Thrilling 1958 Indianapolis 500 Auto Race - rare film

Edited highlights of the Indianapolis 500 car race from May 30, 1958. Color high quality 16mm film of 1958 Indianapolis 500 car race which was won by Jimmy Bryant. The race had a massive first-lap, 15-car pileup that resulted in the death of fan-favorite driver Pat O'Connor.

The race featured young rookie A. J. Foyt's debut at Indy. On lap 148, he spun in an oil slick, blew out the tires, and dropped out of the race.

This video was taken from 16mm film footage and enhanced to High Definition HD

#indy #formula #indianapolis #indycar #racing #indianapolismotorspeedway #motorsport #gt #nascar #lemans #jdm #racecar #motorsports

[dcstrng]

Thanks for posting -- I was ten years old living in North Dakota when this ran, was the first year I tracked the Indy 500 (rooted for the lay-down engine, Belund AP Special -- that eventually won). My dad worked at a TV station and took my kid brother and me out to the transmitter that evening to see the delayed TV broadcast since we didn't have a TV at the house (radio was live in those days, but TV was delayed and condensed into 30 minutes as I recall). Made a lap chart and followed it all the way... memories !!

[Gumshrud]

good job enhancing this 16mm film. In 1960 as a kid, I got to sit in Jimmy Bryan's racecar at a speedshop in Norwalk/Downey area of LA. I still recall thinking how spartan the inside of the racecar was.

[es]

Amazing footage, have never seen this before. Thanks for sharing. These roadsters are beautiful machines.

[jacksonfisher]

Thank you for the memories. Jimmy lived with us in the '50s (in Phoenix -- on 7th Street and Colter) and was a "really good guy" who loved fast cars and great cigars.

[Zircon]

George Amick, a rookie driver came in second in this 1958 Indy 500. The next year Bill France decided to run two 100 mile heats using USAC cars. That was the only time I got to see Indy cars run. I was ten years old. As George was coming out of the West turn a gust of air picked up his car and it rolled over. As it sat down on the tarmac poor George was decapitated. I was looking at the exact spot it happened. It was a lot for a ten year old to process. France decided that Indy cars were too fast on the 31 degree high banked turns at Daytona and that is the last Indy car race that was run. Amick hailed from Vernonia, Oregon, he was 34 years old. RIP.

[m.lecollie]

Once upon a time the Indianapolis 500 was the Great American race. Anyone who could build a car to compete was welcome. Not the case anymore. No more "home built" racers. Never again will there be cars powered by turbines or even diesel engines. My personal favorite were the cars powered by the Offenhauser 4 cylinder. A legend at the "Brickyard".

[ci]

I've never understood why they didn't have a roll bar high enough to protect their heads. Thanks for posting this classic video.

[scattercreek]

I was born in 1958 in May, pretty special to see this, they were so fearless 😮

[orionexplorer]

I remember my folks talking about Jimmy Bryan and seeing him race at the Arizona State Fairground one mile dirt track. I was born in 1960 and saw sprint and midget cars race at Manzanita Speedway (RIP) in Phoenix that were without roll cages. I saw my first indy car race at Phoenix International Raceway 1976 for the Jimmy Bryan Memorial race, too bad they don't run the Jimmy Bryan nor Bobby Ball Memorial races now, that was great seeing indy cars race twice a season. The first race started the season and the last race ended the season. Lots of memories.

[dgriffin]

Amazing the progress in safety and efficiency. An F1 pit stop including all new tires now takes a fraction over 2 SECONDS.

[mariohower]

I stopped by the raceway on the way through and was very impressed with the museum there and the history it was cool

[DL-lssy]

at the same time, 1958, a small rear engine car appears in Europe. this Formula one car's name was COOPER

[joegangi]

Very cool to see my uncle Paul in car #15 near the beginning of the video as well as coming into the pits to get his car repaired.

[michaelsheedy]

I remember going to the local theater to see the Indy 500 on closed circuit back in the 60's with my Dad. And the 1st lap was usually a mess with injury and fatlities.

[henrychubbs]

This is one of the better race highlight films-no heavy product promotion or guy singing dialog. It's odd how the film makes no mention of Pat O'Connor's tragic death yet they show a spectator holding a newspaper with the headline of his passing.

[stevethornbrugh]

Great improvement over the other videos of this race.

[tonnywildweasel]

I love those type of racing cars. Thanks for sharing 👍

[ひわた氏とも]

Thank you for showing me the very precious color film record! (And it even has audio!)
By the way, mid-ship cars weren't participating yet at this time. These guys are full of courage to run around with such thin tires with a big displacement engine on a very long bonnet!

[JudahHarris-nw]

Great improvement over the other videos of this race.. Verdadeiros pilotos, de coragem e determinação.

[alvanwalls]

Gotta love those Roadsters ..RIP Tony Bentehousen.Gary and Tony Jr. Got the Indy wins for Dad