Sunday 30th May 1976

Rain stopped the Indianapolis 500 on lap 102. Two hours later, the race was about to be restarted, but rain fell again. Officials called the race at that point and Johnny Rutherford was declared the winner. Rutherford walked to Victory Lane, having completed only 255 miles (410 km), the shortest official race on record. Later in the year, the entire track was repaved in asphalt, the first time the entire track had been repaved at once since 1909. The yard of bricks at the start/finish line still remains from the original surface. Longtime Voice of the 500 Sid Collins called his final race, as he commited suicide 11 months later.