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43 minutes ago, FKIM01 said:

Yeah...and his loose tire also took out Conor Daily's nose cone.  Conor was able to finish on the lead lap, but after leading the most laps and finishing 13th, you have to wonder if that unfortunate collision was the difference for him as well.

Absolutely was.  Or maybe I should say it was the difference for him being in the final 3-4 guys that had a chance. I know Conor said things were fine but in such a precision sport? 

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14 hours ago, Parakeet Jones said:

Just got home. What a race!  One of my favorites of all time. I wish Dad could  have been here to see that one. 

Just thought of it. You got to see Helio make the pass in turn 1 from your vantage point. I thought he made the move a bit early but it turned out ok! Haha. Awesome race and what a day to remember. Being there on a day when someone joins the 4x club will always be special.

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"Black Noon" by Alan Garner is an excellent book about the 1964 Indianapolis 500. It details the events leading up to the race in which Eddie Sachs and Dave McDonald were killed. The insights into the mechanical and design problems reveal a lot about the days when just about anyone could build and enter a car. This is a must read for anyone who is a 500 junkie.

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3 minutes ago, cthomas said:

"Black Noon" by Alan Garner is an excellent book about the 1964 Indianapolis 500. It details the events leading up to the race in which Eddie Sachs and Dave McDonald were killed. The insights into the mechanical and design problems reveal a lot about the days when just about anyone could build and enter a car. This is a must read for anyone who is a 500 junkie.

That was the second 500 I attended. We were sitting down by the first turn on the outside. I was only 6, but I knew that black cloud wasn't good...

Numerous drivers tried to talk McDonald out of racing that car...I remember I read an interview of Johnny Rutherford once and he said when McDonald passed him he thought he'd either win the race or kill himself in that car...

Also, they found a lemon on a string that Sachs wore around his neck for luck in Rutherford's car after he had hit both Sachs and McDonald...Johnny was lucky that day...

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8 hours ago, cthomas said:

"Black Noon" by Alan Garner is an excellent book about the 1964 Indianapolis 500. It details the events leading up to the race in which Eddie Sachs and Dave McDonald were killed. The insights into the mechanical and design problems reveal a lot about the days when just about anyone could build and enter a car. This is a must read for anyone who is a 500 junkie.

Apparently, the author is Art Garner.   Thanks for the recommendation. I've asked the state digital library association to consider adding it.

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17 hours ago, IUFLA said:

That was the second 500 I attended. We were sitting down by the first turn on the outside. I was only 6, but I knew that black cloud wasn't good...

Numerous drivers tried to talk McDonald out of racing that car...I remember I read an interview of Johnny Rutherford once and he said when McDonald passed him he thought he'd either win the race or kill himself in that car...

Also, they found a lemon on a string that Sachs wore around his neck for luck in Rutherford's car after he had hit both Sachs and McDonald...Johnny was lucky that day...

I remember that day like it was yesterday. Even as a 10 year old I remember it being a very somber and dark day.

My Mom went to that race and came home with a horrible sunburn. 

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9 hours ago, FKIM01 said:

Apparently, the author is Art Garner.   Thanks for the recommendation. I've asked the stat.e digital library association to consider adding it.

You are correct. The authors name is Art and not Alan. At my age, I should not rely solely on memory for important details. The author's level of research and detail was really impressive to me. He also did a great job of handing the fallout and investigation after the accident. One other thing that stood out for was what a different breed of human being race car drivers are.

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19 hours ago, cthomas said:

"Black Noon" by Alan Garner is an excellent book about the 1964 Indianapolis 500. It details the events leading up to the race in which Eddie Sachs and Dave McDonald were killed. The insights into the mechanical and design problems reveal a lot about the days when just about anyone could build and enter a car. This is a must read for anyone who is a 500 junkie.

Besides the tragedy the thing that always stood out to me was that AJ never changed tires the entire race.

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20 hours ago, cthomas said:

"Black Noon" by Alan Garner is an excellent book about the 1964 Indianapolis 500. It details the events leading up to the race in which Eddie Sachs and Dave McDonald were killed. The insights into the mechanical and design problems reveal a lot about the days when just about anyone could build and enter a car. This is a must read for anyone who is a 500 junkie.

I just read that book this past April. It was an interesting read. 

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The safety improvements in the cars have been phenomenal since those days. 1964 and 1973 were the two worst worst races I remember. The most exciting thing I have seen at the speedway in recent years was watching the Moto-GP bikes go through the turns at north end of the road course. They seemed to defy the laws of physics. They reached 210 mph at the end of the front straight, just sitting on a two wheeled rocket ship. Who needs seatbelts.

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15 hours ago, cthomas said:

The safety improvements in the cars have been phenomenal since those days. 1964 and 1973 were the two worst worst races I remember. The most exciting thing I have seen at the speedway in recent years was watching the Moto-GP bikes go through the turns at north end of the road course. They seemed to defy the laws of physics. They reached 210 mph at the end of the front straight, just sitting on a two wheeled rocket ship. Who needs seatbelts.

Remember 73, we sat out the rain until we decided it was time to go back to school, as we pulled into the parking area at the frat, some others were piling into a car. We asked where they were going and they said Indy, they weren’t going to be checking tickets. We said the heck with that, and we turned around and went back. We were able to sit on the start finish line! Watched the crash in turn 4 and then watched a rag doll tumbling down pit row only yards from us. Needless to say, since I had drawn Swede Savage in the pool, I will never enter a race pool again!

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  • 4 months later...

I just finished reading "Al Unser, Jr : A Checkered Past". Wow! I knew Little Al had some issues, but I had no idea how long he had them or how bad they were. He seems to be in a better place now and I sincerely hope he stays there. I liked him as a race car driver, but apparently drugs and alcohol made him a less likable person away from the track. If you love IndyCar and especially that era of racing, you'll probably enjoy this book.

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11 hours ago, cthomas said:

I just finished reading "Al Unser, Jr : A Checkered Past". Wow! I knew Little Al had some issues, but I had no idea how long he had them or how bad they were. He seems to be in a better place now and I sincerely hope he stays there. I liked him as a race car driver, but apparently drugs and alcohol made him a less likable person away from the track. If you love IndyCar and especially that era of racing, you'll probably enjoy this book.

There was a thread going about this book on Trackforum. It piqued my curiosity. I might have to try this one out next spring leading up to the race. 

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  • 6 months later...
7 hours ago, Parakeet Jones said:

Looks like the deal is done for a 33rd entry. I miss the old days when qualifying was a big deal. You think Scott is bad with 80’s college hoop worship, you should see me with my old school Indy love. 

Pole Day used to be the 2nd largest auto race in the world. 

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17 minutes ago, Parakeet Jones said:

Yes it was. I’m trying to talk Little Keet into going to qualifying this year. If he goes, I’m said he wont see it the way it was. 

I know a lot of people blame Tony George for the split with CART on Indy's decrease in popularity...

How do you guys feel?

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22 minutes ago, IUFLA said:

I know a lot of people blame Tony George for the split with CART on Indy's decrease in popularity...

How do you guys feel?

I'm the wrong guy to ask because of bias and honestly I love absolutely everything there is about the operation at 16th and Georgetown. In my eyes they can do no wrong...haha.

Getting a better TV deal is key...and I believe with Penske the IndyCar series can continue with it's increasing attendance and numbers. My only issue is the timing of the schedule. We go from the largest greatest speed race and instead of building off that momentum (speed) we go back to street racing for a month...when we should be selling and marketing speeds of 240mph going into the summer.

 

 

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2 hours ago, IUFLA said:

I know a lot of people blame Tony George for the split with CART on Indy's decrease in popularity...

How do you guys feel?

I mostly blame the egos of guys with too much money. The atmosphere at the Speedway in the 80's through the mid 90's was phenomenal. There was no better place to spend an Indiana spring day. Full month of activity and no better place to people watch. Some of the things I have seen out there will forever be burned into my memory. I will admit to liking the less corporate nature of the sport back then, hut the costs of the technology that was coming made the current model inevitable. Like so many other things, there is no going back. Back to the original question, the "split" was the beginning but the landscape of change was already underway.

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2 hours ago, Seeking6 said:

I'm the wrong guy to ask because of bias and honestly I love absolutely everything there is about the operation at 16th and Georgetown. In my eyes they can do no wrong...haha.

Getting a better TV deal is key...and I believe with Penske the IndyCar series can continue with it's increasing attendance and numbers. My only issue is the timing of the schedule. We go from the largest greatest speed race and instead of building off that momentum (speed) we go back to street racing for a month...when we should be selling and marketing speeds of 240mph going into the summer.

 

 

They have got to get more ovals on the schedule. 

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  • 2 weeks later...
12 hours ago, Parakeet Jones said:

Entertaining race on the road course today. I’m usually not a huge fan of the road course races, but that one was really good.  It would have been a lot better had race control not left the yellow out so long after I believe it was Rahal spun near the end. 

One of the wildest races I've ever watched and I only saw bits and pieces. Weather, potential weather, tires, ticked off drivers....

Now the real show begins. Full practice Tuesday-Friday, Quals over weekend, and they added a practice on Monday I believe.

Can't wait for dry cool temps this week before heat cranks back up this weekend for qualifications. Going to be tough to figure out how to setup car with a 15 degree air temp difference between T and Saturday.

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