The 46th International 500-Mile Sweepstakes was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana on Wednesday, May 30, 1962.

A historic pole day saw Parnelli Jones break the barrier in qualifying. Rodger Ward and Len Sutton finished 1st-2nd for Leader Card Racers.

The 1962 Indy 500 marked the final 500 wherein the entire 33-car field consisted of U.S.-born participants. It was also the first race held with the track surface paved entirely in asphalt, with just the ceremonial single yard of bricks exposed at the start/finish line.

Race schedule For 1962, the Opening Day of practice was shifted back to Saturday April 28. Time trials were held on the second and third weekends of May, allowing the 500 Festival Open Invitation golf tournament the entire fourth weekend of May. Bump Day was held May 20, ten days prior to the race. Carburetion Day, the final day of practice was held Monday May 28, along with the 500 Festival Parade later that evening.

Race schedule — April/May 1962SunMonTueWedThuFriSat22 23 24 25 26 27 28Practice29Practice30Practice 1Practice 2Practice 3Practice 4Practice 5Practice 6Practice 7Practice 8Practice 9Practice10Practice11Practice12Pole Day13Time Trials14Practice15Practice16Practice17Practice18Practice19Time Trials20Bump Day21 22 23Pro-Am24500 Open25500 Open26500 Open27500 Open28Carb Day29Meeting30Indy 50031Banquet   Color Notes Green Practice Dark Blue Time trials Silver Race day Blank No track activity

Time trials Time trials were scheduled for four days.

Saturday May 12 – Pole Day time trials Len Sutton was the first driver to make an assault on the track record. His fourth lap of 149.900 mph was a new one-lap track record. Parnelli Jones became the first driver to break the 150 mph barrier. His first lap was run at 150.729 mph, a new all-time one-lap track record. All four of his laps were over 150 mph, and his four-lap average came in at 150.370 mph. Jones was rewarded by having 150 silver dollars poured into his helmet by Phil Hedback of Bryant Heating & Cooling. Sunday May 13 – Second day time trials The 13th proved to be an unlucky day for Norm Hall, whose previous crash in car #25 left him unscathed, but today, he spun the #41 Forbes Special on the Southwest Turn, hit the wall backward, and was severely injured, including a fractured left leg and possible skull fracture. Jim Rathmann and Troy Ruttman were both flagged off by their crews after they failed to get sufficient speed to qualify. Eddie Sachs could not reach an acceptable speed and a new engine was ordered for his Dean-Autolite Special machine. Dan Gurney left for Holland to compete in the Dutch Grand Prix. Qualifiers this day were Eddie Johnson #32 at 146.592 and Bob Veith #96 at 146.157. Saturday May 19 – Third day time trials Sunday May 20 – Fourth day time trials

Starting grid RowInsideMiddleOutside 198 Parnelli Jones3 Rodger Ward 54 Bobby Marshman 27 Len Sutton1 A. J. Foyt 4 Shorty Templeman 315 Jim McElreath 34 Dan Gurney 17 Roger McCluskey 45 Bud Tingelstad14 Don Branson27 Don Davis 59 Dick Rathmann62 Paul Russo18 Bobby Grim 619 Chuck Hulse 21 Elmer George32 Eddie Johnson 796 Bob Veith88 Gene Hartley67 Chuck Rodee 883 Allen Crowe 44 Jim Rathmann 12 Lloyd Ruby 945 Jack Turner53 Paul Goldsmith2 Eddie Sachs 1038 Johnny Boyd91 Jim Hurtubise26 Troy Ruttman 1129 Bob Christie86 Ebb Rose79 Jimmy Daywalt

Alternates First alternate: Dempsey Wilson (#31)The Talk of Gasoline Alley - 1070-AM WIBC, May 14, 2004 Second alternate: Ronnie Duman (#28)

Failed to qualify

Chuck Arnold (#23, #37, #46, #47, #77) Duane Carter (#72) Bill Cheesbourg (#35, #59, #88) Leon Clum (#6, #23) Jack Conely (#89) Russ Congdon Tommy Copp (#58) Johnny Coy (#68, #92) Chuck Daigh (#35) Jack Ensley (#95) Jack Fairman (#32, #78) Don Freeland (#36) Roy Graham (#55) Norm Hall (#25, #41) Jim Hemmings (#65, #94) Herb Hill (#69) – Entry declined Bruce Jacobi (#22) Ed Kostenuk (#37) Ralph Ligouri (#68) Bob Mathouser (#43) Mike McGreevey (#46) Al Miller (#64) Keith Rachwitz (#33) Gig Stephens (#61) Chuck Stevenson (#16) Chuck Weyant

Race recap First half Parnelli Jones took the lead at the start, and led the first 59 laps. The first incident on the track occurred on lap 17. A four-car crash in turn four involved Jack Turner, Bob Christie, Allen Crowe, and Chuck Rodee. A lengthy yellow light period was needed to clean up the incident.

Second half Rodger Ward led the final 31 laps en route to victory. It was his second 500 win, after winning also in 1959. His Leader Cards teammate Len Sutton finished second, accomplishing the first team "sweep" of 1st-2nd since the Blue Crown team did it in 1947 and 1948.

After dominating much of the early race, Parnelli Jones, who started on the pole and led 120 laps, finished 7th. Jones chances for victory faded around the lap 125 mark when he lost his brakes. Unable to easily bring his car to a halt during pit stops, his crew put out tires so he could bump up against them or ride over them in order to help stop the car.

Box score FinishStartNoNameChassisEngineQualLapsStatus123 Rodger Ward WatsonOffenhauser149.371200 140.293 mph247 Len SuttonWatsonOffenhauser149.328200 +11.523272 Eddie SachsEwingOffenhauser146.431200 +19.9341227 Don DavisLesovskyOffenhauser147.209200 +48.135354 Bobby MarshmanEpperlyOffenhauser149.347200 +2:18.946715 Jim McElreath Kurtis KraftOffenhauser149.025200 +2:31.697198 Parnelli JonesWatsonOffenhauser150.370200 +2:42.8582412 Lloyd RubyWatsonOffenhauser146.520200 +3:16.0092344 Jim Rathmann WatsonOffenhauser146.610200 +5:16.72102838 Johnny BoydSalihOffenhauser147.047200 +5:46.861164 Shorty TemplemanWatsonOffenhauser149.050200 +7:00.13121114 Don BransonEpperlyOffenhauser147.312200 +7:00.90132991 Jim HurtubiseWatsonOffenhauser146.963200 +7:18.61143286 Ebb RosePorterOffenhauser146.336200 +10:02.3715105 Bud TingelstadPhillipsOffenhauser147.753200 +11:14.7016917 Roger McCluskeyWatsonOffenhauser147.759168Spun T2171721 Elmer George(Paul Russo Laps 53–126)(A. J. Foyt Laps 127–147)LesovskyOffenhauser146.092147Engine183026 Troy Ruttman KuzmaOffenhauser146.765140Piston191518 Bobby GrimTrevisOffenhauser146.60496Oil Leak20834 Dan Gurney ThompsonBuick147.88692Rear End211619 Chuck Hulse Kurtis KraftOffenhauser146.37791Fuel Pump223379 Jimmy DaywaltKurtis KraftOffenhauser146.31874Transmission2351 A. J. Foyt TrevisOffenhauser149.07469Lost wheel24139 Dick RathmannWatsonOffenhauser147.16151Magneto251832 Eddie JohnsonTrevisOffenhauser146.59238Magneto262653 Paul GoldsmithEpperlyOffenhauser146.43726Magneto272088 Gene Hartley(Bill Cheesbourg Laps 21–23)WatsonOffenhauser146.96923Steering281462 Paul RussoWatsonOffenhauser146.68720Piston292545 Jack TurnerKurtis KraftOffenhauser146.49617Crash FS303129 Bob ChristieKurtis KraftOffenhauser146.34117Crash FS312283 Allen Crowe WatsonOffenhauser146.83117Crash FS322167 Chuck Rodee ChristensenOffenhauser146.96917Crash FS331996 Bob VeithElderOffenhauser146.15712Engine

Note: Relief drivers in parentheses

Former Indianapolis 500 winner

Indianapolis 500 Rookie

All entrants utilized Firestone tires.

Race statistics

Lap Leaders Laps Leader1–59 Parnelli Jones60–61 A. J. Foyt62–64 Roger McCluskey65–125 Parnelli Jones126–160 Rodger Ward161–169 Len Sutton170–200 Rodger Ward

Total laps led Driver LapsParnelli Jones 120Rodger Ward 66Len Sutton 9Roger McCluskey 3A. J. Foyt 2

Yellow Lights: 5 for 38 minutes, 18 seconds Laps* Reason 18–33 Turner, Christie, Crowe, Rodee crash in turn 4 (18:44) 37–38 Shorty Templeman spin fronstretch (2:09) 60–62 Bobby Grim (1:39) 75–81 A. J. Foyt lost wheel (6:50) 168 Roger McCluskey spin turn 2 (9:27)* – Approximate lap counts

Broadcasting Radio The race was carried live on the IMS Radio Network. Sid Collins served as chief announcer. Fred Agabashian served as "driver expert." Newcomer Howdy Bell joined the crew, serving as a turn reporter. It was his first of over 40 years with the network. Turn reporter Mike Ahern, who debuted on the radio crew a year earlier, missed the 1962 race due to being in the Army. He would return in 1963.

Indianapolis Motor Speedway Radio Network Booth AnnouncersTurn ReportersPit/garage reportersChief Announcer: Sid Collins Driver expert: Fred Agabashian Statistician: Charlie BrockmanTurn 1: Bill Frosh Turn 2: Howdy Bell Backstretch: Bernie Herman Turn 3: Lou Palmer Turn 4: Jim SheltonJack Shapiro (north)Luke Walton (center)John Peterson (south)

Television

Highlights of the time trials were shown on ABC's "Wide World Of Sports".

Gallery

Notes References

Works cited Indianapolis 500 History: Race & All-Time Stats - Official Site 1962 Indianapolis 500 at RacingReference.info (Relief driver statistics) 1962 Indianapolis 500 Radio Broadcast, Indianapolis Motor Speedway Radio Network