By Bob Gates
NSSN Correspondent

Pole Day at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway has long produced some of the most dramatic, memorable moments in racing. And for good reason.   
The Indianapolis 500 being one of the most historic, revered races in the world, earning the pole there has often been second only to winning the race itself in status and recognition. There are drivers who never won the 500, yet became legendary for their Pole Day accomplishments. Rex Mays, Duke Nalon, Walt Faulkner, Fred Agabashian, Jack McGrath, Pat O’Connor and Eddie Sachs fall into this category.
That high-level shot at immortality, combined with a demanding qualifying format, four-consecutive laps on a high-speed, 2.5-mile oval where even the slightest bobble can cost several starting positions, creates unparalleled intensity, competition and drama. 
Six-time pole winner Rick Mears states that he held his breath for the entire four-lap run. Mario Andretti insists that qualifying at Indianapolis demands more concentration, focus and bravery than anything else he’s done in racing. 
Like everything associated with the nearly 100-year-old Speedway, the high drama of Pole Day stretches far back into its history, although, interestingly, not to the very beginning. Starting order for the first four 500s was determined either by the order of entry or by a pre-race drawing.
The first pole winner determined by a timed run was Howdy Wilcox in 1915 at 98.90 miles per hour in a Stutz. Prior to his run, Wilcox was so confident he would win the pole that he made Harry Stutz agree to award him his diamond lapel pin if he did. Wilcox got the pin, an indicator, even then, of the importance of being the pole winner at Indianapolis.
That importance only increased with time. In recent years its status, perhaps, has diminished somewhat. Yet, when Pole Day is mentioned, motorsports aficionados all over the world understand that it’s the first day of qualifying at Indianapolis. At no other race do the pre-race events carry that impact.

The Lengthy Run for the Pole

Howdy Wilcox in 1915

Howdy Wilcox’s (right) pole-winning run in 1915 was a single timed lap. That remained the procedure until 1920, when the four-consecutive lap run, with the average speed determining starting position, was introduced. The first pole winner under that format was racing immortal and 1915 500 winner Ralph De Palma. 
The four-lap format has been a mainstay at the Speedway for 70 years, but for a time qualifying was a 10-lap affair. From 1933 through 1938, Speedway management attempted to use endurance as a drama element. It certainly created that. At 25 miles and taking nearly 12 minutes to complete, runs for the pole produced blown engines, exploding tires and, with only a three-gallon fuel allotment, cars coughing to a stop in the middle of a potential pole-winning effort.

What to Expect This Pole Day

Unification will add great excitement to this year’s Pole Day contest. Both of Newman/Haas/Lanigan’s drivers, 19-year-old phenom Graham

Rahal and Justin Wilson, have the talent to make their presence felt. They lack oval-track experience but have a week of practice to get acclimated to the Speedway. Their team, which has won four- consecutive Champ Car championships, certainly knows how to prepare a race car.
A couple of other former Champers that will have their act together by May include Will Power and Paul Tracy, if Tracy can land a decent ride by that time. If he does, look out! The other prime pole contenders will come from the IRL’s big three teams — Penske, Andretti Green and Ganassi.
Penske is always primed for Indy, and Helio Castoneves (left) could easily repeat his pole win of 2007. Marco Andretti has shown a new aggressiveness this season that very well could spill over to a legitimate run for the pole. Of course, Andretti’s AGR teammates Tony Kanaan and Danica Patrick also have to be considered. 
Patrick has always taken easily to the Brickyard and now has the confidence of a winner. Dan Wheldon, of the Ganassi duo that includes Scott Dixon, is hungry to rectify what he considers a disappointing 2007. Few can drive a loose race car better than Wheldon, and at Indy loose is fast. 
Pole Day 2008 might not immediately be a return to an era when crowds rivaled race-day turnouts, but it very well could be a corner turner on the way to a renewed renown for a great racing tradition. 

It’s a New Track Record

The primary appeal for Pole Day fans was always the exhilarating possibility of new track records. Despite 100 years of trying to slow the cars down, the track record has been established on Pole Day 36 times. That does not include, however, the multiple times throughout the day that records were set and re-broken before the final one was in the books. That considered, track records have actually been set 72 times during runs for the pole.
Because of aggressive efforts to slow the cars down, it’s been 13 years since fans have heard the goose-bump raising call made famous by Tom Carnegie, the legendary Speedway announcer from 1946 through 2006, “It’s a neeew traaaack record!” 
No doubt one reason for diminished Pole Day crowds.

Memorable Pole Days

It’s impossible to compile a comprehensive list of the most memorable Pole Day moments, but here are a few that should rank near the top:
1953 — On a drizzly, overcast day, Bill Vukovich finally took to the track. A light drizzle turned to a downpour in the middle of turn four on his last lap. The car sideways, rooster tails of water flung high off the tires, Vuky never backed off and flashed under the checkered flag the pole winner.
1954 — The 140 mph barrier fell, as Jack McGrath grabbed the pole with a 141.287 mph run.
1962— 150 mph is finally achieved when Parnelli Jones slipped through that mystical barrier with a four-lap average of 150.370 mph. 
1963 — The new Lotus Fords — not speed — was the draw. The outpouring of fans stunned Speedway officials and Indiana State Police. The crowd was estimated at 250,000, many still trying to get into the track after qualifying had already started. It was the first of the massive Pole Day crowds.
1964 — For the first time in Indianapolis history, the entire front row was made up of rear-engine cars. Jim Clark took the pole, flanked by Bobby Marshman and Roger Ward. The Golden Era of the front-engine roadster at Indianapolis had ended.

Rick Mears in 1991

1970 — From out of nowhere, Johnny Rutherford in a 3-year-old Eagle nearly snatched the pole from favorite and provisional pole holder Al Unser. Rutherford fell just three thousandths of a second short as he flashed under the checkered flag to the thunderous approval of the huge crowd.  
1971 — From out of nowhere II: In a run reminiscent of Rutherford’s 1970 challenge, unheralded Peter Revson successfully bumped pole favorite Mark Donohue out of the top spot with a dramatic, crowd-pleasing run. 
1978 — Another and perhaps the most significant speed barrier falls when Tom Sneva becomes the first driver to break 200 mph.
1991 — Rick Mears (right) breaks his own most number of poles record with his sixth. No one has come close since. 

INDIANAPOLIS 500 POLE WINNERS

Year    Driver        Speed
1911    Lewis Strong    First Entered
1912    Gil Anderson        First Entered
1913    Caleb Bragg        Drew Pole
1914    Jean Chassagne    Drew Pole
1915    Howard Wilcox    98.900
1916    Johnny Aitken    96.690
1919    Rene Thomas    104.780
1920    Ralph DePalma    99.150
1921    Ralph DePalma    100.750
1922    Jimmy Murphy    100.500
1923    Tommy Milton    108.170
1924    Jimmy Murphy    108.037
1925    Leon Duray        113.196
1926    Earl Cooper        111.735
1927    Frank Lockhart    120.100
1928    Leon Duray        122.391
1929    Cliff Woodbury    120.599
1930    Billy Arnold        113.268
1931    Russ Snowberger    112.769
1932    Lou Moore        117.363
1933    Bill Cummings    118.530
1934    Kelly Petillo        119.329
1935    Rex Mays        120.736
1936    Rex Mays        119.644
1937    Bill Cummings    123.343
1938    Floyd Roberts    125.681
1939    Jimmy Snyder    130.138
1940    Rex Mays        127.850
1941    Mauri Rose        128.691
1946    Cliff Bergere        126.471
1947    Ted Horn        126.564
1948    Rex Mays        130.577
1949    Duke Nalon        132.939
1950    Walt Faulkner    134.343
1951    Duke Nalon        136.498
1952    Fred Agabashian    138.010
1953    Bill Vukovich        138.392
1954    Jack McGrath    141.033
1955    Jerry Hoyt        140.045
1956    Pat Flaherty        145.596
1957    Pat O’Connor    143.948
1958    Dick Rathmann    145.974
1959    Johnny Thomson    145.908
1960    Eddie Sachs        146.592
1961    Eddie Sachs        147.481
1962    Parnelli Jones    150.370
1963    Parnelli Jones    151.153
1964    Jim Clark        158.828
1965    A.J. Foyt        161.233
1966    Mario Andretti    165.899
1967    Mario Andretti    168.982
1968    Joe Leonard        171.559
1969    A.J. Foyt        170.568
1970    Al Unser        170.221
1971    Peter Revson    178.696
1972    Bobby Unser        195.940
1973    Johnny Rutherford    198.413
1974    A.J. Foyt        191.632
1975    A.J. Foyt        193.976
1976    Johnny Rutherford    188.957
1977    Tom Sneva        198.884
1978    Tom Sneva        202.156
1979    Rick Mears        193.736
1980    Johnny Rutherford    192.256
1981    Bobby Unser        200.546
1982    Rick Mears        207.004
1983    Teo Fabi        207.395
1984    Tom Sneva        210.029
1985    Pancho Carter    212.543
1986    Rick Mears        216.828
1987    Mario Andretti    215.390
1988    Rick Mears        219.198
1989    Rick Mears        223.885
1990    Emerson Fittipaldi    225.301
1991    Rick Mears        224.113
1992    Roberto Guerrero    232.482
1993    Arie Luyendyk    223.967
1994    Al Unser, Jr.        228.011
1995    Scott Brayton    231.604
1996    Scott Brayton    233.718
1997    Arie Luyendyk    218.263
1998    Billy Boat        223.503
1999    Arie Luyendyk    225.179
2000    Greg Ray        223.471
2001    Scott Sharp        226.037
2002    Bruno Junqueira    231.342
2003    Helio Castroneves    231.342
2004    Buddy Rice        222.024
2005    Tony Kanaan        227.566
2006    Sam Hornish, Jr.    228.985
2007    Helio Castroneves    225.817