Indy 500
- Thread starter tbroye
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Andrew_K99
Member
Bill Vukovich, taken after winning his second Indy 500 in 1954.
tbroye
Member
Very good. They look a lot different nowadays after finishing. Vuky was my first sport hero when I was kid. He and others like his brother Eli, Roger Ward, Johnny Parsons, Freddy Agabasian fueled my love of racing that still exists today. Been to Indy many times will go again next year. I just hope the powers that be will rebuild it to it's old glory. Wonder who Indy will jump up and bite this year, that place is such head trip. I have a large collection of Indy stuff, not souvenirs, but historical stuff, and dicast models. Sunday I will have a bunch of people who I used to race with and we will have a toast to the ghost and watch the race. The man who I work on his cars as a teenage and later drove my cars will be there and he is 84 years young and like he said we were lucky to survive.
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Displaced Canadian
Member
The ghost?
Dalecamino
Local Chapter Leader
That's one thing I miss after moving away to Florida. Can you remember the sound of the Novi? They were awesome. We would cut school, and ride bikes from the southside to hear them. Pat O'conner, Tony Bettenhausen, Vukovich all had True Grit IMO.
Wright
Member
Reminds me of my old days in racing except I raced stock cars from 1964 thru 1969. Enjoyed it but ran out of money (no Sponsor then). Had to quit driving and turned wrenches for Red Farmer, Bobby Allison, Neil Bonnett, Ed Negre, Neil (Soapey) Castles. Had lot of fun but racing has changed so much since those days. Big business now. Just started turning pens and I really enjoy it. Had to find something to do with my hands!
Dalecamino
Local Chapter Leader
Sometime around 79-80? maybe? A friend of mine built a late model, and his sponsor flew Bobby into Indy to drive that car at Raceway Park (O'Reillys now) Somebody forgot to bolt down a caliper. Wrecked on the 1st lap. $4000.00 + the car + sponsor, down the drain. Glad you got to hang out with these guys. Welcome to penturning. Smells a lot different though. Don't it?:biggrin:
tbroye
Member
The Ghost's of the indy 500 ie the drivers who died.
Our West Capitol Raceway Alumni Assoc. has an annual Bar B Que and half a fame induction at the local track that was dirt and is now a paved 3/8 mile oval. We also have Vintage demo races. We usually have a full field of old Midgets, no roll cage but an optional roll bar. The are the old cars from the 30's-60's all kind of engines but VW or the later engines. We also the roadsters, sprinter and No Cal type super modified. One there were enough Offy's to have a 14 car main. The sound of those cars coming to the green flag brought tears to the eyes of most of us old timers but also big smiles. The sprint car main was wild as our special guest was Parnelli Jones. He drove a Chevy powered sprinter like he used to in fact the "DEMO" race go so heated the through the red and told every one to slow down, wrong thing to do They ended up with 2 10 lap races were the flag ended through his flag in air in defeat as the guys all wanted to be PJ. Didn't happen but the crowd was stand and cheering the whole time at the end they brought all the drivers and car back to the start line and the crowd not only gave PJ and standing O but all the drivers this lasted for a good 5 min. Needless to say the party last late into the evening. Pictures #100 the car I help build an crew on 1971. Offy midget engine . #96 sprinter that PJ drove. 4 Offy Midgets in a trophy dash.
Our West Capitol Raceway Alumni Assoc. has an annual Bar B Que and half a fame induction at the local track that was dirt and is now a paved 3/8 mile oval. We also have Vintage demo races. We usually have a full field of old Midgets, no roll cage but an optional roll bar. The are the old cars from the 30's-60's all kind of engines but VW or the later engines. We also the roadsters, sprinter and No Cal type super modified. One there were enough Offy's to have a 14 car main. The sound of those cars coming to the green flag brought tears to the eyes of most of us old timers but also big smiles. The sprint car main was wild as our special guest was Parnelli Jones. He drove a Chevy powered sprinter like he used to in fact the "DEMO" race go so heated the through the red and told every one to slow down, wrong thing to do They ended up with 2 10 lap races were the flag ended through his flag in air in defeat as the guys all wanted to be PJ. Didn't happen but the crowd was stand and cheering the whole time at the end they brought all the drivers and car back to the start line and the crowd not only gave PJ and standing O but all the drivers this lasted for a good 5 min. Needless to say the party last late into the evening. Pictures #100 the car I help build an crew on 1971. Offy midget engine . #96 sprinter that PJ drove. 4 Offy Midgets in a trophy dash.
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low_48
Member
It's forecast to be the hottest race day in all history. What year was the hottest so far?
Dalecamino
Local Chapter Leader
I never kept track of that, but I do remember one year in the 60s they fried an egg on the track.
low_48
Member
The Weather Channel said today that 1937 was the hottest at 92. They are calling for 94 this year. 1953 was 91, 1919 was 91, 1977 and 78 were 90.
tbroye
Member
When Vuky won the race in the picture many driver had to have relief because of the the heat and one died of heat stroke. Vuky grew up in the Central Valley of CA were summers are HOT. In Indy the have to deal with the humidity also which make it worse. At least now the engines and heat is behind the driver.
This will be the first 500 i've missed since 1991. My dad hasn't missed one since 1965. I love Indy, but it has lost the luster the last few years. I remember when opening day was the first Saturday in May. Me and my dad would drive up and hang out all weekend. You could walk through the pits and talk to any driver, as there was no pressure on them that weekend. Then the second weekend was pole day on saturday and 2nd day qualifying on Sunday. The third weekend was crazy for all the guys that hadn't made the show. The Thursday before the race was Carb Day, last minute setup changes and the pit stop contest. We would always drive up Thursday and come home Sunday night after the race.
Some of the things I remember that have gone away... The Snake Pit (One of the craziest places ever), the V-6 buick, Tom Sneva (Gas Man) breaking the 200 mph barrier, Tom Carnegie announcing over the PA during the race - And Mario is slowing down, Scott Brayton (One of my favorite drivers, next to Rapid Rick Mears), Newman - Haas Racing, and i'm sure there are other things i've left out.
That place will always have a special place in my heart, even if they only race Indy Cars two weeks out of the year now.
Some of the things I remember that have gone away... The Snake Pit (One of the craziest places ever), the V-6 buick, Tom Sneva (Gas Man) breaking the 200 mph barrier, Tom Carnegie announcing over the PA during the race - And Mario is slowing down, Scott Brayton (One of my favorite drivers, next to Rapid Rick Mears), Newman - Haas Racing, and i'm sure there are other things i've left out.
That place will always have a special place in my heart, even if they only race Indy Cars two weeks out of the year now.
IPD_Mr
Member
Yes it is not the same as it was and there are no longer any local hero/drivers. The last race I went to was in 81 and I slept through 95% of the race. I was rather toasted from partying all night waiting to lone up to get in the infield. Now you could not pay me to go. I still miss the front engine roadsters and JimHurtubise. The last guy to try to qualify a roadster and was still driving with cripled hands molded to fit his steering wheel.
In 1964, after suffering serious burns in an accident during the Rex Mays Classic, in Milwaukee, doctors asked Hurtubise how he wanted his hands shaped permanently. "Just make 'em so I can hold a steering wheel," he replied.
He attempted to qualify a front engined car for the Indy 500 every year from 1975 to 1981 but failed to do so in each of those years. On May 21, 1972, on "bump day", he put his Miller Beer sponsored car in line to make a qualification attempt shortly before the closing deadline of 6:00 PM. The time expired before it was his turn to qualify. He then removed the engine cover to reveal that the car had no engine, but five chilled cases of his sponsor's product, which he shared with the other pit crews and race officials. In 1978, he did not meet the certified speed and was denied an attempt to make the race. He sat in Bob Harkey's car and locked the brakes. He then ran on the track until he was apprehended by the police.
In 1964, after suffering serious burns in an accident during the Rex Mays Classic, in Milwaukee, doctors asked Hurtubise how he wanted his hands shaped permanently. "Just make 'em so I can hold a steering wheel," he replied.
He attempted to qualify a front engined car for the Indy 500 every year from 1975 to 1981 but failed to do so in each of those years. On May 21, 1972, on "bump day", he put his Miller Beer sponsored car in line to make a qualification attempt shortly before the closing deadline of 6:00 PM. The time expired before it was his turn to qualify. He then removed the engine cover to reveal that the car had no engine, but five chilled cases of his sponsor's product, which he shared with the other pit crews and race officials. In 1978, he did not meet the certified speed and was denied an attempt to make the race. He sat in Bob Harkey's car and locked the brakes. He then ran on the track until he was apprehended by the police.
tbroye
Member
Good ole Herk. We ran against him here in CA. Nice guy loved to race. He said what was going to happen to Indy and nobody listened and he was right. The guys running Indy were never the local hero's Never heard of most of until the showed up at Indy Clauson is the only I have heard of and that because he drove midget, sprints and dirt cars. The guys of yesteryear were more versatile. You could see a old midget driver at La Mans running a Ford GT or see them on you local dirt track on Saturday night and driving an Indy car on a road course on Sunday. The asked Jackie Stewart one time at Ascot in CA if he wanted to try a Sprint Car he said no, he didn't have a big enough pair. We use to see the F1 guy at Ascot the night before the F1 race in Long Beach. The sheet metal shop I worked at in El Monte was next door to the guy who built Mickey Thompson's Indy car, I spent almost every lunch hour over there. When Hurtibise died he had no insurance or much money to leave his wife. She says she had a dream whe Jim said he will take of her. A short time later some came and bought that old Front Engine Roadster frome her. Tha allowed her to move back to Indy to be near her daughter. That was in the book about him.
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Flaturner
Member
Memories
My best memories were of the races with A.J. Foyt, Roger Ward, and Lloyd Ruby (loved that big Texan).
My best memories were of the races with A.J. Foyt, Roger Ward, and Lloyd Ruby (loved that big Texan).