First wings at Indy, with Mario Andretti and Bobby Unser

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emailBy: Marshall Pruett | 10 hours ago

Racing legends Mario Andretti and Bobby Unser take us back to Indianapolis in the late 1960s where wings were first allowed at the 500. Uncle Bobby would win his first of three Indy 500s in 1968, the last year without wings, and Andretti followed in 1969, winning 50 years ago while making use of wings for the first time.

Both men, starting with Andretti, discuss the development of airfoils and the introduction of meaningful downforce to the Indy 500, which went through a rapid series of developments into the 1970s and early 1980s, where Unser scored his final Indy 500 win.

It’s the testing, trials, and failures of bringing wings to Indy, as told by two of the most technically savvy icons the sport has known.