The Official Blog of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway

Kevin Paige of Kevin Paige Art walks fans through the creation of an oil painting of MotoGP star Valentino Rossi. New to Kevin Paige Art? Check out all of his posts here.

Kevin Paige of Kevin Paige Art walks fans through the creation of a watercolor print of Marco Andretti. New to Kevin Paige Art? Check out all of his posts here!

Tom Beeler is a lifelong Indianapolis resident and occasional car collector. He is a senior editor with the racing news group, Racing Information Service and is slated to share his Pace Car collection with fans at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the Pace Car Reunion on Saturday, May 21st. Read below to discover more about Tom’s passion for his collection….

Growing up in Indianapolis during May in the 1960s was a special time. Part of that was that excitement was the arrival of the pace cars to the streets of Indy.

I loved it. Powerful cars in garish paint with huge letters painted on the doors and fenders. What’s not to love?

The first pace car to really catch my attention was the 1969 Chevrolet Camaro. Sexy, white and “Hugger” orange, cowl induction hood, houndstooth interior, hideaway headlights. To this day, it’s one of the most iconic Indianapolis 500 pace cars, as evidenced by the choice of this year’s pace car.

1969 Camaro

To a child of the ‘60s, growing up in Indy, pace cars were mystic and powerful – emblematic of America’s car culture.

Years later, I understand the marketing, but the appeal of driving a car that looks like it paced the greatest race in the world still makes me smile.

Getting the fans involved in the pace car culture began in 1953, the 50^th anniversary of the Ford Motor Company. The Ford Crestline Sunliner was chosen to pace the 500. Ford anticipated demand for the car and built about 2000 replicas of the actual pace car, the first time this was done.

Two of the most-popular pace cars continue to be the 1969 Camaro and the 1978 Corvette.

It wasn’t until I had the cash to have a “spare” car that I could enter the mystical order of pace car owners. My funds were modest, so I aimed for the 1984 Pontiac Fiero. Pontiac made 2000 replicas of the Fiero pace car. It looked fast sitting still.

1984 Fiero

That year, I bought tickets to the 500 Festival Mayor’s Breakfast, which was then the only way Average Joes like me could drive a lap on the Speedway. Doing that in a pace car made it even better.

Years later, I made the unintended transition into “car collector” when a friend asked me, “Are you still looking for a ’69 Camaro pace car?” Enter my second pace car replica.

In 2006, both cars were parked amongst their brightly-colored, gaudily-lettered brethren along Hulman Boulevard during the first Pace Car Reunion.

Knowing that the centennial running of the 500 would likely bring another reunion at the Speedway, I started hunting for uncommon pace cars to bring.

My third pace car – quite possibly the ACTUAL pace car – was the 1957 Mercury Turnpike Cruiser. This was the pace car given to race winner Sam Hanks and his wife, Alice. “Turnpike Cruiser” – the name screams 1950s America. Parking it is like docking an aircraft carrier.

My 1953 Ford Sunliner pace car joined the herd last year.

The 1992 pace car, which was actually a 1993 model, was the Cadillac Allante. The Allante appealed to me because of its Northstar engine and beautiful Pininfarina body work.

The 1992 Allante

My most-recent pace car is one of the actual 2003 Cheverolet SSR pace vehicles, Vehicle Identification Number 4. Electrical problems the day before the race demoted the car to support on Race Day, but it was the vehicle in which race winner Gil deFerran took his victory lap around the track.

The SSR was missing the strobes, belts and extinguisher, but some detective work and dedicated friends helped get all the requisite pieces reinstalled and running.

2003 SSR

I’ll be bringing four of my pace cars to the Speedway this week. I’m jazzed to see so many pace car owners who share my passion for these cars similarly dedicated to sharing their cars with fans of this great race.

Whether they’re Corvettes, Mustangs, Cutlasses, Challengers, Vipers, Champions, Bonnevilles, Comets, Furies, Adventurers and a host of other model names, they are a big part of the culture of the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race.

And a lot of us love keeping them on the road.

Planning to get here early on A.J. Foyt Day (May 28th) to score one of only 100 autograph session wristbands with the four-time Indianapolis 500 winner and 100th Anniversary Indy 500 Pace Car driver?

To celebrate A.J. getting the keys to the Chevrolet Camaro Pace Car, we’re giving away the very first wristband of A.J. Foyt Day. Avoid the lines, forget camping out the night before to ensure a spot in line at 9:00 am, we’ve got you covered.

It’s simple to win, comment below to share your plans for May. How many days will you be out at the track? Do you come with family, friends, or alone? Do you get tickets in the same spot every year? How many years in a row is this for you?

We’re looking to save a spot in A.J.’s exclusive, 100-person autograph line for the most enthusiastic fan of the Indianapolis 500 — so tell us why you’re it!

This short blog series tells the story of how the Coke Lot event known as Camp and Brew, celebrating it’s 10th year in 2011 at the The Indy 500, began and grew.  It’s alliance with the Brian’s Wish Charity and the $31,900 raised in 9 short years, is in memory and support of a young man who died of ALS. Read the first post from this series here.

My younger brother Jim (yes, he does have a name) had lived in Indianapolis since 1987. When I learned that he would be moving in early 2001 to San Diego, I knew I was too hooked on the 500 to give up. Somehow, I knew staying at a friend’s house would be okay for a year or so, but I had always wondered about the die-hard maniacs we saw every year camping around the Speedway?!? That, to me, looked like something NOT to miss.

Hating to reinvent the wheel, I began to search out advice from those who had actually camped there at previous 500’s. Sometimes I’d look online, but I usually preferred to seek out the personal stories first hand, when I could. The Coke Lot kept coming up as THE place to be.

In Kentucky, on the Saturday before the August 10, 2001 Indy Racing Northern Light Series “Belterra Casino Indy 300″, I met a race fan from Colorado. A fellow IRL CREW Member, Glenn was able to travel to many IRL races that year due in part to his job, and our paths crossed at an interesting point in time.

After we met at the CREW Booth, we sat next to each other that night at a social/dinner at Jillian’s Restaurant in KY and I picked his brain. What to bring while camping in the Coke Lot? What did you wish you had while camping? And so on.

My definitive plan began to take shape from there. We were going to borrow an RV from my parents (Phillis and Bob) and make a go of it in 2002. Glenn was invited and the three of us spent lots of time trying to make it a once in a lifetime trip to remember. Exactly how Glenn, Jim and I figured out the rest of the logistics is at times, a little unclear.

I named it Camp and Brew 2002 simply because it rhymed and I was just glad to finally put that Marketing degree of mine to use. Glenn took off from there and had a banner made, I did up some stickers and we were off and running. We talked it up on TrackForum.com as a friendly place to stop and get a beer and talk some racing. Our official Bail Bondsmen and Camp Nurse was a good friend named Barb, known to thousands of IRL race fans.

The first official year C&B memories included Melissa and her group…The Canadians who camped next to us and, despite having drank all the MOLSEN in the lower 48, they returned and even remembered us in 2003!

A highlight of the first year was the Eureka 4 man tent on top of the RV with a sign next to it on Race-Day morning that read: Sarah Fisher Slept here!  Lots of people took pictures of that.

We were provided freebie Camp and Brew t-shirts from our very good internet friend Rick, aka “Radio”, in Arizona.  An asset that helped us raise $400 for Brian’s Wish, an ALS Charity. We had become familiar with Brian Hall’s fight with ALS and the Brian’s Wish foundation and had plans to meet Brian later that evening. When we met Brian’s parents and his hospice nurse, Barb, at Community Day, we found out that we would have to reschedule as Brian wasn’t having a good day. Unfortunately, we never did get to actually meet Brian because he died early the next morning. The role he would play in the popularity of C&B over the years cannot be underestimated.

Also in 2002, Glenn created, and now maintains the CampAndBrew.com website from Colorado where he lives.   That has allowed us, prior to even the start-up of Facebook, to connect with people and let them know what we are about.

Writer Ralph Kramer grew up on an Indiana farm and saw his first Indianapolis 500 in 1950. In the blog below, Ralph share what the experience of digging through Indy 500 history to create a book was like. Kramer’s books include The Indianapolis Motor Speedway: A 100 Years of Racing and The Indianapolis 500: A Century of Excitement.

The pictures tell the story, upwards of 3 million of them carefully tucked in a vault-like second-floor suite in the Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s Hall of Fame Museum: They are the DNA of 100 years of the Indianapolis 500, and more.

What I learned in months and months of studying the ancient prints, negatives and digital images for two books commemorating the Speedway’s centenary was that there is always more to a story. The archived images proved to be little windows, allowing light on the Speedway’s past. But the light did not always provide a clear picture.

A century ago, what really drove Carl Fisher? And what about his wife Jane? Was she really just 15 when he married her? Or 25, as some say.

We know Barney Oldfield didn’t compete in the first Indianapolis 500 because he had his AAA racing license suspended, but what really kept Louis Chevrolet out of field?

Why were Indy’s official starters through the years such flamboyant dressers?  Why was maestro Harry Miller, whose machinery dominated Indy for much of the 1920s, always wearing a hat? And what’s with Mauri Rose’s ever-present pipe?

Louie Meyer’s mom made sure he had buttermilk to drink after he won the 1936 race. A top gun at the American Milk Foundation who knew opportunity when it was knocking saw the picture, and an Indy tradition was born.  But what about Louie’s mom? Was she at the race?  Not even my friend and Speedway historian Donald Davidson, whose recall of all things Indy is phenomenal, can say yes or no.

There are gaps in the Speedway’s pictorial history. For many years the job was hired out to different photographers whose work is not in the track’s possession. But still, to open a 100-year-old album and place a magnifying glass on the really old stuff in the museum vault is to experience a run of goose-bump moments.

In short, it’s like I was a kid again, listening from a tractor seat to radio’s Sid Collins calling Bill Vukovich’s 1954 win or the late great Speedway chief announcer Tom Carnegie painting brilliant word pictures of the epic lap-after-lap 1960 Rathmann-Ward battle for the checkered flag.

Fans can enter for a chance to win a copy of the Slip Case Edition of Kramer’s book, The Indianapolis Motor Speedway: A Century of Excitement as well as tickets to the Indianapolis 500, Brickyard 400, and other great Indianapolis Motor Speedway items. Find out more and enter to win by visiting the Old Cars Weekly 100th Anniversary Sweepstakes by May 5, 2011.

The Indianapolis 500: A Century of Excitement

This short blog series tells the story of how the Coke Lot event known as Camp and Brew, celebrating it’s 10th year in 2011 at the The Indy 500, began and grew.  It’s alliance with the Brian’s Wish Charity and the $31,900 raised in 9 short years, is in memory and support of a young man who died of ALS.

The trail that leads fans to become fans of a particular sport is never straight forward or similar in any two cases.  For me, it started with an invitation to the Indy 500 from my younger brother living in Indianapolis in 1994.

He was more a fan of the party that always surrounds the race, as opposed to the racing itself, but he knew the drivers and before the split, at least had an interest in the series and in the outcome of the 500.

His Carb Day party at his house, complete with hot tub, was an annual event that I enjoyed going to, even though I knew none of his co-workers from the Indianapolis Air Traffic Control Center who comprised 90% of the guests.

It seems a lifetime ago, but I can still vividly recall the feeling of not knowing what to expect as we drove to the race that Sunday morning. After parking somewhere off 30th street, we walked past the campgrounds that told incomplete tales of massive fun and alcohol induced revelry from the night before.  Through the tunnel we went in the Turn 3 and 4 short chute making our way, with the crowd of thousands, to our seats.

We sat in Turn 3, in aluminum stands that are no longer there. Infield seats that, at the time, I didn’t know were not as special of a view as in the stands would later prove to be. But to me, it did not matter that the cars passed in front of us so quickly and were only in our field of view for brief seconds when at speed.

To say the Nigel Mansell/Dennis Vitolo accident in the 1994 race happened “right in front of us” always makes me laugh, since no matter where in the 500 an accident happens, it starts or ends ‘right in front’ of about 95,000+ people.  Although memorable, I was not there to see carnage, but fast cars.

I became a fan of the series and joined the CREW, which was the Official Fan Club of the (at that time) IRL.  I went on to produce the CREW NEWS and MC’d at several end of year CREW Banquets, where finally we got Sarah Fisher to show up, after winning the CREW’s Most Popular Driver Award for the third straight time (2001-2003).  Special guest speaker that year was Tom Carnegie.

As my interest and trips to Indy from Ohio increased, my brother transferred his job to Southern California.  I wondered if he’d still come back for the race.  I wondered where we would stay. I thought of those crazy campers that we always saw and figured we’d try that.

That would have to wait, as that year, 2001, he landed us free accommodations at a former co-workers house who was recently divorced. To say that was not ideal, would be to neglect the obvious and I knew, somehow, the next year would need to be different.

The idea of how to make camping for the 500 a reality was born and by the time the next 500 came around, the annual event known as Camp and Brew (since it rhymed with 2002) was started.

Stay tuned to the IMS blog for the next installment in this series to find out more! Visit CampandBrew.com in the meantime and share your comments for Tom and Glenn below!

It’s simple and we know it, your first to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway can be daunting. Some travel, some live locally, but all converge into one space for the Largest Single Day Sporting Event in the World.

Coming from Pennsylvania, my first Indianapolis 500 was a whirlwind. I was the perfect age for an in-field ticket and squeezed into the back of a car at 4 a.m. with nine other people (from what I’ve come to understand, most people figure out a way to fit more). We drove for an hour from an apartment complex that would normally take five minutes to reach to Speedway and entered into the track from Georgetown Road. As we unloaded onto the hill at Turn 3 I realized just how utterly unprepared I was for the day. I looked around and felt overwhelmed but thankful to have friends there to show me how to really enjoy the Indianapolis 500.

As the day wore on, I began to grow restless. Having attended Penn State University (shout out to Joe Paterno and my Nittany Lions), I like to think I know a thing or two about tailgating, but even I was tired, weary, and in desperate need of a nap. But then it started, the noises, the grandeur, the parade lap, the Purdue Marching band. In a few words… it came to life. And then it got better as the Indy Cars hit the track.

To  be honest, I didn’t know, or even expect what SOUND the cars make. Over the past few months I’ve watched fans describe it as “magical” and that day I understood what they feel. It’s loud. It hits your core. And it leaves you longing to see the field of 33 hit a turn and charge right back out of it just to hear the sound fade momentarily into the distance.

At some point, the race was over — admittedly, I was ready to leave Turn 3, go home and sleep for days. The reality was that two hours later I was napping in the back of a car as we finally pulled out of the track and headed home.

I couldn’t tell you who won that day (without cheating and looking, admittedly) but I can transparently share that I expected that day to return home to Pennsylvania and never return to the Indianapolis 500. In my mind, I had “been there, done that” and never felt it could be topped.

Of course then life took over and through the years I somehow found myself once again here in Indiana. You simply cannot live near the track and not make the effort to come out — but the second time around my experience was completely different. For starters, we started the day exploring areas outside the track. We walked into the race and honestly, everywhere. We covered every inch of the facility, eager to see everything. Instead of hauling a cooler around, we invested in those giant turkey legs I’d seen my first time out and found that, surprisingly, the food comes at a good deal. The highlight of the day? Sneaking past a yellow shirt and sitting right behind Danica’s pit for a few glorious laps. We left right as the race was finishing and beat the traffic — rather than sleep for hours afterwards, we took a nap, nursed our sunburns and recovered quickly.

I guess the point here is that, I came back and my experience was completely different. The next step, were I to take it? Seats! (From what my Hoosier-native friends have shared, there really is a “growing up” process to attending the 500). I’ve come to marvel out just how different an experience any one person will have attending the Indianapolis 500  and what if, that very first time, you decided to never come back again?  If I hadn’t returned, I would never have experienced the thrill of sitting front and center for a pit stop. Or realized everything that happens beyond the Snake Pit. The thing is, that first time I just did not know what to expect and I did not understand how to make the most out of one trip to the Indianapolis 500.

Which begs the question, what would you tell someone attending their first Indianapolis 500? What is there to share that would really prepare someone for attending such a large event? Is this your first year attending? What do you want other fans to share with you in preparation?

On Saturday, April 2, I took advantage of the opportunity to run a lap around the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.  The event was the 2011 NCAA 4Kay Run.  The run was one of the many events in Indianapolis in connection with the NCAA Woman’s Final Four.  It’s a fundraiser to support the fight against breast cancer held in remembrance of Kay Yow, the late head coach of North Carolina State University.

I’ve run a lap around IMS a number of times, but it has always been during the 500 Festival Mini-Marathon.  During the Mini, the lap around the track is during miles 7 and 8 of the 13.1 mile run when the strain of the race has set-in.  For the 4Kay run, the race length of 4 kilometers (2.49 miles) is one lap around the Speedway.  This lap gave me an opportunity to reflect on some of my favorite memories from the past 39 Indy 500’s I have attended.

The NCAA Mascot excited to line-up on the Yard of Bricks

The 4Kay Run started in pit lane at the Yard of Bricks.  The start of the run reminded me of the Indy 500 pre-race festivities that take place adjacent to the start finish line – the Purdue Band playing ‘On the Banks of the Wabash,’ the singing of Jim Nabors and Florence Henderson, the somber playing of taps, those “most famous words in racing” and the release of the balloons.  I’ve always enjoyed the pre-race pageantry and I can’t wait to see the special events planned for this year’s 100th Anniversary Indy 500.

As we headed in to turn 1, I looked for the seats in Stand E where my family and friends have sat in recent years.  Like it is for many families, the Indy 500 is an annual tradition for our family.  Our tradition dates back to 1972.  With the exception of weddings, usually it is the one time of the year where there are more members of our extended family together than any other time.

Stepping out of the pack to grab a shot of the crowd

While we were in the short shoot between turns 1 and 2, I looked over behind the Hall of Fame Museum where the State Police have set-up their command post in recent years.  The first several years our family attended the Indy 500, our picnic spot and meeting place in the infield was under a big tree at that site.

Heading in to turn 2 and seeing the suites on the outside of the turn reminded me of Tom Sneva’s accident in 1975.  Although I didn’t see the accident, I was in the infield, and I remember walking over after the accident and seeing the remains of his car in the infield.  Back then, they waited to tow the damaged cars back to the pits until after the race.

The crowd starts to thin out coming out of Turn 2

As we neared turn 3, I recalled the accident in 1994 when Dennis Vitolo took out Nigel Mansell during a caution lap.  That year, I was sitting high in turn 3, and we couldn’t believe the former F-1 World Champion was taken out during his second and final Indy 500 while in the pit cool down lane under a yellow flag caution lap.

The Standford University Marching Band set up along the second straightaway to support 4Kay runners

Onward March during the 4Kay run

As we approached the Yard of Bricks to complete our lap, I could visualize Sam Hornish passing Marco Andretti to win the 2006 Indy 500. Even when I see replays today, I still don’t know how Sam did it. No, I did not make a similar late race pass to win the 4Kay race, but I did accomplish my goal of enjoying a lap around the home of the Greatest Spectacle in Racing.  As I crossed the finish line, I thought about the purpose of the run – to support cancer research – and I remembered my mom who is a cancer survivor. She was first diagnosed with cancer 20 years ago, and she continues to win her battle.

It took me almost 23 minutes to complete my lap.  During that time, an Indy Car would complete about 35 laps.  I may have been slow by INDYCAR standards, but wow, what a lap.  I’m ready to do another lap to see what additional memories I can stir-up.