Vacations are a great thing…and for me, my recent one allowed me to pay a visit to one of my favorite places, Indianapolis…specifically, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall Of Fame and Museum.
Thought I’d share some photos with all of you….
This is the famous Borg Warner trophy that sits on a rotating platform in the museum…a smaller version of this permanent trophy goes to the winner of each 500…
This car looks like a cross between a car and an airplane…in fact, it’s the Marmon Wasp, and driven by Ray Harroun, it won the first EVER Indy 500 in 1911…this car’s not only notable for being the first Indy winner, but also for having a (for 1911) new invention in automotive technology attached: A rearview mirror (invented by Harroun to get around not having a riding mechanic, as most race cars of the era were two seaters with a mechanic who rode with the driver).
This is one of the infamous ‘turbocars’ owned by Andy Granatelli, who fielded them in 1967/68. This is the 1968 car that like its predecessor the year before, nearly won the race (a small part failure sidelined the car before the finish).
Had one of the ‘turbocars’ or ‘whooshmobiles’ as they were called (because of the sound that they made) won the race, it would have spelled the extinction of the normal engine at the Brickyard.
While I was there, I also paid a visit to the US Nationals drag racing event at O’Reilly Raceway Park. TV does not do Top Fuel and Funny Car dragsters justice, you have to see one of these events in person to appreciate how fast, LOUD, and ground pounding these cars truly are.
This is Ashley Force’s Funny Car (she qualified for final eliminations, daddy John didn’t).
One other picture to share (sorry, I did get to meet him, but didn’t get any shots with him)…from the World Figure 8 Championship…
This is the car that Jesse James of ‘Monster Garage’ fame brought to race…if you want to see his full adventure at the event, watch for his new show to debut on Spike TV in February of 2009.
Later!
Paul The Small Guy
Crap it’s Labor Day. I saw school supplies on sale already at the local pharmacia and they reminded me of the smell of library paste and number 2 pencils and writing the “what I did this summer” essay on the first day of school. Which made me wonder what I didn’t have time for this summer like a Yankee game, a canoe trip, an Allman Brothers show, skinny-dipping, the meteor showers, Cape Cod or a day at Saratoga. Tonight I will rustle around the back of the ‘fridge for a cold OV and sit outside until the sun goes down and hope that the levees hold in New Orleans….