Indianapolis 500

1964

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. (UPI)- Happy-go-lucky veteran Eddie Sachs and rookie driver Dave MacDonald were killed Saturday in a lightning fast Indianapolis 500-mile auto race won in a record time by national driving champion A. J. Foyt.

Three more drivers were injured in the spectacular, fiery crackup which claimed the lives of Sachs, 37, and MacDonald, 26, just two minutes after the start of one of the most dangerously contested Memorial Day classics in speedway history.

Three of the top contenders were eliminated later, one of them barely escaping with his life, in the wild and wooly chase. But the speedster from Houston, Tex., took over and set records for lap after lap.

Foyt sped past the finish line ahead of Roger Ward in second place and Lloyd Ruby in third.

In racing circles, the race's most significant result was the fate of the new breed of Ford powered cars. Seven cars using Ford engines started, but only one- Ward's- was in the running when the race finished. Both Sachs and MacDonald were driving the Ford-powered rear-engined racers.

Foyt piloted his traditional Offenhauser roadster around the speedway track at an average speed of 147.350 miles per hour, far outdistancing the record of 143.137 m.p.h. set last year by Parnelli Jones. The victory capped a sensational year for the 29-year-old Texan and gave him his second speedway crown in four years (video).

But the glory and the glamour were dimmed by the grinding holocaust which took the lives of Sachs and MacDonald before two laps of the race had been run.

Sachs was a daredevil Speedway veteran from Detroit who had dreamed of winning the 500 before his racing days were over. MacDonald was pitting his skill against racing's top drivers for the first time at Indianapolis.

The rookie went into a spin as he came out of the northwest turn at the start of the home stretch. Sachs, charging up close behind, hit McDonald’s rear engine Ford racer in the side. Both ears were forced into the wall and exploded. The racers were enveloped in flames and pieces of their blasted autos spewed across the track (video).

Three more ears crashed up in the chain reaction wreck. Jimmy Rutherford, going to the outside in an attempt to get by, ran right over the top of Bobby Unser's car. Both drivers escaped with minor injuries.

But Ronnie Duman's racer careened across the track, out of control, and burst into flames. He scrambled out of the car and staggered away, but not before he had been severely burned.

The blanket-swathed body of Sachs was rushed to Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis, but doctors said he already was dead of burns.

MacDonald, from Riverside, Calif., was given an emergency tracheotomy plus plasma and oxygen as an ambulance sped him to the hospital. But he had been punished fearfully by fire and the impact of the crash and died two and a half hours later.

At least three spectators were injured by the flames and shrapnel-like debris. None of the injuries was serious.

It was the first fatal crackup in a Speedway classic since 1958, when Pat O'Connor was killed in a 16-car pileup during the first lap. It was also the first tune in the 48-year history of "Indy" that the 500 had been brought to a complete halt by a crash. The racers' waited for an hour and 45 minutes before starting up their engines again.

The threat of sudden death hung over the track as Foyt battled for the lead. Jones, the defending champion, was driving his car from the pits after a fuel stop when it burst into flames. He pulled to a stop, leaped from the car with his suit ablaze, and rolled on the ground in flames. The car exploded into a fireball.

Bobby Marshman, the leader for 33 laps, couldn't even make it back to the pits when his Lotus-Ford developed an oil leak and began smoking heavily. Pole-sitter Jimmy Clark, also in a Lotus, led for seven laps but had to go out in the 47th lap when his machine developed suspension problems.

That was the signal for Foyt to take over and the Texas tornado held the lead for the final 145 laps. He made two evenly-spaced pit stops, both times for fuel, after the 73rd and 140th laps, as other contestants dropped out.

At the end, there were only 12 cars out of the original 33 still on the track. It was the lowest number since 1961, when Foyt beat Sachs by just eight seconds. Behind Ruby was rookie Johnnie White in fourth place and Johnnie Boyd in fifth

The yellow caution light was on for a total of 18 minutes and 15 seconds after the race resumed following the Sachs-MacDonald crackup and it was on at the very end when Bobby Grim spun into the southeast turn.

It was a grand victory for Foyt, who has won every U.S. Auto Club big car race this year. It was also a vindication for the old-fashioned "Offys," the traditional kings of the Speedway which have been hotly challenged by the newfangled rear-engine Lotus-Fords.

Still, it was one of the saddest 500s in history.

Sachs had dreamed of winning the 500, in which he had competed since 1957. Two years ago he wrote in a magazine "win that and I'll quit." He and MacDonald were hanging right behind the leaders on the second lap when they met death.

Victims Shared Love of Racing

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. (UPI) Eddie Sachs once was in the restaurant business back in Allentown, Pa., but racing was his first love.

He had been upside down several times in racers during his colorful career and he died trying for what he wanted most, victory in the Indianapolis "500."

So did a promising newcomer, Dave MacDonald, Riverside, Calif., up from the rookie ranks. Both lost their lives in the spectacular crash which temporarily halted Saturday's 500-mile auto race won by A.J. Foyt, a smashup that eliminated seven cars.

Sachs almost won in 1961. He had victory cinched when he went into the pit for a tire change with two laps to go. That gave Foyt enough time to roar past him to victory- by a margin of just eight seconds.

He took his narrow defeat philosophically.

"I'd rather be second and safe than risk the machine and my neck," he said.

The following year he placed third after starting in 27th position. Last year he was running fourth late in the race when he lost control and hit the inside guard rail in the southwest turn. He was restarted and a few laps later lost a wheel when he hit the wall.

But he never lost his humor. Although accusing officials of bad judgment for not flagging winner Parnelli Jones off the track when he was throwing oil, he trotted in front of stands, pushing the tire he lost and waving to the crowd..

Sachs later apologized for his attack on the officials. He also caught a right to the jaw from Jones during a luncheon brawl.

Tragically, McDonald proved a prophet.

“It’s going to be a hard track,” he said when he began his rookie driving test early this month. He gained his experience as a member of Caroll Shelby's famous Cobra sports car racing team but he had no plans to enter this year's "500."

Early this year, however, he an invitation from Mickey Thompson to drive one of the rear engine machines here.

The crew-cut, blue-eyed father of two young children from El Monte, Calif., readily accepted, but realized the challenge.

"This is probably going to be the hardest thing I’ve done in racing,” he said.

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