How Ford’s First Indianapolis 500 Win Changed Racing Forever

While Ford’s victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1966 may be the motorsports triumph of that decade for which Ford is best known, the company marked another pivotal moment in its racing heritage a year earlier. Ford, as an engine builder, claimed its first victory at the iconic Indianapolis 500 60 years ago this week and transformed Indy racing in the process. 

How Ford became a trendsetter

More than 40 years after a Ford engine first powered a car around the “Brickyard,” Jim Clark led the way for the Lotus-Ford team with a record speed of 150.685 mph. He was followed by a pair of iconic racing names in Parnelli Jones, who was second, and a rookie named Mario Andretti, who drove for another Ford-backed team, in third. 

Not only was Clark’s victory the first for Ford, but his was also the first rear-engined car to win the Indy 500. The Lotus-Ford, a marriage of a Formula 1-inspired lightweight chassis and large Ford V8 engine, forever changed the design of Indy racers with its seminal victory. 

Already established on the European race scene, Clark had joined Lotus race team in 1960. He finished second at Indy in the 1963 running of the race but was forced to drop out after just 47 laps in the 1964 edition. The race-winning pit crew in 1965 was helmed by the now legendary Wood Brothers, speedy pit stop specialists with Ford on the NASCAR circuit who were hired specifically for the contest. 

Ford engines powered 17 of the 33 cars in the field, and eight of the 11 that finished the race, including the top four finishers. Ford engines also propelled the race’s five fastest qualifiers. Just three Ford-powered cars were retired due to engine trouble, considered a feat for the race. The complete electrical and fuel induction systems in all 17 Ford-backed cars were designed and developed by Ford engineers, while all of their major electrical parts were supplied by Ford’s General Parts Division.

Playing chess with checkered flags

Clark’s breakthrough victory and those that followed in the next two years did not occur by chance. The win at Indianapolis came just three years after Ford had reentered motorsports competition. The move came after a five-year hiatus due to a ban by the Automobile Manufacturers Association. With its reentry, Ford had resolved to develop an engine that could win at Indy, as well as to develop a car that would dominate GT endurance racing, including a victory at the elusive 24 Hours of Le Mans, which would come in 1966. 

Ford-powered cars have won the Indy 500 a total of eight times to date, including victories by Andretti and A.J. Foyt, among others, most recently in 1996. Ford also has another connection to the Memorial Day classic: An employee from the company’s former Cleveland Stamping Plant, Eddie Johnson, finished 10th in his 14th start in the event in 1965, earning himself an offer to drive a Lotus-Ford the following year, along with his prize money.

The focus, collaboration and excellence seen in Ford’s motorsports pursuits of the 1960s, including landmark victories at Indianapolis and Le Mans, can serve as a reminder of the incredible results these key behaviors can drive now and in the future. 

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