1981 Indianapolis 500

rdf:langString 1981 Indianapolis 500

rdf:langString Color Analyst: Jackie Stewart

rdf:langString Lap-by-lap: Jim McKay

rdf:langString Host: Dave Diles

rdf:langString Bobby Unser

rdf:langString ABC 1981 Indianapolis 500 coverage of the Unser lap 149 incident

rdf:langString Jim McKay: "Bobby, out again – and Bobby, going out, very – passed a car – What's he doing? He – oh look at that! He's passed about half a dozen cars." Jackie Stewart: "Oh, James, that's a – !" McKay: "Under the yellow. You can't do that!" Stewart: "That is a no-no! He has accelerated probably in the haste of leaving the pit lane, he's certainly overtaken these other cars; I'm not sure why he did that. I know that you're certainly not supposed to do it. The regulations say that under yellow flag conditions you must not pass any other cars, and that certainly has been the case here..." McKay: "...but you're supposed to blend into the traffic, right? Let's see if he did that at all." Stewart: "Yes, you are supposed to...but certainly he's accelerated all the way down below the double yellow line there, and simply overtaken a lot of cars there; I'm sure Bobby must know the regulations, I'm sure he knew what he was doing, whether his mind was somewhere else I can't say, but he shouldn't have passed these other cars, Jim."

rdf:langString Bobby Unser

rdf:langString Indy500winningcar1981.JPG

rdf:langString Duane Sweeney

rdf:langString The 65th Indianapolis 500 was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana on Sunday, May 24, 1981. The race is widely considered one of the most controversial races in Indy history. Bobby Unser took the checkered flag as the winner, with Mario Andretti finishing second. After the conclusion of the race, USAC officials ruled that Unser had passed cars illegally while exiting the pit area during a caution on lap 149 (of 200). Unser was subsequently issued a one-position penalty. The next morning, the official race results were posted, and Unser was dropped to second place. Mario Andretti was elevated to first place and declared the race winner. A firestorm of controversy followed the ruling. After a lengthy protest and appeals process, the penalty was rescinded, and Unser was reinstated the victory on October 9. Officially, it became Unser's third-career Indy 500 victory and his final win in Indy car competition. Unser stepped out of the car at the end of the season, and ultimately retired from driving. The race was officially part of the 1981–82 USAC season. However, most of the top entrants participated in the 1981 CART PPG Indy Car World Series. Championship points for the 1981 Indy 500 were not awarded towards the CART title. The hectic month of May 1981 was interrupted several times by rain. Pole qualifying stretched over three days due to inclement weather, and several days of practice were cut short or lost due to rain. The 1981 race is also remembered for the horrifying crash of Danny Ongais, and a major pit fire involving Rick Mears. Ongais was critically injured, and Mears suffered burns, but both drivers would recover. Another major pit fire occurred later in the season at the Michigan 500, prompting new rules and standards to be put in place regarding the safety of fueling rigs.