My all time hero, the Greatest of the Greats, Jim Clark.! When we lost Jimmy in April 68 I was totally devastated & as a 10yr old kid it took me years to even talk about it. In all the time since, I've seen some absolutely great race car drivers, but no better driver than Jim Clark. The G.O.A.T.
I'm right there with you @alanmarsden4422. I was in disbelief when I first heard the awful news and even now some 55+ years later I often times catch myself wondering, what could have been? Jimmy Clark and A.J. Foyt are my all time favorite drivers...and, always will be! Thank you for your VERY real and honest assessment of that sad and unthinkable event which took place at The Hockenheimring in a race which was frankly beneath him. But, he was loyal to Colin Chapman and so he went when asked. The G.O.A.T. INDEED!!! Jimmy Clark=Pure of mind, pure of heart and fast as h3ll. But, NEVER hard on his equipment. He was THAT smooth!
The reliability of the cars back then were so precarious, it also added a dimension of suspense to the race's outcome. Improvements with automotive components in the 21st Century has made racing a lot more predictable.
I remember watching this race on the ABC-TV (US) _Wide World of Sports_ on late Saturday afternoon back then. This telecast of this race was delayed by six days, as this race ran on the previous Sunday and televised on the following Saturday. Live auto races were still in its infancy at that time. But even with the delayed televising of this race, the scant info available back then was only with radio, TV, and print; with motorsports being on the low-rung of sports reporting in newspapers and TV/radio news sports segments; so chances were high, such as with me, of being clueless who won the race the previous Sunday. So for me, this race was akin to viewing it live. It was extremely gratifying to see Dan Gurney win this race; as while always a top-notch competitor, the equipment would not reliably hold up to the strenuous demands he placed on them; so he had a high drop-out rate in the early to mid-years of his racing career. It was televised races such as this one that got me hooked on motorports until the mid-1970s.
Great race and so much talent. Love that Clark ride in the Rollie Vollstedt ride....a $23,000 dollar engine...interesting comment...now it would be a 200k engine. A great race for the sprint car driver McCluskey giving up one of his best rides and AJ said he owed the championship to him...... These guys used to do it all and cared more for the sport than themselves
I recall in a biography on Clark that came out a year or so after his death that he wanted to get a road racing ride with a USAC Champ car (aka Indy Car) because the 4.2 liter Ford DOHC was considered more powerful than the 3 liter F1 engines of that era.
The olds only racing on tv was wide world of sports and you only saw a small part between ice dancing and swimming but the guys calling the race were great names
Funny, my Dad and I took his new Lincoln to the dealership in Newport Beach for an oil change in 1959, when the Technician had completed the service, he drove it up to where my Dad and I were waiting with the Service Manager. He got out of the car and handed the keys to my Dad; the Service Manager said “this is Roger Ward, he won the Indy 500 this year.” What’s even funnier, is that in 1968, I would start working for Dan Gurney at All American Racers, Inc.
compared to the other ABC broadcasts featuring Mr. Ward……ive never seen him so happy. I would have to agree with his insistance that these stars and cars put on a great show on road courses. The top points guys going balls out and switching rides was hooey, however…in my view
When it came to drivers switching rides when striving for the championship crown, the 1968 Rex Mays 300 at Riverside was even crazier than this 1967 race. I don't think Hollywood could have scripted such a race for a fictional movie. That 1968 USAC season was one for the ages, as Bobby Unser looked like he had a lock on the championship by early June; only to have Mario Andretti clawing his way back all season to have the championship decided at season's end. Andretti, being a true Ford man at the time, ended up going with a turbo Offy, at mid-season, to make him more competitive; as the turbo DOHC Ford engine was plagued with reliability issues in '68. BTW: USAC banned the use of drivers switching rides with sharing points for the '69 season.
For some reason lost to me, Andy Granatelli saved his racing commitment for the Indy 500, and little else at the time. I do recall his team entered the Novi car for a race at Atlanta in 1965; and some 1968 races with the Lotus 56 turbine car; but outside of that, he stayed out of the USAC Champ Car circuit full-time until having Mario Andretti as his driver in 1969.
@@bloqk16 i was grateful to see Mr. Andretti at the Milwaukee Mile after seeing my first race ever a week earlier at a downtown Milwaukee closed circuit live showing of Indy 500 as a 6 year old that still remembers everything that happened in both Indy events there like it was last month lol. Im pretty sure that the turbines ran most of the 68’ season and kept repeating their Indy performances over and over all season. Lead most of the race, fall out late lol.
@@MrChristopherHaas From the print magazines of that era, which I still have a few, the Lotus 56 turbine race cars were raced on the Champ Car circuit after the Indy 500. They skipped the dirt track races (for obvious reasons), and the Michigan Inaugural 250 due to the high-speed banking turns putting excessive stresses on the suspension . . . as leave it to designer Colin Chapman to purposely have the suspension/wheel hub components built on the light-side for his Lotus race cars. I would have loved to been at the Milwaukee Mile race to see the cars racing without wings/ground effects. My only Champ Car race I attended was at Sears Point raceway for the road race in 1970. In all my other races I've attended over the years, none of the race cars ever came close to the ear-splitting SCREAMING LOUD sound the naturally aspirated Ford DOHC Indy engine had that Mario Andretti used in that race.
It is ironic then that A.J. gave up his career at "The Speedway" so that he could focus more intently on his young protégée Robby Gordon in 1993. (Non fans of Foyt would/could pick this observation clean apart. But a TRUE IndyCar Fan would never stoop to such a LOW level.) 35 straight qualifications for the "Greatest Spectacle in Racing" is NOT an easy thing to turn and walk away from. Even if your best days were in the rear view mirror!
![ปฏิเสธไม่ไหว (Crush on you) - LIPTA feat. No One Else [TEASER MV]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/VC689EgdSIw/mqdefault.jpg)
My all time hero, the Greatest of the Greats,
Jim Clark.!
When we lost Jimmy in April 68 I was totally
devastated & as a 10yr
old kid it took me years to even talk about it.
In all the time since, I've seen some absolutely great race car drivers, but no better driver than Jim Clark. The G.O.A.T.
I'm right there with you @alanmarsden4422. I was in disbelief when I first heard the awful news and even now some 55+ years later I often times catch myself wondering, what could have been? Jimmy Clark and A.J. Foyt are my all time favorite drivers...and, always will be! Thank you for your VERY real and honest assessment of that sad and unthinkable event which took place at The Hockenheimring in a race which was frankly beneath him. But, he was loyal to Colin Chapman and so he went when asked. The G.O.A.T. INDEED!!! Jimmy Clark=Pure of mind, pure of heart and fast as h3ll. But, NEVER hard on his equipment. He was THAT smooth!
I love this era of racing. The danger makes it heroic, not the boring bumper cars like we have today. Dan Gurney for President...
The reliability of the cars back then were so precarious, it also added a dimension of suspense to the race's outcome. Improvements with automotive components in the 21st Century has made racing a lot more predictable.
I remember watching this race on the ABC-TV (US) _Wide World of Sports_ on late Saturday afternoon back then.
This telecast of this race was delayed by six days, as this race ran on the previous Sunday and televised on the following Saturday. Live auto races were still in its infancy at that time.
But even with the delayed televising of this race, the scant info available back then was only with radio, TV, and print; with motorsports being on the low-rung of sports reporting in newspapers and TV/radio news sports segments; so chances were high, such as with me, of being clueless who won the race the previous Sunday. So for me, this race was akin to viewing it live.
It was extremely gratifying to see Dan Gurney win this race; as while always a top-notch competitor, the equipment would not reliably hold up to the strenuous demands he placed on them; so he had a high drop-out rate in the early to mid-years of his racing career.
It was televised races such as this one that got me hooked on motorports until the mid-1970s.
Grew up in Indy in the 60's, All these Drivers were my heros! Pacers & the ABA were just starting off
What a field of great drivers. I love this era of racing, except for the danger of course.
i was just thinking that fire is always the biggest danger!
I've been looking for this ever since it was taken down a couple of years ago. Thanks!
Great race and so much talent. Love that Clark ride in the Rollie Vollstedt ride....a $23,000 dollar engine...interesting comment...now it would be a 200k engine. A great race for the sprint car driver McCluskey giving up one of his best rides and AJ said he owed the championship to him...... These guys used to do it all and cared more for the sport than themselves
I recall in a biography on Clark that came out a year or so after his death that he wanted to get a road racing ride with a USAC Champ car (aka Indy Car) because the 4.2 liter Ford DOHC was considered more powerful than the 3 liter F1 engines of that era.
Happy to see this race on YT and not only the opening laps of this race
racing almost in December today there done in early september, the spirit has gone out of racing!
The olds only racing on tv was wide world of sports and you only saw a small part between ice dancing and swimming but the guys calling the race were great names
Art Scholl (the pilot who did that spectacular demonstration run during the pre-race), sadly died in a crash during the production of Top Gun in 1985.
What happened exactly?
Funny, my Dad and I took his new Lincoln to the dealership in Newport Beach for an oil change in 1959, when the Technician had completed the service, he drove it up to where my Dad and I were waiting with the Service Manager. He got out of the car and handed the keys to my Dad; the Service Manager said “this is Roger Ward, he won the Indy 500 this year.” What’s even funnier, is that in 1968, I would start working for Dan Gurney at All American Racers, Inc.
What a race What a year for Dan
I was there, 14 years old
Dan Gurney was a true gentleman!
He should of ran for president bring some class to the White House!
Look at Foytrunning back to the pits!
And I recall back then that Foyt, based on his previous USAC season, was considered, at age 32, on the downside of his racing career.
compared to the other ABC broadcasts featuring Mr. Ward……ive never seen him so happy. I would have to agree with his insistance that these stars and cars put on a great show on road courses. The top points guys going balls out and switching rides was hooey, however…in my view
When it came to drivers switching rides when striving for the championship crown, the 1968 Rex Mays 300 at Riverside was even crazier than this 1967 race. I don't think Hollywood could have scripted such a race for a fictional movie.
That 1968 USAC season was one for the ages, as Bobby Unser looked like he had a lock on the championship by early June; only to have Mario Andretti clawing his way back all season to have the championship decided at season's end.
Andretti, being a true Ford man at the time, ended up going with a turbo Offy, at mid-season, to make him more competitive; as the turbo DOHC Ford engine was plagued with reliability issues in '68.
BTW: USAC banned the use of drivers switching rides with sharing points for the '69 season.
no Granitelli cars?
For some reason lost to me, Andy Granatelli saved his racing commitment for the Indy 500, and little else at the time.
I do recall his team entered the Novi car for a race at Atlanta in 1965; and some 1968 races with the Lotus 56 turbine car; but outside of that, he stayed out of the USAC Champ Car circuit full-time until having Mario Andretti as his driver in 1969.
@@bloqk16 i was grateful to see Mr. Andretti at the Milwaukee Mile after seeing my first race ever a week earlier at a downtown Milwaukee closed circuit live showing of Indy 500 as a 6 year old that still remembers everything that happened in both Indy events there like it was last month lol. Im pretty sure that the turbines ran most of the 68’ season and kept repeating their Indy performances over and over all season. Lead most of the race, fall out late lol.
@@MrChristopherHaas From the print magazines of that era, which I still have a few, the Lotus 56 turbine race cars were raced on the Champ Car circuit after the Indy 500. They skipped the dirt track races (for obvious reasons), and the Michigan Inaugural 250 due to the high-speed banking turns putting excessive stresses on the suspension . . . as leave it to designer Colin Chapman to purposely have the suspension/wheel hub components built on the light-side for his Lotus race cars.
I would have loved to been at the Milwaukee Mile race to see the cars racing without wings/ground effects.
My only Champ Car race I attended was at Sears Point raceway for the road race in 1970. In all my other races I've attended over the years, none of the race cars ever came close to the ear-splitting SCREAMING LOUD sound the naturally aspirated Ford DOHC Indy engine had that Mario Andretti used in that race.
BS. Foyt would never give up a car to another driver. Especially if he was leading at the time.
It is ironic then that A.J. gave up his career at "The Speedway" so that he could focus more intently on his young protégée Robby Gordon in 1993. (Non fans of Foyt would/could pick this observation clean apart. But a TRUE IndyCar Fan would never stoop to such a LOW level.) 35 straight qualifications for the "Greatest Spectacle in Racing" is NOT an easy thing to turn and walk away from. Even if your best days were in the rear view mirror!