The Official Blog of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway

What a lineup of great race cars…Too bad the drivers couldnt be sitting in them. What GIANTS sat in each and every one of those cars. The saddest thing about those and so many more drivers is that so many “fans” think the first 500 was in 1995. There is a real lack of “care” about the past. It used to be that the month of May was a great reunion of racers from all over the U.S. The garage area was a bee hive of excitement, partys, BS sessions that wud start with 2 guys and grow to 10 or more. Former drivers and current drivers walking around getting into discussions etc. The commradery of the people in the garage area was unbelievable. “The gypsy” wud fix tubs of corn on the cob, mom Unsers great chili… It was actually like family and most were part of it. Every year there was always a “character” who wud show up..ie..the Englishman with an old green “OLD” race car…everyday it wud be announced that.” _______ is going to try to start his car in 10 minutes” Almost everone in the gagre area wud go around to the north side of the garage area to watch. The guy, from England, wud make remarks like “The queen wud never stand for this” etc… Great time gone forever….The people made it what it was and…the people of today just dont have what the racers of yesterday had!!! It was a different world then. I miss those days, those people. No suites, no motor homes, rarely closed garage doors, no females in the garage area, no youngsters in the garage area excpet for me and the Buzzer, great times…different times.

Donald is super but his time of day reporting in these photos is very poor.

“. . . all is right with the world Danica Patric leads . . . ” really, that comment goes on the same page with the top 33 drivers of all time. A middle level drive who has only led 3 laps and never was really close to winning in the same company as Foyt, Sneva, Hanks, Castroneves, ……. Indy, get over your love afair you pinned your marketing hopes on the bod and modest talent and lost the bet. Move on.

A couple things…

- My guess is that the time of day that this shot was taken is very early in the morning, perhaps not long after sunrise. I say this because the sun rises behind the pagoda and the front of the pagoda (facing the pits) – and most of the front stretch – is still in shade. Plus, the stands on the outside of the track look like they’re taking pretty direct sunlight. Where the shadow of the upper deck falls on the lower deck also confirms the low angle of the sun implying it’s rising in the east.

- What constitutes a “replica” race car (in the case of Mario’s 1969 winner)? Is the “replica” a former backup car, was it a car built from spares after the season ended, or was it built from scratch some time after 1969? I’ve never heard the origin of this IMS museum car and am very curious.