Indianapolis Motor Speedway: 100+ years

A bird's-eye view of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway

This postcard shows the indomitable Indianapolis Motor Speedway, as seen from the air looking south. The 559 acre facility was opened in 1909 for balloon, motorcycle and auto racing. The first 500 mile race was held in 1911.

Last year the speedway celebrated the 100th anniversary of the speedway. This year race, scheduled for Sunday, May 27, 2012, will be the 96th running of the race. It closed only during World War II, 1942-1945.

I date this photo postcard sometime after 1957 when a new control tower was built but before grandstands in the fourth turn at the southwest end were built. Today, yet another control tower is in place.

This postcard, along with several others, was purchased by me at the track during the 1964 race. I was 11 at the time and loved aerial views. Looking at the picture postcard now, I see it's publisher, the speedway, could have benefited from some cropping, flipping, and editing. Though the intent was to show the size of the speedway complex, a two and a half mile rectangular course, complete with 18 hole golf course inside and outside the race track, many details are out of focus.

In the 100-plus years of the speedways have seen many firsts. One of the novel changes to the usual racing milieu was the flying start. Instead of the cars lined up on the track at the starting, as in Formula 1 races of today, the start of the Indianapolis begins when the starter waves the green flag as the cars approach the starting line. The cars are arranged in 11 rows with three cars in each row. Most automobile races begin with cars two abreast. The effect of 33 cars exceeding 200 mph is both frightening and awe inspiring.

You can find four homemade videos of the Indianapolis 500 flying start below. The video gives you but a hint of the speed, the noise and the excitement of the flying start.

Find other Indianapolis Speedway postcards from my collection here.

Racing Past The Starting Line

Indianapolis 500-Mile Race Sweepstakes start, circa 1950

I wanted a postcard to coincide with the official opening of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway's month of May activities leading up to the big race, Sunday, 27 May, 2012. I found this one in my limited Indianapolis collection. It is in poor condition but it remains a good example of a lithographed card done by a photo-chrome process. It shows the start of a race in the late 40s, early 50s. The pagoda on the infield was replaced in 1957. If you compare this image with the race photo postcard of the 1965 race I posted here, you will see many changes to the speedway grandstands and pit layout.

The speedway was built in 1909 and after some initial disastrous races, claiming the lives of a driver, two mechanics and a spectators, the track was paved with some 3.2 million bricks. The first 500-mile race was held on May 30, 1911. It was won by Ray Harroun at the then astonishing average speed of 74.602 mph. It is claimed that this 500-mile race was the first to use a pace car. Perhaps more significantly, Harroun's  Marmon "Wasp" racecar sported a rear-view mirror, the first occasion of its use in a motor car.

See a picture of Harroun's racer here and a picture of a car from last year's race here. If you are a real Indy aficianodo, here is a picture postcard of the 1963 winning car driven by Parnelli Jones.

If you can pinpoint the exact year of the race on this postcard, please let me know. Leave a comment below.

Michigan Has Great Beaches

Another postcard from the state of my birth, Michigan. 

Oh, how I miss the hot sand burning the bottoms of my feet on a sultry summer day. That could be me, the young man with the yellow inflatable raft in the center of the picture, walking behind the two women (perhaps his mother and her friend or an aunt). From the trees we can tell this was a windy day. I can remember many such days returning home sun burnt and happily wiping the sand from the corner of my eyes.

This postcard was sent by my high school buddy, Rick, from Wayne, Michigan. He wrote on the back: 

This is pure Michigan...

but not sure of the decade...

maybe the 1960's

I agree this is pure Michigan and it is most likely the 1960s. There is a possibility this card was published earlier on based on the swimwear. The ladies in the foreground and those I can make out with my magnifying glass in the background are wearing one-piece bathing suits. There is no sign of the bikini which began to appear in America following World War II, after 1945. My best guess would be that this was late 50s early 60s because growing up in the 60s I do not recall seeing bikinis on Michigan beaches until the late 60s, early 70s. I was a very observant of such things as a teenager.

The inscription on the back of the postcard tells us we will enjoy the swimming, picnicking, hiking and camping at Warren Dunes State Park.Today is is a popular spot for hang gliders. 

Note: the black spiral, top center, is not a kite but an ink smudge, courtesy of the U.S. Postal Service machines. So too is the dark haze-like spot, center middle, on the water and sky.  I attempted to remove these marks with alcohol to no avail.

Do you have a favorite beach you recall from childhood? What made it memorable?

Let me know. Leave a comment below.