Helio Castroneves is still looking to be the first five-time Indianapolis 500 winner. It would break the four-way tie in the legendary Four-Time Winners Club. We all know that also includes A.J. Foyt, Rick Mears and Al Unser Sr. I’ve often wondered how close we have ever come to a five-time winner of the Indianapolis 500, but there is one scenario that has intrigued me more than others.
There are no greater “what if” scenarios than in the sport of auto racing, especially on the grandest stage in the world, The Indianapolis 500. What if J.R. Hildebrand doesn’t hit the wall on the last lap of the 2011 Indy 500? How different would his career have been? Would Dario Franchitti have four or more 500 wins if it weren’t for his career ending crash in Houston in 2012? What if Michael Andretti never left for Formula One in 1993? Could he have piloted the Newman/Haas Lola to victory that year? Nigel Mansell did lead late in that car and finished third in the event. He could have won if not for a rookie mistake and not understanding the restart rules. Let’s just totally leave out the CART/IRL split.
I want to focus solely on those in the Four-Time Winners Club. The elite and the best of the best. With Castroneves still having a chance to win five, let’s get into Mr. Peabody’s Wayback Machine, and look at the other four-time Indy 500 Champions.
Everyone’s obvious first choice would be Mears. They don’t call Mears the “Ovalmeister” for no reason. His best chance came in 1982 in one of the closest finishes in 500 history when he lost to Gordon Johncock. Although, had his last pit stop been a bit quicker Rocket Rick might’ve been the first winner in the drive for five. After Foyt’s fourth win in 1977, I can’t find a scenario in which he wins five. His only real chance at a fifth win came in 1979. He did record two second place finishes, in 1976 and 1979 respectively. We will never know how the 1976 race would pan out due to it being a rain shortened event after only 102 laps. There are many “what-if’s” in that event. By ‘79 he was a four-time winner yes, but he only led one lap in that race.
This is where we get to the real “what if”. Let’s briefly go over the 500 career of Unser Sr. Unser had an illustrious career at Indianapolis. He led the second most laps in the 500 at 644 in 27 starts. Along with his four wins he has nine top five finishes. That includes three second place finishes and four finishes of third. The last coming in 1992 at age 52.
I want to revisit the years of 1979 and 1980 specifically. Unser was driving for Jim Hall during those years. He was the first to drive the revolutionary Chaparral, 2K, now lovingly known as The Yellow Submarine. He dominated the early part of the 1979 Indy 500 and led 85 laps before the transmission broke on lap 104. Like any new chassis, the Chaparral had its teething problems. While Unser led many races that season he was only able to win one race. The final event of the year, which was a 150 mile event at Phoenix International Raceway, was that victory. Then, at the end of the 1979 season, Unser quit the Chapparel team.
This would be shocking in today’s racing world. Unser and Jim Hall started racing together in 1978 and it was a match made in heaven. The combination won the “Triple Crown” of 500 mile events that year. Unser took his third Indy 500 win and followed that up with wins at the California and Pocono 500 mile races. They would finish second in the championship that year. Why would Unser leave when they were on the brink of some real dominance in Indycar? Unser attributed the split as he and Jim Hall not seeing eye-to-eye. I had always heard stories that suggest that Unser left because Hall refused to give credit to racing engineer John Barnard who designed the car. But they are exactly that, stories.
Let’s think about this for a moment though. Had Unser not left after 1979 he could easily be the only five-time winner of the Indianapolis 500. His replacement, Johnny Rutherford went on to not only take the 1980 Indycar Championship, but he also dominated the month of May and the Indianapolis 500. Rutherford would start on the pole, and lead the first 15 laps. He would lead 118 laps total, and win by 29.92 seconds over runner-up Tom Sneva.
The timeline fits perfect within Unser’s career as well. Hall closed up the Chaparral team after the 1982 season. Unser left Bobby Hillin’s Longhorn Racing, which he joined in 1980, after the 1982 season. In this timeline Rutherford could’ve joined the Hillin racing team as both are from Texas. Had the racing gods let this play out Rutherford ends his career as a two-time Indy 500 winner. So, with that being said it’s still possible that Unser lands at Team Penske in 1983 and JR signs with Patrick Racing. Unser’s victory at Indianapolis in 1987 could have very well been his fifth. We would talk about four-time winners the way we now talk about drivers who won Indy three times.
Yeah it never happened, but it is fun to think about.