The race was dominated by Parnelli Jones in the radically new, four-wheel drive STP-Paxton Turbocar gas turbine entered by prolific car owner Andy Granatelli.
A. J. Foyt assumed the lead, and weaved his way through a pileup on the final lap, to win his third Indy 500 victory.
After the race was postponed for rain, the banquet was still held as scheduled, which was just hours after the checkered flag fell.
At about 2:30 p.m., Joe Leonard took over the provisional pole position with a run of 166.098 mph, a new track record.
Andretti set new 1-lap and 4-lap track records to win the pole position for the second year in a row.
The STP crew had Jones qualify with a straight race-day setup, including the use of standard fuel (aircraft-grade kerosene, in this case).
Roger McCluskey, who was not able to qualify on pole day, was the fastest car of the afternoon (165.563 mph).
George Snider fell ill overnight with a cold, and Lloyd Ruby, who had dropped out the day earlier, took over his car in relief for Wednesday.
The first half shaped up with Jones dominating in the Turbine, chased by Dan Gurney, A. J. Foyt, and Al Unser, Sr., among others.
On his first pit stop on lap 80, Parnelli Jones escaped possible disaster as he began to pull away before the fuel hose was disengaged.
Moments later, Carl Williams spun in front of Bob Veith as they diced through traffic in turn three.
Rindt, apparently not impressed with the Speedway, said he was not interested in coming back, but he did return one additional time in 1968.
At this point, Parnelli Jones seemingly had the race wrapped up, holding nearly a full lap lead over second place A. J. Foyt.
Shockingly, with only four laps to go, a $6 transmission bearing failed,[6] and the Turbine quietly coasted to a stop near the entrance to pit lane.
On the final lap, Foyt was driving through turn four when a four-car crash broke out at the north end of the main straightaway.
Foyt had a premonition of trouble (he later suggested that he had subconsciously noticed the crowd looking down the straightaway instead of at him) and backed off, and with savvy driving, weaved his way through the wreckage.
The broadcast reached over 900 affiliates including Armed Forces Network, the CBC, and shortwave to Vietnam.
The original broadcast on Tuesday May 30 came on air at 10:30 a.m. local time and was scheduled for four and a half hours, including a 30-minute pre-race segment.
During the rain delay on Tuesday, guests to the booth included J. C. Agajanian, Rory Calhoun, as well as Lorne Greene and Michael Landon, both from the TV series Bonanza.
Booth guests on Wednesday included Pete DePaolo, Jim Murray, Tom Harmon, and 500 Festival queen Janice Cruze Bretz.
Governor Bob Finch honoring Collins' twentieth year serving on the network.
After dropping out of the race with mechanical problems on lap 108, Jochen Rindt was interviewed by pit reporter Luke Walton.
Jim McKay anchored the telecast for the first time, with analysts Rodger Ward and pit work from Chris Economaki.
The race was shown live on MCA closed-circuit television in approximately 150-175 theaters and venues across the United States.
[12] Announcer: Jim McKay Color: Rodger Ward NOTE: The revolutionary #40 STP Turbine in the photo taken in the Speedway Museum is actually a replica built from the blueprints (as is the replica of Parnelli Jones' 1963 #98 Indy 500-winning car): The actual #40 is in the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History.