See the legendary AJ Foyt score the first of his four Indianapolis 500 victories in this nifty three-minute newsreel short. 

Thanks to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, which must have the most magnificent film and photo archive in the world of racing, we have this sweet three-minute recap of the 1961 Indy 500 narrated by famed broadcaster Chris Schenckel. The ’61 event was a memorable one on a number of counts, one being the final duel between polesitter Eddie Sachs and AJ Foyt, whose Trevis-Offy led for much of the day. Foyt had refueling troubles late in the going, seemingly handing the race over to Sachs, but then the right-rear tire on Eddie’s Watson began to fray, forcing him to the pits with only three laps to go. The dramatic see-saw battle is nicely captured here by Schenkel and crew.

Two items that aren’t mentioned in the film: First, this would be the final 500-mile sweepstakes for the old brick front stretch, which was paved over with asphalt a few months later (except for the famed yard of bricks at the start/finish line, of course). Next, ’61 marked the appearance of Jack Brabham and the tiny mid-engine Cooper T54. Hopelessly underpowered by a 2.7-liter Coventry Climax engine with maybe 260 hp compared to the big Offies boasting 400 hp or more, the Cooper started 13th and finished 9th—nothing spectacular, on paper at least. Still, the sharper observers at Indy could see the tremendous potential of the mid-engine package, and in only a few years the mighty roadsters would be history. But in ’61, the big dinosaurs still ruled the Speedway. Video below.