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Reactions: Indy 500 Memories Users share their favorite race momentsPosted: Friday May 25, 2001 7:32 PMUpdated: Saturday May 26, 2001 6:48 PM The 85th Indianapolis 500 is Sunday. We asked you to share your greatest memories from the race, and now you can read a sample of the responses we received. The 1961 Indy 500 was my favorite. Foyt beat Eddy Sachs, who had to stop for tires in the final laps. The drivers then would drive the car until the tread was gone and you could see the cord of the tire. The race was close wheel-to-wheel, seat-of-the-pants, driving. If Indianapolis wanted to improve the racing, I think they should narrow the width of the tires at least by half. The cars would be slower in the turns, which would make the racing more wheel-to-wheel. Most fans enjoy close racing, not fantastic speed.
My grandfather was a fan of all kinds of racing. Every year, on Memorial Day Sunday, the family would get together, have a barbecue and the men would sit in my grandfather's den and watch the Indianapolis 500 before making the food. The first time I was allowed to watch the race was in 1977, at the age of four. I was mesmerized by the brightly colored cars as they went around the track. I liked the color orange, so I picked the bright orange-red No. 14... and was very happy when A.J. Foyt made that the car that won the race. I have never missed a telecast of the race since.
Growing up in Indianapolis, I attended all of the races in the 1970s. One race comes to mind where Mark Donohue had left the race early, leaving his car intact but not running on the grassy area north of the pits. We were sitting just across from the car in the front straightaway grandstands. Later in the race, another driver lost control coming out of turn 4 and crashed into Mark's parked car. Probably one of the most regrettable crashes to date.
Jacques Villenueve coming back from a five-lap deficit to win the 1995 race after fellow Canadian Scott Goodyear was black-flagged for passing the pace car on the final restart of the race. A proud and memorable day for Canadians!
After several years chasing the dream of winning the Indianapolis 500, Sam Hanks did the unthinkable. He won the 500 in 1957 and retired from racing. How many athletes today could do that? Sam Hanks' retirement should inspire all who have reached the ultimate in sports. Thanks for letting me share my favorite moment on racing.
I was eight years old, and my family went to the Indy 500 in 1992. We had a mini-van and the five of us managed to sleep in it in the driveway of my mom's cousin, who happened to be the head groundskeeper at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The bomb went off at five in the morning and I couldn't wait to go to the race. We walked around outside of the speedway, going to the booths of our favorite drivers. My dad bought me a mug and a shirt of Rick Mears, and my sister and brother shirts of Michael Andretti and Bobby Rahal. That was the coldest Indy 500 on record, and we sat in the wet stands until the end, to see Al Unser Jr. win the race, my dad's favorite driver. Michael Andretti crashed that year, and my dad didn't tell her because he didn't want her to get mad, but she was walking to the bathroom and heard it on someone's radio, and got mad anyway. Going to the Indy 500 was the greatest experience of my life, giving me the chance to see my first race.
My greatest memory is the last time Al Unser won the race. I remember
an interview with Al Jr. before the race. He said that Al Sr. didn't have a ride for the race that year which was unfortunate for a past three-time winner. Al Sr. was riding a bike around the garage area looking for an opening for him to drive. Then, I think it was Pancho Carter who was injured during a practice crash and Al Sr. stepped into his position, starting dead last. At the end of the race with a few laps remaining, Guerrero, who was leading stopped for a splash and go, stalled the engine and Al Sr. passed him and went on to win his fourth Indy. It these kinds of stories that makes Indy so amazing. The other was when Jim Nabors returned to Indy after suffering a heart attack to sing, "Back Home Again in Indiana."
Having grown up in Indiana, it was a given that you either listened to the 500, or watched it on TV. No matter where I am or what I am doing, I still follow the 500 every year. Of all of the races I have seen in 30-plus years, the most memorable was 1982. I have always been a big A.J. Foyt fan, so I knew that the 1982 race would be special. A.J. at Indy for 25 years, and starting on the front row! Surely, this would be his fifth victory. Except somebody forgot to tell Kevin Cogan. I think A.J. charging to the front after Cogan hit him was one of greatest shows of determination ever in motorsports! Unfortunately, his car stuck in gear and he was out of the race. But watching A.J. in the pits with his crew, beating on the gearbox with a hammer trying to get it unstuck was the clincher for me. In all of motorsports since that race, I have yet to see another racer with that much drive to win. Luckily for me, I videotaped that race, and even though the video quality has begun to deteriorate, every once in awhile I pull it out just to remind myself what that Indy used to be about teamwork, hard work and determination.
I had been going to Indy for three or four by now and grown to love "the" race. Every year, the weather kept us guessing. One particular year, at time trials the week before, it had been 85 and 90 degrees the whole week, sunburned people everywhere. Sunday we awoke to rain and 40 degrees. After that year, I learned to bring every weather possibility; jackets, sweatshirts, shorts, t-shirts ... because you never know.
I own a Maserati that raced at Indy in 1939. Its driver, Deacon Litz, qualified at a speed that put it on the back row of the grid. If my car were to add 100 mph to its 1939 qualifying speed it still would not quite make the field today. I am amazed how fast the cars are in spite of rule changes to slow them down.
Having grown up in Indianapolis, racing and basketball are my earliest childhood memories. The race that stands out most in my memory was my first Indy 500 that my father took me to in 1976. We sat in the first turn, and I'll never forget the thrill I experienced at the start of the race with the cars diving into that first turn. I've been to Final Fours, PGA Championships, NBA Finals and Stanley Cup Playoffs, but nothing tops the thrill of the start of the Indy 500, or standing and cheering during the final ten laps of the race. Lone Star J.R., Johnny Rutherford, won that year, and although I've been back to the Indy 500 many times since, that race will always stand out as my favorite.
My favorite memory of the 500 was in 1992 when Little Al and Scott Goodyear battled for the last 10 laps of the race. Each lap, the difference between the two was only a fraction of a second. That year, we had the fortune to be behind Goodyear's pit and were able to see all the highs and lows that the crew faced over the final 25 miles. Unfortunately, Scott came out on the short end by 0.043 seconds, but his graciousness in defeat was the one thing I will always remember about him.
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