The Official Blog of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway

Last week’s Emerging Tech announcement at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway brought to light the enormous role that college and university students can play in advancing automotive technology.

On May 7th, as part of the celebration of the 100th running on the Indy 500, the IMS will welcome colleges and universities from across the United States to showcase energy efficiency, solar power and hybrid power. Emerging Tech Day at the track will include a Formula Hybrid competition, an American Solar Challenge series event and an exhibition kart race by Purdue University students.

What fans must really be thinking though is whether or not Emerging Tech Day will be worth an outing to the track. After learning more about the event, I expect a lot of “yes” responses to that question.

Formula Hybrid competitions challenge students to design, build and race high-performance, fuel-efficient, plug-in hybrid vehicles. The competition requires advanced electrical, mechanical and computer engineering applications but more importantly, encourages students to work within a team to drive innovation.

Returning to Indianapolis in May from Western Michigan University will be student competitors in the American Solar Challenge  known as the ‘Sunseeker’ team. Their team, including the six engineering students who traveled to Indianapolis last week to display their car, will spend countless hours tweaking the solar technology empowering their ‘Sunseeker’ car (Check out some neat photos of the car here) before the competition.

Students from Purdue University in nearby West Lafayette, Indiana will race electric-powered karts in a Grand Prix-style race. A special course will be built at the Speedway for the evGrandPrix event. The winner will be the team with overall best kart design, race placement and energy efficiency during 100 laps of racing. The event will include qualification runs and sprint races,

As part of his speech announcing Emerging Tech day, Jeff Belskus, IMS president and chief executive officer, stated that “There’s no better place than IMS to display green technology due to the Speedway’s rich heritage of automotive innovation through the Indianapolis 500.”

Emerging Tech day on May 7th will provide race fans with an inside look at the innovative minds of the college and university students who may someday revolutionize racing as we know it. As if that was not enough, there will also be race action on the track through the evGrandPrix event. Personally, I cannot think of a better way to gear up for the 100th running of the Indy 500.

Now it’s your turn. Do you plan to join us at the track on May 7th for Emerging Tech day? What do you think the greatest innovation in motorsports has been? As a student, were you ever part of similar competitions?

A True Family Tradition

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At least one member of our family has been attending the 500 since 1955 and Grandstand A on the front stretch, except for a year or two in Turns 2 and 4, has been our Memorial Day weekend home ever since. I was born in 1954 and as I was gorwing up in Columbus, Indiana dad would tell me stories about his race experiences with my mom. He said that one of his scariest moments was in 1956 when Paul Russo’s Novi blew a tire right in front of them and my mom thought a bomb had exploded. Dad also told me stories of attending the race in 1958, the year of the big pile up on Lap 1..”all of the cars came by for the green flag and the next thing we saw was about half the field coming back around and no one knew what happened!” My big day came in 1965 when I attended my first race…Jimmy Clark won and I was never the same! Dad and I along with friends began attending each year thereafter. In 1987 I took my wife to her first race. She grew up in a town of 800 in the mountains of Idaho..and now enjoys the race with 400,000 friends. In 2004 my son, A.J, became the third generation of our family to attend the 500…and in 2007 my daughter, Alexandria Jean, joined me to complet the cycle.  My personal favorite memory? I have 37 of them–every electrifying flying start and holding my breath until the 33rd car gets through turn number one!
Tom Morris
Moscow, Idaho

My 500 traditions with my father and family

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My favorite racing memories are the traditions that my father and I started in the late 1960′s to 1980′s.
The first time that my father took me to the track was the rain-out pole day in 1969 when Jigger Sirois  failed to qualify.  We returned every year for the first day of qualfications and sometimes the race.    We would wake up at 5am and park on Falcon Lane off of the third turn.  At 6am when the track opened, we would watch the mad dash of cars and motorcycles race into the track.  Then with the other hundreds of people,  we made the long trek from the third turn to the grandstands across from the pits.  Every year we would bring the same food for breakfast (donuts),  the same lunches (sandwich, pickles and cookies) in a big paper bag and a thermos filled with ice, juice and cans of soda.  Of course, we also brought a rain poncho in case it rained.  We had it down to a science.
The 1970′s and the 1980′s were exciting times.  The grandstands were packed by 8am on pole day.  For many years, we heard Tom Carnegie say “It’s a new track record” and the crowd would go wild.  It was so thrilling when Tom Sneva cracked the famous 200 mph lap barrier and then a few years later cracked the 210 mph barrier.  There were so many great legends back then like Mario Andretti, A.J. Foyt, Johnny Rutherford, Gordon Johncock and Rick Mears to say the least.
Over the years, I continued to follow the qualifications and race throughout the month of May.  In the early 1990′s, I started a new tradition when I went to qualifications with my wife.   Over the past few years, I have learned a lot about the history of the 500 dating back to 1909.  Now, I am teaching my kids all the famous drivers over the 90 years by playing “500 bingo” and “500-monopoly” games I created.  They have already started to learn some of the top drivers from the early days like Ray Harroun, Ralph DePalma and Jim Hurtubise from the 1960s.
The old traditions continue and new ones are being formed.  Just this past year, my father and I went back to qualifications again although we walked from my house in Speedway instead of the third turn.   We brought similar food and drinks but in a thermal lunch bag instead of the paper bag.  Now, I am forming a new tradition with my kids.  For the last two years, I have taken them to the track on a practice with our thermal lunch bag.  Due to their young age, they do not last long.  Next year, it would be a wonderful time to start a new tradition by going to qualification with my father, my wife and my kids on the 100th anniversary of the track.

Meeting the Drivers

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When I was in 4th or 5th Grade, I lived in Speedway. One night a father of one of my friends asked if we would like to go with him over to the Goodyear Tire Shop located in the Speedway Plaza at Crawfordsville Road.  It was where the Hooks Drug Store was located…I believe the Goodyear Shop is still there. Well, I was absolutely awestruck as I stood there and listened to Johnny Rutherford, Gordon Johncock, Al Unser, and several others stood there and talked with everyone, signed autographs, and just seemed like regular guys. (My favorite driver was, and still is, Johnny Rutherford). It started raining and we all jumped under the tents that had been provided and after a brief downpour, the sun came back out. Most of the drivers got back to the tables and were signing autographs, and then I saw Johnny Rutherford push one of the tent poles that made the tent fabric itself buckle just enough to allow a pool of water that had collected in a “pocket” find its way to the edge of the tent to the top of Gordon Johncock’s head!!! Everyone just started busting out laughing and was quite hilarious!!!

The best experience in life

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My first experience at Indianapolis Speedway was in 1995. I went with a friend of mine named Federico. I have been a motor sport fan since I was a child and all this emotions started to rise inside my soul when my grandfather brought me to see a motion picture named Grand Prix. He was a well known race car driver in Puerto Rico (Dr. Francisco Panchoâ Marquez). He initiated me as a go-kart racer in 1973. This was the way, as everything started as a fan and racer.

Going back to my first experience at Indy, I remember that we were sat at the first turn after straightaway when, immediately after the green flag to start the race Stan Fox lost control of his car and wet airborne against the fence exactly where I was sat. I saw the car going directly to us and I felt down to the floor believing that the car was going toward us.  To be my first experience, It was an exalting sad moment. My best recollection was that Mr. Fox died three year later as results of the injuries received by the incident. I was very sad, but as a racer I quickly realized that he died doing something he liked. More over during that race I was following Michel Andretti skill and adventures because I consider myself as his follower/fan. I was very disappointed because he was running that afternoon as a champion and he were having a wonderful day at the track when suddenly he brushed the wall, damaging his car. After all Jacque Villeneuve won the race coming from a deficit of one or two laps. Also I remember that Scott Goodyear was denying answering a black Flag for passing the pace car during a caution. Finally it was and exiting day and wonderful experience.
My second experience was last year (2007). This time I went with my wife Dohanie and my son Osvaldito. It was a wet experience because rained all day. Dario Franchitti was the winner after Marco Andretti flipped over his car, Marco was running very well and he were having a great chance to win. It was also a great race because was the first time when tree females were driving at the same time Danika Patrick, Milca Duno and Sara Fisher.

My third and best experience was this same year when in July 7th. I had a chance to drive an Indy car at this famous track. Â It was the best feeling in the world. I encourage everybody to have this experience. 
My fourth experience will be this year. I am returning to the track see another wonderful show. 

1989 Indy Five Hundred, my sweet sixteen memory

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My father had been taking us to the track since 1981. He wouldn’t let us go to the actual race until we turned sixteen years old, it was like a Monroe right of passage, especially since what went on in the infield at the time. My dad got me up on race day to travel from Rushville, IN for I had to work the night before at my job at McDonalds.  We got to the area of the track at 300am, you could just feel the electricity in the air and the race was still almost a half day away.  I saw people who were still out from the night before, the police cars were everywhere on the 30th street.  As the sun slowly rose we entered the track and I was gleaming with excitement for it was my first 500 of many to come.  We drove the old Plymouth passenger van into the track, I was with Delbert and Shawn Frazier as well.  My dad and Delbert rested as Shawn and I hung out until my father was ready to take us to the Snake Pit.  I saw it all in the snake pit, Bartles and James asking women to…well it is Indy and at the time it was more appropriate than today.  Another guy had a beer can strapped to the bottom of his squirt gun shooting people with it.

We got to our seats in turn three, we saw 33 cars go screaming by, the end was one that I will never forget.  The dual between Al Unser Jr and Emerson Fittipaldi.  Side by side action that the end of the 500 can bring as two men are racing for imortality. As the end drew near the two fought until one survived. I can remember Al Unser Jr go sliding backwards down the track against the wall and coming to rest in the short shoot.  I saw him getting out of his car and clapping his hands at Fittipaldi.

What I witnessed was a great start to my appetite for Memorial Day weekend racing at the legendary speedway.  One that I can thank my father for forever.

First Race

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After years of attending races at Mid Ohio and annual trips to see pole day at Indy, I finally attended my first Indy 500 race in 1994.  We stayed in the Coke lot and my sister and I slept in the back of our little ford escort.  We had seats in the infield between turns 3 and 4 (not the best).   The one thing I will never forget is walking through the tunnel to get to the infield and looking back over my shoulder to see all the fans packed into the stands around the track.  It gave me chills!  To top it off Al Unser Jr., one of my favorite drivers won that race.  What an experience!

Almost missed 1970 race.

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In 1970 I was in the Army and had gotten leave to go see the race. Since I hadn’t missed since 1958 I didn’t want to break the streak. But I left Dallas on a plane that was late getting into Chicago so I missed my connecting flight to Indianapolis. The next flight out was 8 hours away and it was full. But They told me since I was on military stand-by if someone didn’t show up I could have their seat.
Remember the race was the next day and I had to be the first one in line at the ticket counter to have a chance. I stood, layed, and leaned on that counter for eighter hours being bothered by moonies and other people wanting something for nothing. AS luck would have it someone didn’t show up and I got a seat and was picked up at the airport in Indy still in my dress uniform. I got to my seat as “Back Home In Indiana” was being sung. Still haven’t missed a race this will be #51

PLAYBOY BABY ATTENDS HER FIRST INDY 500 AND COUNTING

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Calleigh Renee Lim born March 3rd 2005 after Kirb and Heather Lim found out a month after their 50th Playboy Anniversary Party at the Playboy Mansion June 2004.  Ironically, we also purchased a Redline Red 88th 2004 Indianapolis 500 Chevy SSR Pace/Festival truck just before our party not knowing at the time about the pregnancy.

Once she was born, already a gearhead, 2 and a half months later, Calleigh , The Playboy Baby,  attended her first Indianapolis 500 in May of 2005 and has gone ever since always sitting in the Paddock section .  She will be attending her fourth Indy 5oo this year 2008.

My first Indy (1994)

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I talked my into going to the 1994 Indy 500.  I remember the anticipation as left the hotel to the race track.  As we headed to turn three where our seats I was wondered how the day would go.  It was a bright and sunny day.  As the race went on I thought my favorite driver Little Al would have to settle for second place on that day.  But as luck would have it Emmo wrecked in turn four and Little Al would go on to win the 1994 Indy 500.  It could not have been a better day.  My first Indy 500 and my favorite driver winning.