I think the most magical time to be at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway is during sunrise. It’s a time for reflection. A time for peace. The light allows you to view this stadium in a totally different way. This experience transcends racing and reveals a place of historical importance with victorious and heartbreaking stories to tell. It’s what I value most in the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. You never know what you’ll see.
A moment caught on race day in May
This morning was definitely planned. But it’s hard to plan for something like this. Around 7 A.M.this morning, IMS and IndyCar staff rolled out 33 winning Indianapolis 500 race cars.
Dario Franchitti's 2010 winning machine
Glancing north on the front straight were 33 of these winning pieces of machinery including the 1911 Marmon Wasp driven by Ray Harroun, the 2010 Target Chip Ganassi Racing Honda driven by Dario Franchitti with an iconic mixture in between including the 1965 Lotus, 1939/40 Boyle Maserati, the 1963 Willard Battery Special, the 1953/54 Fuel Injection Special, the 1980 Pennzoil Chaparral and more.
Mario Andretti's 1969 replica winning car
This is all part of the planning leading up to the 100th anniversary Indianapolis 500 next May. The countdown has begun and then another 100 years of history will begin. I can’t imagine what the field will look like in the future.
If you are attending next year’s Indianapolis 500, you might consider arriving early. Nothing beats the sound of the cannon, a cup of hot coffee, Clabber Girl biscuits and gravy….and the chance to catch a glimpse of something you’ll never forget.
What a starting line up!
Enjoy some of the images from today on our Flickr account.
Full list of drivers below.
| 1 | 1911 (yellow) Harroun | 2010 (red) Franchitti | 1961 (white) Foyt |
| 2 | 1979 (white/blue/red) Mears | 1939/40 (maroon) Shaw | 1970 (blue) Unser |
| 3 | 1963 (white/blue/red) Jones | 1990 (red) Luyendyk | 1947/48 (blue) Rose |
| 4 | 1980 (yellow) Rutherford | 1953 (gray) Vukovich | 1968 (red/black/yellow) Unser |
| 5 | 1964 (white/blue/red) Foyt | 1965 (green/yellow)Clark | 1922 (cream) Murphy |
| 6 | 1969 (orange) Andretti | 1957/58 (yellow) Hanks/Bryan | 1983 (white/red/blue) Sneva |
| 7 | 1912 (blue)Dawson | 1982 (blue/red)Johncock | 1952 (cream) Ruttman |
| 8 | 1972 (blue) Donohue | 1962 (red/white/blue) Ward | 2000 (red) Montoya |
| 9 | 1928 (gold/black) Meyer | 1995 (blue/white) Villeneuve | 1950 (yellow) Parson |
| 10 | 1977 (orange) Foyt | 1951 (blue) Wallard | 1992 (blue/white/red) Unser |
| 11 | 1946 (blue) Robson | 1978 (red/white/blue) Unser | 1932 (white) Frame |
Which of the 33 could still run close to their top speed? Any?
Fantastic lineup. However, one switch. I’d “bump” A.J.’s 1964 entry and insert Jim Rathmann’s 1960 Ken-Paul Special. What a beauty that was.
I always enjoyed sitting at the top of pit road stands waiting to go to work in the pits,the sounds of campers waking up, smelling bacon & eggs cooking, the stands are empty but you know in a few hours a half a million people will fill them, then the cannon goes off and motorcyles and cars come flying in from the north 40 to get the best fence spot in 3rd & 4th turns (I am talking about 20 or so years ago) but it one of my favorite morning memories at the Indy 500
You guys screwed the general public on this. After I saw this on tv at noon I went out to the Speedway. They would not let me see this. I have been at the Speedway since i was nine years old and you would not let me see this display. I have you and will never step foot on those hollowed grands again ever. You guys really screwed up!
If you guys want more fan involvement …you blew it today. Golden op for you to let loyal fans in to see this historic display and you screwed up.
Absolutely Fantastic!!!!! It doesn’t get much better than this.
I saw this on the news this morning & was ready to make the 2 1/2 hour one-way trip to the race trace just to see the history, but apparently the public isn’t invited. Very poor planning. Still can’t believe you’d publicize it & not let the public view those cars. How rude!
Of course, we would all like to see certain cars/drivers included that weren’t in the select 33. I’d like to swap out the ’64 Foyt with the ’89 Fittipaldi. Swap Montoya for Hornish or the ’87 Unser Sr. Basically the late 1980′s and 1990′s and all of the 2000′s were snubbed. What?? No Helio??
I have to agree with a lot of the comments made here. I’ve been going to the speedway since 1988 (spent a lot of money there) when my grandpa took me for the first time. I just get the feeling that the speedway staff and IRL feel as if they don’t need the average fans. Maybe the staff and drivers should take a lesson in customer service or attend an NHRA drag race they know how to treat there fans. But I do love the pictures would have been nice to open to the public.
They did it as a rare photo opportunity in conjunction with the 100 anniversary and didn’t want sparcely occupied stands in the picture. Kind of looks spooky or ghost like with all the stands empty! I like it that way! They will have plenty of fan opportunities leading up to the milestone race, just wait and see!
This should have been publicized much in advance so fans could have seen the awesome display. Please advertise special activities like this to keep current fan interest and attract new fans.
The angle of the sun makes it appear that this picture was taken early in the morning. If that’s the case why couldn’t the public be let in later in the day? It appears that Speedway Management dropped the ball on this one. I think Tony George would have handled this opportuniy differently.
As long as they do something similar and/or better, during the 500 weekend they didn’t need to invite fans to see this. I can only hope this coming May that they will go all out and then again in seven years for the 100th running. Chances are, this is where we will miss Tony George.
I think Emerson Fittipaldi and Helio are the only multiple winners who don’t have a car in this lineup. Al Jr’s ’92 car should be replaced with the ’94 pushrod Mercedes. Billy Arnold led 198 laps in 1930 and his ride is missing too. Maybe the car doesn’t exist anymore. I think most of the people who are upset with the Speedway should give this some thought. If the weather isn’t PERFECT there’s no way the people in the museum are going to take these cars outside. How long do you think it took to line this up? Are you familiar with liability insurance?
If you want to have a little pitty party and cancel your tickets to the 2011 Indianapolis 500, I’m sure some other fan will be happy to take your seats. I’m sure race morning next May will be unbelievable with several of these cars taking laps under their own power.
I think I’d trade out the 1932 Fred Frame car for the 1930 Billy Arnold car, the 2000 Juan Montoya car for the 1915 Ralph DePalma car, and the 1992 Al Unser Jr. car for the 1994 Al Unser Jr. car.
Did I miss it, or is the Granatelli “Silent Sam” turbine car not in the lineup? And where’s the Dan Gurney Eagle?
It was great. We saw it on the news in Tucson, AZ!! I think they should have pushed them down into the apex of turn one, put them in formation again and taken that shot too. Seeing them in the arc of turn one is a also fantastic vantage point.
WOW!!!……14 OFFY powered winners represented.
SORRY….make that 15 OFFY powered winners represented…forgot to count VUKY twice….
I think the Idea for the line up was perfect. The fact that the stands are empty was also a smart move. You have a hundred years of automotive history sitting on the greatest front straightaway in the world. Why would you wreck that by having a handfull of people scattered around in the stands. The Speedway looks it’s best totally empty, or filled to it’s max. As for being a fan of the Speedway for over 35 years I do agree the Speedway management group only caters to the wealthier fans. Nothing more anoying than having a bleacher for the photo journalists pushed out at the end of the race between Tower Terrace and the winners circle blocking the view of many of the fans from witnessing the victory celebration. If they care things like that would not happen.
[...] Indy 500 winners take to the track againAnd I found the picture in Daniel?s story on the Official IndyCar Blog, see: An early Morning at the Track [...]
It is understandable how some of the great “500′s” could not be represented due to some of the cars being at other museums.I thought Mario’s ’69 winning car was in the Smithsonian institution?Also,Mr.Vuckovich’s car was identical except the paint job in ’54.Even though “Big Al” is represented,his ’87 car and at least another Mears car would be nice,but Mr.Penske probably has them on display at his museum..Nice display,just giving props and they were probably considered..The Museum is AWESOME!
Wow. I’d be there all day if fans were allowed. All. . .Day. . .Long.
Seeing how the general public isn’t allowed, it does make for one heck of a picture though. Come on people, IMS is sacred ground. Its like Monza is to the Tifosi over in Italy.
As for the cars, why does everyone want the 92′ Galmer swapped for the 94′ Penske??? That was the 1st win. . .the closest ever. I’d of like to of seen Sullivan’s 85′ Penske. . .
I would have taken a day off and driven the 3 hours to IMS to witness this event. Really wish the public could have been invited.
[...] voted and overwhelmingly chose the picture from the 33 Winning Indy 500 car shoot (it got 47% of the votes). If a picture is worth a thousand words, then what is a picture [...]
[...] This picture says it all for me. Peace, beauty, and a slowly rising sun. I wrote about this shoot, here. The 1961 winner in [...]
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