Memorial Day Weekend and the Indianapolis 500

[bill pritchett]

I lived 10 miles from the track when growing up so we always listened to the race.  My aunt lived in Speedway and always left before the race since it was so crowded.  My dad would take me to the time trials as they were a lot cheaper and not as crowded.  The best memory I have is going to the stands and hearing the Novis going around with their different sound from the Offenhausers.  I remember when potentially one of the greatest to ever run there, Bill Vukovich, crashed and was killed.  I will record it and watch it after a car show Sunday afternoon.

[Terry Bond]

49 minutes ago, 1937hd45 said:

GREAT RACE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Now TWO Swedes have wone it! 

Yes, pretty exciting, and with a shoot-out finish. I was really hopeful it was Scott Dixons time but that didn't work out after getting a one lap penalty for speeding on the pit road. Imagine,  speeding penalty at Indy, but the pits ate absolutely deadly for the crews. 

Terry

[Crusty Trucker]

I thought this might be apropos...

 

PHOTOS: 100 years of Indy Pace Cars

 

https://www.msn.com/en-us/autos/enthusiasts/photos-100-years-of-indy-500-pace-cars/ss-BB18getf?ocid=mailsignout&cvid=a526403594fc4def8c5141cdb36400b4#image=1

[John Bloom]

What an exciting finish.  The new technology of todays cars doesn't do much for me, but the history.  Such Rich history.....Carl Fisher, a visionary.  

[John Bloom]

35 minutes ago, bill pritchett said:

I lived 10 miles from the track when growing up so we always listened to the race.  My aunt lived in Speedway and always left before the race since it was so crowded.  My dad would take me to the time trials as they were a lot cheaper and not as crowded.  The best memory I have is going to the stands and hearing the Novis going around with their different sound from the Offenhausers.  I remember when potentially one of the greatest to ever run there, Bill Vukovich, crashed and was killed.  I will record it and watch it after a car show Sunday afternoon.

Bill, I grew up in Frankfort about an hour north.  My dad loved to talk about the Novi's.

[keiser31]

It was a BLAST when I went there when I was a kid in 1963....

Edited May 29, 2022 by keiser31 (see edit history)

[John Bloom]

Just now, keiser31 said:

It was a BLAST when I went there when I was a kid....

Keiser, those pictures are great.  My best memories of the Speedway track are childhood memories.  We would take a "field trip" in grade school each year to visit it.  They really knew how to get the attention of a 5th grade boy.  

[Pfeil]

17 hours ago, John348 said:

Makes two of us

3!

[keiser31]

1 minute ago, John Bloom said:

Keiser, those pictures are great.  My best memories of the Speedway track are childhood memories.  We would take a "field trip" in grade school each year to visit it.  They really knew how to get the attention of a 5th grade boy.  

I can still hear those sounds of those cool machines in my mind.

[bill pritchett]

John,

I grew up in Plainfield.

[Jim Skelly]

When ABC started tape delay televising of the races, I thought that would be neat.  Then those morons would show commercials during the broadcast that congratulated the winner of the race, so that spoiled the surprise.  To make it even worse, they would be showing an exciting finish and cut over to the wives of the leading drivers to see their reactions as if any of us cared to see that!

 

The cars go so fast in person that they are just blurs of color.  I liked it when you had multiple brands of cars and engines.  Once it got to be Infiniti vs. Olds, Chevy vs. Mercedes, Honda vs. Chevy, that was the end of it for me. 

[Twisted Shifter]

I turned off the TV at about 70 laps. Seemed like race coverage was overshadowed by commercials. Worse than the NFL. Split screen too distracting to pay attention to either.

If I decide to ever watch the 500 again, it will be on a less commercial venue, if there is one. If not, that's OK, too.

[John Bloom]

Let’s get to Racing.

 

 

[Trulyvintage]

When I lived in North Scottsdale 

Arie Luyendyk was our neighbor.

 

Arie Jr. was racing go carts

and friends with my son.

 

I remember in 1990 he won Indy

and we welcomed him at Sky Harbor

with home made signs.

 

 

Jim

 

 

[John Bloom]

4 minutes ago, Trulyvintage said:

When I lived in North Scottsdale 

Arie Luyendyk was our neighbor.

 

Arie Jr. was racing go carts

and friends with my son.

 

I remember in 1990 he won Indy

and we welcomed him at Sky Harbor

with home made signs.

 

 

Jim

 

 

 Now that is an awesome story. 

[Terry Bond]

Engines just started. Hard to believe it's been a year. 

[Trulyvintage]

23 minutes ago, John Bloom said:

 Now that is an awesome story. 

Mieke his wife was very normal.

She came over on a Saturday 

and sat with my wife at a garage

sale we were having.

If memory serves correct Mieke

brought a bunch of new Uno (?)

games they had because Uno(?)

was one of his Indy series car sponsors.

 

Jim

[Paul Dobbin]

On 5/30/2021 at 8:12 AM, hook said:

My car was on the track back in 78. Here's a photo taken through my windshield. 

 

 

 I've actually raced on the Indy 500 tract twice.   First time was in 1984 when the Great American  Race ended there the day before the 500 mile race,   I was driving the 1934 Ford Tudor in my first  Great Race, Universal Studios in L.A. to Indy. (2950 Miles)  We actually finished the timed portion on the road course across the street where the Great Race ended.   I had my 10th flat tire of the race entering the Raceway Park.    Out of tubes and patches, we fixed our flat in record time with a McDonald's napkin and a tube of super glue,  finished and picked our entire pit crew, (5 of us) in the car with spares and tools.   Then we went onto the 500 track and they asked us to limit speeds to 50 MPH for a lap on the big track.   Most of us did, but the Stutz and the Mercer, who had been competing hard all the way across the country took off,   They were followed by the 1912 American La France fire truck.   I would love to have sped up too,  but was afraid of the napkin patch.   

The next day we stayed for the Indy 500.   I think there were 400,000 spectators, half of which were drunk and passed out before the green flag waved.

My second visit there was on the 1993 Great Race Huntington Beach, CA to Norfolk VA in a 1935 Chrysler Airflow C1.   (4250 Miles)   It was in a timed leg of our race and the assigned speed was 50 MPH.  Got a ACE  in that leg too,  (Perfect Score).

Between the Great Races and AACA Tours, we've been able to drive many famous race tracks, mostly a sensible speeds, but not always.

 

Her we are behind Forum member Bob Ash's buddy Mike Cleary in a real 1932 Studebaker, that actually crashedin the 1932 Indianapolis 500.  Looks just like Bob's.

Edited May 28, 2023 by Paul Dobbin (see edit history)

[JamesR]

On 5/30/2021 at 6:21 AM, John Bloom said:

the stuff we love has its heritage as a part of the race. If you get a chance to go to the museum on site, do it. So much history that any car lover will appreciate.

I've always wanted to go, and I thought an exciting high school graduation gift for my two kids (who are twins) would be a trip to the Indy 500. I had started investigating the prospect, but alas, they graduated from high school in 2020, the Covid year, so it wasn't to be. I think you need to buy tickets and accommodations a year in advance, so we probably couldn't have gone anyway.

[BillinMd]

On 5/30/2021 at 8:28 AM, hook said:

From what I understand. They don't allow any driving on the track anymore. Of course that was with the last part of the Tony George family ownership. Don't know what the Penske organization ownership will do. The photo I've just included was posted on another part of the forum. It's a parking lot at the 1911 Indy.

What automobile is under the banner...Pope maybe?

[3macboys]

That wheel over the fence is scary stuff - hopefully no spectators or grandstand workers were hit.

[Terry Bond]

What a race!  Wish I was there, but nothing compares to the TV coverage for detail and the replay features.  Yes, the tire going over the stands was frightening.  Saw later it bounced off a car parked out back by some golf carts. Probably an area where track workers or officials parked.  Nobody around that area apparently, but you can bet those openings are going to be fenced up next year to prevent a repeat.  Amazing the race finished up the way it did - green flag straight out of the pits and a one-lap shoot-out to the finish.  A great driver with a bold move in the final drag race got his 1st Indy 500 win.   It was a thrilling day for Indy fans.  Got a text from friends there to see it in person.  Just as thrilling in person.

Terry

[John Bloom]

11 minutes ago, Terry Bond said:

What a race!  Wish I was there, but nothing compares to the TV coverage for detail and the replay features.  Yes, the tire going over the stands was frightening.  Saw later it bounced off a car parked out back by some golf carts. Probably an area where track workers or officials parked.  Nobody around that area apparently, but you can bet those openings are going to be fenced up next year to prevent a repeat.  Amazing the race finished up the way it did - green flag straight out of the pits and a one-lap shoot-out to the finish.  A great driver with a bold move in the final drag race got his 1st Indy 500 win.   It was a thrilling day for Indy fans.  Got a text from friends there to see it in person.  Just as thrilling in person.

Terry

Absolutely Terry. I have several friends there and was texting with them. For many years now I’ve defaulted back to my childhood and I have it on the radio. The emotions and drama in the voice of the guys doing the radio coverage is unmatched. The 107th run is in the books and what a shoot out it was.

[1937hd45]

Great race, happy to see that the guy that won made that move that put him in the lead. Not the race it once was when you could name about all the drivers. Now for 600 miles of NASCAR racing. 

Edited May 28, 2023 by 1937hd45 (see edit history)

[Walt G]

On 5/29/2022 at 5:17 PM, John Bloom said:

The new technology of todays cars doesn't do much for me, but the history.

I completely agree. I can appreciate what is being built and sorted out by computers , feel the same about modern cars , but although not everything can be "old"  the history like John says is what kicks in for me it is the window to that time and place. I have been at speed/going fast down the road in post war cars but the  sight/sound and the vibrations of an earlier car with wood wheels going fast with so little stopping ability, no doors, no windshield even a century after it was built just makes me hesitate and think - is this really happening. I consider myself most fortunate to have gone down the road in Simplex, Mercer ,Alco,, Locomobile race cars all pre WWI era. Or even following such a car to commemorate a race like the Vanderbilt Cup races here on long island that took place on public highways.

Not putting down the annual Indy 500 at all.I am glad it is still taking place .

I will never own a race car "of the era" long before I was born but have had a great pleasure to experience some owned by friends. Especially the one shown here 35 years ago when I was on a team that organized a driving tour to honor a very special victory for an American built race car.

[tcslr]

I love Indy. Use to have seats in section C across from the pits. Vividly recall watching Kevin Cogan c ash coming out of turn4, skidding done the straightaway as the car disintegrated and when it stopped, he got out. Rahal won that day. 
it was - as Paul D said-,kinda sad seeing all the drunks.

I like Indy.

not as crazy about NASCAR. But love the performance.

F1 and Europe- oh yeah! 
 

as Matt Dillon as Carrol Shelby in ‘Ford vs Ferrari’ said ‘ it ain’t  like always turning left… it’s different’.

 

 

[Robert G. Smits]

We went as a family  in our motorhome and camped across from the speedway every year from 1980 until 95 when IMS and CART split.  Back then it was all undeveloped around the speedway and full of all types of campers.  If you haven't camped at the Indy you missed 60% of the fun.  We would arrive on Friday and fire up the barbecue.  At noon on Saturday the walking patrols would start on Georgetown road which was 6 lanes in front of the speedway.  This consisted of 12 armed police walking slowly side by side from left to right.  As one line passed you could look to the left and see another line approaching.  When they got to the end of the speedway at 16th street they would be picked up and bused back to the Cagle lane_ Georgetown Rd intersection and start all over  again.  This went on all night.  Sleep on Saturday night was limited because of drunks staggering into the side of your motorhome. We had grandstand tickets the first year but soon learned that you could buy great tickets an hour before the race from scalpers with too much inventory and usually sat in the box seat sections.  What a great view.  Thank you for starting this thread.  It brought back great memories.

Edited May 29, 2023 by Robert G. Smits
spelling (see edit history)

[Paul Dobbin]

I watched Rick Mears win in 1984 from Section 35, Row Z, Seat # 10 in the "Terrace Extension", right behind the Pit Wall.  $25.00.

A bus took us to the track and picked us up afterwards.  Sat with other race drivers from the GAR.  My second once in a lifetime

experience in May 1984.  (Although I did renew my Great Race experience 10 more times.)   There is more to life than Left Turns.

[Robert G. Smits]

7 hours ago, Paul Dobbin said:

There is more to life than Left Turns

If you enjoy racing an event that should be on your bucket list is the 24 hours of Daytona.  The Stanley Steamer Club held their national meet at Daytona to celebrate the 100 year anniversary on a Stanley breaking the 100 mph barrier on the Daytona measured mile in 1906.  The Florida CCCA participated in that event which was the same week end as the 24 hour race.  As I registered too late to get into the host hotel I stayed at an alternate which happened to be the race headquarters for a Australian team.  After spending a couple of nights with them at the bar they insisted I stay for the race and gave me a pit pass and a invitation to join them in the pits.  It is as different from NASCAR as night and day.  There were activities going on in the infield for the entire 24 hours including a barbecue cook off and the Rocky Horror Picture Show started at midnight.  Not much sleep but great memories.

On an old computer somewhere I have footage of almost 60 Stanley Steamers driving up and down the beach.  I am sure some Forum members were there.

[Paul Dobbin]

11 hours ago, Robert G. Smits said:

If you enjoy racing an event that should be on your bucket list is the 24 hours of Daytona.  The Stanley Steamer Club held their national meet at Daytona to celebrate the 100 year anniversary on a Stanley breaking the 100 mph barrier on the Daytona measured mile in 1906.  The Florida CCCA participated in that event which was the same week end as the 24 hour race.  As I registered too late to get into the host hotel I stayed at an alternate which happened to be the race headquarters for a Australian team.  After spending a couple of nights with them at the bar they insisted I stay for the race and gave me a pit pass and a invitation to join them in the pits.  It is as different from NASCAR as night and day.  There were activities going on in the infield for the entire 24 hours including a barbecue cook off and the Rocky Horror Picture Show started at midnight.  Not much sleep but great memories.

On an old computer somewhere I have footage of almost 60 Stanley Steamers driving up and down the beach.  I am sure some Forum members were there.

     That sounds pretty cool.   I have a friend with a 1909 Stanley Mountain wagon which I've ridden with.  Very much like diriving a locomotive to       me,  but, fast and quiei.   I also pitted next to Dr.  C. J. Del Marco's 1909 Stanley with Carl Amsley as his navigator,  when we stopped in     

     Galveston TX on the 1987 Great American Race.   He had the water tank off and was working on the burner, which looked like a BBQ Grill.     

     Very interesting.   I remember their water truck going ahead of the race trying to buy water from desert farmers and being turned down.

     Seems that dry country farmers in the southwest didn't believe that a car could run on water.    I really love the early stuff, Pre 1915, but

      reliability was much bettter in the 1930's.

 

Ross Walkup's Stanley at my home August 2020, more adjusting!

[Jim Skelly]

On 5/28/2023 at 3:18 PM, 3macboys said:

That wheel over the fence is scary stuff - hopefully no spectators or grandstand workers were hit.

Three race fans killed at Michigan Speedway (history.com)

 

I was at this race in turn 1.  The track announcer only mentioned an accident occurred and that it was being cleaned up.  I suspected it was quite serious since it usually doesn't take that long (over 90 minutes) to clean up a wreck.  We couldn't see the accident scene and there was no giant screen back then.  I remember how cheery the announcer sounded over what was obviously a very serious situation.  I didn't find out about the fatalities until my Dad called me that evening to find out if I was okay.  The tire bounced vertically upward at a slight angle and over the fence.  

[Shootey]

On 5/30/2021 at 4:21 AM, John Bloom said:

 Stutz, Marmon, Duesenberg..

Yesterday I was rattling around in my garage shelves containing all sort of automotive paper. I stumbled upon the catalog for the one of the Harrah’s 1980’s auctions. One entry was the Duesenberg Indy car. I’m quite familiar with the Millers but was unaware of the Duesenberg. Where is the Duesie now?

[JACK M]

Indy was on my brothers bucket list.

He went and enjoyed it, however he said that it seemed to be much more of a social event compared to NASCAR.

No fans under the grandstands at a NASCAR event, many schmoozers down there at Indy.

[West Peterson]

Mario Andretti has always been my favorite driver. My favorite Indy 500 is the 1985 edition, where Mario was doing really well and leading. Danny Sullivan spun in front of Andretti 360 degrees and didn't crash. Pure luck that Andretti didn't hit him (Andretti himself conceded that there was no skill involved). Sullivan ended up winning the race, to my dismay, but I've always like Sullivan as well. 

 

Here's a shot of my favorite driver, parading around in one of the vintage racers this year. My son and I were sitting on turn one seeing the cars come down the front straight and heading toward turn two.

[Gary_Ash]

I brought my Studebaker Indy car replica to the Speedway but they wouldn't let me on the track that day, other event going on.  They did bring out the original #22 car from the museum basement for some photos.  There were five factory Studebakers in the 1932 and 1933 races plus other privately-owned cars with Studebaker engines.

 

The five Studebaker cars in 1932.  Currently, #22 is in the Indy Speedway Museum, #37 is now in John Price's private museum in Salt Lake City, a replica of #46 is in Switzerland, #18 is owned by Mike Cleary in California, and my #25 replica is in Massachusetts.  It would be fun to get them all together at the track.

 

Car #22 and my #25 car at the Speedway in 2021.

 

The drivers and riding mechanics of the Studebaker cars after the 1933 race.  Ever wonder how to get two guys into a 32 inch wide car?  Find skinny guys!  

  

[1937hd45]

6 hours ago, Shootey said:

Yesterday I was rattling around in my garage shelves containing all sort of automotive paper. I stumbled upon the catalog for the one of the Harrah’s 1980’s auctions. One entry was the Duesenberg Indy car. I’m quite familiar with the Millers but was unaware of the Duesenberg. Where is the Duesie now?

That was the ex Tiny Gould car if it carried a white and maroon paint job. 

[Shootey]

Here it is. I was the September 29 and 30, 1984 Harrah’s auction. 

[CarNucopia]

I went to what I think was my 37th Indy 500 last weekend. I started going when my dad took me as a kid in '78 and went every year but one, right up to "The Split". I was also fortunate enough to work in the sport at that time and found the whole thing to be like a gut-punch. We returned in '03 by which time a lot had changed and the event was greatly diminished.  But honestly, I think it's better now then ever. The crowd is definitely smaller, but huge regardless. The Speedway is a magical place that went on life support for a while. I'm glad to see it has returned to a stature befitting of the "Greatest Spectacle" billing.

[wayne sheldon]

In the "for whatever it is worth" department?

I rarely went to "modern" racing events. I was very fortunate to have driven my first model T speedster in antique racing reenactments back in the 1970s (Most fun I ever had anywhere in my whole life!). One weekend in July for four years, five to eight model T racing cars on a real over half mile racing track usually used my modern sprint cars. We were running at real racing speeds, the fastest model Ts turning the over half mile in 32 to 34 seconds! (My car was a bit slower!) The track record for a high powered modern sprint car at that time was 26 seconds! The fastest model T racing cars were faster than the slowest modern sprint cars routinely racing on that same track!

 

I only mention this here because one of the "modern" racing events I went to, was at that same track a couple years later. The fellow that put on our reenactments (show!) had some connections. Vic Sala, an old time racing driver from the 1930s (not terribly famous, but involved, and a member of the Model T Speedster/Racer Hall  of Fame!) and the fastest car (by half a second!) in our reenactments had completed the restoration of a real model T era one-man racing car. (This was after legal issues put an end to our fun!)

Arrangements were made, and Vic was allowed to perform a halftime show at one of the regularly scheduled sprint car races! In that properly restored model T era model T racing car, Vic turned the over half mile in 29 seconds! Three seconds behind the modern sprint car track record in a 1920s racing car!

While there, we also watched the sprint car races, and there was a crash. Two cars did a fine job of mixing it up right in front of the grandstands. And we got to watch as a wheel broke loose and bounded off bouncing over the far lower corner of the grandstands! Fortunately, nobody was hurt. Although it was announced that a car in the parking lot received minor damage!

So, every time I hear of wheels flying off and bouncing over fences? I have this permanent image in my mind, standing up and watching as the wheel headed toward the crowd, to only barely miss the people.

[Robert G. Smits]

For anyone interested in the early days of sprint car racing I would recommend this book. This is an autobiography of Outlaw racing in the 20’s and 30’s  During his career he personally knew over 100 drivers who lost their lives on the race track. Although he had a grade school education he was capable of designing his own overhead cam engine which was a winner. His race shop in Davenport Iowa was recreated at the Eastern Museum of Motor Racing. Interestingly I met John in the early 70’s but had no knowledge of his prominence in dirt car racing at that time.