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Tag: Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Bump Tales- 1959: McWithey Weathers Nine Car Assault
Photo: Jim McWithey gets ready for his first 500 Mile Race. Photo from 1960 Indianapolis Motor Speedway program
Time moves at a glacial pace for the driver on the bubble. The clock never seems to move during the last hour of qualifying for the Indianapolis 500. As tough as it is for veterans, it is probably even tougher for a rookie. It’s hard enough being a rookie at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. You have to pass the rookie test, then get your car up to qualifying speed, and finally take part in the 500 Mile Race. Add to that the pressure of being the slowest qualifier with one hour left on Bump Day. In 1959, Rookie Jim McWithey got to experience such stress.
Normally the Bump Day drama is on the track. On this day it was in the pits, watching McWithey nervously pace and switch seats for the final hour. He needn’t worry. No one came close to knocking him off the grid.
McWithey qualified just a couple of minutes after 5 pm on Bump Day, May 24. He completed the 10 mile run, the car’s second attempt, as the slowest car in the field. With nearly an hour to go, three drivers in nine cars went out to try to knock the rookie out of the field. None succeeded.
Dempsey Wilson first tried with the Novi, then took the Sumar Special out for an unsuccessful try. He drove the Central Excavating Special too slowly to qualify. With just a few minutes remaining, Wilson took another shot in the Novi. When that attempt failed, he climbed back in the Sumar car. Wilson didn’t get another chance as the gun went off as he sat in line.
Shorty Templeman took three failed attempts in three failed cars. Eddie Russo went out in two different cars in 13 minutes. He was on track when the gun went off. His first lap was too slow, but he completed the run.McWithey was in the race.
Russo’s final attempt was in the car owned by J. C. Agajanian. 1959 would be the third consecutive year that Agajanian did not have a car in the race. He would be back, however, winning the race in 1963 with Parnelli Jones. Jones also was the first driver to crack the 150 mile an hour barrier in 1962.
The 1959 field was not one of the best fields in history. just two former winners, Jimmy Bryan and Pat Flaherty, started the race. There were three future winners in the field- Rodger Ward, Jim Rathmann, and A. J. Foyt. Oddly, this trio would each win a 500 from 1959-1961.
Ward started sixth and led 130 laps. Rathmann finished second. Ward began a streak in which he did not finish lower than fourth from this victory through 1964. McWithey finished 16th and completed all 200 laps. In that time period coming from last to the middle of the pack and completing the race was quite an achievement. McWithey made the race the following year, starting 32nd but only completing 60 laps. 1960 was his last 500.
1977- A Year of Firsts and Lasts
1977 was an historic year in the history of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the 500 Mile Race. It was the first year a woman made the starting field. There was the first four time winner. It was the first time someone other than Sid Collins would anchor the Race Day broadcast. It was the last win for a Speedway legend. Sadly, it was also the last race for Tony Hulman, who would die in the fall.
Collins died on May 2, so the program does not include tribute to him. Paul Page debuted as the new anchor for the IMS Radio Network.
The program for 1977 seemed to have a penchant for clairvoyance. Hulman and A. J. Foyt were on the cover. It now seems ironic that they rode around the track together in the pace car after the race. Other parts of the program continued the ability to see the future.
In a brief blurb about five of the rookies entered, the article wonders if a future winner might be in the group. Rick Mears was one of the rookies profiled. Of the drivers listed, only Bobby Olivero made the 1977 race. Another feature on a rookie is entitled “Janet Guthrie-First Woman in the 500?”
A piece by John Hughes titled “World’s Most Exclusive Club, highlighted the former winners in the race. A new, even more exclusive club would begin on race day.
Overall, the 1977 program is one of my least favorite. I find the graphics cartoonish and the print small. It continued a trend that began in 1976 when the cover departed from the traditional flags and wing and wheel designed that had graced the covers since the early 1950s. the programs are beginning to lose their soul, and I’m not sure they have ever recovered.
There are still the traditional elements of the program that I always seek out immediately- the Order of the Day, the Entry List, and the summary of the previous year’s race. The Ortder of the Day was the usual. The “Star Spangled Banner” 10:44, “Gentleman, Start Your Engines” at 10:53, followed by the pace lap-s and the start. The command would be slightly modified this year. Some details from this page:
Jim Nabors sang. “(Back home Again in) Indiana”.
The pace car was an Oldsmobile Delta 88 deriven by James Garner.
Victory banquet tickets were $15. I have been to the last two banquets. I can assure you they cost a bit more now.
Continuing with the cartoonish theme, the starting lineup insert format thankfully didn’t last long. Before this year, the lineup simply listed names, car numbers and names, and speed by rows. For 1977, the y tried something which didn’t work:
The car colors are correct at least.
I also like to look through the programs for ads from companies that no longer exist or participate in the race. In 1977, there were ads for Raybestos, Stark & Wetzel, and AyrWay.
The race featured the first woman starter, Janet Guthrie, who qualified after struggling for most of the month with the car. She started 26th and retired with timing gear issues after 27 laps.
Gordon Johncock dominated the race, leading 129 laps, but a failed crankshaft on lap 184 gave the lead to Foyt, who held it for his record fourth 500 victory.
Bump Tales: New Qualifying Format Causes Withdrawal Pains in 2010
Photo; Jay Howard. Photo from the 2010 Indianapolis 500 Program
A change in qualifying procedures shook up the paddock in 2010. It was just the third year of the newly merged Indy Racing League. In an attempt to revive interest in qualifying, a new format was created. One of the features was a Fast Nine shootout for the pole. The first day of qualify would establish 24 positions. The cars who didn’t make the top 24 would try again Sunday to fill the last nine slots, and the slowest of Saturday’s 24 could be bumped from the field. Qualify was just one weekend instead of the two weekends which had been in place most years since 1952.
The drama began early Saturday when Tony Kanaan crashed during practice. The perennial crowd favorite had never started worse than 6th. His car would not be ready until the next day, meaning 25th was the highest he could start the race. Helio Castroneves easily won the pole in the shootout. The defending race and pole winner posted a blistering average on his first attempt in the shootout which no one else could come close to.
The track was not finished with Kanaan. In Sunday morning’s practice, he crashed in nearly the same spot. His crew did not have the luxury of 24 hours to repair the car this time. In the final hour, a chess match developed between Jay Howard, driving for Sarah fisher’s team, and Paul Tracy, driving for KV Racing. Before they began to play the withdraw/requalify dance, Tony Kanaan made the field at 5:23 with a speed that was not completely safe, but time was on his side.
Howard was bumped from the field by Takuma Sato at 5:41. Howard went back to reclaim his spot, but his average was slower than his first attempt. Tracy withdrew his time, putting Howard back in the field. Tracy went out for another attempt but waved it off after two laps that weren’t fast enough. The Fisher team decided to withdraw Howard’s car, fearing that Tracy would find the speed to bump him on his last try. Howard was in line ahead of Tracy and got the day’s final attempt. It was even slower than his second attempt. Howard and Tracy were both out of the race. if they had kept their times, both would have made the field.
Adding to the strangeness of the situation was the case of Sebastian Saavedra. He had qualified, then crashed his car during a practice period. Saavedra was at Methodist Hospital being checked for injuries during the final hour. He had been bumped twice, but the Howard and Tracy withdrawals and failures to go to fast enough put his car back in the race.
An historic field was set. For the first time, four women, Sarah Fisher, Danica Patrick, Simona De Silvestro, and Ana Beatriz would start the Indianapolis 500. The first row would feature two former winners, Castroneves and Dario Franchitti, and a future winner, Will Power. The last row had two future winners, Sato and Kanaan.
Indystar writer Bob Kravitz said of the new qualifying format, “In the end, this gimmicky pole day format worked as well, if not better, than anybody could have expected. we will know for sure in 20 years, when the Indianapolis 500 is still doing it exactly the same way.”
It’s not exactly as it was in 2010 just 10 years later, and i think it still has a ways to go, but the format is evolving. It will never make everyone happy.
Dario Franchitti won the 2010 race, his second win in a span of four years.
The iRacing Challenge- Some Thoughts
The Indycar iRacing Challenge overall was a fun diversion. It kept Indycar in the public eye, allowed sponsors some publicity, and gave fans something to look forward to during the lockdown. I appreciate the time the drivers put in to making this work.
The first five races were fun, but the disappointing ending to Saturday’s race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway left me with a sour taste. The last lap wrecks, at least one of which was unnecessary, showed that iRacing is, after all, just a computer game.
The end of Saturday’s race reenacted the movie Turbo.
I did like several aspects of the six week series. I enjoyed the all star fields with drivers from different series joining every week. I thought it was nice to see some names who might not get much notice when the season actually begins have time at the front of the pack. the cars were realistic although I thought some of the tracks were not quite as I remember them.
The time slot probably wasn’t the most ideal for getting a large audience. I doubt if the series created any new fans because of this. In fact i know many diehard Indycar fans who didn’t watch any of the series.
There is not much from the results of these races we can transfer to the real thing. Some drivers who will not contend for the title are better sim racers than some title contenders. Alexander Rossi did not seem to enjoy this at all. Simon Pagenaud and Will Power performed about the same as in real life, but they were about the only ones that did.
There has been talk of a winter iRacing Series after the season is complete. I don’t know that I would watch it again. This was pretty much enough for me. I would prefer replays of actual races. The delayed start to the season is the perfect argument to bring back the equivalent of Speed channel.
The Month of May
It’s still may and I plan to continue Bump Tales on Thursdays. I will also look back at some Official Programs of the past on Tuesdays. In addition, i will repost some of my essays from the past. If you have a particular year you would like for me to talk about, let me know. Thanks for continuing to read during these strange times.
Quick Thoughts- First Responder 175
This race turned out to be more video game like than the others in the series. The finish was crazy, but the last 15 laps seemed like the drivers all lost focus at once.
So much for calculated pit strategy. Will Power made the best move pitting again just 12 laps after his first stop. The late yellows hurt him though. They hurt everyone. It was fun with all the different pit strategies going on, but the ending ruined all of it.
Is it possible to be jealous of virtual fans? They got to spend a May afternoon at IMS.
If only passing were that easy in real life at Indianapolis.
The one touch of reality was the length of the next to last yellow.
A 200 mile race may have been better, but I’m not sure it would have produced a cleaner ending.
An all Arrow McLaren SP podium would have been fun to see.
When museums are allowed to open on June 13, will Conor Daly be giving tours of the Daly Technology Center?
Simon Pagenaud is the only Indycar regular to win any of these iRaces. As in real life, Penske drivers won four of the six races.
How much bad feeling between drivers has this iRacing challenge created. Will we see a carryover to actual tracks?
The sim events have been a nice filler, but it’s time to figure how to get back to real racing. We are still 35 days away from the scheduled first Indycar race.
Back tomorrow with more detailed thoughts on the iRacing Challenge as a whole.
Spotter’s Guide- Indycar 175
It’s a Different May 1
Photo above from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Facebook page
I have never been less excited about May 1 than I am today. Until 1974, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway opened for 500 mile race practice on this day. I was always excited to see who was the first car on track. After the time to prepare for the 500 was shortened, May 1 still meant that the time for the greatest race in the world was approaching. I still hung my flag up this morning, as did many others. It’s still May, dang it.
I hope that the race can be run in August with fans. As I stated earlier, I’d rather the 500 be postponed until next year if fans can’t attend.
First Responder 175 Entry List Provides Taste of May
The entry list for Saturday’s First Responder 175 Presented by GMR will be the only action we see from Indianapolis Motor Speedway this May. No events are scheduled at the track until July 4th weekend, and at this point we don’t know if fans will be allowed to attend. So enjoy Saturday’s virtual action.
A 15 minute qualifying session tomorrow will set the field. Yesterday, a qualifying session was held to whittle the field to 33. Stefan Wilson, James Davison, R C Enerson, and Scott Speed advanced to the final entry list. Helio Castroneves earned a spot by virtue of being a former 500 winner. Scott McLaughlin and Lando Norris earned guaranteed entries by winning races in the iRacing Series.
The entry list:
The Pit Window by Mike Silver 