I'm a retired educator and lifelong racing fan. I hope to return to fostering greyhounds in the near future. Living mainly in Indy and wintering in Florida. I attend about 10 Indycar races a year as well as some sports car events
INDYCAR Announces Update to 2021 NTT INDYCAR SERIES Schedule
Series to return to popular Streets of St. Petersburg in AprilINDIANAPOLIS (Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021) – INDYCAR officials have announced the 2021 Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg is being rescheduled for Sunday, April 25 due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The move creates a condensed, action-packed early-season schedule for 2021. The NTT INDYCAR SERIES returns to the Streets of St. Petersburg after Josef Newgarden’s thrilling win last October, which culminated with Scott Dixon’s sixth series title. NBC will remain as the television home of this year’s race on the tight, demanding street layout. “It’s not surprising that an event of this magnitude, scheduled for the first week of March, is still subject to the implications of the pandemic,” Penske Entertainment Corp. President and CEO Mark Miles said. “We’re delighted we were able to work with Mayor Rick Kriseman’s administration and Green Savoree Racing Promotions to find a more suitable date, which helps consolidate the beginning of our schedule and allows us to stay on NBC network television.” Due to the move, Barber Motorsports Park becomes the host of the season opener as the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama will raise the curtain on the 2021 season. The Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg will mark the 18th NTT INDYCAR SERIES event in the Sunshine City. The traditional season opener since 2011 and a fan favorite on the INDYCAR schedule, the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg received a three-year title sponsorship extension from Bridgestone Americas, Inc. last October. “We appreciate the officials at INDYCAR for their support in setting a new date for the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, and also to Mayor Kriseman and his team at the City of St. Petersburg for identifying a time when it will be conducive for more fans to attend,” said Kim Green, co-owner, chairman and CEO of GSSP, organizers of the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. “We are grateful to keep the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg in the springtime window and also maintain the live national broadcast coverage of the race on NBC.” An updated listing of green flag times for the 2021 NTT INDYCAR SERIES schedule will be announced at a later date.
Indycar is considering pushing the opening of the season into April. The Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg is set to start the 2021 NTT Indycar Series the weekend of March 5-7. At that time attendance restrictions will likely still be in place. By moving the race to late April the series and Green Savoree Promotions are hoping for fewer restrictions as more COVID vaccinations will have been given by then. Green Savoree lost two races last season, Toronto and Portland. They hosted a double header weekend at Mid Ohio with just 6,000 fans a day and held the St. Pete race as the season finale with a limited number of fans.
The Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach, originally set for April 18, is now the season finale September 26.
The new calendar may have Barber moving back a week as well and serving as the season opener. Currently slotted for the weekend of April9-11, Barber would move to April 17-18, followed by St. Pete the following weekend. Through 2011, St. Pete and Barber were on back to back weekends.
St. Pete has not put tickets on sale as of yet with the race scheduled about eight weeks away. This tells that that something is going on. The decision needs to be made soon, since the track build would have to begin around the first if February.
Other series have either postponed or placed restrictions on their early events. Formula1 has postponed the first race, the Australian Grand prix to a yet to be determined date later in the season. IMSA has modified attendance and infield access for the Rolex 24. The Tulsa Shootout and the Chili Bowl will go on as scheduled with limited attendance and restricted fan access. The Tulsa health department will monitor the Shootout and may shut down the Chili Bowl if rules including mask wearing are not enforced.
Changes at the Rolex 24 Hours
Changes for the Rolex 24 emailed to ticket holders two weeks ago:
Unfortunately because of these required protocols, the following experiences have been cancelled:
Garage Access
Fan access to grid walk and ballfield for pre-race festivities
Infield Tent Camping
Infield Car Camping
GEICO Park West Tent Camping
Café 24 Breakfast
All 2021 Rolex 24 At DAYTONA 2-Day or 4-Day admissions are still on your account and will be available to download/print approximately two weeks before the event as we will not be mailing tickets or camping passes in 2021. This also includes your free admission to the Roar Before the Rolex 24, January 22-24. For more information on how to access your tickets using Tickets @ Home, click here. For our guests with a cancelled experience, we understand this news is disappointing and we have placed a credit on your account for the cancelled experiences.
We recognize that many factors, including your ability to travel, may have been impacted by the pandemic, and we want you to understand your options as you make decisions related to attending the 2021 Rolex 24. Please carefully read your options below based on your specific Rolex 24 At DAYTONA experience.
We thank you in advance for your cooperation in keeping everyone safe.
RV CAMPING INFO
RV Campers will be limited to six people per campsite, and all RVs must be self-contained as shower facilities will be closed. In addition, for the safety of our competitors and staff, the garages, paddock and pit road will be closed to fans, and the grid walk and ballfield access will be also be closed to fans for the 2021 event. As a result, Garage access is no longer included with the 4-day admission. We understand this news is disappointing, and we have placed a credit on your account amounting to 20% of your 4-day admissions.
Four day parking is available for $60. Cars must leave the track at the close of each day’s activities. This does not apply to race day.
The Superstar Racing Experience, a new series founded by Tony Stewart and Ray Evernham, revealed its schedule today. The series features former and current Indycar drivers Stewart, Helio Castroneves, Tony Kanaan, Willy T. Ribbs, and Paul Tracy. Former F1 driver Mark Webber also will drive in the series.
His racing career cut short by injuries. Aldo Andretti still attended races and supported his twin brother’ s career as well as the careers of his son John and the rest of the family.
Aldo and Mario began racing as teenagers, sharing a car they had built. His son, John, died in January after a battle with colon cancer. The statement released by Andretti Autosport is at this link:
John Paul, Jr. began winning at 19 years old when he made the SCCA Runoffs, then immediately took IMSA by storm. He won the Daytona 24 Hours and Sebring in 1982 on his way to the IMSA GT championship. In 1983 Paul won the CART Michigan 500, passing Rick Mears on the final lap. I’m hard pressed to find someone else who won a race that way. He raced in two eras of Indycar, and also tried stock cars.
The Muncie, Indiana native had all the makings of a rising star. His career came to an abrupt halt in 1986 when he was convicted on a drug trafficking charge. Paul spent 2 and a half years in prison. When his racing career resumed, the bigger teams and sponsors shied away from him.
He drove in seven Indianapolis 500s, scattered over a period 16 years. Paul’s rookie year, 1985, ended with a lap 164 accident. His best finish was his final 500 when he was seventh in 1998.
Paul won the IRL race at Texas in 1998 driving for Team Pelfrey. He also had a brief foray into NASCAR in 1991.
Paul retired in 2002 after contracting Huntington’s disease.
Photo: Charlie Wiggins, star of the Colored Speedway Association
Indycar took a significant step forward last month with the announcement of the Race for Equality and change initiative, a program to bring more minority drivers into auto racing. This is a good step in the right direction. I also think Indycar should follow Major league Baseball’s lead and recognize the drivers of the Colored Speedway Association. Major League Baseball has awarded the Negro Leagues major league status. I think the CSA drivers deserve the same recognition.
The American Automobile Association ruled open wheel racing in the United States with an iron hand. Drivers who participated in non AAA sanctioned races were banned from racing for a time. The association made it clear from the beginning that blacks were not allowed to race in AA sanctioned events.
In 1910 Barney Oldfield arranged a match race against world heavyweight boxing champion Jack Johnson. He wanted to stage it at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, but Carl Fisher would not allow a black man to drive at his track. The race took place at Sheepshead Bay, New York, with Oldfield winning easily. Oldfield was immediately suspended by the AAA. Fan pressure forced the association to lift the ban by the start of the next season.
Led by Charlie Wiggins, the CSA ran cars that had run in the Indianapolis 500. Mike Boyle, most well known as the owner of Wilbur Shaw’s winning Maserati in 1939-1940, supplied cars and financial support to the league. Their race were on several of the tracks on which the Indianapolis car championship also ran.
William Rucker, joined by Alvin Smith, Robert Brokenburr, and Harry Donnington, formed the Colored Racing Association in 1924 as way to help the Black community enter the mainstream of American society. In Indianapolis, racing was the way to achieve that goal. The biggest event on the calendar would be a 100 mile race at the Indiana State Fairgrounds which came to be known as the Gold and Glory sweepstakes.
The First Gold and Glory race ran on August 2, 1924, as part of Emancipation Day festivities. The race drew a about 12,000 fans. Malcolm Hannon won the race driving a Barber-Warnock Ford Special. Wiggins was not allowed to participate because Rucker thought he was too small. Wiggins entered the following year and went on to win the race four times- 1926, 1931, 1932,and 1933.
Wiggins won seven of the nine CSA races in 1926. The schedule included races in Dayton, Detroit, Chicago, South Bend, Langhorne, Pennsylvania, and Keokuk , Iowa.
The 1936 Gold and Glory Sweepstakes was the beginning of the end for the CSA. The race started late and track conditions had deteriorated. A 13 car crash on the second lap resulted in near fatal injuries to Wiggins. He survived but lost his right leg. With Wiggins’ career over, attendance dwindled the rest of the season and the league folded before the 1937 season began.
Joie Ray, Jr. in 1946 became the first black driver to hold a AAA license. It would be another 39 years before Willy T. Ribbs would enter the Indianapolis 500, and another 45 years until Ribbs qualified for the race as the first African American driver in the 500. Ray thought he had backing from Eddi “Rochester” Anderson for an entry in 1952, but Anderson had to shift his prioritites and Ray never got a chance to drive at IMS.
Recognizing the drivers of the Colored Racing Association will not be as easy as transferring records. Statistics seem sketchy and difficult to verify, even for the Gold and Glory Sweepstakes contestants. I have spent several hours online researching the CSA with little success. I do believe these drivers deserve recognition from Indycar and whatever records are available should be included with the other Indycar stats.
Most of my source material came from two books, Brick by Brick, by Patrick Sullivan, the biography of Joie Ray; and For Gold and Glory, by Todd Gould. I recommend watch the PBS documentary, For Gold and Glory as well. It has some great footage of the races at the fairgrounds.
Merry Christmas, Happy belated Hanukkah, Happy Kwanzaa- whichever you celebrate, I hope you enjoy your holiday. I want to thank all of you for reading and for helping The Pit Window smash all records this year. In keeping with tradition, I have some gifts for the racing community.
For Roger Penske, Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and Doug Boles-
An Indianapolis 500 run on the scheduled date with fans.
For the NTT Indycar Series-
A full 17 race schedule.
For Indy Lights-
A 15 car field at every race.
For Scott Mclaughlin and Jimmie Johnson–
A successful first year in the Indycar Series.
For Jack Harveyand Pato O’Ward–
Your first Indycar wins.
For A. J. Foyt Racing and Sebastien Bourdais–
A consistent season with better qualifying and stronger race results.
For the Music City Grand Prix-
A successful debut event.
For Scott Dixon-
A seventh championship.
For Josef Newgarden-
An Indianapolis 500 victory.
For Graham Rahal-
A return to the winner’s circle.
For the fans-
Going to the races you want to as conditions approve.
And for all the readers of this humble column-
A safe holiday and a happy new year.
I will be back next with two columns as i end this year.
Alex Zanardi is making significant recovery after five brain operations. The piece below, written by Michael Taylor and published in Forbes today, also gives a hint of the extent of Zanardi’s injuries. He has to be one of the most resilient people ever. The Forbes article:
Former Formula One and Indy racing star Alex Zanardi has taken significant steps in his recovery from a devastating handbike crash in June this year, Italian newspapers have reported.
Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera today wrote that Zanardi, 54, had recovered his hearing and sight, and was able to respond with hand movements to questions from doctors and his wife, Daniela.
Doctors have confirmed Zanardi was able to shake hands on demand and raise his thumb to signal “Ok”, and also turn his head towards Daniela.
Italian newspaper Corriere today wrote that the dual Indy champion cannot yet speak as the hole in his trachea is being kept open as a precaution.
A multiple Paralympic handbike gold medalist after losing his legs in an Indycar crash in 2001, Zanardi was placed in an induced coma after suffering serious brain and facial injuries in a collision with a truck during a charity handbike race near Siena, Italy.
Carlin Racing will field two cars on the Indy Lights grid in 2021, marking a return to the series in which the team began its journey into Indycar. Carlin first entered Indy Lights with drivers Max Chilton and Ed Jones. The goal was to move into Indycar while maintaining an Indy Lights program for driver development. Carlin’s return gives a little more prestige to the series and insures that the the 2021 field will have more than 10 cars. The official release:
Carlin return to Indy Lights with Peroni
Alex Peroni
2016 Indy Lights Champions Carlin will re-join the Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires Series for the 2021 season with former FIA F3 driver Alex Peroni. The Anglo-American team are joining forces with the Australian born racer as he makes his debut in US racing.
21-year-old Peroni comes to the US having raced in the FIA Formula 3 Championship in the 2019 and 2020 seasons. Peroni missed the final round of the 2019 season following a horrific crash at Monza but came back strong in 2020 to claim three podium finishes and two fastest laps to take 10th in the standings in the 30-car field.
Carlin return to Indy Lights with a two car team following two years out of the series as the team became established in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES. Working in conjunction with former Indy car driver and Indy Lights champion Jay Howard, the Carlin team will also serve as the top rung of Jay Howard’s Driver Development (JHDD) and will be based out of Carlin’s US base in Delray Beach, Florida and run alongside the team’s NTT INDYCAR SERIES operation.
“I’m seriously pumped to be joining the 2021 Indy Lights field and to be doing it with a team such as Carlin who I know have been successful in the series before and of course I know well from Europe,” said Peroni. “I’m so thankful to Blundstone and the state of Tasmania for their continued support and for allowing me to follow my dream.
“No doubt there will be a lot to learn in terms of both the car and the different circuits, but I am absolutely ready for the challenge and know I will have a great team behind me to bring me up to speed.”
Speaking about the team’s newest signing, Trevor Carlin said, “We’re really excited to be back in Indy Lights having been so successful in the series in the past. It’s a fantastic series to prepare drivers for the NTT INDYCAR SERIES and it was always our aim to return to the junior formula once we had become more settled in INDYCAR.
“We’re very proud that Alex and his sponsors have chosen Carlin as the team to take his first steps into US racing. We know having raced against him in the immensely competitive FIA Formula 3 Championship what he is capable of and I can’t wait to see his potential evolve in the Indy Lights field.”
Photo, John Mahoney, USAC
Bill Marvel, longtime IMS public relations, died last night at the age of 90. I have never known the Speedway without Bill Marvel being a part of it. USAC, where Bill had several positions and was one of the founding members, released his obituary Sunday evening:
BILL MARVEL PASSES AWAY AT 90
BILL MARVEL PASSES AWAY AT 90
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Speedway, Indiana (December 20, 2020)………They broke the mold when they made Bill Marvel.
There have been few individuals who achieved as much in as many different realms in their lives and did so with as much passion and dedication from start to finish than did Bill Marvel, who passed away Sunday evening, December 20, 2020, at the age of 90 years old.
From the day of his birth to his last breath, Marvel was one a of a kind. With an abundance of energy and enthusiasm, his contributions to the sports world and the subsequent impact he’s made on others, are the kind of which that will be forever admired.
Marvel, a charter member of the United States Auto Club, was there on the scene of the very first USAC event ever held, a National Midget race on January 8, 1956 at the Memorial Coliseum in Fort Wayne, Ind. Marvel was on hand to greet feature winner Gene Hartley in victory lane with a Hoosier Auto Racing Fans jacket, an organization of which he was the president of at the time.
With USAC, he has served in the official capacities as a Corporate Advisor from 1978-1982 as well as a Vice President/Corporate Affairs from 1983-1997. Marvel dedicated much of his life to assisting injured drivers in need of financial aid through the USAC Benevolent Foundation as the Executive Director.
In 1997, Marvel was presented the Ross Hadley Achievement Award for his dedication to the United States Auto Club and the sport of auto racing. In 2014, Marvel was the recipient of the Roger McCluskey Award of Excellence, presented annually by the President of USAC in memory of USAC Executive Vice President and former champion driver Roger McCluskey, recognizing the standards of excellence he set in the sport of auto racing.
Born on June 21, 1930, Marvel graduated from Broad Ripple High School in Indianapolis, Ind., class of 1948, then set forth on serving his country as a United States Marine between 1948-1955 with active duty for three years between 1950-1952 in the Korean War.
Following his honorable discharge from the military, Marvel set forth on a 60-plus year journey in management, public relations, editing, publishing (magazine and newspaper), radio, public address, television announcing, retail sales, marketing and sales.
Marvel was the News Media Liaison Officer for the Indianapolis Motor Speedway between 1953 and 1967 and was an Off-Track Coordinator for major accessory companies.
Marvel was there at the introduction of Pennsylvania’s Pocono Raceway in 1969 in the role of General Manager & Director of Public Relations, as well as the General Manager for Texas World Speedway, New Jersey’s Trenton Speedway, the World Series of Auto Racing, plus the Indiana State Fairgrounds and Indiana’s Winchester Speedway, where he was also on the track’s Public Address system as an announcer.
His media prowess expanded to all aspects as he was the Editor & Publisher of Charger Auto Racing News, the National Racing Editor of U.S. Auto Sports Magazine and the Midwest Racing Editor for National Speed Sport News. On the radio, he was an auto racing reporter for WIBC in Indianapolis as well as the Color Commentator & Coordinator for Indianapolis 500 activities on WISH-TV in Indianapolis.
Marvel also had his hand in the movie business as a consultant with two-time Indianapolis 500 winner Rodger Ward for the 1969 racing movie, “Winning,” starring Hollywood heavyweights Paul Newman, Joanne Woodward and Robert Wagner.
In addition to his racing duties, Marvel was the Sports Information Director for Butler University and served as the Director of Public Relations for the Indiana Pacers during their ABA and NBA days during the decades of the 1960s and 1970s. He served in the same role for the World Hockey Association’s Indianapolis Racers during the 1970s, the team best known as the first professional stop for future NHL greats and Hockey Hall of Fame players Wayne Gretzky and Mark Messier.
Marvel was also in charge of Marketing & Sales for the Indiana Loves, a charter franchise in World Team Tennis.
He was Director of Public Relations for the sports management and public relations firm, Sports Headliners, where he represented such racing figures as Mario Andretti, A.J. Foyt, Jackie Stewart, Rodger Ward, Billy Vukovich, Roger McCluskey, Graham Hill, Al Unser, Bobby Unser and Jim Clark, as well as NFL Hall of Famers Johnny Unitas and O.J. Simpson.
In addition, he also was the Director of Special Events for the Houston Astrodome where, among his duties, he organized the driver lineup and the marketing of the mega USAC Midget events inside the building known as “The Eighth Wonder of the World,” beginning in 1969.
He was the President of Marvel-ous Racing Promotions and had a tenure as the President of the National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame, and also coordinated public relations and publicity for three-time Indianapolis 500 winning driver Johnny Rutherford during his successful relationship with the Gatorade/McLaren Racing Team in the 1970s.
A man of many talents, and boundless motivation to succeed, Marvel also found time to own and operate his own personal business, Bill’s Unclaimed Freight, in which he too served as President.
While Bill had a brief race driving career in his younger days, his sons Brad and Billy Marvel Jr. were talented wheelmen in their own right. Brad Marvel won a USAC National Sprint Car feature event at Kokomo (Ind.) Speedway in 1996 during Indiana Sprint Week while Billy Jr. was just beginning his sprint car career when he tragically lost his life in an accident at Lincoln Park Speedway in Putnamville, Ind. in 1983. An award in Billy Jr.’s memory is still presented to this day by HARF to the top “first year driver” in the state of Indiana each season. Bill’s grandson, and Brad’s son, Justin Marvel, was the victor of a USAC National Sprint Car feature at New York’s Canandaigua Speedway in 2006.
An inductee of both the Hoosier Auto Racing Fans Hall of Fame and the National Association of Auto Racing Fans, Bill has been honored with the Tom Carnegie Legacy Award from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway/Indianapolis 500 Old Timers Club; the Angelo Angelopoulos Memorial Award by the American Auto Racing Writers and Broadcasters Association; the Unsung Hero Award presented by Andy Granatelli at the Indy 500; the Indy 500 Old Timers Club Officials Award; the Bob Russo Founders Award from AARWBA; and the Louis Meyer Award for individuals who have contributed significantly to the success of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
The Pit Window by Mike Silver 