1963 Tony Bettenhausen 200
Race details
7th round of the 1963 USAC Championship Car season
DateAugust 18, 1963
Official name17th Tony Bettenhausen 200
LocationThe Milwaukee Mile
West Allis, Wisconsin
CoursePermanent racing facility
1 mi / 1.609 km
Distance200 laps
200 mi / 321.8 km
WeatherTemperatures reaching up to 73 °F (23 °C); wind speeds approaching 22 mph (35 km/h)[1]
Pole position
DriverJim Clark (Team Lotus)
Time32.93 (109.323 mph / 175.902 km/h)
Podium
FirstJim Clark (Team Lotus)
SecondA. J. Foyt (Sheraton-Thompson)
ThirdDan Gurney (Team Lotus)

The 1963 Tony Bettenhausen 200 was the seventh round of the 1963 USAC Championship Car season, held on August 18, 1963, at the 1-mile (1.6 km) Milwaukee Mile, in West Allis, Wisconsin.

The race was the first American Championship Car race won by a rear-engined car. Jim Clark and Team Lotus had finished second at the 1963 Indianapolis 500 after a controversy surrounding the lack of a black flag for winner Parnelli Jones, whose car was leaking oil. Colin Chapman and Team Lotus decided to return to Champ Car competition at Milwaukee and Trenton later in the year. The rear-engined Lotuses dominated practice and qualifying, breaking the track record by over a second. In the race, Clark led all 200 laps and lapped the entire field, save for second place A. J. Foyt. Clark's teammate Dan Gurney finished third, battling a misfire.[2]

Although a rear-engined car would not win the Indianapolis 500 until 1965, the win signaled a shift in Champ Car design. The last win for a front-engined roadster on a paved track was the opening round of the 1965 season at Phoenix,[3] barely a year and a half after Clark's Milwaukee victory.

Qualifying

Clark, Gurney, Foyt, and Jones broke the previous qualifying record set in 1961 by Don Branson at 34.09 sec (105.62 mph / 169.94 km/h).

Race result

PosNo.DriverTeam/SponsorCarLapsTime/RetiredGridLaps LedPoints
1 92 United Kingdom Jim Clark Lotus Powered by Ford Lotus-Ford 200 1:54:53.098 1 200 400
2 2 United States A. J. Foyt Sheraton-Thompson Trevis-Offenhauser 200 Finished 3 0 320
3 93 United States Dan Gurney Lotus Powered by Ford Lotus-Ford 199 + 1 Lap 2 0 280
4 1 United States Rodger Ward Kaiser Aluminum Watson-Offenhauser 199 + 1 Lap 14 0 240
5 10 United States Chuck Hulse Dean Van Lines Ewing-Offenhauser 197 + 3 Laps 6 0 200
6 14 United States Roger McCluskey Konstant Hot Watson-Offenhauser 197 + 3 Laps 15 0 160
7 46 United States Johnny Rutherford Racing Associates Turner-Chevrolet 196 + 3 Laps 9 0 120
8 38 United States Jim Hurtubise Konstant Hot Philipp-Offenhauser 195 + 5 Laps 13 0 100
9 29 United States Bobby Grim Vita Fresh Orange Juice Kuzma-Offenhauser 195 + 5 Laps 16 0 80
10 4 United States Don Branson Leader Card 500 Watson-Offenhauser 194 + 6 Laps 11 0 60
11 8 United States Jim McElreath Jim Forbes Racing Watson-Offenhauser 194 + 6 Laps 23 0 40
12 20 United States Len Sutton Leader Card 500 Watson-Offenhauser 193 + 7 Laps 20 0 20
13 86 United States Bob Veith Racing Associates Porter-Offenhauser 193 + 7 Laps 8 0
14 27 United States Troy Ruttman Dayton Steel Wheel Watson-Offenhauser 190 + 10 Laps 17 0
15 61 United States Bob Mathouser Federal Engineering Kurtis-Offenhauser 189 + 11 Laps 24 0
16 26 United States Bob Wente Morcroft Trevis-Offenhauser 187 + 13 Laps 21 0
17 89 United States Jack Conely J & E Engineering Dunn-Offenhauser 174 + 26 Laps 26 0
18 81 United States Bud Tingelstad Gabriel Shocker Kuzma-Offenhauser 160 Magneto 20 0
19 21 United States Johnny White Pfrommer Trucking Meskowski-Offenhauser 157 Blown engine 10 0
20 53 United States Chuck Rodee Spirit of St. Louis Watson-Offenhauser 67 Oil line 25 0
21 37 Canada Ed Kostenuk City of Victoria Kurtis-Offenhauser 64 Water hose 18 0
22 5 United States Bobby Marshman Econo Car Rental Epperly-Offenhauser 56 Differential 12 0
23 98 United States Parnelli Jones Agajanian/Willard Battery Watson-Offenhauser 42 Brakes 4 0
24 9 United States Eddie Sachs Bryant Heating & Cooling Watson-Offenhauser 37 Overheating 22 0
25 45 United States Al Miller Bardahl Watson-Offenhauser 27 Wrecked 7 0
26 35 United States Lloyd Ruby Gabriel Shocker Trevis-Offenhauser 11 Engine 5 0
DNS 33 United States Ralph Liguori Concannon Kurtis-Offenhauser - DNS - 0
DNS 95 United States Bob MacLean Mitchell Gallas Kurtis-Offenhauser - DNS - 0
DNS 66 United States Mickey Shaw Lil-Beanie Meskowski-Chevrolet - DNS - 0
[4]

Standings after the race

National Championship standings
Pos Driver Points
1 United States A. J. Foyt 2000
2 United States Rodger Ward 1450
3 United States Parnelli Jones 1330
4 United Kingdom Jim Clark 1200
5 United States Jim McElreath 975
  • Note: Only the top five positions are included.

References

  1. "1963 Tony Bettenhausen 200 weather information". Old Farmers' Almanac. Retrieved 2013-07-13.
  2. Case, Dean. "The Day the Dinosaurs Died". Retrieved 28 February 2011.
  3. Crucean, Gene (January 8, 2010). "American Motorsports Timeline". Crucean Auto Racing Photography. Retrieved 6 March 2011.
  4. "Tony Bettenhausen 200". Champ Car Stats. Retrieved 28 February 2011.
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