Tag: Indianapolis Motor Speedway

The city’s heart and soul vanished Sunday, stolen by the pandemic that dictates our lives nowadays. Race Day 2020 was not to be. Having the circadian rhythms of your life abruptly altered is a jarring experience. In Indiana, we are programmed for this day.

I awoke suddenly at 4 am, my usual race day rising time, then went back to sleep for a couple hours. I felt I should be somewhere, should get  the cooler loaded,  should meet my friends for breakfast. I kept looking at the clock and thinking, ” I would be entering the track now; I’d be heading to my seat now; It’s time for the opening ceremonies to start.”

Yesterday was the first time I had eaten breakfast at home on the fourth Sunday in May since sometime in the 1990s. A check of social media showed me that many of my friends were feeling the same way I was. feeling – lost. Watching the 2006 race on You Tube provided some solace. There may have been some dust in my eyes at the playing of”Taps’ and “Back Home Again in Indiana.” The Indianapolis Motor Speedway  website’s #500AtHome link had some content as well.

Around noon I went to a friend’s house for a small birthday celebration. On the drive I listened to the 2016 race on WIBC. I passed the track on the way and saw several groups of people gathered on the plaza in front of Gate 1. Most had lawn chairs and coolers.

It was comforting to be with some of my racing family for a couple hours. We watched the beginning of the NBC show, “Back Home Again.” The porch was silent during “Taps.” We discussed the August date and what other races we might attend. None of us can be sure any of the race dates are certain, but there was an air of hope.

I went back to Gate 1. The crowd had thinned considerably. Someone had the radio on. It was last year’s race playing at this point.

On Main Street, things were a bit more lively. All the outside tables at Dawson’s were full. Down the street people were just sitting in lawn chairs on the sidewalk, talking.  I ran into a couple of friends there. The highlight for me was seeing this vehicle.

After all, what is Race Day without a salute to the past?

In spite of the few hours of time with friends and at the track entrance, it was a day I hope I never have to go through again. There aren’t many people alive who remember the last time, 75 years ago, when there wasn’t a race on Memorial day weekend.

As for August, we need to keep hoping the race will run, but I can’t see how the Speedway can allow a huge group of fans at that time.  We have to hope that something will break like the rain on race morning gives way to to a sunny perfect race day.

Note: I know we all miss not being at the track today for Carb Day, one of the greatest days of May. Sunday will be a difficult day for most of us. I plan to immerse myself in old races. Whatever you do, stay safe and wash your hands. Please enjoy this piece about the 1970 program and race.

The ’60s belonged to A. J. Foyt. It appeared the ’70s would be the decade of Mario Andretti. It didn’t turn out that way.  Al Unser became the star of the era beginning with the 1970 race.

1970 was a milestone year for Tony Hulman. It was the 25th year of his ownership of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, by far the longest tenure of the three track  owners. Oddly, the program does not make a big deal about this. there is a one page article on page 14 titled “Tony Hulman and the 500.” That is all the program says about an important anniversary. No one knew at the time that the Hulman family was merely a third of the way through their time as stewards of the track. On page 16 are two photos, one of the track in 1945, and one of the start of the 1969 race.

Ads in the program were for Goodyear tires, still a factor in Indycar; Chase & Sanborn coffee (endorsed by Andretti); Monroe shocks, Thermo King, and Muriel Cigars. I can’t remember what year the last tobacco product ad appeared in a Speedway program.

The veterans’ page featured the eventual winner, Al Unser. Unser missed the 1969 race after a motorcycle accident in early may of the previous year. His car, the Johnny Lightning Special,had one the iconic liveries in Speedway history.

The program was fairly standard for that time. It seems milestones then were  not the big deal they are today. I can imagine an entire month of tribute to an owner’s 25th year at the helm today. I am not sure we’ll ever see a tenure that long again.

Rookies in the field included Donnie Allison, Dick Simon, Greg Weld, and Rick Muther. Allison would win Rookie of the Year.

Unser dominated the race. leading 190 laps and winning by 32 seconds over Mark Donohue. Unser would win two more 500s in the 70s, the following year and 1978. He would add a fourth victory in 1987. Johnny Rutherford gave Unser some good competition for driver of the decade honors, winning in 1974 and 1976. Stiil, both drivers operated in the shadow of Foyt. Not to be outdone by the relative newcomers, Foyt won his fourth 500 in 1977.

Quick Survey

What are your plans for this Sunday? Leave a comment and I’ll talk about it next week.

It was eerie yet comforting to be at Indianapolis Motor Speedway yesterday. There were a couple of groups tailgating in the new parking lot on the northwest corner of 16th and Georgetown. The facility, of course, was locked. The sign above was attached to the fence at gate 1.

I have been at the Speedway many times when there was no track activity to go to the museum or just hang out. I never thought I would see the track quiet in May.  It just feels wrong. The Speedway is preparing for welcoming fans and taking as many precautions as they can. It has only been a few years since security checks began and we have adapted to that. This is just one more layer to get used to. I hope this one is just temporary.

Definitive lines  have been created at the entry gates with designated spots six feet apart. This is probably similar to what each gate will look like.

I went over to Main Street. There were a few more signs of life there than when I visited a week ago. I plan to make a couple trips to the track next weekend as well.

Amid the silence and weirdness of the empty tack and grounds on a weekend when it should have have been buzzing with activity, the sign over Gate 2 offered some promise of better days ahead.