Dave Mac Donald - Indy 500

Indy 500

MacDonald had become one of America's top drivers when Mickey Thompson hired him to drive the radical #83 "Sears-Allstate Special" in the 1964 Indy 500. The car was a Ford-powered rear-engine design specifically built to run on low-profile 12" tires. Thompson debuted two of these revolutionary cars at the '63 Indy 500 and they became known as the "Super Skates". They were far ahead of their time, but badly designed, poorly built and difficult to drive. Graham Hill tested the car before the '63 Indy race and refused to drive it because of its poor handling, a condition made worse for 1964 when Thompson was forced to completely redesign the cars to accommodate the new USAC-mandated 15-inch (380 mm) tires.

Several top drivers declined Thompson's offer to drive the cars in the '64 race including Mario Andretti. Andretti though turned it down over concerns of his lack of experience and the fact that the ride was only for Indy. Thompson selected MacDonald, Masten Gregory & 15-time Indy 500 competitor Eddie Johnson. Johnson was assigned the #82 car, MacDonald the #83 car and #84 went to Gregory, all three cars crashed in practice. When Gregory took the #84 car out for its initial test with the larger tires he quickly lost control and crashed into the wall. He told Thompson the larger tires made the car too high, causing it to lift in the turns. Gregory then abruptly quit the team. Thompson found it difficult to find a replacement as other available drivers took the advice of Gregory and stayed away. Days later Eddie Johnson nearly totalled the #82 car when he took it into the wall during a practice session. Jim Clark, the 1963 world driving champion, was out practicing with MacDonald on Carb Day when he noticed strange movement from MacDonald's car. Clark followed him into the pits and urged his friend to "Get out of that car, mate - just walk away." According to long-time motor sports journalist Chris Economaki, MacDonald never practiced with a full load of fuel due to Thompson's focus on high speeds.

MacDonald qualified the Thompson #83 car at an average speed of 151.464 mph, good for the middle of row 5 and in 14th position. Johnson qualified Gregory's rebuilt #84 car and placed it on the outside of row 8 and in 24th position. Ironically, Gregory returned to the Thompson team in the final days of qualifying but was unsuccessful in his attempt to put the #82 car in the field. Neither he nor the #82 car ran the race.