The tradition will continue

[Lizzerd]

For the past 15 years or thereabouts, I and a bunch of my track-buddies will meet at the IMS museum parking lot on New Years morning. One guy, Jerry ("I don't do computers"), has been the first person to sign the guest book in the new year since the tradition started. The Indy Star even had an article with pictures about our group a couple years ago in the human interest section.

Note that the annual event started well before the split. These are guys that I've been hanging around with at the track with since the mid 80's. Some of them worship the Dark Side now, some just like the track. I'm probably the only one who is entirely pro-CART. Anyway, we have a good time bashing each other's series.

So, we'll do the museum thing (opens at 9AM), check out the gift shop, hang in the parking lot drinking beer, and take a ride in a bus. Might even go to the Flag Room for a couple more cold ones.

If you're not too hung over and in Indy, come on over and join us. BYOB.

[RichK]

It's an annual visit for me, too, Lizzerd. I visit family in Indy for Christmas, and I always stop by the museum and Indy car show. I began pre-split, too, and I must say that seeing the Rachel's Potato Chips car tweaks me to no end. I try and avert my eyes but that skanky teal color is hard to miss.

Have fun!


p.s. Has anyone had a tour of the museum basement? I've read that there are more cars below the museum than in it.

[Ziggy]

Yes, I have. Yes, there are

Very cool

Ziggy

[Railbird]

Our New Year's day has started at Mike's "park in rear" (funky old bar just east of the underpass) the last four or five years. Sign in at the museum, track tour maybe and then off to the Flag Room if it's open.

A trip to Classy Chassy is always a possibility if it's open.


In other words, drinking and racecars.

[RichK]

Originally posted by Ziggy
Yes, I have. Yes, there are

Very cool

Ziggy

What's it like down there?
Is there a shop down there for working on the cars?

[indyracer56]

Originally posted by RichK
p.s. Has anyone had a tour of the museum basement? I've read that there are more cars below the museum than in it.

I haven't ever been in the basement, but the photo shop on the 2nd floor is a must see.

:cool:

[Ziggy]

Well, they have alot of cars. There is also a restoration shop. Dont know if they are still doing resto's. The guy who did most of them died (I think) name of Barney Wimmer. He lived near a co-worker of mine in Pittsboro.

The have a replica of Sach's Halibrand Shrike, Smokey's sidecar, A Lotus 56 which Graham Hill drove (turbine) a mint and zero miles GT-40 (which I sat in along with the sidecar) a ton of passenger cars. Tony Hulman was no dummy. He collected (or tried to collect) an example of every car built in the Hoosier State. At one time Indiana led the nation in car production. There are alot of these types of cars, Franklin's, Stutz, Duesie's, Cord,s, etc.

Lots of bizzaro stuff. Very cool. I was invited to go with a model car club I used to be active with and it was a long time ago.... 1993 or so

Ziggy

[RichK]

Thanks, Ziggy. It's too bad they don't have public tours of the basement, even a roped off viewing area in a corner would be cool.

[cart7]

I took my 14 year old to the museum this July with his friend. I approached the guard at the elevator entrance and asked him how much it would take to let us go downstairs. He smiled and said that, with the proper connections, tours downstairs are possible.

[pchall]

Odd, how the basement means so much more than the top floor these days.

[RTKar]

Could have snuck into the basement during the USGP weekend, rode the elevator down with an employee to the basement. He used a key to unlock the door, I should have stuck my foot in the door to hold it open until he was out of sight and then browsed around.

[RichK]

In a way, the whole track is now an Indy 500 museum.



Originally posted by pchall
Odd, how the basement means so much more than the top floor these days.

[Lizzerd]

It was a good day at the track. I got there about 9:45 and Jerry and Rick were firing up Jerry's smoker grill. He put on a couple big hunks of corned beef and a pork roast. Jerry missed being first in the guest book by one person and five minutes. The only downer of the day.

A couple others showed up before too long. A lady Gold Badge drove up to us, I guess to just see what the heck we were doing, and said "you guys are here every year, aren't you?" Yep. We chatted a bit with her. It's a good thing to make friends with the Gold Badges. Around noon, she came back and out of the blue asked us if we would like a tour of the pagoda. Uh... ok.

The first place we went was to the Bombardier suite, which is the entire top (10th) floor. Quite a view. It's always been known that there is nowhere that you can see the whole track at IMS. Well, it's true. There isn't. You have to go to all four sides of the suite to see the whole track. She took us to all the floors that were interesting. Saw TG's suite, radio and TV, race control, T&S... One of us asked her if she was working the day Tony Renna was killed. She was, and was one of the first on the scene. When asked about details, she said she was sworn to secrecy. Did she have a camera? Noooo... Very bad idea. She insisted no pictures were taken and no video exists. Yeah, right. She said that cleanup started frantically right away and that it was sad (sad?) that there was nothing they could do when the helicopters came and took pictures. I asked her about debris in the stands, but I asked the question in such a way as I knew that there was some that got through. It was the GEARBOX that clobbered the handicapped seating. And a "whole bunch" of smaller parts off the car were scattered about. We spent about an hour in the pagoda. Very cool, really. We asked her if we could go to the museum basement. No, she coundn't do that.

Got back to the parking lot about 1PM, and it was time to check out the gift shop and take a bus ride, but not before checking the corned beef on the smoker. Mmmm... good stuff, but could cook some more yet.

It was just the five of us on the bus, and it was apparent to the bus driver that his usual spiel to the tourists wouldn't cut it with us. We started talking about the Renna accident going down the back stretch, and where to look for skid marks, etc. The driver, I think, pretended not to notice and accelerated approaching turn three like he was going to give us a good ride through the turn. I think he wanted to just get through there as quick as possible so we might not notice something. Anyway, there were indeed some skid marks, two of them, approaching the apex. One disappeared into the grass, and where it seemed to come out of the grass, there were four marks. They ended probably 25 feet down the track and maybe 15 from the inside of the corner. Where Renna took flight? From what I saw, the description of the accident HERE (http://www.indyracing.com/indycar/news/story.php?story_id=2184) is probably pretty accurate.


The accident review revealed that Renna?s car entered Turn 3 at 227 mph. At a point just past the apex of the turn, the car did a 90-degree spin to the left into the infield grass. The car began to skip through the grass as it traveled sideways, allowing air underneath the car and causing it to lift into the air. While in the air the car spun approximately another 30 degrees to the left.

All in all, it was fun, even if it is IMS. Too bad that only five of us showed up. In years past, we've had quite the party on New Years Day at the track.

[Railbird]

the beautiful wife and I, along with Kelvis, stopped in about noon after breakfast at Mike's. Took in the museum and then headed to the Flag Room.