Mario Andretti’s 1972 Indy 500 Racer: The Wildest Car of Its Time | Parnelli Jones Racing Legacy

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Mario Andretti, Vel’s Parnelli Jones Racing, and a radical IndyCar design that looked like it belonged in a sci-fi movie—this is the story of the 1972 VPJ-1 Viceroy Special, a machine so ahead of its time that it scared the hell out of Al Unser during its first shakedown. When your car makes one of the smoothest, coolest guys in racing go pale, you know you're working with something different.

By 1972, Andretti was already a three-time national champion, but he was hungry for more. He joined VPJ Racing with high hopes, backed by Parnelli Jones, legendary car owner Vel Miletich, and an all-star team of engineers, including former Lotus F1 designer Maurice Phillippe. They wanted to revolutionize IndyCar, and boy, did they try.

Phillippe’s design was unlike anything the sport had seen before. A triangular monocoque chassis, massive NACA ducts, and those infamous dihedral wings—angled appendages that theoretically added downforce while turning. In reality? Let’s just say "theory" and "practicality" didn’t exactly meet in the middle.

When the VPJ-1 hit Ontario Motor Speedway, Unser and Andretti both took turns behind the wheel, and the verdict was unanimous: This thing needs work. And work they did. From March to May, the VPJ crew reworked the car, dialing in the aero and dumping the controversial wings. At the Indianapolis 500, Mario finally found speed, qualifying fifth and battling up front. But the race gods had other plans—handling issues, pit lane adjustments, and finally, running out of fuel in the closing laps, dropping Andretti to eighth.

The 1972 season was a game of catch-up. The VPJ-1 wasn’t a world-beater right away, but by the season’s end, it had become a serious contender. Mario racked up five top-10 finishes in just 10 races, proving the car had real potential. After the season, his Viceroy Special No. 9 retired and spent years tucked away before getting a full restoration in 2002. Today, it's preserved in all its radical glory at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame Museum.

This was more than just another race car. It was an experiment, a bold step in engineering, and a reminder that pushing the envelope in motorsports is never easy. Sometimes, you nail it. Sometimes, you scare the hell out of Al Unser.

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