Indianapolis Motor Speedway | |||||
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Indianapolis 500 | |||||
Sanctioning body | USAC | ||||
Season | 1962 USAC season | ||||
Date | May 30, 1962 | ||||
Winner | Rodger Ward | ||||
Winning team | Leader Cards | ||||
Average speed | 140.293 mph (225.780 km/h) | ||||
Pole position | Parnelli Jones | ||||
Pole speed | 150.370 mph (241.997 km/h) | ||||
Fastest qualifier | Parnelli Jones | ||||
Rookie of the Year | Jim McElreath | ||||
Most laps led | Parnelli Jones (120) | ||||
Pre-race ceremonies | |||||
National anthem | Purdue Band | ||||
"Back Home Again in Indiana" | C. David Cochard | ||||
Starting Command | Tony Hulman | ||||
Pace car | Studebaker Lark Daytona Convertible | ||||
Pace car driver | Sam Hanks | ||||
Honorary starter | N/A | ||||
Attendance | 300,000 (estimated) | ||||
TV in the United States | |||||
Network | N/A | ||||
Announcers | N/A | ||||
Nielsen Ratings | N/A / N/A | ||||
Chronology | |||||
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The 46th International 500-Mile Sweepstakes was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana on Wednesday, May 30, 1962.
A historic pole day as Parnelli Jones breaks the 150 mph (240 km/h) barrier in qualifying. Rodger Ward and Len Sutton finish 1st-2nd for Leader Cards Racing.
The 1962 Indy 500 marked the final 500 wherein the entire 33-car field consisted of U.S.-born participants.
Time trials was scheduled for four days.
Parnelli Jones took the lead at the start, and led the first 59 laps. The first incident on the track occurred on lap 17. A four-car crash in turn four involved Jack Turner, Bob Christie, Allen Crowe, and Chuck Rodee. A lengthy yellow light period was needed to clean up the incident.
Rodger Ward led the final 31 laps en route to victory. It was his second 500 win, after winning also in 1959. His Leader Cards teammate Len Sutton finished second, accomplishing the first team "sweep" of 1st-2nd since the Blue Crown team did it in 1947 and 1948.
After dominating much of the early race, Parnelli Jones, who started on the pole and led 120 laps, finished 7th.
The race was carried live on the IMS Radio Network. Sid Collins served as chief announcer. Fred Agabashian served as "driver expert."
Newcomer Howdy Bell joined the crew, serving as a turn reporter. It was his first of over 40 years with the network.
Chief Announcer: Sid Collins
Driver expert: Fred Agabashian
Statistician: Charlie Brockman
Turn 1: Bill Frosh
Turn 2: Howdy Bell
Backstretch: Bernie Herman
Turn 3: Lou Palmer
Turn 4: Jim Shelton