Semi official cool old Indy car pics thread

**indyrjc** · 09-10-2009 09:18 AM

Originally Posted by ZOOOM

I went back and looked at the '46 photos on the IMS website, and yes, the car in the picture is Rose's #8. There is a much better picture of the scene on the site.

According to the race report, Russo crashed on lap 16 and Rose crashed on lap 42. The picture shows the two cars in proximity to each other. That would mean that the Russo car WAS left in the middle of the track for 26 laps!

Certainly Rose would not have crashed if the field was under the yellow! They must have been racing.
Can you imagin that happening today?

ZOOOM

Yellows didn't mean much in those days; and it was common to leave cars on the track after a crash if they weren't in the way. Wrecker technology wasn't what it is today and cars often had to be removed by manpower which could be pretty tough if something no longer rolled. In 1947 Shorty Cantlon tangled with Bill Holland and crashed to his death going into Turn One (what we would call it today...back then the whole south end of the track was often called the South Turn and what we now call Turns 3 & 4 was known as the North Turn). His car was left on the track for the remainder of the race. And in 1949 Duke Nalon's wrecked Novi was left on the track for the remainder of the race as well. A wrecker actually tried to pick up the car from just outside the wall but the big Novi was just too heavy. And the yellow light for Nalon's crash lasted exactly 1 minute and 45 seconds. After that the green light came back on and the remaining cars simply raced through the burning fuel running down the track. In those days yellow lights were more like local yellows on a road course today. You slowed in the area of the crash but you pretty much kept up your speed the rest of the way around the track even though you could not pass.

Starting somewhere after about 1950 IMS at least started moving wrecked or stopped cars into the infield areas.

**Neshaminy** · 09-10-2009 09:24 AM

Originally Posted by indyrjc

Yellows didn't mean much in those days; and it was common to leave cars on the track after a crash if they weren't in the way. Wrecker technology wasn't what it is today and cars often had to be removed by manpower which could be pretty tough if something no longer rolled. In 1947 Shorty Cantlon tangled with Bill Holland and crashed to his death going into Turn One (what we would call it today...back then the whole south end of the track was often called the South Turn and what we now call Turns 3 & 4 was known as the North Turn). His car was left on the track for the remainder of the race. And in 1949 Duke Nalon's wrecked Novi was left on the track for the remainder of the race as well. A wrecker actually tried to pick up the car from just outside the wall but the big Novi was just too heavy. And the yellow light for Nalon's crash lasted exactly 1 minute and 45 seconds. After that the green light came back on and the remaining cars simply raced through the burning fuel running down the track. In those days yellow lights were more like local yellows on a road course today. You slowed in the area of the crash but you pretty much kept up your speed the rest of the way around the track even though you could not pass.

Starting somewhere after about 1950 IMS at least started moving wrecked or stopped cars into the infield areas.

Wasn't Donahue's car parked between the track and the inside rail in '68 or'69 maybe as late as '70(I recall it being deep blue, probably Sunoco sponsored) and someone crashed into the parked car at speed later in the race? They didn't seem to bring them all back to the garage for some reason until possibly after that mess.

EDIT---it appears it was '71

Donohue’s stricken car was totally demolished in a later accident by Mike Mosley and the tub was salvaged, with a new car being built back in England in time for the inaugural Pocono 500 that July, where not only would Donohue start from pole, but win Penske’s very first USAC event in his team’s and sponsor Sun Oil (Sunoco) home state. Donohue would win again at the next race at Michigan, along with another pole at Ontario in September, but ran out of fuel after missing his pit signals

**ZOOOM** · 09-10-2009 09:33 AM

Roach, Those appear to be from 1950. The first picture is of the front row. On the outside is Rose in the Deidt Offy, on the pole is Walt Falkner in one of Aggie's #98's. In the second row in the middle is the eventual winner, Johnny Parsons in the Wynn's Kurtis Offy.
That was the year that they filmed the movie "To Please A Lady".
Rose's Diedt was featured a lot...
ZOOOM

**ZOOOM** · 09-10-2009 09:39 AM

Originally Posted by Neshaminy

Wasn't Donahue's car parked between the track and the inside rail in '68 or'69 maybe as late as '70(I recall it being deep blue, probably Sunoco sponsored) and someone crashed into the parked car at speed later in the race? They didn't seem to bring them all back to the garage for some reason until possibly after that mess.

I was sitting in four when that accident happened. Mark went out with something trivial like a rotor or something. The car was typically immaculate, just sitting out of the way on the inside of four in the grass up near the inside wall. It was probably 50/75 feet off the track in the grass.
Then somebody lost it in four, bounced off the wall and spun right through that beautiful 66. It was trashed!

I'll bet Rodger got the speedway to change the rules right then!
ZOOOM

**PHJIndy** · 09-10-2009 10:56 AM

Originally Posted by ZOOOM

I was sitting in four when that accident happened. Mark went out with something trivial like a rotor or something. The car was typically immaculate, just sitting out of the way on the inside of four in the grass up near the inside wall. It was probably 50/75 feet off the track in the grass.
Then somebody lost it in four, bounced off the wall and spun right through that beautiful 66. It was trashed!

I'll bet Rodger got the speedway to change the rules right then!
ZOOOM

That someone that crashed was Mike Mosely.
I've been sitting in Grandstand J since 1968.

**ZOOOM** · 09-10-2009 11:59 AM

Didn't Mosley have a right front wheel bearing fail and shear off the RF wheel?

ZOOOM

**Ovalmeister** · 09-10-2009 04:18 PM

Originally Posted by indyrjc

This car qualified with the help of nitrous. A bottle had actually been riveted inside the tub where it could not be found by any inspectors. The bottle had some kind of a pin held valve on it that could only be turned on one time. There was no way to put another bottle in short of taking the tub apart. Threshie got his car in the show. IIRC, Gary Bettenhausen also started an attempt in a sister car but lost a wheel while on his warmup laps. Since the bottle was then empty the car couldn't make another run.

So you're saying that Phil Threshie and his Agajanian team cheated to make the 1979 500? And that his teammate Gary Bettenhausen attempted to cheat to get in the 500 but didn't make it? I've never heard anything about that, pretty interesting if true. Is this the GB car you're referring to?

**Ovalmeister** · 09-10-2009 04:22 PM

Sheldon Kinser 1981.
David.

**Ovalmeister** · 09-10-2009 04:25 PM

Billy Engelhart 1981.
David.

**Ovalmeister** · 09-10-2009 04:28 PM

Johnny Rutherford 1981.
David.

**Ovalmeister** · 09-10-2009 04:33 PM

A few of Tom Sneva from Indy and Michigan.
David.

**Ovalmeister** · 09-10-2009 04:35 PM

Gordon Johncock 1981.
David.

**Ovalmeister** · 09-10-2009 04:38 PM

Wally Dallenbach 1981. (He may have qualified for Mario?)
David.

**Ovalmeister** · 09-10-2009 04:44 PM

Team Penske 1981. Unser, Mears and Alsup.
David.

**Ovalmeister** · 09-10-2009 04:48 PM

Practice 1981.
Bob Harkey, Joe Saldana, John Martin, Mario Andretti and Pancho Carter.
David.

**Ovalmeister** · 09-10-2009 04:53 PM

Last one for today, my scanner is overheating, lol.
Again 1981, Dennis Firestone.
David.

**sneva33** · 09-10-2009 05:17 PM

The 1948 pace car taken in 1990 on Race Day

**sneva33** · 09-10-2009 05:18 PM

1950 winner taken on Race Day 1990

**sneva33** · 09-10-2009 05:19 PM

1969 winner taken on race day 1990

**sneva33** · 09-10-2009 05:20 PM

Boyle Maserati RACE DAY 1990

**sneva33** · 09-10-2009 05:21 PM

Some of the old Chevy Pace Cars, Race Day 1990

**Neshaminy** · 09-10-2009 06:38 PM

One of my favorite shots in our album
The helmets tell the players
Trenton 1971

**ZOOOM** · 09-10-2009 08:32 PM

Originally Posted by sneva33

1950 winner taken on Race Day 1990

For some of you youngsters out there...
This winner from 1950 was driven by Johnny Parsons. The story goes that they discovered a crack in the block the morning of the race and when they heard the forcast for rain, deceided to go for broke to the front because they figured the car wouldn't last. The race was stopped by rain at half way, with Parsons in the lead.

The other part of the story says that the team ran the engine in all the remaining races for the year and it never failed....
You figure it out...
ZOOOM

**indyrjc** · 09-10-2009 09:35 PM

Originally Posted by Ovalmeister

So you're saying that Phil Threshie and his Agajanian team cheated to make the 1979 500? And that his teammate Gary Bettenhausen attempted to cheat to get in the 500 but didn't make it? I've never heard anything about that, pretty interesting if true. Is this the GB car you're referring to?

Yeah, I think that's the one. A well known fabricator/car builder told me that he was the one that put the nitrous bottles in the tubs and also told me the story about the second car losing the wheel. Once you turned on the bottle it couldn't be turned off; that was part of what kept it so well hidden. They apparently knew they didn't have the speed so the bottles were added just before the last weekend of Time Trials.

**indyrjc** · 09-10-2009 09:40 PM

Originally Posted by ZOOOM

For some of you youngsters out there...
This winner from 1950 was driven by Johnny Parsons. The story goes that they discovered a crack in the block the morning of the race and when they heard the forcast for rain, deceided to go for broke to the front because they figured the car wouldn't last. The race was stopped by rain at half way, with Parsons in the lead.

The other part of the story says that the team ran the engine in all the remaining races for the year and it never failed....
You figure it out...
ZOOOM

The late Bill Sparks worked on the Parsons crew for Chief Mechanic Harry Stephens. Sparks told me that the "crack" was really just a casting flaw and they peened it a little and put some sort of adhesive sealer on it. The block was kind of sweating a little. And you are correct the same "cracked" block stayed in the car for a long time; probably years. Mike Nazaruk had the same "crack" in the block the next year when he drove the car to a second place finish behind Lee Wallard.

**Sea Fury** · 09-10-2009 10:11 PM

Originally Posted by sneva33

1969 winner taken on race day 1990

I really, REALLY don't think so.

**DaveL** · 09-10-2009 10:11 PM

Dick Simon, Fast Friday 1992

Perhaps the nicest driver I ever had the pleasure of meeting. Johnny Parsons, Indy 1994

No one present on Bump Day 1991 would have given Randy Lewis a chance at making the field given the events earlier in the day. This is Lewis moments after he made the field with an eleventh hour run.