Welcome To Indy!

Dan Bennett · 08-28-2019, 01:49 PM

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.

08-28-2019, 01:49 PM	#6
Dan Bennett Member Join Date: Jun 2007 Posts: 439 Likes: 853 Liked 595 Times in 136 Posts	Re: Welcome To Indy! 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.