1979: Year of the Original Split

Today we have a couple of artifacts from the original open-wheel split of 1979. Specifically, programs from the first CART and USAC races of that season at Phoenix International Raceway and Ontario Motor Speedway, respectively.

The covers themselves tell the story of what each group offered.

CART had the top drivers, with the notable exception of one A.J. Foyt Jr. of Houston, Texas. As such, Gordon Johncock, winner of the previous Jimmy Bryan 150 and at the time a Phoenix resident, is featured.

USAC offered, uh, plenty of seats. Actually, USAC offered  a superstar driver (Foyt ), some other respected veterans and former winners (including Gary Bettenhausen, Roger McCluskey, Jim McElreath and Billy Vukovich) and, most importantly, the Indianapolis 500.

The welcome note from Ray Smartis, general manager for Ontario, hoped for a quick end to the open-wheel civil war:

“Regretfully, some of the prominent drivers you have been used to seeing at OMS are not competing in today’s event because of a current dispute between some of the teams and the U.S. Auto Club.

“We have been working continuously to help heal that breach and we sincerely believe that it will be healed soon. In the meantime, we also believe that today’s race will be every bit as competitive and exciting as you have come to expect for a major contest here at OMS, and we shall continue our dedicated efforts towards the good of all racing.”

A USAC stock car race also was on the bill. Foyt dominated in winning both races.

A couple of drivers who would become stars in NASCAR were in the stock car event: Rusty Wallace, who finished fourth, and Mark Martin, who was 28th.

Ontario Motor Speedway, a sort of idealized version of IMS, closed in 1980 after a mere decade of operation. OMS switched back to CART for its 500-mile race that summer and for its last one the next year.

Phoenix continued as an open-wheel home for many years, some seasons offering both spring and fall events. Interestingly, it broke ties with CART and aligned with the upstart Indy Racing League/USAC for 1996.

Dwindling attendance, however, soon became a huge issue as the “second split” proved disastrous for, well, everyone.  It’s now been nearly 10 years since Phoenix played host to an IndyCar event. Even now with a unified series, a return in the near future seems unlikely.

Thanksgiving - The Next Indianapolis 500 is Halfway Here

Thanksgiving, of course, is a wonderful holiday. Family, food and football – not necessarily in that order - all take center stage.

To an Indianapolis 500 fan, however, Thanksgiving is especially important because it marks the halfway point (more or less) between the previous 500 and the next one. So go ahead and use your turkey drumsticks to make the crossed-flags signal to let everyone at the table know.

Still, the offseason still has a ways to go. Which makes it an ideal time to pull out your old yearbooks, DVDs or programs.

Here’s the program  from my first Indianapolis 500 in 1973 –  I ended up going on the third day of the ill-fated event.

The cover is a bit worse for wear. (Can’t you just hear Dr. Evil saying, “One MEEEELLION Dollars,” though?)

The inside is a bit battered as well – four pages are missing altogether.

That’s because in those days there was a spread showing the top 10 finishers from the year before. So I had my mother very patiently cut out all 10 cars so I could race them on my oval rug – no fancy diecasts back then.

As you can see, I also did my best to keep the entry list accurate and up to date. Not bad for a 5-year-old.

Unlike today, the entry list was overflowing.

I counted 83 entries for 1973. Of course, most of these were backup cars and others had no realistic hope of making the race. One – the Jim Robbins Co. No. 87 – was entered per Mr. Robbins’ will.

I eventually bought a complete 1973 program from the now-closed Mailroom on 16^th Street.

The thought of throwing out the original never crossed my mind – and never will.

Indy Item of the Day: Old Trading Cards

Here are Dale Coyne and Chip Ganassi from the 1985 A&S Racing Collectables set. (Yes, that's how these folks spelled it.)

Who would've guessed that midway through the season that Coyne's team would have more wins than the mighty Ganassi outfit?

Chip could probably use an Old Milwaukee or three right about now. Looks like he's talking to Scott Brayton, but I can't be sure.

I have no idea where Coyne is in this photo.

Indy 500 Item of the Day: Special Sections

As a former newspaperman (nearly 20 years, most as a sports editor), it pains me to see this vital component of the American fabric continue to dwindle in importance.

Today’s newspapers are smaller – both in size and amount of news – as publishers push content toward digital platforms. Good old newsprint is slowly vanishing.

I was probably about 7 years old when I read my first newspaper: The Indianapolis News, the Circle City’s afternoon paper.

Not surprisingly, I started with the comics, but soon gravitated toward the sports section. Often to my father’s chagrin, who would be fruitlessly searching for the section after dinner.

It was safely upstairs as I pored over the latest on the Pacers, Racers (old WHA team), Indians and so forth.

Of course, one of the dominant beats in The News was the Indianapolis 500.

Which brings us to its annual special section on the race.

Once the race was permanently moved to the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend, this section came out on the Friday before the race.

In addition to features, the race lineup (with headshots and qualifying speeds), the scorecard (when was the last time you saw one of those in the Star?) and recaps from the month, the highlight for me was Wayne Fuson’s Form Chart.

Fuson was the sports editor of The News. He wrote about a three-sentence summary of each driver’s chances, complete with odds, in a lively, staccato style that borrowed heavily from horse-racing parlance.

Here’s an example from the 1981 section pictured above. This is for Bobby Unser, Fuson’s favorite at 2-1:

Jockey would like nothing more than to match brother Al’s three victories. Bobby is starting in the front row for the ninth time. He’s gone the distance only three times in 18 previous races. Don’t let the field go to the post without a sizeable wager.

A great, fun read. And only 253 characters – a bit longer than a Tweet.

The Indianapolis News ceased publication on Oct. 1, 1999, the victim of a long, relentless trend of reading habits shifting away from afternoon newspapers. Mr. Fuson had passed away almost three years earlier to the day at 71.

These sections pop up on eBay from time to time, so I’ve been able to grab a few. Each time I’m lucky enough to nab one, I always read the Form Chart first.

Indy 500 Memorabilia: Salt Walther Media Guides

This set of Salt Walther media guides from 1975, ’76 and ’78 caught my eye a few weeks ago. The one from 1975 is signed by Salt.

Anyone who even remotely knows anything about the Indianapolis 500 knows who Salt Walther is and his horrific accident at the start of the 1973 race.  The 1976 guide has three photos from the crash.

Certainly his No. 77 Dayton-Walther blue McLarens were well-known throughout the ‘70s. The team itself started fielding cars in 1955 with Elmer George (Tony’s father) at the wheel. He failed to qualify.

After being away from Indianapolis for a decade, Salt attempted a comeback  in 1990. Despite running an older-model car, he squeezed into the field late on the final day of qualifying only to be bumped out just before the final gun. (Remember when qualifying for the 500 had actual drama like that?)

He tried again the following year and again fell just short on the final day.

That was his final appearance at Indianapolis. Walther died Dec. 27, 2012.

Hunter-Reay Had Bumpy Road to Indy Glory

Much has been of Ryan Hunter-Reay being the first American winner of the Indianapolis 500 since Sam Hornish Jr. in 2006.

While I don’t discount the potential of Hunter-Reay’s nationality to drive more interest in IndyCar racing, what’s more interesting – and a little scary – is perhaps how close the Floridian came to ending up in sports cars or NASCAR.

More than a few times during Hunter-Reay’s open-wheel career - which goes back to 2003 - it appeared that his results and talent weren’t going to keep him in a seat.

That has been a familiar problem in open-wheel racing long before the split. In Hunter-Reay’s case, though, thankfully various teams stepped up to keep his career going.

Hunter-Reay notched wins in his first two years in Champ Car at Australia and Milwaukee driving for American Spirit Team Johansson and Herdez Competition, respectively.

He then spent a lost year with Rocketsports Racing in 2005 (that’s three teams in three years), and it appeared his open-wheel career was at best at a crossroads, if not over completely.

He made no open-wheel starts in 2006, spending the year driving in the Rolex Sports Car Series with an eye toward a possible career in NASCAR as Hendrick put together a driver-development program for him.

Rahal Letterman Racing deserves a ton of credit for getting Hunter-Reay back into the IndyCar community with a partial season in 2007, followed by a full-season program in 2008 that included winning Rookie of the Year at the Indianapolis 500.

Rahal Letterman was heavily backed by the ethanol industry at that time, though, and once that dried up, Hunter-Reay was looking for work again.

This time the two stalwarts of the Indy Racing League- Tony George and A.J. Foyt – kept Hunter-Reay racing in 2009. Andretti Autosport picked him up for 2010.When Hunter-Reay failed to qualify for the 2011 Indianapolis 500, the team bought Bruno Junqueira’s mount from Foyt to get him in the field.

Hunter-Reay rewarded that investment with a win later in the season, the series championship in 2012 and last week’s win in the 500.

Hopefully other American drivers will get the same type of support. Is J.R. Hildebrand, for example, capable of producing results like Hunter-Reay if he’s given some stability? Sage Karam is another American who turned heads in May – will he get the support he needs?

The American talent is there; teams just need to invest in it.

Photo credit: Jim Haines/Indianapolis Motor Speedway

Power Will Win - Maybe

INDIANAPOLIS – Winning the Indianapolis 500 is obviously the goal of every driver in the 33-car lineup.

Leading the Indianapolis 500? No thanks.

“(Leading) punches such a big hole that no one really wants to lead,” said Will Power, who starts on the outside of the front row, considered the ideal spot for jumping into the lead at the start of the race. “If you’re leading, you’re burning fuel, doing yourself no good.”

Last year, identical chassis paired with evenly matched engines bred pack racing, a record 68 lead changes and the fastest race in history (187.433 mph average).

This year’s lineup is the fastest (229.382 mph average) and the closest in terms of time (2.1509 seconds between the fastest and slowest qualifier).

So, likely more of the same this year – entertaining for the fans and frustrating for the drivers.

The first six spots are represented by three Chevrolets and three Hondas, offering evidence of the continuing parity.

“It’s created this whole pack where you have to really understand how to run very close to cars because that’s what you’ll be doing all day no matter where you are in the field,” Power said.

“You can’t get away.”

Power believes his Verizon Team Penske crew has his Dallara/Chevrolet better balanced for traffic this year. If so, watch out.

The series points leader always has been stout on road and street courses. After winning last year’s season-finale at Fontana – after starting on the pole – the Australian now has the confidence he can be victorious on a big oval as well.

Here’s a look at the rest of the field:

Other top contenders

Helio Castroneves – Three-time winner always steady and consistent. Retro Pennzoil livery – right down to the driver’s suit and helmet – has been popular this month.
Ed Carpenter – Back-to-back pole winner would be a popular champion. He led the most laps last year before settling for 10th.
Simon Pagenaud – Winner of the inaugural Grand Prix of Indianapolis can do the double with a win in the 500. Unknown when he joined the series full-time two years ago, he’s now a factor in nearly every race.
Juan Pablo Montoya – Smooth to the point of nonchalance, it’s unlikely Montoya will dominate in the same way he did when he was a rookie in 2000, leading 167 of the 200 laps. Posted second-fastest speed in qualifying.

Strong chance

Scott Dixon – The Al Unser Sr. of this generation – tough combination of fast, smart, cool and calculating.
James Hinchcliffe – Roared back from concussion-inducing incident in grand prix that sidelined him for the first part of the week
Tony Kanaan – Defending champion was one of the most popular winners in recent years. Has struggled in first season with Target Chip Ganassi, but usually runs well at Indianapolis
Marco Andretti – Started third, finished fourth last year after leading 31 laps. Strong on big ovals

Maybe

Carlos Munoz – Excellent second-place effort last year as a rookie. Takes some chances, but gets away with it.
Josef Newgarden – Like Carpenter, this would be a popular win. American driver who came up through the open-wheel ladder system to earn a ride with Sarah Fisher’s team. Capable, but this would be a pretty big upset.
Kurt Busch – Looked very smooth before nasty crash on Monday. Good to see drivers from other disciplines try the 500.
Justin Wilson – Steady, consistent driver for Dale Coyne who was fifth last year.
Ryan Hunter-Reay – 2012 series champion has had an OK month, but has been a step behind his teammates at Andretti Autosport
J.R. Hildebrand – Lost 2011 race in heart-breaking fashion by crashing in Turn 4 on the last lap. Unceremoniously bounced from now-defunct Panther Racing, he’s been strong this month as a teammate to Carpenter.

The rest

Rookie Jack Hawksworth nearly slipped into the Fast Nine and drives for a team (Bryan Herta Autosport) that won the race in 2011 … Sebastian Bourdais is a four-time Champ Car champion … Oriol Servia finished third in 2011 … Graham Rahal hasn’t found much success in his first season driving for his dad, 1986 winner Bobby Rahal … Mikhail Aleshin is the first Russian to qualify for the 500 … Carlos Huertas is a rookie from Colombia… Pippa Mann is the only woman in this year’s race… Takuma Sato diced with Dario Franchitti before crashing late in 2012 … Alex Tagliani won the pole in 2011 … Townsend Bell finished fourth in 2009 … Charlie Kimball won his first race last year at Mid-Ohio … Jacques Villeneuve won the last “pre-split” 500 in 1995 … James Davison made two starts for Dale Coyne last year… Martin Plowman drives for A.J. Foyt… Ryan Briscoe won the pole in 2012 … Sage Karam is from Nazareth, Pennsylvania, home of the Andrettis, and turned 19 two months agao … Sebastian Saavedra had the pole for this year’s inaugural Grand Prix of Indianapolis … Buddy Lazier won in 1996

Photo credit: Jeff Majeske