Welcome To Indy!

[John DiBartolomeo]

"But the racing was a little different. I don’t remember there being any “sessions,” rather you just got in the staging lanes and ran whenever."

https://dragracingedge.com/the-blog/welcome-to-indy/

[Terry Cain]

Nice write up. My first was 1969.

[Ralph A Powell]

My first Detroit Dragway then ever year till 2002.

[Rich Biebel]

1966.....Flat towed to Indy with my '58 Pontiac and had various tow vehicle issues out and back.....

I/SA '57 Chevy sedan delivery 283/220- Hydro


Car ran high 14's in NJ air but not at Indy !

Got Class r/up

The Winner got DQed and then so did me and my partner.....last car thru the barn at the finishline area...

The DA tower was there.....got lots of free stuff....Oil, STP, shirts, sparkplugs


Stayed at a Motel that included a garage for every room.....

One T/F car did not smoke the tires all the way down....he must have figured out how to slip the clutch without it blowing up

The ride home was long and everyone was asleep but me driving. I was barely awake by the time we got into NJ...….

Got home safe....700+ miles...…

Hard to forget that one.....

[TOM KASCH]

While you are waiting I posted 100 pictures from the 50th U.S. Nationals on my face book page. some thing to look at.

[Dan Bennett]

My first was in 1967, and a big part of the weekend was the motel crawl in the evenings. There were few motels anywhere near the track, so a lot of racers stayed in downtown Indy. Not sure anyone left their cars at the track back then, as almost every hotel/motel had a lot of crews working on their cars in the parking lot - none of those cars I'd ever actually seen before other than in the Dragster and magazines.


Watching a fuel engine get serviced is still fun today. But back then, you could simply walk up to a parking space and watch, sometimes handing tools if asked. No ropes anywhere.



Seems like the place we stayed was named the Crest House. It had a pool in the center with 4 sides of multistory rooms around it. Stories of stuff rivaling the cliff dives at Acapulco were all around - but I can't remember if I actually saw it happen. Being young makes one think they are bulletproof so it was entirely possible.


Activities at the drive in across 136 from the track made the legendary Brainerd party zone look like a church's youth gathering.


We were new recruits so we didn't know any other way in or out of the track other than going through Clermont. Traffic was mostly at a standstill - which wasn't helped by the fact that spectators at the stop signs and stoplights were more than happy to pour some water (or bleach?) for those who wished to melt the skinny tires of the time.



Indy was special then, and always will be.

[larrylomascolo]

81was my first Indy,tech was at the brickyard, remember watching modified near starting line,that was awesome,lots of freebees back then asked for convertor bolts at ATI booth Free,those were the days,and track secure,not allowed to stay at track,motel or camp ground,or a crazy Lions Club park,campground,took racecar their and put in a set of Rhoads lfters,no gain,but its a memory i wont forget