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1971 Dodge Challenger Indianapolis Pace Car Story

Without a doubt, arguably the most "doomed" pace car ever.

None of the "Big 3" would sponsor a car,
And the only crash of an Indy Pace Car, during the Indianapolis 500!  

Year: 1971 
Model: Dodge Challenger
Driver: Eldon Palmer
3 Passengers: John Glenn (Astronaut)(confirmed)
Tony Hulman (unconfirmed)
 and an "unknown" sportscaster

The 50 Original 1971 Dodge Challenger Indy Pace Cars

In the past, the "Big 3" automakers would love to have a car placed as the "Official Pace Car of the Indianapolis 500" Memorial Day race. It was considered an honor, and thought of as a tool that could possibly boost their brand's sales for that year.

This was not true in 1971. The reason is unclear, but many point to upcoming restrictive air pollution standards, coupled with the rising cost of insurance. These reasons, along with the major downslide of horsepower in the upcoming 1972 model year, marked the "beginning of the end" for high performance cars as we knew them. Since high performance cars were on their way out in 1972, the automakers didn't want to spend the money to promote a dying breed of automobile. Other's think that the corporations were simply just falling on financial hard times, and did not want to spend the money required. But what is known, is that for "whatever" reason... none of the "Big 3" wanted to foot the bill for an Indianapolis 500 pace car program in 1971.

Four Dodge dealers in the Indianapolis area stepped up to the plate, to make the 1971 Dodge Challenger become the pace car for the 55th running of the Indianapolis 500. Together they supplied 50 cars to be the "Official Pace Cars".

To keep the general look of all of the cars exactly alike, they agreed on certain colors and options (or required LACK of options).

The four dealers made sure that all of the Pace Cars were (at minimum):
(V2) Hemi Orange 
White bucket seat/console interior
White Convertible Top
Dual Factory Racing Mirrors (body colored)
Standard Flat hood, with factory hood pins
Standard Rear Valence (without the "cutouts" for dual exhaust tips) (although some cars DID have dual exhaust.. the 340's and the 383 4V's)
Body Side Moldings
NO Stripes were allowed
Rallye Road Wheels (although the IMS official photo shows the car with Firestone RWL Wide-O-Oval tires and aftermarket Keystone wheels)
Automatic Transmission
Engines ranged from the 318 2bbl. to the 383 4 bbl., although most of them were 318 2bbl. equipped.

"Some" options were left open for the dealers to choose, to be ordered only "if" they wanted (radio type/variable wipers/disk brakes/air conditioning, etc.) But no changes to the vehicle's appearance, or colors were allowed... so they all would have the correct look.

The four Dodge Dealers did a great job of putting together an "Official Pace Car", without corporate support. They had a group of decals made to order, and were ready well in time for the race.

One of the Dealer Principals was given the honor of driving the actual pace car during the race. Eldon Palmer (of Palmer Dodge) was allowed to pace the opening laps of the 55th Indianapolis 500. He practiced on the track many times, and especially practiced the quick cut off and dive onto "Pit Road". Rumor has it that he used a cone as a marker, but Mr. Palmer is reported to say that a flag was placed along Pit Road to serve as a marker, marking when to start braking. Possibly the flag was placed inside the top of a cone, and that is how the "cone" got into so many stories. What happened to that flag on race day is a mystery. Mr. Palmer said that he never saw the flag. It might have been moved by an unaware track official or pit crew worker... or it's possible that Eldon just missed the flag in all of the Pit Road confusion of race day.

But what is known is that the speeding 71 Challenger was nearing the end of Pit Road and needed to stop fast. Some blame the drum brakes on the pace car for making it turn sideways. Others (like me) prefer to think that he was just out of time... and knew that no matter what he did, he could NOT go back onto the race track with the field of cars racing by as they tried to gain top speed. I tend to believe that Eldon hit the brakes and turned the car towards WHAT HAD BEEN AN OPEN AREA during his numerous practice sessions. But on race day, the track wheeled in a set of portable press stands for use of a special few photographers. This was done so they could get better pictures of the "parade" and "pace" laps, and the actual start of the race. The portable stands were to be wheeled back out of the way after they were emptied, and the first few laps of the race were completed.

By the time the 1971 Dodge Challenger Pace Car actually impacted the press stands, it had scrubbed off much of it's speed. Many stories say that the pace car was totaled in the accident, this wasn't true. The actual impact wasn't even hard enough to send the Pace Car through the cheaply constructed temporary stands. It was only enough to bend in (crush) the lowest outside edges of the stands. The damage to the pace car was substantial, but it was not a total loss.

But what it DID appear to do was tip the portable stands (mounted on something similar to a very low cart with wheels) forward, sending most of the photographers (especially those on the bottom row, on the right side of the stands) to the ground. A few people landed on the car, and one or two landed IN the car. Most of the 20 reported injured were mostly simple cuts and bruises. One rumor about the crash is that a Doctor from Argentina (why a "Doctor" from Argentina was in this "press" stand, is another question) was allegedly the worst of the injured, and it was rumored that he could not practice medicine after the accident. I can't find proof that this is true, or untrue.

The "backup" Pace Car was brought out, and used for the rest of the race.

The original Pace Car was not a total loss. It sat in a garage that belonged to Eldon Palmer for many years, and was finally rebuilt to brand new condition much later. It is rumored that Mr. Palmer was very upset about the accident, and even talking about it was very painful for him... for many years.

1971 Challenger Pace Car VIN Numbers
(Posted from, and with permission of www.indypacecars.com) Thanks Marc!
This list was given to Marc of www.indypacecars.com by Gene Piurkowski of Rindge, NH. Gene says he received the list directly from Eldon Palmer in February 1994.

NOTE: This is not a definitive list (although it is probably the closest thing to one that exists)
It should be used for reference only,
Although this is the only known list of the actual cars used in 1971 as "official" pace cars, it can't be trusted to be 100% correct.

(edited by R. Shinn)

Engines

Unknown    =    1 (but thought to be a 318 2V car)
318 2V cars =  41
340 4V cars =   3
383 2V cars =   3
383 4V cars =   2 (actual pace car that was wrecked, and the backup car)

Total           =  50

Additional cars of note:

WP45G1A105427 - 1971 Dodge Coronet 6 passenger Station Wagon, 318 V8 230 HP. (Assigned for track use)

JH27G1B293393 - Marc of www.indypacecars.com received an email claiming that this car was one of two Y28 public relations cars provided by Ray Johnson of Shadeland Dodge.  The owner at the time (Jim Hostetler) referred to it as "#3 of 52 pace cars built" and says this has been verified by Galen Govier.  As of February 2004, this car was owned by Todd Martin

JH27H1B358847 - AKA the "Judy Ham" car. This is a "clone" car, and not one of the 50  "actual" pace cars.  According to Gene Piurkowski , the VIN number of this car puts the build date too late in the year for it to have been at the Indy 500.

I remember a different story about the lettering of her car, as told to me when I met Judy in person... but that was a long time ago, and memories fade with time. So I won't claim that my recollection is 100% correct. Maybe some day she'll "Google" her name, find this site, and write to me to give us the first hand story.

I met Judy Ham in Perrysburg, Ohio... while we both were sitting at a stoplight facing each other. She was driving her fully marked Pace Car, and I was driving my unmarked Pace Car. I think it was August of 1983. We both pulled into a nearby shopping center, where we could park and talk. Each of us looked the other person's car over for a while and she proceeded to tell me the story behind the 1971 Indianapolis Pace Cars. She was very quick to point out that her car was NOT an actual pace car, and that she had not bought the car brand new. She also pointed out, that the performance hood and dual exhaust rear valence were incorrect for Pace Cars. She had all sorts of information about the 1971 Pace Cars in her trunk, but no sign of the "original decals" with the many items she planned on displaying.

She also told me the "story" about the decals. I don't remember anything about finding them at a swap meet. It seems to me that she had to "borrow" a set from Palmer Dodge, so she could have her car hand painted to match the decals. I also recall this not being an easy thing to accomplish. She either had to have them "stenciled" right there, or had borrowed them and return the decals when they were finished with the paint job.

Judy was convinced that my car was one of the original Pace Cars, after looking it over. She (and the gentleman she was with) were on their way to the MoPar Nationals, which were being held in Milan, Michigan. (at Milan Dragway) and she had drove her car up from Kentucky.  I had no idea at that time that I owned an Indy Pace Car... since the person I bought it from never mentioned anything about it being one of the Indy 500 Pace Cars. He told me, "Myself, I'm a Mustang Man", and seemed to really like the car, but he was NOT a Chrysler "fan". He bought it for his wife because he thought it "looked nice". It was my "chance meeting" with Judy that informed me that I owned an actual Indy Pace Car. She invited me to join them in Milan and attend the MoPar Nationals, which I did. I saw one other Pace Car at the event that year.

That was my "first" MoPar Nationals... I attended many more over the next decades. They were held again in Milan, Michigan at Milan Dragway (they also spent a day at the Chrysler Chelsea Proving Grounds), and then were held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and then finally they were moved to their new home at National Trail Raceway in Columbus, Ohio.

Running into her was a stroke of luck, since she only got off of the interstate to buy fuel, and look around town. I happened to be in the right place, at the right time. I found her to be a very honest and knowledgeable person when it came to the 1971 Indy Pace Cars... and a delight to meet.

Myths

MANY Stories have been told. Some people "claim" to be experts... but there are some discrepancies
in their stories. I do not claim to be an expert, but here is what I believe to be true answers to some of the
 "myths" circulating around the internet, to the best of my knowledge.

ALL of the pace car replica's had manual drum brakes....
NOT TRUE, The one I owned had power disk brakes!

One of the cars had a performance hood with the twin hood scoops...
Not true, I have never seen a picture from race events that show a car with hood scoops,
only pictures of cars taken long after 1971 claiming to be actual pace cars.
(They may have seen the "Judy Ham" car... thinking that it was a Pace Car)

There was a spectator death, due to the crash...
Not true, There were 19-22 injuries depending on whom you believe,
most accounts call it "20". "Most" were dumped onto the ground,
"Some" onto the pace car, and a "Few" into the pace car.
NO fatalities.

There were (2) 383 2V cars, (1) 340 4V car, and the rest were 318's...
Not true, according to the VIN numbers supplied by Eldon Palmer there were:
(2) 383 4V cars
(3) 383 2V cars
(3) 340 4V cars
and (41) 318 2V cars
(with one car VIN incomplete, engine N/A)

All of the cars supplied by the four Indianapolis Dodge Dealers
were very basic "stripped down" models, with no options...
Not true, The one I owned had A/C, Power Disk Brakes, Variable Wipers, and more.
 

The Pace car was totaled due to the 1971 wreck...
Not true, the actual pace car was kept by Eldon Palmer for many years,
and eventually fixed to like new condition. Most of the speed was "scrubbed off" by
the time the car impacted the press stand. See the photos below for the damage to the
photographers temporary press stand taken after the crash

Crash Video

^^       Push this Play arrow on the BOTTOM of the window

Crash Pictures

Photographers in the temporary press stand before the accident. It is on a platform with wheels,
so it can be moved back out of the way, after the first few laps. It is only 3 rows high.
It was only put up so the photographers can get some very good shots of the pace laps
and the start of the race.

1971 Challenger Pace Car is BLAZING down pit road, and just starting to weave.
Notice the pace car has damn near kept up with the pack of Indy race cars.
Remember, they had received the green flag and are quickly building up very high speeds.

Eldon Palmer knows that he can't re-enter the race track, with the race cars still coming
at very high speed. So he turns the pace car sideways, towards the temporary press stands

The pace car heads toward the temporary press stands. (Photo taken by a freelance photographer in the stands)

Just after the crash. Photographers are sent to the ground, on top of the car, and even inside the car.
Notice them helping the man in the red coat, out of the center of the front seat area. He can be seen
in the very first photo on the bottom tier, second person from the right.

This is a close up of that man in the red coat, being helped out of the front seat area...

One of the 20 or so injured. Basically cut the bridge of his nose.Note the blood on his collar.
This man can be seen to the right of the man in the red coat in the very first picture
(bottom tier, first person from the right)

Damage to the press stand after everyone is moved out of the area. Notice that there is not that
much damage when you consider that the stand is only a temporary set up on something that would
resemble a long, low cart on wheels... so it can be moved quickly when the first few laps are over

Newspaper is set up to report the news as it happens. Here is an issue with the crash story released
DURING the race. They normally have an issue ready with the winner and finishing stats as people
are leaving the speedway

Other Pace Car Stories on the Internet...
Take each one with a "grain of salt"...
Don't trust that because it is in print, or on the internet, that it is true.  
 

Disastrous 1971 Indy Pace Car Now Seeing Better Days
by Vern Parker
Motor Matters

The track at the famed Indianapolis Brickyard is a 2-mile rectangle with two five-eighths-mile-long straightaways. It's 50 feet wide on the straights and 60 feet wide in each of the four one-quarter-mile turns, each banked at 9 degrees, 12 minutes.

Race driver Peter Revson won the pole position for the 1971 Memorial Day race with a qualifying speed of 178.6 mph.

Dodge's Challenger, at almost 16 feet long on a 110-inch wheelbase, was selected as the pace car that year and four Indianapolis area dealers provided 50 of them. All the cars were orange with white tops. The actual pace car had a 383-cubic-inch V-8; two other Challengers had 340-cubic-inch V-8 engines and the other 47 cars were equipped with 318-cubic-inch V-8 engines.

The three cars with the bigger engines had the pace car data hand-painted on the sides of the car. The flanks of the other 47 carried the same information conveyed via decals.

One of the dealers, Eldon Palmer, was selected to drive the pace car. He practiced diligently in the 275-horsepower car to get the speed up to where it needed to be. The tale is told that he used several orange cones located at strategic spots around the track as markers for braking points.

On May 29, 1971, with 33 snorting race cars trailing behind, Palmer began the parade lap followed by the faster pace lap. As he came out of turn four, the pace car ducked into the pit area as the 33 race cars roared on down the front straightaway to begin the race.

Unfortunately, the orange cone Palmer used as a guide to begin braking had been moved. By the time he figured that fact out, the orange Dodge, blasting down pit lane, was rapidly running out of room to stop. Palmer reportedly jumped on the brakes, but he could see he was going to be at the end of pit row in the 3,180-pound car before the last of the race cars on the track had cleared the pit row exit.

Since he couldn't turn back onto the track into race car traffic, the only other option was to continue straight -- right under a bleacher filled with press photographers. In an instant, what should have been a press relations dream turned into a nightmare. Instead of promoting the idea that the Dodge Challenger was the Indy 500 pace car, that fact was allowed to fade into history.

In 1994, Brian Buckley, saw a 1971 Dodge Indy pace car advertised for sale with only 77,000 miles on the odometer. He couldn't believe it was an authentic pace car. He called the owner in Columbia, Md., on a cold December day to verify the car's heritage. The owner asked Buckley if he had a particular Muscle Car History book. Answering in the affirmative, the owner simply told him to look at the picture on a certain page. The picture in the book was of the actual car.

It was one of the three with painted Indy information on the fenders, one of two factory-equipped with heavy-duty tires, and the only one with the vicious-looking hood scoops -- even though the scoops are nonfunctional.

``It's the sexiest pace car ever made,'' Buckley says. ``It says power! You don't even have to turn it on.'' Eventually, Buckley and the Dodge met eyeball to headlight. The pace car has the suspension package both front and rear, the authentic 120-mph speedometer, a three-spoke wheel, and power steering and power brakes with 11-inch drums. It rides on 225/ 70x14-inch tires. Buckley bought the car even without the rally instrument package.

Beneath the air cleaner emblazoned with a FOUR-BARREL decal is the husky four-barrel Carter carburetor.

Buckley reports mileage figures between 14 and 16 mpg. ``On the highway it might get 19 mpg,'' he says, ``but no more.''

He noted the top had a glass window is a plus. The car also has exhaust splitters ending in four rectangular exhaust tips. Additionally, a pair of air vents cools the feet of the front-seat passengers.

Under the lip of the dashboard is a map light switch that operates, unfortunately, an under-dashboard light. ``It's horrible,'' Buckley admits, ``the location of the light making map reading impossible.''

Since he bought the car, he has replaced the missing boot on the car that sold new for a base price of $3,105.

``I'm a hands-on kind of guy,'' Buckley says. With that said, he intends to continue maintaining his 1971 Dodge Challenger Indy 500 Pace Car.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Copyright 1996, Motor Matters

And another story about the 1971 Dodge Challenger Pace Car
(source unknown)

A 1971 Dodge Challenger convertible was selected to be the pace car for the 1971 Indianapolis 500 race.
However what should have been a fantastic promotion for Dodge turned into a nightmare when at the start of the race the car crashed into a press stand killing one person and giving the rest something to write headlines about.

Four local dealers provided 50 cars, to be sold to the public or used on parade duties, fitted out like the actual pace car.
Only the actual pace car had a big block (383) engine. Two others had 340 cubic inch small blocks and the other 47 were 318 powered. All of the cars were painted orange and had white tops. The three cars with the larger engines had the lettering hand painted on the sides but the others had decals which were optional. Up to the day of the race the pace car had the normal Challenger flat hood but after the crash it was fitted with the R/T style Sport Hood. One of the 340ci cars had this hood too. The rest of the cars all had the flat hood.

On race day (May 29th 1971) the pace car was driven by Eldon Palmer, one of the local dealers, who to this day is still very upset about the whole thing.

Eldon had quite rightly practiced the laps and had placed cones at strategic points around the circuit to indicate when to start to turn in and when to brake.

Unfortunately somebody moved a cone.

As Eldon came out of turn four with the 33 car field hot on his tail he dived down into the pit area as planned and started looking for the cone he had placed to tell him when to brake. By the time he realized it was missing it was too late. As he slammed on the (drum) brakes he saw he had two options. Either to go back out onto the track and hit the pack of accelerating race cars or just keep braking as best he could in a straight line.

He did the latter but could not stop in time to miss the stand full of press photographers.
Some people feel that, had the car been fitted with the optional disc brakes, this tragic accident could of been avoided.

Pace Car Photos

Indy Pace Car photos can be found HERE! 
and some pictures of my Indy Pace Car are HERE!

Original Copyright November 11,1997 R. Shinn Jr.
Last revised: July 23, 2008 03:55:28 PM -0400.