When looking back at the history of the Indianapolis 500, it becomes clear to see the level of influence that technological innovation has had in shaping the cars that compete in the Indianapolis 500 to this day, and in today’s update we will be taking a look at one of the speedway’s most important innovations, one that would find it’s origins in a leafy suburb in Norfolk, England.

A structural engineering graduate from University College London, Colin Chapman founded the Lotus car company in the summer of 1962, and throughout the next five years soon began to a forge a reputation for himself as a shrewd and brilliantly innovative mind in the British Motor Industry. Through his knowledge of aeronautical engineering, Chapman’s key design philosophy focused on cars with low weight and fine handling at the expense of outright top speed, his belief being that the improved manoeuvrability of his machines through the corners would compensate for a lack of horsepower when compared to the machines of his compatriots. Not only did this approach win admirers in the engineering scene but also in the world of motor sport, with the cheap and effective Lotus machines proving popular with club drivers and teams throughout the 1950s.

In 1958 Chapman took his design philosophy into the World of Formula One for the first time, entering a Lotus 12 into the 1958 Monaco Grand Prix with former team mechanic Graham Hill behind the wheel. After a few years to find his feet in the discipline Chapman’s machines soon began to earn high praise among the paddock, with Stirling Moss piloting a privately entered machine to victory at Monaco in 1960. In 1962 Chapman introduced the Lotus 25, an innovative design which replaced the traditional tube-frame chassis used in traditional racing cars with a monocoque designed to reduce weight whilst also increasing structural rigidity compared to their rivals. With Scotsman Jim Clark behind the wheel, the 25 became the dominant force in Formula One for the next two years, with Clark picking 14 wins on his way to a first Formula One World Championship success during the 1963 season.

It was during this time that Chapman was approached by American driver Dan Gurney to consider applying a similar technology into Indycar racing. Gurney had previously entered a Mickey Thompson prepared Lotus 25 in the 1962 running of the race, and believed that with Chapman’s intervention and strong financial backing, a victory for the Lotus team at Indianapolis would become a distinct possibility. Powered by a 4.8 litre Ford V8 engine, the Lotus 29 made its debut in the 1963 Indy 500. Despite being significantly overpowered compared to his rivals in their front-engined roadsters, Clark managed to lead 27 laps during the race before finishing an encouraging second to the pole-sitting #98 machine of Parnelli Jones, with some even suggesting that Clark should have won the race due to Jones’ car leaking oil during the last 20 laps of the event. Clark would return to the speedway again in 1964, taking pole position before a tyre failure forced him into an accident on lap 47 of the race.

Despite the disappointments of the two previous years, it was becoming clear that Chapman’s machines had been the dominant force at the Speedway for the past two years, and by the time the Month of May rolled around again in 1965 half of the field had followed in Lotus’ footsteps and prepared rear engine cars for the running of the event. Although Clark could only settle for second on the grid behind AJ Foyt, the Scotsman was seen by fans and paddock members alike as the firm favourite to win, and come the drop of the green flag stormed around the outside of Foyt to take the lead going into turn one. With a brand new Lotus 38 at his disposal, as well as the fabled Wood Brothers NASCAR team working as his pit crew, Clark put in one of the dominant performances ever seen at the speedway, leading all but ten laps of the event to clinch victory by over two minutes from second placed Parnelli Jones. The victory made Clark the first non American winner of the race since fellow Scot Dario Resta’s victory in 1916, while for Chapman the victory brough huge financial reward which helped to establish the Lotus name over in America for the first time. The victory also sparked the pinnacle for the rear revolution at Indianapolis, in the space of five years transforming from a mid-pack anomaly into the template for all future cars at the speedway.

Clark and Chapman themselves would return for future attempts at the Brickyard in 1966 and 1967, but by this point the innovators of the speedway had begun to be left behind by their American counterparts, and following Jim’s tragic passing in a Formula Two accident at Hockenheim Chapman entered a car at the Brickyard for the final time in 1968. Colin Chapman and Lotus may not have been the instigators of the rear engine movement at Indianapolis (more on that later) but they were the first to perfect the concept into something capable of challenging for overall victory come race day, and such was the level of success in that 1965 race that it started a concept seen in both Indycar and all of motor sport even to this day.

For today’s video we have a highlights package from the 1965 500, the first race ever covered by the ABC Television Network.