1974 Indy 500: Dyed-In-The-Wool

McLaren teammates Johnny Rutherford and David Hobbs remember the 58th running of the Indianapolis “500”

On Sunday, May 26th, 1974, Johnny Rutherford won the 58th running of the Indianapolis 500-mile automobile race before a crowd estimated at 275,000 spectators at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana.

Piloting an Offenhauser-powered McLaren M16C/D chassis for Team McLaren, the 36-year-old victor from Fort Worth, Texas took the checkered flag in 3 hours, 9 minutes 10.060 seconds at an average speed of 156.589 mph—a full 22.32 seconds ahead of the All-American Racers Eagle 74-Offenhauser of 1968 winner Bobby Unser, who was the only other driver to complete the full 500-mile distance.

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