Al Unser
1970 Johnny Lightning 500 Special · car no. 2 · P.J. Colt/Ford
Photo details
Joyride serves the 3,648 × 2,736 Commons original byte-for-byte. No crop, resize, retouching, generated content or vehicle reconstruction; metadata inspection found no GPS data and recorded TopLeft orientation.
Photo details
Joyride serves the 1,674 × 2,011 Commons original JPEG byte-for-byte. No crop, resize, retouching, metadata alteration or generated content. The original is separately preserved at research/celebrities/al-unser-colt-1970-20261012/originals/al-unser-2015-portrait-original.jpg and remains distinct from Doctorindy’s exact-car photograph.
The pole-winning Colt that led all but ten laps
- Connection
- Driver and competition association · not personal ownership
- When
- Pole and victory in May 1970 · 190 of 200 laps led · Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum survivor
- Identity
- 1970 Johnny Lightning 500 Special · car no. 2 · P.J. Colt chassis · turbocharged 159-cu-in Ford V8 · Indianapolis 500 winner
The Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum identifies this individual machine as the 1970 Indianapolis 500-winning Johnny Lightning 500 Special. Its collection record names Al Unser as driver, P.J. Colt as the chassis and Ford as the engine, specifying a turbocharged 159-cu-in (2.6-litre) V8. Joyride treats Unser as the documented driver of the exact competition car, not as its personal owner.
Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s official 1970 results bind the same identity to car no. 2: Johnny Lightning 500, entered by Vel’s Parnelli Jones Ford and listed as a P.J. Colt/Ford. Unser started first, completed 200 laps, led 190 and won at an average 155.749 mph. The museum separately records a 170.221-mph qualifying average, so the pole speed and race average remain distinct rather than being collapsed into one figure.
Unser’s 1970 victory was the first of his four Indianapolis 500 wins; the museum’s Hall of Fame record lists the others in 1971, 1978 and 1987. Doctorindy photographed the actual 1970 winner at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame Museum on May 28, 2011 during the Ultimate Indianapolis 500 Winning Car Collection. The photograph records later museum presentation, neighboring race cars and surviving livery; it does not establish untouched 1970 components, private ownership, present gallery position or game-ready specification.
Where the car went next
- May 1970Pole at 170.221 mph
The IMS Museum records a 170.221-mph qualifying average and first starting position for the individual P.J. Colt/Ford.
- May 30, 1970Car no. 2 wins from first
The official IMS results list Unser first at the finish after 200 laps in the no. 2 Johnny Lightning 500 P.J. Colt/Ford.
- 190 lapsA race spent out front
Both the museum record and the official results credit Unser with leading 190 of the 200 laps.
- 1970–1987The first of four Indianapolis wins
The IMS Museum records Unser’s Indianapolis 500 victories in 1970, 1971, 1978 and 1987.
- May 28, 2011The exact winner in the museum collection
Doctorindy photographed the individual no. 2 car at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame Museum during the Ultimate Indianapolis 500 Winning Car Collection.
Sources for this story
Primary Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum and Indianapolis Motor Speedway records establish the individual no. 2 Johnny Lightning 500 Special, P.J. Colt/Ford identity, turbocharged 159-cu-in specification, Unser’s pole and win, 200 completed laps, 190 laps led and 1970 place within his four victories. No personal ownership, untouched 1970 condition, complete component or restoration chronology, precise current gallery promise, exact Joyride catalog link or compatible game representation is claimed.
- 1970 Johnny Lightning 500 Special P.J. ColtIndianapolis Motor Speedway Museum · current collection record · reviewed 2026-10-12 · external source
Exact surviving winning-car identity, Al Unser driver association, P.J. Colt chassis, Ford engine, turbocharged 159-cu-in specification, pole average, first starting position, race average and 190 laps led.
- 1970 Indianapolis 500 race resultsIndianapolis Motor Speedway · official historical results · reviewed 2026-10-12 · external source
Car no. 2, Johnny Lightning 500 name, Vel’s Parnelli Jones Ford entrant, P.J. Colt/Ford identity, first starting and finishing positions, 200 completed laps, 190 laps led and 155.749-mph race average.
- Al Unser Sr.Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum · Hall of Fame record · reviewed 2026-10-12 · external source
Unser’s four Indianapolis 500 victories in 1970, 1971, 1978 and 1987 and the wider driver chronology without implying car ownership.
Reviewed
Why this is the actual car
- Photo identity evidence
Doctorindy identifies the photographed car as Al Unser’s 1970 Indianapolis 500 winner at the IMS Hall of Fame Museum; Commons licenses the original CC BY-SA 3.0.
- Photo identity evidence
The IMS Museum identifies the surviving 1970 Johnny Lightning 500 Special as the winning P.J. Colt/Ford driven by Al Unser.
- Photo identity evidence
The official race table binds car no. 2, Johnny Lightning 500, Al Unser and the P.J. Colt/Ford identity to the 1970 win.
The matching photographer, venue, date and vehicle history establish the identification; the chassis stamp is not visible in these photographs.