Monday 28th May 1973
Rain delayed the start of the Indianapolis 500 until the afernoon. At the start, Salt Walther tangled with another car and flipped into the catch fencing, injuring several spectators. Rain prevented the race from resuming. On the following day, a Tuesday, rain halted the race on the pace lap, preventing a start for the second day in a row. On Wednesday, rain threatened yet another washout, but the sky eventually cleared well enough for the race to finally get going. On the 58th lap, Swede Savage was involved in a fiery crash at the exit of turn four. In the pit area, a crew member from Graham McRae’s team (Savage’s teammate), was struck and killed by a fire truck. After a long red flag, the race resumed, with Gordon Johncock (Savage’s other teammate) leading. On lap 129, rain begins to fall again and the race was called on lap 133, with Johncock the winner. Savage died of his injuries on July 2.