Teamed with former winning car owner J.C. Agajanian, Parnelli Jones became the man at the Indianapolis 500 right from the beginning in 1961. Agajanian supplied Jones with top-notch equipment in the form of a year-old front-engine roadster built by A.J. Watson. Powered by a purebred 255 CI Offenhauser racing engine, Jones liked the car from the beginning and dubbed it “Ol’ Calhoun.” This car is an exacting replica of the 1963 Indianapolis 500-winning car, Ol’ Calhoun, commissioned by Jones himself and built by vintage Indy Car expert Chris Paulsen. The original car is housed at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum, and it was taken apart and measured to build this version. Featuring a Pearlescent White exterior with Candy Apple Blue and Candy Apple Red flourishes, as well as No. 98 Agajanian’s Willard Battery Special livery, this car is simply stunning. It features Simpson safety belts, a polished exhaust, knock-off racing wheels and Firestone racing tires. In seven years of competition at Indianapolis, Jones led an incredible 492 laps and plausibly could have won the race five times. Though he drove other cars during his final three years at the Indianapolis 500, from 1961 to 1964, Jones drove Ol’ Calhoun, and it proved to be a contender for the win each time. After qualifying in fifth position in 1961, Jones was sitting in fourth just past the 100-mile mark when he got a run on Eddie Sachs and Rodger Ward on the backstretch, passing both of them in one move. By the time he reached turn four of the same lap, Jones was right on Jim Rathmann’s tail and immediately passed him for the lead. This was unprecedented—rookies rarely lead at the Indianapolis 500, but Jones had just passed three of the very best drivers in the world in short order. It was amazing. Then it all started to go wrong. After 27 laps led, Jones was hit above the eye by a piece of metal that caused profuse bleeding. His goggles kept filling up with blood, and he would keep dumping the blood out so he could continue racing. Then the car lost a cylinder and was limping around until the end of the race, where Jones finished 12th and won the coveted Indianapolis 500 Rookie-of-the-Year award. One year later, Jones became the first man to break the 150 MPH barrier at Indianapolis, starting from the pole position. He was running away with the race when his brakes failed. He led 120 laps, but had to slow to nurse his car to a seventh-place finish. In only his third year at the Indianapolis 500, Jones somehow now seemed to be overdue for the win. That alone was an indicator of his incredible talent. This time Jones did not disappoint, but not without some more drama. After grabbing his second consecutive pole position in 1963, with a track record run of more than 151 MPH, Jones dominated the race, leading 167 laps on his way to victory lane. Even in what should have been a laugher, the heart rates of Jones and his Agajanian crew had to go into overdrive as a slight oil leak caused Ol’ Calhoun to start smoking. Fortunately, officials did not deem it serious enough to merit a black flag, which assuredly would have cost Jones a well-earned victory. In 1964, Jones drove Ol’ Calhoun for the final time in the Indianapolis 500 and was leading when a problem with the fuel tank caused a serious fire. Jones bailed out of the still-rolling car on pit road and suffered burns to his legs and left arm. Ol’ Calhoun is an amazing car that lives in Indianapolis 500 lore to this day. Commissioned by Jones and correct down to the tiniest of details, there could be no more exacting replica of the storied 1960 Watson Offenhauser than this beauty.
