Bro in law to The Garage, Scott Simmons received a pretty sweet B-Day gift from my Sis this year. Tickets to the Indy 500! This shot was taken halfway through lap one.

Keep the shots coming dude!

Today’s race tracks are nothing short of amazing especially when you consider what was used back in the early 1900’s. But as beautiful as they appear today they can not hold up by comparison when we take a look what used to be as we look back thru the history books.

Anyone who has been to Indianapolis will most certainly recognize the above photo which is none other than the famous Pagoda that sits on the start/finish line at Indianapolis Raceway. While many consider this to be the Mecca of all racetracks in this writers oppinnion by comparison it’s an eyesore when compared to what once was.
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The Indianapolis 500 has lost most of its storied luster, but some excitement is still generated by marketeers eager to align with the historic value of the event.

On Memorial Day weekend in 2008, General Motors is taking their ethanol promotional campaign to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. For the tenth time, a Chevrolet Corvette will be leading the open wheel field around the track for the Indy 500.
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While reading through H.A.M.B. comments about the Vanderbuilt Cup, I stumbled across an incredible archive of American race winners called Rumbledrome. It is full of photos and details of American racing history. It got me thinking that there is a bit of my family’s history that I don’t think I’ve shared.
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It just blows my mind sometimes how many cool things are floating around on the internet. Ryan at The Jalopy Journal has just come across this full colour video of the 1941 Indy 500. Just a warning though, this is one to watch at home with a nice cold beverage as it is a full 29:57 long!

Tonight on SpeedTV, Dave Despain was joined by Mario, Michael & Marco Andretti. Three generations of America’s premier racing family. It was an interesting interview, in that what wasn’t said was almost as important as what was. Mario showed himself to be the elder statesman, not only of the sport, but of the family as one would expect. When some insensitive viewer e-mailed the inevitable rookie question (in relation to the death of Paul Dana) both Mario & Michael were quick to say that Marco is more than ready. They actually looked like they were going to continue the topic, when Despain carefully changed the direction of the conversation like the experienced host that he is. It was also cool to watch Dad & Grandpa try to convince the youngster that Formula One is the way he needs to go, while a surprisingly mature Marco pointed out that it is most important for him to be 110 percent focused on the job at hand.

When asked about the ongoing (and perhaps impending) unification talks between the bosses of Champ car & IRL Mario coyly said he wasn’t in on the talks, but that he knew they were going in the direction that is the best for open wheel racing in North America. The wry grin said it all. Mario knows exactly what is going on, he’s just not telling.

Several times, they showed the Andretti Family lapping session that opened the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the month of May, leading up to the 2006 Indy 500. The shots of Mario in a sixties era Indy car and “the boys” in their modern cars were wonderful. Perhaps 2006 will be the year the Andretti curse at Indy is broken.

I found this cool Sunoco ad in the program for the Mac’s Continental program from Mosport in September 1970. I think this pic of”Captain Nice” pretty much sums up the reputation Mark Donohue had. A family guy who also happened to be one of the best racers who ever lived.

The Mac’s Continental weekend featured Formula A, B & C. Formula A was for Formula 1 style cars with 5.0 liter V8 engines which grew into what most of us know as Formula 5000. The starting grid included names like David Hobbs, Dick Smothers (of Smothers Brothers fame), George Follmer and of course Captain Nice himself. Also of note are some of Canada’s most important drivers, Bill Brack, Horst Kroll, John Cannon and Ludwig Heimrath. Some American readers may remember his son, Ludwig Heirath Jr. who made a few failed attempts at the Indy 500 back in the Eighties.