Rindt tries Indianapolis

Indianapolis 1969. The first weekend of time trials was rained out. Mario Andretti crashed his Lotus the second week of practice and the other Lotus 64’s were pulled out by Colin Chapman. Mario ended up in the Andy Granatelli-entered Brawner Hawk, and won the race!

Unusual: Jochen Rindt in his Lotus 64 Ford, ahead of qualifying for the 1969 Indianapolis 500. The picture-above, was most probably, taken early in the month of May, during a shake down run. Notice the Lotus runs without a rear wing.

Andretti’s triumph capped off an up-and-down month of May. He crashed his primary car, a radical four-wheel-drive Lotus, during practice. Mario suffered burns but was able to qualify a back-up car, the STP-Hawk (picture below), in the middle of the front row.

Mario Andretti’s 1969 Indianapolis 500 win, remains the lone victory at the race for the famous Andretti dynasty.