Back then, deaths and serious injuries were the norm. But the 1973 race forced track and series officials to finally pay attention to drivers' concerns.
Johnny Rutherford and Gordon Johncock delivered spectacular results at the 1973 Indianapolis 500 that were overshadowed by perhaps the worst month in the history of the storied race.
“I don't know what the rest of the guys thought, but I thought, ‘Let's just get this damn thing over, you know, this has not been good,'” Rutherford recalled. “That was the way the business was. You know, A.J. and I have lost so many friends in the business." It reduced the size of rear wings by nine inches, cut fuel tank capacity from 75 gallons to 40, moved those tanks to the left sidepod away from the grandstands — and where most side impacts occur on oval tracks — and required pit-sign board holders to remain at their posts the entire race.
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