Editor’s Note: With the help of the SPEED SPORT archives, here’s a brief look back at the 1985 running of the Indianapolis 500.
The Race
Danny Sullivan survived his own spin and dodged two crashing race cars to win the 69th annual Indianapolis 500 Sunday. He drove the No. 5 Miller American Cosworth-engined March at an average speed of 152.982 mph to win a late-race duel over Mario Andretti.
Sullivan led for 67 of the 200 laps, but really put it to Roger Penske’s March in the late stages of the race clipping off the 199th lap at 204.466 mph.
Starting from eighth, the 35-year-old third-year Indy Car driver first took the lead on lap 51 but later bad to overcome 1969 Indianapolis 500 winner Mario Andretti.
With Andretti leading on lap 120, Sullivan attempted a daring pass low on the inside of the first turn. He lost control, spinning directly in front of Andretti, turning completely around and beading toward the second turn.
“It was horrifying,” Andretti said of the incident which brought out the yellow light and sent both men to the pits to replace flat-spotted tires. ..I thought It was rather weird that he tried to do It (pass) there . . . He got a little experience out of that.”
Sullivan explained his bold move by commenting, “I went down on the apron with all four wheels there. As I started to come back up. I bit the little stripes (painted yellow lines) and just looped it. I thought that was all she wrote.” ·
Later Sullivan revealed that he thought there were only 12 laps instead of 80 left in the 200-lap chase when be made his move on Andretti.
Two-time world champion Emerson Fittipaldi inherited the lead, but dropped out while running second with 12 laps to go when a fuel hose broke.
On lap 140, Sullivan powered the red-and-white March-Cosworth around Andretti in the first turn and soon opened up an 11-second lead.
“I knew we had him (Andretti) handled then,” Sullivan related confidently. “The car was hooked up and it ran strong. There wasn’t any way Mario could catch me.”
Sullivan’s margin of victory was cut to 2.477 seconds when the field bunched up after Bill Whittington’s crash in the third turn on lap 192. Sullivan outran Andretti, who had to go around two lapped cars on lap 197, for the final four laps of green.
“This is the greatest day in my racing career,” Sullivan admitted. “Everybody dreams about it and everybody wants ft.”
Sullivan and Andretti were joined on the same lap at the finish by 1984 co-rookie of the year Roberto Guerrero in the No. 9 Master Mechanic Tools March.
Al Unser and Johnny Parsons completed the top five.
OTHER NOTES
-Sullivan became the first Indy 500 winner to earn more than half a million dollars, receiving a check for $507,662.50 at the champion’s banquet. It was also the first Indianapolis 500 purse to exceed $3 million, as $3,261,025 was distributed throughout the 33-car field.
-Sullivan addressed the spin.
“I thought that was all she wrote, but it just spun around and I didn’t hit anything. All of a sudden, the smoke cleared and I was facing tum two. So, I just stuck it down and took off,” Sullivan said.
-Flying Dutchman Arie Luyendyk, who was selected as winner of the AFNB Rookie-of-the-Year Award to the surprise of no one, said the month was “a great experience” and that he was “just real happy to ·be here.”
Luyendyk started 20th and finished seventh.
-Ten teams participating in the 69th Indianapolis 500 were fined a total of $8,450 for violations that occurred during the race.
-Pancho Carter drove a stock-block engine-powered machine to the pole with a four-lap qualifying average of 212.583 mph
