The 58th 500 Mile International Sweepstakes was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana on Sunday, May 26, 1974. Johnny Rutherford, in his eleventh attempt, won the race from the 25th starting position, the farthest back since Louis Meyer in 1936.[3][4] It was the first of his three Indy victories, and started a three-year stretch where he finished 1st-2nd-1st.
The race was run relatively clean, with no major crashes or injuries, a sharp contrast from the tragic 1973 event. In order to increase safety, significant improvements were made to the track and cars.[4] Wings were reduced in size, fuel tank capacity was reduced, and pop-off valves were added to the turbocharger plenums in order to reduce horsepower and curtail speeds.
For the first time in Indy history, the race was scheduled for the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend. This ended the "never on a Sunday" policy previously held from 1911 to 1973. At the time, it was also the earliest calendar date (May 26) that the race had ever been held. With the implementation of the Uniform Monday Holiday Act in 1971, the holiday was now observed on the last Monday of May (25–31), creating a three-day weekend (Saturday–Monday) every year.
On race day, A. J. Foyt broke the all-time record for most career starts at Indianapolis. The 1974 race was his 17th Indy 500 start (all consecutive), breaking the record of 16 previously held by Cliff Bergere and Chet Miller.[5] Foyt would go on to start a total of 35 consecutive races (1958–1992), and as of 2023, still holds the record for most starts.
^Fox, Jack C. (1994). The Illustrated History of the Indianapolis 500 1911-1994 (4th ed.). Carl Hungness Publishing. p. 22. ISBN 0-915088-05-3.
^Marquette, Ray (May 27, 1974). "Leads 122 Laps To Garner Prize of $200,000-Plus". The Indianapolis Star. p. 9. Retrieved June 2, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
^"Rutherford hits jackpot". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. May 27, 1974. p. 1B.
^ abJones, Robert F. (June 3, 1974). "Start in back and attack". Sports Illustrated. p. 16.
^The Talk of Gasoline Alley. May 19, 2006. Network Indiana.
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