1977 Indianapolis 500 1977 Indianapolis 500 The 61st International 500 Mile Sweepstakes was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana on Sunday, May 29, 1977. Considered one of the most historically significant editions of the Indianapolis 500, several sidebar stories complemented the unprecedented accomplishment of race winner A. J. Foyt. Foyt became the first driver to win the Indianapolis 500 four times. As of 2017, Foyt's record has been tied by Al Unser Sr. and Rick Mears, but still stands as an Indy record. Foyt's victory is also the last time the winning car (both chassis and engine) was built entirely
1914 Indianapolis 500 Ray Harroun, who had won the inaugural Indianapolis 500 in 1911, designed the Maxwell car, and was given $10,000 () by the company's president as a reward for the cars qualifying with sub-1:37 times. By the end of the second day, 21 drivers had completed speed trials, and all but DePalma and Eddie Pullen had times below 1:45. Hughie Hughes's car suffered a broken crank case, preventing him from being able to set a qualifying time. On the final day of the trials, DePalma managed to make significant improvements in his Mercedes, and qualified with the twentieth fastest time overall,