This is part chapter 34-Indianapolis: The man and his circumstances, from the book ´Fangio – When the man is more than the myth´ by Juan Manuel Fangio and Roberto CArozzo – Juan Manuel Fangio Foundation Editions – December 2002. I have the Spanish version, so this is a translation from the original
But if in 1956 American car makers were interested in Fangio, his victories in Sebring and in Cuba raised up the interest of the American public, who learned a lot about the argentine in newspapers and magazines, including ´Life´ front page appearance.
Fangio did not accept those offers and even today he thinks he was right.
-In such a fast race like this you can not improvise. Indianapolis, a typical American race, one needs to be well prepared. It would have been ideal to stay there for 2 months before the race, to get practice, and even to compete at dirt ovals, that were very popular there on those years. From dirt ovals came the majority of the drivers that were participating at the Indy 500.
His position about the necessity of such an adaptation to the American way of racing was going to be, in June 1957, the same of all the Formula 1 drivers, who refused to race their cars against the American cars, specially prepared for oval, at the banked Monza.
-They wanted us to race with Sport Cars, prepared to race at road courses or public roads, against cars specifically made to turn to one side only.
The slight made Floyd Clymer, an American book publisher oriented towards motor sports, to name Fangio as a ´false world champion´. In his open letter, he did not doubt to say: I do not believe that somebody may speak about you as a ´world champion´ after you runned away from Monza and because you never raced at Indianapolis´, and ´I think that you knew the American drivers would have left you with your pants down and only for this reason you did not show up at Monza´.
Clymer, as if all the interest of Fangio in car racing would be based on the money, also offered him 500 dollars once he signed up for the 1958 Indy 500 edition and after he was accepted (that is, once he had passed the test all rookies had to pass); additional 1.000 dollars if he qualified in one of the 1st 33 positions; 2.500 dollars if he finished higher than 5th in an American car or 5.000 if he could do that with another kind of car.
When Floyd Clymer´s open letter was published, Fangio was qualifying for the Grand Prix of Reims and lowering all his previous records. Fangio, who never liked to be involved in controversies, never answered to Clymer´s references to his world champion skills and only dedicated some words to the race:
-There was, as usual, lots of journalists in the track. So I told everybody that asked me about Clymer´s words: ¨I am not interested in the money; what I am especially interested is if I would be able to drive a competitive car. I want a good car to race¨.
Of course one thing was Fangio´s reaction and another quite different the one of the European journals that made lots of jokes of Clymer´s open letter. As the controversy raised up, Clymer got what he wanted: free publicity.
The Spanish philosopher Ortega y Gasset always talked about ´the man and his circumstances´. Fangio had refused to participate in the Indy 500s with cars that were competitive and he did this because of the high concept he had about the sport ….
´I am not going to Indianapolis only with my World Champion title, but also representing the European drivers and the kind of sport we practiced, so I can not risk to make rookie mistakes´.
This Fangio was not the same that started the 1958 F1 Season free of compromises, having just agree with Maserati to drive their cars at 4 races only … ´and we’ll see what happens next´. His will of racing was very low by then. This Fangio was the one who decided to give a try to the Indy 500.
He accepted an unexpected invitation. After his problems in Cuba and being very popular in the USA, and while he was at New York to be interviewed in the Ed Sullivan show, Fangio was contacted by the owners of the D.A. Special, a front-engined car specifically made to race at dirt ovals, in spite of its 4.2lts engine. He was asked to drive that car in the 100 Miles of Trenton, to take place on March 30th.
Fangio apologized. He could not stay in the USA for that longer. However, he accepted to make some tests at Trenton on March 7th.
Johnny Thompson, usual driver of the D.A. Special, tried the car before Fangio. After some adjustments to the driver seat, Juan did 13 laps, with his best one in 36.98s, 1.77s slower than the track record.
He went back to Argentina and on April 24th he gave a press conference. He had made the decision of racing at Indianapolis and he was going to face an uncommon experience in his professional life.
-Indianapolis is one of the 3 races I could never win. I could not win the Mille Miglia in spite of being 2nd twice, I could not win the 24 Hs of Le Mans after being very close in 1955 with Mercedes Benz, and I could not win the Indy500 because I never had a competitive car to race there´.
Here shows a man that was better known at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway than at any other track in Argentina: Mr. Vicente Alvarez, M.D.. I contacted him several years after Fangio visited Indianapolis:
-In 1957, A. E. Dean mailed me 1st and wrote me a letter next, to see if I could contact Fangio to see if he would be interested about racing the Indy500 driving a Dean Van Lines Special, specially prepared for him. Fangio answered to me that he was very grateful about the invitation but he did not think it was correct to accept it because there were many months left before the race and he was not sure about participating. I told Dean about Fangio´s decision and then he contacted a ´rookie´: Anthony Joseph Foyt (Foyt qualified in 12th position at 230.156km/h and he was doing well in the race until he had problems in lap 148 and he had to retire.)
-Fangio asked me to meet him in his office several times, and I provided him with lots of information about the Indy500. In January 1958 I knew that Fangio or Giambertone had made an agreement with George Walther Jr. I was going to the USA and I left him my address and phone number so he could contact me. HE talked to me almost daily. Walther´s car was not very fast …
Fangio arrived to Indianapolis on April 30th. In his first contact with journalists, he said that the money Clymer had promised to pay him was going to be donated to charity. He had been at Dayton on April 28th, where he had seen the car he was going to drive for the first time. Fangio said:
-Car owners were brake makers and also owned a foundry. The car was named as their business: ´Dayton Steel Foundry´. To tell you the truth, the first impression was not good. The car was stored in a garage, not in a workshop and the spare parts were spreaded all around the place. I was very disappointed. I was there because an Italian engineer named Gianni Dotto, who had worked for Alfa Romeo, had been in contact with Giambertone and Dotto told him that he had been working with this car and also that he had been studying a new gearbox specifically made for Indianapolis. When I tested the car I was convinced that there was no need to improve this.
With the 3 rookie stickers in the rear of the white Dayton Steel Foundry car, Juan Manuel Fangio started with the driving tests, also named efficiency tests. The first test consisted in a 10 laps round at an average speed of 115mph; he could not lap slower than 114mph nor faster than 119mph. Next test established an average speed of 120mph as the maximum. Both tests were done on May 7th. Next day he did the last 2 tests that consisted in 10 laps at an average speed of 125mph and 130mph respectively. All around the track there were Indy500 veterans who would judge the rookie driving, besides what the chronometers said.
-The tests looked perfect for me –Fangio recalled- The consecutive tests, with increasing average speeds, higher each time, is a fantastic system, because what one needs at Indianapolis is to keep a consistent pace. It is a very dangerous track and one must try to keep the pace at the highest possible speed.
I passed all the tests, and there was a ceremony to take out the rookie stripes out of my car. From that day on, and during next week, I tried to go as fast as I could, but the car was not going very well. First we had problems with the steering but they were worked out soon. Next we had an engine failure. The team did not have another magneto so I asked another team to lend one to us. When I noticed that the mechanics could not fine-tune the 4 cylinders engine, which was very easy, I realized that I might go home. We will not make a decent performance. That car was 3 years old at that moment. Indianapolis is a speed race and, in spite of all the advantages we could take in the pit stops, there usually win the ones that started at the front rows.
The chance to have a Grand Prix champion racing at Indianapolis was not going to be wasted. Mr. Lew Welch, owner of the Novi Automotive Air Conditioning Special, invited Fangio to test one of the 2 cars of his team, both engined with V8s with mechanical turbines, unique about their disposition in grid dominated by Offenhauser 4-in-line engines, also with compressors.
Who reminds those days is James Radio Gardner, the only member of the Novi Team still alive, including the owner. I was presented to Gardner by Mr. Al Bloemker, vice-president of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, who suggested me to interview him about Fangio´s days at the oval. All the happy atmosphere of the Indy track in the 500 month revived with Radio Gardner´s letter (´I was named that way because when the radio started, 64 years ago, I decided to build a receiver´.)
-You have found the right person –started Gardner- because I was who started the engine when Fangio went for testing, the only mechanic that could do that because of Mr. Welch orders. When Fangio went into the car, and using Mr. Dotto as interpreter, I started a conversation with him asking him to tell me when he was ready so I could start the engine. Fangio answered: ´Pronto´. I also asked him what he would say if something went wrong, and he said louder: ´Pronto´. Fangio seemed to be in good mood about my precautions. When he stepped down of the car he congratulated me because of the way I started the engine and also because of my concepts about safety. That is what Mr. Dotto told me.
From Radio Gardner memories, to the ones of Juan Manuel Fangio:
-I went out to the track only once with the Novi. I did about 10 laps and I was glad to find that the other driver of the team (Paul Russo) could not pass me, no even close the gap. The Novi was the only V8 engine in Indianapolis by then. It had a mechanical turbine and the power came suddenly at high revs, so being a difficult car to stop, like all the ones that used compressors. Even if the BRM had a 16 cylinders engine, the Novi reminded me of that one for sure. The high power at high revs was hard on the tyres, and it was very difficult to drive at Indianapolis because we had to accelerate while turning.
When Fangio stepped down from the Novi he had reached the fastest speed with a V8 engine. This was pointed out by the ´Sunday News´, 25 May 1958, by publishing the average speed of the world champion in his first encounter with this car: 135mph. With the Dayton Steel Foundry his best speed had been 142.8mph on 9 May. Fangio was convinced that any of these cars would have let him qualify in the first rows and his idea was not wrong. The Dayton, driven by Mike Magill, qualified in 31st position at 142.276mph and finished the race in 17th position. The Novi was not going to have better luck. Paul Russo qualified one of the Novis in 14th position at 142.959mph and finished the race in 18th position, one lap behind the leader because of problems with the radiator. The second Novi, driven by Bill Cheesebourgh, qualified 33rd and last, at 142.353mph and was going to finish the race in 10th position. It is doubtful that if any of the cars would have been driven by Fangio, they would have gone better than 5th, the qualification speed record was established by Dick Rathmann, with a McNamara Special, at 145.974mph.
Fangio left Indianapolis by mid May, off to New York. He met with Dr Vicente Alvarez at the Saint Moritz Hotel and there he conceded a long interview, later published in the ´National Speed Sport News´ and republished later by Floyd Clymer in the ´1958 Anuary´ of the Indy500.
Fangio´s vision about the Indy500 particular atmosphere showed the differences between this kind of motor sports and the European one. Since the content is still valid, Dr Alvarez let me reproduce it here. The main part is:
´…Before anything else, I would want to thank the authorities of the Speedway and the ones of the USAC (United States Auto Club) because of their cooperation. They wanted me to feel like at home and they made it. They took care of each detail that could help to make me feel ok and their good will was as high as the one of the drivers. I had little contact with them and I would want them to consider me as one of them. IN fact, their cooperation exceeded all my expectations. It was clear to me that they were playing honestly and they gave me all the details I might need to drive in the Speedway. I know they gave me a gold mine of information, which they got the hard way I know. I have all this very present. It is an example of the gentlemen they are and also of their sportsmanship, and I will not forget this. Now you know why I would want to come back.
There are other reasons, and very important ones. First: I love the Speedway and, after this short experience, I can understand very well why it fascinates American drivers. It is a well proportioned track and a true challenge, but once you find the proper race line, then one starts to enjoy it. I have found that to drive there is simply fascinating. I watched the local drivers doing their work very carefully and I got a lot of learnings from them. I listened to their warning; they did not keep any secret and they were quite open to me all the time. I am absolutely sure they could make me a real Speedway driver if I have enough time to use all their knowledge in practice. Unfortunately, my training time was not long or fluid as I was expecting, mainly because of the problems with the cars that had me waiting in the pits for longer that the expected.
After all the tests, I could lap as faster as I wanted to go, but unfortunately I do not think the car was fast enough. A little problem with the steering was soon worked out, but I could never put the engine in the high revs level I was looking for. The best I could do was to reach 5800rpm in the long straights, while I thought I would have needed at least 6200. So I could never reach the average speed of 145mph that I fixed as target. Even those laps were not easy, since we had problems all the time. Sometimes it was the magneto, sometimes some oil leak, sometimes fuel pumps. One of the practice sessions consisted in 6 laps and I had to pit stop 6 times to check different setups. I was convinced I could get the 145mph yet. We spent 2 weeks and I could not complete a full practice session. The car was not going well and the top speeds were around 144mph by then. My car was not going to make it. Too many different problems. In those hard times, I could appreciate the real value of honorable behavior. It was evident to me that the local guys wanted me to race there, but there was little they could to. Mike Margill (who was also appointed to drive that car) was helping me all the time, about the way to drive in the turns, about the suspension settings, etc.. The car handled much better after his suggestions were implemented.
I spent 2 weeks at the Speedway and I think I could have done a good job there, and in this case, all the credit should go to the American drivers because I understand that their assistance would have shortened the length of the practice time I needed. My case was a bit more difficult than the usual rookie there because I had a quite different experience with F1 cars. Anyway, I was adapting myself very quickly and I was enjoying it a lot.
Of course this is totally different from Grand Prix racing. I always wanted to know how a speedway car would handle and I found it was worth the effort. These chassis handled wonderfully and they seemed to have a lot of work on them. One just needed to find the proper race line and they will make wonders. It was a pity I could not get a higher average speed. The guys also told me about what to do in case of problems in the track. I had the chance to use their advices when I made a spin in a turn while I was trying to pass 2 cars and the rear end just lost grip. I was worried about car’s reaction and, when I stopped in the pits, I was informed that this could have happened because the fuel tank had been filled up. Up to that moment, I had tested the car with little fuel load and the extra weight that I was carrying put the car out of balance at that critical moment.
After about 2 weeks of testing the car, without being able to reach what I considered an acceptable average speed, I understood that my chances of making a good race were vanishing. The constant problems turned the practice schedule upside down and I thought it would not be correct to start such a schedule with other car. So I had to retire from the competition. I was also informed that British Petroleum was not going to make an exception with our agreement and I thought that the American owners were not going to use BP oil in their car, having already an agreement with Mobilgas, and even if they would be interested in me driving one of their cars. Mr. Welch wanted me to test the Novi and I liked to do it; and I found that I could not be in conditions to drive any other new car (in spite Mr. Welch offered him an important amount of money to qualify and race his Novi). I did several laps at 135mph as an average, and I enjoyed them a lot, especially when I noticed Paul Russo was also in the track at the same time, with a similar car.
My experience at Indianapolis ended in great frustration but this is only a part of the story. What really matters is that I enjoyed speedway racing and I am looking at the future to have another chance. But there is something much more attractive than the track and the cars, and it is the wonderful atmosphere of fair and open nobleness that prevails there. This is the main reason my otherwise frustrating experience, as one of the most enjoyable facts in my life´.
And such a demonstration of nobleness was sampled by the Speedway State Bank informed that Mr. Floyd Clymer deposited 500 dollars as being required by the judges the editor would name after that. They agreed, with Duan Carter, that Fangio earned them because the authorities of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway had accepted to include Fangio in the list of drivers. Those 500 dollars, by Fangio´s requirement, were credited into the account of the ´Raymond Runyan Cancer Foundation´. Even Clymer himself was going to recognize later that, even if Fangio did not race nor won the Indy500, he had conquered the affection of the American motor sports fans, even if he never came back to the Speedway to show why he was called ´Maestro´.
