Show And Tell Us Your Special Indy 500 Memories And Moments
  Show And Tell Us Your Special Indy 500 Memories And Moments |
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#1 
03-07-2008 03:19 PM |
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 Show And Tell Us Your Special Indy 500 Memories And Moments The Indianapolis 500 has created countless memories for generations of race fans, whether it was side-by-side action among Indy legends, a family reunion in the grandstands or being awed by the pageantry of pre-race ceremonies. And we want to hear about your favorite or most memorable experience at "The Greatest Spectacle in Racing" in this thread. Photos also can be posted to accompany written submissions, and fans also are encouraged to post comments about their shared experiences, providing fun interaction among the IMS online community. A selection of written submissions and photos from fans will be published in the 2008 Indianapolis 500 Official Program that will be sold at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway during the Month of May and also available at the Brickyard Authentics Retail Store at the Indianapolis International Airport, online at the IMS Online Store at www.indianapolismotorspeedway.com or by calling (800) 955-INDY. 
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#2
03-14-2008 02:27 PM |
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Robby Gordon My first Indy 500 was in 1999 when Robby almost won. I was in turn two cheering louder than anyone else in that section. Lap after lap I got louder! Then right before the finish he didn't come back around. I could have cried. My husband, who's really not a fan, kept saying I should shut up. One of these days he'll come back to Indy and wit it all. I have confidence.
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#3
03-14-2008 03:27 PM |
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re: Show And Tell Us Your Special Indy 500 Memories And Moments I began going to the INDY 500 with my parents around 1970. We used to camp out in the field across from Speedway Motel which is now the Brickyard Crossing. My fondest memory as a young child was going to the 1977 500 and watching A.J. Foyt win his 4th race. I also got to meet Janet Guthrie that year as she was the first woman to ever compete. I continued to go with my paretns up until 1980 timeframe when school etc became focal. I began going back to the INDY 500 as an adult beginning in 2003. I saw a great battle between the Penske teams and saw Gil De Ferran beat Helio by a very close margin of victory. It is always amazing to see this monstrous facility as IMS is. It was great to be back and hear FLorence Henderson and Jim Nabors sing. I was able to get out on the track the Monday after the race during the official victory photos and grab some great photos for myself including a special one of Gil's son sitting on the side of his car with the wreath around his neck. I wa also able to bring my young daughter in 2005 and she got to meet Danica that year along with a host of other drivers. The additioo of Carb Day into the race weekend of events was a smart move and provdes a lot of entertainment for families. I am hoping now that the unification has taken place that the race and its history will live for a long long time and that the fan base will once again grow to the large numbers it once had!
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#4
03-14-2008 07:10 PM |
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Back to 1939... I guess you might say my interest started back in 1939, although indirectly. My uncle was on the pit crew for 10th place finisher Billy DeVore and I heard countless stories about Bob Swanson, Ronney Householder and Sam Hanks... In 1977, he took me to my first 500 and nothing was better than napping in the shade of the huge tree by the creek inside turn one and listening to the cars roar by. Except maybe for the tour of the new infield speedway museum with Sam Hanks himself. That'll light a young 20 year old's passion. I attended again in 1979 and have been coming from California every year since 1987 hosting a group of friends. Today, I participate in the lap sponsorship fund, taking clients to days out at the track and I recently bought a second home in Indianapolis. Wow, could I be hooked? There is nothing like experiencing the 500 at least once in your life...I'm lucky to have attended 24 races and I'll hopefully attend another 30 in the future!
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#5
03-15-2008 02:50 AM |
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My First Race It was 1985, and my first time at the Five Hundred. We had seats in the old 1911 bleachers, in the south chute. The weather was magnificent, and everything that happened that day happened in front of us. I saw AJ Foyt, and Mario Andretti, and Johnny Rutherford, and Al Unser, all right there, right in front of me. I'd spent my childhood with Floyd Climer and Donald Davidson yearbooks, dreaming of the race, but on some level I'd never really been able to believe that it could be real. Now, here I was... Just after halfway, Danny Sullivan passed my childhood hero Andretti on the inside for the lead, and lost it as he tucked back in front of him for the turn. Time seemed to slow to a crawl. I could see the gearbox and wing of Andretti's car, and nothing more, barely visible though the smoke. I waited for the inevitable crash, waiting to see the gearbox jump into the air with the impact, but it never came. Sullivan spun to one side out of the smoke cloud, Andretti coasted past him to regain the lead, and then, like something from a movie, Sullivan gunned it and took off after him. We went insane. I could hear Tom Carnegie bellowing over the PA, but the words didn't register. Above the sound of the engines, from the north end of the track, I could hear the roar of the crowd carried on to us the afternoon air, moving toward the front straight, a distinct double wave of sound that followed Andretti and Sullivan around the track as they headed for their pits, and then returned to us at the south end as they resumed the race. It was one of those moments. If I never made it to the Speedway again, I had still seen something for the ages.
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#6
03-15-2008 10:09 AM |
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My First Trip to the Speedway My first trip to the Speedway was for a practice day in 1964. I was 7 years old and in the 1st grade. My father came home after closing his saloon on Chicago's South Side, woke me up and said "Let's go". Where are we going?, I asked. To Indy, he said. What about school?, I asked. There's no school today, was his reply. So off we went to Indy. The excitement of finally going to Indy steadily increased all the way there. When I saw the 1st turn grandstands from 16th St., the hair on the back of my neck and on my arms stood up, which is the same reaction I experience today. First, we went into the old Museum, next to the main gate. There I was, standing right next to real race cars, close enough to touch them! Then we went inside, into the infield. Imagine a 7 year olds awe at the size of the place. How could any one place be so huge? I couldn't wait to see the cars on the track. We sat in the Tower Terrace, right in front of the pits. There was A.J.! Parnelli! Ward! Rathmann! Gurney! Ruby! Hurtubise! Clark! Sachs! McDonald! It was better than anything I had ever dreamt about the place. Of all the hundreds of wonderful memories I have of the Speedway, that day with my father is my first and best.
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#7
03-15-2008 10:21 AM |
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Dedication to the Fullest It was Pole Day at Indy, 1985. Sitting in the grandstand, I saw a cart with a driver almost lying down, coming down pit road from Gasoline Alley. The cart stopped and the crew literally picked up the driver and put him in the car. I asked my husband, "Who is that driver?" He told me it was Rick Mears, whom had been badly injured the previous year. I thought he must be crazy or really loved to drive. Rick Mears showed that day what it means to be at Indy, year after year.
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#8
03-15-2008 11:18 AM |
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My Many Years IM 15 right now and i have been going for almost 10 years now so i have been going since i was 5 years old and every year it has been an experience of a lifetime. I love going for two reasons, one i love to go so i can hang out with my family, i never get to see alot of them becuase they are far away but they all fly in for this occasion. Second i love to go and just be in indy, the city itself is beuatiful and i love going and hanging out at the racetrack and watching the race. These years will always be remembered and when im older i will continue to go.
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#9
03-15-2008 12:22 PM |
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500 Family Tradition One of my fondest memories of the Indianapolis 500 occurred about a decade ago when my cousins, my siblings, and I reconnected because of the race, getting together in the Coke lot to celebrate the traditions of the Indy 500. We hadn’t seen each other in probably 10 years. Our mothers were sisters and both had passed away due to breast cancer. During our first get-together in the Coke Lot the day before the race, we chatted, celebrated, and camped as all Coke Lot fans do. Of course it rained a little that day. In our discussions we reminisced about how my cousins’ mother loved rainbows and how a few days before her passing both families were together on the coast of South Carolina. One day after a rain came through a double rainbow came across the ocean. It is truly one of the most amazing sites I have ever seen. Little did we know that an hour or two after that discussion we would see another double rainbow outside the speedway after a typical May weather pattern blew through. We took it as a sign that our mothers were there celebrating with us. From that day on our family has gotten together for the race. The cousins burn from the sun in turn three while we relax with the breeze at the top of turn four. We have all become avid 500 fans. One cousin and I even run the Mini Marathon each year just to be able to walk on the track and celebrate the tradition of racing in Indianapolis. We have seen many exciting races in the past ten years, and the tradition of the 500 we hope to pass down to our children.
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#10
03-15-2008 11:51 PM |
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My best 500 memory In January of 2007, I deployed, with the United States Air Force, to Iraq. My deployment was scheduled to run through the middle of May and as the rotation wore on, I used the countdown clock on the Speedway website to track how many days were left in my deployment, knowing that I was due to be home a couple of days before the 500. As it got closer to coming home, things got dicey, as they usually do with military airlift but, the Air Force was good about keeping me on schedule and I was home the night before Carb Day. I was able to make it to Carb Day and the 500 and I never, once, complained about the rain!
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#11
03-16-2008 10:51 AM |
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So Many Memories My first Indy 500 was in 1986 when it was run the first weekend in June due to rain. Then in 1991 as a freshman at Speedway High School, I joined the SHS 500 Band and got to march around the magnificent Speedway for the next four years. In return, we received tickets to the infield for the race. I have now been to every 500 since. I grew up next to the track, next door to the Gehlhausens (Spike, Carl and Marge). They got me hooked on racing when they let me sit in the racecar while tuning the engine! My fondest memory has to be in 1996 when Danny Ongais went to the back of the field for the start, out of respect for Scotty Brayton, who was one of the nicest drivers I had ever associated with, and Tony Stewart started on the pole. Thinking about that day brings a tear to my eyes every time. There are so many memories, I cannot even imagine how many I could mention. But the pagentry and tradition make it the best race in the world, no matter who competes. It has been and always will be a major part of my life.
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#12
03-16-2008 12:51 PM |
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Will McCarty of isitMayyet.com I've attended the previous twenty 500's, but my family has been attending for over forty years. While many race memories run through my head, the tradition of the race to me cannot be described without including my family. There are thirty or so tickets in my family that brings relatives from Ohio, Louisiana, Alabama, New Jersey, and Hong Kong to Turn 3 every Memorial Day weekend. From great food and spirits, particularly the cream cheese and olive bagels on race day, to decorative coolers commemorating an attendee's graduation, known as “the mother cooler”, the weekend is all about the celebration of family with the race as the cornerstone. The race itself is a journey from Cincinnati to Indianapolis, once in rented vans but now in a chartered bus. While many family members can no longer attend the race due to children or age, their spirit is still felt at the race as they watch on TV back home. The excitement builds as thirty people, of whom only one has ever actually lived in Alabama, sing with Jim Neighbors. Quite simply, the best moment of the year every year can always be narrowed down to being with family as the cars scream into Turn 3 on the very first lap of the race.
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#13
03-16-2008 08:06 PM |
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re: Will McCarty of isitMayyet.com Quote: Originally Posted by Will McCarty I've attended the previous twenty 500's, but my family has been attending for over forty years. While many race memories run through my head, the tradition of the race to me cannot be described without including my family. There are thirty or so tickets in my family that brings relatives from Ohio, Louisiana, Alabama, New Jersey, and Hong Kong to Turn 3 every Memorial Day weekend. From great food and spirits, particularly the cream cheese and olive bagels on race day, to decorative coolers commemorating an attendee's graduation, known as “the mother cooler”, the weekend is all about the celebration of family with the race as the cornerstone. The race itself is a journey from Cincinnati to Indianapolis, once in rented vans but now in a chartered bus. While many family members can no longer attend the race due to children or age, their spirit is still felt at the race as they watch on TV back home. The excitement builds as thirty people, of whom only one has ever actually lived in Alabama, sing with Jim Neighbors. Quite simply, the best moment of the year every year can always be narrowed down to being with family as the cars scream into Turn 3 on the very first lap of the race.
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#14
03-16-2008 09:12 PM |
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Walking In The Footprints of My Heroes I was blessed to be born in Indianapolis. I am sure that in May of 1949 I heard the sounds of the race cars while I was in my mother's womb. She and my father never missed a qualifying or weekend practice day at the Speedway. I was born in September of that year. My earliest memories of the Speedway come from 1952 sitting with my parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles on a practice day in early May in the old wooden stands along the pits just south of the old pagoda. I distinctly remember the #99 Belanger Special that day. It was so sleek in its dark blue livery. In a harbinger of things to come, I asked My Uncle Charlie if I could use his binoculars to take a picture. At the age of two I had no clue it was not a camera. My parents continued to take me to practice and qualifying each May and finally in 1956, at age six, they took me to see my first Indianapolis 500. We had seats in the old wooden stand in the south short chute which is now the South Vista stand. I have not missed one since, not even the ones delayed for days by rain. That 1956 race was very special to me as I used an old Brownie Hawkeye camera to make some black and white photos. My most vivid memory of that first race was hearing a tire blow on Paul Russo's Novi and seeing cars spinning everywhere in Turn One. At about age nine, I recall sitting high above the first turn in the upper deck of Grandstand E and watching all the photographers go down into the first turn to make images of the cars as they were about to go out for practice. I thought that it must be really cool to be a photographer and to be able get close to the race cars. Throughout high school I made sure that I spent as much time at the Speedway as I possibly could. I carried a Kodak Instamatic with me and took lots of photos. When I entered Indiana University in 1967, the race was still on May 30 at that time. When registering for my spring semester classes in January of each year, I would look at the final exam schedule for the end of the semester. If any class had a final scheduled for May 30, I would wait to take that class another year. In 1970, I recieved a gift that would change my life at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway forever. It was a Pentax 35mm camera and it included a 200mm lens. I was so hooked on the race and making photos of it, that I spent every penny I had buying film and getting it developed. In 1972 I was able to photograph the race with race day credentials for the first time. That helped me decide to become a professional auto racing photographer. I have been lucky enough to have photographed every Indianapolis 500 since that 1972 race. By 1981, I was blessed to be invited to join the Indianapolis Motor Speedway photography department by Ron McQueeney. Ron is still my boss to this day. My work now includes shooting a portion of the Indianapolis 500 in front of the South Vista stand in the same area I saw my first race in 1956. Interesting how life takes you in full circles. While my cameras have changed throughout the years, my passion for the Speedway has not. I cannot imagine my life without the Speedway in the month of May. All of my heroes in racing from my father and my Uncle Charlie, to Tom Carnegie, Tony George, and Helio Castroneves have left their footprints at the Speedway and in my life. I am truly honored and blessed to be able to walk in the footprints all my racing heroes have made there.
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#15
03-16-2008 09:46 PM |
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favorite 500 memory I Have been coming to the speedway for 500 time trials on and off for 20 years. My first pole weekend was 1986 and seeing mears, foyt, andretti, sullivan , firestone , pimm. Now that the unifacation is complete i will be back haven't been there in 3 years.
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#16
03-16-2008 11:15 PM |
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My 500 Memories We live in Tucson, Arizona and drive back to Indy every May. My first 500 was in 1982. 25 years, soon to be 26 years without missing a race. Our first seats were in Stand H and we have since moved to various locations to where we have been for about the last 5 or 6 years in the Paddock at the Start / Finish line just under the canopy. ( I LOVE THESE SEATS and wouldn't want to sit ANYPLACE ELSE ) I have a story I could tell about each year, however the one in 2001 in which I won a contest from ABC Sports is the one I'd like to share. Winning this contest would fullfill a lifelong dream. I was flown in and givin' the red carpet treatment. We had tickets in the VIP suites in turn 2. We were allowed access into Gasoline Alley.............and actually INSIDE garages while final preperations for the race were being made. We were allowed in the pits up until it was racetime. But the lifelong dream of being able to go around the track in a race car was fullfilled with a 4 lap 10 mile ride in the 2 seater IndyCar. I had been around the track on the tour bus numerous times, however I can't begin to tell you the emotions, the feelings, the tears of joy I experienced when I was buckled in this car and taken out onto the track. That year I got to meet and get autographed pictures of all 33 drivers along with pictures of myself and a couple of my favorite drivers. And if that wasn't enough after the race we were at Winner's Circle and Helio Castroneves poured the milk on his hat which he tossed into the crowd. I was lucky enough to catch the hat and still have it ( all visitors to my home can look but can't touch ) with dryed milk stains to this day. Last year the Speedway allowed Sinden Racing to do the IndyCar DRIVE.........well you guessed it. I now have driven a real IndyCar for 4 laps or 10 miles around the Motor Speedway... The only thing on my list of dreams is to be in the Starter's Box and to be able to go into the Pagoda. I guess at that point my life would be complete ...... unless the Hulman-George family would let me be buried on the grounds !!!! We have a room in our home that is dedicated to Indy 500 memories, photo's, race tickets, etc. etc. My friends can varify my love for the race as periodically during the year I will give a "countdown" with the number of days until the next Indy 500 which by the way at this time is....... Countdown to Indy 69 days 20 hrs 28 min 20 sec but who's counting.... ME THAT'S WHO !!!!! a true open wheel and Indy 500 race fan, Rick
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#17
03-17-2008 08:46 AM |
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My favorite place to be I have been attending practice days, time trials, and races at the 5oo track since I first saw the Whoosh car in 69 with my dad. Every year I gauge how soon the warm weather will be here by counting down to the Indy 500. My fondest memories of me and my dad are from when we would go to the track. Two years ago I proposed to my wife at the track under a tree in the plaza behind the Pagoda. I thought since the track is my favorite place to be why not. She accepted by the way. Now, my fondest memories are with my wife every year at the track. We spend much of the month in May watching the teams work, talking with the drivers, and just simply enjoying the entire experience that is Indy. Every year is more and more special and perhaps one of these times I might just take a ride in the two seater car. My other love in life is amature photography. Two years ago while my wife and I were back in the garage area I caught Micheal Andretti's car at the methanol pump before going out. I took this picture using my Nikon with a wide angle lens on one of those fine warm spring days. This is one of my favorite pictures that I have taken at the track. In fact, this one I enlarged and is hanging on the wall in our Indy 500 themed bar room in the basement. Dave
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#18
03-17-2008 09:40 AM |
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re: My favorite place to be Quote: Originally Posted by Dave Hurt I have been attending practice days, time trials, and races at the 5oo track since I first saw the Whoosh car in 69 with my dad. Every year I gauge how soon the warm weather will be here by counting down to the Indy 500. My fondest memories of me and my dad are from when we would go to the track. Two years ago I proposed to my wife at the track under a tree in the plaza behind the Pagoda. I thought since the track is my favorite place to be why not. She accepted by the way. Now, my fondest memories are with my wife every year at the track. We spend much of the month in May watching the teams work, talking with the drivers, and just simply enjoying the entire experience that is Indy. Every year is more and more special and perhaps one of these times I might just take a ride in the two seater car. My other love in life is amature photography. Two years ago while my wife and I were back in the garage area I caught Micheal Andretti's car at the methanol pump before going out. I took this picture using my Nikon with a wide angle lens on one of those fine warm spring days. This is one of my favorite pictures that I have taken at the track. In fact, this one I enlarged and is hanging on the wall in our Indy 500 themed bar room in the basement. Dave
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#19
03-17-2008 03:19 PM |
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The only one I missed. I started going to the 500 in '92. Always camped close by. No matter what was going on in my life at the time, would I miss the race. In '05, I was 8 months pregnant. I some how convinced my doctor that I should go the race. She felt it was safe for me to go. That year, we set up camp at Lot 3. Wanted to make sure that I was really close to the track so I wouldn't have to walk too far. Got down to the track Saturday morning. Everything was great, had a wonderful cookout for dinner, then my water broke. We got a police escort over to Methodist. My son was born 5 hours later. The next day, we set up our racing scanner from my hospital room and could hear all the activity from the track. We named our son Wesley Hulman.
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#20
03-17-2008 07:51 PM |
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Mansell in 1993 My sons and I went to Indy for our first time in 1993. We were listening to Nigel Mansell on the scanner when he said to Jim McGee in his dry british accent: "what happens when you have to go to the bathroom" McGee's response: "Nigel, it's a long race, do what you have to do." Nigel's response: "Think I'll hold it." My sons and I both heard this. About 4 laps later, Mansell comes out of turn number 2, scrapes the wall and continues as if nothing happened. I looked at my 2 sons and said, "Wonder if he's still holding it!" We still get a laugh out this one!
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