1970 Coyote

Driven by: Jim McElreath

With three of his cars already qualified for the 1970 Indianapolis 500, A. J. Foyt brought out a fourth for fellow Texan Jim McElreath, whose qualifying speed with another team had not held up as being fast enough to secure one of the 33 starting positions. With very little practice, McElreath qualified handily with Foyt’s V8 turbocharged Ford-powered Greer-Foyt Coyote #14 at 166.821 mph, but as the only successful qualifier on the final day of time trials, he was required to start dead last. That mattered little on race day as he climbed all the way to 5th at the finish. Just over three months later, on September 6, 1970, McElreath made history by driving this same carr—now a Sheraton-Thompson Special—to victory in the very first 500-mile race held at the then brand-new 2½-mile Indianapolis-influenced Ontario Motor Speedway, just east of Los Angeles.

Adoption cost: $1,000