Gary Bettenhausen led 138 laps of the Indianapolis 500 until his engine blew on lap 176


Saturday 27th May 1972

Gary Bettenhausen led 138 laps of the Indianapolis 500 until his engine blew on lap 176. Jerry Grant gained the lead but pitted for new tyres on lap 188 in team mate Bobby Unser’s pit. Bettenhausen’s Penske team mate Mark Donohue win after leading 13 laps. After a post-race re-examination, scoring was stopped on Grant because of the pit lane violation. Bolt-on wings were allowed for the first time, and during qualifying Bobby Unser ran over 196 mph, breaking the one-year-old track record by over 17 mph. During the race, Wally Dallenbach Sr.’s car caught fire on each of his three refueling stops.


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