I spent the first 50 laps on my exercise bike...plus...no... **********SPOILERS!!!!!!!!********** warning in the thread title.
Nice! On a related note, I'd love to have a Grabber Orange Mustang in honor of Parnelli and I certainly wouldn't turn down a Zanardi edition NSX.
Sad isn't it. I used to look forward to the IMSA GTP & Lights race at Lime Rock. Always a great race.
I truly enjoyed my first trip to the "Greatest Spectacle in Racing", and while I had my doubts that it would be all it was cracked up to be, ultimately I was not disappointed. Compared to any of the F1 races I've attended, it was also a huge bargain, especially "Legends Day" on Saturday: $10 to get in, and free parking inside the speedway! I'll post some photos from Saturday on this thread, and photos from race day on the "other" thread. Even as I drove down Hulman Blvd and through the North Tunnel, I still had myself wondering, am I really at Indy? When I saw the iconic Pagoda, I knew then that I was really there! Even though I got there shortly after the 8 AM opening, the lines to get autographs from the 33 drivers were already impossible long, so I walked around instead and found an interesting all-percussion band called High Octane. I also found the roadsters that were to go on the track later. The #56 was the car that Jim Hurtubise almost broke the 150 mph barrier in qualifying, but the car that really intrigued me was the #95 that had a four-cam Ford V-8 (the same engine as in the Lotuses) shoehorned into a Watson-type roadster chassis! Does anyone know anything about this car? Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Saturday also featured the drivers' meeting that was to take place in pit lane, with spectators sitting in the Tower Terrace grandstand to the right of the Pagoda. The Borg-Warner trophy was on display, soon to be surrounded by scores of people. The roadsters put on a good show; the #5 in the middle was A.J. Foyt's mount in 1960, the year before his first win. The biggest cheers were reserved, though, for the man of the hour, the one and only Parnelli Jones, when he came by in "Ol' Calhoun", his 1963 Indy winner. Before the drivers' meeting, a bunch of awards were handed out; among these were miniature Borg-Warner trophies given to Parnelli and last year's winners, Dario Franchitti and Chip Ganassi. The 33 drivers were sitting in a small grandstand while all this was happening. Afterwards, a nice question-&-answer session with Parnelli was held in the plaza behind the Pagoda. One fellow in the autograph line that followed certainly had an appropriate piece of headgear! Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Although Gasoline Alley had been off-limits earlier in the day, it was open after lunch (which in my case was one of the recommended pork tenderloin sandwiches, which indeed was pretty good!). Only a few of the cars were visible, including Justin Wilson's #19, but at least one could see who was where, with some rather colorful signs above the pertinent garages. The only driver I actually saw and wished good luck to was Conor Daly, but I was lucky enough to see his car owner go by on a golf cart; unfortunately I wasn't in position to take A.J.'s photograph! I was able to pick up a few of the photocards which I had missed in the driver autograph session. I also found the "motorhome village" behind Gasoline Alley where the drivers (and presumably others) reside during their stay at the Brickyard. Most of the vehicles were anonymously marked, but there were a few obvious exceptions! After all this, I walked over to the Hall of Fame Museum (which I had visited twice before, but not since 1991) and spent time there before getting a lift back to my car in what could be called a pedi-cab or a "rolling chair"; there was no charge except for the expected tip, which I was glad to give. (I may post photos from the museum later, in another thread.) Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Thanks for sharing your pics. I hope you don't mind me adding to your post so everyone can see that there was a decent crowd there for the Driver's meeting: https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BLHvDvSCAAA9hWC.jpg
Had a great time attending my first 500 and was lucky enough to end up in victory circle too... literally! ...and when you throw in some Robin Miller as well it 'then' becomes the greatest spectacle in racing! Landed a great set of seats in the paddock penthouse. Was a great race to see. We took over 600 pics but here's a small sample including nailing the finish line shot. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Here are some more images from Saturday. Along with the roadsters were a few cars older and newer, as well as a nice selection of dirt cars driven by guys like Ward, Foyt and Andretti, back when running on dirt was part of the championship. (I wonder how many of today's drivers would do well on dirt. Somehow I think Tony Kanaan would like it just fine.) I cringe when I look at cars like that with just a roll bar and not a full cage. One bad flip and you're in the morgue..... Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Here are more of the roadsters, both off and on track. The nose on the first one looks like it was inspired by the "sharknose" Ferraris. Green may have been a taboo color back then, but obviously they had no objection about pink! Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
A few more images, including a B-25 Mitchell practicing its flyover for Sunday. The large wall hanging replicates the program cover, with the 4-time winners on the main cover and the 3-time winners on a foldout. And I did catch one exotic driving in the infield. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
When I see those vintage cars, I want to cry. What was so fantastic about Indy -- and what is missing now -- is all right there. Great, great photos! Love it.
So that's what you want? You want the Indy 500 and the series to return to the days of the vintage cars. And if they do, you'll be okay with the reduced speed? You won't yearn to hear "it's a new track record"?
No. And frankly, you're just being argumentative instead of looking at the marvel of what you saw there and not understanding just what has been lost in this series. What I want is individuality and creativity in engineering instead of a cookie cutter approach to watch cars go round and round. This is a series that at one point allowed a TURBINE CAR. That's amazing. It's series that ran front engine cars right along with rear engine cars. It's a series that allowed cars with drivers as a side car. All those vintage cars you shot are so different from one another. They aren't just beautiful. They are technical marvels for their times. They are based on the thoughts of individual designers and engineers. Each one a different solution to the same problem. Some worked, some didn't. All were amazing to see and study and wonder who would find the way to come home first. Personally, I could care less about "new track records". It's completely artificial. The rules makers set the speeds about 217 by the aero, fuel, and engine restrictions. It's not new. It's been going on for over 15 years. A McLaren F1 could go 231 MPH -- in 1998. There's no magic in 217 anymore. People always think I'm anti- Indy. I'm not. I'm one of it's biggest supporters. I'm just not a fan of what they've done with it since the mid 1990's. When I see how creativity and engineering used to be such a big part of this event compared to the near spec series it's become, it's extremely depressing. You call yourself "Indy fan". Surely you can see that what worked so well in the past has been sorely missing in the present. This isn't your father's 500 anymore. And today it doesn't capture the imagination of the public anymore either.
A few more pics....... including the rouge tire I've been to many ALMS and Indy races as a worker and over time you get used to the cars, drivers and the different tracks so the luster kind of wears away. Walking into the IMS for the first time Sunday, the sense of history was very present and a few times while going through the paddock & Gasoline Alley, I found myself stopping and taking a deep breath in. Incredible place with so much history. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
I feel the same way when I look at images of F1 in the '70s. Hunt, Lauda, Villeneuve, Arnoux -- before the FISA/FOCA war. +1 on all the photos.
Absolutely. And crusty, tough SOBs like AJ, Parnelli, Unser, Andretti, etc. I get such a kick out of Bobby Unser and Mario still arguing over the finish in 1981. Characters like that are long gone, and it's also something that is missing.
ha, you got me in one of your pictures, well sorta http://i.imgur.com/JDTZzG2.png that's me Infact... Here's the photo i took at the same time https://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-frc3/296220_10101910790217982_1928393804_n.jpg
No kidding, that's pretty wild! I have about a half dozen pics from that pit sequence. If you can figure out where section 27 , 5th row up in the penthouse paddock- that's where I was seated. Lol wonder if I got you in any other shots... pit out or victory circle at end of race? Nice to 'meet' you! -John
Nice to meet you as well! I've got all his other pits recorded on video and a few more pictures, starting to come down with a cold right now so ill post those videos later.
https://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash4/833_10101910787533362_733353284_n.jpg https://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn1/943216_10101910792318772_477473534_n.jpg hahaha poor guy
I'm thinking I've got you in the 2nd pic! That car was the only one I saw that would bellow out the brakedust like that & there's no way around it- that just plain sucks Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
