INDY DIARIES: 'I had zero interest in the Indy 500. I didn't think I was good enough'

Wednesday, 11 May 2016


Robin Miller / Image by IMS Photo Over 99 runnings, the Indianapolis 500 has become the most famous event in motorsport. That iconic status is built on a bedrock of hundreds of small stories, and to celebrate the centennial race, RACER.com has asked some of the people who are part of Indy's fabric to share a few of those stories with us. Check back every day with Tampa Racing between now and race day for a new 'Indy Diary' entry.

It might surprise you to know that at one time Bobby Unser lacked confidence.
"I had zero interest in the Indianapolis 500 because I honestly didn't think I was good enough to go there," said the eventual three-time Indy winner of his mindset in 1963, the year that he made his debut. "I was comfortable at Pikes Peak or in a midget or sprint car, but you had to have a reputation or experience to even be allowed to take a rookie test.
"I'd have never gone to Indianapolis if it hadn't been for Parnelli [Jones]. He found me a ride and then he told Harlan Fengler [chief steward] to give me my test because I was as good as lot of guys out there. Parnelli had a lot of clout, so Fengler listened to him."
Unser's early days in John Chalik's laydown Offy got him through his rookie test but it wasn't up to speed, so a change was made.
"Parnelli quit that ride for me and we walked down pit road to where this yellow Novi had been sitting every day, and there was Andy Granatelli," related Unser of the powerful but temperamental cars with the brutish horsepower. "He told Andy to let me have some laps in it, and Granatelli looked at me and said: 'What makes you think you can drive my car?'
"I really didn't have an answer for that, but he agreed so I ran back to the garage to get my suit and helmet on. A lot of guys were scared of the Novi, but I guess I was too dumb to know any better. But I went fast in it, right away, like the first couple of laps, and Andy offered me the ride."
Unser, who had been sleeping on Jones' couch because he had no money, then asked the man who would go on to win the 1963 Indy 500 a pertinent question.
"I was broke, I didn't have anything, so I asked Rufus if I should get paid and, if so, how much should I ask for. He told me of course, and I should tell Andy I needed $10,000. Now this is 1963 and $10,000 was a fortune, so I wanted Parnelli to go ask for me, but he wouldn't. So I went down and ask for $10,000, and came back with $1,000."
Unser's debut was short-lived, as he crashed on Lap 2. "Somebody braked early and I either hit him in the butt or hit the wall, so I turned right and got the fence." But his career was off and running.
"I was a 29-year-old rookie but I became famous overnight, not because of Bobby Unser, but because of the Novi," he said. "It was in every paper, and that really got me going. And it was all because Parnelli Jones thought I deserved a chance."

 

INDY DIARIES: Parnelli's redemption song

Friday, 13 May 2016


Mark Glendenning / Image by IMS

Over 99 runnings, the Indianapolis 500 has become the most famous event in motorsport. That iconic status is built on a bedrock of hundreds of small stories, and to celebrate the centennial race, RACER.com has asked some of the people who are part of Indy's fabric to share a few of those stories with us. Check back every day with Tampa Racing between now and race day for a new 'Indy Diary' entry.
Any Indy 500 win is special, but for Parnelli Jones, victory in 1963 was the perfect antidote for the pain of having victory slip away a year earlier. Even so, Jones still had to survive a post-race protest from Lotus's Colin Chapman, whose car finished second in the hands of Jim Clark. Chapman was convinced that Jones was spared the black flag because he was American.

"Winning the Indy 500 in 1963 was the highlight of my career. But in my rookie year, 1961, I led for 27 laps until I lost a cylinder, and in 1962 I had almost a lap lead when I lost the brakes. Not winning that race really hurt me, maybe more than losing with the turbine because I hadn't won Indy yet at that point. [ED: In 1967, Jones led all afternoon before suffering a mechanical failure with three laps to go],
"What also happened in my rookie year was, I came out of Turn 4, lost it, and I was barely able to save it. The tires were tall, so when you started sliding it would kind of roll the rubber under. And with the weight being on the left-hand-side, when it quit sliding and stood up ... Jack Turner flipped down the straightaway the year before when his car did that.
"They used to have a saying at that time: if you get it sideways, go ahead and spin it out. And it was to keep the car from doing that. But I corrected it, and almost did the same thing. And right then I learned something, and I said to myself that next time, I'm going to know what that feeling is going to be [when the car starts to step out].
"When I came back testing for 1963 ... you'd have understeer coming off the corner, which killed your straightaway speed. But I could come off looser, and that was the difference to what everyone else had. I had everybody covered by at least a mile an hour. And I did all the tire testing before that race, so when the time came, it was like everybody else was running under a yellow flag or something.
"Most of the race was pretty straightforward, but towards the end my oil tank cracked and started leaking oil onto my left-rear tire. Pretty close to the end, I nearly spun it. I slowed down and after two or three laps it finally quit doing it. Of course, what had happened was that the oil capacity had finally dropped below the crack. It quit spilling out and I picked up speed, and I ran some of my fastest laps after that.
"After the race I found out that the officials were talking about black-flagging me. I had no knowledge of that at the time I was in the car – there were no radio communications. The win did feel better coming off the back of the disappointment of the year before. It gave me some redemption. Although the controversy afterwards did put a bit of a black mark against it."

 

INDY DIARIES: Mears '79 - pole, win ... and a lesson in perspective from AJ

Thursday, 12 May 2016


Marshall Pruett / Images by LAT and IMS
Over 99 runnings, the Indianapolis 500 has become the most famous event in motorsport. That iconic status is built on a bedrock of hundreds of small stories, and to celebrate the centennial race, RACER.com has asked some of the people who are part of Indy's fabric to share a few of those stories with us. Check back every day with Tampa Racing between now and race day for a new 'Indy Diary' entry.

As one of only three four-time winners of the Indy 500, Rick Mears is very much part of Indianapolis folklore. But when he won for the first time in 1979, it took a while for the scale of the achievement to hit home.
"The 1979 win (Mears, No. 9, passing Tom Sneva, below right) happened so quickly for me. It was my second time running [at Indy], and it was, 'great, we've won another race'. We'd won a few races before that one and we'd sat on the front row the first year [1978] and probably had a shot at winning that one.
"Winning pole was almost as big a thrill as winning the race. Nobody expected it. I didn't expect it – it was my first pole, not just at Indy, but anywhere in IndyCar. So that was huge to me. I've always loved qualifying at Indy; it was always one of the most pressure-packed but fun and gratifying things to do. And then to turn around and win the race ...
"I remember talking to people afterwards and they said, 'Man, what's wrong with you? You ought to be doing double backflips.' And I was, 'I am excited, really.' But I didn't appreciate what it meant to win the race, because it was so new to me. I didn't know the history, I didn't know how difficult it was. I'd learn that later with time. Obviously I appreciated the win and was excited about it, but I remember my wife at the time saying to me after we'd left the track, 'What's wrong, why aren't you excited?.' And I said, 'I am excited, but I didn't win it. Bobby [Unser] broke before I had a chance to pass him.' So I didn't win the race.
"I ran into Foyt right after that at one of the other races, and I said, 'AJ, I didn't win that race'. And he just start laughing. He said, 'Mears, you take them anyway you can get them. You're going to lose more that way than you are going to win.'"

 

INDYCAR: 'All we need is a car' for Grace entry

Thursday, 12 May 2016


Marshall Pruett / Image by IMS
Grace Autosport team owner Beth Paretta (above, left) has kept quiet while putting the final touches on her Indy 500 program, and tells RACER there's only one obstacle left to overcome.
"All we need is a car," she said. "We have our driver Katherine Legge (above, right) ready to go, we've had a signed contract and amazing support from our engine partner for months, we have full funding, and we have an experienced team to run our program. But we haven't been able to get our hands on a car. If we had a car, we'd be in Gasoline Alley getting ready for the start of practice."
The Grace team has explored a number of partnerships with existing teams, and looked at acquiring the AFS Racing chassis that went up for sale this week, but reported the amount of work required to assemble and complete the car could consume most – or all – of the time available prior to qualifying.
It leaves Paretta continuing her search for a team that would be willing to lease a complete spare chassis to Grace for the Indy 500 and, possibly, to explore a business relationship beyond the month of May.
"Our sponsors and our engine supplier are ready for Grace Autosport to continue after Indy, and if there's a team that is open to working together starting now, and for a few more races this year, that would be the best-case scenario," she added.
"But we need to get to Indy first, and either way, whether it's just for the one race or for more, having someone say 'yes' to making a car available is the starting point. A car is the only part of the puzzle we're missing."
--------------------------------------------------------

Two days later:




[h=2]INDYCAR: Grace suspends Indy 500 plans[/h] Tuesday, 17 May 2016


Mark Glendenning / Image by LAT
Grace Autosport has confirmed that it will not make an attempt to contest this year's Indianapolis 500.
The Beth Paretta-led team overcame numerous setbacks in its attempt to pull a program together to run Katherine Legge, and by late last week it had all of the pieces in place except for a chassis. However in a statement released by the team on Wednesday morning, Paretta said that all avenues for a viable car have been exhausted.
"We met with many teams in the IndyCar paddock late last season to determine partnership feasibility and discovered numerous teams had chosen to scale back their plans for 2016," said Paretta (above). "We were ready to announce a team partnership for the Indy 500 at the Grand Prix of Long Beach in mid-April but a change in terms proved unsound for Grace's sponsor partners and unfortunately we had to step away from the deal.
"The consolidation of teams and the decrease of entries in 2016 reduced the available options for us. Our partner spoke with Dallara about buying a new car after Long Beach but there wasn't a current 2016 car available in time for the 500. We evaluated an available chassis as late as last week, but there wasn't enough time to acquire all the needed parts to rebuild the car safely. Because of this sequence of events, we will not campaign a car in this year's Indy 500."
Despite having to halt the team's 2016 Indy 500 plans, Paretta said that the Grace Autosport project remains active.
"As I said last summer, Grace Autosport was not interested in just making the grid and running at the back," she said. "We wanted to put forth a respectable effort and we wanted to be competitive, while keeping safety at the very forefront of our program. We apologize to the many fans that have reached out to offer their support, which has been incredible. The good news is that we will not give up and are now working closely with our partners to map out Grace's future."
"The Grace Autosport initiative is far more than a race program. Concurrent to building the race team, we have been assembling commercial partners and the essential pieces for our STEM educational initiatives to reach the community and the classroom that we set forth a year ago. Thank you again to the many fans for the continued notes of support and appreciation since our announcement last May. We look forward to seeing all of you at the races in the near future."

While the suspension of Grace's Indy 500 program likely ends Legge's hopes of being on the grid for the 100th running, the Briton (with Paretta, above) will race a Michael Shank Racing Ligier-Honda in the IMSA round at Belle Isle the following weekend.

 

Formed years ago, Tampa Racing.com was founded on the principles......

Formed years ago, Tampa Racing.com was founded on the principles of encouraging restoration, repair or modification of special interest vehicles. Over 102,000 members strong, Tampa Racing has no national affiliation, but you will likely find its members among any number of automotive organizations including the National Street Rod Association, Mustang Club of America, Goodguys, Florida Mopar Association, Corvette Club of America, to name a few. The type of vehicles found amongst the members varies from restored early 1900's vintage automobiles, to street rods from the 30’s and 40’s, to muscle cars from the 60’s and 70’s, to present day front-wheel-drive imports and motorcycles. With the wide range of vehicles come varying degrees of modifications from bone stock to big block Pro Street monsters. There truly is something to satisfy every automotive taste.

As with the vehicles there are varying activities that the members undertake ranging from weekly cruise nights and car meets, to cruises through the countryside, cookout get-togethers, Christmas parties, open track days, organized races, beach concerts and frequent car shows. The shows are perhaps the most popular venue for many ofthe members who engage in showing their cars at almost every opportunity. Tampa Racing also co-sponsors and/or supports select charity car shows, community events. This is a way of giving back to the local communities.

So come along and join Tampa Racing where you will always be a member of the family whether at a cruise night, car meet or on the highway. And remember life is good friends, a clean ride, and the open road in front of you.

 

INDY DIARIES: Bobby versus the turbines

Sunday, 15 May 2016


By Robin Miller
Over 99 runnings, the Indianapolis 500 has become the most famous event in motorsport. That iconic status is built on a bedrock of hundreds of small stories, and to celebrate the centennial race, RACER.com has asked some of the people who are part of Indy's fabric to share a few of those stories with us. Check back with Tampa Racing every day between now and race day for a new 'Indy Diary' entry.

In 1968, Bobby Unser was the fastest driver powered by an Offenhauser engine and riding on Goodyear tires, but he was the prohibitive underdog to Andy Granatelli's Firestone-shod turbine cars.

"I really figured they were going to annihilate us," reflected Unser of the three-pronged STP armada of Joe Leonard, Graham Hill and Art Pollard. "They had more power and four-wheel drive."

But, early on, the man that started on the outside of Row 1 realized he and his Rislone Eagle/Offy had a fighting chance.

"I followed Joe for a while and then saw I was running faster, so I waited and then smoked him on the front straightaway so Andy could see it," he says with a laugh. "I figured that would wake him up and he'd come right back by me, but it didn't happen."

What did happen is Unser's transmission got stuck in fourth gear, which made leaving the pits after a stop agonizingly slow. Despite leading 127 laps, Unser found himself trailing Leonard on a restart with nine laps to go before the turbine broke down.

"I was still going to catch him and win the race," declares Unser. "I cheated a little bit on the restart and got a good run so I figured I would have caught him on the white flag lap.
"Don't get me wrong, I was happy Joe dropped out, but I was still going to win that race."

 

The Beast was the nickname of a shocking new race engine unveiled for the 1994 Indianapolis 500. The massive effort to design and build it in a seemingly impossible timeframe is still hailed as one of the most herculean efforts and well-kept secrets in the history of the Indy 500. In the new book, Beast, bestselling author Jade Gurss chronicles the subterfuge and debunks the myths about this legendary engine that persist twenty years on.



Gurss interviewed key players involved in the race to undercover the story of how this engine powered the Penske PC23 chassis to one of the most talked-about Indy 500 races in history. The British race-engine experts at Ilmor Engineering offer detail about the design and manufacture of the engine. Roger Penske’s team reveals how the engine and car were tested and developed, and how Mercedes came to be involved in the project. The story unfolds as Roger Penske and Mario Illien and Paul Morgan of Ilmor play every card they possess to create an incredible race engine--even rare World War II fighter planes and supersonic jets roar into the heart of this high-tech tale. Drivers Al Unser Jr., Emerson Fittipaldi, and Paul Tracy provide details on the tense weeks leading up race day. The book reaches a suspenseful climax at 240 miles per hour at the Indy 500 noone can forget.



Wrapped up in the drama and intrigue are real business and motivational lessons which made Roger Penske one of the most successful businessmen in the world and that helped Ilmor and its cofounders, Mario Illien and the late Paul Morgan, design and manufacture Indy car and Formula 1 championship–winning engines. Beast is not only a must-read for sports and race fans, but a compelling narrative for those who enjoy genuine lessons in business and technology or thrilling mysteries based on actual events.

 

INDY DIARIES: Trials and tribulations of the rookie test

Saturday, 14 May 2016

by Robin Miller Over 99 runnings, the Indianapolis 500 has become the most famous event in motorsport. That iconic status is built on a bedrock of hundreds of small stories, and to celebrate the centennial race, RACER.com has asked some of the people who are part of Indy's fabric to share a few of those stories with us. Check back with Tampa Racing every day between now and race day for a new 'Indy Diary' entry.

A rookie at Indianapolis in the 1950s or 1960s came under immense scrutiny from fellow drivers and the United States Auto Club officials.

"You had to run two or three [Champ Car] races before you even qualified for an Indy test," said A.J. Foyt. "Before I even got to Indianapolis I had bumped Pat O'Connor out of a race at Springfield [in 1957] and they [USAC] said, 'we want you to know right now that we are going to watch every move you make today on the race track'.

"I raced that day with my heart beating, and when [Tony] Bettenhausen and somebody else passed me up high, I made sure I stayed out of everybody's way. I mean, they would send you home."

And if you were OK'd to take a test at Indy, it was more reason to be nervous.

"If you made any kind of mistake taking your test, got out of shape or anything, and they turned on the yellow, you went home until next year," said Super Tex. "A guy named Leon Clum did something, they flunked him and he came back next year. But he'd lost one eye and he never made it.

"Eddie Sachs was a damn good driver, and they sent him home."

 

INDY DIARIES: Remembering Scott Brayton

Tuesday, 17 May 2016


Mark Glendenning / Image by IMS Photo
Over 99 runnings, the Indianapolis 500 has become the most famous event in motorsport. That iconic status is built on a bedrock of hundreds of small stories, and to celebrate the centennial race, RACER.com has asked some of the people who are part of Indy's fabric to share a few of those stories with us. Check back with Tampa Racing every day between now and race day for a new 'Indy Diary' entry.

In 1996, Scott Brayton qualified on pole for the Indy 500 for the second year straight. And he scored some bonus style points along the way: despite already having a second-row grid spot locked down, the Menard team dramatically scrapped Brayton's lap in the last half-hour and sent him out again in a back-up car. Any mistake could have derailed his entire Month of May, but four perfect laps later, Brayton was in P1, and erstwhile polesitter Arie Luyendyk was left wondering what the heck had just happened.
Less than a week later, and 20 years ago today, Brayton was dead from injuries sustained when his car suffered a right-rear puncture and snapped into the wall at Turn 2. Larry Curry, who was Brayton's crew chief, tells the story.
"We were out running race setups. Qualifying was over, and back then you had two weekends of qualifying, and we were on the pole, so we were just out there running race set-ups. Our race set-up with that Buick car at that time was still out there running right at 230 [mph]. So when the tire went down on the right-rear, there was just no chance to catch it.
"I knew how bad it was when Scott never responded to me ... I kept saying, 'Scott, are you OK? Are you OK?' And I wasn't getting any response. His dad, Lee, was in the pit with me, and of course he had a radio. Lee looked at me, and I looked at him, and I said, 'Lee, we'd better get over to there and find out what's going on.' You don't know at that time whether he'd just knocked the radio out of the car, or what happened. But once we got over there he wasn't even there, because they took him straight to the hospital.
"It was very, very unfortunate. Scott wasn't just my driver. He and I had formed a really strong bond; a really good relationship. I knew his family; he and his wife Becky had had a little girl, and it was just unbelievably gut-wrenching to go through all that. It was a tough time. We all took buses up to Michigan for Scotty's funeral ... it was just an emotional rollercoaster. Of all the different drivers I ran in my career, nobody was as passionate about Indy as him.
"I ended up putting Danny Ongias in the car for the race. I had to get a driver, and back then the rule was that you couldn't put a rookie in the car; you had to find a driver that had at least started the Indy 500 before. Well, there were only two guys that I could come up with, and that was Al [Unser] Sr, and Danny. And Al Sr wasn't going to come out of retirement to do it. So I got Danny on the phone.
"It was so hard, the first day that we took that car out to run it without him in it. I knew Scott well enough – and I know you hear this cliché a lot – but Scott knew how hard we'd work to build a pole position car, and he would have wanted to see that car race.
"I think Danny finished seventh after starting dead last. He got out there and just kept his nose clean. Actually, he spun it once during the race, on a restart. Those Buicks were sensitive when you got on the throttle; they'd light the tires up like a dragster. So you had to be careful to kind of even the boost into it. He did an incredible job."

 

Scott Brayton

Brayton started second at the 1985 Indy 500 in his family-run March-Buick.


1984 March-Buick - started 26th, finished 18th.


Rookie Scott in 1981 in a Penske powered by his dad's stock-block Buick.


Ford XB power in his Amway Lola in 1993 netted sixth-place finish at Indy.


Brayton's stint in CART with Dick Simon included this colorful Amway Lola in 1991.


1991 Lola-Chevy, Dick Simon Racing


Brayton joined Team Menard in 1994 to drive its in house-developed Buick-powered Lolas at Indy.


1996: Pole at Indy, then tragedy