1985 Indianapolis 500 | Official Full-Race Broadcast | The 'Spin and Win'

The 1985 Indianapolis 500 took place on Sunday, May 26, 1985 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The 69th Running of the Indianapolis 500 was host to one of the most famous wins in Indy 500 history. Spin and Win: 1:16:48 | Race Finish: 2:12:40
As Danny Sullivan went to pass racing-legend Mario Andretti for the lead on lap 120, Sullivan's car went below the white line and subsequently spun coming out of the turn. Sullivan managed to save the car with no damage and go on to pass Andretti for the lead and ultimately win the race.
The 1985 Indianapolis 500 became known as the "Spin and Win" and is considered as one of the Indianapolis 500's most famous racing moments.

[@wardhog10]

Jim McKay gave it the Murray Walker kiss of death at 1:22:16, talking about breaking the stereotype that people only watch racing to see crashes, then two seconds later there's a huge crash.

[@altfactor]

During the years ABC carried the Indianapolis "500" on a same-day tape-delay basis, Jim McKay's call of the start, the first few laps, the last few laps, and the finish was done as the race took place. His play-by-play call of the middle of the race was recorded when the edited tape was broadcast. That might explain his comment on the stereotype of races and crashes, and also explain why his opening comments were carried live, several hours after the race had ended.

[@beeemm2578]

The horror in Jim's voice is REAL.

[@urmo345]

textbook example of commentator's curse :D

[@gavkiwi]

another amazing Indy 500 classic race, thanks IMS

[@georgemallory797]

This was the year I graduated from high school. It was also the last time we had to watch a taped race later in the evening, as 1986 ushered in live Indy 500 coverage, thank God.

[@bertpar68]

Not in Indianapolis

[@MarsJenkar]

@@bertpar68 Yeah, Indianapolis still had the tape delay for a long time after that because of local blackout rules. If you wanted live race coverage, you either had to attend the race yourself, or you had to tune in to the race via the radio. Thankfully the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Radio Network was an excellent way to catch the race.

[@CH-ws1mh]

This was my first race. I was 10. Since then i have been to 31 races. This race was the most amazing thing i had ever seen and made me a lifelong indycar fan.

[@unvrknow22]

1:15:55 Just amazing seeing Danny slowly catch Mario and then go side by side into turn 1 for the lead. Usually one driver or another will yield, but neither did in that moment. Danny clearly momentarily lost grip while turning on the painted line, leading to the spin. How did he keep the car off the wall? How did Mario avoid Danny in that cloud of tire smoke? Incredibly skillful driving by both drivers, yet unbelievably lucky that they each weren't crashed out of the race then and there.

[@stilldajoker]

I was infield backstretch right on the fence. Danny had been catching Mario. Nobody knew about the spin ... just that Mario came by at like 210 race speed and here came Sullivan under power but at maybe 130. Next lap Mario had a good lead but you could tell Danny was back up to speed. Just sharing a different perspective from the days before instant info.

[@justashesaid]

I was on the front stretch. Indeed, Sullivan was closing in for the pass as they faded from sight. The phenomenonal and now-deeply-missed Tom Carnegie was calling the action and seemed (understandably) confused by all the tire smoke. He alluded to Sullivan in an incident and Andretti making it through. He still seemed to be trying to account for where Sullivan was, well after the spin. Meanwhile, both Andretti and Sullivan were pitting before he was able to make sense of it. What a beautiful day, blessed to be able to experience that place in that era as a teenager.

[@MarsJenkar]

If you'd had a radio tuned in to the IMS Radio Network you might have been able to garner what was happening in real time... but it would have been difficult to hear the radio over the crowd without a good set of headphones.

[@johnjones5354]

I was sitting in stand G, and the spin occurred right in front of me. I had just happened to be prepared to take a picture of Mario as he passed, and actually got a great series of 4-5 of the whole thing.

[@MarsJenkar]

@@justashesaid He was probably looking for the _wreckage_ of Sullivan's car, not realizing that he had spun without actually crashing.

[@finntjomstol9364]

@@johnjones5354can you upload slideshow on your channel?

[@vinewood8295]

Ahhh the 1985 March Chassis, one of my favorite IndyCars of alltime. This 1985 race is my #2 favorite behind only the 1991 race won by Mears...

[@robc.5745]

I was there and seen it from turn 1 ! Unbelievable !

[@dlbarney2]

Did you seen that wabbit in 1988?

[@CaptainRon956]

I sat in the first row of the SW vista of turn one... I had the best seat in the house and witnessed this incredible moment in racing. I heard the squealing of tires, and inhaled the thick smoke of burnt tires.

[@nos1995]

Need goggles at my local track for rubber debris flying, scrublords lolz

[@chocolatetownforever7537]

Amazing story.

[@richardbullwood5941]

Lived in Indianapolis all my life, I had just gotten my driver's license around the race in 85. I remember the spinning win. But more than that, my favorite era of Indy cars when it comes to looks is the mid to late '80s. I think Danny Sullivan's car in this race is the prettiest Indy car ever

[@pbandj37]

And thank God that Jim Nabors returned to singing "Back Home Again in Indiana" shortly after this.

[@garylewis6495]

Amen!

[@WindTunnelRacing]

This was WAY Better!! The Arrangement was phenomenal. AS Was the Harmonica version that changed key from F to Ab.

[@Slinger43]

I watched this race when it first aired & haven't watched it again until now. I thought maybe I just didn't remember it as it really happened that terrible day in May 85. After watching it again, it turns out I remembered it perfectly 🤬!!! LOL! As you can probably tell, I'm a Mario fan 😭

[@saltybildo9448]

Mario always had a rough go i can hear em now bitchin on the radio on my way baxk ro Ohio lol

[@mwalker3547]

Mario got screwed so many times at IMS.

[@watsonroadster3707]

Watching Andretti suffering was always a good time for me...This and '87's catastrophe were highlights of the '80's at Indy for me...

[@Slinger43]

​@@watsonroadster3707Wow! You sound like such a sorry little man, it alway's such a sad thing to see. It's been my experience in life that the more one Hate's on Greatness, the Greater the hated grow's! So tell us all, how did you hating on Mario so much workout for ya? 😂

[@watsonroadster3707]

@@Slinger43 Nothing better than hearing," Andretti is slowing on the back straight and the power is off!!!"...

[@bloqk16]

Such a spin, that Sullivan took in this race, if it was done by an IRL car in 2019, it would have put it into the wall. The present day cars just seem a lot more finicky than what they were back in the 1980s.

[@SoberBhoy]

This is how I quarantine

[@fabianrocha9924]

This is how WE quarantine

[@luccianodeive6605]

GRACIAS POR COMPARTIR ESTE GRAN VÍDEO. THANK YOU FOR SHARING THIS GREAT VÍDEO.

[@raymonddionne5088]

I just finally noticed that on the lap that Danny Sullivan spun because Mario's pit was before the start/finish line and Danny's was after Danny actually made a pass for the lead and lead the lap he spun on. Never noticed that before

[@altfactor]

This was the fifteenth and last time the race was shown on American television on a tape delay the evening of the day the race was held. Since 1986, the race has been televised live in the United States.

[@cjs83172]

One thing about this race regarding the final results is that, despite what Jim McKay said about not expecting changes regarding the order of finish by the time the results became official the next morning, which is how it was done back then, quite a bit changed. Johnny Parsons, Jr. had apparently not been credited with one lap and both Johnny Rutherford and Howdy Holmes were each penalized one lap for passing under caution. That resulted in Parsons finishing fifth, Rutherford sixth, and Luyendyk seventh. Holmes' finishing position was not affected, as he still wound up 10th, in spite of his penalty and driving the last 75 laps of the race with what had to be a damaged car as a result of driving down into Rich Vogler, starting that wreck with Vogler and Tom Sneva.

[@catjudo1]

I remember that my dad taped the race on a new VCR my grandmother had bought for us (we all had to be in Ft. Worth for a funeral. Yay.) and I probably rewatched it some 50 times over the next couple of years. I was so mad at Sullivan because he kept my favorite driver from winning!

[@raymonddionne5088]

How did you feel 2 years later when Mario was a lap up cruising to victory? Mario being my favorite driver ever

[@eaglesquack]

I was sitting right there in turn two and observed the miracle!

[@MetropolisGrafix]

I was in the infield at turn 2. I inhaled Danny Sullivan tire smoke for sure.

[@jarno1592]

1:29:00 the in-race interview is just amazing

[@TinHatRanch]

Disney’s 1985 “Voices of Liberty” had more talent than the ENTIRE corporation has today.

[@speedybuilds2878]

Was thinking this while listening to them sing. Saw them at Epcot 10-15 years ago. Almost brought a tear to my eye. Are they even a thing anymore? Doesn't seem to fit little 2024 Disney.

[@gary24fan]

I always liked the live shots Jim McKay and Company did at the beginning of the broadcast. Kind of a lonely look at the track after the excitement is all over. This was the last time the race was tape-delayed. They went live beginning in 1986. Also at 25:42, Jack Arute should have gotten a penalty for running over the air hose. :D

[@darrentoronto73]

Thank you so much for the upload. Just awesome

[@kennethterry8196]

Priceless and Amazing Race footage. That’s why it’s The Greatest Spectacle In Racing!!

[@john2ndname]

One of the best American drivers Indy race I've seen!..Danny is one blessed guy!...OMG!...Great race!

[@Tamburello_1994]

@ 2:09:50 Just weird seeing the crash crew wearing t-shirts and bluejeans -- no protective equipment whatsoever responding to this wreck.

[@stevezeoke]

Danny racing under green with a few laps left... "Danny, this is Sam. Can you hear me?!"

[@smartdetoxnick3942]

File this comment under "Who cares?!" But....I started driving in the mid 90s and was handed down the limited edition 1985 Indianapolis Pace Car replica. Oldsmobile Calais. Silver and Burgundy leather interior. Aluminum block V6? It had a lot of juice 0-60mph. Now I look back and realize how nice of a car it was for a starter car! If I weren't so socially awkward that car would have had me plenty of prom date!

[@plantfeeder6677]

I wish Mario had won. But after that spin, how could you not root for the kid.

[@bob5007]

We were in the Snake Pit that year. The only part of the track we could see was right where Sullivan spun in front of Mario. Just amazing to see. Those were the days!

[@patrickgray5633]

It's the greatest thing I've seen as a Indy 500 watcher my whole life. 99.9% of the drivers hit the wall when they spin no idea how Danny Sullivan saved it.

[@Slinger43]

@@patrickgray5633 That's ok, neither did Danny! 😖😳😃 LOL!

[@jaymalamute5730]

Jim Nabors will always remain the best singer of Back Home Again. But the Voices Of Liberty did a magnificent version here!

[@anibalbabilonia1867]

The spin and win!🏆🥇one of the most exiting races of all times!👌😎👍

[@henrygandy3883]

Andretti had a similar white line "wiggle" like Sullivan observed by Sneva and hence his step on the binders !!!

[@gregj831]

Danny Sullivan made Mario cry on that day.

[@dlbarney2]

Ala, 1982..good one!

[@jonesjones7057]

I remember this race regarding Danny's spin and win but what I don't remember at all is the interviews and the whole pit stop the family car thing. I go nuts today when they interview someone for 1 minute during the race, or talk about some story about things 40 years ago during the race let alone a full 5 minutes talking about wives living on the golf course not being too keen on their husband's being race drivers. Haha. Man I don't remember that at all. All that stuff should be pre race stuff, it's fun stuff but not in the middle of a race where things are happening second to second.

[@jarno1592]

Adrian Newey's book brought me here

[@davidca96]

I miss the 80's cars and aerial bombs

[@KTraska82]

Jim McKay would like to remind you that those are aerial bombs and not the cars.

[@johnnyballenatl]

The last, same-day Indy 500 telecast; the following year, they would be live for the very first time.

[@Keeper1st]

ABC would. But the first live TV broadcast was in 1949.

[@BobGeogeo]

A good race with a worthy winner. Very good to hear Emmo on US drivers at 1:08:30 . The coverage shows signs of trouble. Long non-race "features," aargh. FF through the Unser, Andretti, Rahal, that could have been 30 sec but go on for far longer. It's too rare to see lap counts on screen.

[@epaddon]

That's because ABC's approach to race coverage back then was still rooted in the 1960s-70s philosophy of treating it as a "show" rather than a race, hence the obsession with "up close and personal" features that had long been the Roone Arledge specialty but the problem was that this approach was now horribly obsolete. When they finally won permission to do the race live and then brought in Paul Page to do the broadcasts, they could finally treat doing Indy as a race and not as a "show".

[@nsc337]

Sweet, now would it be possible to upload next thursday the 1995 Indianapolis 500? Doesn't matter of it's the clean or dirty(raw sat feed) broadcast. If the raw sat feed one gets uploaded i can't wait to hear those legendary verbal feuds between Bobby Unser & Sam Posey.

[@LCM2248]

Well then you'll be sorely dissapointed, because there were no such exchanges during the race. Actually, those stories are largely "tall tales" propagated mostly by Uncle Bobby and sometimes by Paul Page. The 1995 raw feed is very interesting, but it doesn't have what you are looking for.

[@colinplaysbanjo3860]

The raw sat feed is on here. Just search 1995 Indy 500.

[@Slinger43]

No Sam, your WRONG! 😂👍

[@nsc337]

@@colinplaysbanjo3860 I know it's on here, but i'd love to see a 1080p version of it.

[@markdinkel-uh2je]

Watched Danny's spin from my 1st turn seat. Pretty cool

[@jkatkat7950]

wow...just wow.....look at all the people in the stands!!!

[@petepalmer9281]

Was sitting right there as a kid watching

[@luisvaldes1568]

D. Sullivan was the coolest! My favorite driver from when I was a kid in the 70's till he retried was Mario.

[@dlbarney2]

Retry that😂

[@stackpotjr.9951]

Mario Andetti reminds me of a great old poker shark baiting his opponent into a trap, one that should have "cooked" Sullivan. Like slow playing "trips" perfectly only to see the "fish" draw out. Sullivan calls the bet then goes "Runner Runner" (or maybe Spin Spin) to take the win, the pot and all the glory. Danny Sulivan kisses the trophy girl and Mario barks out "shut up and deal" or "he got lucky". The young gun outdrives the master (who at 45 was still in his prime) in a perfectly run race under perfect conditions. Its true Danny Sullivan was "lucky" to even SURVIVE a 200mph spin at Indy much less WIN IT! What skill he must have had to pull that off feat. Hats off to DS and Pensky for beating all those leganday drivers that day. And to go "all in" against the man so leganday that his name alone is sometimes synonymous with the the term Race Car Driver itself, is fantastic. Great post, thanks.

[@cjs83172]

And what people forget is that, after Danny Sullivan spun out, there was another incident right after that in which Rich Vogler crashed in the same turn, and Tom Sneva was directly in front of Sullivan and crashed in the Rich Vogler incident, so Sullivan was nearly caught up in the Vogler/Sneva crash.

[@Slinger43]

Brilliantly put Sir & yes, it is amazing what some driver's can do with they're eyes closed! 😖😳😃 LOL! 😂👍

[@jarno1592]

1:39:00 Danny Sullivan's successful overtake for the lead

[@gregj831]

He made Mario cry!

[@edescastro2066]

Esses carros da Indy são lindos..

[@ZADOMAN48]

Running the buick was a long shot with a branch in the way.

[@gavinmills2806]

Were there no pit lane speed limits back then?

[@graysinclair6572]

Gavin Mills No.

[@kennethbutler1343]

There were two lanes: the 'fast lane' outside and the 'slow lane' inside. With no pit lane speed limits, there were some pretty scary wrecks over the years.

[@joaofaria6547]

thank you

[@DaytonaPrototypes]

They really made it a point to focus on the wives of the drivers. I guess this is what paved the way for the Kim Burton's of the world a few decades later.

[@rodrigoneri6893]

At the past,in comparison with now,the cars are not so safe,the fuel is highly infflamable,but the races been much more competitives. There was a lot of veteran drivers,some of them champions of indy 500,relatives battle to win. These was the original and emotionally INDY 500.

[@jaspermitchell3377]

1:16:48 Danny Sullivan’s OUTSTANDING spin & control!!!

[@healthyone100]

he said in did nothing in the spin but hang on!

[@alainbelanger752]

Montreal one was on Sanair outside of Montreal i saw him at GP of Trois-Rivieres

[@JR-dd8bf]

1:17 amazing

[@mikulitsi1819]

1:17:00 Simply beautiful

[@mikulitsi1819]

2:17:30-2:17:45 Damn Andretti was really mad after losing that race. Read also that he didn't speak to Sullivan for a year after this race, he was that disappointed about the result

[@burnychaplin4601]

I was there on the backstretch in the infield was a hell of a save I saw the spin

[@jimbosc]

Sullivan missing Sneva when he spun might have been a closer call than the "spin and win"......lady luck smiled on Danny that day

[@garrettburkle8401]

Please upload 1992!!

[@wildarms007]

1992 was uploaded by the IndyCar official channel

[@garrettburkle8401]

wildarms007 Yeah they did but they didn’t upload the pre race. And that’s personal my favorite pre race because it has Delta Force and The Europe Starting Field!!

[@ChicagoCrew]

The Spin ...... 1:16:54 The WIN 2:13:15

[@LeoA2600]

The Milwaukee Mile is the oldest speedway in the world (Albeit dormant the past half decade, alas). Surprised ABC screwed that up around the 39 minute mark, considering I'm sure the Milwaukee Mile was just a week or so after their broadcast.

[@Slinger43]

Yep, I caught that too SMH

[@vernwallen4246]

Pedal too the medal,lots of left hand turns.🗽🗽🗽🔧🔧🔧💰💰💰💰💰💰💰💰💰

[@randyjohnson6845]

It looked like during AJs long pit stop was his crew giving him a attitude adjustment

[@plantfeeder6677]

Give A.J.Foyt an attitude adjustment?! Nobody ever lived to tell about it if they ever tried.😂

[@almostfm]

In Arute's segment on pit crews, he ran over an air hose. That's a one lap penalty.

[@thomashallman5436]

the spin and win is awesome still today y all

[@nos1995]

The fronts are half as wide as the rears, no wonder they always swap ends .. 2 halves, of a car .. no underboard front edges, looks really dangerous

[@paulonatanaeldossantossana3909]

Era última vez que Abc Transmitiu em Vt

[@Worldopain]

The liveries were so clean back then. The Bud car just says: Bud. lol

[@camerongreenwoodcrampakacgc.]

1985. My favourite Indianapolis 500 of all time apart from many others. The Spin And Win is one of my favourite wins of all time.

[@markdinkel-uh2je]

Not me I wanted Andretti

[@camerongreenwoodcrampakacgc.]

@@markdinkel-uh2je Yeah, me too. I wanted Andretti as well. Break the Andretti Curse.

[@markdinkel-uh2je]

@@camerongreenwoodcrampakacgc. Never disliked Sullivan though

[@camerongreenwoodcrampakacgc.]

@@markdinkel-uh2je Neither did I.

[@camerongreenwoodcrampakacgc.]

Watkins Glen AKA The Glen in Upstate New York, where they make steamed hams, is the best race track in the United States of America and certainly my personal favourite. Also, Francios Cevert is the greatest French person of all time, apart from Rene Arnoux, Alain Prost, and Albert The 5th Musketeer AKA Albert De Parmagnan. And also, 1989 is the best Le Mans ever, along with 1965, 1966, 1967, 1969, 1970, 1981, and 1995. The Le Mans 24 Hours is my favourite race of the year and my favourite sporting event of the year too. Le Mans is my favourite race track in the world along with The Glen AKA Watkins Glen and Bathurst. Jim Clark and Ayrton Senna are two of my favourite drivers of all time. They are two of the greatest drivers who ever lived. Colin McRae and Walter Rohrl are two of my favourite rally drivers of all time. They're two of the greatest rally drivers who ever lived. Burt Munro along with Freddie Spencer are two of my favourite motorcycle riders of all time. They are two of the greatest motorcycle racers who ever lived. The Ford GT40 and the Ford Mustang are two of my favourite Ford's of all time. Two of the best Ford's ever made. Dale Earnhardt and Richard Petty are two of my favourite NASCAR drivers of all time and two of my favourite Amercians too. The Dodge Viper RT/10, the McLaren F1 and Mini Cooper are my favourite cars of all time. Search And Destory by Iggy Pop And Never Gonna Give You Up by Rick Astley are two of my favourite songs of all time. Albert The 5th Musketeer is my favourite cartoon of all time and The Young Ones is my favourite TV show of all time. Grand Prix Legends AKA GPL is my favourite game of all time. And Road Rash. The Shawshank Redemption and The Incredibles are two of my favourite movies of all time. 1967, 1976, 1989, 1991 and 1997 are five of my favourite Formula 1 Seasons of all time. Dan Gurney is my favourite big tall guy. On Any Sunday and The World’s Fastest Indian are two of my favourite motorcycle films of all time along with Race For Glory too. David Purley AKA David Charles Purley is my definition of an absolute hero. My favourite female racer is Penelope Pitstop and Janet Guthrie & Dancia Patrick. Ford VS Ferrari, Rush, Senna, Grand Prix, Le Mans, Race For Glory: Audi VS Lancia, Days Of Thunder, Talladega Nights and The Love Bug & The Last American Hero are my favourite car movies of all time. The Driver as well. By the way, I'm from Melbourne, Australia and my name is Cameron Greenwood Cramp AKA CGC. I'm an Aussie. My favourite Australian's are Jack Brabham, Peter Brock and Mark Skaife. Bruce McLaren, Burt Munro, Chris Amon, Denny Hulme are my favourite Kiwi's of all time. Also, Lorenzo Bandini and Valentino Rossi are my favourite Italian's of all time. Jacky Ickx is my favourite all around driver and my favourite person from Belgium. Ronnie Peterson is my favourite Swedish person and the greatest person from Sweden too. Ayrton Senna, Emerson Fittipaldi and Nelson Piquet are three of my favourite Brazilian guys and three of the greatest Brazilian's who ever lived. Henri Toivonen is my favourite Finnish person and the greatest person from Finland. Pedro Rodriguez is my favourite Mexican of all time and the greatest Mexcian ever. Jim Clark, Colin McRae and Jackie Stewart are three of my favourite drivers from Scotland and three of the best Scotsman ever. 1971, 1992, 1995 are three of my favourite Indianapolis 500's of all time. Jaques and Gilles Villeneuve are two of my favourite Canadians of all time and two of the best Canadians too. 1979 is my favourite Daytona 500 ever along with 1998. The 1979 Daytona 500 is also my favourite NASCAR race of all time apart from the 1992 Hooters 500. Two of the greatest male cartoon racers are Speed Racer and Tom Slick and two of my favourite male cartoon drivers too. 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1979, 1982, 1997, these are seven of my favourite Daytona 24 Hours. 1966, 1967, 1969, 1970, 1983, they are five of my favourite 12 Hours Of Sebring. Niki Lauda and Jochen Rindt are two of my favourite Austrians and two of the best people from Austria. Juan Manuel Fangio and Carlos Reutemann are two of the best Argentina racers and two of my favourites from Argentina. Clay Regazzoni and Jo Siffert are two of my favourite Swiss drivers of all time and two of my favourite people from Switzerland. And finally.... Walter Rohrl is my favourite German and easily the best guy from Germany, by far. :)

[@AK-CODRIGUISSON4984]

Spin - 1:16:54 Win -2:13:15

[@thejanusproject32]

Daaaaaaaaang, the 80's and the popped collars hahahhahaha

[@fromthefarside]

ABC would show the Bad News Bears before the race...great memories 👍

[@wpbarchitect1800]

Thought his post-race interview where he pretended that he had baited Danny into that 'weird' risky pass down low (it reality it was down to Danny's misunderstanding the lap count and thinking they were much closer to the end) and that he 'just got lucky' was a bit revealing of a slightly annoying characteristic of Mario's which was always a slight inability to give other drivers credit. It was always down to bad fortune in his mind if he didn't win, never was he just beaten by the better man that day. Many times it was obviously true and of course emotions were running high, but he could have given the man just a bit of respect and credit. Conversely Danny was his usual gentlemanly self, in perhaps a bit of false modesty attributing it all to luck as well. Not true at all. Look at his front tires...he CONTROLLED that spin with perfect countersteer, particularly at the end as it came around the full 360, as much as is humanly possible at that moment with sheer instinctual driving brilliance. As did Mario with his car with HIS instinctual brilliance to stay below Danny. In any event, what a race. What a race call by McKay and Posey. And what a time for Indy Cars and American open wheel auto racing.

[@dlbarney2]

What's up Jack's root?

[@charlesdawson4852]

Is it just me or was Sam Posey completely in love with Andretti?

[@awm7353]

Never could stand Sam Posey. This video reminded me as to why.

[@Slinger43]

The general race fan, or most of them, viewed Sam as abit of a pompous ass in the early years, by 1985 I was certainly sure of it! 😂 Somehow he managed to stay around long enough for the public sentiment to swing in his favor, then he began to be viewed more favorable by the average race fan, or most of them/us/me LOL 😂👍

[@pbandj37]

Ah yes, when the Whittington brothers ran together...and then went and ran some coke and laundered some money. Good times in Indy!

[@BlueFox284]

Listened to Don Whittington's interview on Dinner with Racers podcast not too long ago. . .Interesting character! Along John Paul Sr. and Randy Lanier, they were the OG Cocaine Cowboys.

[@cjs83172]

@@BlueFox284 And unfortunately, in the case of Don Whittington, he threw away the opportunity of a lifetime when he got mixed up in that, because when Gordon Johncock retired, Don got Gordy's seat in the Petty blue #20 car, and although you'd never know it watching the telecast of this race, he was always in contention, running in the top five or six, until he fell out at about the halfway mark with engine problems. And he had proved he could run with the leaders at Indy, because he had a great run in the 1982 race, again running in the top 5-7 all day in one of his family team's cars and winding up sixth.

[@staatsfiend]

The Bro's didnt like coke, they only liked the smell of it.

[@Slinger43]

All in a day's work in 85! LOL 😂

[@ChicagoCrew]

Why did Mario never drive for Penske ? He probably would have been a 4 time winner ...

[@bloqk16]

@ChicagoCrew . . . you may want to check the racing results that can be found online, as from what I found, Mario drove for Penske at Indy four times: 1976, 1977, 1978, and 1980.

[@paulsonj72]

@@bloqk16 And in those years he was only running a part time Indy Car Schedule as his primary focus was in Formula One. He missed the 1979 500 because the Monte Carlo Grand Prix was the same day and F1 was his focus then.

[@carlmalone4011]

The abc cut aways are ridululous.

[@TiE23]

Here after page 76 of How to Build a Car by Adrian Newey.

[@OttoByOgraffey]

So Indianapolis doesn't have permission from ZZ Topp?

[@Someguy1785]

1:13:00 "We have results from the World 600 in Nascar. Bill Elliott DID NOT WIN." Shows how dominant Elliott was in the mid 80's.

[@schoolcraftT]

1:17:00 Sullivan has the lead……

[@healthyone100]

The March is a much better chassis then the Lola!

[@Zoomer30_]

Andretti left skid marks on the track try in to avoid Sullivan.

[@staatsfiend]

Danny Tepper.

[@thetmg8337]

1:17:01 here’s what you’re looking for

[@bobfeller604]

Sullivan was reckless, lacked talent, but he got lucky on this day.

[@starguy2718]

Oh, spare me.

[@healthyone100]

But he still won the greatest race in the world you can't take it away from him!

[@StFidjnr]

Can you please upload the 1983 & 1984 indy 500

[@johnnylongfeather3086]

No, I don’t have them

[@Yosemite-George-61]

... Andretti closed the door, there wans no where to go for Danny... so much for Emerson's statements...

[@Slinger43]

Sorry, but your wrong. Danny had been driving on the apron, ALL the way on the apron, for the entire race & Mario knew that, so Mario ran a lane up from the apron to give Danny enough room to run the same line he had been running & no more. Mario was tough, but always fair, NEVER DIRTY. He sure as hell wasn't gonna let Sullivan push him into the gray, because then he would crash, see how that works? Now if your referring to the next time Danny tried that move, well Andretti was pissed by then & slammed the door on him HARD 🤬 Then, having let young Mr Sullivan know his feelings about the first attempt & Danny actually being slightly ahead this time, Mario backed off & let him go.

[@wpbarchitect1800]

Some of the worst sports TV direction in memory at the end, as they cut to the blimp shot and the lack of traffic on 14th Street (really??) as Danny was on the end of his triumphant cool-down lap instead of the sights of him and the crowd savoring his win. Shocking. Almost as bad as the endless cuts to Rick Mears' wife during the last two laps of he and Gordon Johncock's historic battle in '82, in fact missing the key moment of the entire sequence, Johncock SOMEHOW holding Mears off down low on turn one in the last lap. It was pretty bad in the day overall really. Though McKay and Posey (and then Paul Page, Posey, and the always awesome and entertaining Bobby 'for certain sure' Unser) were so superior to today's broadcasters it's not funny.

[@dlbarney2]

Yeah, who gives a rats ass about the drivers damn wives. Pathetic

[@Haurko01]

1:22:16 Commenters Curse strikes again.

[@SN-nh6pq]

“In & our a excellent pit stop for Mario Andretti” 2 right side tires Fuel 19.8 seconds

[@ThatSockmonkey]

15:51 Green Flag

[@deplorablepatriot9628]

The song belongs to Gomer!

[@StFidjnr]

he got poor Mario Andretti with the bill

[@staatsfiend]

talk about skid marks!

[@MrArcelton]

Poor Jim Mackay the announcer, he was so far out of his element, he was terrible. I also remember watching this way back when and it seemed more like a commercial fest than an actual race. My favorite color announcer was without a doubt Bobby Under.

[@epaddon]

ABC was still doing races the 1960s-70s way at this point (the last year of the delayed prime time broadcast) where the focus was all on "up close and personal features" and very little of the nuts and bolts action of racing. It wasn't until they started doing Indy live and then brought in Paul Page to call the race on TV that ABC finally got with the picture in terms of treating it as a race broadcast.

[@MrArcelton]

@@epaddon you are so right in the silly up close and personal stories. I don't think most people care about a javelin player that was born with one arm, or that this athlete had a horrible childhood but rose above it..... That is why I tape the Olympics so I can watch them the next day and skip through all that fluff.

[@dlbarney2]

I bet he beat his wife like a champ.

[@chocolatetownforever7537]

McKay is a legend, but nowhere close to Paul Page, who I consider the greatest motorsport announcer of all time. No shame in that. Jim was amazing.