1974 California 500 (partially found footage of USAC Championship Car Season race; 1974): Difference between revisions

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(One of the closest finishes in USAC history, as Bobby beats Al Unser to the line by 58‐hundredths of a second. Sadly, Joe Leonard suffered career-ending injuries at the event.)
 
(See Also sections all updated.)
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==See Also==
==See Also==
*[[1916-1922 Universal Film Trophy Races (lost footage of AAA races; 1916-1922)]]
*[[1962 Trenton 100 (lost footage of USAC Championship Car Season race; 1962)]]
*[[1962 Trenton 100 (lost footage of USAC Championship Car Season race; 1962)]]
*[[1962 Trenton 200 (lost footage of USAC Championship Car Season race; 1962)]]
*[[1962 Trenton 200 (lost footage of USAC Championship Car Season race; 1962)]]
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*[[1972 Best Western Motels 150 (lost footage of USAC Championship Car Season race; 1972)]]
*[[1972 Best Western Motels 150 (lost footage of USAC Championship Car Season race; 1972)]]
*[[1972 Indianapolis 500 (partially found footage of USAC Championship Car Season race; 1972)]]
*[[1972 Indianapolis 500 (partially found footage of USAC Championship Car Season race; 1972)]]
*[[1972 Michigan 200 (partially found footage of USAC Championship Car Season race; 1972)]]
*[[1972 Phoenix 150 (partially found footage of USAC Championship Car Season race; 1972)]]  
*[[1972 Phoenix 150 (partially found footage of USAC Championship Car Season race; 1972)]]  
*[[1972 Rex Mays Classic (partially found footage of USAC Championship Car Season race; 1972)]]  
*[[1972 Rex Mays Classic (partially found footage of USAC Championship Car Season race; 1972)]]  
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*[[1974 Schaefer 500 (lost footage of USAC Championship Car Season race; 1974)]]
*[[1974 Schaefer 500 (lost footage of USAC Championship Car Season race; 1974)]]
*[[1974 Trentonian 200 (partially found footage of USAC Championship Car Season race; 1974)]]
*[[1974 Trentonian 200 (partially found footage of USAC Championship Car Season race; 1974)]]
*[[1975 Bricklin 150 (lost footage of USAC Championship Car Season race; 1975)]]
*[[1975 Michigan 150 (lost footage of USAC Championship Car Season race; 1975)]]
*[[1975 Trentonian 200 (lost footage of USAC Championship Car Season race; 1975)]]
*[[1976 Indianapolis 500 (partially found footage of USAC Championship Car Season race; 1976)]]
*[[1976 Indianapolis 500 (partially found footage of USAC Championship Car Season race; 1976)]]
*[[1978 Daily Express Indy Silverstone (lost footage of USAC Championship Car Season race; 1978)]]  
*[[1976 Jimmy Bryan 150 (lost footage of USAC Championship Car Season race; 1976)]]
*[[1981 Pocono 500 (lost televised footage of IndyCar race; 1981)]]  
*[[1976 Michigan 150 (lost footage of USAC Championship Car Season race; 1976)]]
*[[1976 Schaefer 500 (lost footage of USAC Championship Car Season race; 1976)]]
*[[1976 Trenton Times Auto Classic (lost footage of USAC Championship Car Season race; 1976)]]
*[[1976 Trentonian 200 (lost footage of USAC Championship Car Season race; 1976)]]
*[[1977 American Parts 200 (lost footage of USAC Championship Car Season race; 1977)]]
*[[1977 Jimmy Bryan 150 (lost footage of USAC Championship Car Season race; 1977)]]
*[[1977 Michigan Grand Prix (lost footage of USAC Championship Car Season race; 1977)]]
*[[1977 Rex Mays Classic (lost footage of USAC Championship Car Season race; 1977)]]
*[[1977 Schaefer 500 (lost footage of USAC Championship Car Season race; 1977)]]
*[[1977 Texas Grand Prix (lost footage of USAC Championship Car Season race; 1977)]]
*[[1977 Trentonian 200 (lost footage of USAC Championship Car Season race; 1977)]]
*[[1978 Coors 200 (lost footage of USAC Championship Car Season race; 1978)]]
*[[1978 Daily Express Indy Silverstone (lost footage of USAC Championship Car Season race; 1978)]]
*[[1978 Daily Mail Indy Trophy (partially found CBS and BBC One footage of USAC Championship Car Season race; 1978)]]
*[[1978 Norton Twin 200 (lost footage of USAC Championship Car Season race; 1978)]]
*[[1979 Arizona Republic / Jimmy Bryan 150 (partially found footage of SCCA/CART IndyCar Series race; 1979)]]
*[[1979 California 500 (lost footage of SCCA/CART IndyCar Series race; existence unconfirmed; 1979)]]
*[[1979 Gould Grand Prix (lost footage of SCCA/CART IndyCar Series race; 1979)]]
*[[1980 Miller High Life 150 (partially found footage of CART PPG IndyCar World Series race; 1980)]]
*[[1980 Norton Twin 200 (lost footage of CART PPG IndyCar World Series race; 1980)]]
*[[1980 Primera Copa Mexico 150 (lost footage of CART PPG IndyCar World Series race; 1980)]]
*[[1980 Tony Bettenhausen 200 (lost footage of CART PPG IndyCar World Series race; 1980)]]
*[[1981 Kraco Car Stereo 150 (lost CART PPG IndyCar World Series race; 1981)]]  
*[[1981 Pocono 500 (lost footage of USAC Championship Car Season race; 1981)]]
*[[1996 Las Vegas 500K (partially lost footage of IRL Season race; 1996)]]
*[[Dan Wheldon (partially lost on-board footage of fatal IndyCar crash; 2011)]]  
*[[Indianapolis 500 WFBM-TV Broadcasts (lost racing footage; 1949-1950)]]  
*[[Indianapolis 500 WFBM-TV Broadcasts (lost racing footage; 1949-1950)]]  
*[[Indianapolis 500 MCA closed-circuit broadcasts (partially lost racing footage; 1964-1970)]]
*[[Indianapolis 500 MCA closed-circuit broadcasts (partially lost racing footage; 1964-1970)]]

Revision as of 13:48, 4 July 2022

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This article has been tagged as NSFL due to its discussion of a career-ending motor racing accident.


1974california5001.jpg

Program for the race.

Status: Partially Found

The 1974 California 500 was the third race of the 1974 USAC Championship Car Season. Occurring on 10th March at the Ontario Motor Speedway, the race would ultimately be by won by Bobby Unser, after narrowly edging out brother and fellow Eagle-Offenhauser driver Al Unser by 58‐hundredths of a second. However, the event is also known for the career-ending injuries two-time champion Joe Leonard suffered in an accident on lap 152.

Background

The 1974 California 500 was the fifth running of the event, with the annual race lasting 500 miles.[1] It was one of three 1974 USAC Championship Car Season races to commence at Ontario Motor Speedway;[2] the others were the Ontario Heats 1 and 2, which both occurred on 3rd March and helped decided the starting order.[3][4] The track itself was nicknamed the "Indianapolis of the West", and was also part of USAC's Triple Crown alongside the Indianapolis 500 and the Pocono 500.[5][6] However, the speedway closed in 1980 because of financial issues, and was demolished shortly afterwards.[5]

Prior to the race, two qualifying races were conducted on 3rd March to decide the order.[3][4] In race 1, Foyt won the pole position with a speed of 190.617 mph, and also led the entire 40-lap event to claim victory and $9,125 in prize money.[3] Bobby Unser took second, while Eagle-Offenhauser's Lloyd Ruby finished third.[3] In the second race, Rutherford won the pole position with a speed of 185.989 mph.[4] He ultimately won the event and $6,875, with the Eagle-Offenhausers of Jimmy Caruthers and Steve Krisiloff finishing second and third respectively.[4] Boasting both a greater pole and average speed compared to Rutherford's, it meant that Foyt qualified on pole position for the main race, with Rutherford second, and Unser lining up third out of 33 competitors.[1][3][4] Foyt was declared the pre-race favourite heading into the event.[7]

The Race

With the starting order decided, the 1974 California 500 commenced on 10th March.[1] Unser shot into the lead on the first lap, but Foyt regained it a lap later.[1] He led 21 laps before retiring following a broken oil line.[7][1] Unser regained the lead, holding it for the next 11 laps.[1] However, his brother Al was fast-closing, putting himself into the lead on lap 36.[1] Aside from a few brief leads from other drivers, including most notably Krisiloff, the race centred into a duel between the Unsers after Bobby passed Krisiloff for the first position on lap 93.[1][7] Meanwhile, Joe Leonard crashed his Eagle-Offenhauser into an inside wall on lap 152 when a tyre blew.[8][9][7][1] The impact caused the car's front end to collapse, resulting in Leonard suffering a compound fracture of the left leg and a crushed ankle joint.[7] The resulting injuries ended his career, he was unable to compete in the following year's California 500 upon failing a physical examination.[9][8] A two-time consecutive USAC champion between 1971-1972, Leonard also experienced success racing motorcycles in the 1950s.[9][8]

Leonard's accident forced a caution period that ended after lap 162.[7] By this point, Al led Bobby by 7.1 seconds thanks to five lapped cars being between them.[7][1] Nevertheless, Bobby persevered, eventually cutting the margin to 1.05 seconds by lap 170.[7] A lap later, he passed Al to move into the first position.[1][7] Following the final pitstops, Bobby remained in front, with a margin of 1.1 seconds with 17 laps remaining.[7][1] He increased this to 1.8 seconds with two laps to go, but Al attempted one last charge.[7] The younger Unser almost succeeded in regaining the lead, as he cut the gap to just 58‐hundredths of a second.[7] However, that 58‐hundredths of a second was enough for Bobby to remain in first, thus claiming victory and $88,758.[7][1] Eagle-Offenhauser's Jerry Grant finished a lap down in third.[1]

Availability

According to IndyCar on TV, the final 90 minutes of the race would be televised live by ABC as part of its ABC Championship Auto Racing.[10] The broadcast has yet to resurface, although a silent fan recording and photos of the event can be found online.

Gallery

Video

Silent footage of the race.

See Also

References

  1. ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 Racing-Reference detailing the qualifying and race results of the event. Retrieved 15 Jun '22
  2. ↑ Racing-Reference detailing the 1974 USAC Championship Car Season schedule. Retrieved 15 Jun '22
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 Racing-Reference detailing the results of the 1974 Ontario Heat 1. Retrieved 15 Jun '22
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 Racing-Reference detailing the results of the 1974 Ontario Heat 2. Retrieved 15 Jun '22
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Circuits of the Past detailing the history of the Ontario Motor Speedway. Retrieved 15 Jun '22
  6. ↑ ESPN detailing USAC's Triple Crown. Retrieved 15 Jun '22
  7. ↑ 7.00 7.01 7.02 7.03 7.04 7.05 7.06 7.07 7.08 7.09 7.10 7.11 7.12 The New York Times reporting on Unser winning the race. Retrieved 15 Jun '22
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 The New York Times reporting on Leonard's accident and his attempt to enter the following California 500. Retrieved 15 Jun '22
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 Speed Sport detailing Leonard's career and his career-ending injury at the event. Retrieved 15 Jun '22
  10. ↑ IndyCar on TV detailing the ABC broadcast of the race. Retrieved 15 Jun '22
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