The legend of Danny Sullivan's 'Spin and Win' at the 1985 Indy 500

A few Indy 500s are etched into the history of the sport, and the 1985 event won by Danny Sullivan remains one such race. The 75-year-old had a memorable race at the 1985 race, which is remembered as the 'Spin and Win' with the Penske outfit back in the day.

The 75-year-old had raced in both IndyCar and F1 before winning his first Indianapolis 500 race, but the wait was worth it for the Kentucky-born driver. Sullivan had participated in two Indy 500s before the 1985 event and had torrid results in his first two appearances.

However, a switch to Penske worked as a charm for him as he started the race in eighth and made his way up the grid. On lap 120, he attempted to pass Mario Andretti for the lead of the race at the end of the homestretch and dived down the inside of the 1969 Indy 500 winner.

Anyhow, this move turned out to be a daring one for him as on the exit of turn 1, he lost the rear end of his car and spun right in front of Andretti. Though Mario Andretti dodged the spinning Penske of Danny Sullivan, the latter was able to stop his car from pirouetting and dove back into the pits for a fresh pair of boots.

Sullivan began his chase for Andretti yet again and passed him 20 laps later, and controlled the race from then on. Despite the early scare, he won the race comfortably, leading to his Indy 500 win monikered as 'Spin and Win.'

Meanwhile, Danny Sullivan will be present at the 2025 Indy 500 to celebrate the 40th anniversary of his solitary Indy 500 victory.

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Danny Sullivan once opened up on his feelings behind the helmet at the 1985 Indy 500

Danny Sullivan's racing helmet - Source: Getty

Though controlling a spinning IndyCar is not for everyone, Sullivan's skill came to the rescue in his 1985 effort. While he was able to rescue his drive and win the race, the former IndyCar champion still gets butterflies to this day when seeing the replay of his unsuccessful overtake.

Reliving the moment in the cockpit, Danny Sullivan said (via Forbes):

"Well, of course the reaction when the spin took place was anger. I had just gotten into the lead of the Indianapolis 500, and now I’m spinning and throwing it away, assuming I’m going to hit the wall and my race is done. It was just anger, not fear. I’ve seen it now maybe a million times on tape and I know the outcome, but I still get butterflies."

"Of course, in those days the apron was there, so I’m almost to the grass. Just when you come back up across the white and yellow line where the [banking] angle changes slightly – those cars were so on the edge anyway, with very little wing - it just tripped the car enough to get me sideways. I felt the bite. But when the smoke cleared, I was facing turn two and hadn’t hit anything!”

On the other hand, the 109th running of the Indianapolis 500 is set to take place at the infamous track on May 25.