1974 Indianapolis 500

1974 Indianapolis 500

The 58th 500 Mile International Sweepstakes was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Sunday, May 26, 1974. Johnny Rutherford, in his eleventh attempt, won the race from the 25th starting position, the farthest back since Fred Frame in 1932.

The race was run relatively clean, with no major crashes or injuries, a sharp contrast from the tragic 1973 race a year earlier. In order to increase safety, significant improvements were made to the track, and the cars. Wings were reduced in size, and pop-off valves were added to the turbocharger plenums in order to reduce horsepower and curtail speeds.

For the first time in Indy history, the race was scheduled for the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend. This ended the "never on a Sunday" policy previously held from 1911-1973. At the time, it was also the earliest date (May 26) that the race had ever been held.