This photo was taken before Nigel Mansell pulled on to the track, during his rookie test at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on May 12, 1993. I had to push through a large group of photographers to get this photo - pretty cool huh?

Nigel Mansell makes his debut at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on May 12, 1993 to practice for the "Indianapolis 500." This was arguably the most exciting "Indianapolis 500" practice day I ever attended.

photos by Bob Jennings

I wrote the words above in an offering for this website in November 1999, about Nigel Mansell's prolonged, determined struggle to win the Formula One World Championship. I like those two paragraphs because I think they accurately portray what a huge celebrity Nigel Mansell was in 1992 and 1993. I had forgotten about them until I read the piece again, while planning for the composition I am working on now. Discovering the paragraphs was sort of like finding an old lover waiting for me.

Yeah right, like that's really going to happen. But I still like these words from late 1999; old sentences and phrases, prompted by my reactions to the (world o' racing) and crafted by movement from the right side of my brain.

How big was Nigel Mansell back then? Real big. The British racer was huge!

How big of a deal would it be if Michael Schumacher announced he were leaving Formula One to compete in the Indy Racing League and race in the "Indianapolis 500" or how much news would it be if Dale Earnhardt Jr. decided to leave Nextel Cup competition for the Indy cars?

Perhaps using Michael Schumacher and Dale Earnhardt Jr. in 2004 isn't the best analogy to what Nigel Mansell meant to the racing world twelve years ago, but I can't think of a better one right now. I'm not implying Mansell was as talented as the seven time World Champion. If there has ever been the perfect race driver, it's Michael Schumacher. Nigel Mansell was less than perfect. But then, so what? Other than Michael Schumacher, who is perfect?

I am not suggesting Mansell was more popular in 1993 than Earnhardt Jr. is today. Whenever I'm in Jimmy B's,  I see at least one person, each time I stop at my local pub, wearing a piece of clothing in Dale Jr. Budweiser red and black. One guy has a very pricey Earnhardt Jr. - Budweiser leather jacket. His wife - or girlfriend -  wears a colorful Jeff Gordon fabric windbreaker. There are also a couple Budweiser beer signs (you know - the promotional stuff they hang in bars) featuring Dale Jr. on the wall in Jimmy B's.  

At the peak of Mansell's fame, during the successive championship seasons in 1992 and 1993, Nigel was arguably racing's number one international celebrity. I say arguably, because I realize Ayrton Senna was adored and revered by millions. However the Brazilian didn't generate as many U.S. headlines as Nigel, possibly because of Mansell's Anglo heritage. Maybe I didn't notice the adulation for the late Brazilian three time World Champion as much, because I was paying a lot more attention to Nigel in those days.

Perhaps the reason Nigel Mansell might have seemed more famous than Senna was due to his theatrics and flair for the dramatic.  Ayrton was an introspective personality, more reserved and more sophisticated than "our Nige." Anyway, let's just say by the time Mansell began his quest for victory in the "Indianapolis 500" on May 12, 1993, the entire racing world and the British tabloid press were watching very closely - and watching in huge numbers.

After thirteen seasons in Formula One competition and thirty Grand Prix victories, Nigel finally emerged as World Champion in 1992. Then in a startling about face, after protracted contract talks broke down with the Williams team, the Brit abandoned the defense of his hard won World title to embark on a new career in Indy cars, at the age of 39. That was one of the most important racing stories of 1992 to be sure.

Think about that! Think about the buzz the same story would generate in 2004!

Just for the hell of it, let's take a "side trip" and compare the era of the mid 1980s through the early 1990s in Formula One, to the contemporary environment. The current personality of F1 is that Michael Schumacher usually (thirteen victories in 18 events in 2004) wins.

In Nigel Mansell's heyday, there was always more than one (at least) potential winner in every Formula One race each season, with the possible exception of the Brit's 1992 championship season in the Canon Williams FW14B - Renault.

When the turbocharged era in Formula One (one of the best periods in the sport's history) gathered momentum in the early 1980s, Gilles Villeneuve, Nelson Piquet, Keke Rosberg, Alain Prost, Rene Arnoux and Niki Lauda all had sparkling moments. In the mid 1980s, Ayrton Senna and Nigel Mansell began to win on a consistent basis too.

Each of those F1 legends, Villeneuve, Piquet, Rosberg, Prost, Arnoux and Lauda were also fabled for their on and off track exploits and their individual personalities were as recognizable as their high speed skills. Obviously Senna and Mansell followed that same pattern.

When normally aspirated V10 and V12 power replaced the "turbos" after 1988 in Formula One, Prost, Senna and Mansell were still racing each other in an atmosphere of mutual personal distrust and dislike. The group of potential winners was a bit smaller than in the previous "turbo" decade, but there still was tight competition among the major players at most races.

There are some who proclaim Ayrton Senna as the greatest all time Formula One driver. I don't agree! I can think of at least three other Grand Prix racers, who in my opinion, showed more talent than the three time late World Champion from Brazil. I personally believe both Jim Clark and Jackie Stewart were greater champions than Senna. Michael Schumacher is arguably the greatest of all time. I didn't see Juan Manuel Fangio race in person, but the five time champion from Argentina is another who ranks near the top.

From an objective point of view, perhaps Senna and Prost were each better than Nigel Mansell. But there were days when Nigel could thoroughly kick the butts of his bitter rivals. On his day, Mansell was better than either Senna and Prost. However looking from all angles, I would say Nigel's primary adversaries were more complete race drivers than the Brit and both Senna and Prost were also more polished in their general approach to racing.

Mansell tended to approach racing more like he was emotionally deprived, uncalculating but determined to squeeze every ounce of performance from his race car - and even more from himself. Make no mistake however. Nigel Mansell was one hell of a racer. You cannot find a more fierce competitor throughout the 100 plus year period that spans the history of motor sport! Nigel may not have been the most sophisticated competitor, but he was prepared to take big gambles and make huge mistakes, so badly did he want to succeed.

After Prost, Senna and Mansell passed from the scene, their places were taken by Michael Schumacher, Damon Hill, David Coulthard, Jacques Villeneuve and Mika Hakkinen.

There was strong competition during the immediate years following the Prost-Senna-Mansell era too. Everyone understood Schumacher was the best driver, but Hill and Villeneuve, in their Williams - Renaults, were just as strong because their cars were better than Michael's early Ferraris. As Schumacher built the Italian team to suit his disciplined German style, the Ferrari became a regular winner. But Mika Hakkinen still won the World title in 1998 and 1999 because he was extremely talented and also because the Finn's McLaren - Mercedes package was just that much faster.   

With the dawn of the new millennium however, Formula One became all about Michael Schumacher, Ferrari and little else. It became especially pronounced last season. Frankly I'm sick of it. F1 is mostly a real drag! That's no knock on Schumacher or the red cars. It's a sad commentary on the German's race driving contemporaries though.

I can understand and, to an extent, applaud Max Mosley's resolve to slow Formula One cars and make them less expensive. But Bernie Ecclestone's "big bully" treatment of Jackie Stewart, the British Racing Drivers Club (BRDC) and British racing fans is contemptible. "Mr. Butt hole" Bernie threatened to sue Sir Jackie for libel because of remarks the Scot made during an interview on BBC radio last year.  

Until a few months ago, the future of the Grand Prix of Britain, at Silverstone, and the event in France, at Magny Cours, were both in doubt for the coming season. Can you imagine a Formula season without a Grand Prix of Britain? The race was in serious doubt for 2005 until the British team owners underwrote the bid by the British Racing Drivers Club (BRDC), which owns the Silverstone circuit, to reach an agreement with Ecclestone through 2009.

I really don't care whether they hold an F1 race in France any longer. A lot of us in this country (in the so called "red" states anyway, and we're in the majority) do not like France too much these days anyway. But a season without Silverstone is close to blasphemy.

I see ominous gray skies threatening storms on the F1 horizon, like the hurricanes that hit Florida last year. I give credit to Ecclestone for building the huge commercial enterprise that Grand Prix racing has become over the past twenty five years, making a lot of people (most notably himself) incredibly rich. But Bernie's greed is so excessive that if he isn't stopped, he will kill the series for the sake of his own enrichment. 

Bernie is a mean old fart! I can write this without fear of being sued because I don't have anything but this computer and my puppy, Bitsy number seven. I don't imagine "Bad King Ecclestone" wants either, although Bitsy (she loves me and we have only been together since September 17) is real cute. 

As much as I was impressed by Juan Montoya's spectacular victory in the 2000 "Indianapolis 500," the Colombian driver has been mostly a disappointment since he came to Formula One in 2001. During the best of times, Montoya has often been unable to compete on a regular footing with Williams - BMW teammate Ralf Schumacher. I was probably among the many who predicted the Colombian would be the next rival to Michael Schumacher. It hasn't happened so far.

Yeah I realize Juan Pablo won the 2004 Formula One finale at Interlagos. Given the anticipation for the 2000 "Indianapolis 500" winner's move to F1 in 2001 however, I expected more than four victories from the Colombian driver by this stage of his career. Perhaps the anticipated success is yet to come for Juan Montoya.

Sometimes Kimi Raikkonen looks like one of those magic talents who come along only every so often, but the Finn is no match for Michael Schumacher on the very best of days. I am interested in how Raikkonen and his new McLaren teammate Montoya will stack up against one another in 2005. That ought to be fun to watch.

When Nigel Mansell was racing in Formula One, the series had spice. It was a show, not just a technical exercise like today. Against the backdrop of his era, which was one of the most entertaining in history, the Englishman finally rewarded his legion of fans (like me) with the long awaited World Championship in 1992.

Then he was gone, making the earth shaking move to CART, replacing F1 bound Michael Andretti on the Newman Haas Indy car team!

When I read the reports of Mansell's earliest tests for Newman - Haas at Firebird Raceway in Arizona in early January 1993, I began to feel the excitement of the approaching season. Then when Nigel moved over to Phoenix International Raceway for his first laps on an oval, I got even more keyed up, especially when I read the impressive speeds the World Champion was turning.

Let me reiterate that when I first heard about Nigel's "retirement" from Formula One at Monza, in September 1992, as I prepared to leave for the CART race at Mid Ohio, from a Columbus Ohio motel room, I was very disappointed and unhappy about the situation. However in the weeks that followed, I began to change my mind - in a big way.

Had Mansell left Formula One without winning the World Championship, it would have been a severe disappointment and I would have regarded Nigel's career incomplete without the F1 title! But as I worked the situation out in my mind, the challenge of the "Indianapolis 500" became more and more appealing, especially with the World title already in hand. By the start of 1993, I could hardly wait for May, to watch Nigel attack the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Actually I can hardly ever wait for May regardless of what year it is.

What really got me going was watching the Texaco commercials, featuring Mansell, A.J. Foyt and Mario Andretti, that were filmed at Phoenix International Raceway and shown for the first time on TV, during the CBS coverage of the 1993 "Daytona 500" in February. Do you remember those Texaco commercials with Foyt, Andretti and Mansell? They were fun to watch, with Foyt welcoming Mansell "over to the states to race in circles" (or something like that), with the Indy car community.

The main thing the Texaco spots brought to mind was the fact I was going to get to see Nigel race in person six or seven times that season, in addition to most of May at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. By the time Mansell made his first visit to David Letterman's late night TV show, shortly before the 1993 Indy car season began, I was beside myself with anticipation.

Who can forget Nigel Mansell's victorious Indy car debut on March 21, 1993 at Surfer's Paradise in Australia?

I had to travel to Dallas on business, the week preceding the 1993 CART opener in Australia, for my employer Guarantee Trust Insurance in Glenview, Illinois. I hate to fly. My feet belong securely on Mother Earth. Before the trip to Dallas in mid March 1993, I took a few sleeping pills to get through the flight. Like I wrote, I hate to fly.

I spent most of my five days in Dallas, being trained on a credit life software system, in a depressingly cold, dark classroom, located in a generic commercial office complex, somewhere in the northern Dallas suburbs along the LBJ Freeway/Interstate 35, twenty five to thirty minutes or so from the downtown district. Someone told me, at the hotel where I was staying, that I was somewhere between Dallas and Plano, Texas, otherwise I wouldn't have known where I was. But then that's nothing new. I still haven't figured out where I am.

I wonder why they kept the temperature so cold in that class room. Do you suppose the software vendor knew the class content was boring, and if the room was uncomfortable, people like me would stay alert? To get through this less than exciting experience, I thought most of the time, when I was able to stay awake (those Monday sleeping pills worked well for three or four days), about the impending race weekend and Mansell's first race in Indy cars.

The airplane, I flew from Chicago Monday afternoon, circled DFW airport for a couple hours, while the pilot waited for thunderstorms to pass from the skies below, so he could land. Fortunately I took those pills. Otherwise I would have been beside myself with panic. Like I wrote, I hate to fly.

After settling down in the hotel Monday March 15, I was able to watch a delayed broadcast of the season opening Formula One race in South Africa on ESPN. The race was held the previous day, March 14. I already knew that Alain Prost was the winner at Kyalami, driving the new Canon Williams FW15 - Renault V10, which Nigel Mansell had originally planned to race in 2003.

Watching the 1993 South African race was boring without Nigel Mansell in the field. For that matter, F1 has never been as good for me since Nigel left the series. Ayrton Senna finished second in a Marlboro McLaren, powered by a Ford Cosworth V8. In 1993, McLaren was forced to purchase Ford power after the five year association with Honda ended, following the 1992 season. Mark Blundell finished third in a Gitanes Ligier - Renault V10, followed by Christian Fittipaldi (Minardi - Ford V8), J.J. Lehto (Sauber V10) and Gerhard Berger's Ferrari. You probably recall in 1993 that only the first six finishers received World championship points, unlike now when eight finishers garner points.   

Despite Mansell's electrifying start to the 1992 F1 season with five consecutive victories, Nigel's association with Frank Williams and Patrick Head began to disintegrate, after reports, that Alain Prost would be racing for the team in 1993, started to surface in June. Back then, before wide public usage of the Internet, the fastest way to receive racing news was from fax reports produced by racing journalists like Gordon Kirby. I wasn't a subscriber, but I still heard all the stories about Prost and Canon Williams Renault.

I was troubled about Nigel Mansell's Formula One prospects for 1993 too, putting a cloud on the excitement that should have been generated from his dominating success in 1992.

Even though the Brit enjoyed a spectacular, record breaking season on the way to the World title, Prost's looming presence was a dark shadow that followed Mansell from the checkered flag to the podium at race after race, until Nigel finally announced he was leaving the series at Monza on Sunday September, 13. 

No doubt Mansell remembered the 1990 season at Ferrari, and his naive and willing acceptance of Prost as a new teammate, after which the Frenchman diverted the focus of the team away from Nigel's program to his own car. The three way relationship between Prost, Mansell and Ayrton Senna was always a revolving door of emotions, sometimes openly hostile, sometimes uncomfortably civil during the shared time at the top for this illustrious trio.

During the TV presentation of the race in Kyalami, ESPN showed a video clip of Nigel Mansell, and his Newman Haas teammate, Mario Andretti, watching the South African F1 race on TV together, as they prepared for the start of the Indy car season. I wondered what the defending World Champion was thinking as he watched Prost win in the same car Mansell expected to be racing himself.

Given the negative way the relationship between Nigel and Mario evolved over the course of the next two years, that might have been the final time the Newman - Haas drivers shared a friendly social moment. 

My five days in Dallas, in mid March, 1993 were a mixed bag. When I arrived on Monday, springtime was in the air, it was warm and the bushes were sprouting green. As the work week progressed however, temperatures cooled and the winds that blew across the Texas prairie reminded me of Interstate 65, in northwest Indiana, on a cloudy, cold Saturday February afternoon, during the trip from Indianapolis to Hammond and Chicago or visa versa.

While in Texas, I was able to walk around Dealey Plaza, where John F. Kennedy was assassinated on November 22, 1963, at the corner of Houston and Elm. I hardly recognized the Texas School Book Depository, because it resembled one of those trendy, renovated loft apartment buildings that pop up like spring flowers around the fashionable near north Lincoln Park neighborhood in Chicago. Today the School Book Depository building is a museum. When I was in Dealey Plaza, the only reference to Kennedy's murder was a small bronze plaque. Although the Dealey Plaza appeared as it did in Oliver Stone's film JFK, I was surprised how small an area the infamous plot of land occupied.

Like most everybody who was around the day President Kennedy was shot, more than forty one years ago, I vividly remember my own emotions and reactions when I first heard about the shooting. It was Friday afternoon before Thanksgiving. I was a junior at Carmel High School, sitting in class, watching the rain come down and looking forward to the weekend and the next week's four day holiday weekend. When principal Earl Lemme announced over the school public address system the Kennedy motorcade had been ambushed in Dallas, common, daily personal experience was translated into universal history.   

Back then, thirteen months after the Cuban missile crisis, my first reaction was fear the Soviets were involved in the Kennedy shooting. As the tragedy unfolded, I spent most of the next several days in front of the TV watching history occur before my eyes. 

I was going through something of a personal renaissance at the time of the Kennedy assassination in November 1963.

After two years of high school, my class ranking was somewhere near the bottom of 200 plus students. During summer 1963, I decided to "get in gear" and actually see if I was capable of being a good student. I was and my report cards from the 1963-64 school year showed an increasing number of A and B grades, as I got into the habit of regular study. As a result, I was moving more into the mainstream of school social life.

I received my driver's license in early April 1963. Access to a car provided that wonderful teenage freedom everyone looks forward to. Isn't it a grand time when we get to drive on our own? It was even better than signing on the Internet the first time.

You remember the first time you heard the modem on your PC make that "squawky" honk, then immediately after, the dial tone sang its magic tune. The portal opened and AOL, Prodigy or one of those other early carriers welcomed you to the unlimited freedom of traveling through cyberspace. That was good, but having access to your folk's car was even better. A quick run to the grocery, by yourself, became an adventure of unlimited potential.

I was running with Bill Correll, Jim Mace, Joe Lowe, John Dailey and a good group of teenage guys. We were having fun, navigating the streets of Carmel and the north side of Indianapolis during autumn 1963.

The first trip by the Beatles to the United States, in February 1964, was still more than three months away when John F. Kennedy was shot, and the "fab four" weren't on the radar screen in this country yet. That silly Hootenanny stuff, along with the Beach Boys ("Rah. Rah. Rah. Rah. Sis boom bah. Be true to your school - like you are to your girl. Let your colors fly.") and Phil Spector's "wall of sound" as personified by the Ronettes, was playing on the radio. Oh yeah, they also played "Sugar Shack" by Jimmy somebody and the Fireballs.

I discovered Paula Sanders at the start of the previous school year. I was still "madly in love" with her more than a year later. Of course, in the grand scheme, it probably wasn't the kind of love I felt later in life. But Paula, a minister's daughter, absolutely occupied a large piece of my affections and consciousness at the time when John Kennedy was slain.     

Whatever happened to Paula Sanders?

Paula's darling, angelic face, dimpled cheeks, her big green eyes and turned up nose are etched in my memory forever. Nearly every week day, I drive by the two story house, where she lived at 103rd Street and Ruckle, on my way to work and I always recall the infatuation I felt in those days. Actually I am feeling those emotions again as I write these words. Although it was a one sided attachment, my puppy love was intense for two years.

I casually aspired to be an artist during my school days and I wasn't too bad sketching and painting, better than average anyway. I suppose if I had tried hard and pursued that as my career, I might have developed enough talent to make a meager living. I guess I didn't have enough discipline to follow up on what minor skills God gave me, even though my maternal grandfather Charles W. Yount encouraged me as did my mom. In her 83 year old heart, I think she would still like to see her 58 year old son pick up a paint brush and a tube of water color paint again.

I think the last time I actually tried to paint was in January 1989. I sketched an image from a photo I took of  Danny Sullivan making the infamous pass on Mario Andretti, just before the legendary spin during the 1985 "Indianapolis 500." That was a good photo. I need to post it on this website. The last time I completed a painting was in 1981. It was rendered from an IMS photo of "Indianapolis 500" winner Rick Mears, at the Speedway in 1979. I also completed a water color image of Niki Lauda, during his run to the 1975 World Championship, from the cover of that year's edition of the Swiss annual Automobile Year. One of these days, I will frame both paintings, take photos of each and put them on the web.

Make no mistake. I wasn't Michael Turner or Nicholas Watts, or for that matter, I wasn't Randy Owens either. But I wasn't too bad. 

In summer 1963, I took up oil painting. I remember calling Paula Sanders on the telephone, to confirm her green eyes. Actually I just wanted to hear Paula's soft voice because I already knew her eyes were green. Those green eyes were the center of my universe for much of 1962, 1963 and 1964. I later heard from a friend that Paula thought I was crazy when I called her and she mocked my question in humor. Oh well. Love is blind.

I eventually had one date with Paula Sanders. The big night, which I will never forget, was April 24, 1964. We doubled with my pal Jim Mace and another (lesser than Paula Sanders) object of my infatuation, Debbie Wemhoff. Thanks Ace for doing me that big favor. We went downtown to see the Oscar winning film Tom Jones, at the Lyric Theater on Illinois Street, just west of Monument Circle. Afterwards, Paula, Debbie, Jim and I went to the Huddle restaurant at 56th and Illinois, which was a popular north side Indianapolis teenage hangout in those days.

I didn't try for a goodnight kiss, although I wanted to kiss Paula Sanders more than anything in the world. But I also wanted to spare Paula the embarrassment of turning me down. She was too good for a lowly soul like me to kiss anyway. Paula was on a high pedestal, way above 17 year old Bob Jennings. Still, even without the treasured good night kiss, it was a magic spring evening for me. I can still visualize the fresh green bloom of the season being magnified by the street lights, as the four of us made our way north from downtown in my mom's 1962 Ford Galaxie. The Beatles' "Love Me Do" played on the car radio over WIFE "lucky 13" or WIBC (1070). Paula Sanders was my captive, for a few hours anyway, and my heart danced to the magic of her enchantment.

Paula's family was originally from Oklahoma. While in Indianapolis, Paula's father, the Reverend Jack Sanders, was associated with the Christian Theological Seminary at Butler University. He apparently decided to become a priest in the Episcopalian Church and the Sanders family moved away, a couple weeks after the school year ended, for New York City - I think.

I was heartbroken!

On the day the Sanders family moved in mid June, I parked my 1957 Buick south on Ruckle to watch the activity. In today's world, I would be arrested for stalking, but in June 1964, I was just a hopelessly in love teenage boy, watching the girl he adored move away forever.

One of my school buddies, Dan Radloff, lived across the street from the Sanders family. I used to visit Dan once in awhile, mostly as an excuse to see Paula, although I seldom spotted her during my visits to the Radloff house. When I went to see Dan, I became acquainted with Dan's folks too.

The evening of the big move, Mrs. Radloff invited the Sanders family to have a bite to eat before they left to begin their trip. Dan's mom also invited me to share supper with the Sanders family. That was very kind. Just before Paula got into her dad's car, I gave her the oil portrait I painted during Fall 1963. It wasn't too bad for a 17 year old and it captured Paula's beauty somewhat. It was a reasonable likeness. I wonder if Paula still has that painting?   

If by chance, you read this Paula, somewhere, sometime, maybe you will recall that foolish guy who was so madly in love with you during your two years in Carmel, Indiana. Obviously I still remember you!

Back to Nigel Mansell. How do you like the way I travel through time from one phase of life to another? I always come back to racing.

Dallas, Texas was mostly depressing to me and even though my original return flight to Chicago was canceled Friday afternoon, while rain and winds covered the area, I was happy to get an alternative flight and even happier to arrive back in Chicago early Saturday morning. 

On Saturday March 20, I headed for Indianapolis to visit my mom, thinking mostly about the CART season opener the following day in Australia. Speaking of Interstate 65 in Northwest Indiana, I have traveled that road so many times, I could probably drive it with my eyes closed. When I was younger, I relished the relaxation of the trip, with an opportunity to ponder life, but now I feel the time I consume in the commute from Indianapolis to Chicagoland to be a boring experience and I don't like spending so many of my spare moments passing mile after mile of indistinguishable Hoosier landscape.    

I have thousands of VHS cassettes with races, I have recorded the past twenty years, scattered around this place and in my mom's basement. I wish I knew where I put the tape of Nigel Mansell's victory at Surfers Paradise in March 1993. Someday I will find it and look at the race again. I hate street racing, but that was pretty cool!    

So I go to the Champ Car website look at the old CART statistics and remember the day.

Mansell put the white and black Kmart/Havoline Lola - Ford on pole in Australia, followed by Emerson Fittipaldi, Paul Tracy, Arie Luyendyk,  Mario Andretti, Scott Goodyear, Raul Boesel, Jimmy Vasser, Scott Brayton, Mark Smith, Teo Fabi, Bobby Rahal, Al Unser Jr., Roberto Guerrero, Eddie Cheever, Robbie Buhl, Stefan Johansson, Andrea Chiesa, Geoff Brabham, Danny Sullivan, Ross Bentley, Andrea Montermini, Hiro Matsushita, Buddy Lazier and Marco Greco on the starting grid. When was the last time you saw some of those names?

Think about it. Nigel was competing against an almost entirely different roster of drivers than he had in his previous race, the 1992 Formula One season finale in Adelaide, Australia, four months earlier. True, Mansell had competed at one time or another in F1 against Fittipaldi, Andretti, Boesel, Fabi, Guerrero, Cheever, Johansson, Chiesa and Sullivan. But in most cases, with the exception of Cheever and Johansson, Nigel had limited engagement with the other former Grand Prix combatants who were competing in the Indy car race through the coastal streets of Surfers Paradise.

Regarding the other fifteen drivers, with the exception of Rahal and Unser Jr., it's unlikely Mansell was too familiar with thirteen drivers in the race in Australia. Actually that's probably incorrect because Carl Haas provided extensive video of 1992 Indy car events and Nigel watched fifty hours of footage to prepare for his new assignment in Indy car racing.

I was always curious how Mansell viewed Indy car racing while he was here. After thirteen years racing against Senna, Prost, Nelson Piquet, Keke Rosberg and the other international "biggies" of those days, it might have seemed like he was on another planet when he came to race the Indy cars.

Nigel's "American adventure" showed a lot of character when he took on the risky challenge. In my opinion, the Mansell expedition to America in 1993 represented his finest racing endeavor. Had he not brought his World Championship with him to the Newman Haas team, the big move would not have been nearly so historic. It still would have been big news, but nothing like having the reigning champion race driver of the world switching from Monaco to Indianapolis, Silverstone to Michigan, Spa-Francorchamps  to Milwaukee and so on.

By 1994, Nigel Mansell had mostly exhausted his competitive juices and the Brit was on the way out. During 1993 however, Mansell was magic and it was perhaps the most dynamic moment in Indy car racing since the glorious 1960s, when the transformation was made from front engine roadsters to the new rear engine missiles, the entire world took notice of the "Indianapolis 500" and we watched the rise of racing giants like A.J. Foyt, Parnelli Jones, Jim Clark and Mario Andretti. 

Nigel Mansell completes his qualifying run at Nazareth Speedway on September 17, 1994. The Nazareth race was the final time I saw Mansell race in person.

photo by Bob Jennings

I purchased and recently watched the DVD Indianapolis 500: The 60's. A Decade of Change. The DVD, which was produced by the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, tells the story (among several others) of the period in "Indy 500" history when Jim Clark led the parade of Grand Prix stars to the Speedway to compete in the "500."

Nigel Mansell's move to Indy cars in 1993 was somewhat reminiscent of the years when Jim Clark's Lotus - Ford blazed a historic trail at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Both Clark and Mansell were subjects of her majesty, the Queen of England. Arguably both Jimmy and Nigel were the most famous racing personalities in the world, when they raced in the "Indianapolis 500." Both drivers made instant impressions in their Indy car racing debut. I don't recall reading anything about Clark being one of Mansell's boyhood heroes, but I'm sure Nigel was well aware of Jim's successes and the story of the Scotsman's career. 

However there also were some big differences between the circumstances of Jim Clark and Nigel Mansell coming to America to race.

Clark entered a total of ten Indy car contests during his five years of U.S. competition. There were the five starts at Indianapolis, all with Team Lotus. Clark scored that impressive flag to flag win at Milwaukee in August 1963. The Flying Scot raced twice at the now defunct one mile oval in Trenton. Clark came to Mount Fuji for the USAC exhibition race in October 1966, but was unable to start due to mechanical problems with his STP Lotus - Ford. Finally there was the surprise start at Riverside in November 1967, driving for veteran mechanic Rolla Vollstedt, that resulted in a "DNF."  

Clark came to Indianapolis in May 1963 with Team Lotus and Ford Motor Company. At that point, Jimmy was a three time Formula One race winner, a close runner up to Graham Hill for the 1962 World Championship, a star on the rise and the overwhelming favorite for the 1963 World Championship, but he was not yet champion. 

Throughout his Indy car participation, with the exception of Monaco in 1965, which Clark skipped to race the following day at Indianapolis, Grand Prix competition was Jimmy's regular focus. However after his dominating 1965 "500" victory, "Indy" came to represent Clark's most important single race each season, according to the "Flying Scot" himself, who made that admission to the late Bob Collins of The Indianapolis Star, in early 1967.   

Nigel Mansell brought his wild and crazy act to the U.S. "lock, stock and barrel." The Brit was driving for one of the two major Indy car teams, for the entire season. Presumably Formula One was in his past and in early 1993, the goal for Mansell was to conquer the boys racing in the states.

Pretty neat stuff huh? Don't you wish we had something like that going on now?

If you travel throughout Bob Jennings' World O' Racing, you will notice I have always been a supporter of Tony George's decision to break away from CART in 1996. It is my contention that Indy car racing was on the wrong path as early as 1986. After Bill Elliott's "smashing" 1985 NASCAR season, CART needed to come back in 1986 with something positive and unique. Instead we saw the introduction of the Ilmor Chevy V8 engine and a new street race in Toronto. In my opinion, from that point on, it was mostly downhill for Indy car racing, at least in the minds of most of the general American racing public.

Sure there were some great moments after that, like Al Unser's fourth victory in the "Indy 500" in 1987. That was the best moment of all for me! I loved it when Al Unser Jr. won the 1992 "Indianapolis 500" and it was fun when he won the 1990 CART title. But for the most part, CART was becoming stale.

I can still remember the Chevrolet billboards around Indianapolis in spring 1991, featuring an image of the Ilmor Chevy Indy V8 engine, which proudly proclaimed "you can't win without one." I hated those billboards and what they represented!

Roger Penske manipulated competition when he cherry picked which teams received the Ilmor Chevy each season. Without Lord Penske's blessing, an Indy car team had virtually no chance.

I also hated the way Penske and Carl Haas pulled the power play, when they found out March was producing an all composite chassis for Porsche for the 1990 season. This was a brand new development in Indy cars, but still perfectly legal. Neither Penske nor Haas had composite chassis packages yet. The "bosses" got the new car thrown out a few weeks before the start of the 1990 season, which forced Porsche and March to quickly produce a chassis constructed with conventional materials. That deal stunk!

Then followed what was a continuous increase in the number of street races on the CART schedule, to the point where these boring, ridiculous exercises dominated the Indy car schedule. I hated those races; Long Beach, Meadowlands, Toronto, Denver, Vancouver, Australia, on and on and on it went.

When Cosworth introduced the new Ford XB V8 package for the 1992 Indy car season, things eased a lot in terms of Penske's monopoly with the Ilmor Chevy. It was amazing the way Chevy engines suddenly became available in 1992 after Ford-Cosworth showed up with a new power plant!

When Nigel Mansell came over, things got interesting again. I consider the Mansell move to Indy cars the number one moment in CART history. Had it not been for the international curiosity generated by Nigel's entry into the series, Indy car racing would have fallen under the weight of the NASCAR crush that much sooner.

Hey CART fans, I still carry a grudge too! 

Unlike some of you who cling to the glory days of CART, I have history on my side and understand how it all fits together over the years. I hold the original masters of your beloved Champ car series, Penske, Patrick, John Frasco, Newman - Haas, accountable for the damage that has beset Indy car racing over the past twenty years. Tony George tries to heal the wounds caused by the ego trip, taken by the CART forefathers, and save the patient. I only hope it's not too late!

I hear from time to time from a young man whose name is Kyle. Kyle is sincere, articulate, polite, well meaning and enthusiastic in his passion for racing. I like him! But he still believes in the myth that was CART. Every so often I receive an e-mail message from Kyle trying to suggest the Champ car series is still alive and well. Actually Kyle has been writing me for about three years, promoting the virtues of Indy car racing - CART style. He lays out an argument, which I know Kyle really believes in. But this earnest young man is wasting his words on me because I understand that CART blew the opportunity to grow Indy car racing, because it turned off a large majority of American racing fans with its approach to the sport.

Sorry Kyle. Sorry CART fans. You think the early 1990s was the supreme period in the history of the "Indianapolis 500" and Indy car racing. Sorry, but you don't get it. You want proof. Buy the boxed set of "500" history on DVD which covers forty plus years at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Look at the crowds at the Speedway in the 1970s and compare them with the crowds that showed up in 1995, which one of your "messiahs" Robin Miller calls the last true "Indy 500."

When CART took control of Indy car racing in 1979 and 1980, Indy car racing and NASCAR were on a basically even level. Actually Indy car racing was probably more well known across the U.S. at that time. But the road racers who took over stewardship of Indy car racing, in the name of Championship Auto Racing Teams, let opportunity after opportunity slip away and the sport has suffered heavily for it.

ESPN went on air in 1979 and cable TV offered American racing a television presence it was never offered previously. During this period, NASCAR nurtured personalities and legends like Bill Elliott, Dale Earnhardt, Rusty Wallace, Davy Allison, Alan Kulwicki and Ernie Irvan, followed by Jeff Gordon and the stars of the current era. CART gave us boring street parades, where foreign born drivers, whose names racing fans could not pronounce, ran in procession for two boring hours, through the streets of wherever John Frasco could negotiate a deal that would line his pockets with cash. NASCAR guys bumped and banged into each other around high speed ovals. The new style "good ole boys" were more like the Indy car racing heroes of the 1970s than the contemporary group of open wheelers driving 200 mph race cars around thirty mph corners, in the parking lot at the Meadowlands sports complex in New Jersey.

It wasn't the CART - IRL split that nearly destroyed Indy car racing. It was Indy car racing that nearly destroyed Indy car racing. If I had a dollar for every USAC open wheel fan in Indianapolis, who walked away because they didn't enjoy CART's brand of Indy car racing, and turned to NASCAR, I could quit working and spend all my time playing with this website.

Proponents of the CART era claim that road racing fans across the country began to follow Indy cars because of the emphasis on street circuits over ovals. Okay, I acknowledge many "road racers" came on board during the 1980s, after CART took control. But how many traditional oval fans did we lose to NASCAR in the process?

The Australian FAI IndyCar Grand Prix, run through the streets of Surfers Paradise, Queensland, Australia on March 21, 1993, was an intriguing race and Nigel Mansell's path to victory was anything but easy. Rather it was another of those perilous, nail biting journeys which Mansell experienced so often during his career. Those successes never seemed to come without Nigel having to pay his dues. His Indy car debut was yet another example. 

Mansell began his employment at Newman Haas with two days of testing at Firebird Raceway, near Phoenix, during the first week of 1993. Nigel took the opportunity to familiarize himself with one of the Newman Haas 1992 Lola - Fords at Firebird. A few days later, the Newman Haas transporters moved across town to Phoenix International Raceway. It was the first time the World Champion turned high speeds on an oval racing circuit.

There was a huge throng of international media to watch Nigel's oval debut. Rain delayed the start of testing, but later in the day, the Brit turned a total of seventy laps around the one mile layout. His best lap of 168.22 mph would have been fast enough to place Mansell on fourth grid position, for the 1992 CART race at Phoenix. If I recall properly, Mansell concluded his pre-season testing at Laguna Seca, trying a 1993 Lola chassis for the first time. 

Although I was confident that Nigel had a good shot at winning in Australia on March 21, especially after his pole position qualifying lap, it seemed like I would be expecting a lot to consider a Mansell victory at Surfers Paradise. Yet, at the same time, it was hard for me to visualize anyone else winning the race and my stomach was full of butterflies when the CART season opener got underway.

The CART race in Australia was Mansell's first rolling start since his karting days twenty years earlier. That inexperience showed when Nigel fell back to fourth place on the opening lap, behind Emerson Fittipaldi, Paul Tracy and Robby Gordon.

There it was damn it!

The two pristine white and day-glow red Marlboro Penske PC22s, powered by the latest iteration of the Ilmor Indy car turbo V8 engine, specifically the Chevy C, were running in the first two places. That was almost predictable. But Robby Gordon, racing a year old black A.J. Foyt Copenhagen Lola - Ford, in one of his earliest Indy car starts, running in third after passing Nigel, was an unhappy surprise for Mansell fans.

In the back of my head, as I watched the ABC (or was it ESPN?) telecast, I thought this can't be happening.

I sat in the living room at my mom's house, on the couch, with my mom's Yorkshire Terrier Bitsy (number six) on my lap, in front of the TV. The mid March sunlight shown through the picture window while Nigel Mansell ran fourth. The Brit screwed up the start, having to back off because he was going too fast when the pace car brought the field to the starting line. That enabled the Penske guys, Fittipaldi and Tracy, to go by on the way to the first corner. Halfway around the first lap on the 2.8 mile Surfers Paradise circuit, Gordon surprised Nigel and moved up to third.

Gordon forged ahead of Tracy, to get second place on lap three, when Paul's Marlboro Penske - Chevy C was held up by slower cars. On lap six, the young Canadian encountered even more trouble. The number 12 Marlboro car experienced suspension problems and had to take to the pits for lengthy repairs.

At the same time, Mansell began to get comfortable in his car and the white and black number 5 Lola - Ford started to pick up speed and position. On the eighth lap, Nigel overpowered Gordon, out braking Robby at the end of a straightaway to move into second. Then the Formula One champion set his sights on another holder of the World title (1972, 1974), Fittipaldi the leader.

At the same location where he had overtaken Gordon, Nigel made his move on Emmo and went past into the lead. Unfortunately, Mansell's pass came under a local yellow flag.

With old Nige, there was always the possibility he could make a race losing mistake. Perhaps that was part of the Brit's charm. My current favorite Tomas Scheckter seems to share that same trait. After so many years of cheering for one of the smartest racers of all time, Big Al Unser, it almost seems odd that I would be drawn to drivers like Mansell and Scheckter, who were and are so mistake prone.  

Nigel's misstep was of minimal damage however. The loophole in CART rules was closed soon after. When car 5 answered the black flag on lap 19, for passing under the yellow, Mansell was able to take on a full load of fuel and four new tires, in addition to serving his penalty. He came out of the pits in fourth place. When the pit cycle completed, the World Champion "rookie" returned to first place.

The Kmart/Havoline Lola - Ford number 5 moved out to a five second lead on Fittipaldi within a few laps. Then came Mansell's second screw up of the race. After pulling away from Fittipaldi, Nigel felt the handling on car 5 go away and perceived that one of the tires on his car had punctured. Mansell quickly brought the car to the pits where it was found there were no tire failures.

Oh well, it was the guy's first race in an Indy car. The feel of the heavier Lola had to take some getting used to for Nigel after all those seasons racing lighter, more agile Formula One cars.

When he returned to the track, Mansell had fallen back to fourth place again and he began his third recovery of the race, which was only one half over. The Brit followed Mario Andretti, Robby Gordon and leader Fittipaldi. Nigel passed his Newman - Haas teammate on lap 39. then he regained the lead when both Fittipaldi and Gordon made pit stops on lap 44.

Once in front again, Mansell hit his stride, pulling away from the pack and setting fast laps. At the same time, the competition was fading. The Penske crew signaled for Emmo to ease off and conserve fuel. Gordon's car lost the clutch and it took extra time for Robby to leave the pits after his second pit stop.

That enabled Nigel to slow, which was a good thing because his car was running out of fuel. His lead on Fittipaldi dropped from thirty to five seconds. To add to the usual Mansell drama, car 5 ran dry just past the checkered flag. The first time Indy car race winner had to find transportation from a safety car back to the podium.

Beginning with the 1984 Dallas Grand Prix, when Nigel Mansell became my personal Formula One favorite, it seems his career was a series of melodramas, his road to success paved with obstacles and disappointment along the way. The heartbreaking tire failure in Adelaide, that cost Mansell the 1986 World Championship, is perhaps the primary example. The crash in practice at Suzuka in October, 1987, when Nigel was chasing Williams - Honda teammate Nelson Piquet in a late season bid for that year's title, is another.

Nigel was already celebrating his victory in the 1991 Grand Prix of Canada, waving to the crowd, when his Williams - Renault stopped on the circuit, which allowed Nelson Piquet to go by and win the race for Benetton - Ford. Remember how Mansell was dominating the 1991 Grand Prix of Portugal when the wheels fell off his Williams - Renault, coming out of the pits? Even during the 1992 Grand Prix of Hungary, on the way to a second place finish, which clinched his World Championship, the British star had to deal with drama. After falling back during the race, Mansell needed to charge past Mika Hakkinen (Lotus - Ford) and Gerhard Berger (McLaren - Honda) to gain the necessary second place, from which to secure the title. Then on May 30, 1993, within sixteen laps of victory in the "Indianapolis 500," Nigel was outsmarted by Emerson Fittipaldi and Arie Luyendyk on a restart. That was the worst example of Mansell luck for me!

Nigel's Indy car win at Surfers Paradise was another of those wild crazy chapters in Mansell legend and lore. Nigel - you were something else!

Regardless of the pins and needles he put his supporters through in Surfers Paradise, the Brit did it! Nigel Mansell was victorious in his very first race in the Indy cars. Ironically, the previous driver to score a win in his Indy car racing debut was Graham Hill, when the two-time World Champion (1962, 1968) won in his first start at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 1966.

I must have been a huge Nigel Mansell fan because I took a flight twice to see him race!

In June 1992, I got on an airplane for the first time in years (without sleeping pills), to fly from Chicago O'Hare Airport to Montreal. I did this because I wanted to see Nigel Mansell race in person, during his World Championship season. So I boarded a plane on a sunny Saturday afternoon, scared to death. But I wanted to claim to be an eyewitness to the 1992 World title run by my F1 favorite. 

As things turned out, the Grand Prix of Canada, on June 14, was one of Nigel's two worst performances of the 1992 season, along with the season finale in Adelaide. Mansell only qualified fifth in Montreal. The Williams - Renault "red 5" was out of the race after 14 laps, the result of another Nigel "boo boo," when he tried to pass Ayrton Senna for the lead, coming on to the pit straight.

To be honest, I wasn't all that upset with the Mansell debacle in Montreal. What the hell? Nigel had already won five of the season's six events, coming into the race in Canada. I knew he was going to be World Champion by then. I also understood he wasn't going to win every race and that his near perfect start to the season (five consecutive wins and a second in Monaco) was going to eventually come to an end.

The three hour flight to Montreal nearly drove me crazy, but I was so miserable that I barely noticed anything, including Nigel Mansell's disappointing weekend in Canada. It was more women trouble that held my attention. If you read my tales, you know my story. Women and Bob Jennings don't mix! "Smack dab" in the middle of Nigel Mansell's Formula One championship season, I was dying from love sickness inflicted by an almost 42 year old school teacher from Greenwood, Indiana, by the name of Susan.

My moments with Susan were perhaps the sweetest I have ever experienced. My time with her was short, about six months. But it was magic for me - while it lasted  - and it didn't last long enough.

Whenever I hear a recording by "song bird" Anita Baker, my heart jumps back to my moments with Susan. Those days were like an Anita Baker song. Bonnie Raitt's recording "I Can't Make You Love Me" still sends chills all over me when I hear it, because it reminds me of a night in May 1992 when I was hurting real bad because I was getting closer to the reality that I wasn't going to get Susan back, about eight weeks after she had let me go.

I'll be 59 in June. It's hard for me to imagine that I will ever feel anything like that again - damn it. It would be nice just one more time to feel the excitement when my heart jumps about someone else though.

In late February 1992, Susan decided I wasn't the one - anymore. Although she let me go in a polite, subtle manner, her dismissal tore me apart like I was slashed with a knife. It filled me with confusion about who I was. Her rejection covered me with doubt about my worth as a human being, because for six months, when I was with her or thinking about her, I felt warm inside, like someone who actually meant something to someone, if an angel like Susan cared for me.

During the first few months of our time together, Susan used to send cards and love notes to me in Chicago, where I was working during the week, in between my weekend trips to Indianapolis to be with her. I don't think I ever felt better about who I was, than those autumn months of 1991 when Susan cared about me.

Susan's image didn't start to blur until I got caught up in Nigel Mansell's quest for racing success in the United States in early 1993. It was that incredible racing adventure which rescued me from the abyss of another lost love. Perhaps my recollections of Susan's loss and the easing of pain brought on by Nigel's American adventure sum up what I am trying to convey as I sit at this computer, clumsily typing these words with my right hand.

I wish I had taken typing in high school.

Susan the school teacher from Greenwood, Paula Sanders, Da(y)na, my dying, nearly nonexistent second marriage, they are all sad tales of defeat - and it's always been racing that has brought me back from love's disappointments.

However, when I went to Montreal in June 1992 to see Nigel Mansell race in person in the Grand Prix of Canada, I was hurting worst of all. The pain lasted a long time but when I went to Montreal, it was as bad as it ever got for me.

God bless Guy Nadeau! Guy was waiting for me in Montreal. He knew an actuary, who lived in Montreal, but was out of town during Grand Prix weekend. So Guy persuaded the actuary to let us stay at the apartment while he was gone. It was a nice place. Montreal was party town supreme!

If I had been sane at the time, I could have enjoyed a classic weekend and possibly experienced some "40 something" debauchery. Guy Nadeau was a warm hearted, generous man and one of the very best friends of my life. I miss him terribly! He was also the most sexually affected human being I ever met. It must have been his French Canadian heritage. Where Guy was, there were women. Where Guy was, there was always the potential of meeting a woman and the possibility of adventure was ever present.

I was somewhat surprised that Montreal wasn't more like Chicago, with 100 story skyscrapers filling the cityscape. Rather, there was more of a quaint, old Europe ambience about Montreal and modern architectural structures did not seem to be the primary goal. The place was interesting, different and inviting.

Early in the evening, the night before the 1992 Grand Prix of Canada, Guy and I hit the party side of town. The ladies were friendly. If I had been tuned in to having fun, instead of constantly dropping back to thoughts of Susan and wincing in emotional pain, I could have had a ball. I distinctly recall a beautiful young lady dancing the Brazilian Lambada in a discothèque, flashing her basically uncovered behind for all to see, as her short skirt twirled to the music. It was a nice behind to see too!

I guess I still had some semblance of charm in June 1992. I might have had a great weekend in Montreal if I had let myself do so! But all I knew to do was wallow in the misery of rejection by a school teacher from Greenwood. For that matter, I'm still walking the same street as we turn the page from 2004 to 2005. This time it's my second wife. So I light another cigarette, take another swig on my bottle of Heineken and think about the next sentence because there isn't much else for me to do.

Nearly nine months after my Montreal weekend, and two weeks after my trip to Dallas, I boarded another plane to see Nigel Mansell race.

This time, I was going to see Mansell make his first competitive start on an oval racing course in the "Valvoline 200" at Phoenix International Raceway on April 4, 1993 - even though it meant another plane ride. I was completely ecstatic about Nigel's win at Surfers Paradise and overwhelmed with the moment and I put my fears aside.

John Dailey invited me to come west for the Indy car race at Phoenix year after year. In November, 1976, I had a free flight booked to Phoenix, thanks to Guy Nadeau's company and my employer, Polysystems, Inc. Guy set up the entire trip and arranged for John Dailey, who he knew through me, to pick me up and return me to the airport when the race was over. But I didn't go because I was scared to fly. That was a real shame because Al Unser ended up winning the race in Phoenix, at the wheel of that gorgeous white and metallic blue Vel's Parnelli Jones Racing American Racing Wheels Parnelli - Cosworth turbo V8 number 21, to end the USAC Indy car season on a positive note.

Do you remember that race car? It was a beauty! It was also the original Cosworth powered Indy car.

I was so pissed off when Al Unser decided to switch from the Vel's Parnelli team and the Parnelli VPJ number 21, after the 1977 season, I wanted to bite people. Of course that was before Al ended up winning the "Indianapolis 500" for a third time in May 1978, as well as the other two Indy car 500 milers at Pocono and Ontario, in Jim Hall's First National City Chaparral Lola - Cosworth. I have to say I loved the deep blue, white and red Chaparral Lola number 2, that Big Al raced in 1978, more than any of his other race cars.    

God, I miss John Dailey too - just like Guy Nadeau!

It was finally time to accept John's annual invitation. In mid February 1993, I called John from my tiny, crowded, cluttered apartment on Fullerton Parkway, one block west of Lincoln Park, on the near north side of Chicago. I told him I would make him a deal. Since it was a special season, with Nigel Mansell joining the Indy car competition and the fact Phoenix would be the Brit's first race on an oval, I would fly out for the race if John agreed to come to Indianapolis in May for the "500." John said okay and that cemented my next journey through the friendly skies.

On Friday April 2, I was supposed to catch an evening flight from O'Hare Airport and arrive in Phoenix about three hours later, where John would be waiting for me. It was Chicago after all, and wouldn't you know that "Old Man Winter" wasn't about to loosen his grasp on the Windy city, even if it was April.

Mostly I loved my fifteen years total in Chicago. There are times when I wished I hadn't left. But so often the weather stinks up there, with gray skies, biting winds and heavy snow, which only makes an already difficult experience, navigating around Chicagoland, that much more complicated. So there are other times I am glad I came back home to Indianapolis.

Just when you think Spring is on its way, Chicago can fool you and it can be as brutal as it is in late January. The day of my flight to Phoenix to see John Dailey and Nigel Mansell, was one of those days.

The plane I was taking to Phoenix was delayed in Newark, primarily because the conditions in Chicago were so bad. They have these little departure area bars at O'Hare - or used to. I stood at a table and traded drinks and dirty jokes with an overweight, but delightfully personable young lady. We got real drunk. By the time the plane arrived from Newark and we were told to board, my head was spinning in a giddy euphoria. I was too inebriated to know what the hell was going on, during the two or three hours the plane sat on the runway at O'Hare.

After we took off, I fell asleep and woke shortly before we landed in Phoenix. I must have been snoring loudly, because when I arose from my slumber, a guy sitting near me, looked at me, smiled and said "Sweet dreams. We are landing in Phoenix." Within a few moments, the plane touched down and I grabbed my cameras and garment bag and walked into the airport terminal, where John was waiting. Poor guy, he had to sit there for more than three hours, waiting for my flight to arrive.  

I was in a fog on the way to John's place and I think I crashed on the couch shortly after we arrived.

When I awoke the next morning with a hangover, John was still sleeping. I looked outside at the numerous cactus blooms and desert landscape, which I was looking at for the first time in my life. I grabbed the newspaper on the front steps and slowly regained consciousness. Before long, John woke up and fixed coffee.

1992 NASCAR Winston Cup champion Alan Kulwicki had been killed in a plane crash two days earlier, on the way to Bristol for the upcoming race, along with three or four others. That was probably why I got so drunk the night before at O'Hare, because I was jittery about Kulwicki's death. That's as good an excuse as any.

We had to stop at John's business, Trucks Unique, before we could go to Phoenix International Raceway for Indy car practice and qualifications. I had a my Nikon FE2 cameras and film, which we purchased at a local Wal-Mart. I wanted to get to the race track to see Nigel and the boys. It seemed like it took forever for John to finish up his chores.

Finally we headed for the track. By the time we got situated in the main straight grandstand, but before I could get camera angles figured out and lenses focused, Nigel Mansell's car 5 passed by. I saw Nigel as he sped past my vantage point and heard the public address announcer report that Mansell had a 1.5 second advantage on the field. 

Then I heard the sound of screeching tires and the snap of race car smashing into concrete! Mansell's Kmart/Havoline Lola - Ford went into turn one too hard. The white and black car 5 spun lazily then backed hard into the outer wall. The crash looked bad and it scared the shit out of me. For awhile, I wasn't sure whether the Brit was okay. I recall seeing Carl Haas and Paul Newman hurrying down from the pits to the scene of the crash.      

John Dailey and I watched the safety crew load Nigel on to a stretcher and into an ambulance. The safety vehicle drove to the infield, where a helicopter was waiting to take Mansell to a nearby hospital. It was pretty tough watching all of this because the crowd wasn't being told much over the public address system. 

We had pit passes for Saturday, thanks to Larry Friday, Rick Galles' brother-in-law, and one of John's good friends. We crossed the track on the old Goodyear bridge, which used to rise above the final corner of the Phoenix mile, and went to the Galles pits, where Al Unser Jr.'s Valvoline Lola - Chevrolet and Danny Sullivan's sister car, sponsored by the Canadian brewer Molson, were being prepared for qualifications.

Shortly after we arrived, Rick Galles informed us that although Mansell was knocked momentarily unconscious in the crash, he was mostly okay, but would miss the race the following day.

Unlike Nigel's lackluster performance the previous June in Montreal, this really bothered me. For one thing, I was concerned about his condition and I was also severely disappointed that I wasn't going to see Mansell compete. On top of that, Nigel was fastest during both practice sessions and I think he would have been strong in the race.

The night before the race, John, Larry Friday and I went to dinner at a steakhouse, from where we could see the Phoenix skyline and the night time lights in the "Valley of the Sun." While eating, CART CEO Bill Stokkan stopped by our table to say hello to Larry. I went about my ways the rest of the weekend and cheered for Little Al, who drove to a rather uninspiring fourth place finish. But it was nowhere near the same as it would have been with Nigel Mansell in the race.

It was hot in the grandstands at Phoenix International Raceway for the 200 mile Indy car race on April 4, 1993. I wasn't sweating but the sun beat down on us so intensely that I had to sit under the grandstands to cool off, immediately after Mario Andretti took the checkered flag to win the final Indy car race of his career, followed by  Raul Boesel, Jimmy Vasser, Little Al and Teo Fabi. The next day, after I returned to Chicago, I was sunburned so badly that when my skin began peeling, I had to constantly clean the lenses of my glasses to clear off the dead skin falling off my face. 

Paul Tracy ran away and hid from the field at Phoenix and by lap 104, had a two lap lead. When Tracy crashed on lap 161, his Penske teammate Emerson Fittipaldi assumed command until he too crashed ten laps later. Actually it was somewhat discouraging to see the Marlboro Penske - Chevrolets so dominant. I wish Nigel would have been out there to race with the Penske pair.

I had some problems with some programs at work, on the Friday before the Phoenix race. So I abandoned my original plans to take Monday April 5 off. After a red eye flight from Phoenix, I landed at O'Hare early and drove directly to work. That was the last time I was on an airplane.

One of the primary reasons I love the month of May and the "Indianapolis 500" so much is going to practice for the big race. It's such a great time of the year anyway, with spring bursting out in full bloom around Indianapolis. That coincides perfectly with the activity that begins the annual renewal of the "greatest spectacle in racing" at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Winter isn't usually severe in central Indiana (at least for any length of time), but it is often bleak and gloomy. The fresh colors of spring and warm breezes are always welcome and they provide a glorious environment to what's going on at the Speedway in May.

"Indy 500" practice used to provide the first glimpse most of us had of race cars each year. The grapevine, with the news about who was driving for whom, wasn't so active in the 1950s and early 1960s. So one of the big deals was getting a first look at which driver would be driving what car. In the old days, sometimes there was a slow buildup over two weeks of practice, leading to the opening of qualifications. Some years, it seemed like there weren't more than two or three cars on the track during the first few days. Obviously that pace quickened in 1974 when pre-qualification practice was cut from two weeks to one. Still, the pre-1974 days of practice had an interesting feel, as the pulse of May quickened over the span of two weeks, from casual movement to frantic motion, the closer Pole day came.

During my early years of going to the "500," I got to make two trips each May to the Speedway. My dad took me to Pole day and the race. The rest of my May experience came via The Indianapolis Star, The Indianapolis News and somewhat limited local television coverage and footage. Back then, it was complex and expensive to set up TV cameras and equipment at the Speedway for remote on site reporting. WFBM channel 6 had fifteen minute reports each afternoon from practice at the track, called "Trackside 6," hosted by Tom Carnegie. On qualifying days, WFBM presented one hour TV programming from 16th and Georgetown, beginning at 4:30 PM on Saturday and Sunday, using three cameras to cover cars traveling around the oval. 

I went to my first "500" practice day on Sunday May 7, 1961. I got to see my earliest racing hero Tony Bettenhausen take several laps in his Quinn Epperly lay down Offy roadster Lindsey Hopkins Autolite Special number 5. I left the Indianapolis Motor Speedway that afternoon with a prize, a black and white glossy 8x10 photo of Bettenhausen sitting in his car, in the pits, preparing to take to the track. I still have that photo. It's in my Mom's basement. It was the last time I saw the "Tinley Park Express" in person. The following Friday, Tony was killed in a practice crash, when the car he was driving, veered into the outside retaining wall at the south end of the main straightaway.

Bettenhausen was doing a favor for his longtime friend Paul Russo. Tony was trying to help Russo find some speed in the Doug Stearly Special number 24, when a front radius rod bolt came loose, causing the car to climb the wall and get caught in the safety fencing mounted within the outer concrete retaining wall. Those retaining walls were very low prior to 1974, somewhere about three feet high - if that. Bettenhausen died instantly. I was heartbroken!

I honestly believe that May 1961 presented Tony Bettenhausen's best shot at winning the "Indianapolis 500." Tony's Autolite number 5 had a 2 1/2 mph edge on the field and things were looking so good. Damn, that was such a sad thing when my earliest racing hero died!

Three years later in May 1964, I had the chance to go to the Speedway every afternoon, when school let out at 3:30 PM. I could get to the track by 4:00 PM and catch the final two hours of practice.

That was a blast, and a greater sense of freedom I will never enjoy again. I recall my trips to watch "500" practice in May 1964, the transitional year when the race car of choice switched from front engine Offy roadsters to rear engine Lotus - Fords, or copies of the British racer anyway. My buddy Dave Willmuth and I sat in the Tower Terrace seats behind the pits, watching the comings and goings in front of us with teenage fascination. I think back then, it cost something like fifty cents to attend practice. I didn't have any money but I could afford that.

More than any other May I have seen, with the possible exception of 1996, things were in a greater state of change at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 1964 than any other "500" month I have witnessed. 

Since Jack Brabham's journey to the Speedway with the Cooper - Climax in 1961, the number of new style rear engine Indy cars were on the rise. In 1962, hot rod star Mickey Thompson brought three rear engine cars, powered by Buick V8 engines with special aluminum cylinder heads, to the Speedway. Dan Gurney was the only successful qualifier in a Mickey Thompson car for the 1962 race, but change was in the wind. Thompson returned to Indianapolis in 1963 with newer rear engine creations, this time with Chevrolet power. Al Miller and Duane Carter put two of the Thompson entries in the 1963 "500" starting field. Defending World champion Graham Hill came to Indianapolis in 1963, to try one of the Thompson cars, but did not attempt to qualify. However the big news in May 1963 centered on the Lotus - Fords driven by Jim Clark and Dan Gurney.

Clark led 28 laps and finished second to Parnelli Jones in the 1963 "500," while Lotus - Ford teammate Dan Gurney finished seventh. In August 1963, Team Lotus showed up at Milwaukee. Clark led flag to flag, lapping all but second place A.J. Foyt. Gurney finished third in the other Lotus - Ford. The Indy car establishment looked at the future and understood the obvious.   

In May 1964, Jim Clark and Team Lotus were deeply focused on Formula One, trying to repeat their 1963 World Championship. So Clark had little time to practice in his new "Indy" Lotus 34, which was powered by the brand new Ford DOHC V8 pure bred racing engine that succeeded the original Fairlane pushrod V8, which the Lotuses carried the previous May. Clark only had a total of 35 practice laps going into qualifications for the 1964 "Indianapolis 500." But Jimmy was able to parlay those few laps into one (159.377) and  four (158.828) lap records on Pole day, on the way to the number one starting spot for the 1964 race.

I was intrigued by Jim Clark when he came to Indianapolis in 1963. When it appeared that Clark was going to catch leader Parnelli Jones, as the 1963 "500" progressed, I got more excited about racing than at any time since Tony Bettenhausen was killed two years earlier. After Clark's success at "Indy" and Milwaukee, I followed the Formula One season as closely as I could. The "Flying Scot" didn't disappoint this new fan, winning seven of ten Grand Prix events on the way to a dominant World Championship. I had a new racing hero and he was the best in the world.

During those few moments I was able to watch Clark, at the Speedway during May 1964, and practice his British racing green Lotus - Ford number 6, with the traditional yellow racing stripe, the 28 year old Scot took on a hero's aura for me. 

Clark looked different from the regular Indy car drivers of that day. Rather than sport the usual crew cut, as many of the American drivers did, Jimmy had thick dark hair, which he always seemed to be smoothing back off his forehead, as he stood talking to Colin Chapman and the rest of the Team Lotus crew, who were clad in dark green coveralls. The Scot was easy to pick out from the crowd, with a slight 5' 8" build, wearing a light blue Dunlop Tires, Esso driving uniform, unlike the shiny white Goodyear and Firestone suits worn by most of the others. 

There was an ever increasing number of new rear engine cars at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in May 1964. The Team Lotus - Ford Motor Company association entered another new Lotus - Ford for Dan Gurney. Longtime "Indianapolis 500" car owner Lindsey Hopkins purchased the Team Lotus - Ford entry, that Gurney raced to seventh in the 1963 "500," and put one of the new Ford DOHC engines in the rear, for fast rising Bobby Marshman. Marshman's Lotus - Ford was christened he Pure Firebird Special, for it's sponsorship from Pure Oil Company.

A.J. Watson, the technical wizard of the roadster era at Indianapolis, built new rear engine cars for 1959 and 1962 "500" winner Rodger Ward and Leader Card Racers teammate Don Branson. Ward's new car was powered by the Ford DOHC V8, while Branson's car carried traditional four cylinder Offy power. Watson loaned the blueprints for his new car to Rolla Vollstedt, who built a similar Offy powered rear engine entry for Len Sutton. Unlike the lightweight Lotus chassis, which consisted of a monocoque with suspension parts hung on to the slender, cigar-shaped British race car, the new Watson rear engine designs were built with the conventional roadster tube frame approach and the engine covers looked similar to the rear end sections on old style championship dirt cars.  

In addition to the cars entered for Clark, Gurney, Marshman, Ward, Branson and Sutton, there were several other new rear engine creations at the Speedway in May 1964. Two Joe Huffaker chassis powered by Offies, were qualified by U.S. road racing ace Walt Hansgen and Indy car veteran Bob Veith. The two odd looking Huffaker entries were christened MG Liquid Suspension Specials by their owner Kjell Qvale.

Mickey Thompson's new cars in 1964 were even wilder than his previous Indianapolis entries. The new Thompson chassis was powered by the new Ford DOHC V8 and was shaped unlike anything ever seen before at "Indy," flat and wide like a platter. One of the things I find most interesting about Mickey's 1964 cars is how much more futuristic looking they were than any other design, including Colin Chapman's Lotus - Fords. I mean it! Look at photos of the Thompson entries in 1964 and compare them to prominent Indy car designs almost a decade later. There's a lot of physical similarity from the Thompson cars to Dan Gurney's 1972 Eagle and the big winged "500" cars of 1972 and 1973.

The Thompson cars were sponsored by Sears Allstate Tires and carried the Allstate brand of rubber. In May 1964, four manufacturers brought tires to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Firestone supported many of the traditional teams and new entrant Goodyear came to the Speedway to challenge its rival American tire maker. When May began, Goodyear had A.J. Foyt under contract, while the Firestone contingent was led by Parnelli Jones and Rodger Ward. Colin Chapman decided to abandon his 1963 association with Firestone and run with his Grand Prix tire supplier Dunlop, on the Team Lotus entries.

Rookie Dave MacDonald was the fastest in the Mickey Thompson entries, qualifying fourteenth on the grid in the number 83 Sears Allstate entry. Ten time "Indy 500" veteran Eddie Johnson also qualified the number 84 Sears Allstate entry twenty fourth for the "500."

Popular Eddie Sachs came to the Speedway in a new rear engine chassis, built by Ted Halibrand and powered by a Ford V8, that was entered by a group of local businessmen, in the name of D-V-S Racing. I particularly recall a souvenir edition of The Indianapolis Star, on May 29, 1964, that featured a two page advertisement from Marathon Oil Company, presenting a photo of Eddie's number 25 American Red Ball Special, with a caption containing Sachs' comments that his race car was basically a fuel tank with high octane Marathon gasoline. How chilling that Marathon advertisement turned out to be!

The guy who started it all at "Indy," the rear engine revolution at Indianapolis, was back in 1964 for the first time since his appearance in the famous Cooper - Climax in 1961. Jack Brabham returned to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway after a three year absence, with a brand new (tube frame - I believe; help me out Donald Davidson) Brabham chassis, from his own shops in England, with Offy power. Brabham's 1964 entry was made in partnership with 1955 - 1956 winning "Indianapolis 500" car owner John Zink, of Tulsa, Oklahoma.  

Even A.J. Foyt and Parnelli Jones had rear engine cars at their disposal. Both American stars had Offy powered rear engine race cars from the same designer and builder, but I can't recall offhand right now who that was. I do recall the cars were rather funny looking, somewhat short and stubby. Foyt and Jones both tested their rear engine cars, but decided to stay with their tried and true front engine roadsters.

So there were so many story lines being generated at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, during the two weeks of practice leading up to Pole day qualifying, it was difficult to keep track of them all.

In qualifying for the 1963 "Indianapolis 500," Parnelli Jones set one (151.847 mph) and four (151.153) official track records. At the start of practice for the 1964 "500," it was apparent the existing speed marks were going to be eclipsed by several miles per hour. The tires from all four manufacturers represented at the Speedway, Firestone, Goodyear, Sears Allstate and Dunlop, were much wider than the rubber used during the previous May and this was probably the primary factor for the substantial increase in speeds during practice.      

After three or four days of track action, speeds climbed to 155 mph. By the morning of pole qualifying day, Bobby Marshman ran an unofficial lap of 160 mph in early morning activity. This was phenomenal, because in years past, the rise in speeds at the 2.5 mile oval came, for the most part, in incremental increases. Now the speeds were jumping eight and nine miles per hour.

Perhaps the most important angle, to the story developing for the 1964 "500," was the rear engine versus roadster confrontation. The fact that both A.J. Foyt and Parnelli Jones elected to remain faithful to their old cars elevated the competition beyond its usual driver against driver drama. This was really exciting for the fans, with so many unique dimensions added to the May mix. With Ford Motor Company deeply committed to success at Indianapolis, that provided another contest to see if the venerable old Offy four cylinder could hold on to its lock on victory at "Indy."

Then there were the drivers competing at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 1964, which was truly the finest collection of racers in the world. The "big three" of American open wheel racing, A.J. Foyt, Rodger Ward and Parnelli Jones, who between them had won the previous three "Indianapolis 500" victories, were locked into a marquee battle with two of the very best in international Grand Prix competition, World Champion Jim Clark and versatile Dan Gurney. Sprinkled throughout the entry list were an assortment of accomplished drivers, such as the young "hotshot" Bobby Marshman, USAC heroes Eddie Sachs and Jim Hurtibise, veterans Don Branson, Lloyd Ruby and Len Sutton, two time World Champion Jack Brabham, promising American oval racers Jim McElreath, Bobby Unser, Johnny Rutherford, Johnny White and longtime road racer Walt Hansgen. 

This was real good stuff, let me tell you! It was like the old rules had been torn up and a new stage had been constructed for the "500." Everything was changing at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in May 1964; the cars, the stars, the universal interest and the scope of the "greatest spectacle in racing."

By the time "500" qualifications opened on a sunny Saturday May 16, 1964, it seemed like everyone within 250 miles of Indianapolis was psyched up for the big battle for track records and pole position. The crowds at the Speedway were huge in those days on "500" Pole day, perhaps 2/3 the size of the race day crowd. The local newspapers carried banner headlines. Everyone who was anyone in Indianapolis, went to the Speedway on Pole day. Some fans liked it even better than the "500" itself. To win the "Indy 500" pole was the next best thing in American racing to winning the big race itself! 

I remember driving Bill Correll's brother Steve Hansen and a classmate - buddy Rex Doom to the Speedway in my old, dilapidated 1957 Buick, concerned I would get stuck in Speedway traffic and my old "bus" would overheat. Steve, Rex and I did caught in a jam on Crawfordsville Road, west of the track. But we started early enough to get seated, while the cars were still doing practice laps.

Rodger Ward was the first qualifier and broke Parnelli Jones' one and four lap records, set the year before, with new marks of 157.563 mph and 156.406 mph respectively, in A.J. Watson white rear engine Leader Card Racers Ford entry. Tom Carnegie had the crowd roaring during Ward's qualifying run, but the 200,000 plus fans knew there was more to come.

Bobby Marshman brought out the Hopkins Pure Firebird Special Lotus - Ford a bit later. Marshman hit 160 mph early that morning and the young driver from Pottstown, Pennsylvania was the new pole favorite. Marshman didn't disappoint, breaking Ward's new records with speeds of 158.562 and 157.867 mph.

Of course the day of records wasn't over yet. Clark did his run with new speed marks of 159.377 and 158.828 mph, shortly after Marshman's new records were set. By then the electricity was so thick, you could cut it with a knife. Those were the days!

Parnelli Jones upheld roadster honors and qualified fourth at 155.090 mph. Foyt switched from Goodyear to Firestone the day before qualifications and had the fifth fastest average at 154.670 mph. Dan Gurney qualified sixth in the other "factory" Lotus - Ford, with a run at 154.480.

In total, fifteen drivers broke Parnelli's average from 1963; Lloyd Ruby (Watson - Offy roadster - 153.930), Len Sutton (Vollstedt - Offy rear engine - 153.830), Don Branson (Watson - Offy rear engine - 152.670), Walt Hansgen (Huffaker - Offy rear engine - 152.580), Jim Hurtibise (Watson - Offy roadster - 152.540), Dick Rathmann (Watson - Offy roadster - 151.860), Johnny Boyd (Kuzma - Offy roadster - 161.830), Dave MacDonald (Mickey Thompson - Ford rear engine - 151.460) and Johnny Rutherford (Watson - Offy roadster - 151.400).  

Sadly, the pre-race promise of the 1964 "Indianapolis 500" was marred by tragedy.

As the race started, Clark's green Lotus jumped ahead of Parnelli and Marshman to lead the field into turn one. But as the middle part of the field came off turn four on lap two, all hell broke loose! MacDonald's car appeared to lose adhesion to the track, like a column of air got underneath his car and lifted it off the ground. In those days, aerodynamics was still a relatively new racing science and Mickey Thompson's cars exceeded the allowable barriers. When MacDonald's car veered into the angular inside concrete wall, that used to run along the north end of the main straightaway, the seventy five gallons of high octane gasoline exploded.

I was sitting with Bill Correll, Dave Willmuth and Jim Mace in grandstand B, at the other end of the main stretch. I had just cheered Clark, as he went past in the lead for the second time, when I caught the image of flames from the north end, after MacDonald made initial impact. It looked like an atomic blast and when the MacDonald car bounced back on to the track and made direct contact with Eddie Sachs, the ball of fire rose several hundred feet into the air.

That is still the most horrifying sight I have ever seen at a racing event!  

The crowd screamed in horror and it appeared as if the flames had enveloped the spectators, seated along the outside of the track, between the fourth turn and the entrance to the pits. Tom Carnegie's frantically announced the red flag was out, stopping the "500" for an accident, for the first time in history. The cars of Norm Hall, Bobby Unser, Ronnie Duman, Sachs, MacDonald, Chuck Stevenson and Johnny Rutherford were all eliminated as a result of the crash.

It looked like a war zone up near the scene of the crash and it wasn't long after the race was halted, that Tom Carnegie announced to the crowd that Eddie Sachs lost his life in the melee. After Carnegie's announcement, you could hear a pin drop and many spectators around me began to pack up and leave. Later, after the race resumed about ninety minutes later, it was announced that MacDonald had also died from injuries suffered in pileup.

It was a grim scene and it was eerie when teams began placing the remaining twenty-six cars in position to run the 198 laps to be completed. There didn't seem to be much enthusiasm for racing among the competitors or the spectators who remained. I read that teams had to literally coax drivers back into their cars to restart the race.

Once racing got underway, Clark resumed his lead. But Marshman was faster and he passed Jimmy for the lead on lap seven. Bobby's white number 51 Pure Firebird Lotus flew and Clark dropped back and settled into second place. Then on lap 41, with an impressive advantage, Marshman went too low in the north chute to lap a slower car and scraped the ground, knocking off an oil plug. The gearbox in Bobby's Lotus - Ford failed as a result, and Clark assumed the lead again, followed by Jones, Foyt and Gurney.

There were reports after "500" Pole day, the Dunlop tires on Clark's and Gurney's Lotus - Fords were chunking seriously during practice. Perhaps that is why Clark only ran 35 laps of practice prior to winning the pole. The reports proved to be true, because on lap 48, the number 6 Lotus slowed, coming past the pits, and coasted into the grass inside turn one. The Dunlop tires had disintegrated and the lightweight Lotus suspension collapsed. Not long after, Colin Chapman called Gurney into the pits for fear of the same problem occurring.  

The only hope for the rear engine contingent and the Ford supporters was third place Rodger Ward. In front, Parnelli Jones and A.J. Foyt were fighting savagely for the lead. The 1964 "500" had come back to the Offy roadsters.

Although they ran side by side for nine laps, Parnelli managed to hold a slight advantage each time they crossed the finish line. This could've turned into one of the classic "Indy" confrontations. But the fuel in Parnelli's car 98 exploded as the defending "500" champion left the pits on lap 55 and the hapless Jones had to jump out of the burning racer as it pulled away.

This brought the race down to Foyt and Ward and although Rodger's rear engine Ford was probably faster, the car was also consuming gasoline at an alarming rate and Rodger was forced to ease his pace, leaving the race to Foyt, who led the final 146 laps, for his second "Indianapolis 500" victory.

I was very, very disappointed after the 1964 "500" completed about 4:30 PM. I had anticipated a win by Jim Clark's Lotus - Ford or at the very least, by one of the other rear engine cars. I was anxious for the Speedway to advance beyond the roadster era and into this period of new cars. Yet A.J. Foyt had salvaged another win for the old "dinosaurs." Although my feelings changed to affection and respect in later years for "Super Tex," in May 1964 and I wasn't especially excited to see Foyt win the "500" a second time. Then too, the pall cast over the day by the tragedy of the deaths of Sachs and MacDonald, made for a big letdown.  

I was still playing the artist in May 1964. Rodger Ward had something of lothario's reputation in the Indianapolis area. The two time winner married a beautiful young woman, the daughter of a successful attorney, sometime between the 1963 season and May 1964. I painted an oil portrait of Ward, in high school art class. I even paid to have the painting framed. It was pretty decent actually. I brought Ward's portrait with me to "500" practice one afternoon. I spotted the new Mrs. Ward, seated in the Tower Terrace seats behind the pits, where the Leader Card Racers crew was preparing Rodger's new rear engine Watson - Ford to take to the track.  

I introduced myself to Mrs. Ward and presented the painting to her. She was very gracious and while we were talking, Rodger looked up from the pits and waved when his wife displayed my oil portrait.

Rodger Ward, he was one of the all time greats! He's gone now, only a chapter in the racing history books. But Ward and A.J. Watson represented one of the strongest combinations in American Indy car racing history. During 1959 and 1960, I would rate Rodger Ward as the top Indy car driver, after the semi-retirement of Jimmy Bryan, when the Arizona cowboy won the 1958 "Indianapolis 500," and before the emergence of A.J. Foyt in 1961. Even after Foyt became the predominant racer, Ward continued to press the Texan and on his day could still be unbeatable.

If you are asking yourself why I focused so much on the 1964 "500," in what began as a story about Nigel Mansell, it's because my destination for this offering is Nigel Mansell's debut at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Wednesday May 12, 1993, during practice for the "500." May 1964 was the first time I was able to experience "500" practice in a complete way and it was when my expectations for May were formed forever.

In the Mays which followed, some of the best days of my life took place at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway during "500" practice. The number of "best days"  occurring while watching the cars practice for the "Indy 500" are almost too numerable to count.

Another of my all time favorite "500" practice days came on Wednesday May 13, 1987. That was the day when Al Unser Sr. got on to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway track for the first time that month, after coming to "Indy" without an assigned car for the first time since 1964. That was ridiculous! When Danny Ongais was injured in practice the week preceding the start of qualifications, there was an opening on the three car entry from Roger Penske.

I heard different stories about why Al Unser lost his part time ride with the Penske team, for the three Indy car 500 mile events, at the end of 1986. I heard that Ongais' patron Teddy Field paid Penske a tidy sum to give Danny a ride at Indianapolis in May 1987. I heard another rumor that Big Al and Roger had a falling out over a personal matter. I heard other stuff too, but neither Unser nor Penske commented on the situation, at least that I am aware of.

Regardless of what happened between Roger Penske and Al Unser, they came together again in an announcement at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Tuesday May 11. Unser would rejoin his former Penske teammates Rick Mears and Danny Sullivan for the 1987 "Indy 500." Obviously that made me very happy, because without Big Al, practice and qualifications at Indianapolis were a huge disappointment.

The Penske team started May in Indianapolis with an Alan Jenkins design, a new chassis from the team's shops in Poole, England, designated the PC16. The new car was a disaster and, as he did with the PC12 chassis in 1984, Roger Penske decided to park the PC16 on Thursday before "500" Pole day Saturday May 9. The Penske racing organization reacted quickly to retrieve and prepare the 1986 Marches left over from the previous season.

Cars for Mears and Sullivan were readied first and fitted with the second year iteration of the Ilmor Chevy Indy V8. The car selected for Unser was the same March which Rick had placed on pole position for the 1986 "500," and driven to a third place finish. The car was also the fastest racing machine in Indianapolis history to that time, with one lap (217.581 mph) and four lap (216.828) track records.

The 1986 March was sitting in a hotel lobby in Reading, Pennsylvania, near the Penske Racing headquarters, when it was transported to Indianapolis in an frantic effort to ready the car for Big Al. The Penske team did not have enough spare parts to put an Ilmor Chevy V8 into Unser's March. So a Cosworth engine was put together for the bright yellow March, and carried the number 25, from the earlier Ongais entry.

I left my job at PALLM, Inc. at 5 PM on May 13, and made a quick fifteen minute trip across the west side of Indianapolis, getting to the pits at the Speedway, before car 25 made its first trip on to the racing surface. Al Unser was sitting in the car, wearing a brand new, plain white Simpson helmet. I quickly shot a roll of film, taking photos of Al in the car before it went on to the track for some shakedown runs.

I ran into my buddy Tim Pendergast in the pits. Big Al's return to action was the big story that day and it received a lot of ESPN coverage. Mario Andretti was on the pole and the man to beat for the 1987 "500." But I distinctly recall Tim saying, as we walked to our cars, "Al's going to win the race isn't he?" The history books and videos remind us Tim was correct.

That particular "Indianapolis 500" practice day, on May 13, 1987, when Al Unser started his successful quest for a fourth "Indy" victory, is one of the biggest in my memory. I'll never forget it. It only lasted for about thirty minutes. But it's one of my greatest treasures.

In May 1965, my parents were experiencing marital problems and I didn't have daily access to an automobile. My trips to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, for practice for the 1965 "Indianapolis 500," were in jeopardy. This was not good! My hero Jim Clark looked very much like he was going to capture a "500" victory in his third attempt. I needed to be at the Speedway! 

I was near the end of my senior year at Carmel High School and graduation was only a couple weeks away. I was fortunate to interest a classmate Paul Sandquist in what was happening at 16th and Georgetown. Paul and I were friendly acquaintances. We didn't hang out in the same crowd and prior to May, we didn't share any common bonds. But thankfully we came together to experience several afternoons during May 1965 at the track.

Paul had a nice black 1962 Chevy Corvair convertible. Paul and I began leaving school at 3:30 PM for the Speedway, near the end of the first week of "500" practice. By the next week, as the teams prepared to qualify, Paul and I continued our afternoon trips to the track. Eventually a couple of other Carmel High seniors joined us. We were at the Speedway every day, during the week prior to Pole day, except Thursday May 13.

This was one of my golden "Indianapolis 500" periods, the month long effort that resulted in Jim Clark's historic victory in the 1965 "500." Clark had the beautiful new Len Terry designed Lotus 38 chassis and a renewed commitment from Ford Motor Company. 

Colin Chapman pissed off Ford executives in Dearborn, Michigan, when he chose Dunlop, the British tire maker, over Firestone for the 1964 "500." The Ford execs were convinced Chapman had blown victory at "Indy" with his stubborn selection to race with Dunlop, which was aligned with Team Lotus in Formula One. Ford Motor Company added stipulations to their 1965 agreement with Colin Chapman and Team Lotus. For one, Lotus would have to choose between Firestone and Goodyear as their 1965 tire supplier. Next, Ford had the last call on the crew which would service Clark's new Lotus 38 - Ford, while it was in the pits during the 1965 race, since the Lotus crew was notoriously slow during the 1963 "500," while servicing Clark and Gurney. Colin Chapman accepted Ford's request and enlisted Len Terry to design a new and improved chassis.

For many months after he failed to win the 1964 "Indianapolis 500," Jim Clark did not commit to return to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in May 1965. There was speculation the Scot might focus on regaining the World Championship he lost to John Surtees and Ferrari in 1964. However when Clark realized Chapman was serious about returning to "Indy" for a third time, and Jimmy witnessed the early stages of construction on the Lotus 38, he decided to join the project.

When Jim Clark chose to make a third attempt to win the "500," he had to consider an extremely difficult consequence. At that time, drivers were not permitted to race within twenty four hours of competing in the "Indianapolis 500." The Grand Prix of Monaco was scheduled for Sunday May 30, one day before the 49th "500" was to be run. Clark had yet to win in Monaco and had to postpone his opportunity another season, when he committed to another try at "Indy."  There were only ten races on the 1965 Formula One schedule, which meant ten percent of the Flying Scot's opportunities to score World Championship points would be lost to the "Indy" effort.

Jim Clark arrived in Indianapolis in time for the third day of "500" practice on May 3, 1965. Immediately Chapman, Clark and company began to test both Goodyear and Firestone tires. After a few days, Chapman decided on Firestone rubber, after which began the sincere search for speed.

By May 1965, A.J. Foyt and Parnelli Jones decided it was time to abandon their roadsters in favor of Lotus - Fords. Colin Chapman built three new Lotus 38s. Dan Gurney, who was in the process of putting All American Racers together, decided to field his own entry for 1965, in association with the original AAR partner Carroll Shelby. Chapman provided a brand new Lotus 38 for Gurney. Foyt and Jones had to be content with the cars Clark and Gurney raced in 1964.

Parnelli had already won two races in the car Clark drove in May 1964, later the same season, at Milwaukee and Trenton. J.C. Agajanian purchased the car for Parnelli and also provided a new Lola Indy chassis as a backup. Famous race car builder Eddie Kuzma was hired to "Americanize" the year old Lotus. Foyt's racing partners, George Bignotti, Bill Ansted and Shirley Murphy bought the other available 1964 car, the Lotus that Gurney raced in 1964. Foyt also had a brand new Lola monocoque chassis to back up his year old Lotus.

Foyt's backup Lola - Ford was the car which my guy Al Unser made his debut at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in the 1965 "500."

In addition to Clark, Gurney, Jones and Foyt, there was another consistent challenger for speed honors at the Speedway in May 1965. Mario Andretti made his Indy car debut in spring 1964, and became a protégé of ace mechanic Clint Brawner that summer, driving the Dean Van Lines roadster in some of the USAC National Championship events following the 1964 "Indianapolis 500."

The young Italian - American must have made a positive impact on Brawner, because Clint built his 1965 race program around Mario. Brawner purchased the blueprints, from Jack Brabham and John Zink, for their 1964  "Indy" entry. Brawner spent winter 1964-65 building his Brabham copy, which he christened the Brawner Hawk, upon completion. Brawner's new creation, which carried Ford DOHC V8 power, was painted in Dean Van Lines white and blue and sported a white number 12, enclosed in a blue circle.

As the build up to Pole day proceeded, Clark, Foyt, Jones, Gurney and Andretti all flirted with speeds in the high 150 mph and low 160 mph range. Paul Sandquist and I were seated in the Tower Terrace seats behind the pits in time for the "happy hour" hour of practice each day that week, with the exception of Thursday May 13. For me, 1965 was the year when the "happy hour" tradition really became part of the annual "500" ritual.

Those were such spectacular racing days!

As often as not, Clark's dark green (with the yellow stripe) number 82 Lotus Powered by Ford would emerge from "happy hour" with fast lap of the day. But Foyt was able to keep pace and the highly anticipated contest between the acknowledged "kings of speed," from both sides of the Atlantic, took a definitive shape.

Both Foyt and Jones experienced suspension problems with their year old Lotuses. George Bignotti hired old time roadster builder Lujie Lesovsky to beef up the fragile pieces on A.J.'s Lotus, but Foyt still broke a half shaft and crashed the car. A.J. put some laps on his backup Lola, but decided the fragile Lotus was faster and still a better choice. Parnelli actually suffered two half shaft breaks during May 1965, the first crash during the opening week of practice and another after Pole day qualifications.

Andretti, Gurney and Jones were all running within a mile or two of Clark and Foyt and all three were still close enough to consider making a realistic shot at pole position as qualifying weekend approached. The year old Vollstedt - Offy, driven by Canadian rookie Billy Foster, was running well. Al Miller's Jerry Alderman Lotus - Ford, which was the same 1963 chassis driven the previous season by Bobby Marshman, before the young racer from Pottstown, Pennsylvania died from injuries in a testing crash on the mile oval at Phoenix, was also running respectably. A brand new front engine, four wheel drive Novi powered race car built by the Granatelli brothers, Andy, Joe and Vince, and driven by Bobby Unser, showed some decent speed during practice too.

There were only a handful of front engine cars entered for the 1965 "Indianapolis 500." There were also one of the largest group of rookie drivers seen in years. I recall thinking to myself, as practice closed at 6 PM on Friday May 14, on the eve of Pole day, there did not seem to be a lot of teams ready to qualify.

Bobby Unser crashed his new Novi, an exotic looking day-glow STP red front engine design, a few moments before practice was scheduled to close for the day on Friday May 14, and he had to settle for the same 1964 Ferguson four wheel driver racer which he qualified for the 1964 "Indianapolis 500."

Of course I was on "cloud nine," and I had been since I learned the previous February that Jim Clark was returning to race at the Speedway in May 1965. I remember sitting in a class room at Carmel High School, near the end of March 1965, projecting Clark's upcoming "Indy" victory, filling out 3x5 inch index cards with ten lap standings. Jimmy was in front at each interval. I had no idea what my teacher was talking about, I was so immersed in my May daydreams.

I might add however, I received an A grade for that particular class, which focused on state and local government and was taught by the legendary Carmel High School teacher Melvin T. Sharp.

From the moment I realized Jim Clark was going to enter the 1965 "500," I knew the 1963 World Champion was going to win. There was never a doubt in my mind!

I specifically recall watching Clark work up to 160 mph on Wednesday May 12, with Paul Sandquist, from our Tower Terrace vantage point. When Jim's Lotus - Ford number 82 passed the pits, one of the Team Lotus crew members would flash something like "59.9," "60.2," "60.5" and so on, using a magnetic sign board to inform Clark. Each lap, I stretched to see what had been written on the message board and each time, I saw the "Flying Scot" had increased his speed. 

What a glorious way to spend a May afternoon. This was life at its best! Things were going exactly the way I wanted them to. I was looking ahead to seeing my favorite racer win the "Indianapolis 500" for the first time in the ten times I attended the race, beginning with my first trip to the Speedway in 1956.

Jim Clark's new Lotus 38 was beautiful, more angular and advanced than the previous year's round, cigar shaped Lotus 34. Jim was now wearing a shiny, white driver's uniform with red Firestone badges stitched on the back, breast pocket and sleeves. I have written about my impressions of Clark, here and there on this web site. The phrase "God like" may not be appropriate, but that is the way the Scot came across as I watched him during practice 1965. Jim Clark was the neatest person in the entire world!

I was concerned about the speeds turned in by Foyt. Obviously I wanted Clark to win another "Indy" pole and the contest with A.J. was looming. But I was ready for the fight to be joined on Saturday May 15, along with the rest of the huge throng of fans who came to the Speedway to see the battle for the pole.

I notice when I watch films of activity at the Speedway on May 15, 1965, there was a smaller crowd for Pole day than the previous May. There was an entire section of grandstand seats empty at the north end of the main stretch. But there were still were huge throngs of people at the track to watch Clark, Foyt, Jones, Gurney and Andretti fight it out for high speed honors, perhaps 200,000 fans, and all the seats behind the pits and underneath the double deck grandstands, on the outside of the main stretch, all the way around through turn two, were jammed with the folks who came to see the action. 

The speeds at Indianapolis in May 1965 were on the rise, although nowhere near as fast as the previous year. Yet fresh records were expected. Parnelli Jones was the first of the pole contenders to make a qualifying run. Parnelli's gold Agajanian/Hurst Lotus - Ford number 98 was fast. The 1963 "500" winner averaged 158.620 mph, which was only .208 mph slower than the existing four lap mark. 

About an hour into qualifying runs, Tom Carnegie was able to deliver his fabled message about "new track records."  The new guy, rookie Mario Andretti, eclipsed Jim Clark's one lap record of 159.377 mph, set during the Scot's run for the 1964 "500" pole, with a new lap at 159.405 mph. Andretti's four lap average was 158.849 mph, which barely beat Jimmy's record average of 158.828 mph on May 16, 1964.

While I watched Mario's record run, I gulped and crossed my fingers. Jim Clark's car 82 was waiting at the line, ready to make his run as soon as Mario came in. While the late Jim Phillippe was interviewing Andretti about his track record, Tom Carnegie interrupted with the speed report from the Clark run. Jim regained both one (160.973 mph) and four (160.729) marks with another of his frequent brilliant efforts.

There were a couple attempts by other drivers after Clark's qualification, before A.J. Foyt pulled out of the pits. Foyt's one lap record of 161.958 mph beat Jim's new record by .985 mph. The Texan's four lap record of 161.233 mph was .504 mph faster than Clark's average. I had heard the Goodyear tires on Foyt's 1964 Lotus were softer than the Firestones on Clark's number 82. Perhaps that helped the defending "500" winner claim his first pole position at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

When Foyt was interviewed on the public address after his qualification run, A.J. told the crowd he was happy to bring the pole position back to the United States.

I admit I was disappointed when Foyt knocked Clark off the pole for the 1965 "500." But I was still looking at the big picture, which was victory in the race itself and A.J.'s qualifying success didn't impact my confidence that Jimmy could beat him in the race. I never doubted that Jim Clark was going to be superior to A.J. Foyt on race day at Indianapolis! That was never a concern. As great as Foyt was throughout his career, the Texan did not possess raw racing skills equal to the "Flying Scot" Jim Clark, on May 31, 1965.

Things went that way exactly on May 31, 1965! Clark jumped ahead of Foyt when the green flag dropped to start the race, from the middle of the front row. Foyt passed for the lead coming out of turn four on the second lap, but after the race, Jim told the media he let the Texan go by to see what his primary opponent had. The way car 82 passed Foyt's number 1, a few moments later, reinforces the notion of Clark's absolute superiority over "Super Tex."

From that point on, Jim Clark was never challenged again during the 1965 "500." By the first set of pit stops, the green Lotus had a lap lead on the field. Foyt followed in second place until the gearbox failed on his car after 115 laps. The "Flying Scot" led all but ten laps of the race and was two laps in front of second place Parnelli Jones when Pat Vidan waved the checkered flag.

It was a perfect race for me! Since 1963, when he showed up in Indianapolis as an anomaly, I became obsessed with the idea that Jim Clark's image should be on the Borg Warner Trophy as an "Indianapolis 500" winner. When victory came to the "Flying Scot," it was true confirmation that Clark was the finest racing talent throughout the entire world. 

Bill Correll, Dave Willmuth and Tom Zurschmeide were sitting with me in grandstand B, near turn one. Each time I spotted car 82 coming off turn four, I stood and cheered until Clark disappeared from view in turn two. I can still visualize the yellow nose section on Clark's green Lotus - Ford appearing in my sightlines, 5/8 mile away, in turn four. As the British racing green Lotus Powered by Ford grew larger in my view, and Clark's dark blue Bell helmet, with the white visor, became visible, I felt a growing sense of euphoria with the passing of each lap, which meant the cherished "Indianapolis 500" victory was drawing that much closer.  

In 1965, fans were allowed to walk through the pits about an hour after the "500" concluded. That privilege was allowed for a couple years in the mid 1960s. I thought it was a fabulous idea. I wish it was still permitted.

After the 1964 "500," Jim Mace and I walked all the way around the 2.5 mile oval, while I tried to ease my disappointment about the way the race ended. I recall that Dave Willmuth and Bill Correll separated from Ace and I, and both caught the bus back to Glendale Mall, where my dad's 1962 Chevy wagon, which I drove, was parked. When Jim Mace and I showed up about ninety minutes after Bill and Dave got to Glendale, I caught hell. At the time, Bill worked at Don Dunkerly's Dairy Queen at the north end of Carmel, on Range Line Road, and he was late for work. That was very selfish on my part.

Fortunately Bill forgave me and we still remain close friends and talk on the phone nearly every day, more than forty years later.

One year and one day after the 1964 "Indianapolis 500," as I wandered through the pit area at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, after the 1965 race had completed, my mood was 360 degrees different from the year before. I was experiencing racing heaven. Jim Clark had not only won the "500," he undeniably "beat up" his competition on his way to victory. I was still riding on cloud nine, as I walked through the pits after the 1965 race.

Fans were also allowed in the old wooden Speedway garage area after the race. I recall there was a procedure in May 1965, in which the first ten cars to finish the race were impounded in an enclosed area, at the northwest section of the old IMS garage area. I walked to the impound area and took a close look at the top ten finishing cars. Clark's winning number 82 still looked resplendent, despite the grime covering the yellow spaghetti shaped manifold pipes, topping the Ford DOHC V8, behind the cockpit. It was a one - two for the Lotus - Ford package, with Parnelli Jones' gold and white number 98 parked next to Clark's winning car.

There were only six front engine cars in the 1965 "500" field, including the Novi powered cars driven by Bobby Unser and Jim Hurtibise, neither of which finished the race. Despite the rear engine onslaught, there were two old style front engine Offy roadsters among the top ten finishers. Gordon Johncock finished fifth behind Clark, Jones, Mario Andretti and Al Miller. The second five among the top ten cars, were Mickey Rupp (Gerhardt - Offy), Bobby Johns (Lotus - Ford), Don Branson (Watson - Ford), Al Unser (Lola - Ford) and the old Chapman Special Watson - Offy driven to tenth place by Eddie Johnson.  

So the corner had been turned officially and the standard for cars racing in the "Indy 500" would be to mount power behind the driver from then on. Lest we forget however, Parnelli Jones and Andy Granatelli's STP turbine racer almost changed that in 1967. 

The frustrations I felt, following the previous year's race were all but forgotten. Clark's Lotus 38 was the first foreign built chassis to win at Indianapolis, since Wilbur Shaw's Boyle Maserati won the "500" in 1939 and 1940. The victory by the Ford DOHC V8 was the first time an engine, other than the four cylinder Offenhauser, won the big race since 1946, when George Robson drove Joel Thorne's Adams chassis, powered by a six cylinder Sparks racing engine, to the checkered flag. Biggest news of all was the fact the winning number 82 Lotus Powered by Ford was the first rear engine race car to win the "greatest spectacle in racing," throughout the history of the huge event. 

To add a closing note to May 1965 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway (for now), during the preceding winter months, I worked on three water color portraits in my high school art class. The three paintings were of A.J. Foyt, Jim Clark and Dan Gurney. My style was improving by then, and for a high school kid, they weren't bad. I had each painting matted and took them to the track, when I went with Paul Sandquist on Wednesday May 12. I was lucky to present each of the paintings to Clark, Foyt and Gurney in person.

I saw Gurney as he walking from the pits, between the two sections of Tower Terrace grandstands at the entrance to the garage area, known as "Gasoline Alley." Johnny Rutherford and Tony Hulman were walking alongside Gurney, when I caught Dan's attention and presented his water color. Rutherford, who is an artist, looked closely at Gurney's portrait and Tony Hulman examined it too and patted me on the shoulder. Clark graciously thanked me when I passed his portrait to him over the fence, across from the Team Lotus garages.

Ironically, the following Saturday, Dan Gurney qualified at 158.890 mph to join A.J. Foyt and Jim Clark on the front row of the starting grid for the 1965 "Indianapolis 500." I came away from that experience, feeling a sense of irony. 

The evening of May 31, 1965, after Jim Clark's "Indianapolis 500" was secure, I relaxed and relished the absolute success of the day. I was invited to have dinner with Bill Correll's family. On the way to Bill's house, on Audubon Drive, next to Carmel High School, I spotted Paul Sandquist, in front of the apartment he shared with his mother on East Main Street. I dropped Bill off and drove back to Paul's place. I wanted to share Jim Clark's "500" victory with Paul, since he made it possible for me to watch the "Flying Scot" practice for his big win, earlier in the month.

When I met Paul, he congratulated me and we reminisced about our shared experiences from the month. It was a nice moment. Paul Sandquist was a good guy. I did not see Paul again, but my memories are fond.

Throughout his career, Al Unser often had the opportunity to break new ground with the racing cars he competed in.

In May 1975, Vel's Parnelli Jones Racing came to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, with what was essentially a copy of the Maurice Phillippe design Formula One car they introduced, with Mario Andretti, at the 1974 Grand Prix of Canada. The engine was a turbocharged version of the Cosworth DFV Formula One engine, designated the DFX.

Although the new Parnelli - Cosworth was eventually parked in favor of a traditional Eagle - Offy, Al was back in the Parnelli - Cosworth for 1976 and became the first driver to qualify for the "500" with Cosworth power. Two years later, in 1978, Unser won his third "500," with the new Jim Hall First National City Chaparral Lola powered by the Cosworth DFX, marking the first time the engine was victorious at "Indy."    

Al was the first driver to race the Ilmor Chevy V8, at Phoenix in April 1986. Then Unser qualified a Penske PC15, with Chevy power, in May at the Speedway. When the brand new Porsche Indy car made its debut at Laguna Seca, in October 1987, Al Unser was behind the wheel. Unser and Patrick Racing teammate Roberto Guerrero gave Alfa Romeo powered Marches their "modern" "Indy" maiden voyages in 1990.

Perhaps the most famous new race car introduced by Al Unser was Jim Hall's Pennzoil Chaparral, which was run competitively for the first time in May 1979, at the Speedway. That piece of history almost didn't take place.

At the end of the 1978 season, the leading Indy car team owners, Roger Penske, Pat Patrick, Jim Hall, Dan Gurney, Teddy Mayer's McLaren team and others broke away from USAC, to form Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART). Indy car racing was split down the middle, just as it was eighteen years later, when the Indy Racing League began competition in January 1996, at Walt Disney World Speedway.

The first time Indy car racing split, I was firmly in the CART camp. Seriously!

I realize it sounds unbelievable that I would be a CART supporter, but I was once a "true believer." In fact, I was a card carrying member of CART (thanks to Guy Nadeau, but that's another chapter) during the 1983 and 1984 seasons. There wasn't one place I couldn't go to at a CART race. I was "in with the in crowd." The pits at Mid Ohio or Road America during a race, hospitality suites, photo towers, you name it and I was there. I stood on a battery powered cart, with the Newman - Haas team, during the closing laps of the 1984 CART race at Michigan, while Mario Andretti chased and caught Tom Sneva for the lead and the win. During 1983 and 1984 I had open access and it was cool.

Penske, Patrick and company managed to wrestle the ovals at Phoenix, Atlanta, Trenton, Michigan and Ontario, California away from USAC, and added a new venue on the road circuit at Watkins Glen, while USAC held on to its events at Milwaukee, Pocono and Texas World Speedway.

The late Joe Cloutier, who succeeded Tony Hulman as Indianapolis Motor Speedway president, wholeheartedly supported USAC.

In a show of strength, CART withheld twenty two cars, until the absolute deadline for submitting entries for the 1979 "Indianapolis 500." USAC responded a week later by rejecting the entries from Roger Penske, Jim Hall, Pat Patrick, McLaren and Dan Gurney, which were assigned to most of the big Indy car names, including Al Unser, Bobby Unser, Johnny Rutherford, Gordon Johncock, Mike Mosley and Rick Mears. The USAC rejection left A.J. Foyt, Tom Sneva, Danny Ongais, Roger McCluskey, Gary Bettenhausen and Pancho Carter as the remaining notables left to contest May 1979 at the Speedway.

When USAC made its announcement, it was one of the most bleak moments in the history of the "Indy 500" as far as I was concerned. It made me sick to my stomach to think that Al Unser would not be able to defend his 1978 "Indy" victory, especially considering the new yellow Chaparral, entered for Al, was such a revolutionary design and a beautiful, futuristic racing machine.

I was shattered!

I recall an article in Sports Illustrated magazine that covered the USAC retaliation, featuring a panoramic photo of the start of the 1978 "500," with question marks superimposed over images of the cars driven by the big stars, who were potential "no shows" at Indianapolis. I could hardly bring myself to read the article, so bleak was the content.

CART went to court in Indianapolis over USAC's rejection of their entries. I drove from Chicago to my parents' trailer on Lake Shafer, near Monticello, Indiana, on the opening day of "500" practice on Saturday May 5, waiting to hear the verdict from Judge James Noland's court room. John Frasco, who later became CART CEO, argued the case for CART and Al Unser was the star witness.

About 10:30 PM, WRTV Indianapolis channel 6 announced that Judge Noland brought an injunction against USAC's denial of the CART entries. I will never forget how relieved I was when I heard the judge ruled in favor of CART. That meant the 1979 "500" could resume as it should and that Al Unser could defend his "Indy" title with that gorgeous Chaparral. 

Early the next morning, I left my parents at Lake Shafer and headed for Indianapolis and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, hoping that I would arrive at the track in time to see activity flourish with its usual energy on the second day of practice for 1979, now that the big boys were back in business. I wanted to see Big Al put that new Chaparral on the track! The injunction was served on USAC and there was no reason why things could not get into full swing.

My hopes were a bit too ambitious for the second day of practice for the 1979 "Indianapolis 500."  Not much went on and I didn't catch a glimpse of Big Al and the yellow Pennzoil Chaparral - Cosworth.

Al Unser was coming off four straight Indy car 500 mile victories, going into May 1979. He won the 1977 "California 500", at Ontario Motor Speedway on Labor Day weekend Sunday September 1977, driving the John Barnard design, second generation American Racing Wheels Parnelli - VPJ (Cosworth) to his first Ontario Motor Speedway win, after several dominating performances in the "California 500" in recent seasons. In 1978, Big Al swept the three Indy car 500 mile events, at Indianapolis, Pocono and Ontario, in Jim Hall's First National City Chaparral Lola - Cosworth.

If Unser could win the 1979 "Indy 500" in the Pennzoil Chaparral, not only would Al join A.J. Foyt as the only four time winners in Indianapolis history, he would become the winner of five consecutive 500 "milers," which was a very significant achievement too.

So once a temporary truce was called, in the CART - USAC battle for control of Indy car racing, I was able to focus on Al Unser's fabulous opportunity in May 1979.

At the time, I was living in Chicago, working for Guy Nadeau at Polysystems, Inc.

I started computer programming as an occupation in 1974. But it was 1978 before I really plugged into programming, coding the powerful ALGOL language, on a huge Burroughs B6700 (double processor) main frame computer. By May 1979, I was chugging along, learning my craft and digging life as a 32 year old single man in Chicago.

I fell in love, with Pat Carpenter, the woman who would eventually become my first wife, in September 1978. I hadn't won Pat's heart yet, when May 1979 arrived. However I dated her about once a month at the time, but she belonged to another and I was sort of the other guy. I didn't sit still while I was waiting for Pat though. I was able to meet a lot of other ladies as I made my way around the trendy bars on Chicago's north side and I wasn't lacking for female attention, while Pat took her time falling for me.

Life was good in May 1979. But the two days between my trip to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Sunday May 6 and my return to the track on Wednesday May 9, seemed endless. I scheduled vacation for the afternoon of May 9, along with Thursday May 10 and Friday May 11. I wanted to get down to Indianapolis to see Al Unser's new racer!

I made an exit from work about noon on the 9th, walked to the Grant Park parking garage, jumped in my silver 1979 Toyota Celica and pointed it for Indianapolis. I wasn't carrying any photography equipment to the races back then, other than a Kodak instamatic camera.

My mom was suffering from Crones disease and colon problems. She was admitted to St. Vincent hospital the night before my trip to Indianapolis. So my first order of business, before I went to the Speedway, was to check on Mom in the hospital.

When I got to the St. Vincent to see my mom, she appeared to be feeling okay and medical treatment had lessened the problems which sent her to the hospital. She told me she would come home Saturday May 12, after a few days of rest and examination. We visited and I checked out the local newspapers mom saved for me. The sports pages had a lot of coverage of Al Unser and the Pennzoil Chaparral. Judging from the observations, in The Indianapolis Star and The Indianapolis News, it looked good for Big Al. Unser had the best race car at the Speedway and Al was fastest three days into "500" practice.

Oh boy! 

The Pennzoil Chaparral was built over the winter months, between the 1978 and 1979 racing seasons, at B & S Fabrications in England. Jim Hall had basically invented downforce in racing during his sports car racing days. Hall's earlier Chaparrals featured movable front and rear wings to create downforce, as early as the mid 1960's, while competing in international sports car competition. This was a full three years before Formula One teams began to experiment with aero foils. In 1970, Hall introduced a Chaparral Can Am series race car at Watkins Glen, New York, which featured a huge aircraft type fan at the rear of the car. This application of aero dynamics was basically the creation of ground effects, however primitive.

The Chaparral "fan car" was banned in the Can Am series within a few races. But Jim Hall did not give up his affection for innovation in race design.

The Lola T500 chassis, which Hall's crew prepared for Al Unser to race in 1978, was unique. The Chaparral team was the only Indy car operation racing the Lola in 1978. The Eric Broadley Lola T500 had an interesting, distinctive look, with a higher and narrower center of gravity than the other Indy car designs of the day; the Penskes, McLarens, Parnellis, Coyotes, Wildcats, Eagles and Lightnings. The 1978 Lola T500 was the first Indy car offering from Broadley since 1972.

Although Al Unser's 1978 First National City Chaparral Lola - Cosworth remains one of my three or four all time favorite Indy cars, the chassis was still a conventional flat bottom, pre-ground effects, rear engine, open wheel racing chassis, with side mounted radiators. The Lola did not break new ground.

The successor to the Lola, the Chaparral, was something entirely different.

In my period as a race fan, since 1955, there have been three huge leaps in technical evolution in open wheel racing car design. The first and most important development was the switch from front engine to rear engine design. The contemporary return of rear engine Grand Prix cars came during the 1958 Formula One season. The first rear engine car to compete during the modern era, at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, was the Cooper Climax driven by World Champion Jack Brabham in May 1961.

Movable wings were introduced to F1 in 1968, but by the early part of the 1969 Grand Prix season, these devices were banned and replaced with wings built as integral parts of the body work. The Lotus 72, which made its debut in 1970, began the trend to side mounted radiators and non-movable, external wings at the front and rear of the chassis, along with wedge shaped bodies. Although the STP Lotus 56 turbine cars, which competed at Indianapolis in 1968, were the first racers to feature a wedge shape, there were no wings on the cars.

For 1971, Indy car rules allowed wings built as part of the body work. The McLaren M16 took the aerodynamics to a new level with side mounted radiators and wedge body work, similar to the shape of the Lotus 72 Formula One car. The following year, USAC changed the rules to allow mounted huge front and rear wings and the wedge shape and side mounted radiators became the standard for Indy cars. The wings were smaller on F1 racers and there was less standardization among Grand Prix constructors than their American counterparts during the early to mid 1970s.

In my mind, the focus on wings and aerodynamic body shapes represented the second breakthrough, after the switch to rear mounted engines, in the modern evolution of open wheel racing cars. 

Colin Chapman introduced the John Player Lotus 78, with design help from F1 veteran Tony Southgate, in 1977. The car featured something like an arrow shaped tub, with the bodywork narrowing dramatically at the front of the car. There were the usual front and rear wings, but the most unique aspect in the design of the Lotus 78, were the side pods. The pods contained inverted wings, which created a low pressure area that sucked the chassis to the track surface like a vacuum cleaner. This was revolutionary!

Mario Andretti drove the Lotus 78 to victory in Grand Prix events in Long Beach, Spain, France and Italy, while John Player Team Lotus "number two" Gunnar Nilsson was victorious in Belgium. Despite five wins for the new Lotus, Andretti only finished third in the World Championship standings, behind Niki Lauda (Ferrari) and Jody Scheckter (Wolf - Ford).

Colin Chapman had even more aerodynamic innovations to apply for 1978. Chapman enlisted John Barnard's assistance in designing the Lotus 79. The new Lotus featured ground effects so advanced that the same principal in low pressure physics is still used in present day Indy cars being raced by the Indy Racing League and the rival Open Wheel Champ Car series. Rather than use an inverted wing inside side pods, to suck the race car to the track as the Lotus 78 did, the new Lotus 79 used venturi tunnels to funnel air, on both sides of the chassis, to create ground effects.   

Mario took wins in Argentina, Belgium, Spain, France, Germany and Holland, while John Player Special teammate Ronnie Peterson was victorious in South Africa and Austria. Although Peterson's death, from injuries suffered at Monza, dampened the celebrations, Andretti took a dominant World Championship. Ronnie's passing came with two events remaining on the schedule but the Swedish "ace" still finished second in Formula One points in 1978.

The Lotus 79 must have made an impression on Jim Hall. Al Unser knew John Barnard, after working with the British designer at Vel's Parnelli Jones Racing in 1977. Unser, the three time "Indy" winner, was excited about Barnard. Al recommended that Hall hire Barnard to design the new Chaparral Indy car and the rest of the story, of the Hall - Barnard collaboration, is racing history - no matter how hard Jim Hall tried downplay the contribution made by John Barnard to the Pennzoil car.

Barnard (and Hall) took blueprints to Bob Sparshott, at B & S Fabrications, and the result was an Indy car version of the Lotus 79. The Pennzoil Chaparral was the first Indy car to use what was called "full ground effects" in 1979, with side pods containing venturi tunnels and sliding skirts, which essentially glued the car to the track surface at high speed just as Colin Chapman's Lotus 79 did to win the World title for Mario the previous season.

Roger Penske also tried ground effects in 1979, although "the Captain" took a more conservative approach than Jim Hall. The 1979 model Penske PC7 featured the same ground effects concepts applied by Colin Chapman with the Lotus 78, during the 1977 Formula One season; that being the inverted wing, side pod design. Although ground effects on the PC7 were less advanced than the venturi tunnels on the Pennzoil Chaparral, Penske's car was more successful in 1979. Bobby Unser won six times in 1979, driving a PC7. Rick Mears also won in a Penske PC7 in 1979, taking a late season victory at Michigan.   

The first race for Jim Hall's Pennzoil Chaparral was the 1979 "Indianapolis 500."

Al Unser finished fourth in the first ever CART race, at Phoenix, on March 11, driving the previous year's Lola T500 - Cosworth, painted in the bright yellow colors of sponsor Pennzoil. On the Atlanta high banks, Big Al finished sixth and third respectively, at the wheel of the 1978 car. Unser had a 125 mile test in April 1979, a few days after the new Chaparral was completed. The limited run was little more than a shakedown however and the exotic yellow car came to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway relatively untried. The new Chaparral 2k model was, for all intents and purposes, a brand new racing machine when it was brought to "Indy" in May 1979.

Al Unser and the Pennzoil Chaparral 2k - Cosworth was one of those man - machine matches made in heaven. It happened before in May, as exemplified by Wilbur Shaw and the Mike Boyle Maserati, Mauri Rose and the front wheel drive Lou Moore Blue Crown Special Deidt - Offy, Bill Vukovich and Howard Keck's Fuel Injection Special KK500A, Parnelli Jones and "Aggie's" Calhoun number 98, Jimmy Clark and the Lotus Powered by Ford and Al Unser and the Johnny Lightning 500 Special PJ Colt - Ford. In other words, it was a magic pairing of race driver and race car.   

I arrived at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway about 4 PM, on Wednesday May 11. The afternoon sun was dropping in the western sky, when I spotted the yellow number 2 Pennzoil Chaparral parked in the pits, in all of its glory. The closer I got to the car, the more excited I became. I have written how visually attractive I thought the 1978 First National City Chaparral Lola number 2, which carried Al Unser to so much success, appeared in its three layer deep blue, white and red livery. But yellow was the perfect color for the new Chaparral 2k. The bright color enhanced the exotic lines of the Pennzoil car. This was the first time that Al would drive a yellow race car at "Indy," but obviously not the last.

As I watched Al Unser climb into the car, wearing a plain white driving uniform and an all yellow Simpson helmet, the feeling of confidence was overwhelming. The Chaparral made all the other cars, including Bobby Unser's Penske PC7, look obsolete. This was one of those truly unforgettable racing cars, which was built to create history and it belonged to Big Al.

I was certain that Jim Clark would win the 1965 "Indianapolis 500" three months before May arrived. I became convinced in November 1969, that Al Unser would win his first "Indy 500" victory in the coming May. About an hour after he had taken the checkered flag to win the 1970 "500," I became nearly certain Unser would repeat the next May at Indianapolis.

I admit there were times during May 1971 when my confidence in another Al Unser victory lessened, especially when Mark Donohue found so much speed in the Penske Sunoco McLaren M16 - turbo Offy. However in both May 1965 and May 1970, my feelings about success never diminished regarding Jim Clark and Al Unser respectively.

When I watched Al Unser pull away from the pits in the Pennzoil Chaparral on May 9, I became confident I would be celebrating Al's fourth "Indy" victory on Sunday May 27, 1979. It was like 1965 and 1970 all over again for me.

Unfortunately things did not turn out the way I planned during the 1979 "Indianapolis 500," and Al Unser didn't win. But Big Al came as close as he could and had it not been for an oil leak at halfway distance, the race would have belonged to Unser. He had no on-track competition once, the green flag fell.

Throughout the week of practice, preceding the opening of qualifications on Saturday May 12, the Chaparral was at or near the top of the speed charts. It was terrific to watch. Of course I wanted Unser to win the "500" pole, but given Al's basic approach to qualifying, I wasn't especially concerned when the Chaparral ended up on the outside of the front row, with an average speed of 192.500 mph.

In 1979, USAC decided to cut laps speeds and the sanctioning body reduced the turbocharger boost from 80 inches to ( I believe) fifty inches and that accounted for the big drop in qualifying speeds. So nobody was going for track records when qualifications finally got underway on Sunday May 13, after the previous day was lost to rain.

I went to the track with Bill Correll to watch qualifications. Unser made his run early in the day.

Tom Sneva was fired by Roger Penske after two consecutive USAC Indy car titles, as well as back to back "Indy 500" pole positions, driving the "Captain's" cars. In 1979 Sneva moved to a heavily modified McLaren, entered in the yellow and maroon colors of Jerry O'Connell's Sugaripe Prune team. Later in the afternoon, Sneva's year old McLaren beat Unser's speed with a run at 192.990 mph, on the pole for the time being. If Sneva would have remained on pole position, it would have been the only time a driver qualified for three consecutive poles for the "Indianapolis 500."

Since qualifications were rained out the previous day, the qualifying order was carried over to Sunday, with each car allowed a single designated run, getting one chance to make an attempt for the pole. It was a beautiful day to be at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, but the crowds were relatively sparse. It was Mother's Day, which obviously cut into the crowd at the track. Still, I found it was surprising there were so many empty seats.

After the first weekend of qualifications was rained out in May 1978, followed by a rain out on Pole day 1979, this was probably the time when the huge, race day like crowds quit coming to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway to watch qualifications. Sure, there were still days when more than 100,000 people came to watch the run for the pole, in the years ahead. But never again would fans jam into the Speedway to watch qualifications like they did for years, through 1977. 

Twenty five cars qualified for the 1979 "Indianapolis 500" on Sunday May 13, 1979. The final car to take to the track on that busy day was the number 9 Gould Charge Penske PC6 - Cosworth, with Rick Mears at the wheel. This was only Rick's second appearance in the "500," although he made an unsuccessful attempt to qualify for the 1977 race, in an old Eagle entered by a guy named Art Sugai. "Rick the Rocket" came through in the year old PC6, with a run at 193.730 mph, to earn the first of his record six "Indy" pole runs.

On race day, Al Unser "out braved" Sneva into turn one from the outside, to lead the field at the start. Guy Nadeau and I looked at each other, from our seats in grandstand E, and both of us shouted with glee. It looked like Al's day again! 

Although it was obvious there wasn't a car to contend with the Pennzoil Chaparral, Unser did not exploit his machine's superiority. The only time Al wasn't in the lead was during pit stop rotations, but his advantage was usually a steady four second margin. If another driver was able to get closer to the yellow number 2, Al would apply more speed and restore his comfort zone.

It was a beautiful day and the race was as perfect as any I could ever hope for! 

But the dream came to an end when smoke became visible at the rear of the Chaparral. Unser forfeited the lead to brother Bobby on lap 97, then came to the pits so the Jim Hall crew could check the problem. After a lengthy stop, Al returned to the race, but his "500" was over after 104 laps and the Chaparral returned to the pits for good. Al Unser led 85 of the first 96 laps of the race and everything was falling into place for a fourth "Indianapolis 500" victory.

But an oil seal broke and the transmission failed and that broke my heart!

During the second half of the 1979 "500," the race became a contest between Penske teammates Bobby Unser and Rick Mears. Bobby's white and blue new Penske PC7 appeared to be faster and the older Unser brother looked like he would capitalize on Al's misfortune. Bobby led a total of 89 laps. But when the gearbox began to malfunction on the PC7 during the final twenty laps, Unser eased his pace and fell to fourth at the finish. In the meantime, Mears took command and brought the "old style" flat bottom white, red and blue PC6 into victory lane for the second "Indy" win for Roger Penske, and Rick's first victory at the Speedway.  

That was a terrible disappointment to see the Pennzoil Chaparral break down on Al Unser, when it appeared that "500" victory was well in his grasp. It took me a long time to recover from the 1979 race. In retrospect however, May 1979 was a fantastic month and though the race did not end up with Big Al in victory lane, it was the only piece missing from one of my favorite racing memories; one of those special "non win" years at the Speedway.

In the months following the 1979 "Indy 500," I consoled myself with the notion that Al Unser would take the Pennzoil Chaparral to victory at the Speedway the following May. Throughout the 1979 CART season, I kept waiting for Unser to legitimize the new car with a race victory.

I went to the Indy car races at Michigan in 1979 and both events were a disappointment for Al Unser - and me. In the twin 125 milers in July, the Chaparral finished one lap off the pace, in thirteenth position in the early contest. Al took third place in the second race, finishing behind Bobby Unser and Tom Sneva. I took future wife Pat to the 150 mile race in September 1979. Al made contact with another car and finished tenth, out of a slim sixteen car starting field.

It wasn't until the final race of the season, at Phoenix on October 20, that Al Unser drove the Pennzoil Chaparral to victory, leading the race from flag to flag. But the anticipation for the 1980 season went away little more than a week after the Phoenix victory, when it was announced that Al Unser and Jim Hall were ending their two year association. Unser was going to drive for Bobby Hillin's Longhorn team.

I couldn't believe Al would walk away from a race car as good as the Chaparral! But he did and Johnny Rutherford replaced Unser in the car and drove to a dominant victory in the 1980 "Indianapolis 500" and also won the USAC Indy car championship.

Al Unser defended his decision to split with Jim Hall's Chaparral team, after two seasons, to the end of his driving career. However I was never certain why the breakup occurred. Various reasons were given by Unser, who made the decision. One reason cited Hall's lack of consideration for Barnard's involvement. Another reason mentioned by Al was the lack of testing by the team, while another was the fact that many of the crew people, who Al helped select, were systematically let go from the team. My guess is that Jim Hall wasn't paying Unser on time.

The Unser family frugality is legendary and if Bobby Hillin was waving more dollars at Al, that could have been a big reason why he left the Pennzoil Chaparral after winning at Phoenix in October 1979.

Whatever Al Unser's reasons to leave the Pennzoil Chaparral were, I wish he had held off until after May 1980, because I am convinced Al's fourth "Indy" victory would have come seven years earlier than it did. With Al's move to the Penske team in 1983, a fifth Indianapolis win for Unser likely would've occurred, as the fourth finally did in 1987. Wouldn't that have been superb?

So I have covered practice at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in depth, for the years 1964, 1965, 1979 and 1987. They were among the best months I experienced. However they aren't the only times I enjoyed wonderful memories in May, during "500" practice. The particular Mays I recall represent all that was exciting about going to watch "500" practice. But there are other big memories rolling around in my head. One of these days, I hope to unleash them.

But there's already way too much stuff being thrown into cyberspace from this offering. This deal isn't what I originally planned. It was to be a fond recollection about Nigel Mansell's first day on track at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, on May 12, 1993. But I became so caught up in a bunch of important racing memories and pulled out so many stories from my mental storage case that my original plan got completely away from me. 

As a result, this (what do you call it?) narrative has taken its toll and become almost as much chore as a labor of love, which is not the purpose of this website. But I have put four plus months into this self indulgent pile of shit. So I am not going to throw it away.

Maybe I have too much time on my hands since I'm not taking a class at IUPUI this semester. Whatever, this is what it is and I'll go with it. I hope you get a little bit from it anyway.

May 1993 was another huge moment in my bag of personal treasures. I would classify May 12, as memorable as any day of practice for the "Indianapolis 500" I have attended. However Nigel Mansell's debut at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, on May 12, was never a sure thing until everything actually came together before my eyes.       

The injuries from the crash at Phoenix became complicated and for a few days, especially during the weekend following the CART race at Long Beach, there were questions whether Nigel Mansell would be able to recuperate in time to participate in the "Indianapolis 500." I remember talking to Tim Pendergast on the phone from Chicago, on a Sunday afternoon only three weeks before practice was to open at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Tim told me that Nigel was going to miss "Indy 500" rookie orientation and had to get special permission from USAC to take his test when he arrived in Indianapolis, midway through the first week of practice.

But it all fell into place and it was worth the anxiety and nail biting.

I went to the Speedway to watch "500" practice on Sunday May 9. It was a letdown because I wanted to see Nigel Mansell. I spent most of my time standing by the Kenny Bernstein team in the pits, while they worked with Big Al Unser's red Budweiser Lola - Chevy C number 80. That was good, but in May 1993 my focus was on Nigel Mansell. Sure I wanted to see Big Al and defending "500" winner Al Unser Jr. do well. But I was more immersed in "Mansell-mania" in 1993, even at the expense of Al Unser, father and son.

No racer will ever mean as much to me as Big Al Unser, but in 1993, I felt it was Nigel Mansell's time at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, even though I was still very interested in what Big Al and Little Al were doing. If either had won the "500," I would have been ecstatic - believe me!

From March 1971, when I left Indianapolis to move to Port Huron, Michigan, through September 1998, when I finally came home for good, I was living and working somewhere else for twenty of 27 Mays. That meant I had to make numerous trips from Port Huron, Battle Creek or Chicago, to watch "500" practice, qualifications and the race. 

The number of spring nights I made my way down to Indianapolis, driving along Interstate 69 from Michigan, in the early to mid 1970s, or I-65 from Chicago, on my way to "Indy 500" experiences, during the seventies, eighties and nineties, are too numerous to count. Tuesday May 11, 1993 was a prime example of what I am referring to. The best thing I can relate it to is Christmas Eve for a child. I had visions of race car shaped "sugar plums" dancing in my head, as I planned the photos and video I was hoping to get the next day, and wondered how Nigel Mansell and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway would greet each other for the first time.

The next day was a big deal and I was excited. When I stopped at a rest area along I-65, smelled the warm May night time air and looked at florescent lamps shining off the fresh green of the season, I probably breathed a sigh of relief that I made it to this time, especially after suffering so much love pain the previous May. I felt the joy of life again. Good old racing!

I might have even stopped at one (or more) of the "fabled" topless bars (oops Gentlemen Clubs), that circle Indianapolis, in a pattern not unlike Interstate 465, on the way to my mom's house. I don't remember for sure. But I am certain that when I finally got to mom's place, in the middle of the night, I was greeted affectionately by Bitsy, with lots of doggie kisses. That little Yorkie was an angel sent by the man above, for my mom and I.

I was lazy getting up the next morning, even though I vowed to be at the Speedway well in advance of the 11 AM start of on track activity. But I moved slow until I opened The Indianapolis Star,  to see a photo of Nigel Mansell, taken the previous afternoon, when the World Champion arrived at the Newman Haas garage, to be fitted for his designated Kmart/Havoline Lola - Ford number 5.

I hurried and when I arrived at the track on Wednesday May 12, cars were already running at speed. I went up in the Tower Terrace seats behind the pits, and pulled out my big, GE camcorder. Tom Carnegie announced to the crowd at the Speedway, over the public address system "Nigel Mansell in car number 5 has started his driver's test and is running in the 185 mph range." About that time, I turned around to see the white and black Lola, with Mansell on board, moving at a slower pace at the inside of the track, while other cars whizzed by at normal speed on the right. I had my camcorder ready and caught the footage on VHS.

It was time for me to get into the action and I entered the pits, with my video rolling.

After a few laps at slower speeds, Mansell came through the pits to where the Newman Haas crew and hordes of media were waiting. I found the crowd and "inserted" my way into the mob. The photo, at the top of this page, was taken as quickly as I could position myself and focus my Nikon FE2 camera.

When I walked up to the mob of people standing around the Mansell car, the "raspberry" clad Newman - Haas crew was adjusting the Kmart/Havoline Lola - Ford number 5 for the next speed phase of the USAC test. I can not recall ever seeing as many people hovering around a race car, in the pits at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, during "500" practice. It was exciting and my heart was pounding.

Yours truly, who isn't a particularly assertive person, moved to the front of the pack, focused and started shooting photos and video. This was like watching Jim Clark preparing to go on to the track in the "Indy" winning Lotus Powered by Ford, during practice in May 1965. It was reminiscent of seeing Big Al's Pennzoil Chaparral for the first time in May 1979. It was as urgent as discovering the Penske March - Cosworth being prepared for Al Unser, for the first shakedown laps of the month in May 1987, with the final weekend of "500" qualifications looming. 

Mansell's engineer Peter Gibbons and Newman Haas team manager Jim McGee were on either side of  Nigel, as he sat in the Lola, waiting on his crew to complete their preparations. After snapping enough photos, I decided to move to the first turn (back in the days before the big safety fending was installed along the edge of the creek for the inaugural "Brickyard 400" in August 1994) for some action photography.

The second photo on this page, which used to be featured on the home page of this site, was taken as Mansell pulled away from the pits, as I was walking to turn one.

After I got situated, halfway through the first corner, I shot a bunch of photos and video footage. By early afternoon, Nigel completed his rookie test and was able to begin the quest for competitive speeds, which was what I was most excited about. I wanted to see how the World Champion stacked up against the competition where it really mattered, at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Nigel Mansell's former teammate at Williams - Honda and career long unfriendly combatant Nelson Piquet practices for the 1993 "Indianapolis 500" on May 12. The three time World Champion from Brazilian was making his second attempt to race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The previous May, Piquet suffered a near career ending crash in practice at the Speedway.

photo by Bob Jennings

Later in the afternoon of May 12, 1993, I met up with Tim Pendergast and his brother Pat, who was visiting from Utah. By then I had taken several rolls of film and captured numerous photos of Nigel Mansell at speed. So we sat in the bleachers inside turn one and I concentrated on video. Late in the day, it began to rain, bringing an end to the action on the oval.

It was a great day to be at the Speedway, watching World Champion Nigel Mansell pass his rookie test and then quickly move into the lead group of fast cars. I left the track feeling encouraged about Mansell's prospects for the 1993 "500" and excited to see how the big story progressed and unfolded.

Three days later, on Saturday May 15, qualifications opened. I spent the morning warmup sessions, high in the grandstand E penthouse, and I caught some decent photos of Nigel Mansell at speed, from my favorite vantage point at IMS.

With the reconfiguration of the aprons, inside the four corners around the 2.5 mile oval, implemented during the off season, qualifying speeds for the 1993 "Indianapolis 500" dropped ten miles per hour from the previous May, when Roberto Guerrero set one lap (232.618 mph) and four lap (232.482) track records. 

It was a somewhat frustrating day for me, because I moved over to the inside of turn two for qualifications and anxiously waited for Nigel Mansell to qualify. Al Unser Jr. made an early attempt and Little Al's run at 221.733 mph, in the Galles Valvoline Lola - Chevy C, netted the 1992 "Indianapolis 500" winner fifth place on the starting grid for the 1993 race. That was good and I was pleased with Junior's effort. But I was most concerned with how fast Mansell could go.

The number 5 Kmart/Havoline Lola - Ford went out to qualify early in the day, but the Newman Haas crew called off the run, which added some anxiety as the afternoon wore on. One of the things that Nigel talked about regarding his first experience at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway was how quickly track conditions changed at the 2.5 mile oval and how much the weather affected the handling on his race car.

Finally after 5 pm, Nigel completed a four lap run at 220.250 mph, to qualify eighth, behind Arie Luyendyk (223.967),  Mario Andretti (223.410), Raul Boesel (222.379), Scott Goodyear (223.340), Unser, Stefan Johansson (220.820) and Paul Tracy (220.298). On race day, Sunday May 30, Mansell led the race three times for a total of 34 laps. Had it not been for a final yellow flag on lap 183 for a tow in on Lyn St. James' racer, Nigel would have almost certainly been the winner of the 1993 "Indy 500."

But a lack of experience meant Mansell was caught by surprise on the lap 186 restart and Nigel was passed by both Emerson Fittipaldi and Arie Luyendyk, going into turn one at the drop of the green flag, and the Brit finished third. Nigel almost "closed the deal," but not quite. But that's another story which I hope to tell later.

My feelings about Nigel Mansell's miscue in the closing stages of the 1993 "Indianapolis 500" were similar to how I felt yesterday, as I watched the 47th "Daytona 500" on television. For most of the race, I was confident Tony Stewart was going to win the "Great American Race." Stewart led a race high 107 laps and looked like he was going to come home in front, with only five laps left to run at Daytona International Speedway. Unfortunately Tony wasn't able to "close the deal."

Jeff Gordon was better when it counted. For that matter, so were Kurt Busch, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Scott Riggs, Jimmie Johnson and Mark Martin, while Stewart finished seventh. What a damn shame!