Live and Drive The Indy 500

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Published on May 14, 2013







The highlight film. Fair Use.

 

Earnhardt Jr. to drive Indy 500 pace car

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By: RACER Staff | 21 hours ago


NASCAR legend and NBC Sports motorsports analyst Dale Earnhardt Jr. will drive the 2019 Corvette Grand Sport Official Pace Car for the 103rd Indianapolis 500, the Speedway announced Friday. The announcement means that Earnhardt will perform a dual role for the event, also serving as an NBC Sports commentator for the network’s first live Indy 500 telecast.

“I was already excited to attend my first Indianapolis 500 with NBC Sports, but driving the pace car just takes it to another level,” Earnhardt said. “The Corvette Grand Sport is an awesome car, and it’s an honor to be asked to lead the field to the green flag.

“I’m proud to be a part of such a prestigious event at a place that means so much to racing history. This will be an experience that I’ll cherish forever.”

This will be the second time Earnhardt has led the field to the green flag of a major race at IMS. He also drove the pace car at last September’s Brickyard 400.

“It is exciting that Dale Earnhardt Jr. is going to lead the Indy 500 field to the green flag,” said Jim Campbell, Chevrolet U.S. vice president of performance vehicles and motorsports. “With Dale joining the Indy 500 broadcast crew for the first time, pacing the field in the 2019 Corvette Grand Sport will give him a unique perspective to share with the viewers. We are honored that Dale will add Indy 500 Pace Car driver to his long legacy with Chevrolet.”

This year marks the 16th time a Corvette has served as the Indianapolis 500 pace car, starting in 1978, and the 30th time a Chevrolet has led the field dating back to 1948, when a 1948 Fleetmaster Six convertible paced the race. No other brand or vehicle has served as the “500” pace car more than Chevrolet and the Corvette, respectively.


Corvette, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Indy 500, Pace Car, IndyCar

 

Tying some racing history together
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How Roger Penske changed the Indy 500 - the complete series

Image by Levitt/LAT


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By: Marshall Pruett May 27, 2019 1:51 PM


Daily during the two weeks leading up to this year’s 103rd Indianapolis 500, RACER.com presented a fresh episode of the 15-part podcast series, ‘How Roger Penske Changed The Indy 500′. The series celebrated the most successful entrant in Indianapolis Motor Speedway history, culminating on the 50th anniversary of his team’s first appearance in 1969 and, as it turned out, on the day of another Team Penske Indy 500 triumph courtesy an on-form Simon Pagenaud.

In case you missed any of the episodes, here are links to all 15:

Related

How Roger Penske changed the Indy 500, Ep 15, with rivals Rahal, Brown and Hull

How Roger Penske changed the Indy 500, Ep 14, with Helio Castroneves

How Roger Penske changed the Indy 500, Ep 13, with Tim Cindric

How Roger Penske changed the Indy 500, Ep 12, with Derrick Walker

How Roger Penske changed the Indy 500, Ep 11, with Al Unser Jr.

How Roger Penske changed the Indy 500, Ep 10, with Jon Bouslog

How Roger Penske changed the Indy 500, episode 9, with Paul Ray

How Roger Penske changed the Indy 500, episode 8, with Jade Gurss

How Roger Penske changed the Indy 500, episode 7, with Nigel Bennett

How Roger Penske changed the Indy 500, episode 6, with Chuck Sprague

How Roger Penske changed the Indy 500, episode 5, with Rick Mears

How Roger Penske changed the Indy 500, episode 4, with Mario Andretti

How Roger Penske changed the Indy 500, episode 3, with Bobby Unser

How Roger Penske changed the Indy 500, episode 2, with Robin Miller

How Roger Penske changed the Indy 500, episode 1

Indy 500, Roger Penske, IndyCar, Podcasts

 

Dallenbach, Ickx among 2020 Motorsports HoF of America inductees

Image by IMS archive


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By: Robin Miller 23 hours ago


Wally Dallenbach, an Indy 500 veteran turned race official who brought safety to the forefront of open-wheel racing and two of the biggest men in motorsports, literally and figuratively, Tiny Lund and Ivan “Ironman” Stewart, head the 2020 Motorsports Hall of Fame of America.

In one of the largest classes in recent history, motorcycle maven Chris Carr, stock car champ Red Byron, car owner Rick Hendrick, publisher Floyd Clymer, drag racer George Montgomery and the versatile Jacky Ickx join that trio above and will be inducted March 16-17 at Daytona Beach, Fla.

Dallenbach (pictured at Indy in 1975), a 13-time starter at Indianapolis before becoming the respected chief steward of Championship Auto Racing Teams in 1979, became appalled at the lax conditions of safety at many tracks, so he organized a special safety team of firemen and paramedics that began traveling to all CART races in the early ’80s. It set the standard for motorsports worldwide, and that model and the professional responders helped save the lives of Alex Zanardi, Mikhail Aleshin and James Hinchcliffe.

 

Tying some racing history together
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See it before it goes away.

 

The Unsers: Through Tragedy and Success to Victory Lane

Indianapolis, IN — One of the most iconic families in the history of auto racing is being honored by the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum with a once-in-a-lifetime exhibit, The Amazing Unsers: From Albuquerque to Indianapolis. The display opened April 9 and runs through Oct. 28.


Photo: Fritz Frommeyer

Fritz Frommeyer’s column in the current May/June Vintage Motorsport issue (18.3) provides additional insight on the exhibit.


Twenty-five cars that the Unser family drove in competition are on display, including eight of the nine that took them to victory in the Indianapolis 500, starting with the Rislone Eagle that powered Bobby Unser to victory 50 years ago next month.


“For the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum to honor my family is just tremendous. It’s really hard to put into words how much it actually means,” said Al Unser Jr., two-time Indianapolis 500 winner. “As you go through the exhibit, you’ll see my dad’s career, my uncle Bobby’s career, my whole family’s career on display here; it’s just a huge honor and we’re very excited and we truly hope everyone enjoys what we’ve put our heart and soul into.”


In addition to several of the IndyCars made famous by the Unsers, many incredible machines representing their career in USAC, road racing and NASCAR are on display, some for the first time. Also included is rare memorabilia from the drivers and an audio tour, hosted by Al Unser, Al Unser Jr., Bobby Unser, Parnelli Jones and Roger Penske.


“Every wall and room in my house is filled with racing memorabilia — even the kitchen,” said Bobby Unser, three-time Indianapolis 500 winner. “I have sent some very special items to Indianapolis to share with everyone — from each of my three Indianapolis 500 wins, Pikes Peak, National Championships, Champ cars, sprint cars, Formula 1 and lots of other special races,” he said.


Get museum hours and admission info.

 

Honoring the architect of Rodger Ward's strangest win

In July of 1959 a race was staged at Lime Rock Park which, according to the wonderful story written by Brock Yates for Car & Driver in 1999, was supposed to elevate the status of sports cars and road racing. Instead of running for trophies, there was to be a sizeable cash purse in hopes of attracting name drivers instead of doctors and lawyers. And it did, as Mexico’s heroes Pedro and Ricardo Rodriguez were entered, along with Indy 500 stars Duane Carter and Bettenhausen. But Brenn had no plans to run until he got a phone call. Image by Don Cooke; courtesy Dave Nichols/Barcboys.com


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By: Robin Miller | July 30, 2019 2:16 PM


Ken Brenn is one of the most decorated car owners in open-wheel history, with a career that spans six decades and includes a phone book’s worth of talent behind the wheel.

During his years of owning, towing, wrenching and maintaining midgets, sprints and Indy cars, Brenn won a lot of races with guys like Tony Bettenhausen, Don Branson, Bobby Unser, Pancho Carter, Larry Dickson, Len Duncan, Johnny Coy, Jack Turner, Jiggs Peters, Bruce Walkup and Jimmy Caruthers. He also gave Mark Donohue his first-ever ride in a rear-engine midget.

For the next three nights Kyle Larson, will wheel a midget for Keith Kunz honoring the 92-year-old Brenn as part of USAC’s Pennsylvania Midget Week. But one of the best chapters of this New Jersey native’s career came compliments of Rodger Ward in a very unlikely pairing that produced a very unlikely victory.

“I came home one night and my wife Dottie told me that Rodger Ward had called,” said Brenn, who was in the business of building roads to feed his racing habit. “Well, he’d just won Indy and was a big star, and he didn’t know me from Adam. I didn’t believe her, so I didn’t call him back right away. Besides, I couldn’t afford to hire a guy like Ward, he’d want too much money.”

Well, they finally connected, and Ward revealed he was to get $2,000 in appearance fees so he suggested splitting that with Brenn and taking 40 percent of what he won in the race. A deal was made and they finally met just before Ward strapped in for the first practice session. “He was right at the track record in just a few laps,” recalled Brenn, who attends the IndyCar race at Pocono every year.

Oh yeah, one small detail that needs to be pointed out. Ward was driving a Kurtis-Kraft midget with an Offenhauser engine and a standard in-and-out gearbox against the Aston Martins, Ferraris and Maseratis.

Image by Don Cooke; courtesy Dave Nichols/Barcboys.com


After Ward broke John Fitch’s track record and won the pole position, the captain of the Maserati team, Rex Wingate, congratulated Brenn and then predicted his car wouldn’t be around at the end because the track would kill their brakes. The program called for a pair of 20-lap heats followed by a 60-lapper.

“Rodger cooled it in the first one and finished third and then we won the second heat and we changed brakes after each race,” continued Brenn, who still possess a fantastic memory and looks as good as he thinks. “We had to load it up with fuel for the main event, so we dropped back at the start while we burned off some fuel.”

But when Ward passed an Aston Martin on the outside to take the lead a third of way into the finale, he immediately began pulling away.

“Tony Bettenhausen had got out of the car he was supposed to drive because it was a dog, so he was running our pit board,” said Brenn, chuckling at the memory of the USAC national champion volunteering for that job. “Rodger had a five or six second lead but Tony kept putting up one second, and I kept asking him why. He said ‘because Ward is lazy and we don’t want him relaxing too much.’”

When the checkered flag fell, the Indy champ and his mighty midget had dusted the field and humbled the sports cars on their own turf.

“Ward had a Champ Car race the next day so he had a helicopter waiting on him, and after we shook hands he told me he’d just keep all the deal money and I could have all the purse,” said Brenn. “Well, it was $4,900, and that was a haul in 1959.”

The 6-foot trophy that supposedly went to the winning team had vanished shortly after the victory celebration, so Brenn tracked it down. “A few Mexicans were taking it apart and loading it into a box, and I yelled at them that it belonged to me,” he said. “They said ‘No, this is Pedro’s (Rodriguez) trophy, he was supposed to win and if he doesn’t get it, nobody does.’

“So I didn’t get the trophy, but I got one of the most satisfying wins of my life and a damn good payday. No midget race ever paid like that.”


IndyCar

 

Photo: Mathieu Heurtault (Gooding & Company)

1931 Studebaker Special Indy Car

 

Vintage Indy Registry Notches Successful Open Wheel Icons Event

by Cyndi Paceley

Madison, IL — Vintage Indy Registry’s Aug. 23-24 Open Wheel Icons weekend at Worldwide Technology Raceway at Gateway drew 28 cars from across the United States. The second annual event was held in conjunction with IndyCar’s Bommarito Automotive Group 500.

Photo: Kent Kriegshauser


All of the Vintage Indy Registry cars completed more than two hours of track time, and two of them were piloted by former Indianapolis 500 drivers.



The oldest car, presented by James Mills of Marshall, IL., was the 1932 Hupp Comet, the only Huppmobile-powered car in the 500’s history — driven to 5th place in the 1932 race by Russ Snowberger. Also gracing the paddock was the 1968 Indy pole-winning STP Turbine, the 1972 AAR Olsonite Eagle and the famed M24 “Bud” McLaren.

Photo: Kent Kriegshauser


The Genesee Beer Wagon Eagle was driven by two-time 500 winner Al Unser Jr., while the 1987 STP True Value March had Robby McGehee in the cockpit.



And 17-year-old rising NASCAR star Jagger Jones — son of P.J. Jones and grandson of 1963 Indy 500 winner Parnelli Jones — ran a session in Dr. Bob Dicks’ (of Greenwood, Ind.) 1963 “Old Calhoun/Willard Battery Special” Parnelli Jones tribute car.

Photo: Kent Kriegshauser


Six of Dan Gurney’s AAR Eagles were entered, including the 1968 G.C. Murphy Special, the 1969 Smokey Yunick/Joe Leonard Santa Ana City of Daytona Beach and the late Jim McElreath’s 1973 Circle City Coal Eagle. Chuck Jones of Stevensville, MI., took home the Dan Gurney AAR Award for best-appearing Eagle with his stunning 1983 former Steve Chassey Genesee Beer Wagon Eagle.

Photo: Kent Kriegshauser


The Vintage Indy Registry was founded in 2017 by Michael Lashmett and associate Ron Nelson, and is dedicated to the history and preservation of Indianapolis Championship Cars from 1911-1997. Through the collective efforts of enthusiasts, specialists and professionals, the Registry’s goal is ensure that these cars are more broadly appreciated and their history correctly preserved for future generations. The Registry represents each individual car’s carefully and accurately documented legacy with information assembled from museums, collections and individual owners of “The Greatest Cars in Racing.”