1962 Indianapolis 500
| Indianapolis Motor Speedway | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Indianapolis 500 | |||||
| Sanctioning body | USAC | ||||
| Season | 1962 USAC season | ||||
| Date | May 30, 1962 | ||||
| Winner | Rodger Ward | ||||
| Winning team | Leader Cards | ||||
| Average speed | 140.293 mph (225.780 km/h) | ||||
| Pole position | Parnelli Jones | ||||
| Pole speed | 150.370 mph (241.997 km/h) | ||||
| Fastest lap | Parnelli Jones | ||||
| Rookie of the Year | Jim McElreath | ||||
| Most laps led | Parnelli Jones (120) | ||||
| Pre-race ceremonies | |||||
| National anthem | Purdue Band | ||||
| "Back Home Again in Indiana" | C. David Cochard | ||||
| Starting command | Tony Hulman | ||||
| Pace car | Studebaker Lark Daytona Convertible | ||||
| Pace car driver | Sam Hanks | ||||
| Starter | Pat Vidan | ||||
| Honorary referee | Robert A. Stranahan, Jr. | ||||
| Estimated attendance | 230,000 | ||||
| TV in the United States | |||||
| Network | N/A | ||||
| Announcers | N/A | ||||
| Nielsen ratings | N/A / N/A | ||||
| Chronology | |||||
| |||||
The 46th International 500-Mile Sweepstakes was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana on Wednesday, May 30, 1962.
A historic pole day saw Parnelli Jones break the 150 mph (240 km/h) barrier in qualifying. Rodger Ward and Len Sutton finished 1st-2nd for Leader Cards Racing.
The 1962 Indy 500 marked the final 500 wherein the entire 33-car field consisted of U.S.-born participants. It was also the first race held with the track surface paved entirely in asphalt, with just the ceremonial single yard of bricks exposed at the start/finish line.