The 60th 500 Mile International Sweepstakes was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana on Sunday, May 30, 1976. The race unfolded as a two-man battle between Polesitter Johnny Rutherford and A. J. Foyt. Rutherford was seeking his second Indy victory, while Foyt was chasing history, looking for his record fourth "500".
Rutherford took the lead on lap 80, and was leading when rain halted the race on lap 103 (of 200). Foyt was running second, but a broken sway bar linkage was affecting his car's handling. The rain ceased after about a half hour, and officials began track drying efforts. About two hours later, the race was about to be resumed, but rain fell once again. USAC officials called the race at that point and reverted the scoring back to the completion of lap 102. Johnny Rutherford was declared the winner. Rutherford famously walked to Victory Lane, his second career Indy 500 triumph, having completed only , the shortest official race on record. A furious Foyt settled for second, and would have to wait another year to finally achieve his record fourth "500" victory.
Hours after the race, IMS Vice President Elmer George was shot and killed during a confrontation. He had been in charge of the IMS Radio Network and was the son-in-law of IMS owner Tony Hulman. The confrontation was unrelated to the running of the race. In addition, 1976 would be the final Indy 500 for longtime radio anchor Sid Collins. After a surgery to repair a disk in his neck, Collins was still suffering muscular and neurological ailments, which made his work at the 1976 race physically difficult. He was later diagnosed with ALS, and committed suicide on May 2, 1977.
Rutherford's victory would be the final win at Indy for the venerable Offenhauser engine. It was the beginning of the end of an era which had seen 27 Indy 500 victories for the Offy powerplant. Janet Guthrie became the first female driver to enter the Indianapolis 500. However, her team was underfunded, and she experienced numerous mechanical and engine problems during the month. While she managed to pass her rookie test, and ran numerous practice laps in multiple cars, she was unable to make an attempt to qualify. She would return with a successful effort a year later in 1977.
The month of May 1976 was highlighted by the grand opening of the new Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame Museum. Located in the track infield, the new museum replaced a much smaller facility on the corner of 16th Street and Georgetown Road. It was also the 30th anniversary of the first 500 under Tony Hulman's ownership, the 50th year since the incorporation of the Town of Speedway, and coincided with the year-long United States Bicentennial celebration.
This was the second Indy 500 victory for the McLaren team, and the third victory overall for the McLaren chassis. It was also the last victory for McLaren at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway until Mika Häkkinen won the Formula One United States Grand Prix on the combined road course in 2001.
Race schedule On May 2, six days before the race cars took to the track, former Governor of California Ronald Reagan visited the Speedway. Reagan was in town campaigning for the 1976 Indiana Republican primary to be held on May 4. Reagan met with Tony Hulman, toured the Speedway, and drove around the track in one of the Buick pace cars. Race schedule — May, 1976SunMonTueWedThuFriSat 1 2Trenton 3 4 5 6 7 8Practice 9Practice10Practice11Practice12Practice13Practice14Practice15Pole Day16Time Trials17Practice18Practice19Practice20Practice21Practice22Time Trials23Time Trials24 25 26 27Carb Day28 29Parade30Indy 50031Memorial Day Color Notes Green Practice Dark Blue Time trials Silver Race day Red Rained out* Blank No track activity * Includes days where trackactivity was significantlylimited due to rain
Practice and time trials For 1976, the turbocharger "boost" settings were reduced from 80 inHg (used in 1974–1975) to 75 inHG. A mild controversy swirled around the garage area, as some competitors claimed their pop-off valves were not functioning correctly. In addition, some complained that not being allowed to install the valves during practice prevented the mechanics from being able to tune their engines to optimum performance. At the time, pop-off valves were only affixed to the engines during official time trials. USAC technical supervisor Frank DelRoy dismissed the complaints, however, stating that the mechanics were simply setting their wastegates wrong.
The biggest story of practice was the appearance of Janet Guthrie, who was attempting to become the first female driver to qualify for the Indianapolis 500. Considerable media attention followed her through the month, however, the first two weeks of practice were plagued with various troubles. In addition, her participation was met with resistance by some fellow competitors. Upon her arrival at the airport, her flight lost her luggage (which included her helmet and driving suit). On the first day of practice, teammate Dick Simon was shaking the car down, but suffered an oil leak. On the second day, he burned a piston and had a turbocharger fire. Guthrie was unable to take to the track until Monday May 10. Her first foray in the machine was short-lived, as she too burned a piston after only seven laps at speed.
On Tuesday May 11, Guthrie started her rookie test, and despite low oil pressure and overheating, she completed the first phase. On Thursday May 13, she was trying to finish the second phase, but rain cut the session short. She finally completed her rookie test on Monday May 17, with a top lap of 171.429 mph.
Practice for the veterans was led by Johnny Rutherford, Al Unser and A. J. Foyt. In the third year of a rules package crafted to slow the cars down, there were no expectations of record speeds for 1976. Top speeds were in the high 180 mph range, with the best single lap for the week (189.833 mph) recorded by Rutherford. The existing track record (set in 1973) of 199.071 mph would stand for yet another year.
The most serious crash during practice was that of rookie Eddie Miller. He lost control coming out of turn one, and spun to the inside grass. The car hit an earth embankment, flipped over wildly, cleared two fences, then came to rest upside-down near the bleachers. Miller suffered a neck fracture, and would never return to Indy.
Pole day – Saturday May 15 Overnight and morning rain delayed the start of time trials until 2:30 p.m. During Saturday's pre-qualifying practice session, Johnny Rutherford finally broke the 190 mph barrier for the month, making him the favorite for the pole position.
At 3:30 p.m., Gordon Johncock (188.531 mph) put himself tentatively on the pole. His speed would hold up to comfortably place him on the front row. About an hour later, Johnny Rutherford (188.957 mph) bumped Johncock off the top spot and would hold on to win the pole position. A. J. Foyt settled for fifth (185.261 mph), and Tom Sneva (186.355 mph) qualified for the outside of the front row.
Qualifying closed at 6 p.m. with nine cars in the field. Five drivers were still eligible for the pole position round, however, none of those left in line were considered a contender for the pole. The day closed with the front row consisting of Rutherford, Johncock, and Sneva.
Second day – Sunday May 16 At the start of the day, only two cars (of nine) that were still eligible for the pole position round made qualifying runs. The field was filled to 11 cars, and the pole round officially concluded with Johnny Rutherford (as expected) officially winning the pole position. Moments later, the "second day" of time trials commenced. Mike Mosley (187.588 mph) and Bobby Unser (187.520 mph) were the quickest of the day, but as "second day" qualifiers, they lined up 12th and 13th, respectively.
Mario Andretti, who had departed Indianapolis a few days earlier to compete in the Belgian Grand Prix, dropped out of that race. Andretti was scheduled to return to Indianapolis soon, and begin preparing his car for a qualifying attempt on the second weekend of time trials.
Third day – Saturday May 22 Mario Andretti returned to Indianapolis after competing in the Belgian Grand Prix. Andretti was expected to get up to speed quickly, and did not disappoint. His qualifying speed of 189.404 mph was faster than the pole speed, and Andretti became the fastest qualifier in the field. However, since he was a "third day" qualifier, he was forced to line up behind the qualifiers from the previous days. On race day, he would start in 19th on the grid.
A busy day of time trials saw the field filled to 33 cars at 5:37 p.m. The day ended with two cars bumped, and at least five drivers looking to make the field on Bump day.
Among those who did not make an attempt yet was Janet Guthrie. Still having problems finding speed in her #27 entry, her best practice lap of 173.611 mph was still too slow to bump her way in. A rumor was already circulating around the garage area that Foyt was going to lend her one of his backup cars (#1) – a car in which he practiced at over 190 mph on Friday.
Bump Day – Sunday May 23 The story of the day was Janet Guthrie, who arranged a deal with A. J. Foyt to borrow his #1 entry for practice. Shortly after 10 a.m., Guthrie was in the car shaking it down. Her lap of 180.796 mph was easily her fastest lap of the month. Despite her considerable gains in speed, Guthrie did not end up making an attempt to qualify.
As the afternoon was winding down, the attention shifted to the cars trying to bump their way into the field in the final hour. David Hobbs bumped his way in at 4:55 p.m. Eldon Rasmussen was now on the bubble. Rasmussen survived three attempts, but at 5:59 p.m., Jan Opperman took to the track. Opperman's run of 181.717 mph bumped Rasmussen from the field, and the lineup was set.
After creating a media and fan frenzy, Janet Guthrie left the track without making the field. With the spotlight still on her, she quickly found herself an alternative. Promoter Humpy Wheeler consummated a deal for Guthrie to acquire a car from NASCAR owner Ralph Moody, and within 48 hours, flew her to Charlotte to qualify instead for the World 600.
Starting grid RowInsideMiddleOutside1 2 Johnny Rutherford 20 Gordon Johncock 68 Tom Sneva2 21 Al Unser 14 A. J. Foyt 48 Pancho Carter3 40 Wally Dallenbach Sr. 45 Gary Bettenhausen 5 Bill Vukovich II4 69 Larry Cannon 12 Mike Mosley 3 Bobby Unser 5 7 Roger McCluskey 93 Johnny Parsons 98 John Martin6 17 Dick Simon 9 Vern Schuppan 83 Bill Puterbaugh7 6 Mario Andretti 73 Jerry Grant 28 Billy Scott 8 77 Salt Walther 92 Steve Krisiloff 86 Al Loquasto 9 19 Spike Gehlhausen 63 Larry McCoy 23 George Snider10 96 Bob Harkey 97 Sheldon Kinser 51 Lloyd Ruby11 33 David Hobbs 24 Tom Bigelow 8 Jan Opperman
Alternates First alternate: Eldon Rasmussen (#58) – Bumped
Failed to qualify Bill Simpson (#38) – Bumped Bobby Olivero (#78) – Bumped Jim McElreath (#65, #76) – Bumped Mike Hiss (#11) – Spun during qualifying attempt Bill Engelhart (#44) – Waved off Mel Kenyon (#61) – Waved off Janet Guthrie (#1, #17, #27) – Practiced, but did not attempt to qualify Larry Dickson (#65) Jim Hurtubise (#56) Jerry Karl (#8) Lee Kunzman (#65) John Mahler (#19, #91, #92) Rick Muther (#99) Ed Crombie (#67) – Wrecked during driver's test Eddie Miller (#46) – Wrecked during practice Woody Fisher (#52) Gary Allbritain (#75) – Entry declined
Race summary
Start Race day dawned with blue skies and temperatures in the 60s. A 60% chance for rain was in the forecast for later in the afternoon. Tony Hulman gave the command to start engines at 10:53 a.m. EST, and the field pulled away for one parade lap and one pace lap.Based on IMS Radio Network coverage Country singer, and part-time NASCAR driver Marty Robbins drove the Buick pace car.