Indy's Top 5 underrated aces

In its previous 100 incarnations the Indianapolis 500 has created heroes, hard-luck Harrys and row after row of drivers that tried hard but blended in with the scenery.

We know that Vuky, A.J., Big Al, Rocket Rick, Parnelli, J.R., Uncle Bobby, Gordy and Mario became legends because of their prowess at IMS and we recognize Lloyd Ruby and Michael Andretti deserved to win on more than one occasion but were denied in some gut-wrenching ways.

And there were promising kids like George Amick, Dick Atkins, Jimmy Davies, Mike Nazaruk and Jim Packard that were killed before they could make their mark.

But what about the guys who were fast each May who didn't win or didn't have the equipment or the results, or both, and pretty much operated incognito to the fans and media?

Watching the past 58 races gives some perspective but I can't know if Jimmy Snyder and Earl Cooper led all those laps and were underrated or unlucky and whether the paying customers recognized them any more than they did Len Sutton.

Roger McCluskey, Bill Vukovich Jr. and Tomas Scheckter weren't real good qualifiers but raced as good as anyone at Indianapolis and were also fairly well known to the racing public.

So here's one opinion on the five most under-rated, under-appreciated drivers in Indy 500 history who drove under the radar in my past seven decades.

DON BRANSON:

Pappy was 39 years old when he came to the Speedway as a rookie and most people that saw him in Gasoline Alley without his driver's suit probably figured him as a Yellow Shirt. But Branson was a force, on dirt and pavement, in roadsters and rear-engine cars that twice started on the front row and had finishes of fourth, fifth and eighth.

"I learned a lot from him and he was a helluva competitor," said Mario Andretti.

Pappy was quiet and humble but he was also a Type 1 diabetic who had to keep it a secret because USAC would not have permitted him to race. The fans at DuQuoin, Springfield, Eldora, Terre Haute, New Bremen and the Fairgrounds' mile certainly knew of his skills because he was a master on dirt but other than the guys he raced against, he was Indy's Unknown Soldier.

PAUL GOLDSMITH:

One of the most versatile racers ever – on two and four wheels. Goldy won the AMA flat track motorcycle show at Daytona on the beach and also the final NASCAR race on the sand. He captured a pair of USAC stock car titles and won nine NASCAR races and Smokey Yunick brought him to Indianapolis in 1958.

In six starts at IMS, he ran fifth and third (the only two times he finished) and was dogged by mechanical problems. He never got much notice from sportswriters or fans but he managed to make a pretty good impression on a guy who was also a rookie in '58.

"I think Paul is one of the most underrated racers I ever ran against," said A.J. Foyt. "He could drive anything and he drove it well."

ROBERTO GUERRERO:

Sadly, the most notoriety he ever got on-track was hitting the inside wall from pole position (pictured, below) on the parade lap while scrubbing his tires on that cold day in 1992. And then he made headlines with a miraculous recovery from severe head injuries in 1987. But long before a couple of the IMS public address announcers could correctly pronounce his last name, Guerrero was an instant hit at 16th & Georgetown. He finished 2-3-4-2 in his first four starts after leaving F1 and had victory locked up in '87 before his gearbox betrayed him. As friendly and polite as they came, Roberto was a talented kid who came close several times to becoming a big name.

JIM McELREATH:

When he had good equipment (which wasn't often), the Rookie of the Year in 1962 always produced – finishing third and fifth for John Zink and fifth for A.J. Foyt – and always made the most out of his 15 starts at Indy. He was sneaky fast, notoriously private and gave the media at least five good minutes a year. He drove hard and worked harder on his own cars.

"If Jimmy would have had equal equipment to A.J., he'd have given him all he wanted," said three-time Indy king Johnny Rutherford.

MIKE MOSLEY:

He only led four laps in 15 starts and only finished in the top 10 twice but the introverted little guy who came to Indianapolis when he was 20 and seldom spoke to anyone but his crew and a couple pals was hell on wheels.

When the McLarens and Eagles were obliterating records in 1971 and 1972, Mose was charging to the front in a four-year old car (pictured, top) before it broke and threw him into the hospital. He went from last-to-first at Phoenix and Milwaukee (pictured at right, 1981) and quit in victory lane in '75 at State Fair Park because he was tired of getting hurt before realizing racing was his only meal ticket. He was a relentless racer who Dan Gurney loved after Mike stuck his Eagle with a stock-block in the front row in 1981.

Gary Bettenhausen said it best: "If Mosley ever gets a McLaren, we'll all be running for second."