Time trials

One other major change was implemented for time trials. The evening before pole day time trials, a new blind draw was to be used to establish the qualifying order (namely for Pole Day). Prior to 1965, no draw was used, and the qualifying order was a "first-come, first-served" line-up, queued down the pit lane and usually stretching into the garage area. Some teams would even claim their spots in line the night before. The unorganized scramble to roll the cars into a queue had often led to heated exchanges, collisions, and unfair situations.

Each entry would still be allowed up to three attempts to qualify (across all four scheduled days). Once the original qualifying draw order had been exhausted on Pole Day, if there was still time left in the day (prior to the traditional 6 o'clock gun), the track was open for qualifying on a first-come, first-served basis. A proposal to charge cars with an attempt if they got to the front of the line but elected not to go out, or went out and did not take the green flag to start the run, was rejected.^[5] Despite the addition of a qualifying draw, each car in the order was not yet guaranteed the opportunity to make an attempt during the pole round. If rain were to delay or interrupt the qualifying line on Pole Day, any cars left in the original qualifying order at the time the track closed (due to rain or at the 6 o'clock gun) were simply out of luck, and had to qualify on the next round. This technicality would be corrected in 1971.

Pole Day – Saturday May 15

Pole day was a record-setting day, as drivers officially broke the 160 mph barrier. Rookie Mario Andretti was one of the first drivers to set the pace, putting in a lap of 159.406 mph, and a four-lap average of 158.849 mph. Later, Jim Clark in the Lotus 38, became the first driver to break the 160 mph barrier. His first two laps of 160.772 mph and 160.973 mph set one-lap records. His record four-lap average of 160.729 mph tentatively put him on the pole.

Defending race winner A. J. Foyt ended up as the fastest of the day, with three laps in the 161 mph range. His first lap of 161.958 mph established the new one-lap track record. His record four-lap average of 161.233 secured the pole position, his first pole at Indy.

A day after his crash during practice, Bobby Unser got in a year-old Novi back up car to qualify 8th. Nineteen cars qualified on pole day.^[12]

Second day – Sunday May 16

Strong winds kept most cars off the track. Only two drivers (Don Branson and Arnie Knepper) qualified.^[13] At the end of the first weekend of time trials, the field was filled to 21 cars.

Third day – Saturday May 22

Jim Hurtubise, who was seriously burned in a crash at Milwaukee in 1964, completed his comeback by qualifying a Novi at 156.860 mph (252.442 km/h), the fastest of eleven qualifiers that day.^[14]

Two drivers crashed during the day, Rodger Ward and Lloyd Ruby. Ruby wrecked his already-qualified machine, but Ward was still struggling to get up to speed. Masten Gregory and Al Unser both blew engines, but were able to keep the cars off the wall.

Bobby Johns, a NASCAR regular, skipped the World 600 and entered as a teammate to Jim Clark in another Lotus. He qualified for 22nd position, third fastest of the afternoon.

At the end of the day, there was only one spot left open in the field.

Bump day – Sunday May 23

Former winner Rodger Ward failed to qualify. He suffered a crash and three blown engines during the month. He got onto the track in the final 15 minutes, but his qualifying attempt was too slow to make the field.

Bob Mathouser was the final driver in Indy history to attempt to qualify in a front-wheel drive machine, but the engine blew and he did not make the field.^[15]

First half

A. J. Foyt started on the pole, but Jim Clark led the first lap. Jim Hurtubise dropped out with a broken transmission on the first lap. Foyt took the lead on lap two, and at first glance, the early laps appeared as if they were going to develop into a duel. However, Clark re-took the lead on lap 3, and pulled away.

Heavy attrition saw 17 cars drop out with engine or mechanical trouble before reaching the halfway point.

Lloyd Ruby spun, but was able to continue. He went to the pits for new tires, but the heavily flat-spotted tires required a minute and a half to change.

Clark led until lap 65, giving up the lead for a pit stop. A. J. Foyt led from lap 66-74. On lap 75, Clark regained the lead of the race.

Second half

Jim Clark still led at the halfway point, and would not relinquish the lead for the remainder of the race. Early contender A. J. Foyt dropped out after 115 laps with a broken gearbox.

The lone accident of the day involved Bud Tingelstad, who lost a wheel and spun into the outside wall in turn three.

Scotland's Jim Clark became the first non-American winner of the Indianapolis 500 since 1920. Clark led three times for a total of 190 laps. Only eleven cars were running at the finish. Second place Parnelli Jones ran out of fuel on the final lap, and pushed his car back to the pits.

Rookie Mario Andretti, who ran no lower than 6th all afternoon, came home third, and won the Rookie of the Year award. Despite rapidly becoming obsolete, two front-engined roadsters still finished in the top ten. Rookie Gordon Johncock finished 5th, and Eddie Johnson came home 10th. Johncock was locked in a duel with Al Miller in the late stages of the race.

The race was slowed by only three yellow lights for a total of 13 minutes.

Alternates

• First alternate: Rodger Ward (#2)^[24]

Failed to qualify

Race statistics

Radio

The race was carried live on the IMS Radio Network. Sid Collins served as chief announcer for the 14th year, and 18th year overall with the crew. Fred Agabashian served as "driver expert," and Rodger Ward (who failed to qualify), joined the pre-race coverage briefly to offer commentary. The four and a half hour broadcast opened with a 30-minute pre-race segment.

The broadcast was carried by over 800 affiliates and was heard by an estimated 100 million listeners worldwide. The broadcast was carried by Armed Forces Network, as well as Radio New York Worldwide. Foreign translation rebroadcasts in Spanish, Portuguese, French, and Italian were heard in Central and South America and elsewhere.

After visiting the broadcast booth in 1964 for an interview, Donald Davidson returned, joining the crew full-time as race historian. Also new for 1965 was Ron Carrell, who reported from the backstretch. Other guests that visited the booth included Gus Grissom, Senator Birch Bayh, Assistant Postmaster General Tyler Able, Wally Parks, Peter DePaolo, J. C. Agajanian, 500 Festival Chairperson Margaret Clark and 500 Festival Queen Suzanne Devine Sams.

Absent from the crew was nine-year veteran Jack Shapiro, who died the previous summer at the age of 37.^[26]

Television

The race was shown live on MCA closed-circuit television in approximately 180 theaters and venues across the United States. Charlie Brockman served as anchor.^[27][28]

The following weekend on June 5, the race was carried in the United States on ABC's Wide World of Sports. It was ABC's first exclusive network coverage of the Indianapolis 500 on race day. Charlie Brockman anchored the telecast, as he did during the closed-circuit broadcast. The Wide World of Sports broadcast was an edited tape of the closed-circuit broadcast, and driver Rodger Ward served as analyst. Ward sat out the 1965 race, having failed to qualify, but returned in 1966.

References

Works cited

• Indianapolis 500 History: Race & All-Time Stats - Official Site
• 1965 Indianapolis 500 Radio Broadcast, Indianapolis Motor Speedway Radio Network