Category: Auto Racing

SVRA Weekend Finale: Miller Wins TA2

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Photo: Marc Miller drove the Dodge Challenger to a flag to flag win in Sunday’s TA2 race.

Marc Miller narrowly won the pole for Sunday’s Trans Am 2 race which ended the SVRA weekend at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.  He left nothing to chance during the race, however, leading all 42 laps in an easy victory. Early in the race he was gaining a second per lap on second place.

Rafa Matos started second, but he didn’t hold the spot long. Third place starter Scott Lagasse, Jr. passed him  in turn 1. Matos seemed to slow more each lap and dropped quickly through the field. He retired after completing just 10 laps. Dillon Machavern got by Lagasse for second and went on to finish as runner up. Lagasse also dropped out of the race after 22 laps.

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The start of the Trans Am race. Rafa Matos (first yellow car) has already dropped from the front row of the grid.

A Weekend Full of Racing

For someone who just like to watch race cars of any kind, an SVRA weekend is perfect. There are three days of nonstop action with practices, qualifying , and races. There are very short breaks between each track session. Their next event is next weekend at Mid Ohio. It’s a great value for people who can’t get to or afford a weekend at a major racing event.

Formula Ford Reunion Brings Back the Nostalgia

The tiny cars with tiny engines really struck a chord with me. While all the cars ran 1.6 liter engines, there were ten (10!) different chassis on the grid. It took me back to my earliest 500s (not 1911) when there were several different types of chassis, each with a distinct look. Sigh. I talked to a couple of the drivers before the race. They are passionate about racing and love what they are doing to preserve the sport. This is a hobby for them, but I think many of them would trade their regular jobs to race full time in a heartbeat.

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Jeremy Treadway won the second Formula Ford race Sunday in a 1981 Van Diemen

A few of the other chassis:

Left: 1972 Crossle25; Top Right : 1980 PRS RHO1  Bottom Right: 1970 Titan

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1969 Winkelman WDF 1

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The 1.6 liter powerplant

 

I’ll be back this week with more on the proposed Indycar engine plan for 2022 and some news and rumors. Might throw in an old program as well.  Thanks for following along this week.

Ribbs Wins VROC; Dyson Takes Trans Am GT;

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It’s supposed to be for fun, but the veteran drivers in the Vintage Race of Champions raced hard. The charity event benefits the Morgan Adams Foundation, whose goal is to help find a cure for childhood cancer. The race lead changed several times. 80 year old Johnny Rutherford led a couple laps.  But Willy T. Ribbs went on to win after a spirted battle with Geoff Brabham.

The most serious incident in the race involved Lyn St. James, who spun coming off turn 14 and made contact with the outside wall in the  front stretch.

In today’s Trans Am race, Chris Dyson won, leading the rest of the way after passing   Ernie Francis Jr. about a third of the way through the contest. It was Dyson’s second straight win in the Mustang.  Francis’ Mustang held on to second Adam Andretti finished third in a Corvette and Amy Ruman was fourth.

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Chris Dyson leads Ernie Francis, Jr.  Trans Am race. Adam Andretti is the next car.  Dyson  led to the finish.

In SGT Tim Kezman won the class riving a Porsche 991. Mark Boden  finished second, giving the Porsches a sweep of the top two spots.

The crowd seemed decent for this event.  I thought there more fans at the track today than there were for this event last year.

Here are some photos of drivers before the Pro-Am race:

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Geoff Brabham
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Lyn St. James
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Roberto Guerrero
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Davey Hamilton
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Boris Said ( I know he’s not an Indycar driver. I’ve always thought he was cool)

Tomorrow’s schedule includes the Formula Ford Reunion races at 11:35 am and 1:00 pm and the  Trans Am 2 group race at 2:45 pm. Racing begins at 8 am with two 60 minute enduro races. The 9:10 race features historic GT and GTP cars. Back tomorrow with a wrap up of the day’s action and some more photos.

 

 

SVRA- Classic Cars, Indy Veterans

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It has been a hectic morning at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway as the SVRA race day began with the first race at 8 am. Action on track has been continuous. In about 10 minutes the TA2 class will have their final practice before they qualify at 3:50 this afternoon.

At noon pre-race activities begin for the VROC Charity Pro Am Race begin. The 50 minute race starts at 1:15.  I will be on the grid pre race and will live post photos to both Twitter and Facebook. Check out @PitWindow on Twitter and The Pit Window on Facebook.

Here are some photos from this morning including some from the Hagerty Cars and Caffeine show and a former 500 winner who is racing in the Pro Am later today.

Row 1: 1939 Sprint car

Row 2:  Johnny Rutherford;  1960 Imperial; I think my grandfather owned one of these; My favorite car ever- 1957 Chevy bel Aire

Row 3:  Cobra; Winner of Class 2b race; Cars at speed on the backstretch

SVRA Returns to IMS with Busy Weekend

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Photo: A car from SVRA Group 2- pre 1973 formula cars. Photo from SVRA website

The Sportscar Vintage Racing Association returns to the Indianapolis motor Speedway today and tomorrow with a full program of races in all classes.

Fourteen groups will race, some together in split races, as well as Trans Am cars. Sunday’s program begins with two Enduro events, one for Vintage Classic cars and the other for Historic GT/GTP cars.  Each will have a 60 minute race.  The Trans Am races are 75 minutes.

Today’s highlights are the Hagerty cars and Caffeine Car Show at 100 am and the VROC Charity pro-Am Race at 1:15 pm.

Today’s schedule:

Saturday, August 3
7:30am-3:00pm Registration
7:30am-12:00pm Tech Inspections
10:00am
Hagerty Cars & Caffeine Car Show
8:00am
Groups 1, 3, 4 Feature Race 1**
8:30am
Group 2a
Feature Race 1
9:00am
Groups 10, 12a Feature Race 1**
9:30am
Groups 5, 7, 11 Feature Race 1**
10:00am
Group 9
Feature Race 1
10:30am
Group 2b
Feature Race 1
11:00am
Groups 8, 12b Feature Race 1**
11:30am
TA2
Practice 30 min
12:00pm—1:00pm LUNCH BREAK
12:00-12:30 – Jaguar Laps, 12:30-1:00 – Prewar Exhibition Laps
12:00pm
VROC Charity Pro/Am Pre-Race Festivities – Pit Lane
(
Driver Introductions/Fan Walk)
1:15pm
VROC Charity Pro/Am Feature Race
50min
2:35pm
TA/SGT/GT Feature Race 75 min
3:50pm
TA2
Qualifying 20 min
4:10pm
Group 6
Feature Race 1
4:40pm
Prewar Exhibition Laps
5:00pm
Hagerty Car Show Exhibition Laps
Former Indycar driver Rafa Matos will drive in the Trans Am race tomorrow afternoon.
Former Indycar drivers Lyn St. James, Roberto Guerrero, and three time 500 winner Johnny Rutherford are some of the stars entered in today’s Pro-Am race. Dick Simon is the Grand Marshall for the event.
The Pit Window will be on site today and tomorrow covering the races and plans lots of pictures of classic cars.

 

 

Quick Thoughts- Hybrid Power to Indycar in 2022

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First, it’s about time! I have wondered why Indycar had not done this sooner.

I like that the cars  will have 900 horsepower and that the noise of the cars won’t be affected.

Onboard starters- about time again. This should reduce yellow flags during races even more. It will definitely make for fewer red flags during practice sessions.

This opens the door for a third OEM. Perhaps Porsche will reconsider joining? I have heard and thought that lack of a hybrid component was the hangup in getting a new engine manufacturer.

I don’t mind waiting another year for new features.  I’m interested to see how the new larger  engine will alter the shape of the bodywork on the car.

I’m not sure this will increase the size of the field, but it could.

PLEASE do not call this a Power Unit. It’s still an engine.

I will be back later today with more details. I’m heading to IMS for an adventure I will talk about tomorrow.

 

 

A Gem in Nebraska

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When I think of racing  and automobile museums, I normally don’t think of going to Nebraska. How wrong I was.  I was wondering how to spend the day before the Iowa 300. The Knoxville Sprint Hall of Fame looked like a great place to go.  But before I left for Newton, I saw that my friend Janay Martin posted on Facebook that she was going to the Museum of American Speed in Lincoln, Nebraska. I asked her if I could tag along.

The museum began as a project of Speedway Motors owner “Speedy” Bill Smith, who began collecting anything racing or automotive related a long time before opening the exhibit hall in 1992. The three story, 150,000 square foot building is virtually an American speed and auto time capsule. Smith’s Speedway Motors began as an engine shop, then also did fabrication, and now sells all auto parts for road cars and race cars.

The Museum is an even three hour drive from Iowa Speedway. We got there when the museum opened at 9. As soon as we walked in, six year old me came back to life. I couldn’t believe what I saw.

The first car inside the entrance is a 1960’s Indy roadster, a Shrike from 1965, and Al Unser’s 1970 winner. Then I came to the gate above. If I saw nothing else in the place after I walked through that gate, I could have gone back to Newton happy.

There sat Bill Vukovich’s 1951 rookie car, the Central Excavating Special. The car sits outside a mock up of the old IMS garages.  The car started the race in 20th. Vukovich moved quickly to seventh before retiring after 29 laps. wp-15645384090222648452678329700045.jpg

I got the same chills I get whenever I see the Boyle Maserati and the Fuel injection Special at the IMS Museum. I find it thrilling to be in the presence of cars driven by such legends.

The IMS area also contains other memorabilia from the Indianapolis 500, including engines, uniforms, and a lot of photos. Because of our limited time, I couldn’t linger here. This was just the beginning.

Two other areas of note on the first floor were a room dedicated to engine builders. There were tribute plaques honoring Harry Miller and Fred Offenhauser.wp-15645384754763065514754140285142.jpg

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In the opposite corner is a tribute to A. J. Watson, whose cars ruled at IMS in the late 50s and early 60s. the car Jim Rathmann drove at Monza is the centerpiece of this space.

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The first floor also has a diorama dedicated to the SAFER Barrier, which was developed at the University of Nebraska in Lincoln and a sprint car area. The star of the sprint car gallery was the Black Deuce, Bobby Grim’s famous car.

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Another section had engines, including the 1994 Ilmor Beast that powered the Penske cars which dominated the Indianapolis 500 that year. Other engines in the collection include a Gurney Weslake and a Judd.

The classic car area featured a rare Tucker, the short lived car of the late 40s.

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The third floor is mostly dedicated to toys and very realistic pedal cars. I saw a toy car I had as smaller kid. There is an alcove between the second and third floors lined with vinyl album covers which had automotive related themes. There are some signed guitars, including this one signed by the original Beach Boys. I was not allowed to play it.

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The walls of each floor are lined with cases of auto parts from hood ornaments to manifolds to cigarette lighters.

I highly recommend that while you are waiting for the hopefully later start to the Iowa race, that you drive over to his beautiful place. It’s a trip back in time.

For more information on Speedway Motors, go to

https://www.speedwaymotors.comhttps://www.speedwaymotors.com

For more information on the museum,

https://www.museumofamericanspeed.com/

 

 

 

New HSR Partnership Helps Dogs and Veterans

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Sunday at Mid Ohio Harding Steinbrenner Racing and Dogs2DogTags announced a new partnership.

The partnership started with a  chance meeting at Road America. Torre Willadsen, the founder, decided to pick Mid Ohio because Morty, the German shepherd who was there with veteran Chris Van Etten, came from Ohio.

“Every dog deserves to be saved and every veteran deserves to have a dog,” Willadsen explained.  “We’re focusing on two lives and trying to make a match.”

Any breed of dog will be considered for the program.

On the Dogs2DogTags website the group explains their purpose:

“We create an opportunity to save shelter dogs, train them, and place them with deserving service members who have been diagnosed with post-combat stress and anxiety. There is no out of pocket cost for the veteran to receive a trained dog, and they gain a constant companion to help them cope with the unique challenges of their everyday life.”

 “We are a group of men and women who have either served in or worked closely with our military. We’ve seen the difficulties that our men and women face when returning to civilian life, and we’ve known men and women who have tragically contributed to the unprecedented rate of veteran suicides. We are committed to standing by our veterans, and keeping them aware that we care.”

  “Starting with being an American team with an American driver. It’s about helping spread awareness for an organization that helps the men and women and others that help serve this country during and after combat,” HSR Team owner George Steinbrenner IV said.

Chris Van Etten (second from left, above), a veteran who lost part of both legs in 2012 while serving in Afghanistan,  has a support dog and also serves as a spokesman for Dogs2DogTags. He said the dogs really help the veterans “on the not so great days, when it can be tough. And those are the days when it can all come flooding back. Having that companion… just laying in the bed who licks your face and just wants to be there with you is enough to kind of shake you from whatever is holding on to you that day.”

Willadsen said the organization is looking to buy land in Wisconsin to build a facility for the dogs and veterans to meet and match up. He said the cost right now to go through the evaluation process is between$24,000-$40,000.

For more information, go to the Dogs2DogTags website,

https://www.dogs2dogtags.org/

To text a donation, text D2DTHSR to 44321. Donations as small as $1 are accepted.

 

Last Notes and Photos From Mid Ohio

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Per Dave Furst on Twitter- Track management said yesterday’s crowd was the biggest since Indycar returned in 2007. I don’t doubt it. It seemed like a bigger crowd than previous years.

This was the first Ganassi 1-2 finish since 2015 when Dixon and Tony Kanaan went 1-2 at Texas Motor Speedway.  I didn’t think it was that recent.

The race really needs to begin at 2:30 instead of 4. Once again, I wasn’t asked.

The first photo below shows Sato next to Ericsson and Hinchcliffe just before contact. Sato started three rows behind them. how did he get next to them so quickly and avoid contact with cars in between? All photos are mine.

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