Indy 500 aces recall highlights – and fights – at Legends dinner

Pictured, from back left: Steve Shunck (STP jacket), Kenny Brack, the author, Parnelli, Bobby Unser, Johnny Rutherford and Dario Franchitti.

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Nigel Roebuck, the respected reporter/writer of Formula 1 for Motorsport magazine who is also well versed in Indianapolis Motor Speedway history, is blowing off Monaco to take in the Indy 500 for the first time in 20 years. A keen observer of all things good and bad with motorsports the past 50 years, Roebuck cherishes his first meeting with Juan Fangio, Bob Sweikert, co-writing a book with Mario Andretti, Gilles Villenueve and his visits to Salem, Winchester and The Milwaukee Mile.

But he added a new memory Wednesday night.

After an eight-hour flight from London to New York, then four more hours to Indianapolis because of the storms, The Buck finally landed in Indianapolis and raced downtown to the Prime 47 steakhouse. Then he spent the next three hours listening to Parnelli Jones, Bobby Unser, Johnny Rutherford, Dario Franchitti and Kenny Brack trade stories, insults and laughs in the annual legends' dinner sponsored by Borg Warner and hosted by Steve Shunck.
Among the highlights:

Uncle Bobby explaining the intricacies of cheating the pacer lights in 1974 at Indy and then saying, with a straight face: "But I didn't like to cheat," as Parnelli and Rutherford howled.

Lone Star J.R. reliving his fistfight with Gordon Johncock at Phoenix. "Gordy was mad at me and kept bitching so I said if he couldn't take the heat get out of the kitchen," recalled Rutherford. "So he lets go with a big roundhouse, which I ducked but it hit Ray Marquette (USAC's public relations director at the time) in the side of the head and knocked his glasses off."

The oldtimers asked Dario if he'd been in any fights and he responded: "The only guy I tried to pick a fight with was Parnelli's son (P.J.) and thankfully nothing ever happened or I wouldn't be here tonight."

Jones was shown a photo of Eddie Sachs, with a little black flag in his mouth and a bruise on his chin where the 1963 Indy winner socked him after being called "Parn-oili" one too many times. "I felt bad about that later on, Eddie was a good guy," said Rufus, "but he just kept saying it and I'd had enough."

The fight of the century would have been A.J. Foyt and Parnelli but, other than one night at Ascot Park in a midget race, it never came close. The four-time Indy king put P.J. in a bear hug after vowing never to speak to him again. "How can you stay mad at a guy who does that?" said Rufus with a grin.

Brack, whose bantam-weight size wisely kept him from any fisticuffs during his IRL/CART career, drove for the guy nobody but Jones would mess with and recalled a memorable moment with his Indy-winning car owner.

"I got a penalty for speeding in the pits and they had the biggest official stand in front of my car so I couldn't go anywhere," recalled the 1999 Indy champ. "A.J. kept telling me to run over him but I wouldn't, so he climbs over the wall, lifts this guy up and tries to move him. Then he screamed he was going to kick his ass but he couldn't because the official was wearing glasses. A.J. kept yelling at him to take off his glasses but, of course, the guy wouldn't. After that I always made sure I had my glasses on around him."

Unser and Johncock sparred verbally after tangling at Milwaukee. "He (Johncock) had that little, tiny opening in his helmet so he couldn't see anything, especially when I was going under him. Hell, he needed an open-face helmet, as blind as he was."

Parnelli said it wasn't fair to pick on Johncock because he wasn't there to defend himself but it was all good-natured. Especially the best story of the evening.

Tim Coffeen, who worked with the Andrettis, Nigel Mansell and Johncock during his 40-plus years as a mechanic in Indy car, accurately pointed out that nobody drove harder than Gordy but the two-time winner wasn't too technically savvy.

"It was Carb Day and he was complaining about being uncomfortable in his seat," recalled Coffeen. "He went out for an installation lap, came in and said that we must have changed the seat because he couldn't drive the way it was. He went back out, came back in and got right out of the car while we started looking around. Then I noticed the hook sticking out of the back of his uniform – he'd left the coat hanger from the dry cleaners in his driver's suit."

"I'll never forget last night, it was wonderful," said Roebuck on Thursday morning as he was getting his Indy credentials. "It was a special evening; I felt very privileged."

Join the club Nige.