Anthony Joseph Foyt Jr., the 32-year-old super Texas from Houston shook off two years of tough luck, dogged the untested STP turbine relentless for most of the race and miraculously escaped a spectacular last-lap, five-car accident to score a record-tying third victory in a record-setting two-day 500-mile Memorial Day classic.

The 51^st running of the Greatest Spectacle in Racing brought Foyt, once the undenied king of automobile racing who has walked in Mario Andretti’s shadow for two years, back to the throne and sent Parnelli Jones down heartbreak lane just when the California whiz was mounting the regal stairs to have the crown placed on his head.