Saving the Indianapolis Motor Speedway: Wilbur Shaw and Tony Hulman
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- Опубликовано: 18 авг 2020
- During the Second World War, there was a very real chance that the Indianapolis Motor Speedway would be turned into a housing development. The race might have become a thing of the past were it not for the efforts of one of the race's most legendary drivers, and a man most-known for a brand of baking powder. The History Guy recalls the forgotten story of how Wilbur Shaw and Tony Hulman saved the "Brickyard."
This is original content based on research by The History Guy. Images in the Public Domain are carefully selected and provide illustration. As very few images of the actual event are available in the Public Domain, images of similar objects and events are used for illustration.
Special thanks to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum:
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Footage contained in this programming is owned by Indianapolis Motor Speedway, LLC, INDYCAR, LLC, or their affiliates, provided by IMS Productions, and is used under license. All rights reserved.
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Script by THG
#Indy500 #thehistoryguy #IMSMuseum
25 years ago, I was at a flea market in Tampa Florida, just when a vender took a large box of magazines and poured them out on the ground. As they were falling I though a noticed one that had an old race car on the front. I dug through the pile and I about fell over when I realized it was a 1949 Indy 500 program. I asked how much, hoping she had no idea what I was holding and she responded, "Oh, for the old Indy 500 program?" This isn't going to be cheap" I thought. "I'll take $3" she responded. "SOLD". The program was in like new condition except that some one, or kid had scribbled all over the front with a pencil. I wasn't until I got back to my car that I realized that scribble was the autographs of 23 of that years drivers. They included past 1st, 2nd and 3rd, place winners.
WOW
That's awesome!
That's so lucky!
Awesome find! Deals like that make dedicated patrons. :) (I am one myself.)
Score!
I'm from Indianapolis and my father has taught in Speedway schools for almost 40 years. The Indy 500 is indeed incredibly important to Indianapolis culture. Thank you for highlighting it with such respect.
Your dad was my coach and teacher. For the past 16 years, we've been colleagues. Now my son has your dad for bio. Your dad is one of the best.
My girlfriend was born and raised in speedway. Carb day is religion and the 500 is the high church.
@@K2mtp she may have had my dad as her 7th grade bio teacher!
@@indymcconnell yes she did!
However how hard was it in 1996 with Tony George IRL/IMS and Andrew Craig CART fighting over money and other political crap which caused the split and almost killed AOWR ?
“If everything seems under control, you're not going fast enough.”
― Mario Andretti
Meet him at the west coast version of indy Ontario motor raceway. So many years ago when dad was a racer as well never forget him and foyte unsers and all the others
I said that to a cop once... *_once._* He wrote it on the ticket, the judge read it back to me. Neither one thought is was as funny as I did. I stopped laughing too when he gave me 16 hours community service washing CHP cars.
@@robertnelson3179 I remember that track and the Riverside Raceway, and the Winter Nationals in Pomona, way back when before California became the People's Republic.
"And Andretti is slowing on the backstretch" Tom Carnegie , many many times..... Mario was the driver we always rooted for even though he was so often befallen by bad luck.
@@nautifella You made my evening! Thank you.
Im not a race fan, however ,it is a tradition that should be kept as long as possible.
@Bryce Armstrong why?
@Bryce Armstrong still stuck in the Tony George era?
@Bryce Armstrong Why?
he won his first race at 17, using a car he built from junk parts... so he's basically a real life Anakin Skywalker
He BUILT his first race car at 17. He was 18 when he won his first race in 1921. (Born October, 1902)
Except for the part about the mass murder when he grew up, fortunately.
Unlike Anakin, he had a personality.
@@JohnLeePettimoreIII and he wasn't a tiny kid driving a Ferrari who couldn't reach the peddles. I still hate that movie. A kid at 16 and up much more believable.
The 500 transcends the actual sport of auto racing and has become an essential and significant part of American culture.
Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the Indianapolis 500 are THE automotive history of our nation.
Lifelong Indianapolis resident here. It’s a truly spectacular event, and the history around it is a big part of the attraction.
I love the Indy 500, although I have never had an opportunity to attend. In fact, I've never visited Indiana.
Outstanding! I did not know about Clabber girl. The 19th was the anniversary of the 1st race at IMS, 1909. I got to go to my 1st race when I was big enough to carry the cooler 10 blocks, 1965ish. Outside of my kiddos births, the 1982 500 was special to me. I was a Navy recruiter and the zone sup needed 2 volunteers, at the time I was a believer in the acronym, Never Again Volunteer Yourself, but I was feeling frisky. It was for the color guard. Standing on the yard of bricks in uniform, in front of 400,000 folks for my country's National Anthem was very moving for me. Little more history, the man that put the BW trophy on the back of the winner's car for 30 yrs was Jack Mackensie. He was my 9th grade Biology teacher. If you didn't want to learn about worms and frogs you just asked him about a race and off you went. We got him to bring in the BW trophy 2x, good times!
I would have LOST IT if my teacher brought in one of the most prestigious sports awards to class for Show and Tell. The only thing better would have been if Wayne Gretzky was my PE teacher and he brought Lord Stanley's Cup to show off.
I've never even been to Indiana, but Jim Nabors' rendition of Back Home Again in Indiana would always choke me up. It is that special a race to me.
Thanks History Guy.
Everybody is a Hoosier on Race Day! We will always miss Jim.
I’m a Hoosier who grew up with the Indy 500 being a very important part of my family’s heritage. Our parents took us to the Time Trials when there were still front engined cars. My Father was an Indiana State Trooper and was mandated to work the race as security every year. However he was allowed to bring family members with him to watch the race from any seats in the Penthouse section in which the ticket holders did not show up. My siblings and myself saw some of the best drivers every drive and win the race. A.J. Foyt, Johnny Rutherford, the Andretti’s, the Unsers, the Bettenhousers, etc. I’m so grateful I got to see some of the golden years of racing at Indy!
The sound of the cars on the track is something you will never forget. It's addictive.
Kev Ro Especially the Buick engines of the 80’s early 90’s (I have not been in years) but those were my favorite
Especially nice when one lives close enough to hear them all month long...or as was all month.
The scream of the engines as the fly past you, regardless of where you are on the track, always makes the hair stand on end. The raw power, the barely leashed chaos of open wheel racing makes IMS The Vatican of Racing. It is truly a religious experience.
What a cracking tale. As a Brit, the Indy 500 is as much a notable part of the USA's international identity as the Grand Canyon, Mount Rushmore or New York. Most people here would know what the Indy 500 is.
Great to hear how it was saved and the faith put into the event led to its success :-)
We were travelling in the UK in 2008 during the running of the race and try as I may I couldn't find anywhere that was broadcasting the race. I tried every pub in town. (Small town)
@Bryce Armstrong Unfortunately, it's been closed for over 80 years now. It's really at the point where the only way to bring it back would be to level it and start over.
@Bryce Armstrong Some of the aerial shots don't make it look too bad. But I know in at least one spot they took out part of the track to put a road in, there are trees growing right against the racing surface, and there are basically no safety features in any real sense.
However I wonder how it would be if the split never happened in 1996 ?
@Bryce Armstrong
The true coward is in the White House. Bone spurs, my ass!
"Gentlemen, start your engines!"
--Tony Hulman
Every year, Mr.Hulman would write down the line, just in case he got nervous and forgot.
@@johnanon6938 Are there ladies on the grid?
@@taufiqutomo None this year.
I think Tony Hulman announced the engine start the best out of anyone I have ever heard.
Most famous words in motorsport...
Next year, You should go, History Guy. The size of the speedway is boggling, the spectacle is stunning, and the community is welcoming. It is something everyone should attend, at least once. It is something that must be experienced to believe.
I would be very interested in seeing what you could do with an on-site episode.
Absolutely!!! Everything about the 500 is so exciting and spectacular!! I’m a first generation American (of Dutch and Indonesian descent) and the way they honor the US military is so beautiful! Soldiers marching on the track... and the fly over!! Then singing the National Anthem... makes me weep. My mother and father might never have survived WWII if not for the US military. (My mother was in the Netherlands, my father was a teenager in a Japanese work camp in Indonesia) GOD BLESS AMERICA, THE US MILITARY, and THE INDIANAPOLIS 500!!! 😊❤️
Born and raised in Indianapolis, I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been to the track for the 500 and the brickyard 400. Race’s , practice and qualifications. But the Indianapolis 500 will always be the Greatest.
I took my family to visit the Speedway museum. We got to ride a bus on the track. Needless to say, our trip around the track took a lot longer than the slowest car in the race would take. Ray Haroun was a relative of my late brother in law and my nephews. Ray was credited with inventing the rearview mirror and helped him run without an observer onboard. That may be why he won.
I absolutely love the 500. I have been there several times and it definitely IS the greatest spectacle in all sport. The electricity before that race is unequaled. I have loved and followed open wheel racing for years and love to go through the museum. Last time I went was the 100 year anniversary. Thank God the Speedway was saved.
Every year I am crying by the end of “Back Home Again in Indiana.” This made me cry the same way. I will walk over to listen to the start outside Gate 7, then walk home to watch on TV. By the way, I’m about average. This will be #41 for me.
A couple of notes about George Robson's death at Lakewood Speedway. The accident occurred with only a few laps left and veteran driver George Barringer was also killed. The two cars the men drove had both won the Indy 500. Robson's car had been driven to victory by Floyd Roberts in 1938 and Barringer's by Wilbur Shaw in 1937. After the accident, the owner of Barringer's car, Cliff Bergere, destroyed what remained of the badly damaged car. Barringer's car was repaired and was driven in the 1948 Indy 500 by Joie Chitwood. George Metzler was killed in the reconfigured (and unrecognizable) old Shaw car while attempting to qualify for the 1949 Indy 500.
When I was maybe 6 or 7 years old, I got the pleasure of getting to see Joie Chitwood and his sons perform their stunt driving routines at what was then called Beacon Hill Motor Speedway, just north of Pueblo Colorado. There's at least one other family tie in between this little local track, and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. I'm not sure of the exact year, but in the mid '80's, Billy Vukovich III set the lap record which at the time made Beacon Hill the fastest paved 1/4 mile speedway in the world. Unfortunately, just as Robson, Barringer, and Metzler above, Billy Vukovich III was killed in a racecar, as was his grandfather back in '55. Racing is not for the faint hearted.
That all sounds like it could be its own video.
Thank you H.G.!! This adopted Hoosier has loved THE 500 even when growing up in Ohio. I've long believed there are two uniquely American events every citizen should see to have full rights of citizenship: the launch of a space shuttle and the Indy 500. You can watch either event on TV but until you are present, you will never understand its scope or thrill. Obviously the shuttle no longer flies, but THE 500 remains. Anyone present who's blood doesn't chill a bit at "Gentlemen start your engines!' is of another species. It is not a race, but an event. Like none other. It was the long time radio announcer of the race Syd Collins who deemed it "the greatest spectacle in racing"... and so it remains. I may journey the three hours north this Sunday, just to sit beyond the gates to hear the sounds... and I know even in a pandemic sitting outside, I'll be with tens of thousands doing the same. It is THAT special.
Love this one . I live with in walking distance of the speedway . My family has worked for various teams through the years . I love the history of the place as much as the racing ! Thanks so much for video .
i don't know what's more american about your statement (which is lovely btw). the fact that your family has worked for racing teams for generations. or that you misspelled through as threw (and i know, i probably made some spelling errors as well).
Great episode. My grandfather "Doc" Conaway, was great friends with Mr Shaw and no stranger to the 500 where he served as a flag man. I have a photo of my aunt sitting in his car with Mr Shaw standing next to her. Thanks again!
I live 77 miles from the track. I've tried to go to the track every year since my late 20's, I'm now 63 and sadly failing health will prevent me from attending. You can bet though I will be watching on the television. This was a great episode thank you.
As a sideline, it’s kind of interesting that the owner of Clabber Girl would be so involved in car racing and the owner of Calumet Baking powder was so involved with Kentucky horse racing. Something in the food maybe?
you won't get a rise out of me!
Maybe something to do with the by-product of successful businesses.....MONEY!
Well, leaving quickly IS called "taking a powder" . . !
@@randyrick8019 they haven't tried brewer's yeast yet !
I have followed it since I was a kid in the 50s. It is the only race I can watch in its entirety and not be bored. It seems to be over to soon.
History Guy, gettin me a little choked up early in the morning.
Same here. How does he DO that?
Fitch93 me too....caught myself at the end...guess I’m just a sentimental fool missing the good old days, although I wasn’t there, I miss what they represent of our beloved country.
I know I was cutting some onions...
Thank you so much. This race is so important to so many of us. This would have been my 22nd straight year in attendance. I hope I see everyone their next year.
Ever been to the Grand Prix of Indianapolis?
@@automotiveeditor9014 LOL!
My first 500 was 1958 and I never missed one until 2014 when I retired and moved to Idaho. I still get a lump in my throat when I watch it on TV. The place gets in your blood. One of your best videos ever.
I grew up near the track and today I only live slightly farther out today. I have a lot of friends who live in Speedway and this year is going to hurt. Not just the lost revenue, but there are people in the area who rent out their backyards and driveways to the same people every year so they can camp near the race. They are like extended family and they wont get to see each other this year. It's a shame. I'm glad they are running the race, but in some ways it will be almost harder than if it wasn't run at all. Great video THG. Thanks for all your hard work.
Matt C. Almost worse than what happened in 1996 or was it almost normal even though the split was just starting out or did the Brickyard 400 make up for what was indy 500 losing during the split period of AOWR ?
Only The History Guy could make me feel emotional about a race track.
There are a lot of tracks in central and southern California that I went to as a kid, and they're all gone except one. It kind of makes me sad thinking I'll never get to see a place like Ascot park again-which is a shame, because even as a kid I picked up some great stories.
❤️ If I could heart this instead of a thumbs up I would. ❤️
Indianapolis & Monaco are two races that simply must be preserved as long as motor sports are run.
and Lemans 24 hrs. and the Daytona 500.
As a fan of the 500 and an 8-time attendee, this is certainly History That Deserves to Be Remembered.
Also, nice use of the "Greatest Spectacle in Racing." It is, indeed, quite the spectacle to be a part of in person.
It's good that the Indy is going to run this year. In theses times of the "new normal" folks need assurance that some things will continue to go on.
Traditions need to be maintained. Even though the stands were physically empty, there at least 100 virtual people per inch of track space watching today. Today is a needed reminder that we WILL get back to living again...and how could you NOT feel alive when you hear the immortal words "Gentlemen, start your engines!".? The immediate and very real rush of adrenaline hits you as the cars roar to life. Something that everyone needs to experience at least once in their life.
Great episode! I have fond memories of getting up before the sun and going to the track with my Dad. We couldn’t afford to go to the race, so we would go to the “practice days” and “time trials”. Thank you for this episode, I learned a lot.
I've attended every race since 1964 and gone to practice and time trials since 1958. It didn't hurt that in the 60's and 70's my Dad worked as a "yellow shirt" and when I got older I did the same.
This year would have been my 50th consecutive race.
Others just relate history, THG makes history memorable. The brightest star in a galaxy of teachers. Thanks HG.
The new intros are nice and all... but I miss the degree in history and love of history! And it deserves to be remembered...
I have a big Brick from the original Indianapolis track. I got it out of a bank of dirt outside of turn #4 in 1984.
Greg, you must have found one I left behind. Same turn in 1981.
John Comstock NICE!!! I must admit I do not know what box it’s in right now. I never throw anything away so I know I still have it! I gave one to my friend’s father. He’s the one that brought us about 5-6 years in a row as he was the program director for the NBC local affiliate in my home town of Rockford IL. We would stay in a huge motorhome for 5 days over the entire race weekend and met famous people, drivers and actors alike. Partied with pit crew people in the evenings. I was a dead ringer for Jim McMahon QB of the Chicago Bears there was one year crowds looking through the fence at us walking around gasoline alley with our press passes were calling my name! Well, not MY name. I just went with it!
@@badapple65 I was a track employee at the time I found my brick under Grandstand J, in the fourth turn. I have attended practice/time trials since 1957 or 58. Attended every race event at IMS since 1964 at the age of 10. If not for Covid-19 I'd be on the front straightaway next Sunday. If you watch the 1964 crash of Dave MacDonald and Eddie Sachs I can be seen in the background. I'm in the grandstand on the outside, high up, standing on the stairs.
John Comstock Wow!! I went only once after my neighbors moved away to FL and it just wasn’t the same after being spoiled on an almost VIP level. Well sir, you are a big member of the history of that very special place, very special race.
@@badapple65 I've been part of that place since childhood. When I was, I'm going to say 9, I could roam the track complex at will. Go to the pits, go to Gasoline Alley, etc. Not get in but be able to walk the fence and sometimes get a shirt or hat. My father was a month of May employee so getting in to the complex was never a problem. My first 500 race comes with a story,
My dad would bring me a program from the race since in the 60's they were only a buck. In 1963 the program he brought home had a ticket from that year's race. I saw what it cost to attend and saved up the money for April when we went to the track to get his equipment. While he was getting his stuff I asked for and was in the process of laying out the money it would cost for a ticket in his grandstand. He came back and saw what I was doing. He handed me my money and said "If you want to go that bad I'll get you in." Before 1964 I had to wait and see the race at a dinner we went to where a driver spoke and a film of that year's race was shown.
As an avid racer and fan all my life...I'm very much aware what Tony Hulman and the great Wilbur Shaw did to save the 500.
May they both R.I.P. and thank you for what you did. That race along with the movie Grand Prix fired up this young boy to pursue a life on the edge and I would not change a thing except for that one missed gate at Nationals in '06.
I like the History Guy because he makes points in time matter to me when they might not have before. Thank you sir!!
I feel the same way!
They left 3 feet of the bricks exposed as the start/finish line. The Brickyard still has a "brick yard". ;)
Derek Allyn came here to say exactly this. The Brickyard still maintains that infamous “yard of bricks” as a great tribute to a bygone era.
I'm from NC and a NASCAR fan, my father-in-law lived in Muncie and was an Indycar fan. We always debated which race was better, the 'taxicabs' or the 'gocarts'. The speedway is definitely one of racing's crown jewels.
This one was fantastic! One correction THG, the bricks were not paved over. In fact they were pulled up and deposited in a creek in the infield. Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Rutledge Wood did a segment where they actually went into the creek, dug around, and pulled up some of the bricks. You can go out there and find them to this day. What a cool souvenir that would be. However, there are still three feet of the original bricks at the start/finish line.
Portions of the Bricks were pulled up, there's still a significant portion of them under there. Also, they didn't through all of the bricks they pulled up into the creek, they kept a very large portion to be used to resurface the Yard of Bricks when needed as well as for souvenir sales. There's still a massive collection of Original bricks in storage.
My dad started going to the Indy 500 in1951-2018, missing just two in that time span! I carry on the tradition. We are not from or ever lived in Indiana, but every Memorial Day we are Back Home Again in Indiana!
I had the great pleasure to attend the 1995 500, had seats on turn 4 looking down the front stretch. It was awesome, truly a unique experience.
I’d never heard this story before, and I’m so glad you brought it to us. It’s heartwarming, but also poignant to me. Here in Texas we had the Texas World Speedway, a large and superb track - one of only eight “superspeedways” in the USA - that was built in 1967. The last major race was in 1981, and then followed a long period of decline, although it continued to host smaller events and amateur racing clubs until it was closed in 2017. It was, apparently, used for a while as storage area for vehicles damaged by Hurricane Harvey, then ground was broken to turn the space into… yes, a housing development. Many people in the racing community wished for Texas World Speedway to be saved, but nobody stepped forward with the means and vision to make it happen.
I had no idea what a good guy Tony Hulman was. I've attended twice...1987 and 1990. Great story. I always learn stuff. Thanks, History Guy.
Being from Indy, it is history that needs the be remembered. Thank you so much for honoring the IMS during these trying no times.
My dad went home to be with the Lord 2 and a half years ago. He never missed the Indy 500. I can remember as a little girl, looking through the listings in the newspaper of the divers and starting positions, etc. I remember picking who I wanted to win, even though I knew nothing about any of it. We'd listen to it on radio, back then.
I lost interest in racing, but my Dad never did. Every Memorial Day weekend, he'd be in front of the tv keeping track of the racers.
Thank you for reminding me of my wonderful Dad. He deserves to be remembered.
I left my heart in Indianapolis and Speedway when my hubby's work moved us away. There's just something about the place, loud, hot, and smelly as it is. Oh I'd love to be there Aug 23rd. Thanks History Guy, this is the first of your posts I've actually smiled all the way through.
Growing up I was always fascinated by Wilber Shaw and his efforts with maintaining the Indy 500.....a true legend.
The thumbs down crowd has obviously never attended the “Greatest Spectacle in Racing”! You go you fall in love......
Growing up in Lebanon IN my friend and I would go during qualification week. It was something that we all looked forward to every year. God I miss those days.
The extreme chill up the spine when all 33 cars come running down the straightaway together. The Buick engines use to have the best throaty sound. I haven’t been in years now so I don’t know if the throaty engines still are part of the roar but those cars are smaller in person and travel much faster in person than what appears on TV.
@Bryce Armstrong still are stuck in the Tony George era?
@Bryce Armstrong yeah it's called the Indy 500 for a reason 🤦🏻♂️
@Bryce Armstrong Irrelevant? What planet are you from?
I'm amazed anyone else knows this story and sees its importance. My father told me this story many times, being the second generation of my family to attend the Indy 500 every year since my grandfather went to his first in 1925. My father went to his first in 1948 and I went with my grandfather and dad for my first in 1979. This weekend, my dad and his grandson will join me, via teleconference, to watch it again. All thanks to Wilbur Shaw. Side note, the films show the old pagoda on the main straight. How many trivia lovers know what happened to it?
It burned down, correct?
My wife convinced me to move to Indy with her, it's her home town. We'd only been together for about a year at the time. We lived there for five years. Only about ten minutes from the track in Clairemont. Best decision I ever made. This year we'll have been together for nineteen years 😊. Anyway, one summer when I had my kids up visiting (children from a previous marriage) I took them to the museum that's in the infield and the tour of the track. I'm a lifelong race fan!! So just being there was a real treat. But then to have my kids with me was just over the top!! Somehow someway we were the ONLY ones who signed up for the tour that hour. So it was JUST US!! It was AMAZING!!! Then to top it all off, because it was just the four of us, the tour guide stopped at the yard of bricks and let us walk the track. We even got to kiss the bricks!!! Although I must say that I had to be talked into it. I still feel a little guilty because I personally feel that's an honor to be earned. Thank You So Much for bringing those memories forward!!!
Thanks History Guy. If there were one location on this planet that I would be most proud of being a part of, it would be the Indianapolis 500. From a boyhood-spectator in the late 60's, my vast attendance over the years, to my covering the race for a local news station, and being able to share it with my son, I have always felt home there. I even had the opportunity to drive my first car on that track (and still have that car) and to this day, I always look forward to heading to the track, no matter the event.
This was a wonderful look at how close it came to not being what it is, or what it would not have been for so many of us, and for that, I thank Wilbur and Tony, and you, for putting this together. Well done.
I had never heard of Tony Hulman or his connection to IMS until I attended college at a small engineering school named Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology. He was a major benefactor to the school, the campus sits on land donated by him. He and his family have been generous to the Hoosier State.
This is one of my favorites of yours... While I've never taken a turn at Indy, or even Daytona (outside of the infield), this is history my racing mind and heart truly loves... Thank you!!!
Thank you for making this episode, really means a lot to us fans. My family has been going since 1962 and only missed 10 races... this year would have been my 22, but thankfully Doug Boles said all of our streaks of attendance will continue!
What a beautiful tribute to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, home of the "Greatest Spectacle in Racing." There is NO DOUBT that Wilbur Shaw, Anton Hulman Jr. & Capt. Eddie Rickenbacher are the "Patron Saints" of the "World's Greatest Race Course (Track)." In modern times IMS has been referred to as "The Cathedral of Speed." As a lifelong fan of The Indianapolis 500 I truly appreciate the loving care which you have taken by chronicling the amazing history of the rebuilding of the facility after WW II and the continuing improvements made by the Hulman-George family and now, under the stewardship of Mr. Roger Penske this site, now on the register of historically significant places of The United States of America, will continue to improve for the foreseeable future. Thank you for your effort in producing this fine video!
Thank you for covering this from a proud Hoosier.
huge race fan , anything on wheels , but i am most fascinated by the track , and its history . Alot of respect for you hoosiers .
Thanks for this video. I grew up just outside Indianapolis and went to the track many times. When I was old enough I got a part time job with USAC who sanctioned the race at the time and worked as a pit box observer during the race. The event is something that you just can't understand until you have been there. Since then I have been to a lot of races at tracks all across the country. None have even come close to the magic that is the Indy 500. It makes me sad that the events of 2020 require that the race be held without spectators. But the race will go on and as many have said at the conclusion of the race, there is always next year.
Thank you Wilbur.
Embrace your heritage and history. Always improve and learn from mistakes. God bless America.
This is why traditional is so very important. In an era when the past is looked at with scorn we need more traditions then ever to understand who we are as a people. America is the best country in the history of mankind. Things such as the Indy 500 defines us as a Country.
From a friend who is a long-time 500 fan, and no mean historian of the track & race:
"I have to add something to his story about Shaw's 1941 Race. The historian mentioned that Shaw's wheel failed, leading to a crash while he was leading for a possible third-consecutive victory. What he didn't say is that the Race was delayed because a fire broke out in the garage area that morning. Water from fire hoses washed chalk marks off of the wheels stored in Shaw's garage, and the tires were also mixed up as they were removed from the garage. One of the wheels had been marked as being flawed and not to be used except in emergency; that wheel wound up being on the car early in the race, and thus caused the crash."
I had originally included the chalk story, but the track historian tells me that it is unproven.
I am violently addicted to this channel. It is the only fulfilling apolitical content I can find. I CAN NOT state strongly enough how much I appreciate an objective view of history.
Wilbur Shaw’s “Gentlemen, Start Your Engines” is one of the greatest autobiographies I have ever read.
Great episode. As an avid motorsports fan, you gave the Speedway all respect and admiration that it deserves.
Thank you for remembering Indiana history. I've been 😃 3 times so far.
Thank you for this. As a former team member and fan of this event since can remember I very much enjoyed this very accurate and well done clip about the greatest spectacle in racing. The history and tradition of this event brings a tear to the eye every single time I stand for the anthem at the start of the race and think of all the amazing moments and people that have made that one moment happen year after year. Mr Penske is the perfect owner for this historic venue as he has a deeply rooted passion for the race and the smile that winning it brings to his face will for sure be shinning bright regardless of the team that wins this year.
Great history on one of the greatest races.
Very enjoyable video. My dad, who raced for 20 years, used to race with Wilber Shaw and always thought of him as a gentleman. Good memories, thanks for posting.
Thank You for keeping us, the people, headed after greatness.
I've been twice. It is the greatest spectacle in motor sports!
Personal Six Degrees of Separation.... My Great Grandparents are buried immediately behind Wilber Shaw's grave site at Vernon Cemetery in Vernon, Indiana. In my youth I would tag along with my Grandfather when he would go down to the cemetery to freshen up his parents grave site. I would pepper him with questions about Shaw's large Memorial stone and he would tell the stories about Shaw at the Indy 500 and of him running the track after the war. Vernon Cemetery is also the final resting place of another distinguished 500 racer, 1957 Pole winner Pat O'Conner who tragically was killed in the opening lap of the 1958 race.
In 1973, After attending the eastern version of the Boy Scout Jamboree, our council had a bus tour of the eastern United States that included both Churchill Downs and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. At Indianapolis, we were loaded into a panel van and given a ride around the track. It's great to be able to brag that I've made a lap on the Brickyard.
Thank you for the video. I'm from NE Indiana, I have never heard of this lost History, it was never taught it in school. I have attended, listened to it on radio, or watched the INDY 500 on TV, for many years, sometimes as far away as South Korea. A few times the INDY 500, Memorial Day & My Birthday were all on the same day, it always seamed to be a very special INDY 500. Thanks again for the outstanding job, you done on this subject.
I still remember my first Indy500 race, it was May 1996, I was 12 years old. I remember watching Buddy Lazier walk to the podium for his post Victory Speech. I have gone to many more Indy500’s races since then but I’ll never forget how my love for racing was solidified on that warm May Day in ‘96. I might not be on track this year due to everything going on but best believe we will be watching!!
God Bless the Indianapolis 500 🇺🇸
May it be safe and exciting race!!
Shaw said that getting the track ready during May of 1946 was "...a mighty expensive way to get things done." because every time someone turned a hot lap the workers stopped what they were doing to watch. He talked about his envy for the drivers, but that he would lead them all one more time on the pace lap.
I am not a race fan by any stretch, but your presentation is so good that I felt nostalgic for something that I have only ever been vaguely aware of. I might even tune in and watch the 104th thanks to this. Then I’ll have one more thing to share with my dad.
Thank you so much for this. It's the first time you have made a video that I already knew the information by heart. Growing up in Indianapolis, I could just about recite this info in my sleep. Things are kinda rough right now in Indianapolis. Riots and a skyrocketing murder rate. I pray for my hometown.
That is now my favourite The History Guy video.
My family and I have been going for 30 plus years. You can talk to people but you really need to experience Indy to appreciate Indy. Love the history, thank you!
The things you didn't know were important. The people who made a difference then, are now remembered. It may be the "15 mins of fame" her and now, but it is now forever available. Thanks for doing it. Amacf
Have not missed a race in 34 years. Will be watching on TV but going to count the streak as ongoing with an asterisk.
I've not attended a race, but last year, was able to visit and do ALL of the available tours, which included "Kissing The Bricks", the museum on site and Behind The Scenes tour. Had a wonderful day. IMS is a true happy place. Thanks for the video.
Thank you, Dr Geiger, for this in depth look into the history of The Brickyard! I was unaware of most of it being a NASCAR fan 😊
Memories of the race. I remember when the track was open for most of May. We would go from time to time and spend the day watching practice runs and go in to the museum great memories.
Please more of this kind of history guy. I enjoy every episode but being a huge race fan since childhood these ones far and above make my day! Thank you and keep up the great work.
Man how I miss Indy and the 500. The entire "Month of May" is a spectacle unto itself unlike anything else I've experienced in my 50 years. Loved hearing the drivers practicing from miles away. A.J. Foyt, Andretti, Mears, the Unser family, etc... man, what a time. I really miss the infield parties the night before the race also.
Once again thank you sir for videos. As a native Hoosier, this topic is near and dear to my heart as my Maternal Grandfather owned and operated a radiator shop in Speedway and did considerable business with the drivers in the old front engine Indy cars. Thank you for brightening my day!
What A great history lesson. I've been watching the Indy 500 since about 1964 when my dad would take me to watch it on closed circuit TV. When I was 19, I worked for Carroll Shelby. He owned an Indy car that they would push me in every morning to move it out of the tire shop. I even got to drive Carroll's GT 500 Cobra Green mustang to the dealer for service. I delivered the GoodYear tires to the Fontana motor speedway, and saw Al and Bobby Unser standing by the pit wall talking. I was too shy to go over and say hi. Oops.
For years, there was a persistent legend that Trimble Block, paving bricks from my former home in Trimble, Ohio, were used in the original paving of IMS. Trimble even had an image of an old Champ car on the sign at the village limits. Sadly, no bricks from Trimble have ever been recovered from the various excavations that have taken place at The Speedway, but the legend lives on ☺
I have attended 19 Indy 500's. We had tickets to this years race.
Thanks Lance and Heidi. My Hoosier wife loved it.
I'm a life long resident of Terre Haute, thank you for pronouncing it correctly, and have been to the track many times. Everybody here knows about the Hulman's but few people have met them in person. They were a big part of the city but the children have been selling off a lot of their properties lately. Clabber Girl was sold at the same time as the track. They still (as far as I know) own the house on 46 and I'm sure they still have many other properties around Terre Haute but they don't seem to want to be a part of the business part of it anymore.
I was born in Indy. Race day is literally the one day my entire year revolves around. I suppose you can tell that from my username. I have not missed a race since 1974. Thank you for doing this video.
I've lived in Indianapolis all of my 65 years. I've lived in the same home about 1/2 mile from the number four turn since I was three years old. While I knew some of history of the Hulman family and Wilbur Shaw I did not know it in this detail. Thanks so much for brilliantly covering an event that is so dear to me and the people of Indianapolis.
when I was a kid, the race was on tape delay so I was willing to deep clean the garage while listening on the radio. My reward...I got the TV to watch the race later in the afternoon. Still love racing..despite the teasing I get from kids and grandkids.