12 replies to this topic

[indysteve]

On Saturday, I took a guided tour of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The tour included a lap of the oval (including a stop at the yard of bricks where we were allowed to get off the tour bus for about ten minutes), a visit to the main room of the media center, a visit to the timing/scoring room in the control tower, a visit to one of the suites used by the F1 teams (large but not as posh as one might think), and a visit to the podium. I got to stand where Schumi stood after his USGP victory (wearing my Atlas F1 t-shirt)!

The tour also included entry to the Hall of Fame Museum. I went through the museum many years ago, and I had forgotten how wonderful it is. If you come to the USGP you should definitely go to the museum. Most of cars on display are (not surprisingly) related to the Indy 500, but there are a number of things that will interest the F1 fan. Jim Clark's Lotus, a couple of LeMans winners, one of Cooper's revolutionary rear-engine cars, and Caracciola's entire trophy collection are all on display.

[100cc]

nice stuff, and how much would this cost someone??

[gerry nassar]

GREAT!!! Stuff like that is always interesting! Any news on how well tickets are selling for this years event?

[brett_sequeira]

I hear tickets for the usgp are still for sale. I was under the impresson that one of the posters had won a race, boy did i get mislead by the title.

[indysteve]

100cc, the cost was $25 US. Well worth it, in my opinion. Unfortunately, I think August 12 was the last day for these tours this year. They might offer them again next year -- anyone interested should watch the IMS web site (http://www.brickyard.com) next spring for news about the tours.

The guide for the tour I took is the beverage manager at the track -- he's in charge of supplying all the suites with beverages. Seemed like a strange choice for a tour guide, but he was actually rather knowledgeable. He said he never gets to see any of the races because he's always busy working during the event. He said he found out who won last week's Brickyard 400 by reading the newspaper! I guess working at the track isn't always the glamorous job we sometimes imagine!

To give you some idea of the security when the F1 circus is there, the guide said he had to be cleared by five different guards at five different checkpoints when one of the teams asked him to come to their suite to replenish their beverage supplies last year.

brett_sequeira: made you look!

[skylark68]

Indy is truly a hoot. The museum is terrific and the rides on the track are quite good. They show movies and have a pretty good shop to buy hats and shirts.

It doesn't cost a lot, either.

I have been to Indy about 12 times, from 1984, and always got to the museum. Always.

I enjoy that town and the track. Caught the drags 4 or 5 times as well in Clermont and always have a great time.

[rdrcr]

Skylark...

the museum is fantastic.. I've been though a couple of times... Got a chance to see the rest of the collection that the public generally doesn't get to see... in the basement.

The museum has one of the best early photo collections of racing I've ever seen. Most are available for sale (copies of the original).
The director (... forgotten his name.) of the photography archives is a real historial of the track and the races.

I'd recommend it highly for anyone going to the USGP... or any event there.

Regards -

rdrcr

P.S. I was there too in '83 and '84 with the Great American Race that finished on the track... and again later in the '90s for business at the 500.

[Turn13]

Ron McQueeny is director of Photo Operations at IMS: mcqueeney@brickyard.com .

Daily admision to the museum is only about two bucks, and the photo archives upstairs can be accessed for free. The staff are quite knowledgable and seem to be pleased to answer questions and help. There are thousands of photos (some quite candid, some very nostalgic), and they'll enlarge them up to just shy of a meter wide. They'll also matt and / or frame them.

[pRy]

Atlas member on pole at Australia! *smile*

[Jerry Lee]

Hey, pRy,

Is your photo flipped or were you facing the wrong way down the track when you snapped the Pic? I thought the pits were on the Drivers Right.

[NYR2119935]

I'm curious if all CART logos and stuff have been removed from the museum?

[indysteve]

Originally posted by NYR2119935
I'm curious if all CART logos and stuff have been removed from the museum?

Since CART was never the sanctioning body for the 500, there wouldn't have been much to remove. Before the IRL, the 500 was sanctioned by USAC. CART awarded points in their series for it, but it wasn't their race.

My understanding is that the cars have been restored to the appearance they had when they competed in the 500. If the car had a CART logo on it when it ran in the 500, then I think it will be on the car in the museum. I really didn't think to look for this, but I did take some pictures. One of the pictures I took was Jacques Villeneuve's 1995 winning car, so I'll check for the CART logo after I get them developed.

rdrcr: so what sort of treasures are down in the basement that the rest of us don't get to see? I've heard that quite a few of the pace cars for the 500 are down there.

[NYR2119935]

Villy's '95 car should have a CART logo on it somewhere, or maybe just the PPG IndyCar logo.....not sure....it's been a while already!!