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!!!