1972 Tony Bettenhausen 200 (lost footage of USAC Championship Car Season race; 1972): Difference between revisions

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(The final TVS Television Network broadcast of an IndyCar race, Joe Leonard winning in dominant fashion after Mario Andretti's car caught fire during a pitstop!)
 
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==The Race==
==The Race==
With the starting order decided, the 1972 Tony Bettenhausen 200 commenced on 13th August.<ref name="results"/> Andretti held his lead at the start, and would remain the lap leader for the first 107 laps.<ref name="results"/> He generally faced competition from Leonard and Unser throughout, although the latter retired after 79 laps because of a suspension failure.<ref name="nyt"/><ref name="results"/> On lap 108, Andretti came in for a pit stop.<ref name="nyt"/> As he did so, his brakes suddenly locked, which caused his car to catch fire.<ref name="nyt"/><ref name="results"/> While Andretti escaped harm, the fire ended up burning crewmen Al Clark and Jim Dillamarter, who both required hospital treatment.<ref name="nyt"/>  
With the starting order decided, the 1972 Tony Bettenhausen 200 commenced on 13th August.<ref name="results"/> Andretti held his lead at the start and would remain the lap leader for the first 107 laps.<ref name="results"/> He generally faced competition from Leonard and Unser throughout, although the latter retired after 79 laps because of a suspension failure.<ref name="nyt"/><ref name="results"/> On lap 108, Andretti came in for a pit stop.<ref name="nyt"/> As he did so, his brakes suddenly locked, which caused his car to catch fire.<ref name="nyt"/><ref name="results"/> While Andretti escaped harm, the fire ended up burning crewmen Al Clark and Jim Dillamarter, who both required hospital treatment.<ref name="nyt"/>  


With Andretti out, Leonard assumed the first position and controlled the remaining 93 laps.<ref name="results"/><ref name="nyt"/> He therefore claimed victory and $15,139 in prize money.<ref name="results"/><ref name="nyt"/> Billy Vukovich, Jr. finished second in an Eagle-Offenhauser, being four laps down from Leonard, with Gerhardt-Offenhauser's Johnny Rutherford taking third, a further three laps down from the leader.<ref name="results"/><ref name="nyt"/>
With Andretti out, Leonard assumed the first position and controlled the remaining 93 laps.<ref name="results"/><ref name="nyt"/> He therefore claimed victory and $15,139 in prize money.<ref name="results"/><ref name="nyt"/> Billy Vukovich, Jr. finished second in an Eagle-Offenhauser, being four laps down from Leonard, with Gerhardt-Offenhauser's Johnny Rutherford taking third, a further three laps down from the leader.<ref name="results"/><ref name="nyt"/>

Revision as of 11:03, 19 May 2022

1972tonybettenhausen2001.jpg

Program for the race.

Status: Lost

The 1972 Tony Bettenhausen 200 was the seventh race of the 1972 USAC Championship Car Season. Occurring on 13th August at the Milwaukee Mile, the race would ultimately be won by Joe Leonard, dominating the race after fellow Parnelli-Offenhauser driver Mario Andretti retired due to a locked wheel. The race was also the last to be televised by the TVS Television Network.

Background

The 1972 Tony Bettenhausen 200 was the 12th running of the event, the annual race being named in memory of two-time IndyCar champion Tony Bettenhausen.[1] It was one of two 1972 USAC Championship Car Season races to be held at Milwaukee Mile,[2] the other being the 1972 Rex Mays Classic, which occurred on 4th June and was won by Bobby Unser in an Eagle-Offenhauser.[3] Lasting 200 miles,[4] the race would continue to be held until it was dropped from the schedule from 1983 onwards.[5]

Prior to the race, qualifying commenced with Mario Andretti winning the pole position with a record speed of 127.932 mph.[6][4] Directly behind him was Joe Leonard, who was seeking to win his third consecutive race,[6] with fellow Parnelli-Offenhauser driver Al Unser lining up third out of 25 competitors.[4]

The Race

With the starting order decided, the 1972 Tony Bettenhausen 200 commenced on 13th August.[4] Andretti held his lead at the start and would remain the lap leader for the first 107 laps.[4] He generally faced competition from Leonard and Unser throughout, although the latter retired after 79 laps because of a suspension failure.[6][4] On lap 108, Andretti came in for a pit stop.[6] As he did so, his brakes suddenly locked, which caused his car to catch fire.[6][4] While Andretti escaped harm, the fire ended up burning crewmen Al Clark and Jim Dillamarter, who both required hospital treatment.[6]

With Andretti out, Leonard assumed the first position and controlled the remaining 93 laps.[4][6] He therefore claimed victory and $15,139 in prize money.[4][6] Billy Vukovich, Jr. finished second in an Eagle-Offenhauser, being four laps down from Leonard, with Gerhardt-Offenhauser's Johnny Rutherford taking third, a further three laps down from the leader.[4][6]

Availability

According to IndyCar on TV, the race would receive live flag-to-flag coverage from the TVS Television Network.[7] It also proved to be the final IndyCar race to be aired by the network. But of twelve IndyCar races to have been televised by TVS, none are currently publicly available. Nevertheless, a few photos of the race remain viewable.

Gallery

Video

nascarman History's Top 10 Lost IndyCar Broadcasts detailing TVS Television Network's IndyCar broadcasts (0:20-0:59).

Image

  • Lee Kuzman (10) leading a pack in an Eagle-Offenhauser. He would ultimately finish the race in fourth.

    Lee Kuzman (10) leading a pack in an Eagle-Offenhauser. He would ultimately finish the race in fourth.

See Also

References

  1. ↑ Haul Away! noting origins of the race's name. Retrieved 14th May '22
  2. ↑ Racing-Reference detailing the 1972 USAC Championship Car Season schedule. Retrieved 14th May '22
  3. ↑ Racing-Reference detailing the results of the 1972 Rex Mays Classic. Retrieved 14th May '22
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7 4.8 4.9 Racing-Reference detailing the qualifying and race results of the event Retrieved 14th May '22
  5. ↑ UPI reporting on the event being dropped from 1983 onwards. Retrieved 14th May '22
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 6.6 6.7 6.8 The New York Times reporting on Leonard winning the race. Retrieved 14th May '22
  7. ↑ IndyCar on TV detailing the TVS Television Network broadcast of the race, and noting it was the final TVS airing of an IndyCar event. Retrieved 14th May '22
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