1982 Indianapolis 500
The 66th Indianapolis 500 was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana on Sunday, May 30, 1982. Gordon Johncock, who had previously won the rain-shortened 1973 race, was the winner. Polesitter Rick Mears finished second by a margin of 0.16 seconds, the closest finish in Indy 500 history to that point.
In racing circles, the 1982 race is largely considered one of the best 500s in history, although it was marred by the fatal crash of Gordon Smiley during time trials. Johncock and Mears dueled over most of the final 40 laps. Johncock pulled out to a sizeable lead after his final pit stop on lap 184. But Mears dramatically began closing the gap in the waning laps. Johncock held off Mears on the final lap in a historic victory, as the raucous crowd drowned out the loud roar of the engines. The race is also remembered for a controversial crash at the start triggered by Kevin Cogan, which took out Mario Andretti, damaged the car of A. J. Foyt, and caused the crash of two other cars.
Officially the race was part of the 1981-82 USAC season, however, most of the entrants took part in the 1982 CART PPG Indy Car World Series. Championship points for the 1982 Indy 500 were not awarded towards the CART title and the race was considered a non-championship race in that series.
For the first and only time in Indy 500 history, a trio of brothers qualified for the same race. Don, Bill, and Dale Whittington all made the field, with Don finishing a strong 6th. Dale crashed out before the start, and never completed a single lap in his career. Four-time Indy winner A. J. Foyt started on the front row, celebrating his record 25th career Indy 500 start. Though he was caught up in the Cogan incident, his car was hastily repaired and he went on to lead 32 laps.
Race schedule
Background
Among many stories going into the 1982 month of May was the return of A. J. Foyt to the cockpit. In July 1981, Foyt had been involved in a serious crash at the inaugural Michigan 500, suffering a compound fracture to his right arm, and a puncture wound to his leg. Foyt was sidelined for several months for recovery.The two key fixtures from the controversial 1981 race took different paths for 1982. Bobby Unser took a sabbatical from racing, and would ultimately retire from the cockpit. Mario Andretti on the other hand, was back with Patrick Racing, this time running a full season in the CART series, and scaled back his participation in Formula One. This would be the first time in several years that Andretti would be spending the entire month in Indianapolis, and not traveling back and forth to Europe for his Formula One commitments.
A record 109 entries for the 1982 Indianapolis 500 were received by April 17, when entries closed. Seven former winners and 28 prospective rookies were among the driver entrants.
Rule changes
One major rule change regarding time trials was implemented for 1982. All cars would be allowed only two warm up laps for qualifying, down from three, which had been the rule since 1946.After two major pit fires in 1981, new safety rules were implemented. Pit side fuel tanks were required to be anchored to the ground, while new high-pressure water hoses were installed the length of the pit lane. Significant improvements were also made to the fuel couplings, fuel hoses, vent hoses, and "buckeyes" on the cars themselves. Positive shutoff valves on the pitside fuel tanks were also made mandatory. All pit personnel were required to wear fire-resistant clothing, including not only the over-the-wall crew, but others including scorers, etc. Likewise, it would become the norm that even pit reporters for television and radio began wearing specialized firesuits as well.
During the month of May 1981, word had been buzzing around the garage area that USAC was preparing to drastically change the engine formula for 1982 and beyond. The ruling would effectively ban the popular Cosworth DFX V-8, the engine that had won the Indianapolis 500 the previous four years. The plan was to craft the rules to require production-based, "stock block" engines, and reduce turbocharger boost to noncompetitive levels, or ban turbochargers outright. However, during the summer of 1981 the decision was changed. The turbocharged OHC V-8 engines would continue to be permitted, only with a smaller turbocharger unit. Teams applauded the decision, and the 1982 race would be contested with mostly similar engine specifications as the previous year.
Time trials
Pole Day — Saturday May 15
On pole day, Saturday, May 15, Kevin Cogan, driving for Penske Racing set a new one-lap track record of, and a record four-lap average of. A few minutes later, he was beaten by his Penske teammate Rick Mears. Mears secured the pole position with a four-lap average of. A total of nine cars completed runs, including Gordon Johncock, rookie Bobby Rahal, and Danny Ongais.Gordon Smiley accident
At 12:15 p.m., the time trials were marred by the horrifying fatal accident of Gordon Smiley. Smiley left the pits to start his qualifying run. On his second warm up laps, he approached turn three. The back-end of the #35 Intermedics March 81C-Cosworth became loose, and Smiley over-corrected. The front wheels suddenly gained traction, the car turned and crashed head-on into the concrete wall at about. The impact of the March chassis against the wall was so hard and so violent, that the fuel tank exploded with a large fireflash, the car broke into three large sections, and the rest disintegrated into hundreds of pieces. Most of the shattered car went airborne for at least, littering the track with debris. Smiley's exposed body tumbled with the wreck hundreds of feet through the short-chute connecting turns three and four. Pieces of the car were strewn all over the track. Smiley was killed instantly from the massive trauma inflicted by the impact. According to CART medical official Steve Olvey, who was working the event, the impact was so violent that nearly every bone in Smiley's body had been shattered. Olvey also noticed an unusual gray substance on the track, which marked a trail leading to the driver. The substance was later discovered to be most of Smiley's brain. His helmet was pulled from his head during the impact.Smiley's death was the first at Indy since 1973, and to date, the last during a qualification attempt. Since it occurred in the remote area of turn three, and without video boards or live television, a vast majority of the fans in attendance did not see the crash up close or the immediate aftermath.
Olvey published his autobiography Rapid Response: My Inside Story as a Motor Racing Life-Saver in 2006, where noted numerous drivers advised Smiley that his road racing approach to driving around the Speedway was unsuitable for ovals in a ground-effects car. Smiley had competed in the SCCA National Championship Runoffs, winning two championships and then the Aurora AFX1 Championship, where he won at Silverstone Circuit, the latter of which were in older Formula One cars.
About 33 minutes after the wreck; at precisely 12:48 PM, track announcer Tom Carnegie learned of Smiley's fate for the first time. He immediately informed the fans watching from the grandstands: "Ladies and gentlemen... it is with our deepest regrets that we announce the passing of Gordon Smiley."
The track remained closed for over two hours after the crash. The catch fencing needed repair, debris littered the track, and a patch of asphalt was required to repair a gash in the racing surface.
Remainder of the day
After over two hours, a couple cars were dispatched by the officials to test the pavement, and they deemed it suitable for qualifying to resume. Several cars went out over the next two hours, but none challenged the speed records set earlier in the morning. A. J. Foyt put his car on the outside of the front row, and Mario Andretti qualified fourth. The original qualifying draw finally exhausted after Jerry Sneva waved off at 4:36 p.m. Geoff Brabham was the next car out; he had pulled in without taking green flag earlier in the morning. This time around, he burned a piston on his warm-up lap, and pulled in before taking the green flag. At that point, no one else was in the qualifying line.In a solemn mood, qualifying came to a halt around 4:55 p.m., with just over an hour left in the session. At the close of pole day, the field was filled to 20 cars.