In the 1973 Indianapolis 500, Savage was entered in an STP-sponsored Eagle-Offenhauser (number 40) prepared by master mechanic George Bignotti. He had been the fastest driver for much of practice. On the first day of qualifying, gusting winds slowed Savage from matching his best practice speeds, but he still shattered the track record with a four-lap qualifying average of . Later in the day, as the winds abated, Johnny Rutherford, Bobby Unser, and Mark Donohue each bettered Savage's time.