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bob jennings' WORLD O' RACING  10/20/2000

September Saturdays at the "Hoosier Hundred"

Ed Carpenter during the "DuPont 100" USAC Silver Crown race at Indianapolis Raceway Park - August 6, 2000 

Bob Jennings

It seems like updates to this website come in streaks. After going several weeks without adding anything I was able to come up with three pieces in rapid fire succession last month. However in the four weeks, since the Formula One race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, I've been caught up with projects at work, the presidential election, problems resulting from a defective rental car and life's daily routine.

I started this piece the day following the inaugural SAP U.S. Grand Prix at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. This was intended to be a "fill in" project while I was waiting to get my photos from the F1 race processed at Sam's Club. The price is cheap but the turnaround is slow. I shot 16 rolls of film at the Speedway over the three days of activity. Of those, two rolls didn't process. I think I forgot to open the lens aperture wide enough. 

For me everything in racing sort of blends together in a high speed blur. Racing is one big world with all the various series and types of racing interlocking together in one way or another. I have my favorites, of course, and in this age of big money specialization (among drivers anyway) it might seem like a strange statement to make about all the disparate dynamics fitting together. For instance there was a relationship between the USAC Silver Crown race at the Indiana State Fairgrounds on September 22 and the Formula One extravaganza at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway the same weekend. However distant they may be, Michael Schumacher is a cousin to the USAC race winner Tony Elliott. Be it Michael Schumacher, Tony Elliott, the guy running a backyard special at the local "figure eight" or the 13 year old kid running go karts at Whiteland (Indiana) Raceway Park, racing drivers are all united by one thing. They're adrenaline "junkies." Maybe it's my convoluted interpretation of life but that's how it works for me. 

Despite all the things he must've been involved with during Formula One weekend Tony George was at the Indiana State Fairgrounds on Friday night working with stepson Ed Carpenter. It was a hot, muggy night at the fairgrounds. There was a good crowd to see "True Value presents A.J. Foyt's Hulman-Hoosier Hundred" on the old dirt mile oval.

I was a little tired Friday evening after having spent a few hours in the sunshine at the Speedway watching Formula One practice. I waited until the last possible moment to drag my old butt off the couch. I was watching a replay of Speedvision's Friday F1 coverage. I grabbed my trusty General Electric camcorder (circa 1989) and headed for the fairgrounds at East 38th Street and Fall Creek Boulevard.  

One of the things I've most enjoyed both this season and last year is approaching a race track lit up at night for a USAC race. I love USAC racing! When I hear the sounds of race cars, it heightens my excitement while I'm parking. I want to be inside to see what's going on. It's that way at the fairgrounds, Indianapolis Raceway Park, Anderson Speedway, Salem Speedway, Lincoln Park Speedway, Terre Haute Action Track or wherever my travels have taken me the past couple seasons.

Indiana is in a racing state of mind! Whether it's the "Indianapolis 500," the "Brickyard 400," the SAP U.S. Grand Prix at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the NHRA Nationals at Indianapolis Raceway Park, USAC Midgets at Winchester or hobby stocks somewhere in northeast Steuben County Indiana (do they still have that small track in Angola?) people go to watch cars race in Indiana. I don't know the total number, but I bet Indiana has more race tracks than any other state. Pennsylvania might be close but one of these days I'll do some research on that topic, the number of race tracks by state. Racing and basketball are the two most deeply ingrained social traditions of the past 100 years in Indiana. Every racing contest that occurs in Indiana can trace its roots to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the "Indianapolis 500." 

My wife who's Chinese is not only frustrated but amazed by my addiction to automobile racing. I try to explain to her there are thousands of people in this state like me. I was raised in an environment where May was the most important month of each year and the day of the "Indianapolis 500" rivaled Christmas as the year's most significant day. This addiction took hold of me in 1955 and intensifies each year. 

Ed Carpenter qualified George Snider's Menard number 7 on pole at the fairgrounds on Friday September 22 with a speed of 110.803 mph. Carpenter was joined on the front row by Tom Capie (I've seen him race but I don't know anything about him). Scattered throughout the 30 car starting field were some "names," among them Tony Elliott, Tracy Hines, J.J. Yeley, Kasey Kahne, Brad Noffsinger, Jay Drake, Jack Hewitt, Jerry Coons Jr., Robby Flock, Dave Darland, Russ Gamester, Bryan Tyler, Jimmy Sills, Derek Davidson, Ryan Newman, Ricky Shelton and Donnie Beechler. 

A lot of the cars racing at the fairgrounds looked beat up as race cars running on dirt tend to look. Ryan Newman was driving a junky black car with yellow and red flames. I wonder why he wasn't in the Johnny Vance yellow Wynn's number 1. As usual, his mom was constantly at his side Friday, doing adjustments here and there to Newman's helmet and cockpit. I think that's charming. I've seen Ryan Newman race a lot the past two years and I can't recall a time when he wasn't surrounded by his family. Ryan's mom is an attractive blond and the rest of his family are nice looking too.

I went to the Union Jack pub on Crawfordsville Road west of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway after watching the USAC Silver Crown race at Indianapolis Raceway Park on August 6. After I'd been there awhile Ryan Newman and his family came in. I told Newman I hoped to see him race at IMS someday. He asked if I meant the "Brickyard 400" or the "500." I replied that I hoped to see him race the "Indianapolis 500." Ryan responded that he thought he had a better chance at racing in "the 400" to which I expressed disappointment. Now it's been announced that Ryan Newman has become Roger Penske's new guy and will make his Winston Cup debut in a few weeks at Phoenix. Why does Indy car racing let these sensational kids get away? Ryan could've been a star in the Indy Racing League instantly just as Tony Stewart was in 1996.    

Ryan Newman didn't have a good night at the Indiana State Fairgrounds however. I watched Newman try to come through the field from 25th starting position. His car was bad and Newman wasn't doing anything. After 29 laps he drove to the pits, out of the race with steering problems.

The race was red flagged after six laps because front row starter Capie got upside down in the second corner. Dave Darland stopped his blue Franklin Power Products/Delco Remy number 56 in front of me. Darland didn't seem to be running too well either. The first thing Dave did after getting out of his car was open the fuel cap and look inside as if he was trying to diagnose a fuel system problem. 

When the race restarted, Carpenter ran away from everyone else. Tracy Hines was leading the chase but with each lap Hines' black number 37 fell further behind. It seemed like Jay Drake and Kasey Kahne spent much of the race battling for eighth or ninth place. After awhile both Tony Elliott's yellow number 20 and Jack Hewitt's yellow and red number 23 went by Hines. 

After the race passed the 50 lap halfway point Elliott began to close on Carpenter as the leader was moving through lapped traffic. It became noticeable that Elliott was getting through the corners quicker than Carpenter. I'm not particularly sure that Tony would've caught the leader before the race was over however. It all became academic when Carpenter hit the third turn wall on lap 80. I was disappointed for the young Silver Crown rookie because he'd driven an awesome race. I think he'll get his day to shine before too long however.

Carpenter's accident left the race to Elliott and Hewitt. Old Jack gave it everything he had. If there had been a few more laps he might've taken Elliott. Jack was right behind Tony when the checkered flag came out on lap 100. Hines finished third, followed in order by John Heydenreich, Brad Noffsinger, Jay Drake, Gary Heiber, Jerry Coons Jr., Darland and Kahne.

I purchased a race program at the fairgrounds. Inside was a feature from Dick Jordan, a longtime USAC media representative, which followed the history of championship dirt car racing at the Indiana State Fairgrounds. 

The first dirt car race was held at the fairgrounds in 1946. The event was sanctioned by a group called the Indianapolis Racing Association. Rex Mays was the winner. Driver Al Putnam was killed during qualifications. The dirt cars didn't race at the Indiana State Fairgrounds again until 1953, with the inaugural running of the "Hoosier Hundred" in September. 

There was a time when the "Hoosier Hundred" was a big deal, offering one of the richest purses in American racing. It was second biggest event, behind the "Indianapolis 500," on the Indy car schedule which was called the "Championship Trail" back then. The race was annually held on a mid-September Saturday afternoon, a couple weeks after the close of the Indiana State Fair. It was a "happening" in Indianapolis and annually drew large crowds. If you were somebody in Indianapolis in the 1950's, you went to the "Hoosier Hundred" each September.  

The local television stations used to have preview shows the night before and telecast race highlights in prime time after the event. Sid Collins who announced the "Indianapolis 500" on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway radio network in May also called the "Hoosier Hundred" on WIBC. The old grandstand at the fairgrounds was always filled to capacity and there were bleacher seats along the man stretch which were also full. Eventually the crowd became so large that more bleachers were put up along the backstretch of the mile oval. The infield was also filled with spectators in the big years of the "Hoosier Hundred."         

Bob Sweikert, who would go on to win the 1955 "Indianapolis 500" and lose his life at Salem in early June 1956, was the winner of the inaugural "Hoosier Hundred" in 1953. Sweikert was followed to the finish in a close formation by Manuel Ayulo, 1950 "Indianapolis 500" winner Johnnie Parsons and Don Freeland. Freeland finished third behind Pat Flaherty and Sam Hanks in the first "500" I attended in 1956. The 1953 "Hoosier Hundred" was postponed one week because of rain.

The following year Jimmy Bryan won after passing Sweikert on lap 43. Bryan finished second to Bill Vukovich in the 1954 "500." After Indianapolis Bryan won five more races including the final four events of the season to earn the first of his three Indy car championships. Back then it was called the national championship and Indy car racing was sanctioned by the American Automobile Association (AAA) until 1956 when USAC took over.

"They were all tryin' to catch Jimmy Bryan." Did you ever hear the "Ballad of Jimmy Bryan" on the radio? Some guy recorded a country western type song about Bryan I don't know how many years ago. WIBC used to play the song in its pre-race coverage the morning of the "Indianapolis 500." Jimmy was a great race driver. He was the man to beat, especially on the dirt tracks. After Vukovich was killed in the 1955 "500" Bryan more or less assumed the favorite's role at most of the races. This continued through 1957 after which he cut back his schedule to only Indianapolis and a few stock car races. Ironically Bryan was killed in June 1960 at Langhorne, Pennsylvania in his dirt track comeback substituting for Rodger Ward in the A.J. Watson Leader Card entry.

Bryan drove the white Dean Van Lines cars prepared by mechanic Clint Brawner. A.J. Foyt replaced Bryan in 1958 in the Dean cars when Jimmy took over George Salih's Belond Special which Sam Hanks drove to victory in 1957 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Jimmy duplicated Hanks' win the following May. Mario Andretti and Brawner teamed up in Dean Van Lines cars ten years later and begin one of the most successful runs in Indy car history.

Jimmy Bryan was a big guy from Phoenix, Arizona. He had a close cropped blond crew cut and usually had a long fat cigar in his mouth (that was before full face helmets) even when he was racing. If you were to name the premier driver in Indy cars from 1955 through 1958 Jimmy Bryan would be the logical choice. Bryan was nearly unbeatable at the Indiana State Fairgrounds in September. Jimmy took the lead on lap 55 to win the 1955 race after the leader Sweikert retired from the race.  

I have special memories of the 1956 "Hoosier Hundred." I listened to the race on the radio in the den at Steve Schern's house in Carmel. Steve Schern was a year older than me. He was my earliest pipeline to the world of racing. I learned about racing from Steve Schern and fell in love with racing in a large part thanks to Steve Schern. Steve's bedroom in the Schern house on 126th Street was like a shrine. I was only into my second year of racing  frenzy and was dazzled by the stacks of books, magazines and photos Steve had laying around. I wander whatever happened to Steve Schern? I'd love to spend an hour with him talking about the old Carmel days.

I can recall the scene well. I was visiting my grandparents that weekend. It was a busy and sunny Saturday for a ten year old to be in Carmel. The annual Ox Roast at the Carmel First Methodist Church was going on next door to the Schern home and for a couple years that was a "major event" in the area. My parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins and pals all went to the Methodist Church Ox Roast. They served delicious barbeque ox sandwiches but I can't believe I actually ate an ox.  

I attended my first "Indianapolis 500" in May 1956 and my favorite driver was Tony Bettenhausen (my early racing hero). Bettenhausen "the Tinley Park (Illinois) Express" was driving a dirt car for Pete Schmidt of St. Louis. It was a red Kuzma - Offy with a big silver number 44 on each side. The previous Saturday Tony had won the 100 mile National Championship race on the dirt mile oval at the New York state fairgrounds in Syracuse. So I was feeling confident about Tony's chances in the "Hoosier Hundred." Unfortunately Tony was the first car out of the race. I don't recall the exact circumstances but I believe he hit the guard rail in turn one, maybe at the start. Jimmy Bryan took the lead from "newcomer" Jud Larson on lap 72 to make it three wins in a row. I remember the Larson - Bryan battle from Sid Collins' broadcast on WIBC and it was good racing.  

The following year Steve Schern began going to the "Hoosier Hundred" with his dad Ed and younger brother Mike. I listened to the 1957 race with my dad. Johnny Thomson (another one of the best Indy drivers of the 1950's) was leading when his car broke on lap 57. Larson finished what he started the previous year to win, beating Jimmy Bryan in the process. A young Texas newcomer by the name of A.J. Foyt was bumped from the starting field in qualifications. I was stuck at home again while the Scherns and my cousin Steve Yount went to the 1958 "Hoosier Hundred." Eddie Sachs won after taking the lead from Johnny Thomson near the 50 mile halfway mark. In 1959 Rodger Ward, hot since his "Indianapolis 500" win in May and on his way to the national championship, won the 1959 race after a battle with 1958 race winner Eddie Sachs.  

My dad took me to the "Hoosier Hundred" in 1960. We had tickets for the backstretch bleachers. When we got to the fairgrounds cars were qualifying. I'd never sat that close to the track before and the dirt cars looked like they were flying. I'd been to the "Indianapolis 500" five times by then, but these cars appeared to be going faster. I knew that wasn't the case of course but it literally scared the hell out of me. I faked a stomach ache and went to sit in my dad's car, hoping he'd take me home. Can you imagine that? 

In those days death was a regular visitor to race tracks. Earlier in the 1960 season Jimmy Bryan, Johnny Thomson and another "500" veteran Al Herman were each killed in crashes. I remember reading an article in True magazine about that time which reported from one running of the "Indianapolis 500" to the next at least four starters from the previous May would be killed in crashes. I'm serious. Racing was violent and frightening. Now I stand 20 feet from the third turn at the Speedway while race cars pass by well in excess of 200 mph and I think nothing of it. I had this concern throughout the 1960 season Tony Bettenhausen would be the next to die in a race. Ironically Tony was killed the following May at the Speedway practicing for the 1961 "500." 

After awhile my dad came to the car to get me. I think he knew I was frightened and he coaxed me back to the bleachers. In the race Rodger Ward led until a magneto failure put him out. A.J. Foyt had won his first Indy car event at DuQuoin, Illinois on Labor Day. A.J. took over after Ward's breakdown to win. Tony Bettenhausen finished second in Lindsey Hopkins' metallic blue  Dowgard Special with day glow red orange trim. That was a pretty race car.

I guess you could say right about that time Foyt became the man to beat, replacing Ward. A.J. was racing the pearl white and candy apple red Bowes Seal Fast cars for George Bignotti when he moved to the top of the racing hill. Foyt won the season's final two races at the dirt miles in Sacramento and Phoenix to take the national title from Ward, who'd been leading the points for nearly the entire 1960 season.  

I went to the 1961 "Hoosier Hundred" with the Schern family, sitting high in the grandstands with fancy box lunches from Sam's Subway (now there's an old Indianapolis name) or someplace like that. Ed Schern did things right. He also shot terrific photo slides with some sort of range finder camera at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. He was a neat man, with a dry sense of humor. There was usually a cigar in the corner of his mouth. I lost track of the Schern family about 1966 or thereabouts, which is too bad because they were good people. 

The thing I most remember about the 1961 "Hoosier Hundred" was A.J. Shepherd's flip end over end during qualifications. It was one of the most frightening crashes I've seen. Shepherd's car flew over the guard rail and safety fence, which was maybe four feet high on either side of the track, and into the horse barns located across an access road from the track. I thought Shepherd was a dead man! He survived the crash but was badly injured and never recovered.

Tony Bettenhausen was killed in May 1961 and I was looking for a new racing hero. I didn't find one until Jim Clark came to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in May 1963. One person who I didn't want to see win was A.J. Foyt however. I didn't care too much for his personality and I was becoming tired of seeing him win all the time. As popular as A.J. Foyt became later in his career he wasn't as popular with the fans during the early years of his success. Foyt had won the first of his four "Indianapolis 500" in May and he was winning everything else too. I think Foyt set his all time single season record for USAC features (19) in 1961. In the 1961 "Hoosier Hundred" he caught Parnelli Jones early in the race to win. The victory gave Foyt a second consecutive USAC national title. 

Beginning in 1962 I started watching the "Hoosier Hundred" from the infield. I went with a bunch of guys led by Steve Schern. Parnelli Jones was the "new sensation" and he won the race. I returned to the infield in 1963 and Rodger Ward dominated the race. I believe Ward led from flag to flag. 

I have another memory connected to the 1963 "Hoosier Hundred." The day after the race I was driving around in my dad's 1962 Chevrolet wagon with a buddy Robert Wheat. We went into the Indiana State Fairgrounds and lo and behold the gates to the track were open. That was too much for a "race freak" like me to ignore. I pulled the boxy blue green Chevy wagon on to the fairgrounds mile and began to practice four wheel power slides off turn two and four. I wanted to impress Robert but I had him screaming as my dad's car came within inches of the outside guard rail coming off the corners. I must've done three or four laps when a jeep driven by an Indiana State policeman pulled on to the track. I thought I was doing pretty well but the patrolman put an end to our journey. He calmly asked us what we were doing to which I told him the truth. Of course the police officer didn't have to tell us that our ride was over and he followed us off the track and out of the fairgrounds.

I got another chance to drive the fairgrounds mile again the next September however. I was with Steve Schern and his future bride Nancy. It rained in the morning of the race and officials had people drive on to the track to help dry the mud so the race could go on. I had a ball driving mile after mile with a bunch of other cars all around me as I drove. I couldn't do power slides like the previous September but I still had a good time. The efforts of hundreds of fans went for naught however because it began to rain again and the race was postponed until the next Saturday. 

When we came back the next Saturday we saw A.J. Foyt outlast his primary competition Parnelli Jones, Rodger Ward and Bobby Marshman for his third "Hoosier Hundred" win. A.J. was in the midst of his greatest season in 1964. He won ten of 13 races for his fourth USAC National (Indy car) championship.   

By 1965 the "Hoosier Hundred" was beginning to seem irrelevant to me. Jim Clark had run away with the "Indianapolis 500" in May and had already clinched his second World Championship in Formula One. I was all wrapped up in Clark's racing and not as interested in watching a bunch of drivers sitting high in old style Indy cars and sliding around on dirt. But I went to the race anyway, with my girlfriend Sheri (unfortunately I was only one of her boyfriends). The 1965 race was one of the earliest A.J. Foyt - Mario Andretti battles which Foyt won for his fourth "Hoosier Hundred" victory. In September 1965 Foyt still had the edge on the rookie Andretti, although Mario took the USAC championship away from A.J. at the end of the season based on consistency.

I missed the 1966 "Hoosier Hundred" because I'd finished off a bottle of scotch the night before with a buddy John Weisenberger, gotten drunk and ended up at the home of another friend Joe Lowe. When I awoke in the morning I was missing my pants, shoes, wallet and glasses. My dad wasn't too happy with me about that and I decided to cool it and listen on the radio. With the hangover I was suffering I didn't feel like going anyway.

The race was close to a repeat of the 1965 race, another Foyt - Andretti confrontation. By September 1966 however Mario had caught up with Foyt. A.J. was burned at Milwaukee in June and was going through his first winless season since 1959. In contrast Andretti won eight Indy car races and a second consecutive national championship in 1966. Mario was the hottest guy in racing. For the "Hoosier Hundred" however, A.J. appeared to recapture his edge and led the race from Andretti until lap 97 when he hit the fence handing the win to his new challenger for American racing supremacy.

By 1967 I was losing interest in dirt track racing. My focus was so heavily on Jim Clark that I was as enthusiastic about dirt track racing then as I am about CART races now (which isn't very enthusiastic). I paid attention but I didn't care much about them. As well, having gone through the conversion to rear engine cars at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway the dirt track events were occupying a smaller place on the Indy car schedule. I went to the 1967 "Hoosier Hundred" on September 9, but I was thinking about my upcoming trip three weeks later to see the Grand Prix of the United States at Watkins Glen, New York. 

Car owner Rolla Vollstedt had gone against conventional wisdom and put the same DOHC Ford V8 engine which had powered the three most recent "Indianapolis 500" winners into a dirt car for rookie Bruce Walkup. At the time nearly every one else was running the old four cylinder Offy on dirt although that would change within a couple years. Walkup won the pole and took the lead once the race started. Mario Andretti caught Walkup near the end of the race however to take his second "Hoosier Hundred" win.   

Despite my ambivalence the "Hoosier Hundred" was still important to Bobby Unser (BRM) and Mario Andretti (Lotus - Ford) in 1968. Both were scheduled to race in the Grand Prix of Italy at Monza and flew to Indianapolis after practicing in their Formula One cars. Bobby and Mario were also engaged in a tough fight for the USAC National Championship. The race on Saturday at the fairgrounds cost both a chance to make their F1 debut as officials disqualified them for racing within 24 hours of the Italian race. Andretti finished second to A.J. Foyt at the fairgrounds. 

I was in the infield again, this time by myself, pissed off because my girlfriend Susie had decided to go out with her girlfriends and I didn't have anything to do that night. I was more interested in what Susie had to offer in September 1968 than I was about racing. I was staying at my folks' apartment on East 62nd Street at the time. My sister was having a party and my parents didn't want me around to spoil things. I guess you could say it wasn't going my way that day.   

By the 1969 "Hoosier Hundred" I was excited about Jackie Stewart's first World Championship and planning my second trip to Watkins Glen with Guy Nadeau in three weeks. I was still interested in what Susie had to offer too although the four year on and off relationship was nearing its end by then. 

When it appeared that rain might threaten the race I stayed home to listen to Sid Collins on the radio. Andy Granatelli was still celebrating his "Indianapolis 500" win with Mario Andretti and he brought two STP Plymouth powered cars in addition to Mario's Kuzma - Offy. Greg Weld won pole in one of the STP "Plymouths." It was A.J. Foyt however, now using Ford DOHC power in his dirt car, who won the race after passing Mario for the lead on lap 55. 

One of the things I most remember about the 1969 race was Foyt's comment in the winner's interview that the only races he cared about were the "Indianapolis 500" and the "Hoosier Hundred." Although he was only 34 at the time, A.J. already had three wins in the "Indianapolis 500," six "Hoosier Hundred" wins, five USAC National (Indy car) championships and a win at Le Mans among scores of other victories. Foyt had been battling Andretti hard for nearly five seasons to retain Indy car supremacy. Perhaps the slow burnout that hit A.J. for a few seasons was beginning to show. 

1970 was Al Unser's career year. 1970 brought one of my favorite seasons because of Al's Indy car dominance in the George Bignotti prepared Johnny Lightning Specials for Vel's Parnelli Jones Racing. Unser had opened the 1970 season with a win at Phoenix in March in one of the brand new Lola look alike Johnny Lightning Colt - turbo Fords creations Bignotti built. Al's second win of the season was his first win in the "Indianapolis 500." Unser's deep blue Johnny Lightning Special with the yellow lightning bolts ran away and hid from the "500" field, leading all but ten laps of the race.

After Indianapolis Al Unser didn't win again until July 26, in the rain on the road circuit at Indianapolis Raceway Park. But after the race at IRP, Unser became nearly unbeatable. Al won four weeks later in the next race on the dirt in Springfield in the Johnny Lightning dirt car built by Grant King. Al's car was  powered by the earlier version normally aspirated Ford 255 cid DOHC V8. This was the "500" winning engine from 1965, 1966 and 1967 from which the 1969, 1970 and 1971 Indianapolis winning Ford turbo V8 engine had originated. One day after his Springfield win Al took the Johnny Lightning Colt - turbo Ford to Milwaukee and won after leading flag to flag in that race. The next win came on Labor Day on another dirt mile at DuQuoin, Illinois. 

Al's win in the 1970 "Hoosier Hundred" was his seventh Indy car victory of the season. After winning at the Indiana State Fairgrounds on September 12, he won again on another dirt mile oval at Sedalia, Missouri. He won on pavement on October 3 at the old Trenton mile oval. His final win came on the dirt mile at Sacramento, California the day following his win at Trenton.

There are some who claim that Al Unser's 1970 USAC National Championship was the last true title. There were 18 races on the 1970 Indy car schedule. The "Indianapolis 500" and the inaugural "California 500" at the new Ontario Motor Speedway were held on 2.5 mile ovals. The two mile high banks at Michigan International Speedway also hosted an event. There were two races each on the mile paved ovals at Phoenix, Trenton and Milwaukee and one on the paved mile circle at Langhorne, Pennsylvania. Three road circuit events at Sears Point, Castle Rock in Colorado and Indianapolis Raceway Park were on the schedule. The remaining five races were held on dirt miles at Springfield, DuQuoin, the Indiana State Fairgrounds, Sedalia and Sacramento. Unser had wins on each type of circuit, with his "Indianapolis 500" victory, wins at Phoenix, Milwaukee and Trenton, the win on the road course at IRP and a sweep of all five dirt events on the schedule. Al Unser was running good everywhere in 1970, "Mr. Versatility" to be sure. 

I went to the 1970 "Hoosier Hundred" with John Dailey and my old Carmel sidekick Dave Willmuth. It was one of those dry, sunny late summer (not quite autumn) Saturday afternoons which were usually  characteristic of the race at the fairgrounds. One of the things I recall about that day was both Bobby Unser and Johnny Rutherford failing to qualify which added to my sense that dirt track racing was becoming even more irrelevant to the "Indianapolis 500." A.J. Foyt and Mario Andretti were in the field but there were also more than a few drivers who were only running the dirt tracks on the USAC Indy car schedule. One of these was Ralph Ligouri, better known to fans around the Midwest as "Ralphie the racer." If it felt strange that Bobby Unser and Johnny Rutherford both failed to make the race it was even more weird when Ligouri passed Foyt near the end of the race to finish second.  

USAC announced a new format for the 1971 Indy car season. Marlboro signed on to sponsor the series which was called the "Marlboro Cup." Road circuits and dirt tracks were dropped from the schedule which was shortened to 12 races. Pocono International Raceway was being built and it would open in July with another 500 mile race to go along with Indianapolis and the "California 500" at Ontario Motor Speedway. The rest of the schedule was comprised of two races each at Rafaela, Argentina, Phoenix, Trenton and Milwaukee and a single race at Michigan International Speedway.

Al Unser won his second consecutive "Indianapolis 500" in May in a new (but nearly identical to the 1970 car) Johnny Lightning Colt - Ford. Although not nearly as dominant as the previous season when he won ten of the 18 races on the USAC National Championship schedule Al was still having an outstanding season in 1971. On February 18 he opened the season with a "double," taking both races in Argentina. Al followed those wins with another at Phoenix on March 27. The Sunday following his second "Indianapolis 500" victory Unser and the Johnny Lightning Colt - turbo Ford won at Milwaukee.        

A separate series was created for the dirt track events which included the "Hoosier Hundred." I  moved to Port Huron, Michigan in March and watched the 1971 race at my boss' house. The fact that the race was no longer part of the Indy car championship didn't seem to diminish things too much, at least that first year. ABC carried the race live on the "Wide World of Sports." There was a good entry with Al Unser, A.J. Foyt and Mario Andretti in the spotlight. But there were several Indy car regulars missing at the fairgrounds too, including Bobby Unser, Gordon Johncock and Johnny Rutherford. 

Al Unser won the race and George Snider finished second. Dick Jordan's "Hoosier Hundred" feature in the program for last month's USAC Silver Crown race at the Indiana State Fairgrounds reported that Unser won the USAC "dirt car" title that season, but it seems to me that Snider actually won the series championship in 1971. Unfortunately the USAC website doesn't carry statistics beyond the current season so I can't verify whether Al Unser or George Snider was the champion.

I'd just come back to Indianapolis from Port Huron (and unknowingly on my way to Battle Creek, Michigan) when the 1972 "Hoosier Hundred" was run. Dave Willmuth and I went to the fairgrounds on a sunny Saturday to see our favorite racers, even though neither of us felt much significance about the event.

Dave Willmuth, my old pal, where are you? I haven't seen Dave Willmuth since 1983 when he went to the "Indianapolis 500" with me. There was a time however, from late 1959 through 1977 when we were inseparable, a couple of silly characters laughing our way through life. Dave loved "Super Tex" A.J. Foyt like a god. When Foyt became the first four time winner of the "Indianapolis 500" it seemed like Dave got just about everything he could from racing and he sort of backed away from it after that. That was also about the time we quit hanging out together.

In 1972 neither A.J. Foyt nor Al Unser were having particularly good Indy car seasons. Al got second place at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway when Jerry Grant was disqualified. For the first time since 1968 however Al failed to win an Indy car race. A.J. started 1972 well with a dominant win in the "Daytona 500." But Foyt was hurt the day after the "Indianapolis 500" in a dirt car race at DuQuoin and missed much of the season. 

Both Foyt and Unser were running good at the Indiana State Fairgrounds in 1972 however. Al won the 100 mile "State Fair Century" USAC stock car race on the final night of the Indiana State Fair. During the "Hoosier Hundred" Foyt and Unser put on a terrific battle and Al took the win in his Vel's Parnelli Jones car carrying the new (for 1972) white and red Viceroy colors. 

In September 1973 I came down from Battle Creek, Michigan (my new home) for the weekend and didn't get to Indianapolis until early Saturday morning. I had a hangover and barely made it to the fairgrounds in time for the race. I made it however and saw Al Unser win his fourth consecutive "Hoosier Hundred." I don't remember the exact details about the race but Dick Jordan wrote in his piece that Al took the lead from Greg Weld on the race's fourth lap. I sort of remember that Weld was driving a day glow red STP car.

In 1974 Firestone was preparing to pull out of racing and they gave Vel' Parnelli Jones Racing a huge sum of money to buy out their contract. Vel and Parnelli were not only running the USAC Indy car series with Al Unser and Mario Andretti, they were also preparing to introduce a new Formula One car with Mario driving at the Grand Prix of Canada. "VPJ" was running Mario full time and Al part time in the SCCA F5000 series. Do you remember F5000 racing? Finally the team was also running a pair of Viceroy USAC dirt cars for Al and Mario and the two drivers were in a tough fight for the series championship.   

The 1974 "Hoosier Hundred" was a "dandy." As in 1970, I went to the race with John Dailey and Dave Willmuth. I wish we had VCR's and camcorders available in 1974 because I would like to look at this race again.

Today Jackie Howerton is known as a master fabricator in local racing circles. He has a shop on Rowena Street (better known as Gasoline Alley) about one mile directly south of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Howerton is one of the more prominent subcontractors in the racing cottage industry that exists in Indianapolis. In 1974 he was a USAC race driver. He was in a car entered by Andy Granatelli and STP which was powered by a turbocharged Offy.

I don't recall exactly what Granatelli's role in the Howerton entry was. By 1974 he was no longer running an Indy car team but was still directly involved in the marketing efforts of STP. Perhaps it was the challenge of trying to make a turbo Offy work on the dirt. The turbo Offy was the Indy car engine of choice at that time. Actually it was the only Indy car power you could buy in those days, since A.J. Foyt wasn't selling the Foyt V8 after he bought the Ford Motor Company Indy car inventory in 1971. The old Ford DOHC V8 had become the popular engine in USAC dirt car competition. Both Unser and Andretti were running the Ford V8 in their Viceroy dirt cars.

I think Howerton qualified on pole. What I do remember was that Howerton had just enough extra power to hold off Al and Mario. Lap after lap Howerton's day glow red STP car led the two Viceroy cars out of turn four and past our seats at the west end of the main straightaway. I kept hoping that Unser could find a way past Jackie but he wasn't able, try as he might. Still he beat Mario. During their four years as teammates with Vel's Parnelli Jones Racing I always wanted Al to beat Andretti and more often than not it seems he did. If I'm not mistaken Al Unser did win the 1974 USAC dirt car title.

I went with a group of John Dailey's buddies to the 1975 "Hoosier Hundred" but I don't remember much about the race. I know Al Unser was in the race and I think he was running a Viceroy car for Vel and Parnelli but I can't recall the specifics. Dick Jordan wrote that Johnny Parsons led the first 57 laps after qualifying on the pole. Then Tom Bigelow took over and beat A.J. Foyt.

I moved to Chicago in June 1976. So I didn't go to the "Hoosier Hundred." I found out about the race from reading about it in The Indianapolis Star which my mom saved for me. Joe Saldana beat A.J. Foyt. Foyt started last on the field and made a great drive to the front. This was the race that ended the racing career of Jan Opperman. Opperman crashed while fighting for the lead with Johnny Parsons at the mid point of the race.

I didn't pay a lot of attention to Jan Opperman because I wasn't watching much dirt racing by then. I remember that he ran the 1974 "Indianapolis 500" in a third Viceroy car entered by Vel and Parnelli and finished 21st. Opperman also started the 1976 "500" in an Eagle - Offy finishing 16th. But he's become something of a racing cult hero in the years since he became an invalid following his "Hoosier Hundred" crash. From what I can gather Opperman was sort of a free wheeling character living on the edge who found Christianity. He died a few years ago after being cared for by aging parents for much of the time after his accident.

I don't remember if Al Unser ran the 1976 "Hoosier Hundred" but he was in the 1977 race. Al was driving a yellow and red car 55, the Pizza Hut of St. Louis Special. It would be Al's final appearance in the "Hoosier Hundred." Tim Pendergast and I went to the race. It was boring as Pancho Carter led from flag to flag. A.J. Foyt missed the race after crashing in the semi-feature qualifying race format that had been adopted. That would've been the first time Foyt failed to race in the "Hoosier Hundred" since 1957.

I wouldn't return to the "Hoosier Hundred" until 1986. I'm not even sure why I went that year. I think I was trying to make a connection with USAC racing and later that same night I went to the Indianapolis Speedrome to see a USAC midget race. In the afternoon at the State Fairgrounds the pace of the action was slow with wreck after wreck. I became frustrated and left about 20 laps after the race started.  

During the final years of the "Hoosier Hundred" the crowds dwindled down to a few thousand. It became just another USAC race without any particular significance. A.J. Foyt took over the promotion of USAC dirt car racing at the Indiana State Fairgrounds and made an effort to rescue the "Hoosier Hundred." But the grand old race died after the 1995 race in favor of the event held the Friday before the "Indianapolis 500" each May. In it's day the "Hoosier Hundred" was almost like a younger brother to the "500." Winning at the fairgrounds wasn't as big a deal as winning at the Speedway but it was a major accomplishment for racers nevertheless.   

As I was leaving the fairgrounds after the USAC race on Friday September 22, I attempted to avoid traffic by finding an open gate. I drove around the northern outer perimeter parallel to East 42nd Street. While race was going on there was a football game being played a few blocks north at the Indiana Deaf School. As I was searching for an exit, the football field was still lit. It's funny how the human mind works. For some reason or another the idea for this piece came to mind. In physical terms I was decades away from those late summer - early fall Saturday afternoons when the "Hoosier Hundred" was a big deal. From an emotional perspective however it didn't seem that long ago.     

race winners - championship dirt (Silver Crown) cars at the Indiana State Fairgrounds