1975 California 500

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.

United States 1975 California 500
Race details
Race 3 of 13 in the 1975 USAC Championship Car season
DateMarch 9, 1975
Official name1975 California 500
LocationOntario Motor Speedway, Ontario, California, United States
CoursePermanent racing facility
2.500 mi / 4.023 km
Distance200 laps
500.000 mi / 804.672 km
Pole position
DriverUnited States A. J. Foyt (A. J. Foyt Racing)
Time196.549 mph (316.315 km/h)
Podium
FirstUnited States A. J. Foyt (A. J. Foyt Racing)
SecondUnited States Bobby Unser (All American Racers)
ThirdUnited States Steve Krisiloff (Ralph Wilke)

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.[1] Kunzman suffered critical head injuries and was in a coma for two weeks. He returned to racing in early 1975 at the California 500.[2]

Jimmy Caruthers was diagnosed with a cancer in early January. Despite undergoing cobalt treatment five days a week, he still entered the California 500.[3]

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.[4] 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.[5] 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.[3] Andretti ran a fast speed of 182.6 mph on Saturday.[3] 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.[3] Practice for the rest of the teams began on Tuesday. Al Unser was fastest with a speed of 188.282 mph.[6] On Wednesday, Bobby Unser was fastest at 191.391 mph.[7] 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.[8]

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.[9] 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 tow 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. Foyt lapped the entire field and only 4 of the 13 cars finished the race.[10]

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.[10][11] Follmer's car was unable to be repaired and withdrawn from the California 500.

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.[12] The start of the race was delayed 30 minutes as the track was dried from a morning rain.[13]

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.

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."[14] 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.[15]

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.[16] "Considerable research had gone into the Labor Day scheduling back in 1968 when the speedway was built and that was the best possible time."[17] Indy cars would return to Ontario in March with a 200-mile doubleheader paired with a USAC Stock Car race.

References
  1. "Race Driver Lee Kunzman Critically Hurt in Crash". Danville Register and Bee. (Virginia). Associated Press. December 12, 1973. p. 5.
  2. "Lee Kunzman Will Be Watching". Indianapolis News. (Indiana). Associated Press. May 17, 1975. p. 18.
  3. "Countdown to Cal 500 Starts Today". Independent. (California). Associated Press. February 21, 1975. p. 40.
  4. "Leonard to Miss 500 1st Time Since 65". Indianapolis Star. (Indiana). Associated Press. May 9, 1974. p. 70.
  5. "Joe Leonard Sues Firestone". Indianapolis Star. (Indiana). Associated Press. March 19, 1975. p. 45.
  6. "Al Unser Hits 189 in Tuneup". Independent. (California). Associated Press. February 26, 1975. p. 25.
  7. "Bob Unser Spins 191 at Ontario". Press-Telegram. (California). Associated Press. February 27, 1975. p. 47.
  8. "A.J. Arrives - 196.6 MPH". Los Angeles Times. (California). Associated Press. February 28, 1975. p. 46.
  9. "Foyt Wins the Pole, Twice". Los Angeles Times. (California). Associated Press. March 2, 1975. p. 37.
  10. "Foyt Shows Up Field With Blistering 177". Los Angeles Times. (California). Associated Press. March 3, 1975. p. 31.
  11. "Foyt Hides From Race Field". Los Angeles Times. (California). Associated Press. March 3, 1975. p. 34.
  12. "Foyt Wins Ontario 500". Southern Illinoisan. (Illinois). Associated Press. March 10, 1975. p. 12.
  13. "Foyt Drives Rocking Chair Triumph". Indianapolis Star. (Indiana). Associated Press. March 10, 1975. p. 24.
  14. "Jones says his group will terminate Ontario lease". Daily Record. Ellensburg, WA. UPI. March 27, 1975. p. 13.
  15. "No More Mistakes For Ontario Speedway". San Bernadino County Sun. (California). Associated Press. September 1, 1975. p. 14.
  16. "Optimistic Future for Ontario Speedway". Press Telegram. (California). Associated Press. August 29, 1975. p. 32.
  17. "Ontario Speedway Making Big Changes". Sun Post News. (California). Associated Press. August 27, 1975. p. 7.
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