brayton Racing Coyote Foyt 10 Handling 0 0 15 9 86 USA Al Loquasto Loquasto Racing McLaren Offenhauser 5 Turbocharger 0 0 16 14 73 USA Jerry Grant Fred Carillo Eagle Offenhauser 3 Transmission 0 0 17 17 99 USA Bob Harkey Joe Hunt Gerhardt Offenhauser 0 Did not start 0 0 Source:1975 Ontario Heat 21975 Ontario Indycars - Round 2 Race Cloudy skies and rain on race morning hurt attendance. A crowd of 51,218 was the then-smallest in the six-year history of the California 500.https://www.newspapers.com/article/southern-illinoisan-1975-california-500/132135831/ Southern Illinoisan Illinois Associated Press Foyt Wins Ontario 500 March 10, 1975 12 The start of the race was delayed 30 minutes as the track was dried from a morning rain.https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-indianapolis-star-1975-california-50/132143152/ Indianapolis Star Indiana Associated Press Foyt Drives Rocking Chair Triumph March 10, 1975 24 When the race began, A. J. Foyt pulled away from the field. The first caution came out on lap 7 when Bob Harkey lost a wheel bearing and came to a rest on track. Mario Andretti fell out of the race after 15 laps when he broke a connecting rod. Andretti's teammate, Al Unser, fell out of the race with a burnt piston on lap 25. A sudden rain storm on lap 68 almost cost Foyt an easy victory. As Foyt entered turn three, he hit the wet track and slid completely sideways. He was able to gather up the car and continue. While Foyt drove away from the field, the best battle on track was for third between Patrick Racing teammates Wally Dallenbach and Gordon Johncock. A broken radiator hose put Johncock out of the race on lap 149. Running second with 16 laps to go, Dallenbach blew an engine and retired. Foyt led 187 of the 200 laps and beat Bobby Unser by 43 seconds. It was Foyt's first win in the California 500. He became the first man to win all races in the Triple Crown, having won the Indianapolis 500 in 1961, 1964, and 1967, and the Pocono 500 in 1973. Box score FinishGridNo Car numberNameEntrantChassisEngineLapsTime/StatusLed Laps ledPoints 1 1 14 USA A. J. Foyt A. J. Foyt Enterprises Coyote Foyt 200 3:14:22.280 187 1000 2 2 48 USA Bobby Unser All American Racers Eagle Offenhauser 200 +43.410 9 800 3 7 98 USA Steve Krisiloff Leader Card Racers Eagle Offenhauser 197 Flagged 0 700 4 19 55 USA Lee Kunzman Fletcher Racing Team Eagle Offenhauser 195 Flagged 0 600 5 12 89 USA John Martin Automotive Technology McLaren M16B Offenhauser 193 Flagged 0 500 6 14 68 USA Tom Sneva Penske Racing McLaren M16C Offenhauser 193 Flagged 0 400 7 24 86 USA Al Loquasto Loquasto Racing McLaren M16B Offenhauser 188 Flagged 0 300 8 16 77 USA Salt Walther Dayton-Walther McLaren M16C/D Offenhauser 187 Flagged 0 250 9 25 58 CAN Eldon Rasmussen Rasmussen Racing Rascar Foyt 186 Flagged 0 200 10 4 40 USA Wally Dallenbach Patrick Racing Eagle Offenhauser 184 Piston 0 150 11 15 12 USA Mike Mosley Jerry O'Connell Racing Eagle Offenhauser 179 Piston 0 100 12 28 73 USA Jerry Grant Fred Carillo Eagle Offenhauser 178 Flagged 0 50 13 13 15 USA Roger McCluskey Lindsey Hopkins Racing Riley Offenhauser 170 Engine 0 0 14 26 45 USA Gary Bettenhausen Don Gerhardt Eagle Offenhauser 168 Flagged 0 0 15 10 20 USA Gordon Johncock Patrick Racing Wildcat DGS 149 Radiator hose 0 0 16 22 27 USA Tom Bigelow Vollstedt Enterprises Vollstedt Offenhauser 123 Oil pressure 0 0 17 5 2 USA Johnny Rutherford Team McLaren McLaren M16D Offenhauser 86 Piston 4 0 18 32 23 USA Jim McElreath Crower Engineering Eagle Chevrolet 84 Connecting rod 0 0 19 6 11 USA Pancho Carter Fletcher Racing Team Eagle Offenhauser 83 Gearbox 0 0 20 31 97 USA George Snider Leader Card Racers Eagle Offenhauser 58 Overheating 0 0 21 9 78 USA Jimmy Caruthers Alex Morales Motorsports Eagle Offenhauser 54 Valve 0 0 22 27 29 USA Lee Brayton Eisenhour-Brayton Racing Coyote Foyt 46 Black flagged (too slow) 0 0 23 8 6 USA Bill Vukovich II Fletcher Racing Team Eagle Offenhauser 39 Piston 0 0 24 23 44 USA Dick Simon Dick Simon Racing Eagle Foyt 37 Piston 0 0 25 17 94 USA Johnny Parsons Vatis Enterprises Finley Offenhauser 34 Gearbox 0 0 26 3 4 USA Al Unser Vel's Parnelli Jones Racing Eagle Offenhauser 24 Piston 0 0 27 29 10 USA Rick Muther A. J. Foyt Enterprises Coyote Foyt 17 Clutch 0 0 28 18 21 USA Mario Andretti Vel's Parnelli Jones Racing Eagle Offenhauser 15 Connecting rod 0 0 29 20 76 USA Billy Scott Webster Racing Eagle Offenhauser 7 Piston 0 0 30 30 99 USA Bob Harkey Joe Hunt Eagle Offenhauser 5 Wheel bearing 0 0 31 33 33 USA Larry McCoy Dayton-Walther McLaren Offenhauser 3 Oil pressure 0 0 32 11 16 USA Bobby Allison Penske Racing McLaren M16C Offenhauser 2 Valve 0 0 33 21 38 USA Jerry Karl Carl Gehlhausen King Offenhauser 1 Piston 0 0 Source:1975 California 5001975 California 500 - Round 3 Aftermath Ontario Motor Speedway was built using public bonds and the bond-owners were represented by the non-profit Ontario Motor Speedway Corporation. Since 1973, a group led by Parnelli Jones and Tony Hulman leased Ontario Motor Speedway and promoted racing events there. 15 days after the 1975 California 500, Jones announced that the group would terminate their lease with the non-profit group. Jones said, "We have lost a lot of money and the future doesn't look any better. There is too much politics involved in the speedway. We have to answer to the non-profit board that oversees the track, to the bank that represents the bond holders, and to the City Council, which can tell us what we can and can't promote."https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=AFlUAAAAIBAJ&sjid=1o4DAAAAIBAJ&pg=1906%2C4878463 Daily Record UPI Ellensburg, WA Jones says his group will terminate Ontario lease March 27, 1975 13 Moving forward, OMS Corp. eliminated the business of leasing to promoter groups and rehired Ray Smartis as General Manager on their behalf, who had worked with the track under past groups. Under his leadership, Smartis realized the track was unsustainable by using it only as a venue for large events and aimed to have the track pay their bills through small events such as swap meets, film production rentals, and concerts. The large events would help the track be profitable.https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-san-bernardino-county-sun-1975-ontar/132149820/ San Bernardino County Sun California Associated Press No More Mistakes For Ontario Speedway September 1, 1975 14 Smartis also moved the California 500 back to its original Labor Day weekend. "Running the California 500 in March proved to be a financial disaster," Smartis said in August 1975.https://www.newspapers.com/article/press-telegram-1975-ontario-new-manager/132149597/ Press Telegram California Associated Press Optimistic Future for Ontario Speedway August 29, 1975 32 "Considerable research had gone into the Labor Day scheduling back in 1968 when the speedway was built and that was the best possible time."https://www.newspapers.com/article/sun-post-news-1975-august-ontario-manage/132149191/ Sun Post News California Associated Press Ontario Speedway Making Big Changes August 27, 1975 7 Indy cars would return to Ontario in March with a 200-mile doubleheader paired with a USAC Stock Car race. References 2 1974 Phoenix 150 1975 1975 Bricklin 150 1974 California 500 California 500 1976 California 500 California 500 California 500 Category:California 500 (IndyCar)