Landracing Forum
Bonneville Salt Flats Discussion => Bonneville General Chat => Topic started by: DRW on May 24, 2020, 01:47:31 PM
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I Know its Not Bonneville, But, For 50 years in a row, Ive woke up this morning to the excitement of
THE INDY 500
Nope, , Not this Memorial Weekend Sunday , , Its just weird, Anyone else feel this way ?
Sucks ?
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yep , that was a big deal in our house starting when we were kids in the 50s , my dad and myself and big brother , indy Sunday. the girls were getting the B B Q ready for later in the day.
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Yeah, but not really. Moving the race from the 30th (1974 was the first time they did it) kinda took some of the glamour out of seeing it, and TV broadcasts of the race didn't do all that much for me. Here's why: On the 30th of May, 1961, my dad and I (13 years old at the time) were sitting in the fifth row about 200 yards down the track from the finish line at Indy. Mel Torme had sung "Back Home Again in Indiana", the cars were started and went around on the parade lap and then the pace car pulled off and 32 Offys and Jack Brabham in the Lotus roared past us at full song. They sprayed a mean fog of methanol exhaust on Dad and me...
...And I still get teared up when I think of the visceral thrill of that moment. Any further questions about how I got hooked on racing?
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My associate Robert "Buck" Boudeman (now deceased) was gifted Harry Miller's forever reserved seat passes by Harry's daughter. I am certain he would have a thought or two on the subject. It does seem odd.
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SS Slim, Same here, In Calif we were lucky, They built a copy of INDY in Ontario , Just 20
min away from us, My Dad said, we finally get to see Indy cars in person, until then I was a
Lions & Irwindale Drag Strip kid , , Ill never forget walking up & up & up,And then into a Superspeedway
WOW, Dad said Its only Friday but at least we can see the cars run, Haha, We bought tickets for Sundays race before we left, Wow, The Pagentry and feel of a 500 Race day, In Ontario, Prob about half the excitemant
of Indy, But still Damn good ! We went back every year, Now I dont know what I miss more ?
Indy Or Dad
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Speaking of Buck...Here he is rolling out for a trip up Charles' driveway at Goodwood. Car look familiar Jon? The blonde gal is Constance Stanley-Boudeman...F.A.Stanley's grand daughter.
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Heck yes that car looks familiar. I saw one of them - blue, it was - at WalMart just last week. And now you show me a photo of one. WoW! Thanks.
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Slim: That looks like a Kurtis-Novi. Do people regularly drive them to Wal-Mart in the UP to do their shopping?
Jeff in Boise
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Here in Australia thinking of Indy . About 6 months ago my son sent me a Pic and says where am i . I new straight away that it was Indy . He is a Golf Caddy and was there for a tournament ,they start on the holes in the infield and then move to outside for the rest of the course .
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Speaking of Buck...Here he is rolling out for a trip up Charles' driveway at Goodwood. Car look familiar Jon? The blonde gal is Constance Stanley-Boudeman...F.A.Stanley's grand daughter.
Looks like a Kurtis Kraft - Novi at the 1953 race if Web Wisdom is to be believed (see https://public.fotki.com/thenewcityfamily/model-car-projects-/offenhauser-indy-ca/4644005570-90e6d5de66.html (https://public.fotki.com/thenewcityfamily/model-car-projects-/offenhauser-indy-ca/4644005570-90e6d5de66.html)).
I have watched the race pretty much every year since I was a little kid. Realized an ambition to actually go in 1993, courtesy of a good friend living in Indiana. We were invited to park on a (town of) Speedway neighborhood lawn ($20), arrived early at around 8, and watched the place fill up. The motorized bar stools / coolers (guarded by cops!) parked under the stands were works of art. The race was great (Fittipaldi over Luyendyk, Mansell, Boesel, and Mario after a late restart). The entire experience was incredible.
IMO every American should attend at least once! :cheers:
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I do remember the Novi cars. Dad got hired as Premier Industrial's midwest salers manager in the early 60s, and since Premier supplied high-zoot fasteners to the racers from a garage in the infield -- well, sure enough, Dad got us pit passes for one day of the time trials. And that's where I was lucky enough to see...
...A Novi was rolled out of the garage and into the sunshine. We and a bunch of others gathered around as Andy Granatelli "conducted" the team in starting, warming, and getting set for some laps. Start the engine (cripes! LOUD!!!), idle for a moment or two, and then pour in a couple of cans of STP. Shut it off, put in "warm up" plugs (the first set was the "cold start" set), and then start and run for a couple of minutes to get some heat into the system. Then shut it off and Andy said: "Okay, track plugs" and the crew got busy again.
If memory serves correctly -- there were 16 sparking plugs in the V-8. And the cold start plugs and the warm up plugs that they just ran to get this far? Into the garbage can they went. I couldn't frickin' believe it. They threw away 32 spark plugs, each of which had been used less than 5 minutes? OMG, this racing must be expensive!!!
Yes, Andy was smoking a cigar the whole time. And the Novi itself? Did I say LOUD?
During the race you'd see the pack coming out of turn 4 and roaring WFO down the straight. I could close my eyes and pick out the Novi easily by the sound. It stood out above all the roars.
I gotta stop. I could go on - this is great. Thanks.
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Loud indeed..The looks on the faces of the proper ladies lining the podium at Meadowbrook when Buck rolled by in his NOVI were only out -done by the looks of abject terror when Al Bergler lit up The Motown Shaker fuel funny car moments later. Priceless memory.
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Me thinks this deserves a closer look: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/qngjdebymbbpsa1/AABp9FPeEu3ORB1GkTPxxnhca?dl=0
Local garage did some work on the beast and I got to touch it: https://zakiras.com/
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Zakiras' is a fun place for big kids to hang out. A guy can o.d. on Millers.
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Slim ?
I'd guess that competitors didn't pay for spark plugs in those days. The manufacturers wanted their brand to be the winner and they spent money advertising it. They sold a lot more to race fans and general public with cars that sometimes got them every 10,000 miles. Now 100,000.
I put a new set in my roadster every Saturday morning. Seems I probably didn't tune the Enderle injectors right (or maybe right was only at 7:13 P.M. with my set-up.
Stan
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Forgot to ask...OK Woody..What do you have going with Zakira's?? Bowle's Special replica lakester??
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....Here's why: On the 30th of May, 1961, my dad and I (13 years old at the time) were sitting in the fifth row about 200 yards down the track from the finish line at Indy. Mel Torme had sung "Back Home Again in Indiana", the cars were started and went around on the parade lap and then the pace car pulled off and 32 Offys and Jack Brabham in the Lotus roared past us at full song. They sprayed a mean fog of methanol exhaust on Dad and me..
Hey I was there then or maybe '62 (can't remember which) but not in the good seating. In turn 3 on the inside watching cars go by single file :-(. Hitch-hiked from St. Louis with a friend and slept in the back of someone's car sitting up a couple blocks from the speedway where all the streets were closed for parking and corner parties. Saw the race but didn't know much about what was going on due to our seating. Hitch-hiked part of the way home later that day and the rest of the way the next day.
It was an experience, not at the top of the list but glad I did it,
Sumner
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Jer, I took those pix in 2010 at an SAE meeting we had there. They were trying to transition to CAD at the time and I offered my services but they declined - but if there is a lakester there I might have to annoy them again! :naughty
They actually hot rod & race Millers! :cheers: :cheers:
I'll put the rest of my Zakira pix in the previous folder.
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/qngjdebymbbpsa1/AABp9FPeEu3ORB1GkTPxxnhca?dl=0
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Ah...Josh & co. were prepping her for the trip to Goodwood would be my guess.
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I'd guess that competitors didn't pay for spark plugs in those days.
Stan
At one time they gave plugs away at Speed Week.
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I thought I had finally become a real racer when Art Chrisman gave me a new Autolite for my BSA single to "try" during Speedweek '71 :-D
Ed
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May 30 was the day I would turn on the garage radio to listen to ?the greatest spectacle in racing? while I washed and waxed my Dad?s 1953 Cadillac in our Chicago driveway.
1956 winner Pat Flaherty and Swede?s tavern was a few blocks away. I caught the Western Avenue street car in front of GRANCOR (Granatelli Corporation) to ride to high school. Lots in Indy in Chicago then. Oh, and the Bettenhausens, too.
The first (?) theater pay-per-view race I watched in 1964. Mickey Thompson?s ?roller skate? cars were fueled with enough gasoline to drive the 500 non-stop. Dave McDonald crashed his on lap 2 ? stopping the race that day. I didn?t go back to see the rest of the race. When he ricocheted of the wall he was t-boned by Eddie Sachs. The full gasoline tank splashed into Sachs? car and both drivers were incinerated. I had been at the earlier Time Trial where Eddie Sachs was interviewed and his humorous banter was infectious. Felt like I knew the guy.
Went to the Indy Time Trials about 10 times. From the top 1st corner grandstand you could watch the whole qualifying run ? one car at a time. The Novi V8s were always the loudest. Turbochargers ruined all that. Went to the race 4 times. We had Milwaukee Journal press passes and watched from the pit stands. We could actually walk on the track as the cars were being lined up for the start.
THE GREATEST SPECTACLE IN RACING??? YES!!!
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Dick:
Years ago, when I worked for Sunnen Products Company, we shared an Indy garage with Monroe shocks for the entire month. We were lucky to have ?pins? that allowed us complete access to track and pits. One of the best times I had as a non racer.
John
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I remember listening with my dad on Memorial Day. He died in early 1950, so it had to be earlier than that.
The biggest attendance at a one-day sports event in the world was the Indy 500 ? year after year.
The 2nd place? First day of qualifying for the 500.
And now I hardly care. "Push for Pass"? I'll pass.
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...and the week after Indy was the Milwaukee Mile Speedway race. Every year!
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I was fortunate enough to get to walk about a mile and a half of the track before the race in 1969... Mario won... the banks are not as evident on TV... they are tall.... especially if you are carrying a Sousaphone :-o
:cheers:
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Totally unrelated to this thread but ......Woody; your reply #17 you linked some pics.
In P1010317.JPG is that a Kellison plug, repro body, or....?
It reminds me of something I saw in LA at Petersen's on the way to visit SW but cannot for the life of me remember the make - I want to say Boswell / Bosley (shades of Happy Days).
I can find the image but not the name http://www.neautomuseum.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/p2-13.jpg
Sorry for the detail - does anyone make cars that have this rightness anymore?
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Ferrari Barchetta?
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Not seeing the Cavalino Rampante there.
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It is the 1954 Bosley
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And he used It for a tow vehicle
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Mr. Bosley's final effort was somewhat lacking...Unless you like the idea of stretching the nose of a 250 TR and pasting it on an Avanti
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Oops.forgot www.kellisoncars.com they still.make them
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My neighbor just got rid of his Bricklin SV-1.
Smooth like maple syrup. Yum....
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More like a wedge of cheese.
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Thankyou Mr Floydjer- that clears that up. I think I want a J5 Kellison now - perfect mix of GT and hotrod for my taste. I don't like the anteater version.
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As an aside; Bill Burke Sr. built and raced a Kellison J4 Panther at Bonneville in the Mid 1960?s. I think Mel Chastain drove the car too. Bill Burke Jr. was my good friend at the time and remember a second J4 was built for street use. Of course, everything was painted purple.
John
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It was a strange day not watching the indy 500. One year a local walk in theater showed the 500 from a closed circuit broadcast i was 11 or 12 years old was very cool. I have never been to indy but i can say that i went to ontario motor speedway for the first ever indy car race which was the first ever race at the track.
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I spent the "Month of May" at Indy in 1983 with Danny Ongais and Interscope Racing. We started the month with an 83 March Indy car with a turbo V6 Chevy built by Ryan Falconer. The engine(s) decided they did not like their crank shafts very well and we got a lot of "practice" changing engines. Best we ran was 196 or 98 and the fast guys were going 206. Danny could see the hand writing on the wall, you needed a March chassis but a Cosworth engine. We had several back at the shop in California so DO flew home and got a couplle shipped to us. At the same time our back up car was delivered from March it too had a Chevy V6 in it but DO had told March to include all of the parts to put a Cosworth in it when they shipped it. Every thing arrived on a Monday the week before qualifying. Myself, another crew guy, Alan Bricky and a young guy from March (can't remember his name) took every thing and our tool boxes to Grant Kings shop and spent the next 3 day(that is 72 hours pretty much non stop) getting everything together. Got the car to the track late Wednesday night and on Friday during "Happy Hour" we ran the fastest time of the week, 207. The rest is another story.
Indy racing now is Formula Ford on steroids, all of the cars are the same only difference is you have an choice between a Honda or Chevrolet (Illmor) engine. When I was there although there were lots of Marchs and a few Lolas there were also some cars that were designed and built specifically for Indy, Penskys come to mind and I think that Foyt may have still been running his own cars. I always thought it was much more interesting seeing many different designs of cars for Indy instead of the "belly button" cars that are run today. That is why I love Bonneville.
Rex
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So Rex...Did Wayne Moecle letter Danny's helmet and pit wall for you guys?
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DO was not to big on having a "trick" lettered helmet and I dont remember anything about having the pit wall lettered although that may have happened while I was at Grant Kings helping with the race car rebuild.
Rex
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In '79 I fueled our car during the race but during practice I changed a few right rear tires. There were two drivers who when they came into the pits you got a little closer to the car and held your butt cheeks firmly together and in. Danny Ongais and Bobby Unser always came into the pits faster and it seemed closer.
I picked up parts a few times over at Grant King's. I always thought that was a neat area with Grant King and A.J. Watson right next to each other. There was a lot of creative fabrication happened between those two houses.
Pete
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I'm sure you were pre-occupied to notice the background goings-on Rex..Wayne would have left an impression..5' 5" and around 375 pounds of sign painter.
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I remember listening to Sid Collins broadcasting the 500 when Bill Vukovich was killed. My first trip to Indy was in 1966 working on Jim Hurtubise front engine roadster. Jim didn't drive the roadster, even though it was his car, he was driving for someone else. The roadster didn't qualify. But what a time hanging out with Herk. We were in his vett going to a party when he was pulled over for speeding and after talking to the cop awhile the next thing I know we have a police escort to the party. It seemed like everyone in Indy loved Jim. During practice there was a fatality and of all things the mortician came into Jim's garage and said if he ever needed his services, "here" while handing Jim his business card. Jim threw him out of the garage.
In the early 70's I was building engines for Graham Mcrae's formula 5000 car and Graham went to Indy and drove for Andy Granatelli. While Graham was in line to qualify Andy walked up to the car with a speed handle and told Graham he was going to make him a star and then proceeded to wind down the waste gate adjustment. Graham told me the car was running nearly 700 rpm more down the straight than it had the whole month and then the gear box let go. This was the year where Swede Savage crashed and later died. One of the crew guys for Graham ran out to see, and was hit from behind and killed by a fire pickup truck that was going up the pit road the wrong way. Graham did win rookie of the year. That was my last trip to Indy for a few years until I went back to Indy with Graham when he had a ride in the backup car for Salt Walther. Graham had only a few practice laps in the car and was having trouble getting up to speed. He was told that the car wouldn't qualify if he used the brakes. I asked Graham if he was and he told me "he was standing on them" He did qualify but was bumped out in the last few minutes.
When I drove a hydro for Circus Circus Rodger Ward was our team manager. Because there is so much down time in boat racing I got to spend many hours listening to Rodger's stories about Indy. Rodger had two unfortunate accidents where his car started of a series of events that took the life of two of his friends both Vukuovich and Clay Smith. Even though Rodger won Indy twice he had his share of bad luck that kept from winning a couple more times. The night before the 1964 race they turned his lean/rich valve around because Rodger complained the handle hit his leg. The only problem the crew didn't tell Rodger race morning. That was the year of crash of Sachs and MacDonald. Rodger said his car was getting terrible mileage but the gloom of the accident prevented anyone thinking about the valve being in the rich position. Rodger finished second that year to AJ but had to make more fuel stops because of the fuel settings but had in fact spent less time running the 500 miles.
Many times Rodger would meet me at the airport and one time he picked up my luggage and started to walk off and I told him to wait a minute so I could savor the moment. I told him never in my wildest dreams could I ever imagine someday Rodger Ward would carry my bags.
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I knew Mike Hiss and handled the fuel hose for him at one race in 1972 . I wore my dragster fire suit and the crew from other cars came and asked about it . The crewmen didn't wear helmets then , just a face shield . At that time the fuel man plugged in the fuel hose and then plugged in a cumbersome deal that vented the air . It looked like 2 half gallon milk cartons epoxied around a 2" plastic tube on a rope you slung around your neck . Mike got rookie of the year at Indy and finished 7th I think and placed well for the season despite running the whole season with one used turbo Offy because of limited sponsorship .