1971
INDIANAPOLIS 500
“Run Fast, Run All Day”
Plus:
Pace Car Crash
And
“Four Kings, Ace High”

“Run Fast, Run All Day”, Pace Car Crash Aftermath Home Movies and “Four Kings, Ace High” are three vintage films on the Indianapolis 500 recently restored by Rare Sportsfilms and now available on a new 61-minute DVD! “Run Fast, Run All Day” is by Dynamic Films, Home Movies show the still-talked about pace car crash and aftermath, and “Four Kings, Ace High” shows the race and racing activities at the track from still another perspective.

In “Run Fast, Run All Day” the filmmaker makes liberal use of soundbites throughout the film, and you’ll hear the actual voices of drivers, mechanics, racing personalities and even comments from the wives of drivers Mark Donohue, Bruce Walkup, Johnny Rutherford and Gary Bettenhausen! Drivers Roger McCluskey, Cale Yarborough, Art Pollard and Rutherford all give their opinions on various topics, and you’ll hear Andy Granatelli giving advice to young 24-year-old Steve Krisiloff on how not to make an impression at Indy! Also included is a commercial by A.J. Foyt for Valvoline, the official sponsor of this original racing film.

In between the two main films on this DVD is a special feature - never-before-seen Home Movies showing the pace car crash aftermath at the start of the race! (The two other films show the crash, but here are dramatic scenes of the smashed car with injured spectators lying on the ground, yellow shirts, police and ambulances, etc!) The Dodge Challenger pace car is shown and the story of the crash is told in more detail in this segment.

The film “Four Kings, Ace High”, narrated by track announcer Tom Carnegie, shows a trip around the course in the pace car with Bobby Unser, who describes how Indy race drivers negotiate the track at speed. A total of nine practice crashes plus some spinouts are shown prior to qualifications, which on this film also include attempts of Andretti, Al and Bobby Unser, Larry Dickson and Jim Hurtubise. The pace car crash is shown from pit road looking south, and Mike Mosley and Cale Yarborough are shown making pit stops in this film.

The following description of the race is from “Run Fast, Run All Day”, which is also similar in style to “Four Kings, Ace High”, even as both films show entirely different scenes of all the action. Though Al Unser is defending champion, most railbirds give little thought to his winning again in 1971. Roger Penske’s new #66 Sunoco Special utilizes new wings and is aerodynamically adapted for the Speedway, and during practice, his driver Mark Donohue astounds racing veterans by topping the 180 MPH mark! Most fans concede the pole to Donohue, however a dashing Peter Revson surprises everyone by knocking Donohue off the pole with a new official record of 178.696 MPH! Throughout the DVD, you’ll see closeups of many drivers: Foyt, Donohue, Rutherford, Revson, Bettenhausen, Al and Bobby Unser, Bill Vukovich Jr, Bruce Walkup, Ronnie Bucknum and Joe Leonard. Also shown are many cars, especially those of Donohue, the Unsers, Foyt, Revson, Rutherford, Vukovich, Bettenhausen, McCluskey, Lloyd Ruby, Dick Simon, Mike Mosley, Denis Hulme and Jim Malloy. Shown qualifying are A. J. Foyt, Donohue, and Peter Revson. Mike Mosley crashes his white #80 G. C. Murphy Special during qualifying (he starts the race in #4).

The pace car crash is shown from the front row of the Paddock Penthouse just south of the S/F line. No one is killed, but 29 persons are treated for injuries. While the pace car accident holds center stage for a moment, Mark Donohue takes the lead and keeps it until his first pit stop. The three major accidents are all shown in detail. On lap 12, Steve Krisiloff’s blown engine oils the track in turn 3, and Mel Kenyon spins into the wall. Just as he is getting out, Gordon Johncock also loses control and smashes into Kenyon’s car, then ricochets into the path of Mario Andretti, who can’t escape the pileup! You’ll hear Mario explain the accident as slow-motion cameras replay the crash!

After Donohue shatters his gearbox on lap 66, Al Unser and teammate Joe Leonard trade the lead. At lap 107, Dennis Hobbs, the other Penske entry, also loses his gearbox on the main straightaway. Rick Muther, trying to avoid Hobbs, almost flips and both cars hit the outside wall. Great camera work and stop motion catch Muther’s car in mid-air! During the race, drivers shown making pit stops in this film are: Donohue, Foyt, Revson, Rutherford, Al & Bobby Unser and Lloyd Ruby.

The third major accident of the day occurs on the 167th lap, as Mike Mosley hits the outside wall in turn four, and careens down the straightaway, toward the inside wall at the north end of the pits. Mosley crashes into the parked cars of Donohue, Krisiloff and Bentley Warren. Trying to avoid the accident, Bobby Unser also hits the wall and catches fire as he crashes into Mosley! Gary Bettenhausen, upon seeing the accident and the burning cars, brakes to a stop and runs to the wreck in an effort to help free Mosley! Less than 30 laps from the finish, Lloyd Ruby’s bad luck strikes again, and he exits with another broken engine. From this point on, Al Unser breezes to his second win in a row at Indianapolis!