What was your most remembered Indy?

[mrindy77]

1977....it was my first....and Foyt won.

[macsparty]

Ah, you always remember your first. 1980 - Lone Star JR. My dad had gotten his autograph for me the year before at a dinner function, making him my instant favorite, then he went out and won the first race I ever went to. When you are only 10, that's pretty heady (and memorable) stuff!

[Deleted]

1996 for me. First 500 and I remember on the morning of the 500 driving on I-80 coming up on the exit to I-65 and the guy I was with asked if I was going to go to Indy or Michigan for the US 500. I told him there was only one 500 on the Sunday before Memorial day and we went to Indy.

I became a Buddy Lazier fan that day, just for the guts he had to get into that car. I still contend though that Eliseo Salazar was a plant from CART, the way he was taking cars out that day lol. We were sitting right where Salazar wrecked Arie. The worst part was the wreck at the end of the race, with Zampredi. That could have been even worse unforunately.

[indy]

Salazar wasn't a CART plant - you can tell by the way he blocked Davy Jones!! Never did forgive him that - I thought the end of '96 would have been even better if Davy hadn't had to deal with ES!

Okay back on subject:

My first - 1992. Freezing my butt off in 39 degree wind chill....

...until the engines started ;D ohhhh that smell! Burning methanol! And the horsepower!! 33 cars with 800hp R-R-R!! Drama all day long! The pole sitter spinning on the parade lap, then wreck after wreck (half of first 102 laps under caution), midrace Dad and I were timing Al Sr and Jr (each of us picking our generation's driver), Michael dominating the day until the most famous Andretti line from Tom Carnegie, and that final shootout! I said to myself that Al had it when they left turn one but Scott almost turned me into a liar! I mean barely 5 feet difference after 500 miles - forget about it - I was hooked and totally addicted!! About the only bad thing was it was the only 500 where Rick Mears crashed out but at least I got to see him race once (missed the '86 race after a rain out).

Jordan

[racerbrown]

my one and only was in 1972.
i was all of 14, with my dad and my brother we got to see donohue win. i was hoping gary b.would win (sprint car guy!) and it looked like he would until his motor soured. jerry grant in the mystery eagle had a chance as well so there was a good bit of drama all day! we had great seats as well, sitting in the pit grandstands near the pylon, we could check out a lot of the action.
duane

[professor]

1967, The best field EVER and it took two days to run. It was also my last race with my Dad, and he was also an A.J.

[stonecold44]

Great subject. I'm not like most people, in that I remember my first Indy (1988, sorry, Jordan. I know Rick won, but it was hotter than hell that day) very well, but it wasn't my most remembered.

Neither was 1992, even though it was memorable for the reasons Jordan posted. I didn't bring a jacket and had to wear my friend's Blackhawk jersey, even though I'm not a fan of theirs.

Nope, my most memorable is a tie between 1991 and 2006. Both had great closing laps and plenty of drama. 1991 (yes Jordan. Great race.) I sat in the Turn 1 Penthouse and had a great view of Michael Andretti's pass of Rick going through the South Chute and Rick's subsequent pass of Michael on the following lap. What a duel!

Obviously 2006 is still fresh in my mind. I've waited for so long to see an Andretti drive into Victory Lane and was sure Marco had this one. A great pass at the line by Hornish and I thought someone punched me in the stomach. It was alo memorable because I took my girlfriend and she got hooked on the whole Indy experience. Too bad for her, we broke up before the 2007 race.

[Deleted]

The first Indianapolis 500 I can remember, and this will date me...is 1963. My family would travel from San Bernardino to West Covina to my Aunt's Home and the family B-B-Q would happen, with Sid Collins and Freddie Agabashian calling the race on the radio...My Grandpa was very happy the California Boy, Parnelli Jones won the race! He had a huge bet on him to win, so he was very happy.

My favorite personal moment at Indy is, not a race at all. On May 11th, 1996 when John Menard pulled Scott Brayton's car out of the field and Brayton, who was braver than Dick Tracy, put his car on the pole! What a day! Later, I was walking back through the gasoline alley when I saw Arie Luyendyk and his crew chief running to the IRL Official Office........thier crew was in the middle of a heat argument with an IRL Official. I stood around and picked up the news that Luyendyk's Qualification run was disqualified due to hight restrictions found after his run. Once I confirmed it, I slowly walked over to the media center and went over to the RIS (Racing Information Service) and broke the news to my fried, Tom Beeler. (Another good modeler). He told me to keep quiet about it for 5 minutes, Which I did....RIS broke the story first! Tom gave me signal, and I announced...."Luyendyk's run has been disqualified!" Dumb luck and we broke the story first!

That just barely beats out the first time I ever went to the track. I met Bob Clindist and he took me everywhere I wanted to go....He took me out on the track and I walked down the main straight by myself......WOW! The place is HUGE!


Best to you

Russ

[Deleted]

I was lucky to attend every 500 from 1971-1994, but the race that really stood out was the great Johncock- Mears battle in 1982. You couldn't hear the cars on the track over the crowd noise the last 5 laps. It was incredible!!
Tom T.

[indycals]

Of course the first was memorable - 1985. Wasn't thrilled with Danny winning, but in a strange twist of irony, I've gotten to know his crew chief - he's a great guy and I couldn't take that win away from him ;-)

1987 - Al's two lap come from behind victory for his 4th. As a Mario fan I was devastated to see him dominate in a way that hasn't been done before or since under the bunch up rule, but I was thrilled to see Al get his 4th.

1989 - The Fittipaldi/Unser duel

1991 - Michael high on the outside... no, wait... MEARS high on the outside.

1992 - not for the finish, but because it was so damn c-c-cold! A crappy race saved by a great finish.

1994 - Worst. Indy. Ever. (barring years with fatalities)

1996 - an inspired drive by broken Buddy Lazier

1997 - managed to sit through all three days. On the final day I sat right behind victory circle and got a hat that Luyendyk threw to the crowd.

2000 - Second. Worst. 500. Ever (barring fatalities)

2004 - a race made more exciting by the impending rain. Made even more exciting by the "night of the twisters" that descended on Indy that evening.

2005 - seeing Jimmy Dunham in the celebrity caravan. His first visit to the speedway since he was Kelly Petillo's riding mechanic in 1935!

2006 - I was horribly sick the night before the race with something intestinal. I was dehydrating badly. Race day would be the hottest 500 on record. Before the track even opened I was in the infield care center getting an IV. They gave me the go ahead to attend the race, and I saw the best finish since Johncock Mears in 82. The combination of heat and dehydration meant that I paid for it for a full week, but it was worth it!

But I would trade all of those memories to have been at the 82 race.

[Deleted]

Actually, in my case it's qualifying weekends. My first visits to the track in '77 and '78. These were the two years when Jim Hurtubese was trying to qualify his Mallard contraption.
Pole Day weekend 2008 when I ran across Sonny Meyer and Jim Travers down in the turn one terrace seats. Completely, totally by chance I had sat down next to living history. Sonny was talking to Jim about some issues with some Bosch plugs from years gone by and their general inferiority to another far superior brand. I kept noticing the name on this guys hat as I was listening to this story. This guy worked for Patrick Racing. Hmm, another interesting item. Finally I asked if he was any realtion to Louis Meyer. He said "Yeah, I'm his son, Louis Jr. but I've always gone by Sonny." And then he introduced his sidekick, Jim Travers. We had been talking about roadsters. "I actually designed some of the first roadsters out here", Jim was telling me. He also mentioned that he had been Billy Vukovichs crew chief on the day of the wreck. Talk about being wowed!!! These were the guys who had been there and done it all in terms of race car design and mechanical practices from the 1940's to the early '80's. This was just as interesting an experience as if I'd run into a chance encounter with Old Man Foyt or someone else of similar legendary status. Really, really cool. ;D

[herk56]

Great story! Never attended an Indy race - Saw some great USAC Dirt Car races at Syracuse in the '70's. Saw Herk, Ziggy, Mario, Al,Sr., Pancho and many others sliding and rim-riding around the Mile. Great stuff!

Brian

[stonecold44]

Jan 9, 2009 1:30:51 GMT -5 indycals said:

1987 - Al's two lap come from behind victory for his 4th. As a Mario fan I was devastated to see him dominate in a way that hasn't been done before or since under the bunch up rule, but I was thrilled to see Al get his 4th.

IMO, Michael was as close to running away with the 1992 race as Mario was in 1987. On that freezing day, some of his laps were over 229mph and nobody else had a handle on the track conditions.

[indy]

Yeah, Mikey led 160 of the 200 laps and considering that he missed the last 11 laps - he led a very high percentage of the laps. He really dominated that day and could seem to take the lead at will. In 1992, Ganassi and Newman-Haas were the only teams with the new Ford Cosworth XB V8's which were obviously the class of the field. The 1992 Indy 500 is also memorable for being the last year before the Speedway separated the warmup lane and the racing surface, so drivers typically apexed their turns on the warmup lane portion of the track. It was also the only 500 in history where all three of the four-time Indy 500 winners (Foyt, Unser, Mears) raced as four-time Indy 500 winners. Also, 1992 was the last 500 Rutherford attempted to qualify for and was the last race for Foyt, Mears, Johncock, and Sneva.

Jordan

[indycals]

Jan 11, 2009 2:44:40 GMT -5 indy said:

Yeah, Mikey led 160 of the 200 laps and considering that he missed the last 11 laps - he led a very high percentage of the laps. He really dominated that day and could seem to take the lead at will.

Mario led 170 of the 177 he had completed at the time he broke down. He had a one lap lead. Had he not broken down he would have led 193 laps - most since Vuky in 53. 22 years later Mario's 170 laps led is the most ever under the bunch up rule and most since Al Unser led 190 in 1970.

[illeagle10]

Too hard for me to choose...

[stonecold44]

Jan 11, 2009 15:23:08 GMT -5 indycals said:

Jan 11, 2009 2:44:40 GMT -5 indy said:

Yeah, Mikey led 160 of the 200 laps and considering that he missed the last 11 laps - he led a very high percentage of the laps. He really dominated that day and could seem to take the lead at will.

Mario led 170 of the 177 he had completed at the time he broke down. He had a one lap lead. Had he not broken down he would have led 193 laps - most since Vuky in 53. 22 years later Mario's 170 laps led is the most ever under the bunch up rule and most since Al Unser led 190 in 1970.

Michael,

One thing I have to do is to thank you for doing the decals for the Hanna Lola. As a fellow Andretti fan, I waited a long time for those markings, knowing they would fit the AMT KMart kit perfectly. I always thought that the color of the car and the decals made that car look like a fireball. It made for a cool combination.
Mario and Michael both showed remarkable ability to dominate the race and it won't be long before Marco does as well. Just as long as we don't hear the Indy PA announcer say, "And Andretti is slowing down. Andretti is slowing down."

[indy]

Figured 2006 was the ultimate gut punch for Andretti fans!?

Jordan

[stonecold44]

Jan 12, 2009 2:46:55 GMT -5 indy said:

Figured 2006 was the ultimate gut punch for Andretti fans!?

Jordan

UGGGHH! Pretty much. I was sick to my stomach in 1987, almost as bad in 1992 but 2006? I was with my girlfriend at the race so I couldn't very well cry, but wanted to. Man that was tough to take.
And you, Mr Jordan, have gotten to see your guy win FOUR times! Actually, I saw two of them in person, one of them at Michael's expense. He was good, no doubt about it.

Here is my list of Andretti heartbreakers:
1) Marco 2006
2) Mario 1987
3) Mario 1981
4) Michael 1992
5) Mario 1985
6) Michael 1991
7) Michael 1989
8) Mario 1993
9) Michael 2006
10) Marco 2008

In each of these races, Andretti (you name him) either led late in the race, led a large amount of laps or flat out dominated. In the case of 1981, Mario was awarded the win, post-race but the decision was overturned later.
One other toughie was 1982. Mario had a car that could win, but Kevin Cogan's 1st lap crash took him out. How do I know he could have won? Well, Gordie Johncock, Mario's teammate won, and Mario was faster than Gordie all month.

Anyone else's thoughts? God, I love this forum.

[indycals]

Jan 12, 2009 23:59:00 GMT -5 stonecold44 said:

Here is my list of Andretti heartbreakers:
1) Marco 2006
2) Mario 1987
3) Mario 1981
4) Michael 1992
5) Mario 1985
6) Michael 1991
7) Michael 1989
8) Mario 1993
9) Michael 2006
10) Marco 2008

In each of these races, Andretti (you name him) either led late in the race, led a large amount of laps or flat out dominated. In the case of 1981, Mario was awarded the win, post-race but the decision was overturned later.
One other toughie was 1982. Mario had a car that could win, but Kevin Cogan's 1st lap crash took him out. How do I know he could have won? Well, Gordie Johncock, Mario's teammate won, and Mario was faster than Gordie all month.

Anyone else's thoughts? God, I love this forum.

I think that's a pretty good list, but I'd switch the top 2 for two reasons - by 87 Mario had been trying for 18 years to get his second win and he had the race completely in control only to be felled by something out of his control.

Marco on the other hand was a rookie who'd shown no real promise at ovals and no personal history of Indy heart break - he wasn't supposed to be where he was at the end of the race and ended up losing the race because of his own doing (he pinched turn 3 which allowed Sam to close up dramatically).

I would also throw in 1988 - all month during practice Mario and Mears constantly topped each other in practice - qualifying and the race should have been a showdown between the two of them, but neither ever panned out and Mario was out of the race early.

[stonecold44]

Jan 13, 2009 20:53:39 GMT -5 indycals said:

Jan 12, 2009 23:59:00 GMT -5 stonecold44 said:

Here is my list of Andretti heartbreakers:
1) Marco 2006
2) Mario 1987
3) Mario 1981
4) Michael 1992
5) Mario 1985
6) Michael 1991
7) Michael 1989
8) Mario 1993
9) Michael 2006
10) Marco 2008

In each of these races, Andretti (you name him) either led late in the race, led a large amount of laps or flat out dominated. In the case of 1981, Mario was awarded the win, post-race but the decision was overturned later.
One other toughie was 1982. Mario had a car that could win, but Kevin Cogan's 1st lap crash took him out. How do I know he could have won? Well, Gordie Johncock, Mario's teammate won, and Mario was faster than Gordie all month.

Anyone else's thoughts? God, I love this forum.

I think that's a pretty good list, but I'd switch the top 2 for two reasons - by 87 Mario had been trying for 18 years to get his second win and he had the race completely in control only to be felled by something out of his control.

Marco on the other hand was a rookie who'd shown no real promise at ovals and no personal history of Indy heart break - he wasn't supposed to be where he was at the end of the race and ended up losing the race because of his own doing (he pinched turn 3 which allowed Sam to close up dramatically).

I would also throw in 1988 - all month during practice Mario and Mears constantly topped each other in practice - qualifying and the race should have been a showdown between the two of them, but neither ever panned out and Mario was out of the race early.

Yeah, I'll go along with that. Marco has time to erase that heartbreak and Mario had the '87 race, lock, stock and barrel.

If you can recall any Andretti heartbreaks that I left out, please add to the list.

You mention 1988. That was the first one I attended and I remember being really excited about going because of the month-long duel between Mario and Rick. Mario's lap times early in the race were really slow and then he had a plume of blue smoke coming out the back of the gearbox. Rick on the other hand, was falling a lap behind while Danny Sullivan showed the same kind of early-race dominance that Mario had the previous year. And of course we all know Rick got his car dialed in and won the first Indy for Chevrolet.

BTW, is that why you created the decals for the two Mario cars?