1988 Indianapolis 500
The 72nd Indianapolis 500 was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana, on Sunday May 29, 1988. Team Penske dominated the month, sweeping the top three starting positions with Rick Mears winning the pole position, Danny Sullivan at the center of the front row, Al Unser, Sr. on the outside. Mears set a new track record. On race day, the Penske teammates proceeded to lead 192 of the 200 laps, with Rick Mears taking the checkered flag, his third-career Indy 500 victory; the race represented the milestone 50th victory in Championship car racing for owner Roger Penske and Penske Racing. The victory was the first of six consecutive Indy 500 wins by the Chevy Indy V-8 engine, seven consecutive overall by Ilmor-constructed powerplants; the victory marked a triumphant return of success for the Penske chassis, after dismal results in 1987, sparse use in the previous four seasons. The race was the third round of the 1988 CART PPG Indy Car World Series, was sanctioned by USAC. Defending champion Al Unser Sr. returned to Penske to join a three-car effort with full-time drivers Rick Mears and Danny Sullivan.
After a dismal go around with the PC-16 in 1987, Penske introduced the brand-new PC-17, with promise. Mears and Sullivan won the pole positions for the first two races of the CART season. For the third year, Penske was fielding the Chevy Ilmor Indy V-8 engine. Back-to-back defending CART champion, 1986 Indy winner Bobby Rahal returned for what would be his last season at Truesports; the team dropped the Cosworth DFX and they took up the development of the Judd AV engine. The engine was known to be down on horsepower, but excelled in fuel mileage and reliability in the 500-mile races. Among the other changes included Al Unser Jr. who left Shierson and re-joined Galles. Galles was now running the Ilmor Chevy engine, after running the Brabham-Honda and Buick in previous years. Raul Boesel took Unser's place in the #30 Domino's Pizza entry. During a tire test session in September 1987, Roberto Guerrero suffered a crash, a serious head injury. After a lengthy recovery, Guerrero was back in the cockpit for 1988.
Jim Crawford, who suffered serious leg injuries during time trials in 1987 returned, signing with King Racing. Billy Vukovich III, son of Bill Vukovich II, grandson of two-time winner Bill Vukovich, would become the first third-generation driver in Indy history. Many of the cars in the field were sporting new style wheels with flush discs, giving the 1988 month of May a unique visual appearance. After becoming famous for being "first in line" at the Indy 500 from 1950-1987, longtime fan Larry Bisceglia of Chicago, from Phoenix, fell ill and missed the 1988 race. With failing health, he died December 7, 1988. Starting in 1988, teams were allowed to have six crew members over the wall during a pit stop; the crews would consist of four tire changers, a fueler, a fuel vent/airhose man. They were only allowed five; this was due in part to the fact that after the series changed from bias-ply tires to radials, the left-front tire would now be changed much more frequently. For 1988, turbocharger "boost" pressure was reduced from 47 to 45 inHG.
Stock-block engines were permitted 55 inHG. Six drivers took part in rookie orientation. John Andretti led the group. After being denied entry five years ago, Harry Sauce returned to attempt the program once again. Opening day saw Raul Boesel first out on the track for Shierson. Dick Simon posted the best lap of the day, with less than 15 minutes; the track closed about two hours early due to rain. Mario Andretti did not eclipse Simon's speed from Saturday. Rick Mears turned the fastest lap of the month thus far at 213.118 mph. Two cars, Teo Fabi in the Porsche entry, Ludwig Heimrath, Jr. suffered mechanical/engine-related problems. Rick Mears turned the fastest unofficial practice lap in Indy history, breaking the 220 mph for the first time, his lap of 220.048 mph was just a tick faster than Mario Andretti's lap of 219.995 mph. Roberto Guerrero was involved in the first crash of the week, he tapped the outside wall. His car suffered damage to the rear wing, he was not injured. After two days of Mears topping the speed chart, Mario Andretti moved back into the top spot.
His lap of 221.565 mph broke the day-old unofficial track record at 5:45 p.m. Ludwig Heimrath, Jr. went high in turn 2 and brushed the outside wall, the second crash of the month. His car whipped around, hit the wall again, he was not injured, car had light damage. Mario Andretti led the speed chart, with Scott Brayton second; the final day of practice was anticipated to be a duel between Rick Mears and Mario Andretti, the two drivers who had distanced themselves from the rest of the field. Mears and Andretti finished the day with identical laps at 221.465 mph to tie at the top of the speed chart. Danny Sullivan came in third-best with a lap of 218.446 mph. Andretti finished the week of practice with the fastest over speed, set on Wednesday. Mears was second, the pair went into time trials as the favorites for the pole position. On pole day morning, Rick Mears blistered the track with a lap of 222.827 mph during the morning practice session. It was a new all-time unofficial track record. Mario Andretti was close behind with the second-fastest.
Raul Boesel and Tom Bigelow suffered single-car crashes during the session. Mario Andretti drew the coveted first qualifying attempt. After leading the speed charts in practice
Indianapolis 500
The Indianapolis 500-Mile Race is an automobile race held annually at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, United States, an enclave suburb of Indianapolis, Indiana. The event is held over Memorial Day weekend in late May, it is contested as part of the IndyCar Series, the top level of American Championship Car racing, an open-wheel open-cockpit formula colloquially known as "Indy Car Racing". The name of the race is shortened to Indy 500, the track itself is nicknamed "the Brickyard", as the racing surfacing was paved in brick in the fall of 1909; the event, billed as The Greatest Spectacle in Racing, is considered part of the Triple Crown of Motorsport, which comprises three of the most prestigious motorsports events in the world including the Monaco Grand Prix and the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The official attendance is not disclosed by Speedway management, but the permanent seating capacity is upwards of 250,000, infield patrons raise the race-day attendance to 300,000; the inaugural race was won by Ray Harroun.
The event celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2011, the 100th running was held in 2016. Will Power is the current champion; the most successful drivers are A. J. Foyt, Al Unser Sr. and Rick Mears, each of whom have won the race four times. The active driver with the most victories is Hélio Castroneves, with three. Rick Mears holds the record for most career pole positions with six; the most successful car owner is Roger Penske, owner of Team Penske, which has 17 total wins and 17 poles. The event is steeped in tradition, in pre-race ceremonies, post-race celebrations, race procedure; the most noteworthy and most popular traditions are the 33-car field, the annual singing of "Back Home Again in Indiana," and the victory lane bottle of milk. The Indianapolis 500 is held annually at a 2.5-mile oval circuit. Technically, the track is a unique rounded-rectangle, with four distinct turns of identical dimensions, connected by four straightaways. Drivers race 200 laps, counter-clockwise around the circuit, for a distance of 500 miles.
Since its inception in 1911, the race has always been scheduled around Memorial Day. Since 1974, the race has been scheduled for the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend; the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend is considered one of the most important days on the motorsports calendar, as it is the day of the Indianapolis 500, Coca-Cola 600, the Monaco Grand Prix. Practice and time trials are held in the two weeks leading up to the race, while other preliminary testing is held as early as April. Traditionally, the field consists of 33 starters, aligned in a starting grid of eleven rows of three cars apiece; the event is contested by "Indy cars", a formula of professional-level, single-seat, open cockpit, open-wheel, purpose-built race cars. As of 2018, all entrants utilize 2.2 L V6, twin-turbocharged engines, tuned to produce a range of 550–700 horsepower. Chevrolet and Honda are the current engine manufacturers involved in the sport. Dallara is at present the sole chassis supplier to the series. Firestone, which has a deep history in the sport, dating back to the first 500, is the exclusive tire provider.
The race is the most prestigious event of the IndyCar calendar, one of the oldest and most important automobile races. It has been avouched to be the largest single-day sporting event in the entire world; the Indianapolis Motor Speedway itself is regarded as the world's largest sporting facility in terms of capacity. The total purse exceeded $13 million in 2011, with over $2.5 million awarded to the winner, making it one of the richest cash prize funds in sports. Similar to NASCAR's Daytona 500, the Indianapolis 500 is held early in the IndyCar Series season; that is unique to most sports where major events are at the end of the respective season. The Indy 500 is the sixth event of the 17-race IndyCar schedule. From the 1970s to the 1990s, Indianapolis was the second or third race of the season, as late as the 1950s, it was sometimes the first championship event of the year. Due to the high prestige of the Indianapolis 500—rivaling or surpassing the season championship—it is not uncommon for some teams and drivers to concentrate on preparation for the 500 during the early part of the season, not focus on the championship battle until after Indy.
The traditional 33-car starting field at Indianapolis is larger than the fields at the other IndyCar races. The field at Indy consists of all of the full-time IndyCar Series entries, along with 10–15 part-time or "Indy-only" entries; the "Indy-only" entries popularly called "One-Offs", may be an extra car added to an existing full-time team, or a part-time team altogether that does not enter any of the other races. The "Indy-only" drivers may come from a wide range of pedigrees, but are experienced Indy car drivers that either lack a full-time ride, are former full-time drivers that have elected to drop down to part-time status, or occasional one-off drivers from other racing disciplines, it is not uncommon for some drivers, to quit full-time driving during the season, but race at Indy singly for numerous years afterwards before entering full retirement. Due to safety issues such as aquaplaning, the race is not held in wet conditions. In the event of a rain delay, the race will be postponed until rain showers cease, the track is sufficiently dried.
If rain falls during the race, officials can end the race and declare the results official if more than half of the scheduled distance (i.e. 101 lap
Trevis
Trevis was an American racing car constructor of the 1950s and 1960s, begun by Floyd Trevis of Youngstown, Ohio. Trevis cars competed in FIA World Championship and USAC events from 1951 to 1961
Gilmore Stadium
Gilmore Stadium was a multi-purpose stadium in Los Angeles, California. It was opened in May 1934 and demolished in 1952, when the land was used to build CBS Television City; the stadium held 18,000. It was located next to Gilmore Field; the stadium was located west of Curson Avenue, surrounded by Beverly Boulevard, Fairfax Avenue and Third Street. The stadium was built by Earl Gilmore, son of Arthur F. Gilmore and president of A. F. Gilmore Oil, a California-based petroleum company, developed after Arthur struck oil on the family property; the area was rich in petroleum, the source of the "tar" in the nearby La Brea Tar Pits. It was used for American football games at both the collegiate level; the stadium was the home of the Los Angeles Bulldogs, the first professional football team in Los Angeles. The Bulldogs competed as an independent team before joining the second American Football League in 1937 and winning its championship with a perfect 8–0–0 record, the first professional football team to win its championship with an unblemished record.
After the collapse of the league, the Bulldogs returned to being an independent team before joining the American Professional Football Association in 1939. The Bulldogs became charter members of the Pacific Coast Professional Football League in 1940 and played in Gilmore Stadium until 1948, when the team moved to Long Beach, for its final season; the stadium was home to another professional football teams, the Los Angeles Mustangs of the Pacific Coast Professional Football League. Gilmore Stadium was the site of two 1940 National Football League Pro Bowls; the stadium was home to the collegiate Loyola Marymount Lions football team and Pepperdine Waves football team. On January 14, 1940, the 1939 NFL champion Green Bay Packers met an All-Star team consisting of players from the nine other NFL clubs in the second NFL All-Star game in history; the Packers won 16–7. Extra seating was added to accommodate 21,000 fans for the Pro Bowl for the 1940 NFL season; the crowd set a record as the largest to view a Los Angeles pro game.
The event was held on December 29, 1940. The game pitted the 1940 NFL Champion Chicago Bears against an All-Star team from the other NFL clubs in the third NFL All-Star game; the Bears won 28–14. The Hollywood Stars of the Pacific Coast League played here early in the in 1939 season, while awaiting completion of Gilmore Field's construction; the diamond was situated in the southwest "corner" of the stadium, with right field so close that baseballs hit over the fence in that area were ground-rule doubles. While the first modern-day midget car racing program took place at Hughes Stadium in Sacramento, California in June 1933, Loyola Stadium became the starting point in Southern California in August 1933, Gilmore Stadium is billed as the first track purposely built for the new style of racing; the track hosted midget car racing from the track's debut in May 1934 to 1950. The 1939 Turkey Night Grand Prix was held at the track. Rodger Ward drove Vic Edelbrock's midget car in a famous August 1950 event at Gilmore Stadium.
Ward shocked the racing world by breaking Offenhauser engine's winning streak by sweeping the events at Gilmore Stadium that night. Notable drivers that raced at the track include Bill Betteridge, Fred Friday, Walt Faulkner, Perry Grimm, Sam Hanks, Curly Mills, Danny Oakes, Roy Russing, Bob Swanson, Bill Vukovich, Rodger Ward, Karl Young. Drivers that were killed at the track include Ed Haddad, Swede Lindskog, Speedy Lockwood, Frankie Lyons, Chet Mortemore. In the sixteen years of the stadium's existence, over 5 million fans attended races at the track; the stadium drew crowds over 18,000 people each race. Attendance dropped to below 9,000 at normal weekly races by the late 1940s; the attendance drop and increased demand for property in West Hollywood led to the track's sale in 1950. It was torn down in 1951; some of its grandstand was installed at Saugus Speedway. It hosted donkey baseball, dog shows, at least one cricket match. Esther Williams performed in a water ballet performance. A temporary above ground pool was constructed for the event.
Several professional boxing title matches. U. S. President Harry S. Truman delivered his "stiff upper lip" speech in the stadium. Gilmore Stadium was featured in a 1934 Three Stooges short featuring a football game, fittingly titled Three Little Pigskins; the scoreboard, with the name of the stadium, appears prominently in several shots, as does a billboard advertising Gilmore products. A sign for the nearby Fairfax Theater, across Beverly Boulevard at the north end of the stadium, is visible in the background a couple of times. On May 19, 1947, Gilmore Stadium was packed with people waiting to hear a speech by Progressive Party candidate for President Henry A. Wallace. Wallace served as vice president under FDR and was the Secretary of Agriculture and Secretary of Commerce. Speaking at the event was actress Katharine Hepburn, whose speech stole the show. Colorized postcard of Gilmore Stadium, Gilmore Field, Pan Pacific Auditorium and Farmers Market A collection of pictures of Gilmore Stadiums various usages
Dirt track racing
Dirt track racing is a type of auto racing performed on clay or dirt surfaced oval tracks. It became widespread during the 1920s and 1930s. Two different types of race cars dominated—open wheel racers in the Northeast and West and stock cars in the South. While open wheel race cars are purpose-built racing vehicles, stock cars can be either purpose-built race cars or street vehicles that have been modified to varying degrees. Dirt track racing is the single most common form of auto racing in the United States. There are hundreds of regional racetracks throughout the nation; the sport is popular in Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. The track surface may be composed of any soil; the curation of a racetrack requires hours of work. The machines for track curation include a grader, cultivator and water truck however this varies at different dirt tracks around the world; the track is graded and'dug up' after the racing is finished and it is watered with a water truck. It may be broken down with a cultivator or rolled.
These steps are repeated however many times necessary and do vary according to climate and soil composition. Nearly all tracks are less than 1-mile in length with most being 1/2 mile or less; the most common increments in the U. S. are ½ mile, ⅜ mile, ⅓ mile, ¼ mile, ⅛ mile. With the longer tracks, the race cars achieve higher speeds up to 160 mph and the intervals between cars increase; this decreases the chance of crashes but increases the damage and chance of injury when cars do crash. In Great Britain the oval tracks are on grass with lengths of 400 meters to 800 meters; the races consist of several four lap. There is a final race featuring the fastest competitors. In mainland Europe, long tracks can be grass, sand or cinder, can be up to 1-kilometer long. Dirt track racing in Australia has a history dating back to the 1930s. Most oval track speedways are similar to those in the USA for car racing such as sprint cars and sedans, with most tracks around ¼ mile to ⅓ mile in length. Most tracks have a clay surface, though some use dolomite and clay mix or sand and clay mix.
During the 1970s and early 1980s, a small number of tracks were paved with asphalt, though this phase only lasted about a decade and all tracks paved over reverted to their former surfaces. Each racetrack or sponsoring organization maintains a rule book outlining each class of race car which includes dimensions, engine size, equipment requirements and prohibitions; the requirements for each class are coordinated with multiple tracks to allow for the widest available venue for each type of car. This coordination allows the drivers to compete at many different racetracks, increase competitors' chances of winning, lets racing associations develop a series of race events that promote fan interest. Many tracks support two types of racing in open wheel cars and stock cars. Both types range from large and powerful V8 engines to small yet still powerful, four-cylinder engines; some of the smaller open wheel race cars have classes for single-cylinder engines. Depending on the class, the cars may have wings to aid in handling at higher speeds.
Open wheel cars are manufactured with tubular frames and a body purchased for that particular class. The wheels of these vehicles are not protected by fenders. Classes include: Dwarf Mod lite - 1000-1250cc motorcycle engines Kart Mini sprint- 600-1200cc motorcycle engines. Utilize a top wing. Winged sprint- 410ci, 360ci engine, or 305ci engines; the top wing helps these powerful racecars with downforce. Non-wing sprint car Silver crown Midget Three quarter midget Quarter midget 600 and 270 micro sprintsOpen wheel sanctioning bodies include: USAC - The United States Automobile Club World of Outlaws Sprint Cars All Star Circuit of Champions National Sprint League American Sprint Car Series United Sprint Car Series MOWA POWRi Popular chassis manufacturers around the country for winged sprint cars are Eagle, Maxim, J&J, Triple X, GF1. There are several engine builders that build both 410ci and 360ci engines for traveling sprint car teams. Speedway, Gaerte, Shaver, Don Ott Racing Engines, Fisher Racing Engines are the more popular engine builders.
Modified cars are a hybrid of open wheel cars and stock cars. This class of car has the racing characteristics of a stock car; the rear wheels are covered by fenders but the front wheels are left exposed. There are sanctioning bodies; each sanctioning body has their own set of guidelines provided in an annual rule book and their own registration fees. Sanctioning bodies include: Super DIRTcar Series IMCA UMP USRA USMTS WISSOTA TSMA (Tri-State
1955 Formula One season
The 1955 Formula One season was the ninth season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It featured the 1955 World Championship of Drivers, which commenced on 16 January 1955 and ended on September 11 after seven races. Juan Manuel Fangio won his second consecutive World Championship title in a season, curtailed by tragedies; the season included a number of non-championship Formula One races. Mercedes drivers again dominated the championship, with Fangio taking four races, his new teammate Stirling Moss the British Grand Prix. Ferrari won at Monaco after all of the Mercedes cars broke down and Lancia driver Alberto Ascari crashed into the harbour. Although Ascari was unscathed, the double World Champion crashed fatally at Monza while testing sportscars four days later; the disaster at the 24 Hours of Le Mans on 11 June which killed Pierre Levegh and over 80 spectators led to the cancellations of the French, German and Swiss Grands Prix. The French round, supposed to be held at Reims between the Dutch and British rounds, was cancelled first.
The German event at the Nürburgring, the Swiss round at Bremgarten and the Spanish round at Pedralbes followed suit. Pedralbes and Bremgarten were abandoned and never used again for racing; these cancellations handed the Drivers' title to Fangio after he finished 2nd to Moss at the British Grand Prix. 1955 would be the final season for Mercedes Benz as a constructor until the team's revival in 2010. It would mark the final win for Mercedes until the 2012 Chinese Grand Prix. Aside from Ascari's death this year, Italian Mario Alborghetti died at the non-championship Pau Grand Prix in France driving a Maserati. ^A The Indianapolis 500 was AAA-sanctioned and not run to Formula One regulations. It counted towards the 1955 AAA Championship; the following teams and drivers competed in the 1955 FIA World Championship. Italics indicate fastest lap Bold indicates pole position † = Car driven by more than one driver Championship points were awarded on an 8–6–4–3–2 basis for the first five places at each race.
One point was awarded for fastest race lap at each race. Only the best 5 results counted towards the Championship. Numbers without parentheses are Championship points. Other Formula One races held in 1955, which did not count towards the World Championship
Indianapolis Motor Speedway
The Indianapolis Motor Speedway is an automobile racing circuit located in Speedway, Indiana, in the United States. It is the home of the Indianapolis 500 and the Brickyard 400, the home of the United States Grand Prix, it is located on the corner of 16th Street and Georgetown Road six miles west of Downtown Indianapolis. Constructed in 1909, it is the second purpose-built, banked oval racing circuit after Brooklands and the first to be called a'speedway', it has a permanent seating capacity of 257,325. It is the highest-capacity sports venue in the world. Considered flat by American standards, the track is a 2.5-mile-long rectangular oval with dimensions that have remained unchanged since its construction. It has two 5⁄8-mile-long straightaways, four geometrically identical 1⁄4-mile turns, connected by two 1⁄8-mile short straightaways, termed "short chutes", between turns 1 and 2, between turns 3 and 4. A modern, FIA Grade One infield road course was completed in 2000, incorporating part of the oval, including the main stretch and the southeast turn, measuring 2.605 miles.
In 2008, again in 2014, the road course layout was modified to accommodate motorcycle racing, as well as to improve competition. Altogether, the current grounds have expanded from an original 320 acres on which the speedway was first built to cover an area of over 559 acres. Placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975 and designated a National Historic Landmark in 1987, it is the only such site to be affiliated with automotive racing history. In addition to the Indianapolis 500, the speedway hosts NASCAR's Brickyard 400 and Lilly Diabetes 250. From 2000 to 2007, the speedway hosted the Formula One United States Grand Prix, from 2008 to 2015 the Moto GP. On the grounds of the speedway is the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum, which opened in 1956, houses the Hall of Fame; the museum moved into its current building located in the infield in 1976. On the grounds is the Brickyard Crossing Golf Resort, which opened as the Speedway Golf Course in 1929; the golf course has 14 holes outside the track, along the backstretch, four holes in the infield.
The speedway served as the venue for the opening ceremonies for the 1987 Pan American Games. The track is nicknamed "The Brickyard", the garage area is famously known as Gasoline Alley. Indianapolis businessman Carl G. Fisher first envisioned building the speedway in 1905 after assisting friends racing in France and seeing that Europe held the upper hand in automobile design and craftsmanship. Fisher began thinking of a better means of testing cars before delivering them to consumers. At the time, racing was just getting started on public roads. Fisher noticed how ill-suited the makeshift courses were for racing and testing, he argued that spectators did not get their money's worth, as they were only able to get a brief glimpse of cars speeding down a linear road. Fisher proposed building a circular track 3 to 5 miles long with smooth 100–150-foot-wide surfaces; such a track would give manufacturers a chance to test cars at sustained speeds and give drivers a chance to learn their limits. Fisher predicted.
He visited the Brooklands circuit outside London in 1907, after viewing the banked layout, it solidified his determination to build the speedway. With dozens of car makers and suppliers in Indiana, Fisher proclaimed, "Indianapolis is going to be the world's greatest center of horseless carriage manufacturer, what could be more logical than building the world's greatest racetrack right here?"Fisher began looking around the Indianapolis area for a site to build his track. In December 1908, he convinced James A. Allison, Arthur Newby, Frank W. Wheeler to join him in purchasing the property for $72,000; the group incorporated the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Company on March 20, 1909, with a capitalization of $250,000, with Fisher and James Allison in for $75,000 apiece and Frank Wheeler and Arthur Newby on board for $50,000 each. Construction of the track started in March 1909. Fisher had to downsize his planned 3-mile oval with a 2-mile road course to a 2.5-mile oval to leave room for the grandstands.
Reshaping of the land for the speedway took 500 laborers, 300 mules and a fleet of steam-powered machinery. The track surface consisted of graded and packed soil covered by 2 inches of gravel, 2 inches of limestone covered with taroid, 1–2 inches of crushed stone chips that were drenched with taroid, a final topping of crushed stone. Workers constructed dozens of buildings, several bridges, grandstands with 12,000 seats, an 8-foot perimeter fence. A white-with-green-trim paint scheme was used throughout the property; the first event held at the speedway was a helium gas-filled balloon competition on Saturday, June 5, 1909, more than two months before the oval was completed. The event drew a reported 40,000 people. Nine balloons lifted off "racing" for trophies; the first motorsport event at the track consisted of seven motorcycle races, sanctioned by the Federation of American Motorcyclists, on August 14, 1909. This was planned as a two-day, 15-race program, but ended before the first da
American